November 6, 2010
87,750 pushups completed
912,250 pushups to go
2,865 pushups ahead of schedule
Daylight Savings today. One extra hour for Thunder John to fill with pushups. Thank you Farmers for the opportunity; I will be sure not to squander it. The alarm is set for 2am.
Peace out,
Thunder John
"Bringin' the thunder, packin' the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Thunder John: In a New York Minute
October 22, 2010
83,000 pushups completed
917,000 pushups to go
2,222 ahead of schedule.
Greetings pushups fans. Thunder John here. You, there. A lot's been happening since my last posting. Let me bring you up to speed.
First off, did something I've always wanted to do. I ate some Dannon (fruit on the bottom) yogurt a full three days past expiry. Nothing happened. Yogurt cops did not knock down my door. Empowered by my act of rebellion, I taped and distributed a broadcast of the Cubs game without the express written permission of Major League Baseball. Again nothing happened. I later ate an unwashed apple. Nada. This puts in doubt every warning my mother had ever burdened me with. Should I go cross the street with my eyes closed and see what happens? Eat the candy of a stranger? Spit directly into the wind? Never again trust an Irishman? Suppose I've got a few things to figure out on my own now.
No time for that now though; life moves fast and TJ isn't gonna wait on the sidelines. Last Sunday I went to New York City for business for three days. It was the Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting near Times Square. Actuaries are just really great people on the whole, there's no two ways about it. Great with numbers. Really like following the rules. Conversation can be challenging. But if you're ever going to buy a used car from somebody and they tell you they're an actuary, chances are you're getting a square deal.
Fast Fact: In A New York Minute, Thunder John can perform 71 pushups.
Actuaries use the left side of their brain a lot in their jobs; this is the analytical side that likes to crunch numbers, use logic, follow a chain of causation, etc. The right side, the side of creativity is not always that important for actuarial work. I tried taking guitar lessons to keep my right brain from getting flabby, but that was a disaster. So writing this blog, a "creative writing" exercise, is how I am currently trying to keep my brain balanced. Not sure how it's going so far, so please, provide some constructive criticism via the comments section on this blog.
Where was I... oh yeah so my arms are getting huge, my brain is perfectly balanced and I can't play the guitar. I'm ready for the rapture. What more could a person want? Well now that I'm what Dr. Maslow would call "self actualized", it's my duty to help you the faithful blog follower achieve your own muscular samsara. Let me continue to tell my tale:
While in NYC, I decided to stretch my legs and go for a walk. Below you can see me striking a familiar pose in front of the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of The Late Show with David Letterman. Note the finger blocking the bottom of the picture. It is so hard to find a competent homeless person to take your picture, so instead a work colleague snapped my visage. Maybe I should've went with the NY vagabond instead.
Afterward I went around the corner and had a sandwich at the Hello Deli!, ordering from Rupert himself (Rupert often appears on the Late Show). In honor of the visit, here are the
Top Ten Reasons to Support the Thunder John Pushups Blog:
10. If the Dancing Baby can go viral, then every day I'm under 1,000,000 page visits is a slap in the face.
7. My kids college savings plan relies heavily on you clicking the banner ads.
6. The ten millionth page viewer will win... a brand new car*!
5. Chuck Norris doesn't do pushups. He does Earth-downs. Sorry. Wrong list but I thought it was funny.
4. What, you don't think there's any useful information in this blog, it's all just a bunch of self serving pablum? Well then, here's a tip to prevent body odor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyTn_m4oMww
3. I told everybody at work that my blog is really popular. Please don't make me a liar.
2. Thunder John is the 21st century's first true American hero (I'd like to be played by Ryan Reynolds or Andre Agassi in the movie version of this story).
Thunder John
"Bringin' the thunder, packin' the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
* - brand new car promotion has been cancelled
x
83,000 pushups completed
917,000 pushups to go
2,222 ahead of schedule.
Greetings pushups fans. Thunder John here. You, there. A lot's been happening since my last posting. Let me bring you up to speed.
