Halloween

Just got back from the "National Leadership Conference" (or something like that) in Talladega, AL. Just a bunch of training stuff for AmeriCorps and site coordinators. Nothing very exciting.

Went running tonight in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Charlotte (Dilworth) and was struck by the number of people driving around in vans to trick-or-treat. I get that these people probably come from some areas of town that aren't as safe and want their kids to have a great Halloween experience but can't you park and walk? Do you really have to van around with 10 kids (no exaggeration) packed into a minivan built for 5-7? The safety factor is not a priority, apparently. Primary objectives include: get lots of candy, get lots of candy.

Also, I hate the teenagers that don't even dress up but walk around to get candy. I always hated that growing up and it annoys me even more at my ripe old age of 23 (soon to be 24). At least put in some effort. I can also assure you that most people giving away candy hate that phenonemon. People are getting lazy these days. Driving from house to house and not even dressing up; we're going to all be fat soon.

I kissed a girl, and I LIKED it

Where would Katy Perry fall in the list of the best worst music I've ever enjoyed? Probably near the bottom, because she has a triumvirate of appeal: sick musician, attractive, and to top it all of she sings about making out with girls.

I just get the feeling that her most famous song, "I kissed a girl" would not be quite as popular or as well received if it were written from a different perspective. Let's see

I kissed a boy and I liked it - Keith Perry

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a boy and I liked it
The taste of his cherry chapstick
I kissed a boy just to try it
I hope my other boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a boy and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter,
You're my experimental game
Just human nature,
It's not what,
Good boys do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a boy and I liked it
The taste of his cherry chap stick
I kissed a boy just to try it
I hope Jack don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a boy and I liked it
I liked it,

Us men we are so magical
Soft skin, skin-toned lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain't no big deal, it's innocent

I kissed a boy and I liked it
The taste of his cherry chap stick
I kissed a boy just to try it
I hope Dennis don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a boy and I liked it
I liked it

Not quite the same, eh?

Conspiracy???!?!

I'm fairly positive that this gas 'crisis' is a giant government conspiracy. To test the effects of a hypothetical situation where the US 'ran out' of gas the powers-that-be decided a good test run could be had in western North Carolina. My car's gas light came on last Wednesday and I haven't had the opportunity to fill it up since. There is no logical explanation for why there is no gas in this major southern city. No reason for it. You can cite the disturbed production in Texas but there is no reason for that to halt any other region from funneling some of their fuel into places that needed it just as much as they did. The lines for gas are insane at some of the stations. Serious traffic problems have resulted from these (literally) hundreds of cars waiting in line - in the lane of traffic - to fill up before the station closes. It's absolutely ridiculous.

On a side note, I'm going for the Rays this post-season. I don't think they'll make it too far but still, I'd rather root for a team from our division that isn't named the Red Sox than any other, so Rays it is.

Saturday and a 1 day weekend looms

You know who's awesome? David Gray is awesome. If I'm ever in a bad mood all it takes it for "Please Forgive me" or "Babylon" to come on and I'm back in the groove.

I guess he's a moderately sad musical artist in terms of the way his voice/music sounds but I can't help but love it; it really does get me going (on the road to happiness, I mean).

Work is stressful sometimes. Volunteers can be crazy. I wonder what makes some people super nice and congenial and others frustrating a**holes. I don't understand. I'm glad I'm one of the nice ones.

I can't get no satisfaction

Lately I've wondering a lot about what would truly make me a "satisfied" athlete? Yea, I really have been pondering said thoughts because I feel like it's very important in telling you where your goals should be and how high (or low) your expectations ought to be as well.

At what point can I be truly satisfied with where I am in terms of my fitness and/or abilities? I've always had the nearly overwhelming desire to be the best in whatever I'm doing. Note, it's important to notice that I said "the best at whatever..." as opposed to "the best I can be." I think that distinction is very important.

With almost everything, it's realistic to say that a goal such as that one is simply not possible. In no way can I be the best at all of the things I choose to apply myself to; that's asking too much out of even someone as totally bada** as me! Even so, I've always told myself that I had the potential to be as good as I wanted to be; if I really wanted to be that good I could put the time in and try and reach some of those lofty goals. This isn't just limited to sports, of course. I really, really like being good at video games. I'm a huge dork. There, I said it...but it's really true. I enjoy being good at that almost as much as I enjoy being a good athlete (well, that's an exaggeration but it was to make the point).

I don't limit myself to trying to be AMAZING at one or a few things. But I think that as good as that is (is it though?) it can also lead to a lot of frustration. Because, traditionally, I've had a lack of self-discipline when it comes to reaching certain potentials. For example, I never put in the time to get to the "A" level of bike racing. I said I wanted to, I said I'd be at that level one day...but it never happened. I couldn't make the mental leap to putting in all the hours of training. It's tough, but you have to do it if you want to reach that goal.

So, when will I really be satisfied? Who knows. I'm not sure I ever will be truly happy with how fit I am (or how effiiciently I can off someone in Halo) in all honesty. Because at what point would anyone say: "Alright, that's it. I can never be better than I am right now." That would never happen! You can always find ways to improve yourself and your performances. Always.

