Tennis Anyone?

My tennis game has improved rather dramatically lately. And one of the reasons is my new coach. Several of the guys i play doubles w/ have been trying to get me to go to this practice session that they have had w/ a coach at another club for years. So finally i say the heck w/ it and decide to skip one of my group running sessions (for the record i ran the next night by myself...and recorded my first ever 10 Mile run).

So i get to the other club which is due North of Cincinnati and out of the way for just about anything i would normally do. i change and chit-chat w/ the guys while we wait for 7PM to roll around. When it does we head out to the court. Now the guys no i am a big fan of the KY Wildcats and, apparently, so was the coach so i knew we would immediately get along. What i did not know was their coach was a guy that i went to grade school, Jr High, and High School with in Kentucky. He was a year behind me and in my split 6th/5th grade class. And, as it turns out, is a really good tennis coach. In one session he helped take my game to new level. i can now play a seriously good game of tennis at the 4.0 level, maybe even hang at the 4.5 level but i am not even going to consider attempting that jump until or IF i win several leagues and tournaments at the 4.0 level. (The last time i won the 3.5 doubles league/tournament and jumped to 4.0 it was too soon.) Besides, i like to win and i have not been doing nearly enough of that at the 4.0 level...YET.

So...any takers?

March Madness & My Old Kentucky Home

Well my favorite time of the sports calendar is upon us and my Kentucky King of the Wildcats will, once again, make into the Big Dance. New Coach Billy Gillispie has done an outstanding job with this year's team and our seniors (Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford) have really stepped up their games.

i doubt we will go deep in the tournament yet if i were a coach of an opposing team i would not want to play us. We could pull off an upset or two.

As big of a fan of both Kentucky and college basketball as i am, you would have guessed that i have attended some of the tournament games. But last year's game was my first. Jason, Al, and Kevin went with me to watch Kentucky play Villanova. The Kats won. i actually drove to Chicago that morning/afternoon, hung out at a bar waiting for the game...and my friends, watched the game, then turned around and drove home that night. Now that is dedication.

Next year, i am going to start a new annual tradition of attending the SEC tournament in Atlanta. And in 2010 i am going to attend at least one NCAA tournament game...Kentucky game of course.

By the way, for those at all intersted in horses: Kentucky will be hosting the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington from Sept. 25th thru Oct. 10th. This is the first time this event has ever been held outside of Europe though these games are still young having started in 1990. Nevertheless, this is a huge event for the U.S. and Kentucky.

If you are at all interested check out their great web-site: http://www.feigames2010.org/ .
If you go save a day to go to Mammoth Cave National park a few short hours south of Lexington. Mammoth Cave is a remarkable site that should be the 8th natural wonder of the world. MCNP is the United States' second most visited park in the nation (2nd to Niagra Falls).
Here is there website, another really good one: http://www.nps.gov/maca .
And another Mammoth Cave site: http://www.mammothcave.com/ .

My unpaid commercial for the wonderful state of Kentucky has come to an end...for now.
Carpe Diem!

LESS Maxbps: March Update

Hello! Well, i had about a two-to-three week let down on my getting healthier goals in both areas but particularly with my eating habits. And i lost my ipod for about the same time though not concurrently. All told i lost about 4 weeks worth of eating better and running. That's not to say i did not run at all during those four weeks but it was just treading water, if you know what i mean.

The good news is i found my ipod and am back on the running path having run my first 'official' 10k this past Saturday with 11min miles, no less. Then i turned around and ran (ran being a relative term) another 5.15 miles on Sunday after playing in a competitive singles tennis match. So, my exercise routine is coming back and strong. My eating habits...however have not improved enough. It's time for semi-drastic steps like cutting out fast food altogether. And for those wondering, 'fast-food' in my lexicon is described as any food that is handed to you out a window w/o you having to get out of your car.

i will send out, to those interested, a link to my running site on Nikeplus.com with instructions on how you can 'encourage' me, if you so choose, by adding messages directly to that site. For now, i am off fast-food and looking forward to running. i guess the most important thing is that i am feeling better, more fit, and looking forward to running/exercising. (My tennis game is also improving as a direct result of being in better shape.)


