Cadence (November 2011)

So this is a special month for me. Not going to give the reason why but just wanted to share. That being said I try to go for a long bike ride each November. It has usually been on the fixed gear bike Kevin gave me who I named Cadence. I usually get everything ready the night before especially my brain for a long ride out to the east end of Long Island. No real time to beat its just for the enjoyment and repetitious nonstop movement of the pedals.
Speaking of Cadence, I recently saved a new kitten that I deemed the name Cadence. Yes, the man cave is almost complete and the two men that inhabit it are well… the men. Besides the cold sore I got from all the initial stress of taking him to the vet and realizing that I now have responsibility, so far so good. It feels like I adopted a little child. Guy cats are much easier… from what I hear to raise. It’s a fact that guys are more easy going in all species. :)
I’ve never really had a real pet so I finally decided to stop thinking about it and just do it. I always wanted a Tabby cat since I was little. I figured it would be a good test of my patience and teach me to think more about love and responsibility. So far he is the man and no regrets, hopefully none to come. Also he is a babe magnet. I never realized the cuteness power of a kitten. I brought him to the vet and it was apparently hot single girl day. Everyone had the same expression… awe. If only I would have gotten a cat a long time ago.
Animals have always been a big part of my life as far back as I can remember. I still have mental images of discovery channel programs burned into my brain from long ago. I remember taping (Yes VHS) and watching shows on spiders, cats, and sharks over and over again. Movies like Milo and Otis, Homeward Bound, and Lady and the Tramp were among my top favorite movies. I can see why some people love there pets more than other humans. Animals have and always will play a big part in my life and surely in everyone that is reading this can concur. Well time to go find my Cadence.
-Never Stop Pedaling-
-Barton-

October 2011

Enter the Kraken

It is well known that heat makes people tired. Well at least in my experience. I one time went to go swimming and figured I would warm up my muscles in the hot tub by the side of the pool. That was not my brightest idea. I was so drained after it and had no energy to swim that I just showered up and drove my relaxed butt to work. It’s hard to go from relaxed to jumping in the refreshing pool and swimming laps. So now I only go in the hot tub after my swim. Call it a reward.
I accomplished my goal of swimming 100 miles this year on September 14, 2011. “Open the Kraken.” One thing I learned from all this training is the blue line at the bottom of the pool does not change color no matter how much I wanted it to at times. As monotonous as lap swimming may appear to be you would be surprised how quickly it goes when you get lost in your own thoughts.
My mind jumps around a lot. Some examples of what it goes through are; what lap number is this?, what am I going to eat after this?, what do I need to get done today?, among many other things. I’ve learned to designate certain one hundred meters as pure focus intervals where I try not to think about anything except the act of swimming. I usually repeat a montra or count my strokes. One, two, three, breath, one, two, three, breath. I would be good at giving birth… on second thought maybe I would rather just teach lamas class. Another thing I discovered in the pool is flow. That feeling of effortless, flawless swimming where it feels like it could be a dream. It doesn’t happen to often but when it does, it is unmistakable. All in all I feel this personal swim goal of mine was a positive, rejunvinating, revitalizing, and refreshing (especially on those cold winter mornings when I almost literally had to have Ed the lifeguard throw me in the pool) experience. The Kraken rum I have been saving didn’t carry as much weight as it did in the beginning. The reward seems to have been the journey and personal learning experience that came from the effort involved. The journey was the goal as well as the reward and I will hopefully reach or dare I try exceed the length next year. Maybe try the breast, back or butterfly a bit more. Maybe 125 – 150 miles. Just going to have to see.
Taking things one stroke at a time-
-Barton-

