Leigh - love the idea...do it! I have a little business thing brewing that I've been working on for about 6 mos but I'll have to let you know...
So, with all the talk we had a while back about always wearing workout clothing I thought the following was kinda funny if totally non PC. I don't know if any of you every read the blog "Stuff White People Like" but it is completely hilarious and many times true. Anyway, when I read this I thought it was so funny and thought of all of you. In fact, the other day, my daughter came home from school for lunch and as she was leaning on counter eating, I could see her Gear West bike shorts showing above her pants. I said, "Are you wearing tri shorts under your pants?" "Yeah mom....they are so freaking comfortable." I had to chuckle. Anyway...the following was funny.
As white people get older, they like to make clear boundaries between their professional and personal lives. They don’t mind talking about their personal life at work, but they hate talking about their work life when they are enjoying a weekend or vacation. But with blackberries and laptops, white people could be working anywhere, at any time. So how do you know when they are off the clock? It’s easy, check their clothes.
When you see white people wearing these, it is important that you do not discuss business matters. Instead you should say things like “where did you get that fleece?” and “what’s that thing holding your keys to your shorts?” White people will be more than happy to talk to you about their sustainably produced possessions.
The main reason why white people like these clothes is that it allows them to believe that at any moment they could find themselves with a Thule rack on top of their car headed to a national park. It could be 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday when they might get a call “hey man, you know what we need to do? Kayak then camping, right now. I’m on my way to get you, there is no time to change clothes.”
Though it is unlikely that they will receive this call, White people hate the idea of missing an opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities because they weren’t wearing the right clothes.
If you plan on spending part of your weekend with a white person, it is strongly recommended that you purchase a jacket or some sort of “high performance” t-shirt, which is like a regular shirt but just a lot more expensive.
ice and a bit of snow, made schools close in most of the state..... today. however I had already gotten up early and drank some coffee... okay I don't own any of those REI, patagonia clothes!!! I guess I won't get invited to go kayaking at 4 p.m. on a Saturday....not a one, mine are Nike, Adidas, Brooks....
the Triathlete Mom: "When she arrives at the grocery store wearing track pants and dry fit shirt with a ponytail and some light lipstick, yes she really has just finished a run and is famished when she hits the store.... procuring some blueberries and opening them up without worrying about paying for them as she is a regular in Krogers and is good for it, besides she sorta looks mean as she inhales the berries, the produce guys just ask "finding everything okay today?" and she says "yes< and why are you out of bananas?"
At home, she does get showered and if cranking out major housework, puts on a favorite race tee, some "old" running shoes that to the untrained eye, look pretty new, plugs in the IPOD to radio dock and sets playlist to "5k VDOT" for the upbeat, pounding songs, and with some comfy jeans with pockets for items found, gets with it unloading the d/w and cleaning the kitchen floor still keeping the energy high as there is only so much time to get the house done!
Next time she goes out though? no dry fit anything. in fact, as she makes another trip to a different store, the only way you would know that she is somewhat athletic? is that she power walks thru the store and passes people as she goes....and a short stop in the magazine rack reveals her interest, as Bubba next to her is looking at the variety of car or hunting magazines, she is looking at the new Runner's World and happens to say "what sort of store is this? it doesn't have Triathlete?!"
as she pulls into her garage, she carefully maneuvers her Element so that it doesn't hit her three bikes!! she has already figured out the best transition for unloading stuff from her car, up the steps and into the house and alternates which arm she uses for balanced weight workout. While working on dinner, one of her children says "I gotta run to town." and she says "good idea, it is only 2.5 miles roundtrip to Krogers!" He exclaims loudly "I am NOT going to run, Mom!" and she mentally does the math and schemes on her next run, "hmm, I could drop off the movie for a 4 mile trek, go by Starbucks on my way home, hit the store in running clothes and make the overall trip about 8 miles!" and her son just shakes his head, while his friend looks at her in amazement.
Oh my Sheryl, by that definition I'm never working! Now that I work from a home office, I LIVE in workout/high performance cloths. As I type this I am wearing:
Patagonia cami/undies
Compression Socks
Nike Yoga Pants
Brooks Dryline hoodie top with thumb holes (keeping my hands nice and warm as I type on this cold day)
Seriously- I have this 3-day business meeting to go to later this month and I might have to do some shopping for it!!! I think all my "business" cloths are outdated!
The big news here (and around the country it seems) is this freakingly weird weather! I'm currently looking out the window at ICE on the sound!!! Not just hanging from the dock, but the sound water itself is covered in ice!!! They keep saying this is a once in a generation cold stap- I hope they are right 'cause if not- Joe wants to move to Costa Rica!
Cold here as well... 9 degrees and -3 wind chill (talk about your Tundra points). No bike riding but running hasn't been that bad. Bought the Craft base layer last year and surprisingly- I've been too warm running past 2 days. I keep shedding a layer and think I can now go one more. Ran trails yesterday which also helps to keep warmer (less wind). Forecast calls for 10-20 degrees below norm here this week (and the coldest day is next Sat, go figure). Gotta get my trainer wheel put back together and drag out & set up that bad boy for the FT test today. To Jan OS I go!!
