Be Nice Jerk!

I've been struggling with getting distracted by negativity lately. This is a bit of a newer turn for me, not being positive, but the feeling dragged down by others. I used to actually be pretty content just knocking everything. It wasn't that hard, you just mocked everything and felt kinda ok doing it. A good friend put the kabosh on that when he posed to me that tolerance meant listening to opinions that I did not agree with. That also struck me as part of that 1st amendment I had so liberally used as an excuse for speaking out against anyone and everything. That is not the point here though. What I have made habit of has been trying to be more positive and just doing right as it's the right thing to do. It doesn't matter if it's noticed or not, that's truly not the point. What has been getting my attention has been just how many people lately that I've noticed just being mean or worse aloof. I don't want to notice this so much, but lately I have. I wanted to just throw that out there and get it off my chest. Staying focused on my shit though keeps me less stressed.

Thresholds

November Project Denver −02.26.14 (suicides in the park)

Perhaps it's a Spring thing, but I have dedicated myself to pushing hard in my training plan. I have up'd the mileage some but am also cross training with November Project on Wednesday's. All those that recommended plyometrics can rest assured, they are very much a part of the week now as are a few two-a-days. Add in a level 2 yoga class once a week and I feel sawed in half most of the week. I know I am pushing harder as I look forward to whatever long run I have on Sat just for the ease of a long, slow run. I keep thinking that the training of last year should make some of this easier, but that I suppose is the point of pushing harder. I am biking all the time now as well and purposely take hills as often as is possible. Yesterdays bike accident had me feeling  much more sore than usual and today I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do much on my tempo run. I pulled of my two fastest miles this year. It is fun to push harder and try for more. When I do find out what is enough, I hope to have had a long, exciting road getting there.

Pushing harder is fun. Doing it again is great. Atrophy is terrifying. Today I can.

We now return...

It's been a month and I am glad to have stepped away for a bit. Training began for my next marathon, work got pretty busy, and most importantly the creative juices were allowed to replenish some. As the year has developed, it's been good to see some strong energy accompanying it. It's exciting and I am pretty jazzed for some upcoming tasks, trips, and over-all goals. Hello 2014. It took a few weeks to get a handle on things, but I'm happy to say you are turning out to be a bit of alright.

Disconnect

With continued tech in all areas of my life and for the most part a welcome addition, it has been a relief to be more unplugged this season. There was a radio ad last year that joked about what a wonderful day it was to be outside staring at a phone. I have tried to put mine away a bit more. While traveling this year, I have forgone the computer coming with to enjoy being more unplugged. It helps. 

It's Not Actually a Holiday

It's early on Black Friday and I am up due to an unbelievably early appliance delivery. Tiff and I have no interest in flocking to the stores today as the madness does not seem worth the savings and I have been the poor shmo wearing the name tags today too often to not see how tired they are from the relentless stream of ugly humanity in their faces. Sure it's their job, but increase the en masse they face and give them a higher than average demand perspective and that just makes for a tough day at work. We all have those.

I am still a bit mystified by this whole Black Friday thing. It seemed to me that it began a bit as a joke and now almost rivals Thanksgiving in anticipation and attention. Hell, some companies did not even wait till Friday (what, midnight was just too late??) and started opening shop yesterday evening. I get the deals are good and the timing is right, but it's a manufactured "event" and we all seem to just go along with it. Thanksgiving used to be a day where at the very least you did not have to work and may enjoy a good meal, depending on where you were going. Now the very folks that could count on that one day are being called in sooner and sooner so the folks that didn't have to work can get some big savings. Ah… bitterness…

I suppose it seems like a fair takeover though. Unless you put you textbook down in 5th grade and learned nothing else about the pilgrims and indians after this famous meal, you know the rest of that amiable relationship over a turkey did not pan out well. Greed and demand took over and the rest is generally unmentioned history. I suppose it makes sense we'd develop a shopping holiday to indulge in this disposition.

I, again, have no problem with the idea. The execution is what bugs me. If the stores open on Thanksgiving for Black "Friday," you don't have to go. If you are shopping to take care of you Christmas shopping and buy gifts for everyone, you don't have to wait a month to be nice to people. Lastly, if you don't like the way a business handles sales (carrot dangling) and crowds or even how they seem to treat their employees (as in what time they demand they be away from their families), don't shop there. I can rant. You can complain. Ultimately it is your dollars they will listen to. That right there is your vote.

