Nutrition

What I know about nutrition: Halloween candy is good.

I just listened to the Tri-Talk podcast about nutrition.  To date I have not done anything differently gastronomically since last January when I started "training" for a triathlon.  That's not to say I haven't thought about it.  It's always there, like that blender you can't remember turning off. "Isn't there something else I was supposed to do?" So I was pleased to hear the subject of nutrition come up. I have a lot to learn.

Turns out, I need to eat food.  Not too much, not too little. Don't eat a lot of Halloween candy. Eat healthy food. That's what I need to do.

Or is it that simple? The host kept using phrases like glycemic intake, post workout insulin uptake, and yam. I can barely run a can opener. You're going to have to tell me what specific foods to eat, and I'm talking name the brand, exactly what time to eat them, and how many times to chew.  Until then it's Casey's pizza and Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

The Casey's/Little Debbie Diet may not be working, however. I've gained six pounds! For all of October I've been at 158 pounds, which seems scrawny enough, but over the summer I had hit 152.  I haven't weighed that much since I was in boot camp in 1993.  So, what have I learned about nutrition? When you're hungry, find something to eat, but make sure you're training for some kind of endurance race or getting yelled at while you do push-ups.

Due to the overwhelming number of requests I've received, I'm relenting and showing you a picture of the gym to which I belong. Enjoy:



Where the magic happens.

 PS. OK, Blogger is messing with me. I just ran the spell check and it doesn't like the "ver" in "over".

Still Going

After seeing the trailer to the American Top Gear, I realized I wasn't done going on about it.  Oh, it looks bloody awful! I haven't been this upset since they remade The Office.  So, am I going to watch it? Of course I am! How else will I find things to complain about it unless I actually watch. I'm only praying that the American version is only an hour long.  BTW, wasn't it great this season when the BBC in their infinite mercy decided to show us the entire one hour and twenty minutes version the Brits get to see? Absolutely fantastic!

My All Time Favorite British TV Shows (keeping in mind I've only seen a handful)

1. Benny Hill (This may top any of my lists)
2. Top Gear
3. Monty Python's Flying Circus
4. Fawlty Towers
5. Keeping Up Appearances
6. The Office
7. Dr. Who

Oops, I just named every British TV show I've ever seen.

Are the British known for their jazz? Heavens no. I was reminded of a song that is just brilliant while listening through my iPod today. Everyone loves Dave Brubeck's Take Five, as well they should. But there is another excellent song on the Take Five album: Blue Rondo A La Turk.  The actual video is rather boring; Dave Brubeck hardly moves at all, but here it is:

Disappointed

Just got done working out. Should I be embarrassed that I had to ask my wife to spot me? Probably not. Should I be embarrassed that she had to spot me for a buck fifty on the bench? Probably.

Lately I've taken to loading up my little iPod thing, what's it called? Oh, yes, the Nano, or something. Anyways, load it up, run through it all, load it up again with all new songs and podcasts, and run through it again. Since I have the Nano, that's two days worth of listening. So what's the point of that little report. Well there isn't one.

Every once in a while people will post what's on their iPod, or what their favorite albums or songs are, or which Streisand movie they like best (Meet the Fockers). It's always interesting to see the eclectic tastes of all your friends (Wha? He likes A Star is Born and What's Up Doc?). Not long ago my friends were posting what albums meant the most to their lives or something along those lines. One friend listed Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints. Now, I thought I was the only person in the world who owned that album, and here was someone listing it as one of his all time faves.

As mentioned earlier in various posts I'm too lazy to link to, I enjoy Pawn Stars and Top Gear. Honestly I didn't think anyone besides my wife and I watched those. When I say "those" I mean Pawn Stars. My wife doesn't watch Top Gear except when I force her to by turning up the volume while she's in the room. Anywho, I'm fine with being in the viewing minority (except when they cancel the show). It somehow makes me feel elite.

Only, it seems, I'm not in the minority. Recently I heard that Pawn Stars is one of the most popular reality shows on cable (sounds like a baseball statistic). More dishearteningly (is that a word?), 60 Minutes did a piece on Top Gear and said it was one of the most popular shows IN THE WORLD! Dang it! I'm not so elite after all. Steve Kroft did throw me a bone, however. He went on to say that included a small cult-like following in the U.S. Honestly, that's all I ever wanted to be a part of, a small cult like following, so I'll take it.

So, now I see they're making an American version of Top Gear. Come on! Do we need that? We already have a show called Top Gear, in English and everything. When I heard about the American version, the first person I thought of was Adam Carrolla, so you can imagine my disappointment when I read he was originally attached to the show for NBC's version, but is not slated to be on The History Channel's version. Dang you History Channel! How can you get so many things right, and then totally blow this one?

So much for things going my way.

