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2014-07-31 5:42 AM

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NOVA - Ironic for an Endurance Athlete
Subject: LOVE

Endurance Sports is an integral part of my life.  Also, golf and fishing.

I enjoy each so much that I embrace the experiences and allow myself to become completely immersed.  All of my senses are engaged.

Sights - I run and cycle through beautiful hills.  I see birds, deer, vineyards and tumbling brooks.  I also see other cyclists, cars and pedestrians.

Smells - I run by a home who is constantly drying their laundry as a get a whiff of Bounce.  I bike past an Italian restaurant and smell the meat sauce simmering.  I catch a whiff of the dead animal carcass that is rotting in the ditch next to the road.  A hint of stale cigarettes and diesel from the overweight guy in the F350 who just went by me.  Then the blooming honeysuckle wafts over me.

Feel - I feel the sweat trickle down my back and my feet pound the unforgiving pavement.  I feel the twinge in my left knee and the blood filling my quads as I push my too heavy body up a steep hill.  I smile in safisfaction, knowing that the dull ache in my shoulders after 400 in the pool will soon subside, only to return at 1700.

Taste - My own sweat collects on my lips, giving my banana a salty strangeness.  A swig from my water bottle reveals the moldy results of not thoroughly cleaning my bottles.  A hint of salt, sweet and orange reminds me of 6 hours at IMCDA, when all of my bike calories came from my bottle homemade Infinit "frosting".

Hearing - Honk.  An impatient driver cannot wait the 9 seconds until the left lane clears, and I hear the subtle sound of his engine accelerating and the rubber tires grinding against the asphalt.  Click, click, click.  I need to get my derailleur adjusted/.  Thump.  My feet hit the pavement during trackwork and I wonder if they should be quieter.  I hear the sound of the water rushing past my ears, and the splash of my right hand entering the water, mixed with the whistle of the kids coach two lanes over.  

This isn't poetry.  This is a plea to allow yourself to become truly immersed in the moment and absorbed in your activities.  For your next workout, leave the "real world" behind and save the music for dancing.  This sport is wonderful on it's own.  Mixing it with headsets, thoughts about work, and guilty feelings is like pouring a turning a $90 bottle of Napa's finest Cabernet Savignon into a wine spritzer.

Embrace this sport with all of your senses, with every cell in your body, and see where it can take you.



2014-07-31 7:44 AM
in reply to: pga_mike


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, Wisconsin
Subject: RE: LOVE
Well said! When I'm at the gym I want my headphones. But, outside, never. My main reason is safety, but as I think about it, I would miss so much that is beautiful and cool. Thanks for writing this!
2014-07-31 8:56 AM
in reply to: MikeD1

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Subject: RE: LOVE
2014-07-31 9:03 AM
in reply to: pga_mike

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Subject: RE: LOVE

I. LOVE. *you*, Platyfoot

I sometimes go without a watch, too. It's beautiful.

Also, you should know that I purchased and am about to read A Good Walk Spoiled, against all past declarations.

2014-07-31 9:31 AM
in reply to: IndoIronYanti

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Denver, CO
Subject: RE: LOVE

Thank you for the beautiful reminder to be in the moment.  I was recently riding the route for my upcoming race for the 2nd time.  The 1st time I rode it, all I focused on was getting up the next dang hill.  The 2nd time, I looked up and saw the dragonflies flitting by, the gorgeous sweep of the plains and the amazing skyline of the mountains in the distance.  That 2nd ride was so much more fun and I found myself feeling extremely grateful for the opportunity to get to experience it the way I did.

2014-07-31 11:49 AM
in reply to: pga_mike

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Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: LOVE
Originally posted by pga_mike

Endurance Sports is an integral part of my life.  Also, golf and fishing.

I enjoy each so much that I embrace the experiences and allow myself to become completely immersed.  All of my senses are engaged.

Sights - I run and cycle through beautiful hills.  I see birds, deer, vineyards and tumbling brooks.  I also see other cyclists, cars and pedestrians.

Smells - I run by a home who is constantly drying their laundry as a get a whiff of Bounce.  I bike past an Italian restaurant and smell the meat sauce simmering.  I catch a whiff of the dead animal carcass that is rotting in the ditch next to the road.  A hint of stale cigarettes and diesel from the overweight guy in the F350 who just went by me.  Then the blooming honeysuckle wafts over me.

Feel - I feel the sweat trickle down my back and my feet pound the unforgiving pavement.  I feel the twinge in my left knee and the blood filling my quads as I push my too heavy body up a steep hill.  I smile in safisfaction, knowing that the dull ache in my shoulders after 400 in the pool will soon subside, only to return at 1700.

Taste - My own sweat collects on my lips, giving my banana a salty strangeness.  A swig from my water bottle reveals the moldy results of not thoroughly cleaning my bottles.  A hint of salt, sweet and orange reminds me of 6 hours at IMCDA, when all of my bike calories came from my bottle homemade Infinit "frosting".

Hearing - Honk.  An impatient driver cannot wait the 9 seconds until the left lane clears, and I hear the subtle sound of his engine accelerating and the rubber tires grinding against the asphalt.  Click, click, click.  I need to get my derailleur adjusted/.  Thump.  My feet hit the pavement during trackwork and I wonder if they should be quieter.  I hear the sound of the water rushing past my ears, and the splash of my right hand entering the water, mixed with the whistle of the kids coach two lanes over.  

This isn't poetry.  This is a plea to allow yourself to become truly immersed in the moment and absorbed in your activities.  For your next workout, leave the "real world" behind and save the music for dancing.  This sport is wonderful on it's own.  Mixing it with headsets, thoughts about work, and guilty feelings is like pouring a turning a $90 bottle of Napa's finest Cabernet Savignon into a wine spritzer.

Embrace this sport with all of your senses, with every cell in your body, and see where it can take you.




This is the sort of thing I am always thinking about when training. I never try to block out the senses by training with music in my ears. I find I get the most out of my training when it also becomes my meditation for the day. If my training session is going to happen in the afternoon I allow the "warm up" period to not only wake up my legs/body but also to allow myself the time to drain my head of work-related thoughts, or any other distractions. Once my actual "work" begins, my mind clears and I fully concentrate on the work. All those other senses you describe - they just become inputs into the machine. Its glorious.


2014-07-31 5:28 PM
in reply to: pga_mike

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Subject: RE: LOVE
This is great. Thank you.
2014-07-31 6:53 PM
in reply to: louamerica

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Subject: RE: LOVE
Running through the neighborhoods smelling what everyone is having for dinner, always take back to my younger days of playing in the neighborhood until dark.
2014-07-31 8:34 PM
in reply to: IndoIronYanti

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NOVA - Ironic for an Endurance Athlete
Subject: RE: LOVE

Originally posted by IndoIronYanti

I. LOVE. *you*, Platyfoot

I sometimes go without a watch, too. It's beautiful.

Also, you should know that I purchased and am about to read A Good Walk Spoiled, against all past declarations.

Love you too!  Thanks for being open to golf.  It, too, gives me the opportunity to be in the moment.

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