Back to work today but no home office for me! Trust me, as you can see from my past posts, clothing for work is NO fun! GOT to work on my 2010 race schedule- never realized how much I plan around those! How times have changed!
from my run this morning! dusting of snow and a bit of ice that is now gone cuz the sun came out but due to the chance that ice might still be out there and my kids being home, will do the bike test some other time, yep never have $$plonked down for trainer and extra wheel, preferring to check weather and brave the elements....but some times it would be nice to hop on the trainer and be done with it!! as it takes 20 - 25' to actually get dressed for a ride!!! the layers. smile. more in Jan OS week one post.. m
Gals....(and guy lurkers) I can't get my pictures to go into my post? I know...I've tried putting them in snapfish then linking but it hasn't worked. Any advice? Marianne? You seem to be very proficient at it....
Sheryl- what browser are you using? I know Michele had some trouble until she switched browsers. What exactly are you doing and what happens when you do it?
Sheryl - "Stuff White People Like" is a crack up! Lots of wit and comedy coming from that blog. The post you've excerpted for us is so dead on for Colorado! Holy cow! Although this might be the one place where I have actually witnessed that cross over in my own company executives. They're all athletic and inclined toward recreation (they don't do it much) but they do cross the clothing line. Anyway, thanks for the laugh!!
So strange that during this nationwide cold snap we're having temps in the 40s today. I'm hoping against hope that this will hold so that I can do my next run test outside on Wednesday...but snow is predicted by that point. Ugh I don't want to have to do that on the TM!!
Hope all you January Gals are getting your groove on with the first tests!!
Kris - have fun with the race planning!! Let us know what you come up with!
Ok need some household advice here.... I had a Power bar (smoothie flavor) that melted and stuck to the inside of my leather purse. Old purse zipper broke so I need to use this bag (and I love it). Any helpful hints for removing the last of the PB stuck to the inside fabric?
Went to the eye dr today- have been having issues with contacts since they switch them up the week of Ironman. Thought it was just garden variety of allergies but it's become so bad and I've been through eliminating everything else (lotions, makeup etc) so finally went back. The contacts are irrating my eye and causing allergic reaction. Can't wear my contacts for a week, then have to switch to daily wear for likely up to 6 mons ($$'s). I am blind as a bat, so without contacts or glasses, imagine Mr Magoo! So I look at the eye doc and say, so you mean I can put them in for a little while to swim and run, right? (can't wear glasses for those) She looks at me as if I've grown 3 heads and says... yah, if you want to reverse all the good the eye drops are doing. Thinking of hooking up my running partner with one of those ropes the challenged athletes do. They'd probably have fun running me into trees or roadkill ! Ok... whining over.... back to work
Oh- and I have no idea how to clean that melted PowerBar- but your post made me laugh! This is exactly what is so special about the Woman's forum. Where else can you get Tips from Heloise on how to remove a melted Powerbar from your purse????
I go to Snapfish and pull the picture up and click on share, then share with a link. I copy the link and use the mountain icon to add. I paste the link into the url place but just get the box with a question mark. I'm using Safari.
I just did that here and got nothing. Would firefox work better? Thanks. Good job on the home office. I'm getting ready to start working on my husband's side business so I can work in technical wear too...I've been wearing my new Sugoi (sic) tops all week under my north face polar fleece....Today I have on Worthington polar fleece.....I'm so stereotypical.....
Congrats to Jenn and Robin on your 5K victories! You gals look like she-ninjas of running!
Kris: I use a butter knife to scrape bar goo from leather--try sticking your purse in the freezer to harden the PB first, then scrape. Sorry to hear about your contacts woes. I'm Magoo without mine too. Swimming without contacts isn't bad at all: that black line at the bottom of the pool is pretty big. The running: I've run in my glasses before. Not great, but not too bad. Since it's cold out, they do tend to fog up in the beginning.
Sheryl: Very funny! I wear my outdoor performance clothing everywhere because it's WAY more comfortable than real clothes--even jeans! AND I'm still waiting for that kayaking/camping invite that's so urgent I don't have time to change clothes. Ha!
Marianne: No trainer--wow! I would LURVE to live in a place where I could ride outside all year---like San Diego...or Palau!
I've been thinking about marriage lately...Over the holidays I had lunch with one of my college friends. When I asked her how she was doing, she said triumphantly, "I just started taking Celexa (an antidepressant); and for the first time in 10 years I love my husband!" How does one respond to that? I said, "That's great---must be one awesome pill, huh?" Nothing wrong with taking an antidepressant, of course...and if it helps with depression so that you can appreciate your husband...well, then even better. It made me think of my patient who is an 82 year old man with a diabetic foot ulcer and can't walk. He's constantly barking and yelling at his wife to move his wheelchair, get his pills, put on his coat. Last week he missed an appointment. When we called his home, his wife said that he fell out of his wheelchair...and she LEFT him there. Apparently for a few hours until she decided to call the ambulance. He's currently hospitalized and doing okay, but she's refusing to take him home. To quote Chris Rock: I'm not saying what she did was right, but I understand. Maybe it was time for some Celexa... All joking aside, it really got me thinking about marriage in the nitty gritty long run of it, after the white doves and cherubs have all flown away...what does it take to stay together and love each other? You can legally, socially, religiously promise to stay together, but can you really promise someone how you're going to feel about them 10, 20, 50 years from now? Heavy questions...so it's time for me to quit stalling and go pay some bills!
Oh, I SO wish but alas, too blind for that. Looked into it a few years ago and not enough cornea there to be able to correct. Can get a lens implanted in my eye but there's something that makes me nervous (besides the cost) abt that. At the time, the lens to do that surgery had just been approved in the US. May look at it again down the road. Would be sweet to wake up and be able to read the clock, ride & run without fear of losing a lens (have lost several on the bike- good thing they stick to sunglasses well).
