Tuesday Evening Social

The Reminder:

TRY night at the fair is this Thursday afternoon.  Let me know in some way if you want to join in for people watching, poor food consumption decisions (bacon bomb?), and 'Hey There Delilah' singing.

The Plan:

Onondaga Lake Park, in its under construction phase, is getting a bit annoying, but remains just good enough to keep using it.  Kudos to everyone for putting up with it and continuing to produce some of the largest TRY crowds ever.  Keep being extra careful and mindful of the other park users and not clogging up the narrow trail we are using.  This week, it's back to our standard interval workout of 1/4 mile intervals.  Let's keep it the same as two weeks ago and do 4 or 5 repeats for the "newer" people and 6 or 7 repeats for the experienced people.  For the new crowd, focus on being a little more consistent than you were two weeks ago.  Also, think about your form and your breathing and start to "run smarter, not harder".  You can and will improve your running via your hard work, but you also can improve your running via some smart work.  Ask an experienced TRYer if you need help with that.

The Plea:

I have done a poor job in doing group introductions (for various reasons, that I won't make excuses about), so I am going to ask everyone to help me out.  We are getting great turnout, week after week, with several relative newcomers, so let's have a special social night.  Not afterwards, but during.  Please take a couple minutes before the run, while the group is forming up and turn to someone you don't know and introduce yourself and get to know each other, just a little bit.  Then, during the cool down walk around Angela's TRYangle, do it again and instead of talking to the people you know well, talk to someone you haven't talked to before and get to know them just a little bit.  TRY has never had this diverse of a crowd, so let's embrace it and get to know a TRYer that you haven't yet.

The above thought was brought to mind by something I did last week.  I went to an event that was totally out of my element, as part of a group I volunteer for and learned that a new TRYer has a job I know nothing about.  So, I was sitting there at a business breakfast, watching Nicole "Bobcat" Collins be a total rock star, and presenting to a group of local business persons, including some of the biggest of the big shots for companies that are worth millions upon millions of dollars.  She is the force behind the "Business Journal 500" which is "The only compilation of the vital data on Central New York's 500 largest corporations".  She has her photo on page 1 and got to present the publication to the local business community.  I had no idea!  I knew she worked for the Business Journal, but did not have a guess at what that meant.  And I never would have guessed that she could own the room in a room full of local VIPs:

Who knows what else I'm missing out on - other TRYers that have an "out there" work role, or unique hobby, or a fetish that would make Miley's seem tame.  So, let's find out.  Introduce yourself, and ask questions...you never know what someone will answer about themselves until you ask.  :-)

The Inside Scoop:

Finally, something that only TRY can bring to you.  (OK, not really.)  Here are the results of an "interview" I did with the organizing force behind Greek Peak's "TUFF eNUFF" adventure run.  The event is a 5k or 10k obstacle course race and "will consist of challenges designed to symbolize strength, courage, and the willingness to try, constructed of natural elements using the existing landscape."  (They said "try"!)  The event is on Sunday, September 15th, with heats going on from 9 until noon.

It is a fundraiser for good, local, causes, costs $85, and includes a free "Mountain Coaster" ride and reduced rates at the Greek Peak adventure center (ropes courses, zip lines and other cool things).  If you are unwilling or unable to participate, they need volunteers as well, and I am quite sure I can talk them into getting volunteers some free or reduced usage of the adventure center.

[Addition as of 0730: I was told to add that there is a free barbecue and the day ends with a big bonfire.  So, this is intended to be an all day event if you want to enjoy everything.  The race, the food, the adventure center, and the bonfire.]

The "interview" was informally done with friend of TRY and the reason that Escalade is part of our group, Megan-Mack Nicholson, whose leading of Escalade at snowboarding is what inspired me to reach out and see if she had any interest in "TRYing" to run with us:

The race came about as a brainchild of hers when she was approached to help out with a normal road race.  She wishes they had started it last year, before other obstacle courses sprung up, when it would have stood out more.  There is no obstacle course race creation for dummies book, so she admits to sort of winging it and coming up with the obstacles from her own experience at doing the Tough Mudder and checking out other smaller obstacle course races around the area.  She said that there are "only so many ways to have someone go over, under, or through" an obstacle, so there is not going to be anything that the world has not seen before.  The course has you go across, up and down the Greek Peak ski mountain, will not have you go to the tallest parts (thankfully) and the only way to see all the obstacles is to complete the 10k.  (The 10k course is NOT just the 5k course twice, but is another whole circle through different terrain.)  She hopes it turns out to be challenging, fun, and that it draws in enough participants to be successful.  Part of the stress of organizing a brand new race is having no idea if it is going to draw enough people, especially for the first year, when breaking even can be a tall order.  In addition to the course and the obstacles, she had to deal with the insurance side of things and getting the right amount of liability coverage at a reasonable rate by deciding such things as "having no electricity involved" and "limiting the height" of obstacles.  And mother nature has reared her fickle head as well, when the flash flooding of a couple weeks ago decided to reek havoc with the race course.  Will it all come together in time?  She sure hopes so, but admitted to being worried about it as of a month ago.  There is too much to do and not enough time to do it for an event like this.  It's not easy being on the other side of the registration table, so to speak.

