Been a bit since I've wrote on this thing. I highly doubt anyone reads this other then me, but its almost therapeutic in a way just to write in a free flowing manner for 5 minutes and see what comes out.
Its the last day of 2008 today. A lot of people's statuses i (status-i? statuses's?)in my personal network on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace have been referencing the fact that the year is over with joy, commenting on what a "terrible", "miserable" experience it was. This puzzles me for several reasons. I don't feel the 500 some odd people I'm connected with online are overly negative, yet to read these lines makes a person feel the Apocalypse is almost upon us. When I referenced a friend about this phenomenon the other day, his response was that we're getting "older, and that's the way things are". 2008 had its ups and downs, the same as any other year,but I find the ideas that there's no good to be found in time passing, and that getting older means becoming more negative and cynical, is ridiculous. We're here a short time on this earth, and our time here is what we make of it. Focusing on good things, and the wonderful people you meet in life, has the excellent side effect of changing your world view. So thanks 2008 for the memories, both good and bad, and welcome 2009!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
My third "marriage"
Several of my friends are recently engaged, which has prompted other friends to ask me such statements as;
"Uh-oh, when are you gonna tie the knot?"
" You're next, dude"
" Soooo.....when are you.....you know..."
These questions have been popping up a lot more lately, as I head towards my late 20s. This leads me to the scenario of why humans feel that if someone else is doing something, they should be doing it too. People start to panic, thinking "Crap, if everyone else is getting married, I'd better find someone and settle down" and end up making...."interesting" choices. I'm not passing judgement on anyone, nor do I think I'm any better or worse then the general populace. Its just an observation over the past two years, watching the dynamics of people in the post-college era. Don't get me wrong, I don't think marriage is a bad thing, nor do I have some master plan to stay single forever, but I'll do it on my own timetable. I'm currently "married" to school and training, and am trying to "make something" of myself. I have no real plans to change that or add a "third marriage" to my life just yet.
Unless Kate Beckinsale shows up at my door. Then all bets are off.
"Uh-oh, when are you gonna tie the knot?"
" You're next, dude"
" Soooo.....when are you.....you know..."
These questions have been popping up a lot more lately, as I head towards my late 20s. This leads me to the scenario of why humans feel that if someone else is doing something, they should be doing it too. People start to panic, thinking "Crap, if everyone else is getting married, I'd better find someone and settle down" and end up making...."interesting" choices. I'm not passing judgement on anyone, nor do I think I'm any better or worse then the general populace. Its just an observation over the past two years, watching the dynamics of people in the post-college era. Don't get me wrong, I don't think marriage is a bad thing, nor do I have some master plan to stay single forever, but I'll do it on my own timetable. I'm currently "married" to school and training, and am trying to "make something" of myself. I have no real plans to change that or add a "third marriage" to my life just yet.
Unless Kate Beckinsale shows up at my door. Then all bets are off.
Monday, February 4, 2008
The first long day
Day 33 of IM training found 4 of us stumbling out of bed and heading out to PCH, where we would be riding up towards Seal Beach, as the schedule called for a 4 hour ride, followed by a 1/2 hr run. Most of it would be done in the aero position as well (think bending your body forward like a boomerang and hanging on for dear life....you get the idea). I'd love to say there was some magical adventure, or exciting events during the workout, but really, it was a gorgeous 2 hour ride up and back, riding along the Pacific Ocean, and the run wasn't terrible either.
At this point, anyone reading this is going "Ok, this story sucks...get to the point".
The point to this is when you train for triathlon, you have a half hour "window" after the culmination of workout to eat and replenish some of the calories you've burned off, otherwise your body crashes somewhat and takes up to 48 hours to replenish the intial stores. The longer the workout, the more pronounced the "crashing" effect when you don't eat. It's like being drunk, or tired beyond comprehension to the point where you babble nonsense and drop things for no reason.
Guess who forgot to eat within that window? ::raises hand::
And because I forgot to do such a basic thing, we're going to keep playing the guessing game.
Guess who had a work phone call that day, and told his boss the current project was ".....BS...a trained monkey could do it but wanted more money..."? ::raises hand::
Guess who fell asleep at 4 pm and missed 3 school functions (and pissed off his advisor)? ::raises hand::
Guess who told his mother on the phone "There are two things big about me, my expected salary and my penis size." ::raises hand::
Guess who put his bookbag in the refrigerator? ::raises hand::
Guess who washed an extension cord along with his comforter? ::raises hand::
They really should warn you about this stuff in the Triathlon training manual, rather then just simply stating " Failure to eat in a timely manner may prompt the body to shut down and require 48 hours to return to normal". I'm pretty sure my mom still wants to kill me for that comment.
At this point, anyone reading this is going "Ok, this story sucks...get to the point".
