Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Motivation at Caesars Creek


In past years, the Sunday race day was preceded by a Saturday race called Girls Tri Too. It is shorter than a Sprint and encouraged women to try the sport in a non-intimidating environment. This year they started this event on Sunday, 30 minutes before the “regular” starts at 8:00. This gave a fortunate group of supporters, including me, to root on these women as they made their way from the lake to the transition. This was the highlight of the day for me. Eighty three women participated and I clapped and cheered for everyone of them.

After months of training, pals!
Family support at the finish!


Did it all by herself!

She completed the entire event!






































































actually running


Now for my race. It was my best performance to date with a top 50% overall finish. My bike was at the top 25% mark, which I attribute to the recent commuting to work. I have not really worked on short distance runs, just long road and trail runs so I think I have room to improve for next year. There is no reason I cannot be in the top 25% overall next year.

I have developed a habit of chatting with people on the run. I have no idea why I do this, after years of pretty much keeping to myself. I talk with everybody about how pretty the run is, how ugly their shoes are    : ), did you notice the lady with the crutches or the 10 year old girl, or here come the leaders. I always tell the first few leaders (coming the opposite direction) where they are and I can see it motivates them to keep it up.
I managed not to cramp even with the high temps and humidity. Probably due to the extra oxygen from chatting. I even managed a ¼ mile sprint to the finish at a 6:20 pace.




Saturday, July 14, 2012

A departure from biking, running, and tattoos


A departure from biking, running, and tattoos. I offer a compilation of random thoughts, quotes and observations. I’ve added a few pictures as well. Sometimes it’s nice to see pictures on the menu even if they do not resemble the thing you order.


It seems to me there is an interesting relationship between politics, religion, and big time wrestling. 
o   People follow them as if they were real. No offense intended and understood it can be difficult when you just want to believe. Just remember there are those who may benefit from that need to believe. 
o   People watch them with a passing interest and occasionally get caught up in the excitement. That head lock looked like it really hurt. I’ll vote for them because they really care about me.
o   People see them as pandering to the least common denominator. Tell them what they “want to” / “need to” hear.
                                                     Snydersshoes thoughts while trailrunning 2012





 The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between the earth and the galaxy of the stars, but that in this prison we can fashion images of ourselves sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness. 
                                             Andre Mairaux




Where do you draw the line

Humans require lines to be drawn to establish where they stand, over here or over there. This must be a human trait as animal and plant life just value physical attributes that simply promote their species. So why do humans feel the need or compulsion to establish a line for everything and literally put their life on some.

There is a puzzle in mathematics that attempts to establish the length of a coastline. From the mountains, the line is well defined, the water on one side, the land on the other. On closer review, the measured distance is longer as it winds its way around rocks, inlets, and other irregularities. With still closer review, the path follows each grain of sand and the length seems infinite. Then following this thought process to the natural conclusion, where a minimum length is encountered, and the concept of length really has no meaning.

It would appear the lines we live our lives by are just as ambiguous as the coastline, depending on how closely we look. From a distant view, you see a distinct line, it’s in the water or out. Only when you look very closely you may decide the lines are illusions and exist only as a convenience.

The various lines people choose to live their lives by are learned; we are not born with them. Perhaps they are evolved boundaries that protect us from the unknown, and are viewed as necessary for survival in society.

Humans also have the ability to dream without boundaries, discovering the patterns of the universe, creating music and artwork. If we view the various lines as artificial and necessary only to keep order in society, our minds may be freed to explore the beauty of the nooks and crannies of our world.

                                                                                       Thoughts driving to work 2011