Can dudes just calm the F down?

This has always been the case but I have especially been noticing it lately. Whenever I mention to a male that I'm super psyched about training to run the 10k I get almost the same exact response from every single one of them.

"You don't have to train for that. I could run 10 miles right now."

*sigh*

enter agro man.

The human body is resilient, especially for the young. I know that if my life depended on it, I could probably run 20 miles. That. is. not. the. point.

I used to be able to jump right into a game of soccer without stretching. Then, the day came when I realized how incredibly stupid that is. The point is not what you are capable of, the point is what you can do and enjoy yourself and not suffer for it the next day or further on down the road.

I bought this book recently even though I have absolutely no exercise related injuries to speak of. Being 30 now though, it's suddenly very important to me to prevent, at any cost, anything that will enfeeble me. It's a great resource in general but because it's written by an MD it has lots of anecdotes of dumb things runners do. For example, run way too much, too quickly. Usually, of course, they are male.

All I'm saying is that our life expectancy is pretty damn high at this point, do you *cough, men* really want to spend 40 of those years with a shit knee?

Still loaded, a less little less hunched. Oh yeah and screw Lululemon.

I took up running last spring but got interrupted over the winter. I started up a couple weeks ago and I realized I had forgotten how addictive it is. So addictive, in fact, that I've decided to run the Cap10k here in Austin. It's in April and it's my first race ever so I thought I would take my running from relaxing hobby to goal-oriented training. Having never played competitive sports, very uncharted.

Point is, my chatter will now include running joys and woes as well.

Woe of the day: Luxury work out gear
I don't think much of high end brands in my day to day life but today I was reminded of how revolting they can be.

Exhibit A: Lululemon
I know there are a lot of athletic brands that sell horribly overpriced goods made by small south asian hands. This, however, deserves mention.

Mala beads, I just learned, are used in Hinduism and Buddhism during prayer and meditation. They remind me of the Rosary used in Catholicism. Lululemon has decided to manufacture these. Fine. They are charging over a hundred dollars for their co-opted version. 

There are obviously many other garments they sell that are stupidly overpriced like 60 dollar tank tops but that's a lot of companies and that's a rant for a different day. It's the need to validate the outlandish price tag on a string of cheap beads with an ancient religious practice that's not even their own.

So like I said earlier, screw Lululemon.

Long hiatus: invisible bike helmets and fancy cycling

I've moved back to Austin after my stint in Houston. Austin has much to offer cyclists in the way of smoother roads and a larger bike culture but Houston has absolutely no hills so you can ride forever.

Now that I'm older and wiser I've started wearing a helmet. Now I just think it's insane that I ever scorned it. I have however become aware of a new invisible helmet that sounds like the coolest thing.

That's on my order list along with this. Having ridden to many a formal event and shown up flushed and sweaty, it'd be super nice to get around that.

As a trained anthropologist...

I like to open up ridiculous claims with this. Yes, I studied Anthropology in college and I love to make observations about aspects of culture otherwise reviled but sadly, I am far from being a well-trained anthropologist.

This guy can actually say that however. And he's awesome.

bike messenger turns academic

Clipless pedal swag and relationship fallout

I love clipless pedal riding. I hate clipless shoes. They're ugly and bulky and look funny with dresses. I've been dreaming of the day that mary jane style shoes are made with cleats but I think that's a long ways off. In the meantime Chrome has made these great clipless shoes that don't look all that different from shoes I might wear anyway but there's a mental block that's keeping me from actually buying them and eventually wearing them.

And it's petty.

My ex-boyfriend has a pair.

I'm not actually sure if they're the same exact ones. They look the same but I don't remember them having the cleats. Regardless, the effect is the same.

It's not repulsion or anything. It's a vague need for distance. Like if I bought them I'd subconsciously be reviving that failed 6 month stretch for some kind of personal torture.

I might still buy them anyway but it's going to take a lot more ruminating than any other purchase I've made, including that $80 set of Kohl pens.

sigh.

Rainer Maria Rilke und Regen

Finally getting into Ranier Maria Rilke after knowing I should for years. I'm glad though that I can get into it like this.

Und daß das Stille und das Ungestüme

wie Stern und Sturm dich kennen? : Weil ich rühme.

Heat exhaustion soccer sadness and damned loose dogs

This weekend consisted of the above mentioned things. The first looming, the middle one crushing, and the last chasing behind.

Houston summer creates the perfect environment for heat related conditions. 20+ miles a day in daylight hours without a direct line feeding me lost fluids and electrolytes day after day catches up in a nasty way. I found myself watching the women's final light headed and depleted in the first half. Fortunately the intensity of the game helped rouse me. Unfortunately, US women were no match in penalty kicks.

A moment of silence for the glory the US women could have had.

...

Completely unrelated but omnipresent...loose dogs. Loose dogs are the scourge of my neighborhood, as well as countless other lower-income neighborhoods and it's gotten incredibly old. The reason this gets me goes beyond the simple irritation of getting the stool scared out of you by the sudden appearance of a snarling dog trying at best to run you off his turf and at worst to have your calf for lunch.

It angers me because despite the fact that I've had pets for as long as I can remember, I've worked with animals for the last 7 years and I often favor the company of cats and dogs over people, EVERY time I get chased the anger that wells up is enough to forget all that and throw my U-Lock right in the offending dog's muzzle.

The feeling dies down as soon as the chase stops but if that happens to me, I can only imagine the depth of ill-will that builds in people who aren't as animal friendly.

Which brings up an interesting similarity to bikes.

When I'm driving and I see a biker, I am courteous, I give him/her enough room and wouldn't think of honking or charging. I act this way because I know what the receiving end feels like. Drivers who have never ridden down a busy street or depended on their bike for transportation might not think twice of showing aggression toward bikes. People who don't own dogs and have only been chased or scared by them know only to regard them as a menacing presence.

But I digress. The point here is, really, I am more angry at the irresponsible owners that let their dogs wander the streets and chase anything that moves until they get run over than the dogs that threaten me with bodily harm. I would much rather thrown my U-Lock at these people than their dogs, but in the mean time, I suppose I might just have to switch back to the clip-less pedals for instant acceleration.