"And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA."
- Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A."
Weight: 158
It's been another rough week of training... with most of my runs/workouts being skipped. Sure, especially after my last blog post, I'm simply letting the excuses get in the way. But finding the right balance, that is always key.
The problem this week was 'life', mostly in the form of dentist appointments. My daughter ended up having 2, and I had one myself. Throw in a day where I STILL didn't feel good (still stomach cramping... but it's getting better now that I've put a couple more pounds back on), and it was a pretty bad week, athletically speaking.
This morning was my dentist appointment, and I had originally planned on doing my run afterward. But we got hit with a bit of snow last night. Not a ton, maybe 4 inches accumulation, but it's enough where there isn't any safe open surfaces to take a jog on. I went for a swim instead. Have really been slacking in the pool... as in not going... for a while, but I did manage 600m without much issue other than boredom. So that is good.
But most of my excitement lately has been for the Olympics! I love me some Olympics! I love how suddenly America cares about curling and short track skating and skiing. Even figure skating has little to no life with general America outside of the Olympics.
I am not so much into the hockey. Like basketball in the Summer games, it's just not the same with the pros involved.
But most of all, I love the conversations and debates that stem from the Olympics - the "I could be an Olympian is I just lived in another country" conversation. The "Olympics are better than pro sports, because you aren't rooting for laundry, you're rooting for your country!" debate. The "those female skiers have some thick legs, and I'm simultaneously turned on and repulsed" conundrum. But there is no question, the conversations I love the best regard the National Anthem, and the definition of 'sport'
Look, I love America, and consider myself patriotic. But seriously, the Star-Spangled Banner sucks! And with the Games being in Canada, you get to hear their AWESOME anthem more than usual. Seriously, if there anything better than a stadium/arena full of people bursting out in patriotic song? Please, listen to THIS, and tell me you don't get chills, even though it's another country.
We could never pull that off in America. Our anthem just isn't that good. It's an old marching song, with notes that maybe 50 people in any given arena can actually hit (and half of them consider themselves 'singers' so they would take 'artistic liberties' with the tune and screw it up). That is why I propose we change our anthem to the chorus of "God Bless the USA" shown above.
C'mon! You KNOW that would be awesome! You don't have to hit any difficult notes. Even if you have no voice at all, if you sing loud with thousands of people, it still sounds great. It's the kind of 'anthem' that drunk guys will gladly throw their arms around the guy next to him, even if he's a stranger, and belt out the tune, swaying side to side with the tempo. Give me one GOOD reason why this would not make a better national anthem?
I know, it will never happen, because the same freedom mentioned in the lyrics give idiots the freedom to overreact and get unnecessarily offended at anything with the word "God" in it. Also, English teachers would take issue with 'ain't" being included. Still... next time you are in a group of people of 4 or larger, especially if drinks are involved, and there is an event between a USA person/team and another country... start singing. They WILL join in, you WILL feel patriotic, and you would never get that response from random Star Spangled Bannering.
That is nothing compared to the 'what is a sport' debate. And the Olympics are filled with things that in my opinion, are NOT sports. Don't get me wrong, they are very athletic, take a lot of skill and grace and talent... but they are not sports. Anything that involves 'judges' is instantly not a sport. It's a pageant. Half pipe snowboarding, figure skating, gymnastics, whores on dollar night, etc. Not sports.
I can't do any of those things, they are difficult and take years of practice and commitment. But I don't believe there can be 100% impartial judging (figure skating has proved it time and time again). When there's judging, there is controversy. Some American guy won a gold in figure skating, and within 10 seconds, there was talk that he didn't really win, didn't deserve to win.
Refs, umpires, and officials can drastically change the outcomes of competitions too... but it's not the same. You still have to put points on the board, of keep your opponent from scoring, or be faster to the finish line. There is objective evidence of who wins.