At least, you (I) can try...

I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing

Totally new training plan starting Monday. BIG NEWS! I know, it's hard to hold back the excitement that brims and overflows upon reading that. It's exciting for me though, as this is the first time I've both set out a training plan for myself and have a decent plan for the next 3ish months involving my running.

The goal is to follow the "Maffetone Method" created by Dr Maffetone that basically establishes a set period of aerobic base training in which you create a specific heart rate cap that you absolutely do not exceed in any activity. Going by his "180 formula" which is extremely complicated and convoluted, my "cap" is supposed to be 157 (180-age basically, so complicated). Up until reading his philosophy I had planned to set my cap at 150, but 157 is a little bit more reasonable.

Basically, the way it works is pretty simple: do not go over 157. Ever. You're not supposed to lift weights because technically that is an anaerobic activity and any sort of training that isn't aerobic slows down the buildup of aerobic fitness. So basically when I start this I'll be starting at 25 miles a week going 8:30 pace or slower, increasing my weekly mileage by 5 miles every week for three weeks then tailing back for a week and then start increasing again the next week. So, the goal is to get my mileage up pretty high (60-70) by the end of 3-4 months. Also, because I will have been (hopefully) staying in this aerobic range my aerobic capacity will increase dramatically and I'll be running 7:30 pace or thereabouts in the same range I used to be running 8:30-9 minute pace.

It may not sound like much of an increase, but the ability to run for long periods of time and not have a fast rising HR (with this training your body gains the ability to work the same HR for very long periods of time, as opposed to rising gradually over the length of a run/bike/whatever).

I'm excited about it but also scared. It takes a lot of discipline to run that slowly. It's nice because it feels really easy and you're rarely sore after a run but in a certain sense it's kind of embarassing to run that slow if you're used to running fast(er). Biking won't be as much of a problem because my biking HR is usually at least 10 bpm lower if not more on average.

It'll be interesting (for me at least) to see whether I'm able to stick with it and whether I'll see a lot of gain. Crazy right?! Enthralling, I know.

Bored

I was thinking today about my inability to commit. Call me weird, call me crazy, or just call me awesome but not only does that certain talent of mine apply to the ladies (although not in the standard sense) it also applies to my sporting activities.

So I thought I'd combine those two things in one amazing set of paragraphs.

Through my life post-puberty, I've had a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted from a girl. Did I want her to be model hot? Did I want her to be movie-star hot? Did I want her to be really pretty? Well, the short answer was yes...I wanted all of those things. Intelligence doesn't matter at all to me. Just looks. (Sarcasm). The problem for me was figuring out how to 'put myself out there,' if you will. In high school, I thought playing golf would be a big draw. As I drove and putted my way to the heights of golfing skill I thought all of the cute girls watching would be mightly impressed with how well I wielded my clubs. Their reactions would pretty much range anywhere from "Wow, do you know what THAT guy's name is? Because I definitely want that and his number," to "I bet he looks good naked, we should talk to him."

The only problem with these two philosophies (the ONLY one, mind you) was that it always involved the girl coming to me! How against the laws of nature is that? In every boy-girl scenario the main central theme involves something along the lines of "what is the guy going to do to get the girl," but as opposed to my realistic vision of that story it was more like "what great pick-up line will he use or how will he ask her to dance without being awkward or what nice thing will he do that will make her realize he's more than just another guy?'' You know, things like that.

My strategy was flawed from the start.

But what does this have to do with sports? Well, it's simple really. I've never played any meaningful sport for more than four years. I'm not counting pre-high school days because those days were also before I "came of age" so to speak. You can read between the lines. In high school, the sport of the day was golf. I played A LOT of golf for four years, got to be pretty good, and then stopped. Suddenly and immediately. Abruptly and quickly. Crazily and wickedly awesomely. It was epic how suddenly I stopped playing golf, if those previous three sentences didn't convey that truth well enough. I've had a set of really nice golf clubs worth well over $1000 just sitting in various closets for the past 5 years. I just couldn't commit to taking it to the next level.

College brought with it new challenges; one of those being the easiest and fastest way to shave your legs. Cycling was a brand new thing for me, as I had never done any endurance sports before (unless you count golf) and it showed. I was pretty slow at first but over the months and years I got to be a pretty decent cyclist and leg-shaver. I believe my record time was just under 8 minutes with a new razor in the spring of my sophomore year. April 22nd I believe, at about 5:27 in the evening. Not that I keep track of that sort of thing. But again, I couldn't stay committed to cycling. I would go through phases (most notably practically the first half of my junior year) where I would get bored and not ride for long periods of time. I just couldn't take it to the next level. I wanted the fitness to just happen; I didn't want to have to work for it (sound familiar?).

It's hard to intertwine one's "love" life and one's athletic life, but I think that the comparisons I can draw in those two aspects of my own life are almost eerie. I don't really want to do any work, I just want it to happen. But where's the reward if you never work for it? How can you feel any sense of fulfillment if you don't put in the hours of training (and the hours of being nice to a girl, yuck)? You can't, suffice it to say.


Note: this is laced with heavy sarcasm. Take it how you will.