Independence: Week 6

Who would have thought that having Internet would lead me to being less productive at home? The problem is I am mesmerized by streaming videos and TV shows. Tonight it was "The Whistleblower" and last night was "Top Gear".

Pretty anticlimactic week. Work is good. We had a health fair and they took blood pressures and a blood test, which I am excited to see in the coming weeks. It included a test for the thyroid, and I've never had mine tested, so that is something new. When the nurse took my blood pressure and pulse, using the automated machine, I made it to 104/68 and a resting heart rate, at work, of 52. Those are the best numbers I have ever registered at work! Usually my blood pressure comes in upper 110s or 120s, and even 130s. My pulse is usually upper 50s. Part of the reason I wanted to try out Coffeyville is that it always felt very relaxing when I came down to visit, well, the proof is in the pressure, it's lower.

One of the projects I am working on has to do with metal in oil and how that affects or results from wear on various parts. As I get to learn about the drivetrain products we design I couldn't think of a better initial project. Simply put, some parts wear out, at a relatively constant rate, while other parts essentially last forever. It's quite interesting.

I'm not sure how much I ran, probably in the 70 mile neighborhood. That includes some tempos and two long runs, Friday and Saturday. Oh Saturday was rough! After two stops to refill my 20 oz water bottle, I started walking just after 19 miles, a little before noon. Walking... on flat ground. It wasn't even that hot, maybe 90ºF. It wasn't like I walked for a minute either, I walked .8 miles before my heart rate dipped below 150. Running in the heat is hard.

Socializing we had a grill fest on Friday night, which was a good time. Saturday we went out and shot guns. Well, I basically just kept score during skeet shooting, but I did shoot a little .22 for the first time in years. Oh Kansas...