That said - the debate always leads to something idiotic like "So then is chess a sport?" Of course not! A sport has to have at least a little bit of athleticism or physicality. Golf is ridiculously low impact, but highly technical, and a sport. Horseshoes is a sport. Sitting in a chair playing chess... no.
Bowling - that's a sport. Maybe not the way most of us play, where it's something to do between sips of beer. But for actual bowlers... definitely. It may have all the technicality of golf... if not more. Essentially, you have to do the same thing perfect, every time. Golfers do not strive for perfection. They do not shoot for the hole on every stroke. They have greater room for error.
Bowling tournaments require multiple games with good scores, eliminating the competition. It's not only the perfection of repetition, but becomes a bit of an endurance thing. All the more reason it is interesting a bigger deal has not been made of Kelly Kulick.
Who? Kelly Kulick. Only a woman who beat an otherwise male field of 62 bowlers in one of the biggest national tournaments of the year! She beat the number 1 player in the final by 70 pins! 90 games in 6 days averaging 226. A woman, on an equal, level playing field, has just beat the men... and barely a whisper from the media. It's sad really.
Some people will use this to immediately discount bowling as a sport - basically saying that if a woman can beat a man, than it must not really be a sport. It's sad that her accomplishment would turn into a negative. And with Danica Patrick in NASCAR now, it will give people reason to discount that too once she wins (and she will... but you will definitely hear about THAT when it happens)
I wonder if this is part of the whole obesity problem in America? I regularly get 'chicked' while running (and with triathlons I get chicked before I even get out of the water, and that with having a 2 minute head start). Sure, it can be humbling. I wonder if that is why some people don't even try? Because they can't deal with the thought of being beat by certain other people.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Lenten Specials!
"That’s what religion is... just a bunch of made-up rules to manipulate people! Why don’t Catholics eat meat on Fridays? I’ll tell you why. Because the pope owns Long John Silver’s!"
-Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), "30 Rock"
Weight: 156
I am technically over my sickness from last blog. I say 'technically', because I'm still not feeling 100%. I still have a bit of a stomach ache, and have not been able to figure out how to get rid of it - eat more, eat less, eat differently? Who knows? But it's not so bad, and I've gotten back on track with my training... sort of.
I did have to skip one day's worth of workouts this week (a 4 mile run plus a swim workout). It wasn't because of my stomach, it was just another case of 'life' getting in the way. I had to have some blood drawn for an upcoming physical, so I had to fast in the morning. By the time I was back from the blood draw, my daughter had a friend over for a play date. By the time the play date was over, well, I just didn't feel like it. I hadn't been eating and drinking like I was getting ready for an evening workout.
Look, I'll be the first to say that I 'wimped out' and made excuses. I'm sure I could've found 90 minutes to get a really good workout in. I didn't. I don't think it makes me a bad person, and I don't think doing it once or twice a month will kill all my goals (be they weight maintenance, or athletic performance).
That said, it's the people who make too many excuses, too often, who end up beached whale couch potatoes unable to run even short distances (like across the room to the phone). If there is someone you look up to, someone you envy, or are jealous of, or you idolize... even if they are someone you don't really 'know', just someone you see on TV. Doesn't matter if it's about body image or performance, or about career, love, or anything else. The difference between who you are, and who you want to be, is that the latter stopped making excuses.
You get rid of the excuses, and you can do it... whatever it is you want to do. Stop making excuses about time, or your 'bad knees', or money. The excuses are self-imposed obstacles.
That said, be realistic too. If your goal is to run a marathon... you can do it! If your goal is to set a world record in the marathon, uh, well, I'm not saying it can't be done, but you'd better understand the years it would take to get to that level (for most of us). Not just years, but years working harder than a whore on dollar night, every day.
Anyway, I'm back on track with training, regardless of if my stomach is 100% on board with the idea. The training for a half marathon (well, any race distance really) is what you make it, and for me, it's not so bad. I'm at the end of week 3 (out of 12 weeks) and my long run thus far has been 6 miles. As usual, I don't focus a whole lot on time, pace, etc. For me, that is more work and stress than I want, and it sucks some of the enjoyment out of it.