First off, did something I've always wanted to do. I ate some Dannon (fruit on the bottom) yogurt a full three days past expiry. Nothing happened. Yogurt cops did not knock down my door. Empowered by my act of rebellion, I taped and distributed a broadcast of the Cubs game without the express written permission of Major League Baseball. Again nothing happened. I later ate an unwashed apple. Nada. This puts in doubt every warning my mother had ever burdened me with. Should I go cross the street with my eyes closed and see what happens? Eat the candy of a stranger? Spit directly into the wind? Never again trust an Irishman? Suppose I've got a few things to figure out on my own now.
No time for that now though; life moves fast and TJ isn't gonna wait on the sidelines. Last Sunday I went to New York City for business for three days. It was the Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting near Times Square. Actuaries are just really great people on the whole, there's no two ways about it. Great with numbers. Really like following the rules. Conversation can be challenging. But if you're ever going to buy a used car from somebody and they tell you they're an actuary, chances are you're getting a square deal.
Fast Fact: In A New York Minute, Thunder John can perform 71 pushups.
Actuaries use the left side of their brain a lot in their jobs; this is the analytical side that likes to crunch numbers, use logic, follow a chain of causation, etc. The right side, the side of creativity is not always that important for actuarial work. I tried taking guitar lessons to keep my right brain from getting flabby, but that was a disaster. So writing this blog, a "creative writing" exercise, is how I am currently trying to keep my brain balanced. Not sure how it's going so far, so please, provide some constructive criticism via the comments section on this blog.
Where was I... oh yeah so my arms are getting huge, my brain is perfectly balanced and I can't play the guitar. I'm ready for the rapture. What more could a person want? Well now that I'm what Dr. Maslow would call "self actualized", it's my duty to help you the faithful blog follower achieve your own muscular samsara. Let me continue to tell my tale:
While in NYC, I decided to stretch my legs and go for a walk. Below you can see me striking a familiar pose in front of the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of The Late Show with David Letterman. Note the finger blocking the bottom of the picture. It is so hard to find a competent homeless person to take your picture, so instead a work colleague snapped my visage. Maybe I should've went with the NY vagabond instead.
Afterward I went around the corner and had a sandwich at the Hello Deli!, ordering from Rupert himself (Rupert often appears on the Late Show). In honor of the visit, here are the
Top Ten Reasons to Support the Thunder John Pushups Blog:
10. If the Dancing Baby can go viral, then every day I'm under 1,000,000 page visits is a slap in the face.9. Reading this blog will make you feel better about the way you spend YOUR free time (except for the time you spend reading this blog)
8. Have you read that guy with the situps blog? Pathetic!7. My kids college savings plan relies heavily on you clicking the banner ads.
6. The ten millionth page viewer will win... a brand new car*!
5. Chuck Norris doesn't do pushups. He does Earth-downs. Sorry. Wrong list but I thought it was funny.
4. What, you don't think there's any useful information in this blog, it's all just a bunch of self serving pablum? Well then, here's a tip to prevent body odor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyTn_m4oMww
3. I told everybody at work that my blog is really popular. Please don't make me a liar.
2. Thunder John is the 21st century's first true American hero (I'd like to be played by Ryan Reynolds or Andre Agassi in the movie version of this story).
And the #1 reason to support the Thunder John blog is:
1. You need an outlet for the energy you were channeling into freeing the Chilean miners. This blog is your answer.
Peace out,Thunder John
"Bringin' the thunder, packin' the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
* - brand new car promotion has been cancelled
x
Monday, October 11, 2010
Christopher Columbus, Rocky Balboa, Thunder John: The 3-man weave
October 11, 2010
79,375 pushups completed
920,625 pushups to go
1,609 ahead of schedule
It's Columbus Day 2010! Strange holiday if you give it a lot of thought. Christopher Columbus (CC) was an Italian sailing for Spain. CC blundered into the second largest landmass on Earth. Shortly thereafter we caucasians spread disease amongst the natives, devastating the population and their llama-based, wheelless civilization that also had no writing (well, the Mayans did, but they had all but dispersed by the time of CC). Actually, if CC HADN'T discovered America, then writing would never have been used in the Americas. The blog of Thunder John would have to be passed down by word of mouth. I'd have to pay for bards to memorize and recite (with proper inflection) each blog entry, and finance an annuity to pay for their descendants to memorize and recite this blog. In a way, we all have CC and his smallpox ridden blankets to thank for the internet and this blog in its current form.
