Life is conspiring to keep me fat. It has nothing to do with eating a whole bag of Hershey kisses. If it does have something to do with eating a whole bag of Hershey kisses then I blame life for conspiring to make me eat those kisses.
Why do I think life is conspiring to keep me fat? Well, I only rode my bike one day last week, and I didn’t run at all. The week started off fine:
On Monday I did three laps of my lunch loop (7.5 miles).
On Tuesday I had lunch with my friend, John, and his two sons. I always have to go with him when his kids are with him. His sons are 14 and 4. The 4 year old is one of the cutest little boys you will ever meet, but the true entertainment is the 14 year old. He is a true “know-it-all” teenager, and he knows how to push his dad’s buttons. All I have to do is sit back and watch the floor show. Today’s show was about something my friend made for his van (for camping) (my friend is all about practicality and cost, and his son is about appearance (as most teenagers are)).
On Wednesday I didn’t ride during lunch, so I left work a little early to hit the Silver Comet Trail. On the way to the trail I stopped for gas, and I found a nail in one of my tires. Kaufmann Tire is close to the trailhead, so I stopped in to get my tire patched. Unfortunately there was a nail in the inside sidewall also. I ended up having to replace the tire (they only had one in stock, so I ordered the other one for Friday). By the time they finished, it was too late to go for a ride.
On Thursday I went for a hike. 10 friends and 10 dogs (I borrowed my sisters dog, Gretzky) hiked the white trail at Sweetwater Creek State Park. It was a fun outing, and life didn’t conspire against me, but that wasn’t going to last.
On Friday I was going to ride the Silver Comet Trail while I was getting my other tire. It rained, and rained. So instead of burning some calories, I went to Jim N Nicks for BBQ, a movie with popcorn, and 5 Guy’s Burgers for a burger and fries.
On Saturday I was planning a hike with my sister. She couldn’t make it to the New Year hike, so she, Gretzky and I were going to do one on Saturday. But, the weather was crappy. It had been raining on and off for over a day, and it didn’t look like it was going to let up. Our hike was rained out.
On Sunday it was still crappy.
The next Monday it was crappy all day, except at lunch. The sun broke through for a little while, and the temperature felt like spring. I watched as the runners from work, left for there lunch time jog, and the other bike riders from work left for a spin, but I was working with a vendor. No lunch time ride for me.
Today is also crappy. Crappy, crappy, crappy.
Life’s a bitch, and then you pack on the pounds.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
I Am Not an Athlete
I am not an athlete. I run (trudge); I am not a runner. I ride a bike; I am not a cyclist. How can you tell that I’m not an athlete? That’s easy, I don’t know any stats. Although I wear the Dick Tracy watch, and it tracks all kind of data, I basically just know how far I went. I don’t track my pace, my time in heart rate zones, or any other of the other stats that my watch records.
When you tell an athlete you went for a ride during lunch, they ask all kinds of questions. What is your VO2Max? What is your time splits? What grade were the climbs? Etc… The only answer I can think of giving them is Cuba (once playing trivia pursuit I guessed Cuba, and it was correct; so Cuba has become my default answer).
Athletes need stats to fool themselves into thinking they’re doing something special. All I need is not to stroke out, because I am not an athlete.
When you tell an athlete you went for a ride during lunch, they ask all kinds of questions. What is your VO2Max? What is your time splits? What grade were the climbs? Etc… The only answer I can think of giving them is Cuba (once playing trivia pursuit I guessed Cuba, and it was correct; so Cuba has become my default answer).
Athletes need stats to fool themselves into thinking they’re doing something special. All I need is not to stroke out, because I am not an athlete.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Just a Little Further
When I start my run, I am doing well. I mark how far I’ve traveled with stop lights (in Red); Old Concord, the Naval Air Station entrance road, Pat Mell Rd, and Windy Hill Rd (the half way point). Somewhere at that half way point my focus changes. I’m no longer paying attention to how far I’ve traveled; I'm focused on how much further I’ve got to go.
In order to make it back, I set small goals (in Yellow); Rush Truck, Stop Light at Pat Mell Rd, the street my friend lives on, the Naval Air Station entrance road, the dead rat (This was a particularly good goal. Unlike all the other goals, this one you can’t see until your about to step on it. This keeps you very busy looking for the dead rat, because you don’t want to step on it, and keeps your mind off of how tired and crappy you feel.), the big plane outside the Naval Air Station, The German Bakery (the reason I don’t bring a wallet), the Stop Light at Old Concord, the back way back to my house (it takes everything I have, not to turn down this street (sometimes I don’t have anything)), and the last Stop Light at Austell Rd (the end). These small goals makes the return a little more bearable, by breaking it down to “just a little further” sections.