OK, it's been a long time since I used Snapfish- but as luck would have it I do have an old account. I tried the process you described and it doesn't work for me either. Here's what does work.
Pull up your picture in Snapfish
Right Click on the picture and select "Properties"
When the Properties window pops up- look for "Address". Highlight & Copy whatever is there (be sure to get it all)
Use the little Mountain icon in the Forum and paste that address in the URL spot
This is a picture I have up on my old Snapfish Account. It's of me getting a traditional kiss from one of the Wellesley girls during the Boston Marathon. Those woman were screaming like crazy- you could hear them for a mile before you reached them. It was my favorite part of the marathon.
Gina--What a gorgeous pic! I'd blow that up and stare at myself in the pain cave if it were me! I might just hang you up on my wall for inspiration, and to remind me of all the fun we'll have at Moo!!!! Love it!
Kitima--hoh, boy. Load-ed, but excellent topic. Since I’ve been with Keith for 32 years, married for 28, and raising four boys, I think I can weigh in with some experience--and I'll try to keep it under the length of the Bible. I have often wondered what makes it all work or us. Here are a few things I think factor in:
The golden rule-always (well as much as you can )--Do Unto Others... I think Keith and I have always been very good at being good to each other.
You have to be friends. The romantic beginning changes--not that you can't have romantic times--but the head-over-heels thing has to dissipate. Keith remains my complete and total BF. Yes, I have great women friends, but nothing matches the intimacy of my relationship and friendship with him. I treasure that as the #1 gift in my life.
Understanding that growth and evolution come through navigating the tough times, not the easy times. (Total parallel with training, huh?) It's just a fact of life. People want to throw in the towel thinking things are irreparable (and sometimes they are), when you just have to wait out a tough patch, learn from it, and move forward to the next phase in a marriage/relationship. This is, by no means, easy.
Trust in every way--monogamy, reliability, emotional connection, being able to show vulnerability, etc. Without that--sunk.
Research shows that most marriages/relationships hit the skids at around the 15 year mark. Knowing that timeline can help. Of course it's not exact, but to know that the struggle to move forward together can peak about that time might help people understand it to be a phase that's navigable.
I think shared interests can help a lot too. Common ground in ways that are fun and mutually fulfilling go a long way to deepening the friendship and deep connection.
Seek help if you think what you have is worth saving. Those two old coots got locked in a pattern of mutual destruction, and the next thing you know, you're on the floor and no one will pick you up!
And sometimes it just comes down to making a choice. 32 years is a long time to be in a monogamous relationship, and I would be lying to say that there haven't been times when I've wanted to take a hike. Like literally, alone in Nepal. I'm quite sure he has felt the same. But in the end, there have been junctures where we simply chose to work on resolving issues, and limping ahead. I have to say that at this point in our marriage, we have come to a place of ease--a nice, easy, fun, terribly close relationship built on a bedrock of all the things above.
Trust me, I understand the need to split up when necessary. I was one of the few kids who would silently pray that my parents would get divorced rather than stay together, or at least make some big-assed change. I get it that some relationships should just end.
More on an interesting convo Keith and I had over vacation later...
Sheryl, I love Stuff White People Like! I do, in fact, like most of those things they mention. I am also guilty of wearing athletic performance wear almost anytime I'm not wearing scrubs or pajamas.
Wow, Linda, such wonderful advice. I am going to print that out as a reminder. You know, my folks made it to 56 years before my Dad passed away .I am sure they adhered to some of the same thoughts. Hopefully, I will be that consistent and wise in my relationship. Thanks for sharing.
Whoa Kitma- that is heavy stuff! Joe and I have been married for 15 years (Linda- I've never seen that statistic before! What happened to the 7 year itch?) But we dated exclusively for 8 years before we were married (and frankly, we went through a LOT of stuff together during that time). So all total, we've been together for more years than we've been apart- almost a scary thing when ya think about it! I agree with all of Linda's points. No relationship is perfect and full of gumdrops and lollypops every minute of every day. It takes both people being willing to work through the rough spots. Kinda like in the Ironman- you WILL have dark moments, but you need to know that if you are willing to work through those moments you WILL come out the other side.
We have friends (well, really they are friends of friends) who are currently going through a divorce and it's just so aweful to watch. In a nutshell, he suddenly and without warning (according to her) announced that he was unhappy with the relationship, that he'd been unhappy for the past 10 years, that she simply wasn't his intellectual equal and didn't provide any common interest or companionship, and that he wanted out. Again- we're getting this info all from her side- so it's hard to tell what is the 100% truth here, but apparently she had no idea any of this was going on. Unfortunately as well, he is completely unwilling to get any counseling or work on the relationship any further- he's thrown in the towel. Joe and I have talked about this situation a lot lately- we're both simply stunned by the lack of willingness to work things out.
Great marriage responses to Kit's ponderings. Archie and I celebrated 22 years on New Year's eve while visiting with my sister in law who is sometimes a screeching shrew and never does anything and crabs non stop at her husband. We were at Archie's parents' house for the holidays. Anyway, more on sister in law later. My daughters and I had a conversation about the longevity of marriage and all I can say is that you need to admire the person you marry. Sure you love them, and everything is exciting in the beginning but when that ends and you are looking at the luggage making an exit plan, you remember what you admire about the man. Archie is the hardest working man with the most integrity and personal sense of responsibility of any person I know, bar none. I would never find that in anyone else ever. Even when his little quirks and socially inept behavior make me cringe, I remember how proud I am of the fact that he totally supported my decision to maintain a relationship with my family and even facilitated it when my family was very difficult to love. All of those things that I knew about him going into the marriage have made it last. I'm not sure there is much to admire about me but he does sometimes express admiration so hopefully he is in for the long haul as well. All that aside, we have said from the beginning that divorce was never an option for the two of us and have both stood by that for many reasons one being our belief that it is God's plan for us. However even if you don't start with that basis, the admiration gives you pause as you open the door.