So I try not to give it a lot of thought.
Any-who, so this was Columbus Day weekend, and I decided to take Monday off. The family unit drove up to Lake Geneva on Sunday and stayed overnight at a waterpark. One of the parks was having a special on a one bedrooom unit - we'd have the kids sleep in the bedroom on the king bed and Molly and I would use the pull out sleeper couch in the main room.
When I was a Junior in High School, my Physics AP teacher was Ed Pettus. He was an eccentric man, at least I remember him that way and it may only be because he had a thick, lustrous beard the hue of a fine raccoon pelt. My goodness, a grape could get lost in that beard and come out a raisin. That beard was a close third to the Amazon river basin and the rain forests of the Congo in terms of habitats for species yet undiscovered by man. My point is this. Mr. Pettus once demonstrated some sort of physics principle by laying down on a bed of nails. He had an actual wooden slab with several hundred nails impaled and pointing heavenward on which he lay prone to show us something about the distribution of weight. I found myself wide awake at 2:30am Sunday night, with a couch support digging into the soft space between my 8th and 9th vertebrae, pining for a mattress as comfortable as that remembered bed of nails. To say again that I was extremely tired Monday would be coals to Newcastle - I think you get the point. To compound my fatigue, of course, the children were up bright and early at 6am, so I arose and did the honorable thing: left for a sunrise 4 mile run before Molly knew I was awake.
Following the kids around a waterpark is a blast but also very tiring. Factor in a lousy night of sleep and a 90 minute car ride back from the hotel, and by 630pm I found myself only 125 pushups into my day. Way behind schedule. Lacking motivation. Tired. All but beaten. But then it's always darkest before the dawn, and providence found it fitting at that EXACT moment to draw me close to her ample bosom and give me, Thunder John, the strength to complete my pushups quota for the day.
You see, I had just gone upstairs to iron a pair of pants for tomorrow's workday, and I turned on the TV to keep me company. As it so happened, the channel just happened to be tuned to AMC, which just happened to be airing the classic movie "Rocky", and it just happened to be at that part of the movie where Rocky fights Apollo Creed for the title! What more inspiration could a mere mortal (and an Italian American on Columbus Day to boot) need? I walked into that room 125 pushups down for the day, and I did not re-emerge until 30 minutes later, having watched that final fight 2 times (thank you DV-R), and by Odin's beard, 350 total Columbus Day pushups completed. Yessir, that is 9 sets of 25 pushups and one pair of crisp, perfectly ironed trousers. It may have been the most productive 30 minutes of my life.
There's a scene in round 14 of the fight. Rocky is getting beaten all to heck, and somehow he fights his way off the ropes and cracks the Champion's ribs. The bell rings, Rocky stumbles back to his corner. Rocky's eyes are engorged and swollen like a baboon's backside. He tells his trainer, "I can't see out there, you gotta cut me, Mick!" So the corner man takes a razor to his eyes and cuts into the swollen ridges of his brow, allowing the swelling to subside so that Rocky can see for the last round of the fight. "If you stop this fight I'll kill you" Rocky tells his trainer. I only hope that if it comes down to brass tacks, I will have the same sort of fortitude and continue on past all obstacles to complete my million pushups.
Peace out,
Thunder John,
"Bringin' thunder, packing the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40ji3nWHi0&feature=related
ps - Gerard Depardieu portrayed Christopher Columbus in the movie "1492". Could there be worse casting? CC was a suave Italian explorer, Gerard Depardieu is and was a grotesque non-Italian. Why not Consider Sly Stallone for the role? "Youse guys need to, like, discover some new world or something, before, you know, I start punching these sides of beef". It would have been epic.
