Just in case...pwned defined.

So the Children's Memorial Stepup was this past Sunday.  Thanks to all my friends and family I was able to raise $320 for the charity.  My company did over $18,000 and overall the event raised $360,557 for Children's Memorial Hospital.

The event went well.  The wife and I got a hotel room at the Hyatt, which is literally next door to the Aon Center so travel to the event was not an issue.  We arrived around 8:15 am, I got in line and was on the stairs in no time.  My only mistake was starting off too fast.  It was kind of hard not to with everyone waiting in line behind you and loud music pumping you up.  I bascially bolted up the stairs at first, which was a very bad idea.  I blew up after about 8 floors and didn't really recover from that for another 20 floors.  Around the 50th floor I was in a groove and didn't stop much.  My pace was slow, but sustainable.  My total time was 33:07.  You can see the full results here.

I was a killer cardio workout.  I'm very happy that my legs didn't really hurt at all.  Even in the days following (it's the second day out now and I feel fine).  It shows me that all the gym time I've been putting in really amounts to something.

I didn't make my goal of doing this in under 30 minutes, but I came very close.  I wasn't timing myself while climbing and perhaps I should have been.  I did make a few stops (not counting my initial blowout) to chat with coworkers and rest (1 bathroom break), but I don't think my stops amounted to more than 3 minutes.

Next year - 25 minutes and $600.

A Thought for the Day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Let's face it - He is crazy about you and me!

God didn't promise us days without pain,

laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain.

But He did promise us strength for the day,

comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

 

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

From Aristotle:

The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.


From Shakespeare's Hamlet:

We know what we are, but know not what we may be.


African Proverb

However long the night, the dawn will break.


From Carl W. Buechner:

They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.


From Carl Jung:

There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.


From David Weatherford:

We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness.


From Theodore M. Hesburgh:

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.


From Lisa Hoffman:

Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important.


From Mark Twain:

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.


From William Shakepeare's sonnets:

When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

***

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long-since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight.
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.

***

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

Did 35 min on the elliptical.  Kept the HR as close to 150 as I could.  Burnt around 550 cals.

Nothing else besides stretching.  Need to get back on the weights.

Thanks to Marc, I now know that you can in fact subscribe directly to a category in Bloglines.  So, without further ado, if you only want to see Cindy's posts use the following link...

http://www.rousseaufamily.net/SyndicationService.asmx/GetRssCategory?categoryName=Cindy

...if you only want to see Rich's posts, use this link...

http://www.rousseaufamily.net/SyndicationService.asmx/GetRssCategory?categoryName=Rich

According to my site stats, most of you have updated your bloglines accounts since my last posting on richardrousseau.com.  Well done.

Did 45 minutes on the treadmill today.  Ran for about 10 of those minutes.  Climbed a level 10 grade at a brisk walk for the rest.  Heart rate stayed around 140 bpm.  No weightlifting.

Need to get back on the weights soon.

So I tried out the stair machine at the gym this weekend.  Eventhough I haven't been to the gym in two weeks I found that I could comfortably do 50 stairs per minute.  I ended up doing about 10 minutes worth of stair climbing (before going back to the elliptical).  In those 10 minutes I did 40 stories, so I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to handle the real climb (80 stories) even if I don't workout from now until then, which is unlikely.

Since some folks have been asking me for details on what is involved in this Step Up for Kids I'll list out a few details below...

I'll be climbing the stairs (not the side of the building ala Spiderman) of the Aon Center (aka Amoco Building) in downtown Chicago.

80 stories.

1,643 steps.

Last year the fastest male did the climb in 9 minutes and 45 seconds.
The fastest female did it in 11 min. 40 sec.

I don't have a goal time yet as I haven't acutally done any stair climbing.  As soon as I get to the gym I'll have some time goals.

Each year my company is part of the Children's Memorial Step Up for Kids fundraiser.  In past years I've donated to coworkers, but this year I'm fully participating and I need your help.  I have copied the text of their template email message below.  If any of you can donate, it is greatly appreciated.  Just click on the link provided below.


<begin cookie cutter email message>

On Sunday, January 28, 2007 I will climb to the top of Chicago's second tallest building to raise money for the patients and families at Children's Memorial Hospital. As a not-for-profit organization, Children’s Memorial relies on philanthropy to help provide care to more than 103,000 patients and their families every year.

Proceeds from this event will benefit K.I.D.S.S. for Kids, an affiliated organization of Children's Memorial, and support the hospital's Family Services programs.

Please join in my efforts and help me support this special cause. You can make a difference in a child's life by helping me reach my fundraising goal of $50.00.

Thank you for your consideration and support,
Richard Rousseau

To support me with a donation, click on the link below or copy it into your browser.
https://secure.childrensmemorial.org/stepup/sponsors/sponsor.asp?ID=6884

Don't forget to check out our picture gallery.  I've got that up and running now too.  More pictures to come including Christmas 2006!!!

Part of my master plan for this blog was to allow users to subscribe to individual categories.  This would allow you to only view posts marked as Cindy or Rich.  So, if you happen to not care about one of us you could ignore us.  However, I have just tried to subscribe to a single category in my Bloglines account and Bloglines appears to strip off the category part of the rss url.  I may have to rethink how we're going to organize this blog if this is the case.  But first, more research.

Worst case scenario is that we have www.rousseaufamily.net/Cindy and /Rich.  Big deal.

Welcome to the Rousseau Family Blog. 


The Rousseau Family Blog is here to be your one stop shop for all your Rousseau Family news needs.  At the Rousseau Family Blog we have everything you need to keep up with the Rousseau Family including...

Cindy's Blog
Rich's Blog
Pictures
Links to Family and Friends

And if that wasn't enough, you can also leave comments that will be read by members of the actual Rousseau Family!

You may be wondering how much you'll have to pay for this wonderful service.  Well friends, if you act now you'll be in for the low low price of zero dollars and zero cents!  That's right folks, all this information is yours absolutely free.

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand this is an incredible deal.  So load up your bloglines right now and add the Rousseau Family Blog to your feeds list.  You won't regret it!

This offer only valid during select non-blackout dates.  This offer does not guarantee frequent or entertaining posts.  This offer may turn into nasty little beasties if fed after midnight.  The Rousseau Family Blog is a trademark of the Rousseau Family.  Side affects may include drowsiness, nausea, carpal tunnel, pink eye, and procrastination.  It is recommended that noone actually read the Rousseau Family Blog.  Please return Rousseau Family Blog to it's original refridgerated case when finished.  Do not make direct  eye contact with Rousseau Family Blog.  Consult a physician if reading of the Rousseau Family Blog lasts for more than four hours.  The Rousseau Family Blog should be taken with copious amounts of alcohol.  You should not operate heavy machinery while reading the Rousseau Family Blog.  Swimming should be avoided for at least two hours after reading Rousseau Family Blog.  Offer only valid in the Principality of Sealand.

Hooray!  2007!