Monday I said, after the umpteenth phone call about unrelated subjects, "I’ve got too many hats; in too many pies"Still, it's my choice to do so much "when I am supposed to be retired".
Far far better to be busy than to be bored.
I always review my priorities at the end of the year (sort of akin to new year resolutions, although the only thing I really resolve is to "commit to less".)
On the training and competing front this year, to take the pressure off, a mid year decision was to treat many "races" as tempo runs. And when (if!) all the indicators are favorable (weight lower; training consistent; niggles at bay), pick an upcoming race and go for it.
It seems to be working; I have run two successive BBQ Stake 6k's both in 26.53, on days when most struggled with heat and/or breeze, I felt comfortable and still finished in the middle of the (handicapped) field. And I haven't succumbed to new injuries or aggravated old ones (yet!)
So I will continue taking the pressure off by running at 80-90% effort in all my races, and who knows, by January I may be in a position to loosen the reins.
Time for a mathematics joke.
At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual, later discovered to be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator.
At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement.
He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.
"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult, "Gonzales said. They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value.
They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as unknowns, but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, "There are three sides to every triangle."
When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."
watch it buddy