September 2011 essay

Think back for a second. When we were young everything was new to us. Each day with unexpected events that were going to unfold. I remember being fascinated by even the smallest of things. Every detail of the event of the moment.
Sometimes however, life can seem monotonous. Go to work, eat, sleep, do what your use to, see the same people, blah blah blah. When we were little everything and everyday was exciting, different and new (unless they showed reruns of Saturday morning cartoons, then there was a little monotony but still exciting, again). My Goal is to have a child’s mindset. Sounds rather funny but by looking at each day as a new, exciting adventure, boredom and “getting into a funk” is impossible. Don’t get me wrong I love some of the routine things I do. Routine however does not lead to change and if there is no change, nothing changes. There is no room to grow, expand, and learn if you don’t get outside your comfort zone. I hate yet love that comfort zone. It’s good at times but it takes reminders (at least for me) to get out of it. When I was little I had one goal, to have fun every day, no matter what. Even now the goal is the same. Guess I’m just a big kid. I think it’s important to take each day this way. Right now, writing this is my fun for the moment that I’m writing it. Big geek what can I say. Play every day. It doesn’t always have to be what your use to. We are all use to walking the way we walk. Step outside your comfort zone and walk differently on occasions. Never change who you are, but remember to always experiment. Do your very best at whatever the change of play is and the effort you put forth is a reward in itself. Immerse yourself and get involved in the activity. View the change as a chance to grow. Find fun in the moment. Now that’s a good motto to live by.

Focusing on the details
-Barton-

Waves and Training

I recently went to the beach for some r and r only to realize that you don’t always get what you want. In this case it was a good thing. I wound up battling the surf and sun. Fighting as it was to get into the water to ride the waves. It was a great workout in a surprising way. It brought me back to the days of my young childhood that was spent at the beach. Such fond memories flooded into my brain. Play is all we seem to want to do when we are little but as we age we need to remember to keep things in balance and show humility and modesty to the best of our abilities. Of course always having fun and looking on the bright side of things is always in order. Play however, can be rather exhausting.
Tiring myself out till I passed out under the umbrella was great. Instead of an internal , mental battle that is usually accompanied with running, this is external, just you verse the sun and the waves. Waves always seem to win, never giving up, never tiring and I thought running was tiring.
I also did a beach run for the first time and found it to be very easy compared to the epic battle with the waves. Very relaxing and rejuvenating. It may have been the sound of the waves, or the softness of the sand or maybe the heat of the sun. But in my opinion the beach is a cure all of all types of illness, from mental to physical. The sun, sound of the waves and the taste of salt on the palate reminds me of a sense of freedom and completeness. It’s a place where two worlds collide into each other causing an orderly, consistent disorder. But once you get past the disorder, past the waves, the open water stretches for what seems forever. A real endless pool for you to swim and lose yourself.
-Barton-

July 2011

Experiment in your Lab

You are a scientist! Whether you enjoy it or not is up to you. You can continue to learn, experiment, and love your work and life. Or you could just go into your own lab, punch in some data and leave without showing any real interest. It’s your chose. Like an ameba we all get absorbed in things that interest us. One of my interests happens to be sharks. It by chance also happens to be shark week the week I got off from work…sweet!
Its interesting to try and learn new things. Initially we may say and convince ourselves that we don’t like a particular activity without even giving it a real chance. The Truth is that if we give that activity more time, tough it out so to speak, we will start to develop a love for it. The more we involve ourselves in something the more we come to love it. Of course we will migrate back to the things we love the most but you will learn more about that particular activity and more importantly about yourself. Another benefit is that you wont get burned out on the things that you do love. Rest and take a break from them once in a while. Don’t be lazy but reasonable with yourself. Try something new today.
-Barton-
“Remember to forget”

(Mango)

