Getting Pumped Up to get Back in Shape

here i am, middle of Jan. and i have done very little training since my elk hunt. however, duck season is the last hunting season that will take much time, and it ends at the end of Jan. so i am getting ready to start all over. this year should be different though. i have a plan and a goal starting out, which is really more than i have ever had at the beginning. i usually just start hiking and biking. last year i came up with the goal of getting in shape to run a marathon about 1-2 months into my training. this year i will have that goal to start with, and maybe even something a little more strenuous. my brother wants to run an ultra-marathon in october. that is a bad month since bow hunting is in the heat of things but i may try to do the race instead, especially if it stays warm around here until that time. also, not sure if i am going to try to go on an elk hunt this year since i don't have any preference points in mt this year. if i do not go on an elk hunt in the fall that well help me to keep running at the beginning of bow season.

on another note, we have been killing a few ducks and geese here and there, nothing special. but sitting in a pit or blind all day doesn't help at all with getting in shape, especially when i love to have a coke while i am sitting there eating sausage, bacon, eggs, and biscuits, not exactly health food. so, i am trying to not get over a certain weight (what a goal) until i start running again.

the quote of the day is this, do not sit around trying to come up with a good quote of the day while you are running late for church.

mt training should start back around the first or second week of feb so i hope to hear from everyone and see everyone back at the blog!

Happy New Year!

it is 12:08am 1/1/10. i know i haven't blogged in a long time (since dec 9)so i thought i would take a little time to do that and wish everyone a happy new year.

well, the last 3 weeks have been so busy. from trying to get one goose pit redone and decoyed to getting another pit decoyed, to trying to cull some does, working, getting ready for Christmas, etc etc etc.

i did shoot 2 does the other day. i did miss one good buck the day before i shot the does. i am not sure what happened but i looked for blood for 2 hours in the dark and went back the next morning and looked for another 2 hours and never found a single drop of blood. i have not raised my gun on a duck since the second weekend of the season, it is pretty slow where we are hunting.

i got lots of things for Christmas that i am very excited about (i am sure i will leave a few out). i got a gps watch with a heart rate monitor, can't wait to start using it. i got a bike rack for the back of my truck, a pair of oakley sunglasses for running that will be so much better than my old sunglasses, and the best thing is they are camouflage! so i can wear them hunting too! i got guitar hero 5 for the wii (hopefully that will not get in the way of my running when i start back). i got several other small things for my bike and for hunting. i can't wait until it warms up a little to start riding my new bike. wait a minute, i really don't want it to warm up until the week after the youth duck hunt here in tn, i can wait at least until then. i got a couple of pair of wool socks to replace the ones i burned on my montana hunting trip :). oh, i also got an awesome windproof mossy oak jacket that i have already used extensively and it is great. if it was waterproof it would surpass my rivers west jacket as my all around best jacket. the wind does NOT get through the mossy oak jacket one bit. i also got lots of money in gift certificates to cabelas and bass pro. and i got a new duck call and dog training dvd to list a few more.

the weather is supposed to turn really cold here for the next few days so it will be hard to deer hunt thinking that there might be a chance the ducks are flying, so i will most likely be found in the blind/pit for the next couple of days.

the last thing i got for Christmas is a big gut and larger waist. some of my pants are starting to get a little tight. seems like every time i start to drop a few pounds i have to go out to eat, and i find it so hard to not eat such good food. i just love the taste of food, just one of my many weaknesses.

on another note, i did get to shoot another elk this year a couple of weeks ago, not sure if i blogged about that earlier. there is a little zoo nearby that i am the official vet for, and their bull elk was tearing up the fences with his antlers. i had to tranquilize him with a dart gun and cut his antlers off. unfortunately, the owners wanted to keep the antlers, but i did get my picture with it while it was asleep (check out my facebook page).

i hope everyone has a great 2010! my resolutions are to re-lose this weight, try to be less selfish and spend more time with my wife doing things she wants to do while hunting the same amount or more. (if only i could get her to want to go hunting!)

quote of the day today: just think how awful the world would be if there was no pain and sorrow. if there was no pain and sorrow, or hurting, there would not be the opposite of those things either, joy and happiness. i was once told of an actual condition in which people are born that have no ability to feel pain. you might think how great that is. however, most of those people die at a young age because they scratch or chew themselves up constantly. that would be horrible. so pain is good for us so that we can fully appreciate the joys in life. so, i would say, don't try to be numb to the world and live in a daze. live full of hope and desire, knowing that strong desires and goals may bring failure or sorrow, but that only makes the it more fulfilling and joyful when you reach your goals or meet your desires.

have a great year.