That said, I'm really hoping for a PR this race. I've only run the Half marathon distance 3 times - the first one was a training run for my first marathon. I went out too fast, was spent by mile 10, and walked a ton. My second one was my first attempt at pacing myself for the distance (but again, I was in the middle of marathon training). I paced well, but it wasn't a 'fast' race by any means. My third Half, I was ready to put up a good time (by my standards), and 5 minutes before the start, I was puking my guts out in a porta-john (just a bad reaction to the smell). Totally dehydrated and puking up during the race, I still managed a 1:50:52 which is my current PR. If I don't beat that by 5 minutes or more, I will have failed.
So... Lent. I'm not overly religious, and not going to get into the religious significance or goofiness of Lent. But I do like to test myself a little during Lent - give up something(s) to hopefully better and benefit myself, and maybe those around me.
It's really not any different mindset than dieting or training or quitting smoking or even rehab (I assume). It's making a decision, a commitment, to do something for a specific period of time. If you train for a race, you do the same thing, you commit to doing your workouts without fail. If you diet, you commit to eating in accordance with a program. you get the idea.
So this year for Lent, I'm giving up alcohol, red meat, and sweets/snacks/desserts. These are fairly typical things for me to give up. Having less of those things is good for you, and I don't indulge in them much anyway, so it's not much of a sacrifice.
But I spoke to my wife, and convinced her to give up processed sugar (which she puts in her morning coffee EVERY DAY), bread (including pizza crust), sweets/snacks/desserts, and red meat. The red meat and snacks are no big deal, especially since I'm giving them up too. But bread and sugar? HUGE sacrifices for her... I am proud of her for making that commitment.
And as a good husband, to sacrifice to the same extent, I also gave up Facebook. Sure, you can think this is stupid, because it's no big deal missing your Farm or Mafia or whatever. But I use facebook more than Email. I use facebook the way most people use their cell phones. When you can say you're done with your cell phone and Email, then you can tell me I'm stupid.
I officially put my blog 'out there' to friends and such because of the 'no facebook during Lent' thing. While giving it up is my sacrifice, I understand there is a certain weirdness that I am making them give up 'cold turkey' during Lent, against their will. I am excited I now have 'Followers'. Feel free to tell your friends - the more the merrier. And of course, feel free to comment and/or ask questions... because sooner or later, I will run out of things to say :P
-Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), "30 Rock"
Weight: 156
I am technically over my sickness from last blog. I say 'technically', because I'm still not feeling 100%. I still have a bit of a stomach ache, and have not been able to figure out how to get rid of it - eat more, eat less, eat differently? Who knows? But it's not so bad, and I've gotten back on track with my training... sort of.
I did have to skip one day's worth of workouts this week (a 4 mile run plus a swim workout). It wasn't because of my stomach, it was just another case of 'life' getting in the way. I had to have some blood drawn for an upcoming physical, so I had to fast in the morning. By the time I was back from the blood draw, my daughter had a friend over for a play date. By the time the play date was over, well, I just didn't feel like it. I hadn't been eating and drinking like I was getting ready for an evening workout.
Look, I'll be the first to say that I 'wimped out' and made excuses. I'm sure I could've found 90 minutes to get a really good workout in. I didn't. I don't think it makes me a bad person, and I don't think doing it once or twice a month will kill all my goals (be they weight maintenance, or athletic performance).
That said, it's the people who make too many excuses, too often, who end up beached whale couch potatoes unable to run even short distances (like across the room to the phone). If there is someone you look up to, someone you envy, or are jealous of, or you idolize... even if they are someone you don't really 'know', just someone you see on TV. Doesn't matter if it's about body image or performance, or about career, love, or anything else. The difference between who you are, and who you want to be, is that the latter stopped making excuses.
You get rid of the excuses, and you can do it... whatever it is you want to do. Stop making excuses about time, or your 'bad knees', or money. The excuses are self-imposed obstacles.
