Monday, April 25, 2011

This is what 20 lbs looks like

REI 60 Pak, full 100oz Camelbak, bike chain and lock, two 2lb ankle weights, towel, bike pump, 30 ft extension cord, jump rope, spare bike tubes, two golf balls, wallet, phone, keys, masterlock, body glide, and spare gloves.

And if you're looking for a nice little workout, try a "brick". It's essentially a bike workout followed immediately by a running workout. Most people will do 3-5 miles on a bike and 1-2 miles on a run for starters (repeating as able). Though no real bricks are involved [yet], I decided to head out Easter Sunday carrying all this shit on my back. Did about 17 miles on the bike, hopped off and ran 8 miles.

Total time was about 2hrs and 30mins, but the workout felt much longer. While it didn't quite match up to the 50 mile race I completed a month ago, it was a much faster pace, and a much harder (read: concrete) path to travel. With the weight, my knees were really feeling it. Fortunately, I was able to get right into a cold bath immediately following my workout to try and eliminate most of the aches I'd feel today.

Why am I running around with 20 pounds of unnecessary crap on my back? Good question. With all the training for the 50 mile Moab race I was actually preparing for a much shorter, but much more ridiculous endurance event. [*Note: Scott and I finished the AXS Race in just under 8 hours: (Team Bangorang! in the 2 Open division), despite some initial mechanical troubles on the first mountain bike section and some nasty cramping from Scott on the run].


The event I've signed up for is less than a month away and things are really taking a turn for the ridiculous. So far in preparation for this, I've done a number of workouts that have sidelined me for a day if not more with lactic acid buildup that would put a donkey on it's ass. I've done a 5 mile run that included a section of lunges for 2/3 mile straight. I've run repeats of all 288 of the Lyon Street steps more times than I'd like to recall (yeah, I counted). I've run with 20 lbs on my back for 4 miles, stopped at home to drench myself with a hose and run another 4 miles cold and soaked. I've run a 13.5 mile loop with a lightened load of about 12lbs on my back. And most recently, the "brick" described above. And things are only going to get crazier.


The event I've signed up for (with Scott again) is The GORUCK Challenge. Something I found through the Tough Mudder site (though they are no longer affiliated), and something I've been pretty pumped about doing since I signed up back in February. A better understanding can come from the description of the inaugural class which took place in San Francisco back in September of last year - though it looks like the Challenge has only taken on more insane parameters since its inception as the captions indicate it was 11 miles, not the 18-20 referenced in the flyer previously linked. Oh yeah, also, our challenge STARTS at 6pm and is listed as being anywhere from 8-10 HOURS. Quick math indicates, we'll be finishing at 2am at the earliest. It also means we'll be drenched and exhausted through the worst temperature/wind times in San Francisco - good livin', right?


Anyhow, keep an eye out for updates on what stupid things I'm doing to punish myself in order to get into the best shape possible for this event. I can only imagine what our instructor will get us into, so I'll be trying my best to match wits on some rather dumb things to do to myself. Run down to/full immersion at Ocean Beach at 1am in the morning? Count on it.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

"Only in SF"

It's been a bit since I shot out a post on things that piss me off. I mean, only like 4 out of my last 5 posts have been PSAs, and even then, it's been 2 weeks.

Anyway, I was trolling SFist a couple days ago and they had a great article about people not truly understanding how to dispense the overly-used phrase: "Only in SF".

Read the article. Understand it. Just because you haven't been to another large metropolitan city, doesn't mean that everything you see "out of the ordinary" of your suburban bubble happens "Only in SF".

Maybe this (be warned) is something that only truly happens in SF.

I warned you.

Summer Anthem

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

99 Problems

And you're a bitch if one of your's sounds like anything from whitewhine.com.

Quoted as a site for a "Collection of First World Problems," I'm hoping people are able to see that it's a little insensitive to "feel" for the people of Haiti/Japan, and then complain about how "people who can't roll crescent rolls correctly, shouldn't be allowed in kitchens" or how too many people have offered to clean your hotel room while on vacation. Must be tough...

Though this one simply takes the cake:

Wah.


Before you hit "share" on your Facebook, think about what you're really saying. For all of us.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Stay tuned.

A few days ago while out with an old friend, we got into a conversation about my blog and I mentioned the fact that I didn't really know where it was going, what it was really trying to be, or why I was even doing it. Do people really care about poop references and pictures/links from other sites? The answer is: I don't know.

As a result I've decided to take a foray into a 'side project" which will more than likely become the main gig for me. I've decided to branch out to another, much more focused blog with an actual theme. You can find it here. It's definitely just getting started, but if you like it, "follow it". Feel free to share with others who might like it as well.

I'll still post bits of "wisdom" here, but I'm thinking I need something a little more original, rather than simple regurgitation of shit I find on the internet. Besides, I somewhat pigeon-holed myself into a finite time period for this blog anyway - seeing as how I'm technically in my (gasp) late 20s.

Awe, hell.

Don't forget...


Pic from here.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

Friday, April 1, 2011

I was thinking, "Wouldn't he just go horn first"?

As "found" in Santa Barbara back in February.
What do you think? Couldn't he at least share a little bit of his magic power? Do male unicorns even exist? Help me solve this conundrum.

One of these things does not belong here...

Acid controller? Lactaid? If you've got heartburn, I don't think Top Ramen is doing you any good.

Friday's Best - Spring Weather Edition

Found this video on the Vimeo homepage yesterday. Anything look familiar?

Rad, right? The "ruins" of the Sutro Baths! Muni! BART Escalators and turnstiles! Those always recognizable SF trashcans!

So yeah, I'm kind of a nut when it comes to any kind of movie or video or picture showing any part of San Francisco. I'll probably spend a good portion of the next few years trying to figure out the location of every minute detail of the video, kinda like I did after watching Sweet November (don't judge. The movie made the cut of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. So, HA!)

Luckily, the creator of the video divulged that the beach with the large bluff isn't actually in San Francisco, but rather is Gray Whale Cove down in Pacifica.

They even feature my favorite (read: most pissed in) bathroom in Golden Gate Park at the 3:06 mark. Check it out!