About a year after cancer treatments I was in for a check up and the smell of the clinic hit me and I had a major meltdown at the door of the University of Minnesota. The oncologist told me this was quite normal and usual for most women about a year out from treatment. He prescribed Welbutrin. After taking it for about three months I chucked it and started endurance sports. There is certainly a place for anti depressants and if I ever felt on the edge again I would consider it, but I was happier taking up extreme exercise instead.
Anyway, not sure why I wrote all this except that it was just timely that it came up as I had the discussion with my daughters about marriage and staying the distance.
The sad thing about the sister in law is that I realized after spending about 8 days with her at the house with her husband and kids is that she is in major depression. We talked about it in the end and I recommended that she get help before she spirals out of control. She told me as she left that this was the most fun week she had in years and I was very saddened that I was irritated by her earlier. Hopefully I can stand by my resolution to spend more time communicating with her and I give you all permission to hold me accountable to that!!!!
Whoa! This is some convo.... but first, I think I need Celexa to help me love FTP testing. Ugh!
Linda your advice is sage as always! I totally agree that friendship is the bedrock of any lasting, loving romatic relationship. That's how I knew Brian was the one for me. We solidified our friendship on a driving and camping tour of the southwest then two months later got engaged. The day and night we were stranded in our tent in a driving rain doing crosswords and drinking wine (it was car camping afterall) we realized that we are BFFs. 9 years later (I know, nothing compare to you ladies) we just had a great 4 days of fun, just us - skiing, cooking, watching movies, a bit of house work and making each other laugh. This is, however, marriage #2 for me. Before I learned what it meant to really think for oneself, and what it meant to actually share one's life with another person, I got married as a result of momentum. Like musical chairs, you married whoever was your boyfriend when the college fight song stopped. Boy was that a blow, when 2 years later we realized that we were just roommates and that we both needed more out of a life partnership. Yikes! It was a miserable experience, but it did a lot to smarten me up, build my confidence in who I am, and really learn to think about relationships of all sorts and what I bring/don't bring, gain/lose in them. And in the end I ended up with Brian. (I hope I meet you people some day in person....I seem to share all sorts of random stuff with you online....)
Would we have made it had we kept at the therapy (did that for a while, but he hated it), and kept trying with each other? Or gave ourselves another year? Maybe... I don't know. We were rather young, and rather than grow together we just seemed to have grown apart and fast. Strange...and I'm sure lots of space for analysis. I guess that's a question that at a certain point you have to stop thinking about. It did help when my parents told me during Brian and my wedding reception that he seemed like THE RIGHT mate for me.
Anyway...I tested this afternoon. Boo! I ended up with an FTP 3 points lower than the last. I don't know whether I just didn't push myself the way I should have, if I wasn't as rested as I thought I was, if I'm not getting the right calories, if I just can't execute these tests well, or if I'm just at my limit FTP-wise. (here's where the Celexa comes in) I'm not counting myself out. It's, after all just one test, but after all the hard work and suffering it would have been nice to see a bump, even a couple of points...this is where sometimes I feel I need to ignore some of the obsessive numbers talk in the haus...like my Dad used to tell me when I was just learning to ride a motorcycle, "You have to ride your own ride."
I'm going to go with the notion that the work has yet to assimilate in my legs and that my gains (however small) will come in time. (if I had the queenie smilie I'd put her here!)
For now I'm sticking with my 211. I don't see much point in adjusting downward based on this minor difference.
Gina - THAT IS AN AMAZING PIC!! I'm with Linda, blow that sucker up! Seriously you look like a pro!! And are those EN decals on your wheels?? Way cool! I only hope I can look even remotely that good on my bike!
Oh boy, what a discussion about relationships! I have to say, excellent timing for me, so thanks Kitima for bringing this up. Linda, fantastic advice as usual. I also like Sheryl's point about admiration, and Olivia's comments about BFF's (and anti-depressants for FTP testing...hahaha!).
So, here's my current situation. We've been together for 17+ years, married for 10, mostly a phenomenal relationship. Best friends, lots of mutual respect/admiration, open/honest/faithful, excellent communication for the most part, many common interests and shared activities. But there's been a recurring source of friction on & off for many years, we always seem to make a resolution to fix it...gets a lot better for a while...then right back into it a few months later. About 6 mo ago, seemed to be more frequent, and more intense, and I finally heard myself say out loud "I don't know how much longer I can continue doing this". Wow! That was a shock to hear those words come out of my mouth that had apparently been only subconscious until that point (and no, it wasn't just blurted out in a moment of anger). I think we hit a point where the cumulative damage had finally become apparent, and the assumption that things would just work out was suddenly no longer a valid assumption. We've been in counseling for 3 months now. Still trying to answer the question of whether or not this is something we can get beyond. Is it possible to have a really solid, excellent relationship for 17 years, that for whatever reason just isn't able to be repaired? Or is it a matter of just sticking with it and hoping for the best? I certainly believe we could have avoided this situation with earlier intervention, but we had always been able to solve all of our other disagreements/issues on our own. I currently feel like the cumulative damage is just too much, and has taken too much of a toll on each of us individually as well as the relationship as a whole...but at what point do I decide to pull the plug? * I realize you gals can't answer those questions for me...just listing the questions that I'm currently pondering * The counseling, and this process in general, is completely exhausting, soul-searching, heart-wrenching stuff sometimes. UGH! And it's so hard to sit and watch several other friends going through divorces right now. It's never pretty, even when if it's a mutual decision for the best.