79,375 pushups completed
920,625 pushups to go
1,609 ahead of schedule
It's Columbus Day 2010! Strange holiday if you give it a lot of thought. Christopher Columbus (CC) was an Italian sailing for Spain. CC blundered into the second largest landmass on Earth. Shortly thereafter we caucasians spread disease amongst the natives, devastating the population and their llama-based, wheelless civilization that also had no writing (well, the Mayans did, but they had all but dispersed by the time of CC). Actually, if CC HADN'T discovered America, then writing would never have been used in the Americas. The blog of Thunder John would have to be passed down by word of mouth. I'd have to pay for bards to memorize and recite (with proper inflection) each blog entry, and finance an annuity to pay for their descendants to memorize and recite this blog. In a way, we all have CC and his smallpox ridden blankets to thank for the internet and this blog in its current form.
So I try not to give it a lot of thought.
Any-who, so this was Columbus Day weekend, and I decided to take Monday off. The family unit drove up to Lake Geneva on Sunday and stayed overnight at a waterpark. One of the parks was having a special on a one bedrooom unit - we'd have the kids sleep in the bedroom on the king bed and Molly and I would use the pull out sleeper couch in the main room.
When I was a Junior in High School, my Physics AP teacher was Ed Pettus. He was an eccentric man, at least I remember him that way and it may only be because he had a thick, lustrous beard the hue of a fine raccoon pelt. My goodness, a grape could get lost in that beard and come out a raisin. That beard was a close third to the Amazon river basin and the rain forests of the Congo in terms of habitats for species yet undiscovered by man. My point is this. Mr. Pettus once demonstrated some sort of physics principle by laying down on a bed of nails. He had an actual wooden slab with several hundred nails impaled and pointing heavenward on which he lay prone to show us something about the distribution of weight. I found myself wide awake at 2:30am Sunday night, with a couch support digging into the soft space between my 8th and 9th vertebrae, pining for a mattress as comfortable as that remembered bed of nails. To say again that I was extremely tired Monday would be coals to Newcastle - I think you get the point. To compound my fatigue, of course, the children were up bright and early at 6am, so I arose and did the honorable thing: left for a sunrise 4 mile run before Molly knew I was awake.
Following the kids around a waterpark is a blast but also very tiring. Factor in a lousy night of sleep and a 90 minute car ride back from the hotel, and by 630pm I found myself only 125 pushups into my day. Way behind schedule. Lacking motivation. Tired. All but beaten. But then it's always darkest before the dawn, and providence found it fitting at that EXACT moment to draw me close to her ample bosom and give me, Thunder John, the strength to complete my pushups quota for the day.
You see, I had just gone upstairs to iron a pair of pants for tomorrow's workday, and I turned on the TV to keep me company. As it so happened, the channel just happened to be tuned to AMC, which just happened to be airing the classic movie "Rocky", and it just happened to be at that part of the movie where Rocky fights Apollo Creed for the title! What more inspiration could a mere mortal (and an Italian American on Columbus Day to boot) need? I walked into that room 125 pushups down for the day, and I did not re-emerge until 30 minutes later, having watched that final fight 2 times (thank you DV-R), and by Odin's beard, 350 total Columbus Day pushups completed. Yessir, that is 9 sets of 25 pushups and one pair of crisp, perfectly ironed trousers. It may have been the most productive 30 minutes of my life.
There's a scene in round 14 of the fight. Rocky is getting beaten all to heck, and somehow he fights his way off the ropes and cracks the Champion's ribs. The bell rings, Rocky stumbles back to his corner. Rocky's eyes are engorged and swollen like a baboon's backside. He tells his trainer, "I can't see out there, you gotta cut me, Mick!" So the corner man takes a razor to his eyes and cuts into the swollen ridges of his brow, allowing the swelling to subside so that Rocky can see for the last round of the fight. "If you stop this fight I'll kill you" Rocky tells his trainer. I only hope that if it comes down to brass tacks, I will have the same sort of fortitude and continue on past all obstacles to complete my million pushups.