Consistency

In October I worked out twenty-two days out of the thirty-one. I'll probably work out tomorrow, so let's say twenty-three days. It's the "off season" (as if I have a "season"), so the work outs are mostly weight training. And the weight training is very basic; bench, squat, curl, etc.  I do not yet resemble anyone who lifts weights, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

As reported earlier, since it looks like they're putting on the Branson 70.3 Ironman race, I will try to run it.  It's not till September, so I have a year to train, more or less.  There's nothing but hills in Branson, so the biking ought to be fun.  More on that later.

Man, this post is boring. Even more than usual, and deleting takes so much energy. Let's try this:

Top Guy Movies (That I can think of off the top of my head as I sit here.)

10. Wanted (This barely makes the list as there may be a few girls out there that would appreciate this)
9.   Master and Commander: The Far Sid of the World
8.  The Bridge on the River Kwai
7.  Bullitt (and let's go ahead and throw in The Getaway)
6.  Full Metal Jacket
5.  Any kung fu movie
4.  Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3.  Fight Club
2.  Shoot 'Em Up (Don't watch this with your Pastor, or Mom)
1.  The Godfather (This tops most of my lists)

What I mean by "guy movie" is guys like it, gals don't. I'm sure you have your own suggestions, which I'd be willing to hear.

Sac River

Went canoeing yesterday on the Sac River.  Got in at the access on 82 highway and headed south, which is upstream. However, there's not a discernible current, so the headwind was the biggest challenge. Along the way we stopped to fish. At about 2.5 miles up, we stopped to fish again and decided to turn back.

We had no luck with the fishing. We caught one cat and that was it. 

Heading back I thought the wind would push us along, but it had died down by that time and we have very little help in that regard. We stopped to climb a bluff. We also spotted a land bridge formation that we wanted to check out, but time was getting away from us at that point, so we saved it for the next trip.

Altogether I guess we did about 5 miles. I'm getting frustrated with my eTrex. The stupid thing randomly shuts itself off. At the end of the day, I saw it was off, turned it back on, and the mileage read 2,005. I'm pretty sure that's not right.

Here are the pics:

 My mug wasn't that important to the photographer.

 And back she goes!

A view from a bluff.

Been Lazy

Every once in a while I have to "start working-out again." This week's been one of those times.  I haven't done much since the Hermann Cross, and I wasn't very active before that.  So I need some motivation here.

Since I've started reading blogs by triathletes and racers, I've seen a number of them quit.  Some have quit blogging, and some have quit racing.  You'll be going along, looking for the next post, and then all of a sudden they'll write something like, "Well, when I started this I wanted to...but now it's kind of a chore and not fun anymore, soooo, goodbye."

For me, when my motivation for working-out or whatever wanes, its because my motivation in general is waning.  I wouldn't call it dysthymia, which I understand is long term. I'd call it short term dysthymia. I can't even stay motivated about being depressed.

My goals are to weight train for the rest of the year, and throw in some running if possible. At the beginning of the year I want to hit the water and finally learn to swim.  I'd love to fit some long rides in there somewhere on warmer, dry Saturdays throughout the Fall if I can find any. When Spring roles around I want to pick up training in earnest and hit a couple more triathlons over the Summer. If they hold the 70.3 event in Branson again next year, I'll sign up. That'll give me something to train for.

One last thing. I'm recruiting an adventure race team.  What's an adventure race?  This is from the USARA website:

Adventure Racing offers an easy crossover for cyclist, runners and water sport enthusiasts just to mention a few. Adventure races can vary anywhere from 2-5 person teams, with some events now offering solo categories. The disciplines can also vary from race to race. Adventure racing can include shredding through tight single track on a mountain bike or orienteering and hiking through a dense forest. Adventure racers may find themselves ripping down rapids in a canoe and then rappelling off a 100 foot rock face. The races can last a few hours or several days and can cover 10 - 100 miles or more!

Sound fun? Let's do it!

And now, a toast. To staying motivated!

More Stream of Consciousness

So there I am watching Glee with my wife. I'd never seen that show, and this episode was evidently about faith. I found myself praying that it would end so I could watch Top Gear. The only pretend high school students I want to hear singing are John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

I used to think those guys on Myth Busters had the best job ever. Now I'm not so sure.  Have you seen Top Gear? These guys get to drive the most expensive cars on the planet, and there's no annoying hosts that insists on using a pirate accent every episode. Driving expensive cars really fast through Europe is my new career objective.

The other thing that Top Gear gave me is an item on the bucket list: drive the Nurburgring race track in Germany. You can show up, pay a fee, and drive (from what I understand). My wife asked me what I would drive. I said it would have to be the rental car, though on the website I linked to above I saw an add for race car rentals.

Speaking of driving east of the Rhine, a few weeks ago I mentioned my Roman Empire tour. At the time I was behind in listening to The History of Rome podcast. But then the very next episode I listened to Mike Duncan announced a real Roman Empire tour they're putting on. Dang it!

OK, I need to quit watching TV and figure out how to get to Nurburgring. Danke schoen!