Thor's Thursday - Unintentional Trauma

We're usually pretty good about traumatizing folks. A lot of times it is intentional - 12 year old boy humor at crazy times, blaming the dog for fiber-induced clouds, being embarrassing in public - but sometimes it is purely unintentional.

Today - unintentional trauma was on the menu. After a long winter of treadmills, bike trainers, and football, today was a day to run outside in shorts. It was in the mid-40s and was just about right to have a long sleeve shirt and shorts on. Out the door and get the feet moving. After passing a few folks going the opposite direction on the sidewalk, I noticed that they had funny looks on their faces. Turns out it was me that they were RCA-dogging their heads about. Sigh.

So, it turns out that after several months of only going outdoors wearing pants, sweaters, jackets, hats, gloves, and other winter gear...you get pale. As this is happening, you fail to notice the gradual loss of tan. And then you run outside and unintentionally traumatize several blocks worth of unwitting pedestrians. Sigh. 

And, in a semi-related rant - running short manufacturers, please figure out how to make a pair of 7" inseam shorts with pockets that don't sag below the hemline when the phone is in the pocket. Sadly, the phone was with me, so not only did I scar folks with pasty pale thighs, I also traumatized them with the sight of the pocket stretching down below the shorts' hemline. 

And that visual should help you sleep better this evening! Pleasant dreams.

Thor's Thursday - Mojo

As in where did it go? Did it get lost as a result of too much work and too little play (training)? Did I exceed the lifetime allowance of mojo? Is it waiting under the surface ready to be re-awakened? Is it just waiting for a warm spring-ish day rather than the cold, windy, snowy ones? (and yes, the lack of an "or" was certainly intentional...)

Yeah, who knows. Been rough slugging through the last couple weeks of training, but luckily, we're signed up for some serious events this summer, so mojo or not - the training must continue. Getting on the trainer, or on the treadmill, or in the pool, or out the door is much easier when there's a bit of mojo flowing. 

But the important thing is to get the workout started. Convincing yourself that "you've got 5 minutes in you" can often get you through whatever you've got planned. Sometimes it's just the act of lacing up the shoes or some other equivalent that can make all the difference. You get dressed, you get out the door, and before you know it, the "just five minutes" turns into your workout. Other times, your body will say, thanks for the "5," but I'd like you to reconsider. And that's when you need to take stock - is your brain revolting because of a pain, an ache, a "something" missing, or is your brain just craving some couch time. If it's one of the former, be smart. If it's the latter, you have to decide - will your goal win the mojo battle or will the couch. 

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you're probably right. So, find your mojo. There's no shame in having a mojo-less workout. But the least likely place to find it is on the couch.

Thursday is Thor's Day - Fun and Funky Race Vibes

In case you haven't noticed, we're a little bit fun and a little bit funky. We like being slightly different and are fine when you call us special. There's a certain wacky pride in doing different stuff, and to be sure, doing triathlons is "different stuff."

We have fun doing a wide variety of races - there's joy to be found in the small, local sprint tri; there's joy to be found in the polished, very professional atmosphere of a corporate "production" tri; and there's a whole boatload of joy in the slightly off-kilter, fun and funky vibed races that are out there. We've had the pleasure of finding a few of them and figured we'd share. Please do not take this post as a bash of WTC, who puts on Ironman branded races. We've done a branded 70.3 race and have experienced two 140.6 venues. Those races are absolutely top notch and we have great memories of the races - they each have their own character within Ironman. We're just talking here about the "fun and funky" vibes that are out there. 

The first crazy vibe race we stumbled into was a small, local tri called Riverstock. Sadly, it hasn't survived. It was a tough course and low participation numbers (plus Hurricane Irene) managed to kill it off. This race had a crazy Woodstock-y vibe -- they gave out tie-dyed t-shirts (that we still wear!) and age group prizes were old 45s with a peace sign sticker and the race details. This was the first hint that chaos was out there to be found.

The next entrant in the crazy vibe line-up is the American Triple-T. It's a four pack of races over three days in an absolutely gorgeous state park in southwestern Ohio. You know that a race weekend is awesome if folks are willing to drive out to SW Ohio. There's something special about camping before a race and being so tired each day that you nearly fall asleep in the campground shower. The race organizers herd the cats very well and aside from the very plastic-y race singlet (mandatory to wear) - the weekend of racing is just top notch. Check them out here: http://www.americantriple-t.com/ 

The insane vibe category belongs to SavageMan. This is simply the best race we've ever done - jaw dropping scenery, tough hills (check out the fail video on the homepage: http://www.winthefight.org/savageman/ ), perfect organization, and a run course that goes right by your tent in a cruel twist of "there's my pillow, why am I out here running" insanity. Just an amazing atmosphere and all the staff and volunteers are amazing. 

