dirt. and a new challenge.

February 8th, 2010

muddy shoes after 6 miles at sope creek

my mom likes to say that everything i say i will NEVER do, i almost always eventually do.

one thing i said i would never have any desire to do was run an ultramarathon. i was pretty adamant about this too. the time constraints, the mind-blowing proportions of running more than 26.2 miles, it all just seemed like something that would never appeal to me.

well…..

you know where this story is going, right? mom’s theory once again holds true. this weekend i registered for the stump jump 50k trail race (that’s 31 miles!!!) in chattanooga on october 2. i think i am crazy, but i’m committed. i paid the fee and i am going to try to do it.

i blame two people for this. first, christopher mcdougall. i read his incredible book born to run about the tarahumara tribe and ultrarunning and i thought i really like the sound of this. i really want to do this.

the second person i blame is javi d, marketing manager for team in training in georgia and himself an ultrarunner (on twitter at @areyouin.) after i cooked up this hair-brained idea, i ran it by javi and instead of discouraging me, he basically through gasoline on the fire, convincing me it would be no trouble at all.

so here i am, registered for a 50k.

this weekend, after our gts for the san diego marathon, i went into the big peach and bought a pair of brooks cascadia 5s for the dirt.

my third enabler then suggested that the best thing we could do was absolutely go break them in. so lisa and i headed to the sope creek trails at the chattahooche and ran for a full hour, logging almost six miles in the glorious mud.

and i loved it. loved it. there is something so fun about running through the woods. it’s primal maybe, although that word is overused. perhaps what i mean is running on dirt is connected to the earth in a primitive way that a road never will be.

and it’s childish. it brought back memories and visions of running through the woods behind my house in oakton, va as a kid, getting muddy and not caring a bit.

so i am in. bring on the trails, bring on the 50k. after that who knows.

as my mom would say, i really ought to never say never.

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kickoff.

January 27th, 2010

at team in training, georgia chapter we had our kickoff for the summer season last night. kickoff is something i love. it’s just too much to see the mixture of people. some are nervous about running 26.2 or 13.1. some are nervous about raising money for a cure. some are cocky and know they are going to do it. and of course, there are the returning members of the tnt family, for whom the kickoff is like a reunion.

our georgia chapter run coach tommy owens always talks about a hero being an “ordinary person doing something extraordinary.” one of the reasons i love kickoff is that i see ordinary people beginning the journey of doing something extraordinary.

becoming a marathoner was one of the most extraordinary things i have ever done. doing it and raising money for a cure took *that* to another level.

as i greeted each person and i saw the ones showing up to do the san diego marathon, i thought to myself, in june, i will cross the finish line with these people. we will all share an extraordinary moment, and right now they don’t even understand how amazing it will be.

in 5 months they will though. and i will have helped get them there. and so will you. all of you who have or will support me through encouragement, donations and cheering are supporting them to.

so how about it. i can think of two ways to help. first, you can donate in support of me right here. or second, have you ever actually thought about doing it? my friends at tnt are offering a pretty sweet deal for people i refer (just to note, i am not getting anything out of this, other than the satisfaction of knowing that you are going to love me for it.) check out the details here.

let’s do this, san diego.

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what a deal to do 26.2.

January 27th, 2010

so here is the thing. if you live in atlanta and you have been reading all my wacky posts about training for a marathon with team in training, you surely have thought at some point, maybe i could do that.

i was chatting with my friends at team in training, georgia chapter over email today, and the told me that i could offer anyone i recruited online to try out team in training this summer season a 75% discount on the registration fee.

not a bad gig. and it’s really, really worth it. i am going to blog about out kickoff shortly and i can’t tell you how inspired it made me about getting into it for another season.

so what not give it a go? just give them a call at (404) 720-7842 and let them know i referred you and they’ll sign you up for $25.

plus, seriously, you get to run with me. and how much it that worth? millions.

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mentoring.