That said, be realistic too. If your goal is to run a marathon... you can do it! If your goal is to set a world record in the marathon, uh, well, I'm not saying it can't be done, but you'd better understand the years it would take to get to that level (for most of us). Not just years, but years working harder than a whore on dollar night, every day.
Anyway, I'm back on track with training, regardless of if my stomach is 100% on board with the idea. The training for a half marathon (well, any race distance really) is what you make it, and for me, it's not so bad. I'm at the end of week 3 (out of 12 weeks) and my long run thus far has been 6 miles. As usual, I don't focus a whole lot on time, pace, etc. For me, that is more work and stress than I want, and it sucks some of the enjoyment out of it.
That said, I'm really hoping for a PR this race. I've only run the Half marathon distance 3 times - the first one was a training run for my first marathon. I went out too fast, was spent by mile 10, and walked a ton. My second one was my first attempt at pacing myself for the distance (but again, I was in the middle of marathon training). I paced well, but it wasn't a 'fast' race by any means. My third Half, I was ready to put up a good time (by my standards), and 5 minutes before the start, I was puking my guts out in a porta-john (just a bad reaction to the smell). Totally dehydrated and puking up during the race, I still managed a 1:50:52 which is my current PR. If I don't beat that by 5 minutes or more, I will have failed.
So... Lent. I'm not overly religious, and not going to get into the religious significance or goofiness of Lent. But I do like to test myself a little during Lent - give up something(s) to hopefully better and benefit myself, and maybe those around me.
It's really not any different mindset than dieting or training or quitting smoking or even rehab (I assume). It's making a decision, a commitment, to do something for a specific period of time. If you train for a race, you do the same thing, you commit to doing your workouts without fail. If you diet, you commit to eating in accordance with a program. you get the idea.
So this year for Lent, I'm giving up alcohol, red meat, and sweets/snacks/desserts. These are fairly typical things for me to give up. Having less of those things is good for you, and I don't indulge in them much anyway, so it's not much of a sacrifice.
But I spoke to my wife, and convinced her to give up processed sugar (which she puts in her morning coffee EVERY DAY), bread (including pizza crust), sweets/snacks/desserts, and red meat. The red meat and snacks are no big deal, especially since I'm giving them up too. But bread and sugar? HUGE sacrifices for her... I am proud of her for making that commitment.
And as a good husband, to sacrifice to the same extent, I also gave up Facebook. Sure, you can think this is stupid, because it's no big deal missing your Farm or Mafia or whatever. But I use facebook more than Email. I use facebook the way most people use their cell phones. When you can say you're done with your cell phone and Email, then you can tell me I'm stupid.
I officially put my blog 'out there' to friends and such because of the 'no facebook during Lent' thing. While giving it up is my sacrifice, I understand there is a certain weirdness that I am making them give up 'cold turkey' during Lent, against their will. I am excited I now have 'Followers'. Feel free to tell your friends - the more the merrier. And of course, feel free to comment and/or ask questions... because sooner or later, I will run out of things to say :P
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Derailed!
"Mental wounds not healing
Life's a bitter shame
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train"
- Ozzy Osbourne, "Crazy Train"
Weight: 153
It didn't take long for my Half Marathon training to totally fall apart. Today would be wrapping up week 2, and i ran a total of 4 miles. Caught a NASTY stomach virus that lead to 12 straight hours of puking and pooping, followed by another 36 hours of "only puking or pooping if I eat or drink". Basically, for 2 days, I was spewing fluids like a whore on dollar night.
I'm tired. I'm sore in weird places (my neck being the worst). I have no energy.
But I'm pretty sure my abs have made an appearance. That would be the only upside.
I'll try to pick up like nothing happened on Monday...