Until Next Time ---> Take Care and God Bless!
Your Friend - Brian

LESS Maxbps

Well, my running/exercising has paid off. i have lost 7 lbs but started to put it back on after taking the advice of a running instructor and conventional Dr.'s wisdom: rest a chest cold. i stopped running for almost a week (6 days) then decide it was time to buck conventional wisdom and do what my body and mind were telling me: START RUNNING AGAIN.

So, i did last night and am already heading in the right direction both w/ my health(cold) and my weight(moving back down). It is truly amazing how and how quickly our bodies can react to changing conditions/habits.

i am also getting that old runners' high; that desire and anticipation to run. A few years back when i first moved out, had my first apartment, and first job, i started running. i remember being at work thinking, "I cannot wait to get home to i can go running!" Well, that did not last very long. In fact, it ended when Kevin(my brother) and i moved in together up in West Chester. i did start playing volleyball during that era but should have continued running...for a number of reasons; not the least of which is the women!

My running group is about 85% women. That's 85% of about 85 people (approx. 67 of 85).
All those i have meant thus far are great, fun, smart, attractive women. But, that's not why i am running nor is it the reason i joined this group! (i have to keep telling myself that...eyes on the prize...first things first!)

When you have a few seconds click that link on the left under the same heading as this post. It will take you to my Nike-Apple running website where you can view my runs. It is really cool.
You can or will be able to leave me messages there.

Let me know how your '08 is going! And what i can do to help you reach your goals!?!

LESS Maxbps

The "LESS Maxbps" thread will be about my exercise, running, and eating adventures. Specifically about my quest to get in shape (i.e. eat a more healthy diet, exercise, lose 35#).

My start has been great. Four runs this year. Two runs loaded on the Nike+ website (the link is to the left under, you guessed it, "less maxpbs" ((http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?l=runners,runs,1961723603#runners) ...for the really lazy among us.)

Feel free to join my Run Support Crew. There is no registration, no signing up, no nothing other than letting me know you are on the RSC. You can choose to be either a + (Positive) Influencer, - (Negative) Influencer, or even B (Both +/-) Influencer. All you have to do is send me comments designed to encourage me or tick me off both focused on getting my butt running.
Comments can come on this blog in the 'comments' section, via text message, email, phone call...whatever easiest/best for you.

Here's to a healthy and happy 2008 for all of us!

Shark Bite: Another Toilet Adventure

Hello! This thread on my blog will be short stories about the crazy katten (neither kat nor kitten) my friends Jenn & Jason convinced me to take in to my home. Despite these Shark Bites and my sarcasm I am very glad J&J thought of me as a home for this little philly b/c she is...dare I say it... precious.

I will add the first Toilet Adventure later but here is her latest...(Be forewarned this, as was the last, is slightly gross.)

As a rule, I do not let my katten follow me in the the bathroom when I am taking care of business or showering. And yes, like a puppy dog, she will follow me from room to room which is one of the characteristics that makes her so lovable. I am sure that will change when she becomes a full-fledged kat, though.

Anyway, I go into the rr to take care of #1 business the other day and failed to shut the door all the way.
"That's okay," I thought, "I will be in and out before she will investigate too far."

As I am...going I hear the door open and turn to see if she is entering. The door is further ajar but barely enough for her to even fit so I figure she is just testing the waters as it were. No sign nor sight of her at all so I'm good. I turn to finish my business...and...whoa...there the black spot is standing with her paws on the toilet peering into the bowl as if she's wondering why it is swirling and turning yellow. I nearly peeed all over the place including her when I jumped, startled at how she could have traversed from the door to here without my seeing her AT ALL!