January 24th, 2010

i still don’t have a good graphic to use for the 2010 san diego marathon. i may in the end just use the team in training logo, but not quite sure yet. this season i am ‘mentoring’ for team in training. i am pretty excited about this. it means i will get a group of runners, many of them who have never run a marathon before, and i will help guide them through their training and fundraising as we go through the season and get toward the starting line.

mentors were a huge part of my success with the program last year, and it is pretty cool to have been selected to help out with the san diego team in training group in this way.

we are starting our training this coming saturday so things have been ramping up for sure. our big rah-rah kickoff meeting is tuesday, and the of course the big group training session saturday morning.

i spoke for a few minutes yesterday at an informational meeting. i talked about being successful raising money for the leukemia society as part of the program. it is definitely a challenging thing to wrap your mind around when you consider doing tnt. i know for me at least, i had no issues with the training, having climbed the ladder to 26.2 multiple times. the fundraising, not so much.

anyway, get ready for maps, and run reports and all the fun stuff that shows up on this blog when i start training for a marathon.

oh and speaking of fundraising, my fundraising page is up now, so how about stopping by and donating $10?

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365′n it.

January 20th, 2010

that's moi. ridin' the 140

i have become one of those annoying self-obsessed people who has embarked on a 365 project – OF MYSELF. yes, i am pledging to take and post one picture of myself every day for all of 2010. well, i don’t have to take the picture per se, but it has to be a picture take of me on that day.

for example, this particular picture of me was taken by justin when i didn’t even know he was on the bus.

they’re all being uploaded to flickr (the flickr iphone app makes this 365 thing about one million times better) and some like this one of me walking the dogs are incredibly boring, but i had to get a snap and nothing bolted throughout the day.

anyway, you can view the whole project here in this flickr gallery.

should be interesting. or boring.

who knows.

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space invaders.

January 19th, 2010

i do not like to be touched and jostled.

this is perhaps one of the core aspects of my personality. i suspect, though i have never been diagnosed as such, that i am mildly agoraphobic. wal*marts on christmas eve and the georgia aquarium might as well be hell for me.

but what really drives me nuts is having to sit next to someone on a train or plane in tight quarters and having them constantly touching me. not intentionally of course, but just bumping shoulders or legs or something. you have no idea how nuts this drives me. it almost makes me physically ill. this can be a bit of a challenge on public transportation. you will often see me shirking as far to my edge of the seat as possible when someone starts invading my space.

this has suprisingly not been much of an issue until lately. the last few weeks though have just seen an influx of people getting in my space. in fact i am writing this right now on the northbound train doing my best to edge to the side of my seat as someone has decided to sit next to me and start closing in on my space.

i suspect that if i stopped showering, maybe this would help. probably not get me a promotion at work tho’

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attacked by zombies. maybe depeche mode was right and god does have a sick sense of humor.

January 15th, 2010

i hate zombies.

i mean hate them.

i have always been disdainful of them, but my hatred probably started reaching irrational and potentially unhealthy proportions upon learning of the existence of the criminal pride and prejudice and zombies (i iwll absolutely not not not link to this travesty either.)

anyway, last saturday i was on my way to meet some friends at grant central east, when i got a cryptic text from one of them implying that i had some “friends waiting for me.”

i knew it wasn’t going to be good.

but i was not in any way shape or form prepared for the existence of an entire ten-person zombie birthday party. yup, all of them dressed as zombies.

unfortunately i expressed my displeasure a little to loud and the rest is below, courtesy of jamsmooth…..

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pierre leroux. robert owen. friedrich engels. lil wayne????