Who among us wants in?  Who among us with answer the call?  Who is willing to volunteer to support a totally local race?  Let me know and I'll work things out with Megan-Mack.

The Sign-off:

Your Second Favorite TRY poster,

Plain White T

Hey There, De-TRY-lah

Alrighty then.  Where were we?  After hill repeats two weeks ago and 1/4 mile repeats last week, we'll cycle to 1/2 mile repeats this week.  Beginners to intervals - plan for two or three 1/2 mile segments (or two 1/2s and finish with one 1/4), while the veterans should plan for three to four 1/2 mile segments.

A late arrival back in town from the weekend has left me a little short of time on Monday night, so I'll skip right to the essential part of this post:
Each year, we attempt to find a fun free concert at the New York State Fair for "TRY Night at the Fair".  I was flipping through the paper advertisement for the fair and couldn't find a night that worked.  (Admittedly, the one that jumped out at me was "Florida Georgia Line" on the first Monday, but unfortunately I have a conflict that night and cannot be there for that.)  There were a couple undetermined acts as of the printing of the paper version, so I went online to see what they ended up being and the new answer lept out at me.  On Thursday,  August 29th, Plain White T's will be the 8 PM free concert.  Done and done.  I cannot believe it's been seven years since "Hey There Delilah" came out, but according to Wikipedia it's true?  Wow!  It's time to see that baby live.  Who's in?  The "plan" is to show up 5ish or a bit later that night, use cell phones to find each other, have a bit a fun, a bit of food, and perhaps a wine slushy or two, then end the night listening to the song that launched a thousand parodies.

Here is an official acoustic version, including a story behind the lyrics:


And here are two of my favorite parodies, and by the number of views, I'm not the only one.  An Arab version:


And a Harry Potter version, that cuts a little too close to home.  (...The invisibility cloak didn't work that day...):


Share, if you have any other favorites, as I cannot get enough of this song, or people spoofing it (if they did a good job with it).

Tough Mudder Race Report

After flirting with Faith Hill last week, it's time to revert back to our gold-standard interval: 1/4 mile repeats.  We can work out a plan with the various people who show up, including the few newcomers who are doing a great job of fitting right in.  For the newer people, plan for 4 or 5 repeats, for the veterans, plan for 6 or 7.

The following race report is courtesy of Erin T/Beef Eater/Meat Loaf, photos added by T-bone:
Tough Mudder- Not Just a Clever Name



[The after shot.]

After completing my first Tough Mudder, Terry asked that I write a brief summary of the experience, so here goes.

The Tough Mudder-Buffalo course was set on an ATV park with a number of natural obstacles, rocks, hills, etc. Personally, even with the long-distance training for the Boilermaker and weekly long runs, the run was definitely the most challenging “obstacle.” The terrain was very difficult to maneuver and the biggest hurdle was avoiding injury. After 11.65 miles, the run was definitely the most exhausting aspect.

In terms of obstacles, females are at an advantage since most were built to challenge the men (ex. crawling under barbed wire, inching through tubes, etc.) so females can cheat a little and scurry through. When it came to the walls and upper body challenges, with a team of guys (and other helpful racers) scaling the walls, jumping round bales, and racing up the half pipe were all relatively easy.

For fun, jumping into a pit of muddy water off a 15-ft plank was a blast and allowed people to rinse off and get refreshed. Another plus was the number of hydration stations with shot blocks, bananas, etc. and great T-shirts at the end for finishers.



[Tiffster getting refreshed.]



[Ob flipping refreshed.  Bomo!]

And for punishment, the Arctic Enema- a giant dumpster filled with 32-degree water and ice blocks, with a divider forcing you to maneuver under water as your body literally shuts down was, for me, the worst. A close second was the last obstacle, racing to the finish line through dangling electric wires which proved to knock thousands of people to the ground into yet another giant mud pit.

