Father's Day Weekend +

It is Wednesday morning and I am still a bit sore, actually my lower back is killing me.  The past few days have left me feeling not so great, but such is life for a nearly 40-year old man who is holding on tightly to his youth.  Sometimes I fail to realize that I am not longer a 20-something guy who can just go and go and go.  My body has taken a beating over the past 40 years, thanks to soccer, lacrosse, running, biking, tennis, golf, etc.  Every morning that I wake up I am paying the price for it, or so it seems.

Enough of the complaining.  I should be happy to be alive and happy to have had a great Father's Day weekend.  Here is what I did:

• Saturday - I was up and out of the house at 7:00AM for a mountain bike ride with my friend Trevor.  Our daughters were in the same 2nd Grade class and play on the same soccer team.  I hadn't been "mountain biking" in a long time, primarily because my front shocks are shot (not suspension at all).  Regardless, we headed out and did a ride around Doylestown, trying to find any trail we could to ride on.  It was a lot of fun, cruising around and talking.  It was good to be riding with someone rather than solo as I normally do.  We probably put in about an hour and half of riding before we had to call it quits.  After the ride, I ate some breakfast and then it was out to mulch the yard (it was hot and it sucked). 
  
  Around 11:30AM I got cleaned up and headed out to a semi-annual coaches soccer game, which was a ton of fun; that is if you don't count the potential Grade 1 concussion I received, thanks to a mis-timed and unsuccessful bicycle kick.  I was definitely seeing stars afterward. 
  
  After soccer it was back to mulching....again, sucked!  I finished up the day by heading to the pool with my family where I pretty much just say in a chair and watched my girls play in the water.  I was wiped out, just so tired.  Plus, my head still wasn't quite right from the soccer game.
• Sunday (Father's Day) - I was up early again, this time for a 6:00AM ride with another friend of mine (J.P.).  I know him from our pool and some mutual friends.  I headed out for my first group ride (four of us) and we put in 2.5 hours, heading down to the rived and then up Federal Twist and through NJ.  It was a bitch of a ride, but it was great to be out riding with other guys.
  
  I had to peel off a bit early from the group because I wanted to play soccer at 9:30AM with some fellow Father's.  I was definitely feeling a bit sore from the ride, but I soldiered on and played for about an hour and a half.  Oh, for the first time ever, I had both of my groin muscles cramp up on me after the game.  It was a bitch trying to get my cleats, socks and shin guards off.  So much fun playing though.
  
  After the game I headed home for a shower and some time with the family.  My girls gave me my presents (two bathing suits, a pair of plaid shorts and a t-shirt....thank you Laura for helping them pick out the presents for me) and then I took a nap on the couch with my oldest lying on top of me.
  
  Around 2PM we headed to the pool and I had fun with my girls.  My youngest is finally going underwater again (and swimming), and my oldest is kicking butt on the diving board.  It is so great to see them swimming around in the water, like little fishes they are. 
  
  We finished up the night with a trip to Dilly's for dinner (met my in-laws there), a nice hamburger & french fries, followed by my youngest left over ice cream.  It was a great Father's Day!
• Monday - I was invited to play golf as part of a work function out in York, PA.  I was really sore from the weekend; so much so that I had to wear an Icy/Hot pad on my lower back for the entire round.  The first two holes were rough, but then I settled in and ended up shooting a 90 (not bad for my first round of the year).  Golf was followed by a great dinner, where I had calamari for the first time ever in my life (I probably won't have it again).
• Tuesday - Back to work and then to the pool afterwards for a my longest swim workout in six months.  I put in a very respectable 1,400yds.  I wanted to swim for longer but I needed to get home to my wife who was waiting for me.  No worries, I was just happy to feel good swimming again.

So it is Wednesday and I had planned to run this morning but my lower back was just too tight and I couldn't imagine running with it feeling like that.  Instead I opted to head into the office early and get a jump on the day (I was in Philly by 7:15AM).  I am going to probably head out of the office around 3:30PM to get home and get a run or bike in before my evening swim.  It is a good day!