Recreation Through Endurance

Go see this movie!

There's a bad habit I have of not getting really excited for an event until it's almost here. For example, my supervisor called me about a month ago and asked if I wanted to go to Veldhoven, for a one-week training class. Of course, I had to ask for an extra week of vacation so Liz could come out and we could hang out in Europe, just for the hell of it.

Liz will be flying into Amsterdam the morning after my class is done. What will we do for 4 days? I don't even know if there's anything fun to do there... Really, they have all these limits on behavior, like

"Avoid using cannabis in public It is unsafe and illegal. It is not allowed to smoke in the public (you can get a fine, but usually just a reminder from the policeman), and it is not polite either to roam the streets, shops or restaurants while stoned. You can easily bump into a bike or a tram and die. If you have to, use the cannabis in the privacy of the coffeeshop."

Also,

"No pictures of the Red Light District's windows Never take pictures of the occupied red windows in Amsterdam Red Light District, to respect the privacy of both the visitors and the workers of the district."

So, since those are out, what will we do? Perhaps, experience Heineken, or Rijksmuseum, or the Anne Frank house, or take a canal boat, or go see Van Gogh.

One thing that will be interesting, is to see a somewhat more liberal culture. Things like fountains and coffee may not be the same as in America. What will we do? It's hard to say, but I supposed we'll figure something out. All I know is that after making reservations, I'm starting to get excited.

Injuries can be depressing. You're activities and abilities can be limited and when you can't do the things you love, it wears on you. It really wears on you when you can't even do things you don't love, like typing well at work. As far as injuries go, a finger dislocation is about as good as it gets. Fairly non-serious, not too painful, decent recovery time, and only slightly limiting. Still, it can wear on you.

During one afternoon earlier this week when I would've rather been mountain biking, I was reading the paper instead and came across an article that made me feel better. If you've gotten around Richmond at all, you've seen the Seal Team PT sessions and how hardcore the guy must be to put them on. Well, seems like he got it worse than I did. Popping a finger out of place in a bike wreck is nothing compared to breaking your neck on a trampoline. If he can push through that, I can quit my whining.

My checkup with the doctor perscribed the other PT, which I can't start since I'll be in the Netherlands for the next couple weeks. Guess I'm going to have to subject myself to my own painful recovery, which started today. Nothing like zip-tying your finger closed and keep cranking it down more and more until you can't stand it anymore. Give it a try sometime!

Trails are beautiful and they hold a special place in my heart right next to Sierra Nevada beer and complete exhaustion.

It's rained pretty hard the last few days, almost all the leaves are down for the fall. The trails are harder to see and look very natural blending into the woods.

My finger's still in the healing process, or at least I hope it is since I still can't close my hand and can't ride the thick bike until it does close.

I've been running the road more lately, but it never feels fast since there's no danger or trees flying past.

Teva had a great offer on trail running shoes for $40 that I couldn't pass up.

There are sections of Forest Hill Park that descend hills with tight footing where, if you move your legs fast enough and hold your arms out like wings for balance, you can feel like your flying. It's a beautiful thing.

Democrats have been spending the last 6 years blaming the Republicans for everything that didn't go their way. American changed that last tuesday by turning Congress over to the Democrats and now the Republicans are starting the blame game. How quickly things change.

I'm still thinking about pushing through the tough times. It's not even that times have been tough, at least not in any tangible way, but I know it's been hard to me to handle those mental roadblocks in the past. Lately, projects have gone unfinished and the motivation hasn't been there to complete them. I don't feel I've made progress fitness-wise this fall and that's a new concept for me to handle. I haven't been making good use of my time, etc. Really though, it's important to take a look at the big picture and realize that these things are things I've brought on myself. Looking at the big picture, I have to consider myself lucky and just do what needs to be done to push through it. Get a couple accomplishments behind me and build that motivation back up. Perhaps, I should consider it a different kind of endurance.

Ok, here's the truth. I found a new HTML tag I wanted to use and wanted a paragraph to go with it. Enjoy.

Maybe it's that time of year. Maybe it's the colder weather or the shorter days keeping people inside to think. Could be a random collection of events, but it seems like everyone's been a little more reflective lately.

My friend, Jay, has been reconsidering the nature of America, and his place in it. A good friend who moved to Richmond from Texas about the same time I did felt, for very intangible reasons, he'd be better off back in Austin and now I don't have a source for music recommendations. More than one person has confided in me they're thinking about switching jobs out of boredom or lack of meaning. I'm reading Timequake, where the universe falls back 10 years and everyone's forced to relive a decade of their lives only able to observe their previous actions. I've heard of more break-ups than hook-ups. I also know I've been looking back more than forward lately.

Before new life can be born, the old layer needs to be shed. With the falling of the leaves (and the end of race season), life seems to be preparing for hibernation. Just stick it out guys. You'll be glad after the winter's over. It's the only way to enjoy yourself.

BTW: I can bend the finger a little more each day. Maybe I'll ride a mountain bike again someday.

If the Broncos can beat the Super Bowl champs, does that mean they're going to win the Super Bowl?


Running in the cold at night is vastly underrated.

Zillow is vastly overrated.

Just because your fast on a bike, doesn't mean 26.2 is easy. Velonews reports Armstrong saying:

"In 20 years of pro sports, endurance sports, from triathlons to cycling, all the Tours, even the worst days in the Tours, nothing was as hard as that, and nothing left me feeling the way I feel now in terms of just sheer fatigue and soreness."

Ski season is a month away! Liz reminded me it's time to get those edges sharpened and bottoms waxed.

With enough distractions, a stationary bike isn't a horrible experience, it may even be somewhat enjoyable. You can listen to music without compromising safety, ready a book, watch monday night football, or all the above at once. Having said that, I got back on a real bike as soon as I possibly could.

Went out today for a reasonably short road ride. Partially due to a time crunch and partially because I didn't know how much my hand would allow me to take. Mountain biking is still several weeks out, but I figured if I kept the hills and bumps to a minimum, I could ride on skinny tires. After it was over and declared successful, I realized my forearms got a workout from the unusual handlebar positions. My forearms probably don't get enough exercise anyways.

Also, typing is almost normal. With the splint off, I can use my ring finger on those important keys, like "x" and "2" without also pressing 7 other keys. Now, I just have to work on closing my hand more than it's current level: