Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 174)

Joanne, I also have to say that it's best to just get out there and have some fun first.  And a year of short course may be just what you need.

I did only short course two years ago, and it was awesome in that I had zero stress during the year.  If you have a long course event pending, we tend to get into the mindset that we can't miss a long run or a long bike, and then we get stressed if life comes up and pushes us in a different direction that weekend.  But beware, short course does NOT equal easy!  But for me at least, it did equal less stress and more enjoyment for that season.

JoAnne I'm going to agree with everyone about just getting out the door. One thing I've learned after 20 + years of fitness is that I will feel better if I just do something. I'll admit, I am having motivation trouble right now. Recent events in the news, my dog passing, dealing with my aches/pains and trying to stay on top of Christmas plans have left me distracted and just unmotivated. Now throw in there the lack of daylight, gloomy, misty skies for several days this week and 3 days in a row I have wanted to skip my workouts. I just give myself the opportunity to do something. No stress about how far, how long, how hard I should work. I know this will pass but for now I will wait it out and just keep moving without any other expectations for myself.

Good luck with your shop. Don't worry about who has left, easy to say I know. Be a light for everyone who sticks with you every other day.

I have to share my experience with the Dog Dazer II. I bought this contraption a couple of weeks ago, it is supposed to send out an ultrasonic noise that deters dogs. I took it on my run with me tonight. This little yappin dog came out after me nipping at my feet. I whipped the Dog Dazer off of my pants and promptly dropped it on the ground right in front of the dog . So now I have to reach to the ground right in front of the dog who just went after my ankle. I reach down and the dog is yapping all around me but I'm yelling get back and as soon as I get my hand on the DDII I push the button thinking this is not going to do a thing.

The dog tucked his tail and ran straight home. I stood there in the street looking at my hand like WTH do you know, this thing actually worked!

I go down another street and there is a medium sized dog in a pen going nuts barking at me as I approach. I push the button, the dog turns his head and won't even look at me as I run by.

I'll be taking this thing on my next bike ride to test it out some more. Let's just hope I don't drop it on the street again!

Dina....that thing sounds AMAZING!!!!  I usually end up barking back at the dog.  They look at me like I've completely lost my mind.  I've had lots of dogs tuck their tail and run the opposite way when I start barking! 

Joanne....I think short course triathlons would be a fun way for you to get your groove back.  I've been doing short course stuff since the munchkin was born since I don't have all that much time to train.  I get a big kick out of seeing just how bad I can make myself hurt during these races.

I did want everyone to know (with Karl's permission) that as Dirk said, Karl told me his comments were made out of anger and not something he actually believes.  No hard feelings!

Dina I had never heard of a dog dazer before, I sure wouldn't mind one of those things.  I absolutely hate dogs that bark when I run past them. I'm like why is it you have to bark at me, can't you see that I'm not even running towards you?!  I find it to be very annoying.

I am chased by dogs a lot - it would be safe to say every bike ride out doors and most runs through my town. I know way too many friends who have been bit by dogs. I'm tired of being a target. The last time I was on my bike outside I went passed a house I have passed countless times with no trouble. Now there is a new dog there and it was waiting for me in the street.

I bought the DDII off of Amazon. I was searching for mace or something like that when it came up in the search. It has mixed reviews but enough positives for me to give it a try. I'll keep you posted on how it works out if your interested.

Thanks for clearing it up.  And I appreciate your willingness to check in with him.  It shows that you are a person who has a genuine concern for clearing the air.

In the aftermath of these types of events all of us say and do things that normally wouldn't come from us.  As a firefighter I have experienced many things that most people don't want to witness and the types of things said after those events would not make friends of anyone outside those groups.  The gallows humor that follows a tragedy was our coping mechanism to defend and separate ourselves from internal destruction.  I took Karl's remarks as that same type of defensive remark.

I looked at them last night to see what they are about.  There was a youtube video that showed a long range effect on a dog but it wasn't a very good video.  All you could see was a dog begin running after the button was pressed and it showed it at 3 different times.  I was thinking about looking into one for my bikes.  That's the only place I have any real trouble.

I also wonder how it will work work on your neighbors dog.  This would be my first point to try it on.  I would probably use it every time I walked out the door and even saw the animal.  If it associates you walking out the door to the noise it may begin to simply stay away from you all of the time.  Maybe even go inside as soon as you are seen.

Keep me up to speed on both matters.

Since I spoke my mind to my neighbor a few weeks ago they really do seem to be keeping the dogs inside for most of the day. But yes, if need be I will have it ready!

Dina I did take a look at this over on Amazon after you posted on this. I was interested to see what others had to say and it does look like it has some mixed reviews but I think it looks like a decent alternative to some thing that might harm the dog. I'm glad to hear that you had success with it the first time out and definitely keep us posted on how it is working for you. I will say I have been very fortunate not to have any encounters with dogs while running. I try to pick routes which are "dog free" so to speak and have been lucky. I have been chased on the bike though. I think this is something that is worth looking into.