Hello Again

i know it has been a while since i have blogged, very truly sorry about that to all of my faithful followers (all 1 or 2 of you). since then what i was afraid would happen did happen. i started hunting a lot, it started getting dark earlier, my exercise decreased, and my appetite stayed the same (and maybe increased). add that all together and what do you have? a bigger, slower, older shane. i weighed last night and weighed more than i ever have, period. that is one reason i decided i had to start blogging again. i have to have someone, even if it is myself thinking others are reading, to keep me accountable.

here are some things that have happened since i last blogged. i did shoot a 7 point buck that came by at 10 yards and had an arrow through his neck (15.5 inch spread). i also went to arkansas to kill 1 duck and get way behind on sleep. i have seen and passed up several nice 2 and 3 year old bucks, some very close. i just haven't seen the 4 or 5 year old buck that i want (might have seen one or two but a little too dark to shoot). i have not been deer hunting much since the arkansas duck hunt and the rut is well passed (the best weekend for deer was probably the weekend i went to arkansas). so now i will be duck hunting mainly and maybe trying to get a buck over some food plots when gun season opens back up.

One other set back to the duck season here in tennessee is that my uncle decided to tear all the stuff out of the goose pit the day before the season opened and we have been getting it re-wired, repainting, etc, etc, etc and have not been able to hunt. i am hoping we will have it finished and decoys out by this weekend since there is a bad winter weather storm up north.

so here are the plans and thoughts for next year's hunts. i plan to put in for montana (chances are i will not get drawn since you typically need a preference point and i don't have any). i also plan on buying another wyoming preference point. i had not planned on elk hunting next fall, although i have thrown around the thought of bow hunting for mule deer, or rifle hunting for elk/mule deer. my uncle has also said he wants to go to idaho and bow hunt for elk since you can buy an over the counter tag there. i had planned on just one trip next year, a trip to canada to goose hunt, one heck of a trip i took last year and the year before. didn't go this year since i took 2 weeks vacation to elk hunt. i have really missed that hunt this year. so, who really knows, those are just some thoughts.

for now i have to get back on schedule and get some of this winter weight off (even though this is the season for eating big meals and sitting around). the high for tomorrow is 31, so not very good for outdoor exercising. guess i will just have to grin and bear it.

lesson of the day, when your exercise decreases, try not to let it decrease, but if you do, try to decrease your food intake adequately. and don't decide to completely remodel your #1 hunting spot the day before the season opens.

a little running and a littlel hunting

I did get to run last monday, 4 miles a little slower than on saturday. other than that exercising is pretty minimial. i also got nearly 3 dozen duck decoys strung, i have one dozen left and have to put anchors on the all as well. zeke and i have gotten most of the boat blind put on. we had to order a few things so when that comes in we should be able to finish in no time.

i did get off on saturday because one of the vets needed to switch so i hunted instead of running in the 1/2 marathon. should have ran in the 1/2. it was very warm and windy and deer were not moving very well. that is really all i have for now.

lesson of the day: you don't always need a lesson of the day.