So, thanks for listening. And thanks for providing such awesome insight, and sharing your experiences. Funny, I never thought I'd feel so "close" to people I've never met in person before!
Marianne.....does that blank post mean you are speechless?
OK...not to change the subject but I'm trying to post a picture....here goes....
Ok...this seems to have kinda worked. This is a picture I took during the Holiday challenge running out on the breakwater to the light house in Rockland, ME. It was awesome except that you had to watch your feet for the gaps in the rocks so you didn't break you ankle and lay out there all night while no one even missed you because they were having way too much fun back at the house....
Sheryl, you seem to have the dreaded "red box" problem Michele C. had earlier. All I see is a red box. Michele- how did you end up fixing that problem?
Michele M- wow that is super heavy. I certainly don't know the answer to your questions and wouldn't even try to pretend to. But I have to beleive that working through the issue together has got to result in a more positive outcome (regardless of what the actual net end result might be). And if you do manage to stay together on the other side of this, your relationship certainly will be that much stronger for it. You've got my admiration for really trying to make it work- that process isn't easy!
I dropped the heavy topic bomb on this thread, huh? Oops! Makes the discussion of things pulled out of rectums and dogs' intestines not so bad...
Nonetheless, great pearls of wisdom from the chickas. I too am on marriage #2---which is currently just the best thing in the world EVER. I'm trying not to let the paranoia of making the same mistakes again ruin a good thing, but I do want to be mindful of how/when things can go wrong. And oh yes, I don't want to find myself 40 years down the road, lying on the floor after a fall with no one to pick me up!
Gina: You look Mah-velous in that picture. Seriously, you look thin and your legs are ripped!
Comments
Leigh - love the idea...do it! I have a little business thing brewing that I've been working on for about 6 mos but I'll have to let you know...
So, with all the talk we had a while back about always wearing workout clothing I thought the following was kinda funny if totally non PC. I don't know if any of you every read the blog "Stuff White People Like" but it is completely hilarious and many times true. Anyway, when I read this I thought it was so funny and thought of all of you. In fact, the other day, my daughter came home from school for lunch and as she was leaning on counter eating, I could see her Gear West bike shorts showing above her pants. I said, "Are you wearing tri shorts under your pants?" "Yeah mom....they are so freaking comfortable." I had to chuckle. Anyway...the following was funny.
As white people get older, they like to make clear boundaries between their professional and personal lives. They don’t mind talking about their personal life at work, but they hate talking about their work life when they are enjoying a weekend or vacation. But with blackberries and laptops, white people could be working anywhere, at any time. So how do you know when they are off the clock? It’s easy, check their clothes.
When white people aren’t working, they generally like to wear Outdoor Performance Clothes. The top suppliers of these garments and accessories include North Face,REI, Mountain Equipment Co-Op, Columbia Sportswear, and Patagonia.
When you see white people wearing these, it is important that you do not discuss business matters. Instead you should say things like “where did you get that fleece?” and “what’s that thing holding your keys to your shorts?” White people will be more than happy to talk to you about their sustainably produced possessions.
The main reason why white people like these clothes is that it allows them to believe that at any moment they could find themselves with a Thule rack on top of their car headed to a national park. It could be 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday when they might get a call “hey man, you know what we need to do? Kayak then camping, right now. I’m on my way to get you, there is no time to change clothes.”
Though it is unlikely that they will receive this call, White people hate the idea of missing an opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities because they weren’t wearing the right clothes.
If you plan on spending part of your weekend with a white person, it is strongly recommended that you purchase a jacket or some sort of “high performance” t-shirt, which is like a regular shirt but just a lot more expensive.
okay I don't own any of those REI, patagonia clothes!!! I guess I won't get invited to go kayaking at 4 p.m. on a Saturday....not a one, mine are Nike, Adidas, Brooks....
the Triathlete Mom:
"When she arrives at the grocery store wearing track pants and dry fit shirt with a ponytail and some light lipstick, yes she really has just finished a run and is famished when she hits the store.... procuring some blueberries and opening them up without worrying about paying for them as she is a regular in Krogers and is good for it, besides she sorta looks mean as she inhales the berries, the produce guys just ask "finding everything okay today?" and she says "yes< and why are you out of bananas?"
At home, she does get showered and if cranking out major housework, puts on a favorite race tee, some "old" running shoes that to the untrained eye, look pretty new, plugs in the IPOD to radio dock and sets playlist to "5k VDOT" for the upbeat, pounding songs, and with some comfy jeans with pockets for items found, gets with it unloading the d/w and cleaning the kitchen floor still keeping the energy high as there is only so much time to get the house done!
Next time she goes out though? no dry fit anything. in fact, as she makes another trip to a different store, the only way you would know that she is somewhat athletic? is that she power walks thru the store and passes people as she goes....and a short stop in the magazine rack reveals her interest, as Bubba next to her is looking at the variety of car or hunting magazines, she is looking at the new Runner's World and happens to say "what sort of store is this? it doesn't have Triathlete?!"
as she pulls into her garage, she carefully maneuvers her Element so that it doesn't hit her three bikes!! she has already figured out the best transition for unloading stuff from her car, up the steps and into the house and alternates which arm she uses for balanced weight workout. While working on dinner, one of her children says "I gotta run to town." and she says "good idea, it is only 2.5 miles roundtrip to Krogers!" He exclaims loudly "I am NOT going to run, Mom!" and she mentally does the math and schemes on her next run, "hmm, I could drop off the movie for a 4 mile trek, go by Starbucks on my way home, hit the store in running clothes and make the overall trip about 8 miles!" and her son just shakes his head, while his friend looks at her in amazement.