So, all in all this was a bucket list challenge for me but not something I’d do repeatedly, mainly due to the high risk for injury. With all that being said, Scala tells me (this being her second TM) that she completed every obstacle over the course of 4-5 hours and, as always, loved every minute of it. At one point during the race we were sat down and asked to reflect on someone who was an inspiration to us and of course, knowing Escalade was somewhere on the course at that point, I thought of her, out there pushing it to the max, like always. She also was quoted in a recent article saying the Tough Mudder is her favorite race, which proves that she just took too much voltage on the Electric Eel. ;)



[Escalade conquering her fear with Megan-Mack.]



[Syracuse Mudders after shot.]

Back to T-bone: thank you very much for that heartfelt race report, Erin, that was great!  :-)

For more perspectives on the Tough Mudder phenomenon, you can re-read Escalade's recap from last year, or my weighing in on it after our first foray into the event last spring in the Pocano's.

Finally, a note about losing it.  Losing ones job that is.  For those who have not heard, I am being let go from my company on Thursday morning.  After 16+ years, the only job I've known since college will be no more. Some people have wondered why I'm not more upset with the company or more distraught with my lot in life and it really comes down to this:
The day after I was notified of my job termination, a 24 year old friend had surgery at a Syracuse hospital to remove cancerous tumors from her thyroid area.  The next day (2 days after my notification) I found out another friend was headed out of town as she had just found out her step-mother had died from cancer complications and her father was hospitalized due to the stress from his wife's death.  So, honestly, how sad or upset could I be compared to those situations?  It was a very good job and for the most part a good company to work for.  But there is more to life than working, and much worse things that can happen to someone than losing the ability to work for a while.
Be thankful for what you have in life, whether it be your job, or your health, or your family.  And remember that no matter how bad of a day you think you are having, you do not have to look very hard to find people that have it worse.

Malinda Week

For the group run this week, I believe we are overdue for some hill repeats.  So, as long as the construction allows it, we will be attacking Faith Hill like rabid fans along the red carpet before the ACM awards!  If construction is blocking access to Faith Hill, we can revert to 1/4 mile intervals.

We've had a great influx of new people over the past few weeks.  Please do what you can to make them feel welcome.  It's probably for the best if you provide a buffer as the less I interact with them, the more likely they are to keep coming back to TRY.  Speaking of TRY, I really love this group.  At the Iron Girl triathlon this Sunday morning, we ended up being near another training group cheering on the run portion (we were there first).  There were more of them, they were wearing coordinated jackets and ringing a cowbell and doing some very fun cheers.  So, honestly, they were outdoing us a little bit.  But, the TRY contingency was holding its own as best it could, wearing coordinated hats, being positive to all participants, and encouraging all the runners to remember that this was supposed to be enjoyable.  Most importantly, TRY was there because we care about supporting each other with no other strings attached.  The other group seemed to care about their team, but there was a huge difference - they were part of a Fleet Feet training program.  So, they were getting paid (or at least compensated in some way) for some of the time they put in with their group.  Now, I don't know that they only are involved because of the monetary perks, but I do know for sure that TRY was not there for anything other than the love of TRYing.  That made me feel really good to think about all the times that TRY is there for each other, with no strings attached.  Keep up the good work and keep encouraging each other to reach heights they did not know they could reach.  We are stronger when we work together. :-)

Reminder: There are free general admission tickets available to this Friday nights Syracuse Chiefs game.  There will be a tail-less tailgate party that we will crash before the game (thanks to Roger) and the game will be followed by a fireworks display.  Let me know if you need tickets as we have an unlimited number available.  The more the merrier!

The "Cooks on the Run" blog blatantly kissed up to me with their most recent post (they have a picture of a poster that says "Don't be afraid to fail.  Be afraid not to TRY".  How fitting is that?!  So, I felt compelled to add a link to their blog on the right hand side of our blog.  Easy access for some inspiration and continued healthy recipe ideas.

Finally, the Discovery Channel is having their big "Shark Week" celebration this week.  But, I wonder why they aimed so low?  Why don't they celebrate a truly vicious animal?  Sure, sharks do some crazy things, and one catching a seal while leaping out of the water is a "WOW!" moment every time.  But, they don't taunt the seal by wearing pink.  And they don't post photos mocking the dead seal on social media before they eat it.  When you get right down to it, sharks are down right civil compared to the ownage that Malinda pulled off this week.

Look at me, I'm all delicate and smiley and I wear pink shirts when I am about to kill things:


Now look at the shark I caught and am about to eat with all my friends.  His family called him "Loaney" but we renamed him "Dinner".  The shaming of this shark will last forever on Facebook:


All that was missing were some hashtags: #malindaweek #sharkweekislame #aintnobodygottimeforthat.

Lastly, we have had a delay in the form of the technical equivalent of "my dog ate my homework".  I hope to have a write-up on the Buffalo Tough Mudder for you all next week.