This story, luckily for the both of us, ends without her getting wet at all. Unlike the previous Sharky Toilet Adventure Part I. Hmmmm.....Now that I think of it...her...she has been remarkably quite the entire time I have been writing these blog-posts. Wonder what she's destroyed now??? (Truth be told I have had her for two months and she has only destroyed one plant. Not bad by katten standards.)

A New Year's Night to Remember

Well, the new year ('08) has begun. My new year rang in Chicago w/ my friends Al, Anne, and Kevin along w/ three new friends (Patty, Illiana, and Wendy). We had dinner at Kevin's as the guys cooked (I just chopped...garlic and onions...they did wonders for my chances of an 'extra interesting' new year.)

Dinner was fantastic: filet mignon(Kevin-grilled on the roof of his bldg in the cold Chicago weather) and scallops(Al-battered and pan-fried). We then watched Al's award winning Dancing w/ the Euro Stars competition (seriously, Al, that needs to be on youtube.com so all can see), then headed over to a largely hispanic restaurant and bar called Carnivale.

The dancing was good, the atmosphere was great, and the swingers were out and about...quite literally. One couple was on the prowl. Wendy, ever the observant one, noticed how a couple was interacting on the dance floor: the woman dancing away enjoying the moment while the man was...let's just say putting in his time. Wendy's take on his presence on the dance floor was likely very accurate though we later found out just how so. (I won't say precisely what Wendy's take was b/c it's her take thus her place to say not mine. Suffice to say "he was putting in his time"...hint, hint!)

Wendy witnessed this couple 'approaching' another couple with a 'proposition.' Not too surprisingly the guy wanted to 'join' this couple while the woman did not want to 'join' them. This couple in question, that is to say the 'swingin' couple, I would say was in their late forties.

I cannot even imagine trying to convince, or even wanting to for that matter, a girlfriend or Heaven for bid wife, to swing...w/ a couple you just met on NYEve's no less; but apparently that is precisely what he did...to no avail though. The real question is did this guy get lucky on NYEve or get the boot. If that woman has the morals she displayed in refusing him this tryst he did indeed get the boot.

Well the ball dropped, in spanish, we hugged and kissed and wished each other a happy new year as we continued dancing in the new year. Then it came time to leave. Despite closing the place down, particularly the dance floor, when we went to get our coats we found that a couple hundred other people were, in fact, still there just waiting for us to leave so they, too, could get their coats. We, most of us anyway, managed to get through the lines rather quickly. Unfortunately, two of crew HAD to use the restroom placing themselves at the very end of the coat line. An hour later, just kidding, it was more like two...no about twenty minutes later the crew was ready to role home.....via cabs just the way we rolled into Carnivale.

But, alas, it was NYEve IN Chicago. As the snow continued to blow down like it only can in Chicago's notorious winds, we ventured out to find cabsss; as in three. See we had too many for one cab and our observant one was heading home south of our current location while the rest of us were heading back to Kevin's which was north. This is where the story turns.

After finding a cab for part of our crew, Illiana, Anne, Patty, and Al-being the gentleman to escort the ladies back (as you cannot hear the intonation in my voice I will spell it out for you: THIS IS SARCASM!). This cab dropped Anne off at her warm home then continued on to Kevin's where the three mouseketeers warmed their fingers and toes in Kevin's home w/ hot cocoa and soft, warm chenille blankets.

Meanwhile, out in the sub-zero snow-storm, Kevin, Wendy, and I searched for another cab to take Wendy south. Keep in mind, finding a cab in Chicago is, on average, very, very easy. But, again, this was NYEve at 2A.M. After finally finding a limo-cab that was likely meant for someone else back at Carnivale, we had walked a block West hoping to increase our chances of getting a cab initially, Wendy was on her way home.