In order to make it back, I set small goals (in Yellow); Rush Truck, Stop Light at Pat Mell Rd, the street my friend lives on, the Naval Air Station entrance road, the dead rat (This was a particularly good goal. Unlike all the other goals, this one you can’t see until your about to step on it. This keeps you very busy looking for the dead rat, because you don’t want to step on it, and keeps your mind off of how tired and crappy you feel.), the big plane outside the Naval Air Station, The German Bakery (the reason I don’t bring a wallet), the Stop Light at Old Concord, the back way back to my house (it takes everything I have, not to turn down this street (sometimes I don’t have anything)), and the last Stop Light at Austell Rd (the end). These small goals makes the return a little more bearable, by breaking it down to “just a little further” sections.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Iron Hill Trail
I had every intention of waking up Saturday, and going for a ride. Alas, the siren song of the couch called to me. I spent most of the day curled up on the couch watching TV, or napping. During one of the watching TV times, I watched the Ironman competition, and the Xterra games (I was getting my exercise through osmosis).
One of the things about the Ironman, Xterra, any Marathon, or even the Tour de France is that they are boring to watch on TV. How exciting is “there is our leader running”, “there is our leader still running”, “there is our leader still running”, and “there is our leader running to the finish” (no wonder I was napping so much). But, what they have done to make it more interesting is to tell stories about the people in the race. The father doing a race with his 13 year old daughter, the 73 year old great grandfather, or the cancer survivor all make you care about the race. It also makes you feel like a pathetic slug for sitting on your couch all day.
Sunday morning, motivated by all the inspirational stories, I went to Red Top Mountain State Park. I had decided to do the Iron Hill Trail; the Iron Hill Trail is a 3.9 mile crushed gravel trail that runs along Lake Altoona. I had decided to make this outing my own little duathlon.
If you have read my blog, you know I ride my bike a couple of times a week (7.5 to 10 miles) at lunch or I run/trail run a couple of times (2.5 to 5 miles) after work. But, I’ve never done both in the same training session. This was adventures for me.
I started out mountain biking the trail. I did this for three laps (just under 12 miles). Mountain biking is a lot different than road cycling; it’s a lot harder, more fun, but a lot harder. By the time I got back to the car I was tired. My knees ached, my legs felt like rubber, and I was cold. This would have been a good time to pack up and go home, but noooo. I had watched the Ironman, and I had to also run the tail. So I changed shoes and shorts and ran (trudged) the same loop that I had just finished riding 3 times.
I don’t know why I thought I had to do this. It didn’t make me an Ironman. Maybe a Tinfoil Man, but definitely not an Ironman.
One of the things about the Ironman, Xterra, any Marathon, or even the Tour de France is that they are boring to watch on TV. How exciting is “there is our leader running”, “there is our leader still running”, “there is our leader still running”, and “there is our leader running to the finish” (no wonder I was napping so much). But, what they have done to make it more interesting is to tell stories about the people in the race. The father doing a race with his 13 year old daughter, the 73 year old great grandfather, or the cancer survivor all make you care about the race. It also makes you feel like a pathetic slug for sitting on your couch all day.
Sunday morning, motivated by all the inspirational stories, I went to Red Top Mountain State Park. I had decided to do the Iron Hill Trail; the Iron Hill Trail is a 3.9 mile crushed gravel trail that runs along Lake Altoona. I had decided to make this outing my own little duathlon.
If you have read my blog, you know I ride my bike a couple of times a week (7.5 to 10 miles) at lunch or I run/trail run a couple of times (2.5 to 5 miles) after work. But, I’ve never done both in the same training session. This was adventures for me.
I started out mountain biking the trail. I did this for three laps (just under 12 miles). Mountain biking is a lot different than road cycling; it’s a lot harder, more fun, but a lot harder. By the time I got back to the car I was tired. My knees ached, my legs felt like rubber, and I was cold. This would have been a good time to pack up and go home, but noooo. I had watched the Ironman, and I had to also run the tail. So I changed shoes and shorts and ran (trudged) the same loop that I had just finished riding 3 times.
I don’t know why I thought I had to do this. It didn’t make me an Ironman. Maybe a Tinfoil Man, but definitely not an Ironman.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Outdoorsy
I am an outdoorsy kind of guy. I wasn’t always. I grew up in Brooklyn. The closest I came to the outdoors back then was the tree in front of my house and summers in New Jersey.