The next two races we haven't done yet. But, we've organized our 2013 seasons around them. You already know about Norseman if you've read this blog before. The other "fun and funky" vibed race we're doing is Epic Dartmouth. We heard about this one last year, but weren't able to make it work. We checked out the race reviews and it just sounds like a solid combination of low key, focused event and quality organization. As a snapshot of why we think this one is going to be a winner - within 24 hours of registering, we each received an email from the race director offering to assist with questions or logistics (the race is up in Nova Scotia). That certainly counts as going the extra mile in our books and gets a shout out. Check them out at http://epicdartmouth.com/ 

All those races have the usual social media presence, so give them a look. And if you're thinking about a tri, we'll vouch in two directions. The larger well-known races are large and well known because they do things right and put on quality races. But the smaller, off-the-beaten track races have a lot to offer and have a character and soul all their own. There's no right or wrong answer to selecting a race. But we're finding that fun and funky has a special pull - and our 2013 season is headed in a distinctly fun and funky direction, with a healthy dose of hills and chaos.

Thursday is Thor's Day -- We Don't Get It.

We've been neglecting this blog for too long, so in an effort to kick things back off...and since Thursday is Thor's Day (and there's that whole Norseman connection)...yeah, look for new posts by Thursdays. 

First up...in case you were under a rock, there's this famous cyclist who also happens to have started a philanthropic organization who has been in the news lately. Rather than getting into Oprah's lane...here are some of the random conversations we've been having in our little slice of the universe. 

1) We don't get it. This is mostly directed toward the age group athletes out there who are using anti-aging products, or PEDs, or other banned substances. Maybe we're missing something, but none of us are getting paid for competing/completing tris or 5k's or mud runs. This is "sport" - it's supposed to be fun. We'll be the first to admit that our ego's look at the ranking and see how we stack up, but really. In order to win an essentially made-up sport (none of us are running to provide for ourselves or feed ourselves) people are out there using banned or illegal substances. Like I said, we don't get it. It's supposed to be about the process - it's supposed to be about being better / stronger / faster tomorrow than you were today through your own effort and hard work. It's not supposed to be about who can manipulate their blood / hormones. 

2) We think there's an element of entertainment in pro sports. I mean, let's face it -- would the NFL be as hugely popular if it was normal sized people running and hitting at normal speeds. Now, obviously, they (and the other pro sports)  have some version of a testing protocol in place and we're not trying to implicate every pro athlete. But, a lot of pro sports are more Roman Coliseum and entertainment than "pure" athletics (whatever that means).

3) Setting aside the whole pro sports as entertainment piece - how do we, as a society, ensure that the folks who want to compete on a level playing field can do so. And, possibly more importantly, how do we ensure the health and safety of the kids and teens so that their bodies develop on a natural path and so that they can compete cleanly. 

4) Part of what we don't like is the whole "everyone was doing it" attitude and the fact that it raises questions about anyone who turns in an exceptional performance. You can't prove a negative. Right now, it's too easy to be suspicious about everyone. And that isn't good or fair. And it's not right.

5) No, really, we don't get it. We're getting older. That sucks. It would've been nice to start this whole tri / endurance / (actually running more than 4 miles per year) thing earlier. But we didn't and we don't have 10, 20, 30, 40 + years of solid base training in our legs and bodies. So, that means we're going to improve slowly and when you factor in some age related declines - yeah, we're fighting to tread water. So, we just try to work a little harder and train a little smarter and pay more attention to recovery. And we don't even consider PEDs or anything along those lines. Because those things cheat you out of the pride of knowing the work you put in and the hours and sweat equity.

6) Yes, we take multivitamins.  And we train, sometimes slowly (ok, usually slowly).  If we improve at all, it's because we're busting our asses.  If we don't improve, it won't be because we weren't trying.  But if we do improve, it'll be legit, so we won't have to book a session with Oprah.

So, what are your thoughts? 

(This is a mild version from the ranter...the eloquent one was working on other stuff.)