During a particular ‘mental run’, as I like to call them, where a mix of wind and rain occurs without much warning, I came across a couple of topics as my mind was in the running mode. First was about training. It occurred to me that a long swim is equivalent to a long run of the same duration. I seem to be just as strong with all the swimming I have been throwing in my training as I am when I’m just running. The mental and cardiovascular systems are all there despite the difference in activity. This is great since swimming is perfect for when you have an injury (left Achilles’) or tapering for a race. In swimming you need flexible ankles so it may have actually helped heal my Achilles’s strain. It was either that or the cold water reducing the body’s inflammation. This cross training is great but it’s important to remember that you need to train for your event in order to do your best in it. A good distance swimmer could run a marathon but not with a terrific time. Train for your event.
Second is to find joy in trials and obstacle’s. I kept saying how refreshing this rain run was to myself as well as out loud. You know what? I came to believe it. At times obstacles and trials can cause you to get downhearted. Viewing the obstacles and trials as joyful despite the fact that they really may not be will cause your outlook of the challenge to change. After you finish and accomplish the task you are stronger and happy. Happiness in persevering and when you look back on the challenge you can say to yourself, “It wasn’t so bad.” You actually enjoyed getting out of your comfort zone. It’s all about taking a positive view of things. (Johnny singing) Why do we need the rain, anyway?...
Third. The thought of God providing strength and support in a literal way by the food and water we eat and take in. We all chose what we take in on a daily basis. The example I was thinking about was that you can have a big piece of chocolate cake or a Mango. No doubt the Mango being the better chose. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with treating yourself to chocolate cake. But I’m talking about a big piece. An excess of sugar. So in the example the cake represents evil (Excesses, no control, no balance) the Mango being and representing good (in proportion, control, balanced). In order to not get weighted down and crash we need to have BALANCE AND CONTROL when we do anything. It’s easy to just eat a whole big piece of cake and go into a couch coma cause of it. Learning to save some for later and savor some IN THE MOMENT is a better way to go about it. Eat less, Enjoy, do more. It reminds me of biking. In order not to hit the rock, or go over that edge we need to be aware of the obstacle but not focus on it. Focus on balance and control instead. Focus on where you want to go, not where you don’t want to. Focusing your attention on another person, place, or task will help avoid the ‘evil’ cake. Focus on the Mango.

How to fight a Kraken

How to fight a Kraken

I have always found being in the water a refreshing and revitalizing experience. Splashing, jumping, and fun childhood games flood the memories of my mind when I reflect on the joy of being in the water. It seems weird how staring at a blue line at the bottom of a pool can bring this same sort of childhood revitalizing experience. Last year I was just shy of 100 miles total in my freestyle swimming. So my goal for this year has been to swim 100 miles! Not only is it a goal but something a love to do and will help me not burn out from running and everything else I try to fit in my busy schedule. I have found swimming to help me mentally not to burn out since it is a time to forget about things for a while and listen to the sound of the water and my breathing. I feel it has helped me to maintain balance and not let the fire inside get burned out with all the other things in life. It's a feeling of being on a different planet. Sometimes I feel I have gills and can breathe underwater. ( Note to Self: Do not breath underwater!) Other times it is a struggle to continue and each stroke seems to preventing me from moving forward.

I bought a bottle of Kraken rum as a reward for my new swim goal to be opened once I reach it. I didn't get the rum just because I like it. But rather it brings back to my mind good times with friends and so a bottle of it has special meaning to me. We all got to swim for something J. The motive is not the alcohol however it is my love for swimming. All life is a river, we can chose to swim it or let it take us to where we don't want to go. Sometimes however we need that extrinsic motivation in order to fuel our intrinsic love of something. It really has helped me get to the pool when it was cold and snowy and my bed was soft and warm.

    Having goals is important but sometimes the goals can seem overwhelming. This is why you need to take things one step at a time. Remember to rest and take it easy once in a while. But be reasonable with yourself, not kind, but reasonable. Listen to your body. I sometimes have trouble sleeping because I have a list of things racing through my mind that need to be accomplished for that day. Taking a day to do nothing (4/23/2011) and putting all your plans on hold can be a great way to unwind. This day of forced rest was in itself challenging and a test for someone who is crazy and wants to do everything all at once. Keep breathing air everyone and take one lap at a time.

-Barton-