I started enjoying the outdoors when I was in the Coast Guard, but that was mostly the beach. I didn’t really become outdoorsy till I moved to Atlanta, which I find funny because I chose Atlanta because it was a real city's city. One with a night life, buildings, museums, and everything else a real city has to offer. Not the outdoors.
I think my current outdoorsyness started many years ago with a 17 ½ inch Brook Trout. My brother-in-law took me trout fishing on the Chattahoochee River and with the catch of my first trout, I became a fan. Although I haven’t been fishing in a while, I have developed a fondness for the creeks and rivers of Georgia.
The second thing that contributed to my outdoorsyness was the adoption of my first dog, Tosi. Tosi and I lived in an apartment and had to walk everyday. This started me walking further and further, till I started hiking. To this day, I still like hiking. I like hiking so much that I became the co-coordinator/leader of the GRRA’s (Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta) hiking group, and have stayed even after the passing of Buddy.
The purchase of a mountain bike was the third event that contributed to my outdoorsyness. I hadn’t ridden a bike since I got my drivers license, but mountain biking had reminded me of the joys of childhood. I have not done anything since becoming an adult that reminded me of childlike fun more than mountain biking. Riding down some tight singletrack reminded me of being a kid (even though I never saw any singletrack in Brooklyn). It is exhilaration at its best.
Trail running is my most recent outdoorsy activity. If you run, you can’t beat trail running. You never have to worry about sucking in diesel fumes in the middle of the woods, like you do when running on the street. Even running the same trails over and over, it is more interesting than running on a treadmill (even with a TV).
Next year I think I’m going to take up Kayaking. Because, if your going to do something new, do something outdoorsy.
I started enjoying the outdoors when I was in the Coast Guard, but that was mostly the beach. I didn’t really become outdoorsy till I moved to Atlanta, which I find funny because I chose Atlanta because it was a real city's city. One with a night life, buildings, museums, and everything else a real city has to offer. Not the outdoors.
I think my current outdoorsyness started many years ago with a 17 ½ inch Brook Trout. My brother-in-law took me trout fishing on the Chattahoochee River and with the catch of my first trout, I became a fan. Although I haven’t been fishing in a while, I have developed a fondness for the creeks and rivers of Georgia.
The second thing that contributed to my outdoorsyness was the adoption of my first dog, Tosi. Tosi and I lived in an apartment and had to walk everyday. This started me walking further and further, till I started hiking. To this day, I still like hiking. I like hiking so much that I became the co-coordinator/leader of the GRRA’s (Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta) hiking group, and have stayed even after the passing of Buddy.
The purchase of a mountain bike was the third event that contributed to my outdoorsyness. I hadn’t ridden a bike since I got my drivers license, but mountain biking had reminded me of the joys of childhood. I have not done anything since becoming an adult that reminded me of childlike fun more than mountain biking. Riding down some tight singletrack reminded me of being a kid (even though I never saw any singletrack in Brooklyn). It is exhilaration at its best.
Trail running is my most recent outdoorsy activity. If you run, you can’t beat trail running. You never have to worry about sucking in diesel fumes in the middle of the woods, like you do when running on the street. Even running the same trails over and over, it is more interesting than running on a treadmill (even with a TV).
Next year I think I’m going to take up Kayaking. Because, if your going to do something new, do something outdoorsy.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Riding Can be Fun
I’ve been riding pretty regular during lunch. I do 3 to 4 laps of a 2.5 mile loop. Because most of it is in an industrial park, the ride can become boring. So, I’ve started a little game to help me through the boredom. I call it “What dead animal will I have to avoid today?” and the supplemental game “How long will the rotting carcass stay on the road?”.
So far the tally is:
4 squirrels - 1 to 2 weeks
1 opossum - 2 week
1 red fox - 1 ½ weeks (I wonder if it was saying “I’m coming for you Elizabeth”)
1 something - was there till in became a red spot.
Riding can be fun.
So far the tally is:
4 squirrels - 1 to 2 weeks
1 opossum - 2 week
1 red fox - 1 ½ weeks (I wonder if it was saying “I’m coming for you Elizabeth”)
1 something - was there till in became a red spot.
Riding can be fun.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Cloudland Canyon
I went hiking at Cloudland Canyon last weekend. This was the first time I went there. I didn't go down into the canyon; I just hiked the rims.
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