TommyBoy

Marriage is difficult. My wife was my best friend at work when we were 24 years old. We both were dating other people and both realized we liked being around each other way more than our partners. We dated and have been married now for 25 years. I think the key really boils down to only two things: You have to laugh together. You need to put the other person's needs first. If both partners do that - it's still hard as hell - but it will work. Drugs and alcohol definitely make things more difficult. I dumped alcohol around a decade ago for health reasons and things became so much clearer. At 50 now, I'd say about 75% of our long-time friends are divorced or going through the process. We know maybe one or two couples that have been married 20+ years and actually like each other. The rest of them are along for the ride - cheating, in it until the kids hit 18, or hopeless alcoholics. And yes - sex is paramount. Whenever my wife tells me one of her married friends says "I'm not into sex. It's not important to me at all." I always think, no, what you meant to say was "I'm not into sex WITH MY SPOUSE." Life is short. I commend those that got out and started living again.

As an accordionist the World is your oyster. Alas, there are no pearls!

Still going.....6.5 miles a day....every day....50+ years old now....6'2 and 151 pounds. And I eat like a pig. I have a lot of friends that say "Your day will come. There are no 60 year old runners." Malarkey. I've had knee issues, hip issues, ankle issues, partially torn quad, toe issues, you name it. I still am able to keep at it. Nike Run Club says I just passed 12,000 miles. Not sure how long I've been using it. The worst injuries were from two falls while running - the last of which was three years ago. Bruises, cuts and gashes. Just wasn't paying attention and caught my foot on an imperfection on the gravel. And I'm not a runner. I'm awkward. Slow. Not a natural by any means. If I can do it anybody can do it!

The first keyboard I ever purchased was an Ensoniq Mirage. I loved it. I might have still been in High School - or maybe just into college. I think around 1986-87. I'd have to check when they came out. I had a disk of samples that I loved. There were these Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love" stabs. I still have a couple of 3.5" diskettes of music I wrote and recorded. Good luck with me ever hearing those again!

Thanks Dave! No races for me - I have never been fast and I don't like to push myself for better times. I seem to get injured every time I do that. I am unbelievably consistent. I average around 49 miles a week and the 7 mile times are usually within a minute of each other. Extremely hot weather or more recently, very rainy weather might result in an anomaly of 5 minutes but normally I'm within a minute of my total time each run and often within 5 seconds. I guess the body does what the body does! I only wear Nike Pegasus 32 (now Pegasus 33) shoes and get new ones every three months. The best thing I ever did was to purchase, at my wife's strong suggestion and over my own strong objections, really good running shorts and shirts. I used to run in cotton t-shirts and shorts. I bought a Lululemon running shirt and one pair of their shorts and after one run I bought seven pairs of each. The sweat disappears, they never smell, you can wear them a second time in a row if you have to (important for me because of heavy work travel) and they last forever. Best investment I ever made and I would have never done it on my own. I've been using CBD oils for pain management (I know, controversial) and I literally run pain-free now. I don't take a single big-pharm medication, don't drink alcohol and my BP is 110/70. I can't recommend running enough to everybody I meet and trust me, I am not the prototypical runner! I was 6'2 and 240 pounds and walking to the fridge used to be an ordeal! It was hard work but once you're there it takes 50 minutes of your day and you can eat what you want and enjoy life. Off my soap box now. Have a great week everybody!

Ended the year a little over 2400 miles. I burn around 800 calories each run and I noticed the total calories burned this year was 280,000. At 3500 calories a pound that means I'd weigh roughly 80 pounds more than I do had I not run at all this year! What I take from that is that I eat like a horse!!!! Happy New Year all and keep on running. It gets easier the more you run for sure!

7 miles a day for me rain or shine. In Southern California that's pretty easy to say, however! 6'2 and 165 pounds and I can now eat pretty much anything I want and stay at this weight. At 48 years old this is exactly where I want to be. I cycle a hundred or so miles a week and row 5000 meters a day on a Concept2 rowing machine. Put all that together with an hour of accordion practice a day and I'm in the best shape of my life. But running started it all....

Hey, you're an Accordionist? Cool.