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...
Friday, January 25, 2008
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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