Oh my Sheryl, by that definition I'm never working!
Now that I work from a home office, I LIVE in workout/high performance cloths. As I type this I am wearing:
Seriously- I have this 3-day business meeting to go to later this month and I might have to do some shopping for it!!! I think all my "business" cloths are outdated!
The big news here (and around the country it seems) is this freakingly weird weather! I'm currently looking out the window at ICE on the sound!!! Not just hanging from the dock, but the sound water itself is covered in ice!!! They keep saying this is a once in a generation cold stap- I hope they are right 'cause if not- Joe wants to move to Costa Rica!
Back to work today but no home office for me! Trust me, as you can see from my past posts, clothing for work is NO fun! GOT to work on my 2010 race schedule- never realized how much I plan around those! How times have changed!
from my run this morning! dusting of snow and a bit of ice that is now gone cuz the sun came out but due to the chance that ice might still be out there and my kids being home, will do the bike test some other time, yep never have $$plonked down for trainer and extra wheel, preferring to check weather and brave the elements....but some times it would be nice to hop on the trainer and be done with it!! as it takes 20 - 25' to actually get dressed for a ride!!! the layers. smile. more in Jan OS week one post.. m
Marianne......you keep your bikes in the garage????? We keep ours in the living room.....
Gals....(and guy lurkers) I can't get my pictures to go into my post? I know...I've tried putting them in snapfish then linking but it hasn't worked. Any advice? Marianne? You seem to be very proficient at it....
So strange that during this nationwide cold snap we're having temps in the 40s today. I'm hoping against hope that this will hold so that I can do my next run test outside on Wednesday...but snow is predicted by that point. Ugh I don't want to have to do that on the TM!!
Hope all you January Gals are getting your groove on with the first tests!!
Kris - have fun with the race planning!! Let us know what you come up with!
Went to the eye dr today- have been having issues with contacts since they switch them up the week of Ironman. Thought it was just garden variety of allergies but it's become so bad and I've been through eliminating everything else (lotions, makeup etc) so finally went back. The contacts are irrating my eye and causing allergic reaction. Can't wear my contacts for a week, then have to switch to daily wear for likely up to 6 mons ($$'s). I am blind as a bat, so without contacts or glasses, imagine Mr Magoo!
So I look at the eye doc and say, so you mean I can put them in for a little while to swim and run, right? (can't wear glasses for those) She looks at me as if I've grown 3 heads and says... yah, if you want to reverse all the good the eye drops are doing. Thinking of hooking up my running partner with one of those ropes the challenged athletes do. They'd probably have fun running me into trees or roadkill ! Ok... whining over.... back to work
Oh- and I have no idea how to clean that melted PowerBar- but your post made me laugh! This is exactly what is so special about the Woman's forum. Where else can you get Tips from Heloise on how to remove a melted Powerbar from your purse????
Nemo,
I go to Snapfish and pull the picture up and click on share, then share with a link. I copy the link and use the mountain icon to add. I paste the link into the url place but just get the box with a question mark. I'm using Safari.
I just did that here and got nothing. Would firefox work better? Thanks. Good job on the home office. I'm getting ready to start working on my husband's side business so I can work in technical wear too...I've been wearing my new Sugoi (sic) tops all week under my north face polar fleece....Today I have on Worthington polar fleece.....I'm so stereotypical.....
Trying again with Firefox....
Congrats to Jenn and Robin on your 5K victories! You gals look like she-ninjas of running!
Kris: I use a butter knife to scrape bar goo from leather--try sticking your purse in the freezer to harden the PB first, then scrape. Sorry to hear about your contacts woes. I'm Magoo without mine too. Swimming without contacts isn't bad at all: that black line at the bottom of the pool is pretty big. The running: I've run in my glasses before. Not great, but not too bad. Since it's cold out, they do tend to fog up in the beginning.
Sheryl: Very funny! I wear my outdoor performance clothing everywhere because it's WAY more comfortable than real clothes--even jeans! AND I'm still waiting for that kayaking/camping invite that's so urgent I don't have time to change clothes. Ha!
Marianne: No trainer--wow! I would LURVE to live in a place where I could ride outside all year---like San Diego...or Palau!
I've been thinking about marriage lately...Over the holidays I had lunch with one of my college friends. When I asked her how she was doing, she said triumphantly, "I just started taking Celexa (an antidepressant); and for the first time in 10 years I love my husband!" How does one respond to that? I said, "That's great---must be one awesome pill, huh?" Nothing wrong with taking an antidepressant, of course...and if it helps with depression so that you can appreciate your husband...well, then even better. It made me think of my patient who is an 82 year old man with a diabetic foot ulcer and can't walk. He's constantly barking and yelling at his wife to move his wheelchair, get his pills, put on his coat. Last week he missed an appointment. When we called his home, his wife said that he fell out of his wheelchair...and she LEFT him there. Apparently for a few hours until she decided to call the ambulance. He's currently hospitalized and doing okay, but she's refusing to take him home. To quote Chris Rock: I'm not saying what she did was right, but I understand. Maybe it was time for some Celexa...