The point to this is when you train for triathlon, you have a half hour "window" after the culmination of workout to eat and replenish some of the calories you've burned off, otherwise your body crashes somewhat and takes up to 48 hours to replenish the intial stores. The longer the workout, the more pronounced the "crashing" effect when you don't eat. It's like being drunk, or tired beyond comprehension to the point where you babble nonsense and drop things for no reason.
Guess who forgot to eat within that window? ::raises hand::
And because I forgot to do such a basic thing, we're going to keep playing the guessing game.
Guess who had a work phone call that day, and told his boss the current project was ".....BS...a trained monkey could do it but wanted more money..."? ::raises hand::
Guess who fell asleep at 4 pm and missed 3 school functions (and pissed off his advisor)? ::raises hand::
Guess who told his mother on the phone "There are two things big about me, my expected salary and my penis size." ::raises hand::
Guess who put his bookbag in the refrigerator? ::raises hand::
Guess who washed an extension cord along with his comforter? ::raises hand::
They really should warn you about this stuff in the Triathlon training manual, rather then just simply stating " Failure to eat in a timely manner may prompt the body to shut down and require 48 hours to return to normal". I'm pretty sure my mom still wants to kill me for that comment.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Business School vs. Ironman
We had to do an exercise in class involving time management, and were told to make a pie chart of an average day, and how much time we spent on the various things in our lives. Mine was as follows
Sleep - 33%
Eating - 12%
Training - 15%
Class Time -10 %
Free Time - 10%
HW - 5%
Work (paid)- 15%
We handed in the charts, went on break while the teacher reviewed, and came back in. I knew something was wrong when the teacher zeroed in on me in the first 30 seconds back and said in a sharp tone,"Mr. Stoughton, I see here that you spend more time training for sports then school. Care to explain?". At this point I have two options;
1. Lie and say I miscalculated, thereby making myself look incompetent and incapable of basic math, but showing that I take my Merage education seriously.
2. Tell the truth, incur the wrath of said teacher for not taking the school curriculum seriously, and spend the rest of the quarter trying to salvage my grade in the class
I weighed these options in 0.2 seconds, looked the teacher directly in the eye and responded with;
" You're just that effective in your teaching, sir."
Between the class laughing and the teacher glaring at me, I'd be willing to bet I'm not getting straight A's this quarter...
Sleep - 33%
Eating - 12%
Training - 15%
Class Time -10 %
Free Time - 10%
HW - 5%
Work (paid)- 15%
We handed in the charts, went on break while the teacher reviewed, and came back in. I knew something was wrong when the teacher zeroed in on me in the first 30 seconds back and said in a sharp tone,"Mr. Stoughton, I see here that you spend more time training for sports then school. Care to explain?". At this point I have two options;
1. Lie and say I miscalculated, thereby making myself look incompetent and incapable of basic math, but showing that I take my Merage education seriously.
2. Tell the truth, incur the wrath of said teacher for not taking the school curriculum seriously, and spend the rest of the quarter trying to salvage my grade in the class
I weighed these options in 0.2 seconds, looked the teacher directly in the eye and responded with;
" You're just that effective in your teaching, sir."
Between the class laughing and the teacher glaring at me, I'd be willing to bet I'm not getting straight A's this quarter...
Monday, January 21, 2008
Day 21
Day 21 of IM training, I've dropped about 5 lbs since December, and most importantly....I'm starting to get some of my old speed back. Another 10 lbs, and I'll be pretty close to where I was pre-psycho gf/breakdown/2 years of hell. My goal is to get even faster then I was pre-breakdown, but I have a completely different attitude this time around. I'm not that pissed off, angry kid that I was at 22, where it was me vs. the world. These days, its more about me vs. myself, and I'm curious to see how far I can push myself as I hit my prime in endurance athletics. These were my records back in the day;
800yd Swim 8:59
1 mile Run 4:52
40km Bike 1:10:52
Olympic Distance Tri 2:10:26
Sprint Tri 58:59
We'll see how I do being older (and supposedly smarter).
800yd Swim 8:59
1 mile Run 4:52
40km Bike 1:10:52
Olympic Distance Tri 2:10:26
Sprint Tri 58:59
We'll see how I do being older (and supposedly smarter).
Monday, January 7, 2008
Chinese Subtitles & Cycling
Saturday was a scheduled 3 hour bike ride, and as it was pouring rain, I decided to ride indoors on my trainer with my teammate Karl and watch movies. As the scenery really doesn't change when you're riding a stationary bike, minds tend to wander and DVDs are usually used to combat boredom. However, this particular saturday, while watching the Chinese Martial arts movie "The House of the Flying Daggers" (complete with no sound and english subtitles) I had an epiphany.