This left Kevin and I in search of a cab in Chicago on NYDay morning at 2:30A.M. as all the other bars in Chicago closed forcing the drunken masses out on to the streets in search of...yes...cabs! So here Kev and I are w/ no sexy legs w/ which to attract a cabbie fighting for corner space to wave down a cab. Everyone trying to one up the other; i.e. moving a block up river to beat others to an available cab which did not exist in the first place.

After swimming up river a few blocks, then upstream, then back down we found ourselves at a five-street-intersection with heavily active crossroads. People hailing cabs everywhere. Drunken people, mostly women in high heals, falling all over, yelling out for friends, all lamenting about not being able to get a cab.

We finally resolved ourselves to taking a bus and began commiserating with a few others at the bus stop. Meanwhile, two blocks upriver an accident was attracting the attention of the local authorities: fire engine, ambulance, wreckers, and police cars. Yep, for those that are thinking ahead you are correct. The accident and subsequent contingent of vehicles blocked our saviors path: the bus couldn't get through. So while we waited, and waited, and waited we could almost see our bus behind the cadre of flashing lights just waiting, even wanting to get through to save the night...but it was not to be.

Kevin and I then turned to plan C or D, I can't remember. Heck it was probably plan E. Plan C was for one of our fellow party revellers to jump in their car and come back and get us. Yep, you guessed it, they (and when I say they I mean AL) was too drunk to drive. So we crossed the street and went down. The Blue Line in Chicago, for those that are not aware, is the subway one takes when heading to O'Hara, which is of course Chicago's infamous airport. At this point, I'm thinking I could just go to O'Hara, fly home, and make arrangements to have someone drive my car to Cincinnati. Heck I probably would have beat Kevin home at this rate.

After a minor wait, minor by tonight's standards, another 15-20 minutes, the blue line arrives to take us closer to Kevin's...not home mind you. As I am determined to change my habits I was determined NOT to eat anything this late at night, until that is all this occurred and we wound up at my favorite Chicago pizzeria, Santullo's - New York style large slice thin pizza. It is fantastic. So we took respite in Santullo's for about 30 minutes prior to continuing our "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" venture back to Kevin's.

Re-energized we climbed back out to the battle of finding a cab in Chicago on NYEve-Day-morning. It was now about 3:45A.M. Hoping to increase our chances we split the street. I walked up river to hail a cab, Kev hovered around the bus stop...just in case. Within about 15-20 minutes I spotted a cab a block upriver dropping off his passengers and thought, "This is it. I have to go for it despite the guy directly across the street from the cab also attempting to hail a cab." As I began running and approaching the cab I heard my adversary's date/girlfriend/wife(?) say from somewhere under shelter off the street, "There's one across the street." I quickened my pace and made it clear there was no way I was backing down.

I reached the cab first and thought, "I've got it. This one's mine!!!" Then the doors wouldn't open. Cabbie dude had locked the doors and would not let me in. Again, my legs weren't sexy enough. I knocked on the window, not to be denied. He opened it and I began bargaining - pleading really. He asked if I needed to go to 'bad' neighborhood to which I, of course, replied, "No. No. Not at all!" which is/was true. He looked skeptical....hmmm, I now wonder why? I guess I look low class for Chicago's standards. He awaited a street name and address which I could not remember. I finally convinced him we did NOT need to go to bad neighborhood and that my friend would give him the address.

Well, we made it back to Kev's place to, of course, find the three little muskateers safe and sound and as snug as bugs in rugs. I got my revenge, though inadvertently on Patty and Illiana as I am sure my constant sneezing, blowing my nose, clearing my throat, and getting up to take Alka-selzer Nighttime Relief cold medicine was partially to blame for their early 8A.M. departure. Of course, the other part of that departure involved, and was likely the main culprit of their departure, was Al's snoring. So....Al.....your payback is yet to come! Not sure what it will be nor when but I am sure it will be equally testing of one's patience and perservance!!!

Make yours a very Happy New Year!
Brian ps