Peace out,
Thunder John,
"Bringin' thunder, packing the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40ji3nWHi0&feature=related
ps - Gerard Depardieu portrayed Christopher Columbus in the movie "1492". Could there be worse casting? CC was a suave Italian explorer, Gerard Depardieu is and was a grotesque non-Italian. Why not Consider Sly Stallone for the role? "Youse guys need to, like, discover some new world or something, before, you know, I start punching these sides of beef". It would have been epic.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Donner John bei Oktoberfest
5. Oktober 2010
77,450 Pushups Absgeschlossen
922,550 Pushupsbleiben
1,327 Pushups vorfristig
Ich ging zu einer Oktoberfest partei. Es gab viele Leute, die mit meinien Haubitzen beeindruckt wurden. Jemand sagte, dass ich einen panzer Behalter in meinen Hulsen hatte.
Sie waren korrekt!
GeineBen Sie meine Abblidung mit den lederhosen Mannern unten. Sie benotigten einen Platz, ihre FuBe stillzustehen, wahrend trinkendes Bier und donner John glucklich waren zu verbinden.
Frieden haraus,
Donner John
"Das holen des donners, der die Schmerz verpackt, lud mit den pushups, die es Regen bilden"
77,450 Pushups Absgeschlossen
922,550 Pushupsbleiben
1,327 Pushups vorfristig
Ich ging zu einer Oktoberfest partei. Es gab viele Leute, die mit meinien Haubitzen beeindruckt wurden. Jemand sagte, dass ich einen panzer Behalter in meinen Hulsen hatte.
Sie waren korrekt!
GeineBen Sie meine Abblidung mit den lederhosen Mannern unten. Sie benotigten einen Platz, ihre FuBe stillzustehen, wahrend trinkendes Bier und donner John glucklich waren zu verbinden.
Frieden haraus,
Donner John
"Das holen des donners, der die Schmerz verpackt, lud mit den pushups, die es Regen bilden"
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thunder John: Absence of Pushups (makes the biceps grow fonder)
9/23/2010
73,925 pushups completed
926,075 pushups to go
1,088 pushups ahead of schedule
Dear Friends,
Did you feel something missing last week? 9/11 - 9/13 to be exact? There was a disturbance in the force. It was as if two biceps suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. Yes, that's right: three days, zero pushups.
In my last blog post I described the Burrito Union 10 hour triathlon I was about to participate in with my chums Swadley and AndyV. We completed 8 triathlons, which means I had to run 27.2 miles (8 x 3.4 miles). It was cold, it was rainy, I had a sinus infection, but our team pulled through and managed a 3rd place showing in our age division. Our team name was "Carl, Karl and Qarl". Check out the standings in this link, we're in the 3 person relay male division:
www.burritounion10hourtri.com/2010_bydiv.pdf
Anyway, it was a rough ride. I did not do any pushups on the day of the event. On the following two days, my legs were so sore that they could not support my body weight in the perfect pushup position. Thunder John will not abide a substandard pushup. "Unacceptable!" I have been known to yell when I see a stooped back, crooked knee, or other such sloppily performed pushups on passersby. Therefore, if I can't perform a pushup properly, then I will not perform pushups.
So I had three days of zero pushups. I was in purgatory. Not quite hell as I still had memories of pushups performed in days past; feeding off of those memories like a bactrian camel sustains hmself by the nutrients stored in his mighty hump. Surviving hour to hour, each tick of the clock an eternity. I knew that some day I would return to perfect pushup form, but at that time it was pure misery. I am no dromedary good sir! Return me to my rightful throne as Thunder John, prince of pushups. As you can see, I went a little mad, and it has not quite worn off yet.
Finally on 9/14, I was able to do acceptable pushups. For the next 6 days I did 375 per day, 100 more than the average needed to attain one million pushups in 10 years. I was back on pace, and feeling like a man once again.
That ordeal was a fate I do not wish on my worst enemy.
A quick note on Superior, WI, where the 10 hour triathlon was held: it is a forsaken hell hole, but it does contain the best sporting goods store east of the Mississippi. "Thundersports!" my goodness, what a majestic name. What a sign! Please enjoy this picture of me (below) in front of the Thundersports retail outlet in downtown Superior, WI. I only hope they sell Timbersports equipment, or at least a pushups girdle.