Busy Weekend, Back on Track (somewhat)

i did get back on track a little this weekend, even though it was pretty busy. i was off this weekend, the first weekend since the first weekend in october. however, we did have a partner's meeting at 6:30am saturday. so, on my day off i had to get up for that. it was probably good since i did get up and going. saturday was the youth hunt, otherwise i would have skipped the meeting to be in the woods. after the meeting i came home and ran 4 miles. it was a little harder this time as compared to 6 weeks ago when i was running regular. my time was 37:28, so not too bad, but my body felt it a little more than usual.

after that emily, my uncle and i left for knoxville. it was the first time i had seen the vols play in 2 years! it was exciting though, black jerseys, stomping spurrier, what could be better! i did miss taking my nephew on the youth hunt though. i would have taken him this afternoon but i had to teach a class at church, none of the kids showed up for the class.

we got in today from knoxville and i took a short nap and got up and rode my new bike for about 40 minutes, decent workout, but i was picking up cans to recycle too and there were more cans today than i had seen in a long time.

i did get my hunting stuff together tonight to prepare for muzzle loader season. i will not be able to run the clarksville 1/2 marathon this weekend because i have to work (not that i am in real good shape to run it). i thought about switching my weekends so i could run in the 1/2 but figured if i was going to have this coming weekend off i would rather be hunting than running, since it is the opening of muzzle loader season.

tomorrow, bow season opens back up after the youth hunt but i don't think i will get to hunt then either. in the morning i have to get some supplies to help my cousin build a duck blind for his boat, then i am going with my uncle to pick up his dog from the trainer in grand junction (2.5 hours away), then my cousin and i are going to work on building the blind tomorrow night. i think hunting with my cousin out of boat blinds we have killed a total of 1 duck. but, it never hurts to be prepared for that one day that the ducks come pouring in! i just know one of these days we are going to get lucky.

i will keep everyone updated on my running so you all will know where to come watch me when i do get ready to run a marathon. hopefully i will get up in time to run in the morning.

lessons of the day: know when the youth hunt is to plan your fall college football schedule. every hurdle in life can be looked at like it is a hurdle of it can be viewed as something to make us stronger. everyone who is against us can be viewed as our enemy or as people who make life more challenging/interesting. be thankful for all of these hurdles and people, don't let them break you, they will make you a better person, they have made you who you are today.

Need to quit work!

Well, the last week has been so busy! sorry i haven't been able to blog very much. i thought this might happen, i was afraid that when hunting season came around the running and blogging might get a little less regular. i am trying, i promise. i did shoot a decent buck the other day, not what i was hoping for, but he had an arrow sticking out of his neck. so i shot him and got the other arrow out and the entire wound (from one side of his neck to the other) was badly infected and pus was just pouring out. he is probably the biggest deer i have ever gotten with a bow, so i can't complain too much. i did get to watch one huge 10 point. when i first saw him he was 20 yards from my stand, through some very thick brush, and i thought he was a 10 point that my uncle passed a few days before. however, when he walked out where i could see his antlers i knew no one would have passed him. he had mass, was wide and tall. i got to watch him through my binoculars (because it was getting dark) at 80 yards for a good while. i also saw another big 10 point at the other end of the field, out in the open, during the entire last hour of daylight. i saw another 10 point about 70 yards away. he has good G2s and pretty good width, but not much of anything else. it has been an extremely eventful and fun year so far, and we are still in bow season and haven't even hit the rut yet! other than that i have only been able to hunt a few days since i have had to work every saturday since i got back from montana, and teach the youth on sunday morning and evening. if anyone is hiring for a job where i could have the next 2 months off (plus march, april and may) and still earn a good salary, please call me asap!

i got a new bike, more of a road bike than my other bike, hopefully it will stop raining soon so i can get back to running and riding my new bike!

lesson of the day: while growing up they tell you, you should get a good job that makes good money, that's false, get a job that allows you to hunt as much as possible and that pays you enough to be able to hunt as much as possible. period.

Trying to get back on schedule

i must apologize for not posting like i said i would. this week has been busy, i was on call tues, had a birthday dinner wed, and on call again tonight. however, i think one of the vets is going to cover my night on call next week since i covered his call tonight. i should not be on call at all next week. hopefully that will help me to get back on track running and blogging. i know everyone has missed my blog so much. i really think only shannan reads it. at least she is the only one who comments. so maybe all this is for you shannan. even so, as long as i have at least one regular follower (or at least think i do) i will continue to post. this past tuesday i did run 4 miles over lunch, nearly killed me. to think a month ago i could have done that without thinking twice about it, a breeze. i will get back, look out marathons, here i come!

thought of the day: when around camels, wear a raincoat, they can spit a pretty good distance, even sideways.