Warren, I saw what Morgan Freeman (supposedly) posted on facebook.  And I think he's partly right.  Philosophers like to talk about causality by separating proximate cause and ultimate cause. 

Certainly the way our media covers these things seems to make the killer a bit of a celebrity and might appeal to those unbalanced individuals that want to set a 'record'.

But I think there are many more contributors and the most basic one is the cultural shift to secularism and all that goes along with it.  A strict materialism (no such thing as supernatural), humanism, evolutionary theory and a general secularization of America is creating a culture in which no one believes in a few fundamental concepts that have acted as restraints to the 'type' of person that would do this.

1) A loss of belief in the sanctity of human life.  There is no soul, there is no moral or spiritual value in a person's life.  Just cells and firing neurons and survival of the fittest.

2) A loss of the belief in justice in the after life.  So as long as you are willing to die at the end of your rampage, then you can do it without facing consequences.

3) There is no such thing as evil.  It follows from the idea that there is no such thing as an objective morality.  It only comes down to Darwinian survivalism.  If killing people and taking their stuff helps you then do it!  It's what we would see running rampant if our government's law enforcement were suspended (think Katrina for instance).

Whether you believe any religions are true or not, you need to admit that religious belief brings great value to society and that removing that belief from society will have negative consequences.

And yes, many or most of these mass shootings are done by emotionally disturbed people and we need to do a much better job at monitoring people with emotional problems with this possibility in mind...without somehow treating them like their are guilty of a crime before they've committed one.

Jo63 - 2012-12-16 6:36 AM I have been having trouble getting back into a regular training routine, just as I was feeling like I was 100% an employee that had worked for me quit she had worked for me for almost 8years, she then turned me into the state with several wage complaints oh yeah more stress! Anyway... I received a letter from the state letting me know she had no validity in her complaints but I still have no idea why she left she never gave 2weeks and quit on a day I was not there, she obviously had issues with me and I am racking my brain trying to figure out what happened so I don't make the same mistake again. Although I must say there has been a better energy in the salon since she left. We also had put together a video for the got chocolate milk and realized cut off time was eastern time not central time and am not sure if we got it in on time it was down to the wire Right now I have no plan to train for anything, I had started a basic running program going back to building with walk/ running and my husband was actually doing this with me but we only ran once last week Iam thinking I need to go back to 5ks and sprint distances before I move forward? I am a little afraid of burning myself out again. Iam all over the place not knowing what to do, do I begin as if I never did this before or can I put a 1/2 ironman in the schedule then I see that Kentucky and Cozumel have opening s for a full and I think I want to challenge myself again? It has been since Sept since I have really done anything significant. So as you can see with my indecisions it is no wonder I don't get anything done, I was never like this and I don't like it! So a little help would be great!

I think you should do what you find fun!  If the challenge of a half or another shot at a full is what brings you excitement and purpose then by all means! 

But if something less overwhelming and pressure filled would keep your training and race fun, then do that!  I personally find racing to be so motivating that I can't imagine how hard it would be to train for months for just one event.  Shorter races done every few weeks keeps me excited and motivated.

It was 4:45, snowing, I was the only one out there, but I ran my 2 miles before work this morning.

Thanks everyone for the motivation.

Good job!  It's lonely at the top!

Tell me about your piriformis....Have you sought treatment?  Gotten the official diagnosis?

My training is going well.  I think I'm in great shape and improving.  The only downer is that my heels hurt like crazy.  Makes it hard to walk and the pain is never gone.

Got to run 11 miles yesterday with my daughter.  We didn't finish until after dark and needed my head lamp to help us navigate the trails.  Yes it was off-road and wet and drizzly but was in the lower 60s and we were comfy with shorts and tshirts until towards the end when I added a long sleeve T.

This morning's swim was another in an unbroken string of improved shoulder function.  Each time I swim it improves my shoulder.  Great therapy.  Today I even used the paddles during the pull sets (but kept it gentle).

I turned in some 100s under 1:40 (like a 1:30 in a yard pool) and they felt comfortable too.  I think that my technique has improved a lot since the surgery.  I've improved my catch and my body position through the period of 1-arm swimming.  I honestly feel like I can PR in the 500 free right now.

Braggart!

Everyone else had already finished.

GREAT job Jonathon.

Jeff, glad you are healing so well.  What are you going to do with your heel?

Jonathan nice job getting out there at that time and running in the snow. Anything before before 11 am is too early for me sad to say.

Jeff that is pretty amazing to see you making this much progress so soon, it seems that it wasn't that long ago that you had the surgery.