All joking aside, it really got me thinking about marriage in the nitty gritty long run of it, after the white doves and cherubs have all flown away...what does it take to stay together and love each other? You can legally, socially, religiously promise to stay together, but can you really promise someone how you're going to feel about them 10, 20, 50 years from now? Heavy questions...so it's time for me to quit stalling and go pay some bills!
OK, it's been a long time since I used Snapfish- but as luck would have it I do have an old account. I tried the process you described and it doesn't work for me either. Here's what does work.
This is a picture I have up on my old Snapfish Account. It's of me getting a traditional kiss from one of the Wellesley girls during the Boston Marathon. Those woman were screaming like crazy- you could hear them for a mile before you reached them. It was my favorite part of the marathon.
I tried this with Snapfish via Firefox. ( My fave IMAZ pic, before it got ugleee)
Gina--What a gorgeous pic! I'd blow that up and stare at myself in the pain cave if it were me! I might just hang you up on my wall for inspiration, and to remind me of all the fun we'll have at Moo!!!! Love it!
Kitima--hoh, boy. Load-ed, but excellent topic. Since I’ve been with Keith for 32 years, married for 28, and raising four boys, I think I can weigh in with some experience--and I'll try to keep it under the length of the Bible.
I have often wondered what makes it all work or us. Here are a few things I think factor in:
Trust me, I understand the need to split up when necessary. I was one of the few kids who would silently pray that my parents would get divorced rather than stay together, or at least make some big-assed change. I get it that some relationships should just end.
More on an interesting convo Keith and I had over vacation later...
Sheryl, I love Stuff White People Like! I do, in fact, like most of those things they mention. I am also guilty of wearing athletic performance wear almost anytime I'm not wearing scrubs or pajamas.
Wow, Linda, such wonderful advice. I am going to print that out as a reminder. You know, my folks made it to 56 years before my Dad passed away .I am sure they adhered to some of the same thoughts. Hopefully, I will be that consistent and wise in my relationship. Thanks for sharing.
Whoa Kitma- that is heavy stuff! Joe and I have been married for 15 years (Linda- I've never seen that statistic before! What happened to the 7 year itch?)
But we dated exclusively for 8 years before we were married (and frankly, we went through a LOT of stuff together during that time). So all total, we've been together for more years than we've been apart- almost a scary thing when ya think about it! I agree with all of Linda's points. No relationship is perfect and full of gumdrops and lollypops every minute of every day. It takes both people being willing to work through the rough spots. Kinda like in the Ironman- you WILL have dark moments, but you need to know that if you are willing to work through those moments you WILL come out the other side.
We have friends (well, really they are friends of friends) who are currently going through a divorce and it's just so aweful to watch. In a nutshell, he suddenly and without warning (according to her) announced that he was unhappy with the relationship, that he'd been unhappy for the past 10 years, that she simply wasn't his intellectual equal and didn't provide any common interest or companionship, and that he wanted out.
Again- we're getting this info all from her side- so it's hard to tell what is the 100% truth here, but apparently she had no idea any of this was going on. Unfortunately as well, he is completely unwilling to get any counseling or work on the relationship any further- he's thrown in the towel. Joe and I have talked about this situation a lot lately- we're both simply stunned by the lack of willingness to work things out.
Great marriage responses to Kit's ponderings. Archie and I celebrated 22 years on New Year's eve while visiting with my sister in law who is sometimes a screeching shrew and never does anything and crabs non stop at her husband. We were at Archie's parents' house for the holidays. Anyway, more on sister in law later. My daughters and I had a conversation about the longevity of marriage and all I can say is that you need to admire the person you marry. Sure you love them, and everything is exciting in the beginning but when that ends and you are looking at the luggage making an exit plan, you remember what you admire about the man. Archie is the hardest working man with the most integrity and personal sense of responsibility of any person I know, bar none. I would never find that in anyone else ever. Even when his little quirks and socially inept behavior make me cringe, I remember how proud I am of the fact that he totally supported my decision to maintain a relationship with my family and even facilitated it when my family was very difficult to love. All of those things that I knew about him going into the marriage have made it last. I'm not sure there is much to admire about me but he does sometimes express admiration so hopefully he is in for the long haul as well. All that aside, we have said from the beginning that divorce was never an option for the two of us and have both stood by that for many reasons one being our belief that it is God's plan for us. However even if you don't start with that basis, the admiration gives you pause as you open the door.
About a year after cancer treatments I was in for a check up and the smell of the clinic hit me and I had a major meltdown at the door of the University of Minnesota. The oncologist told me this was quite normal and usual for most women about a year out from treatment. He prescribed Welbutrin. After taking it for about three months I chucked it and started endurance sports. There is certainly a place for anti depressants and if I ever felt on the edge again I would consider it, but I was happier taking up extreme exercise instead.
Anyway, not sure why I wrote all this except that it was just timely that it came up as I had the discussion with my daughters about marriage and staying the distance.
The sad thing about the sister in law is that I realized after spending about 8 days with her at the house with her husband and kids is that she is in major depression. We talked about it in the end and I recommended that she get help before she spirals out of control. She told me as she left that this was the most fun week she had in years and I was very saddened that I was irritated by her earlier. Hopefully I can stand by my resolution to spend more time communicating with her and I give you all permission to hold me accountable to that!!!!
Whoa! This is some convo.... but first, I think I need Celexa to help me love FTP testing. Ugh!