Trust me, that vote means a lot more than telling an abused clerk/waiter/barista how tough it must be to work on a day like this.

Turn Left

I've been logging some miles and doing my best to just not think so much. That is an interesting proposition when I go to jot some thoughts down. My approach has been that of counter intuitive action. If I feel like ass and don't want to talk, I ask how someone near me is doing. when I feel like isolating, I answer my phone. Basically I am trying to do the exact opposite of my well meaning, but entirely unhelpful instincts are telling me to do.

6...

Missing Butterflies

I tried my first run yesterday with Tiff. It was a close and slow 2 miler. It felt pretty good too. I could still feel some of the deeper aches, so I will be playing it conservatively this week, but over all it was fantastic to get out there and run again! The usual anxiety I feel in the last weeks before a run seen to have been derailed a bit in the unusual nature of back to back marathons. ergo, I am not very nervous at all. I can tell it's pretty thorough too in that I don't feel the need to go buy any gear either. Consequently, I wonder if I am not focused enough? I know that's silly, but when the butterflies are as routine as Gatorade, you get curious when they aren't around as much. I also keep reminding myself that this is my first travel marathon in a long while and some my attention is focused on the logistics of getting there and around New York.

I am sure it will be good, but it feels all sorts of weird!

Coffee With a Friend

I know there are a few things I just love in this world. The feelings have never wavered. I love a stormy day, the kind where it gets so dark street lights come on in the middle of the day. I love an underdog win. I also love coffee with someone I care about. Some of my friendships have been forged this way. A cup of coffee at just the right time. I am a friend for life. My shortened list may not sound that exciting to most people but I do bring it up for a reason and it is not that I believe I am in anyway that interesting. I bring it up because there are times when I need to know a few go to "loves" to pull me through a tough patch. Perhaps it's an hour of uncertainty, perhaps its a week of turmoil. What ever it is, just remembering how those loves change my perspective and feelings helps.

If you are having a tough one, I hope you can think of a can not fail happy to help pull you through. They don't fix me, but they sure as hell give me reason to believe this too shall pass.

Cold Comfort

There is something so rejuvenating about fall. Being back in a city, there is an added delight in the trees changing and the street lights coming on a bit sooner. Throwing a hoodie on and cupping a mug of coffee just feels good. It's perhaps a personal preference but to me the chill in the air is exciting. The promise of cider and great meals is fantastic. It also makes the remaining training runs that much more enticing. I say hello fall, glad you are here!

Hello Fall

The heat has finally broken and we are enjoying a grey, rainy, cooler day at last. I know I am of a small group that welcomes the colds and thrives in the rain, but we are not often the ones heard from. Ergo I say, hallelujah to Fall finally getting here. I am fortunate to be married to someone with the same affinity for this Pacific Northwest type weather and we were all but giddy today to see it. At long last, summer is over! Bring on the cider, the leaves falling, the football, the hockey, and all the festivities!

Taste

On the Denver Cruiser Ride last night I tucked in behind a bike with loud speakers and good music. That is the way I like to roll on those rides for certain. The music last night was a fantastic mix of mash-ups that started with a blend of War Pigs and a popular Ludacris song about asking a woman to move. I  enjoyed the mixes of rap, metal, and punk with a few pop rifts here and there I asked the guy afterwards before joining the Circle of Death what the mix was. He told me it was Girl Talk.

After a little searching I found it was a free download and got the whole album. Listening this morning I was so enjoying it that I felt like I had to share it with someone right away. A good tune will do that. Then I thought, who the hell do I know that would like this? It raised a curious idea on liking something in real life. I wondered if there are two types that encounter something they enjoy a lot. The types that like something and think everyone will and then the types like me that feel their taste is some particular or peculiar, others would not enjoy it. I know I have been bombarded by some people's affinity only to ponder why they thought I would enjoy it?

I have no idea what all that means, but I thought it curious and felt like posting something on it.

Hope you liked it.

Sleeping In

Today is long run day and generally I am out early to beat the heat. Today we have brunch plans a bit early. That coupled with a rather sleepless night, I have opted to just push the run back to later in the day. It's a funny feeling of freedom when rearranging self-imposed schedules. In a way it recaptures that old feeling of staying home from school as a kid or skipping a class in college. There's sense of rebellion in such a simple act. It also causes me some concern as a reformed procrastinator that the activity may not happen. I know I will run, so these concerns are laughable, but that fear is still there. The funny part to me is how all these feeling get triggered by such a simple act as turning off snooze willingly and deciding to go a different way.

