I don't think of myself as an overly interesting person so I never thought anyone would want to read about what I do. But, apparently a few of my acquaintances disagree.
Hence, here I am, writing for you.
So here we go ...
One of my hobbies is training for Ironman distance triathlons.
An Ironman is a race that has a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. All to be completed in 17 hours or less. Training for an Ironman takes a lot of time. Most of my free time, actually. That means I swim, ride my bike and run alot.
On my training swims, rides and runs I usually have some unusual social interactions and/or internal psychedelic or synchronistic experiences. The following is one I had today.
I had an 7-8 mile run to do today which, since I live in Phoenix, Arizona, I usually do at night because during the day it is 113 degrees. My parents were coming into town today so I did my run before work at 5:00 a.m.
I must have ran the first half pretty slow, or had some rocking music on the second half because I did the second half 10 minutes faster than the first. So to eat up the last ten minutes of my run I decided to run through the cemetery right next to my work. I love running through the cemetery because it gives me some mental clarity as I am reminded that I will die someday and to make the most of my time here.
Anyway, the second my foot leaves the sidewalk and hits the cemetery pavement my iPod switches songs and "The Coming Back to Life" by Pink Floyd starts playing. So this instantaneously sends my mind spiraling as I feel the full effects of my "runner's high" and really puts me in a good place. So I am cruising around the cemetery just jazzed as I am listening to this song and enjoying the crisp, serene moment. Then my iPod switches songs again to "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M. As the chorus begins to play, I have a visualization of all the dead people in the cemetery watching me and cheering for me.
The feeling I am attuned to is that they are happy because I am actively pursuing my dream of being healthy, doing Ironman triathlons and eventually going to Kona for the Ironman World Championships. Even my Grandparents are there (though they are not buried in this cemetery) just cheering me on. It was a surreal and inspiring moment.
But, alas, as with all my other surreal moments running, once I started my cooldown, the feeling went away and I came back to the world. I'll write about those in another blog.
But, alas, as with all my other surreal moments running, once I started my cooldown, the feeling went away and I came back to the world. I'll write about those in another blog.
FYI - my friend Ed is running the Ironman with me and is raising money for a local charity called the Tempe Community Action Agency. If you can help in anyway, that would be awesome. here is the link:
Thanks.
May all your adventures be mighty.
Eric
P.S. > I m not a "on schedule" personality, so this blog will, in all likelihood, be published sporadically and in an untimely fashion.
P.S. > I m not a "on schedule" personality, so this blog will, in all likelihood, be published sporadically and in an untimely fashion.
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2 comments:
Wow! I want that kind of "high." Glad to see you are blogging too. I think it will be neat to constrast your training experience with Ed's...especially if more Shiny Happy People visit.
As a side note: I have to enter "oldipoo" as the word verification to post this comment. That made me laugh.
I have to enter jkilxz to confirm my comment, which I take to be a weird sort of Blogspot confirmation indicating that your high really was a sign from beyond. Think about it - it means, Jerry Killed X'z - X, of course, being the symbol used to indicate in cartoons prior to 1960 (Bugs Bunny, Emmett Otter's Jug Band) that a jug contained liquor.
Thus Jerry (Grateful Dead) killed liquor (a substance that is bad for for your health). The x'z is used instead of x's because the blogspot random code generator is hip to the modern commercial slang. It's like calling your store Hatz instead of Hats.
I'd take it as a sign - maybe that I've been at the computer too long. Anyhow, it's good to have a fellow blogger.
Thanks for sending people over to my blog, as well.
As you know, dearest Eric, you, of course, are my greatest inspiration. The person who showed me that I was capable of so much more. The one that show me that the healthy life, the one that ensured I'd have the energy to be there for my wife and kids was possible.
That's a pretty big gift to give. And, as you know, I am eternally grateful (no pun intended) to you for it.
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