Linda your advice is sage as always! I totally agree that friendship is the bedrock of any lasting, loving romatic relationship. That's how I knew Brian was the one for me. We solidified our friendship on a driving and camping tour of the southwest then two months later got engaged. The day and night we were stranded in our tent in a driving rain doing crosswords and drinking wine (it was car camping afterall) we realized that we are BFFs. 9 years later (I know, nothing compare to you ladies) we just had a great 4 days of fun, just us - skiing, cooking, watching movies, a bit of house work and making each other laugh. This is, however, marriage #2 for me. Before I learned what it meant to really think for oneself, and what it meant to actually share one's life with another person, I got married as a result of momentum. Like musical chairs, you married whoever was your boyfriend when the college fight song stopped. Boy was that a blow, when 2 years later we realized that we were just roommates and that we both needed more out of a life partnership. Yikes! It was a miserable experience, but it did a lot to smarten me up, build my confidence in who I am, and really learn to think about relationships of all sorts and what I bring/don't bring, gain/lose in them. And in the end I ended up with Brian.
(I hope I meet you people some day in person....I seem to share all sorts of random stuff with you online....)
Would we have made it had we kept at the therapy (did that for a while, but he hated it), and kept trying with each other? Or gave ourselves another year? Maybe... I don't know. We were rather young, and rather than grow together we just seemed to have grown apart and fast. Strange...and I'm sure lots of space for analysis. I guess that's a question that at a certain point you have to stop thinking about. It did help when my parents told me during Brian and my wedding reception that he seemed like THE RIGHT mate for me.
Anyway...I tested this afternoon. Boo! I ended up with an FTP 3 points lower than the last. I don't know whether I just didn't push myself the way I should have, if I wasn't as rested as I thought I was, if I'm not getting the right calories, if I just can't execute these tests well, or if I'm just at my limit FTP-wise. (here's where the Celexa comes in) I'm not counting myself out. It's, after all just one test, but after all the hard work and suffering it would have been nice to see a bump, even a couple of points...this is where sometimes I feel I need to ignore some of the obsessive numbers talk in the haus...like my Dad used to tell me when I was just learning to ride a motorcycle, "You have to ride your own ride."
I'm going to go with the notion that the work has yet to assimilate in my legs and that my gains (however small) will come in time.
(if I had the queenie smilie I'd put her here!)
For now I'm sticking with my 211. I don't see much point in adjusting downward based on this minor difference.
Gina - THAT IS AN AMAZING PIC!! I'm with Linda, blow that sucker up! Seriously you look like a pro!! And are those EN decals on your wheels?? Way cool! I only hope I can look even remotely that good on my bike!
What's that I hear???? Oh, the dinner bell!
So, here's my current situation. We've been together for 17+ years, married for 10, mostly a phenomenal relationship. Best friends, lots of mutual respect/admiration, open/honest/faithful, excellent communication for the most part, many common interests and shared activities. But there's been a recurring source of friction on & off for many years, we always seem to make a resolution to fix it...gets a lot better for a while...then right back into it a few months later. About 6 mo ago, seemed to be more frequent, and more intense, and I finally heard myself say out loud "I don't know how much longer I can continue doing this". Wow! That was a shock to hear those words come out of my mouth that had apparently been only subconscious until that point (and no, it wasn't just blurted out in a moment of anger). I think we hit a point where the cumulative damage had finally become apparent, and the assumption that things would just work out was suddenly no longer a valid assumption. We've been in counseling for 3 months now. Still trying to answer the question of whether or not this is something we can get beyond. Is it possible to have a really solid, excellent relationship for 17 years, that for whatever reason just isn't able to be repaired? Or is it a matter of just sticking with it and hoping for the best? I certainly believe we could have avoided this situation with earlier intervention, but we had always been able to solve all of our other disagreements/issues on our own. I currently feel like the cumulative damage is just too much, and has taken too much of a toll on each of us individually as well as the relationship as a whole...but at what point do I decide to pull the plug? * I realize you gals can't answer those questions for me...just listing the questions that I'm currently pondering *
So, thanks for listening. And thanks for providing such awesome insight, and sharing your experiences. Funny, I never thought I'd feel so "close" to people I've never met in person before!
P.S. - Gina - that is a ROCK STAR picture!!
Marianne.....does that blank post mean you are speechless?
OK...not to change the subject but I'm trying to post a picture....here goes....
Ok...this seems to have kinda worked. This is a picture I took during the Holiday challenge running out on the breakwater to the light house in Rockland, ME. It was awesome except that you had to watch your feet for the gaps in the rocks so you didn't break you ankle and lay out there all night while no one even missed you because they were having way too much fun back at the house....
Ahhhh Nemo it worked....yay...here is another one of when I turned around and looked back toward land after I got out to the light house...
Michele M- wow that is super heavy. I certainly don't know the answer to your questions and wouldn't even try to pretend to. But I have to beleive that working through the issue together has got to result in a more positive outcome (regardless of what the actual net end result might be). And if you do manage to stay together on the other side of this, your relationship certainly will be that much stronger for it. You've got my admiration for really trying to make it work- that process isn't easy!
Nonetheless, great pearls of wisdom from the chickas. I too am on marriage #2---which is currently just the best thing in the world EVER. I'm trying not to let the paranoia of making the same mistakes again ruin a good thing, but I do want to be mindful of how/when things can go wrong. And oh yes, I don't want to find myself 40 years down the road, lying on the floor after a fall with no one to pick me up!
Gina: You look Mah-velous in that picture. Seriously, you look thin and your legs are ripped!
Now THESE are rockstars!! 3 weeks old Thursday!!
I am off to the Pain Cave!!