Life's a bitter shame
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train"
- Ozzy Osbourne, "Crazy Train"
Weight: 153
It didn't take long for my Half Marathon training to totally fall apart. Today would be wrapping up week 2, and i ran a total of 4 miles. Caught a NASTY stomach virus that lead to 12 straight hours of puking and pooping, followed by another 36 hours of "only puking or pooping if I eat or drink". Basically, for 2 days, I was spewing fluids like a whore on dollar night.
I'm tired. I'm sore in weird places (my neck being the worst). I have no energy.
But I'm pretty sure my abs have made an appearance. That would be the only upside.
I'll try to pick up like nothing happened on Monday...
Friday, February 5, 2010
Snooze Button...
"It's taken me a lot of years, but I've come around to this: If you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people. And if you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you." - Isaac Jaffee (Robert Guillaume), "Sports Night"
Weight: 160
Woke up this morning just dragging. Didn't even want to pour my coffee right away, just wanted to rest for a few more minutes before it was time to wake up my daughter for school. When it was time to wake my daughter, it seemed she was feeling sleepy and groggy too. We go downstairs and my wife (who is getting ready to leave for work) says "What are you doing? She doesn't have school today."
It's a bit bittersweet. Great, we can just go back to sleep for a while, but it's just not the same quality of sleep. Plus, I suddenly realize that my day will not go as planned. I was planning on getting in a run and a swim this morning, but it will have to wait until the evening if it happens at all today.
I really dislike working out in the evening. It just doesn't agree with me. I don't ever get the eating right, I end up with heartburn or vomiting in the middle of my run. I end up with cramps or burping while swimming. It's a skill I don't have, this working out later in the day.
But I did get some quality workouts in this week. I'm still swimming 3 times a week, and on those days, my running plan calls for 3-4 easy miles those same days. I think I've got those days figured out! The pool is 2 miles from home... run to the pool, do my swim, run home. Sure, I don't know if two 2 mile runs is the same as 'running 4 miles', and sure, it was colder than a whore on dollar night running through the snow-packed sidewalks, but I think it'll work for what I'm trying to do.
In another 2 weeks, my work schedule changes. Currently, most days, it is very easy for me to get in a run, swim, and/or bike. My wife and daughter are both gone during the day, and I don't go to work until after 3 pm. But soon I'll be working in the daytime, so every minute I'll be working out after that, will be a minute I'm not spending with my wife and kid at home. The workouts need to be efficient, quality, workouts. I may even be able to do this 'run, swim, run' workout before anybody wakes up in the morning.
It won't be fun, but the sacrifice and suffering is a little part of what makes it all an accomplishment, no? It's eliminating excuses, which is really all it takes. The more excuses you can eliminate, the further you can go.
In other news - I saw 'Schindler's List' for the first time this week. I know, I know... "You've never seen "Schindler's List?!?!?" Well I hadn't. I have no excuse. But really, doesn't everyone have a movie like that? A movie that EVERYONE has seen... but you? (I also have not seen 'Titanic').
But the 'You've never seen...' thing does have some limitations, right? For example, your age. Seems to me that my parents (in their 60's now) would say "American Graffiti" is one of those movies that everyone has seen, or should. I've seen it, but really, would you EXPECT someone born the same year the movie came out to have seen it?
I run into this with younger people I work with. I still have a hard time grasping that 20-somethings have not seen 'Fast Times', or 'Animal House', or the John Hughes movies. I've even run into golfers who have not seen "Caddyshack" (Blasphemy!!!)
Anyway - 'Schindler's List', it's not like you can really say you 'liked' a movie like that. And I don't know that I would even say it was 'good'. It's a fascinating story and piece of history for sure. But really... did it need to be over 3 hours long? Did we need THAT much of the horror of the camps included? (and really, does ANY movie need to be that long?)
I'm not downplaying the importance or significance of all that happened. But this is a movie, with the main goal of making money. Let's not fool ourselves that this was about educating anybody, or healing, or retribution. it may have done those things, or helped, but that is not the focus of making the movie. In fact, if any of those things were the goal, (SPOILER ALERT, in case someone else has not seen it)then just like Schindler at the end of the movie "they could have done more".
