filling in the gaps

sorry for all the words in advance. i don't like reading either.

in november, cross country season came to an end. most runners took a week off, regrouped, and got back out on to the trails to prep for indoors. the triathletes that dabbled in xc did something similar with down time followed by training that wasn't so running focused. what did i do?

neither.

i opted out of competing in triathlon this year because i had a 2011 season not worthy of government funding for 2012. i could no longer afford to keep going in the sport. it costs upwards of $8,000 a year to train and compete depending on how much you want to travel for races and camps. i don't have this money and that's the reality. this was a tough decision because it's not as if i can pick it up again on a rainy saturday. triathlon is a lifestyle and requires a complete commitment. long story short, here i am in january, face a little rounder, routine non-existent, and with no real goals beyond getting out of bed in time to poor beer for psych professors. i haven't been this out of shape since the cough epidemic of '09 or that summer in high school when i stopped swimming and worked at mcdonald's instead. as my training partners will tell you, my ass was huge that summer. the whole reason i came to guelph was because i wanted to train with the best and get a degree on the side. now i'm left with the degree on the horizon but have very little interest in it's real world application and consequently have lacked any real world motivation.

so what next?

well i want to run cross country again. my varsity experience this year was a lot like an experience at a few parties in tenth grade. i've been talking a lot with a certain girl, i find out she'll be at the same place on piccadilly on saturday, we go upstairs after i've downed my second beer taken from my parents fridge, make out a bit, and then BAM! busted by a bunch of kids looking for some sort of perverted thrill of finding their friends half naked in a walk-in closet. so in this metaphor the girl was 'running well' and my 'friends' were an injury. really got blue balled this season and i want my saturday back.

but xc is so far away! so i decided that exercise was optional, not a priority, and i've sat on my arse instead of staying in shape. then, at dinner at symposium last week, alexander decides that i should run a marathon. he says it will give me some structure, a goal, a fitness boost and as a side benefit he can take wagers on whether or not i break 2:40. this idea sounds exciting. so the two of us convince craig and voila! im running the ottawa marathon in may to give myself some structure before i build up for an xc season in the summer! fun times! i've run two days in a row and i feel like a new man.

backtracking to that whole 'not at all interested in school thing', i know i'm not the only person to ever dislike class. but i figured that if i was still sitting in a lab diluting acids at the age of 21, it would at least be something i was planning on doing after university. it's not, i've wanted to be in media since the tenth grade. so connor clerke and i are going to host a radio show on the campus station! getting back into the media scene will be refreshing and might help with the funk. funk is only good when played you're at the albion, not when it pertains to a lack of drive. so i'll let you guys know when it's on and i encourage you to listen because i promise you that if it sucks we'll stop doing it!

thanks for reading! here's a deep 'bop it' run with some of the nation's best multiplayer athletes. plenty of talent.



and here is the black and white of life with a CCR soundtrack!