January 8th, 2010

caveat; i actually enjoy lil wayne. i listen to him with some frequency and find it to be generally entertaining. in fact the song we be steady mobbin’ is a great song to run to. it’s a frequent choice of mine when i am out pounding the pavement.

i also know that oftne rap lyrics can be very nonsensical and pointless. in fact there is an entire web site devoted to the hillarity of rap lyrics, called snacks and shit that i read with frequency.

the other day though, one line from we be steady mobbin’ hit me as probably the most out of place, illogical rap lyric of all time. no understand most of this song is devoted to talking about lil wayne’s accumulation of both women and money though a variety of illicit activities. anyway, in the middle of all of that, lil wayne pops out with this:

i am the hip hop socialist

really?

i mean let’s set aside for a moment the idea that there could be such a thing as the hip-hop socialist, but at least 2/3s of lil wayne’s music is devoted to making money for himself by selling things to people. in what way is he a socialist?

i am really baffled by this reference. i mean, he does say earlier in this song, “got 10 bathrooms i can s*&t all day,” which is idiotic but at least has some internal consistency.

but the hip-hop socialist? color me confused, lil wayne.

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Posted in music, random | 2 Comments »

crazy people and why i had to drive to lindbergh.

January 5th, 2010

if you ride marta a lot, you are bound to run into some crazy people. it’s just gonna happen. it won’t happen as often as you think but eventually it will. this morning was one of those times. i got on the train at lindbergh (more on that in a second) and as the train was pulling away the yelling started.

it wasn’t the ‘jesus saves’ style of yelling eihter. it was pissed off crackhead yelling. i am not sure what tripped it off but an old homeless woman became incensed at another passenger and began yelling some of the most obscene profanity possible at her. now the girl who was the target of this didn’t see fit to de-escalate and instead started prodding the old addict along, telling her to “go get under a bridge and sleep there,” and singing “what would you do for a klondike bar?” while repeatedly calling her a crackhead, which she most obviously was, but didn’t really care to have it rubbed in her face.

my favorite line of the exchange, girl asked the old lady what she would do for a rock, and the old lady screamed, “i wouldn’t f*&k you for one, you skanky ho.” seriously. i cannot make this stuff up.

i was, however, trying to read, so i got off at buckhead and switced cars.

now about that drive to lindbergh. see, i would have liked tremendously to keep my car completely off of the road today. unfortunately, since nobody will give poor marta any money, i am kind of stuck. i need to go to the georgia chapter office of the leukemia and lymphoma society tonight after work for a meeting and it’s in northwest atlanta nowhere near a marta station. i could try to bus it, but there is only one bus, it leaves from midtown and takes forever to actually make it north of paces ferry road. then there is the return trip. i would be looking at a 10 pm or later arrival home and lots of waiting around in the cold.

i am dedicated, but not that dedicated.

a cobb train line, or some more extensive buses would do it, but when you are broke like marta you consolidate where the peope are going.

oh well. guess you commuters on 75N will have to deal with one more car this evening as i make my way from lindbergh to the lls office. you might think of that next time you cast a vote that may affect transportation funding.

just sayin’

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2009.

December 31st, 2009

i think they take away your blogger badge if you don’ at least try to come up with some sort of ‘year recap’ post on new year’s eve. it’s the one thing people who don’t touch their blogs for months somehow manage to do.

i don’t really know what to actually say about 2009. it was a weird year. many things did not work out the way i wanted them to and i didn’t get some things that i really wanted to happen in the year. and so i should be pissed. i should be like a certain friend of mine in a city far far away who is hosting a screw you, 2009 party.

but i am not.

one thing i have found about years like 2009 are they are the years when you have to look for and cling to the things that really matter. for me 2009 is the year of friendship. the secret i really discovered this year is that friends are the greatest gift and should be treasured and invested in. my relationships with old friends blossomed this year and new friends appeared and made my life so much fuller and richer.

somewhat related to this is that 2009 was the year of the twitters for me. this funny simple little web site that brought friends and fun into my life.

2009 was the year that i ran again. for that alone i should love this year. march saw me hitting the finish line n the first 26.2 in almost two years and the october saw me doing it again.

so while i really should hate this year, in the end i gotta say it was a good one.

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