Just as "Passion of the Christ" was accused of being a snuff film for the gratuitous violence, and "Saving Private Ryan" was deemed gratuitously gory... isn't throwing an an extra hour's worth of Jew torture the same thing?
In the end, I'm glad I saw it. I'll never have to see it again.
Weight: 160
Woke up this morning just dragging. Didn't even want to pour my coffee right away, just wanted to rest for a few more minutes before it was time to wake up my daughter for school. When it was time to wake my daughter, it seemed she was feeling sleepy and groggy too. We go downstairs and my wife (who is getting ready to leave for work) says "What are you doing? She doesn't have school today."
It's a bit bittersweet. Great, we can just go back to sleep for a while, but it's just not the same quality of sleep. Plus, I suddenly realize that my day will not go as planned. I was planning on getting in a run and a swim this morning, but it will have to wait until the evening if it happens at all today.
I really dislike working out in the evening. It just doesn't agree with me. I don't ever get the eating right, I end up with heartburn or vomiting in the middle of my run. I end up with cramps or burping while swimming. It's a skill I don't have, this working out later in the day.
But I did get some quality workouts in this week. I'm still swimming 3 times a week, and on those days, my running plan calls for 3-4 easy miles those same days. I think I've got those days figured out! The pool is 2 miles from home... run to the pool, do my swim, run home. Sure, I don't know if two 2 mile runs is the same as 'running 4 miles', and sure, it was colder than a whore on dollar night running through the snow-packed sidewalks, but I think it'll work for what I'm trying to do.
In another 2 weeks, my work schedule changes. Currently, most days, it is very easy for me to get in a run, swim, and/or bike. My wife and daughter are both gone during the day, and I don't go to work until after 3 pm. But soon I'll be working in the daytime, so every minute I'll be working out after that, will be a minute I'm not spending with my wife and kid at home. The workouts need to be efficient, quality, workouts. I may even be able to do this 'run, swim, run' workout before anybody wakes up in the morning.
It won't be fun, but the sacrifice and suffering is a little part of what makes it all an accomplishment, no? It's eliminating excuses, which is really all it takes. The more excuses you can eliminate, the further you can go.
In other news - I saw 'Schindler's List' for the first time this week. I know, I know... "You've never seen "Schindler's List?!?!?" Well I hadn't. I have no excuse. But really, doesn't everyone have a movie like that? A movie that EVERYONE has seen... but you? (I also have not seen 'Titanic').
But the 'You've never seen...' thing does have some limitations, right? For example, your age. Seems to me that my parents (in their 60's now) would say "American Graffiti" is one of those movies that everyone has seen, or should. I've seen it, but really, would you EXPECT someone born the same year the movie came out to have seen it?
I run into this with younger people I work with. I still have a hard time grasping that 20-somethings have not seen 'Fast Times', or 'Animal House', or the John Hughes movies. I've even run into golfers who have not seen "Caddyshack" (Blasphemy!!!)
Anyway - 'Schindler's List', it's not like you can really say you 'liked' a movie like that. And I don't know that I would even say it was 'good'. It's a fascinating story and piece of history for sure. But really... did it need to be over 3 hours long? Did we need THAT much of the horror of the camps included? (and really, does ANY movie need to be that long?)
I'm not downplaying the importance or significance of all that happened. But this is a movie, with the main goal of making money. Let's not fool ourselves that this was about educating anybody, or healing, or retribution. it may have done those things, or helped, but that is not the focus of making the movie. In fact, if any of those things were the goal, (SPOILER ALERT, in case someone else has not seen it)then just like Schindler at the end of the movie "they could have done more".
Just as "Passion of the Christ" was accused of being a snuff film for the gratuitous violence, and "Saving Private Ryan" was deemed gratuitously gory... isn't throwing an an extra hour's worth of Jew torture the same thing?
In the end, I'm glad I saw it. I'll never have to see it again.
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