I would become a ninja. But unlike any ninja the world had seen thus far....I would become cycling's first ninja. (Keep in mind I'm 6'4, 200 lbs, NOT asian and the words "grace" and "subtlety" probably are not the first words that come to mind when I'm around.)
Nevertheless, Sunday saw me down at the cycling clothes store, buying every piece of black clothing I could find. The clerk even cautioned me ( "You know, there are other colors...."), but I was adamant. Ninjas wear black, therefore I needed all the XL dark clothes I could lay my grubby little paws on. Once back at home, I donned my new outfit to make sure I looked the part, and gave myself the once-over in the mirror (pictures forthcoming). Convinced I looked like an intimidating bad-ass (in form-fitting lycra nonetheless), I walked outside to get a bike tube from my car, prepared to conquer the roads. Rummaging around in my car for the tube, I became aware that it was quiet outside. TOO quiet. As in the " murderer is about to get the hero in the movie" quiet, or the still quiet of the forest right before a bear charges through the brush and tears apart a helpless deer.
Lifting my head up and looking around, I realized two things;
1. The parking lot is a lot emptier when everyone goes home for winter break
2. Less cars in the lot means its easier for the police car to see the black clad, hooded figure rummaging around in the red camaro
20 minutes of questioning later (complete with my neighbors walking by with their mouths open, staring and pointing), I was allowed to strut with as much dignity as I could muster in my Lycra (not much) back into my apartment complex, thus culminating my first ninja experience.
God bless the vigilance of the Irvine PD.
I would become a ninja. But unlike any ninja the world had seen thus far....I would become cycling's first ninja. (Keep in mind I'm 6'4, 200 lbs, NOT asian and the words "grace" and "subtlety" probably are not the first words that come to mind when I'm around.)
Nevertheless, Sunday saw me down at the cycling clothes store, buying every piece of black clothing I could find. The clerk even cautioned me ( "You know, there are other colors...."), but I was adamant. Ninjas wear black, therefore I needed all the XL dark clothes I could lay my grubby little paws on. Once back at home, I donned my new outfit to make sure I looked the part, and gave myself the once-over in the mirror (pictures forthcoming). Convinced I looked like an intimidating bad-ass (in form-fitting lycra nonetheless), I walked outside to get a bike tube from my car, prepared to conquer the roads. Rummaging around in my car for the tube, I became aware that it was quiet outside. TOO quiet. As in the " murderer is about to get the hero in the movie" quiet, or the still quiet of the forest right before a bear charges through the brush and tears apart a helpless deer.
Lifting my head up and looking around, I realized two things;
1. The parking lot is a lot emptier when everyone goes home for winter break
2. Less cars in the lot means its easier for the police car to see the black clad, hooded figure rummaging around in the red camaro
20 minutes of questioning later (complete with my neighbors walking by with their mouths open, staring and pointing), I was allowed to strut with as much dignity as I could muster in my Lycra (not much) back into my apartment complex, thus culminating my first ninja experience.
God bless the vigilance of the Irvine PD.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Day 3 of Official Ironman Training
People have been asking me what my race preparation consists of for April 16th. So far my official training for the race in the past 3 days has consisted of;
- 3 hours of bike riding
- 2 failed attempts at yoga
- 200 pushups and situps
- 100m sprint to catch the bus
- 25 minute hot tub float
- 5000 yds of swimming
- 6 rounds of greco-roman wrestling with my brother (author's note: We were supposed to go 10 rounds for family dominance, but were interrupted by my grandmother kicking us both in the ribs and scolding us for fighting outside the restraunt)
- 30 minutes of running
- Walking 4 miles at midnight through the Pasadena Rose Bowl floats, carrying my girlfriend "piggyback".
It's rather unorthodox, but I feel that all this cross-training will only be beneficial come race time. In fact, I'm going to license this cross-training regime under the title " Gooches and Lycra; When two worlds collide". I mean, if people blogging about their boring lives on the internet makes money then......
- 3 hours of bike riding
- 2 failed attempts at yoga
- 200 pushups and situps
- 100m sprint to catch the bus
- 25 minute hot tub float
- 5000 yds of swimming
- 6 rounds of greco-roman wrestling with my brother (author's note: We were supposed to go 10 rounds for family dominance, but were interrupted by my grandmother kicking us both in the ribs and scolding us for fighting outside the restraunt)
- 30 minutes of running
- Walking 4 miles at midnight through the Pasadena Rose Bowl floats, carrying my girlfriend "piggyback".
It's rather unorthodox, but I feel that all this cross-training will only be beneficial come race time. In fact, I'm going to license this cross-training regime under the title " Gooches and Lycra; When two worlds collide". I mean, if people blogging about their boring lives on the internet makes money then......
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