Peace Out,
Thunder John
"bringin' the thunder, packin' the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
ps - Just to be clear, Thunder John does not wear a pushups girdle or any sort of girdle at any time. I don't know even if said product exists, but if the time comes when an octogenarian Thunder John should need a girdle to perform his pushups, then a girdle I SHALL WEAR!
Just enjoy the picture:
73,925 pushups completed
926,075 pushups to go
1,088 pushups ahead of schedule
Dear Friends,
Did you feel something missing last week? 9/11 - 9/13 to be exact? There was a disturbance in the force. It was as if two biceps suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. Yes, that's right: three days, zero pushups.
In my last blog post I described the Burrito Union 10 hour triathlon I was about to participate in with my chums Swadley and AndyV. We completed 8 triathlons, which means I had to run 27.2 miles (8 x 3.4 miles). It was cold, it was rainy, I had a sinus infection, but our team pulled through and managed a 3rd place showing in our age division. Our team name was "Carl, Karl and Qarl". Check out the standings in this link, we're in the 3 person relay male division:
www.burritounion10hourtri.com/2010_bydiv.pdf
Anyway, it was a rough ride. I did not do any pushups on the day of the event. On the following two days, my legs were so sore that they could not support my body weight in the perfect pushup position. Thunder John will not abide a substandard pushup. "Unacceptable!" I have been known to yell when I see a stooped back, crooked knee, or other such sloppily performed pushups on passersby. Therefore, if I can't perform a pushup properly, then I will not perform pushups.
So I had three days of zero pushups. I was in purgatory. Not quite hell as I still had memories of pushups performed in days past; feeding off of those memories like a bactrian camel sustains hmself by the nutrients stored in his mighty hump. Surviving hour to hour, each tick of the clock an eternity. I knew that some day I would return to perfect pushup form, but at that time it was pure misery. I am no dromedary good sir! Return me to my rightful throne as Thunder John, prince of pushups. As you can see, I went a little mad, and it has not quite worn off yet.
Finally on 9/14, I was able to do acceptable pushups. For the next 6 days I did 375 per day, 100 more than the average needed to attain one million pushups in 10 years. I was back on pace, and feeling like a man once again.
That ordeal was a fate I do not wish on my worst enemy.
A quick note on Superior, WI, where the 10 hour triathlon was held: it is a forsaken hell hole, but it does contain the best sporting goods store east of the Mississippi. "Thundersports!" my goodness, what a majestic name. What a sign! Please enjoy this picture of me (below) in front of the Thundersports retail outlet in downtown Superior, WI. I only hope they sell Timbersports equipment, or at least a pushups girdle.
Peace Out,
Thunder John
"bringin' the thunder, packin' the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain"
ps - Just to be clear, Thunder John does not wear a pushups girdle or any sort of girdle at any time. I don't know even if said product exists, but if the time comes when an octogenarian Thunder John should need a girdle to perform his pushups, then a girdle I SHALL WEAR!
Just enjoy the picture:
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thunder John "Motorin'... What's your price for flight?"
September 10, 2010
70,275 pushups completed
929,725 pushups to go
1,272 pushups ahead of schedule
Greetings pushups fans. Thunder John here. Might I add a hearty "Assalaamu alaykum" to my muslim followers. Sorry about that sword fighter dude and the way Indiana Jones just shot him dead in the street. So casual, so callous, that wasn't very sporting and I've always said that crossed the line. Now maybe the healing can begin.
Right now I'm traveling in my friend Swad's Jeep Wrangler (Unlimited!) with Swad and our mutual friend / triathlete AndyV. Starting from Wheaton, IL we are blasting across the alkali flats of Wisconsin all the way to the NW corner of the state, a saint's whisper from Minnesota, to race the "Burrito Union 10 Hour Triathlon" in Superior, WI. This is an 8 hour drive. Fitting in my prescribed 275 pushups can be quite challenging on this type of day. I did 75 before leaving my house, and 75 when we stopped for lunch. My traveling compatriots saw fit to make fun of my pushup form in the parking lot... "come on, Thunder J, go ALL the way down". "You call that a pushup?" Please. My chest touches the ground so much I've developed a callous on my sternum.