Christmas in June

For no particular reason, Tiff and I decided tonight to have Christmas in June night. We are making a very holiday-like dinner and have found a Christmas music station on Apple TV. I pulled out the Santa towels that evaded being boxed and stored. It's goofy and fun! There's no tree or gifts, just wonderful smells of cinnamon, clove, and ginger! We're about to watch a holiday like movie and just settle in.

It's not that this particular bizarre evening is that important as it is know and appreciating that I have someone in my life that is was wonderfully quirky as I am. That is a blessing and one I am continually grateful for.

Beat the Heat

It has just gotten down right hot here in Denver! I am not a heat guy by any stretch, coats are my thing. It's tougher to get around  and not go crazy when it gets like this. I am reminded of my growing up in Houston where the survival technique was to focus less on the heat and more about moving through it slowly. It also does little good to constantly complain about it. No one is in charge of the big thermostat, so why bother with all the wasted energy? Complaining also just keeps reminding me it is unpleasant and offers nothing but negativity wherever I go, even if the feeling is universal. Trying my best to keep positive and move slower. After all, Fall is but one losing Cubs season away.

Workin' Through

I have yet to hold a job where there doesn't seem to be some adverse element to contend with. Whether that be slow business or just individuals that see things differently than I do. While there is always the temptation to say they are wrong or things would be better in another job, that seems a waste of time. They are always there. Without the option to just not work (which personally would drive me mad), I have come to the conclusion that no matter how ridiculous these folks seem to be, I can not avoid them. My happiness therefor can not be tied to there acting differently than I would wish. A wise man once asked me,"would you like to be happy or right?" As infuriating as that question can be, it more often than not seems accurate in the small things.

Early Bird Special

My work day doesn't start till much later today, but I hopped up early with Tiff to get some work at home finished. I don't know when it happened, but I now feel much more productive early in the day. If I can tick a couple things off my to do list by 8am, I feel like it's going to be a better day. It also helps a lot when I have the time to take our dogs for a good walk right away. I know they appreciate it, but for me it just gets me a little more locked in for the day. So far, today is off to a good start.

Ride to Run

We are getting another Spring snow storm. I decided to celibate with a quick ride to REI go get some much needed running gels. The feeling of riding through snow is exhilarating. I am glad I opted for the lobster claw gloves having underestimated the last several snowy days on the bike. With the right layers, it is just fun. There is also a feeling of appropriate when considering I was going to an outdoor adventure store to get something to help me run longer. Why would you drive for something like that when you have another option?

Dream World

Ever had one of those bad or weird dreams that you woke up from still feeling it? That just happened last night to me and I couldn't shake the feeling. I decided to take my frustrations out and knock out my hills run this morning. It seems one of those mysteries we all just accept the way dreams affect us. They entertain and confuse us. On occasion they scare us or even cause us to actually move. While there are volumes of research, studies, and amateur theories on what and why dreams happen, no one seems to have an answer for why our dreams do what they do. I have awoke in a full sweat and heart racing just because of the pictures in my mind. It does make for an interesting point that so much of what we believe and experience is how our mind sees it. Why else would that strange dream last night have left me so cross this morning? None of it actually happened. At least for last night's area, I am glad for that.

Positive

Today is my Saturday as it were. I'm content to be getting some odds and ends taken care of thus far and am about to launch into more meaningful work. It feels good to be a degree more optimistic these days. The recent funk has been tough to weather, but it is just a storm and they always pass if allowed to. Optimism is an amazing quality. It seems impossible to force and undefinable when it's there. For most of my life I feel I have been more or less positive. I know a good portion of that was seriously in the wrong direction, but at least I was positive about it. Today, as I take stock on a routine basis to weigh my assets as they may be viable, I am grateful for my optimism. By nature, it sure can't hurt to hope.

Just Lace Up

Been a bit tight on the time to get proper posts up. When that happens I am torn as to whether it is better to try and say something, even if it is short like yesterday or skip it and just acknowledge time is not on my side. I am often one to try and say something, anything to keep inertia going though. It always seems twice as easy to skip once it has been done once. Life also never seems at a lack of business to create all sorts of viable options and excuses. To me, time always has the ability to conform when I need it to, even if it doesn't feel like it will. Sometimes I have to lace up and just go and trust I will have the time.