With my running motivation sapped from this weekend, the next few weeks are going to be a cycling focus. Unfortunately, I still have places to go and cannot always use my bike. It's time to get intense----EXTREME WALKING!
Last Thursday, I was wearing my fancy pants for the big thesis presentation. Just as I stepped out the door, thunder rumbled (this time, thunder was not a euphemism employed after lunch at a Mexican place). Rain was imminent, and I had 10 blocks to my destination. Usually I would run to the convention center. But, on this day I was a man in an all-black suit in New York City----I saw that movie and it ended with a cockroach alien fighting Will Smith. So, I employed the hippie ingenuity passed down from my father to develop a strategy---Umbrella Hitchhiking. I waited for a person to pass on the street, then asked where they were going (while trying my best to not seem like Jeffrey Dahmer). Awesomely, she agreed to walk in my general direction!
"Perfect!" I said in a way to make myself seem as if I did not enjoy the taste of human flesh. Oh, but she was only going halfway.
"That's fine!" I said in a charmingly disarming, yet clearly non-rapey way. After a minute walk, she left me at an overhang.
"Goodbye, and thank you so much!" I said in a way that suggested I had no immediate plans of following her to use her hair in the creation of a lifelike Voodoo doll/sex toy.
Still, the pouring rain continued, and I needed to go to Barnard's campus (the all girls' school where the event was taking place). Because I learn everything I know about girls through teen literature, I tried my best to look less like a desperate thesis-presenter, and more like a Twilight character. My attempt to look like a brooding werewolf must have worked, because I was picked up by a beautiful girl in a sundress.
"This is how pornos start!" I thought, sexily.
"This is how pepper spray gets used!" she implied, mace-ily. 5 minutes had passed, I had made 2 new friends from Umbrella Hitchhiking, and ended up at the destination completely dry.
Wednesday: AM-11 mile run
PM-40 minutes trainer
Non-rapey is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteBen Roethlisberger is intrigued by your ideas, and would like to subscribe to the newsletter.
ReplyDelete/outdated Simpson's reference
Dark suites, rainy day and cockroaches. I thought you were going to invite one of your picker-upers to a Naked Lunch.
ReplyDeleteCool post!
Intellectual literature references about books that were banned for obscenity? I have a feeling that you are a pretty awesome guy Rick :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, your training looks amazing! Are you in Asheville permanently now (saw the baseball pic)? I will be going down to Duke next year--maybe we can do some trail runs up Mount Mitchell!
Hi Dave. Mt. Mitchell is a great climb and there are many way to climb it. My personal favorite is the 5.5 mile ascent with 3,700' of verticle. It's a great run in Oct. Will you be at Duke this Fall?
ReplyDeleteYes! Duke for the next 4 years (with summers spent in Colorado) to pursue a law JD and environmental science masters. I have heard amazing things about the area, and love the people----it should be awesome :)
ReplyDeleteNice! The company I work for is HQ'ered in Durham so I'm there 1-2 times per month. We'll definately get togather and for sure do some running. I used to live in CO and hope someday to split my year between CO and NC. CO in May-Oct. and NC in Nov-April.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have seen in the Durham area, what really sets it apart are the people. I feel as if the area is an extension of Boulder/Nederland in some ways (though certainly less liberal). That summer/winter plan sounds absolutely perfect though!
ReplyDeleteYes, the people here definately have that "southern hospitality" to them. I think you'll really like Asheville. It's very similar to what places like Boulder have to offer. Asheville's quite liberal. And the training? Top shelf!
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