All the while they were crackin' wise, do you think either of them made a move? Those two are all bluster, just frontin' to try and bring me down to their level. No, these pushups are transcendent and I will not scrabble around in the muck with the likes of them. Well, literally I guess I will since I was doing the pushups in a Road Ranger parking lot. But whatever.
The event we are travelling to is a 10 hour triathlon which we are competing in as a relay team. As many circuits as we can do on the following triathlon course: 700 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 5k run. We aspire to complete 8 or 9 loops. Each team member must do one leg of each triathlon - swim, bike or run. I'll be doing probably all of the running. It should be interesting. It goes without saying that while the other two are biking / swimming, I will be doing my pushups. No rest for Thunder John. No sleep 'til Brooklyn.
Please enjoy this swell picture of me doing pushups in the Road Ranger Parking lot.
Peace Out,
Thunder John
"Bringin' the thunder, packing the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it RAIN."
70,275 pushups completed
929,725 pushups to go
1,272 pushups ahead of schedule
Greetings pushups fans. Thunder John here. Might I add a hearty "Assalaamu alaykum" to my muslim followers. Sorry about that sword fighter dude and the way Indiana Jones just shot him dead in the street. So casual, so callous, that wasn't very sporting and I've always said that crossed the line. Now maybe the healing can begin.
Right now I'm traveling in my friend Swad's Jeep Wrangler (Unlimited!) with Swad and our mutual friend / triathlete AndyV. Starting from Wheaton, IL we are blasting across the alkali flats of Wisconsin all the way to the NW corner of the state, a saint's whisper from Minnesota, to race the "Burrito Union 10 Hour Triathlon" in Superior, WI. This is an 8 hour drive. Fitting in my prescribed 275 pushups can be quite challenging on this type of day. I did 75 before leaving my house, and 75 when we stopped for lunch. My traveling compatriots saw fit to make fun of my pushup form in the parking lot... "come on, Thunder J, go ALL the way down". "You call that a pushup?" Please. My chest touches the ground so much I've developed a callous on my sternum.
All the while they were crackin' wise, do you think either of them made a move? Those two are all bluster, just frontin' to try and bring me down to their level. No, these pushups are transcendent and I will not scrabble around in the muck with the likes of them. Well, literally I guess I will since I was doing the pushups in a Road Ranger parking lot. But whatever.
The event we are travelling to is a 10 hour triathlon which we are competing in as a relay team. As many circuits as we can do on the following triathlon course: 700 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 5k run. We aspire to complete 8 or 9 loops. Each team member must do one leg of each triathlon - swim, bike or run. I'll be doing probably all of the running. It should be interesting. It goes without saying that while the other two are biking / swimming, I will be doing my pushups. No rest for Thunder John. No sleep 'til Brooklyn.
Please enjoy this swell picture of me doing pushups in the Road Ranger Parking lot.
Peace Out,
Thunder John
"Bringin' the thunder, packing the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it RAIN."
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thunder John on Vacation
August 20, 2010
65,000 pushups completed
935,000 pushups to go
1,473 pushups ahead of schedule
Below are some pictures of me passing the time on a sand bar in Torch Lake, 3rd most beautiful lake in the world according to National Geographic. Vacation? There is no vacation from pushups. If we are to believe the members of "Snap!" when they sang that Rhythm is a Dancer, then it is equally true that Pushups are the master. And I am the slave, nay, indentured servant, as my period of servitude expires on 12/31/2019 upon the completion of pushup #1000000. The world awaits, breath baited. And Thunder John abides.
Peace Out
Thunder John
Bringing the thunder, packing the pain, loaded with pushups, makin' it rain.
p.s. - notice that my non-sensical analogies as mentioned in post #1 have returned from sabbatical. feel the sting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMPM1q_Uyxc
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