Nashville was hot and humid.  It was 103 degrees during the days we were there with 93% humidity.   So I knew I had to get up early if I was serious about getting this done.

I got up at 6 AM on Friday, despite the fact that we had each drank a pitcher of peach/white wine Sangria the night before and the room had been spinning as I passed out fell asleep.  It would have been easy to use being intoxicated the night before as an excuse.  Very easy.  But I remembered a wise man telling me that he had one of the best runs of his life hung over so I figured it was worth a try.

I started running as the sun was coming up.  It was tough to get going but by about the beginning of mile 3 I was getting in the groove.  It didn’t seem quite as hot anymore and I knew I would be able to do it, no matter how slow and sweaty I was.  No matter if I had to stop and walk occasionally.  I would be able to finish this run.

I love running in a new place.  I ran down a couple of the Music Row streets and I did a few loops around Vanderbilt University.   I saw places I would not have gotten to see if I hadn’t gone for the runs that I did when I was there.

I completed the run (8 miles of it outside, and the final mile on the treadmill in the hotel because it just got too darn hot!) and had the rest of the day to celebrate my little victory.  I do think that running and sweating flushed out the toxins because I did not feel the effects of being drunk the night before like I was expecting.  I think I might have inadvertently stumbled upon a hangover cure.

To commemorate the occasion, my very awesome boss wrote me a song.  Friday must have been a slow day at work!

9 MILES IN NASHVILLE

I did 9 miles in Nashville
My dog had run away
I did 9 miles in Nashville
I hope that he’s ok
I did 9 miles in Nashville
My truck had just let go
I did 9 miles in Nashville
Oh Lord please save my soul

Chorus

When the road is long and your gas is low
You need to get on your feet
When your friends are there to guard your back
You know you can’t be beat
It’s only 9 miles in Nashville
To take your cares away
After 9 miles in Nashville
She’ll be with me in just a day

I did 9 miles in Nashville
This heat is killin’ me
I did 9 miles in Nashville
I hope I can make her see
I did 9 miles in Nashville
Gittin’ her back is the only goal
I did 9 miles in Nashville
Oh Lord please save my soul

(Chorus)

Bridge (full chord change from B to C sharp)

If my dog came back
And my truck would run
I get to you somehow
Damn this heat and this dusty road
This is all I can do right now

(Chorus)  and Fade out

Career

It’s going well.  I love my job and I love the people that I work with.  We successfully moved into a new office space in January, which I helped to get built out.   I am getting more organized and I am finding more ways to add value.

I’m happy with the progress I’ve made so far.

Health/Fitness

I’m very pleased with the progress that I’ve made here.   I’ve been working out seriously 3 to 5 times a week.  I’ve been alternating a seriously kick-your-butt class at the YMCA called GRUNT with running.    It has already had a serious impact on my body and my fitness level.

My running speed is improving.  I was 6 minutes faster in this year’s Seadogs 5K than last year.    That’ s better than expected.

Oh, and I’ve lost 20 pounds so far this year.

Affiliate Marketing

Still plugging along here.  I’ve created one content rich site so far this year (3 is my goal).  I still need to carve out more time for this but based on the next list item, I don’t imagine that will happen until the fall.

Home

We have spent the last month in a full out decluttering/house fixing up sprint.  We purchased a new house this month, a fixer-upper of course, so we needed to get our house on the market.    The new house is half the size of our current house so we have to purge!

We managed to clear out at least 7 SUV-loads full of miscellaneous crap to Goodwill in the last month.  I cannot describe how amazing it feels to get rid of stuff.  I thought I was doing a decent job all along of de-cluttering, but I was not.   I was fooling myself.  Only in the last few weeks have I gotten serious.   I am showing no mercy with my possessions.  If I don’t use them daily or at most weekly, they are going.   I am not allowing things to remain “just in case” I may need them “someday”.  It is all going.   The house looks amazing and it is so easy to keep neat and clean.

The next house, we have dubbed the “tiny house”.  It will be a real challenge to live in 1100 square feet but I think it will be really fun.   We will only bring furniture and possessions that have a designated place to live.  If they don’t have a spot, they aren’t coming with us.

Why are we moving into a tiny house?  I’ll post about that next time.