Week 14 – Day 1

Spin Class – 55min

I don’t know why I do spin classes instead of riding outside. Maybe because I’d push harder for longer with a group of people than by myself? I know that I’d do my workout but I think there’s some added benefit to doing with with others. I use these as building strength but I will also be using these to pair with swimming. Eventually these will fall to the wayside once I get my trainer set up in my new basement! I’m so excited to move in. I just need to find a treadmill for winter.

I plan to have the bike trainer with my Argon and a treadmill towards the back of the room. I’m going to buy a TV for the wall as well, set up my old computer down there to run the Computrainer program and watch TV shows. My friend Leanne has a Wahoo Kickr and after reading about that, I’d like to get one of those and sell my Computrainer too. If you’re interested, let me know 😉  I plan to leave some room between the TV and bike/run stations so I can do some yoga/stretching/p90x etc.  I’ll have some nice thin shelves for all my shoes, helmets, wetsuits and other fitness related gear, maybe even a bench and some dumbells and a bosu.

Back on track…

Spin class was fun. There was this section where you “run” on the bike, no bouncing, and any one person could make everyone go for however long they wanted and then stop when they wanted. I forgot one time, I think they were pissed at me. I did it again just to push them….and myself.

So I wanted to swim afterward but forgot there’s an aquaerobicize class that was 1/2hr from ending so I packed up and started to leave. When glancing at the pool I noticed that there was a lane open. Had I known, they usually leave a lane open for lane swimming! Damn it! Oh well. This kinda throws off my schedule and won’t know if I’ll be able to make it up because of my move. This week (like prior weeks) isn’t going to be the best for training. Hopefully I won’t hurt my back moving all those boxes on Friday :p

I am in a world that is so Grade 12…

I can see why any military would want the latest and greatest weapons.  Ease of use and repeatable results.

I was biking with a friend up a hill known to both of us quite well.  It was our first demon we faced in a series of events designed to push us to the driving point, the point where your body gives up but your mind keeps firing the neurons in a blatant act of defiance.  Our first encounter, the demon had the better of us, shoving us off our seats in an effortless wave of its hand.  Jump ahead one year armed with knowledge and a few advancements of technology, we conquered triumphantly.  I was afraid to think of what my friend’s heart rate was during the ordeal.  I, fortunately, was able to stay seated and not resort to standing defiance and even doubled back down to lend moral support to my battling comrade.

He was quite happy, and I too, more so internally for smashing the feat we chose to relive.  My battle wasn’t as hard but upon reflection of the previous year, it made me realize the leaps and bounds I have made picking at all the low hanging fruit.  I feel the same with my swimming, coming off an injury that prevented me from swimming for 6 weeks but I am now able to swim farther than I’ve ever have, just not faster (working on that).  I do not brag about my accomplishments as they are only accomplishments for me.  What good does it do to tell others?  I would say something if they asked but I’ve always been modest with my abilities.  Maybe, I need not be so modest in every aspect of my life.  Maybe I should be less modest in my personal life but I can’t be like others…  What if they could be like me?  Not to toot my own horn but it’d be nice.  I pride myself of staying drama free, staying neutral, and gossip free but those are my values and ethics.

Wouldn’t it be nice though, if everyone you knew had the same values and ethics as you?  I guess this is the reason why I have a small tight-knit group of friends as they share these similar things with me.  I don’t have to worry about them talking or doing things behind my back, being two-sided etc.  I have closed the door to friendship on many people and left them standing on the doorstep of acquaintancy.  I believe trust should be earned except when it comes to relationships when the antithesis of this belief is practiced.  I learned a long time ago who my friends are and what qualifies as a friend for me.  Call it a motion for change or expansion of horizons, but I took a risk going into these pop-up video type friendships with this new group of friends, much different than my close friends.  I saw the signs and chose to ignore the drama that seemed to ensue though I knew not of these people at the time but was in the thick of the back room convos.  I have to admit, I did the same thing… but I was extremely drunk but have learned my lesson.  Haven’t these people?  How many times must their lies and loose lips bite them in the ass until they do?  I swear, I only need to step into the door and I’m already inundated with gossip, rants, compliment digging and self-affirmations.

These are the things I wish I could say to these people, learned from my interactions with them.

• Just because the world treated you bad and now you’ve improved for the better, the world still doesn’t owe you anything.
• Keep your mouth shut!  Do you have to spew every bit of gossip for attention?
• If you enter a relationship, you don’t have to email everyone thinking that the world is caving in on people because of your union.  It’s actually quite freeing and we don’t need you to defend yourselves for your decision.  Whether these self/co-affirmations were warranted or not, I will still or not like you or change my view of you or hate/like you more.
• Don’t lie to me, I’m not stupid.  Besides, everyone else told me what was going on.
• Just be honest and tell them how you feel about them.  Don’t linger around and play that gray zone.
• Grow up.

This one should be a given amongst male friends:

• Never rub another man’s rhubarb.

I’ve taken a break from this group and not sure how long I will hold out though the venue certainly does have necessities that I require.  I’ve always been a little enigmatic and my disappearance will only fuel that image.  Will I remain friends with these people?  I’m not showing them the door but they are definitely being handed their hats.

-Switzerland

Rise from a fall…

You know that feeling, the one that’s deep in your gut that’s a result of the dwindling feeling of hope?  I’ve been experiencing it too much lately.  The advice of a real friend (unfortunately I have had to experience the opportunist once again) over a couple of drinks and apps has brought me here to incite wrath on some keys to provide some release from the mental cogs churning in my head.  I’ve been able to shut my mind down especially when running, only concentrating on my gait, breathing, pace calculations and hearing my breath, gusts of wind and my shoes patting the ground like raindrops.  Lately, I’ve been performing some manual labour-type actions which has caused my mind to wander and thus the deep thinking evolves into sometimes omniscient thoughts but more often than not, hypothetical ones.  An experiment, that’s all this is… but it may shed some light on who I am through the maelstrom of thoughts and feelings I experience on a day to day basis.

Who will read this?  Those that I choose and the random search from a random blogger or Googlite.  Do I care?  No.  We are all products of whatever consumerism is peddling and pushing at us at the moment so your assumptions of me at this point are based on society’s constraints and not of who I really am.  Hopefully this medium will provide a means of getting to know me better without actually knowing me (should you actually want to).  Maybe I will “get to know” myself…

A new beginning… but before that, an end of an ending.