Yup. Nuthin!
So what did I do? Well, Friday night . . . I can't remember . . . (cough)
Saturday, I spent the morning taking care of a bunch of errands I needed to take care of before the nights festivities. I'll get to that in a bit. I needed to fill the car, wash it, clean it out (it's a friggin mess) and head over to the my moms restaurant to finish some bookkeeping. Once that was done, I headed home thinking I'd have time to clean out the fish tank. NOPE. Forgot I needed some items to finish the look on my costume for tonight and a couple more blacklight tubes for extra creepy factor.
Got home in time to shower up (a bit warm and didn't want to be all icky all night) shave. Threw on some comfy clothes and headed out to pick up the cuz and daughter . . .
We were going to Californias Great America Haunted Halloween!
It's was the last weekend of the event and the kids wanted to go. Unfortunately, the godson's a bit of a wuss and wouldn't have been able to handle the scares. It was dark and costumed ghouls were creeping up on everyone and freaking everyone out. Awesome.
We got the online deal where the tix were about $29. If you go that route, get as many as possible. They charge $5 on top of that for the "convenience" of e-mailing it to you. Parking's another $12. And make sure you eat something before going in the park! $4 for 20oz bottle of water should give you an idea of what to expect as fars as prices.
When we got inside, it was DARK. The lights are only there to give enough light to see where you're going. The lines weren't too bad and some of the rides were open. I think the Vortex, Demon, DropZone, Psycho Mouse, Tiki Tumbler (old Survivor boat) were active. The Log Jammer was open under the haunted banner of the Arachnid something or other. Didn't get on it. Didn't want to get wet. It was comfortably cool, but could'a been cold if water was added.
The "Mazes" weren't really mazes. They're guided paths. You start at one end, get scared in between and end at another. And repeat the process 5 more times for the other "Mazes". I would say only one of the mazes sucked. Toy Terror or something along those lines. It. Was. Lame. Even the daughter wasn't frightened. She even thought one of the monsters was cute (teenage crush cute). She smiled and said bye to him. I think I frightened him when I gave him the Evil Eye.
Two of the "Mazes" were pretty well done. The Cornstalkers Maze started out negatively when one of the "scarecrows" accused the daughter of cutting in line. We'd already been walking for a while and when we got in line she sat down on one of the bales that happened to be near an opening in the hedge. I have no idea where the opening opened to, but when my cuz took a picture of her, the "scarecrow" bitch demanded to know what the daughter thought she was doing. At first we thought if we thought it was part of the role and everyone around us began nervously laughing. Until she asked if she had cut in line, even louder. Still thinking it was a role the cuz said she was just taking a picture of the daughter on the bale. The bitch then said she'd "kick her ass out" if she got out of line again.
That's when the crowd started heckling the "scarecrow" bitch as she walked away. After that, things went much better. The scarecrows were dressed in such a way that they could blend in with the corn. Awesome! They were popping out of everywhere and making people scream out. For some reason, I was left alone. I guess I was scarey enough.
The Werewolf one was pretty cool, too. Those guys had chainsaws and LOVED to use them to really put a scare into you.
The live shows. Hmm. The magician/freak show was really good. The drummers, excellent. The hypnotist, eh. The zombie one . . . OMG, don't get me started. That was the longest hour of my LIFE, and it was a twenty minutes show! It was supposed to be a musical. The dancers were decent. Even the daughter who is highly critical of dancers was impressed. The singers were decent, except for the effeminate guy. I remember when the shows put on by GA were well made. Even if the performers were, umm, physically unappealing, they're was effort in making the performer look awesome for the role.
NONE of the performers made an effort to look like zombies! There was tattered clothes and some make-up. That's it! The guy needed to know what kind of songs to sing. He had a couple of good performances, but he was under the impression he could sing whatever he wanted. NO! Stick to what you're good at, buddy! The girls singers were ok. One of them was excellent, I think her name was Brianna. She was memorable. She was supposed to be human I think. Zombie queen wasn't too bad, but she also needed to know what style to sing. The blond newly-zombied, was ok. She stuck to what she was ok at, but a bit to nasally.
I've gotta go, but there are some characters I've REALLY got to commend in the next post.
GD
p.s.
too lazy, gotta go. run smiley :)
Formerly of experiences of Ubuntu n00bism. Now random postings on learning barefoot form.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Does being fat help barefoot transition? part 2
So I was thinking about this some more last night and I don't think I was clear enough with my answer as far as fat people possibly having a relatively easier time transitioning to barefoot style.
You've all seen them, especially on TV when there's some new study saying that Americans are fat. They won't show the faces so they pan down and show the fat people walking or standing from the chest down. The bulbous belly, the trunk-like legs, the squished trainers . . .
Squished Trainers with the feet either bent inwards but mainly outwards . . . that cannot be good. Before getting into this whole minimalist shoe thing, I always wore Altama combat boots. The old-school ones with the hard leather insole and tough, hard rubber outsole. I'd use trainers only for running and I was never really comfortable. The closest I got to comfortable "tennis shoes" were Chucks (Classic Converse All Stars).
I prefer hard soled shoes (dress shoes) or be barefoot. Always have. Cushy shoes for me as an overweight person would only be comfortable for a couple of hours and then they'd feel suffocating. I'd have this urgent need to rip them off my feet! My boots I could walk around in all day. I guess that's why a lot of fat people have a need to not move often. If you feet aren't comfortable, you don't want to use them.
At my fattest (280 lbs) a few years ago, I was a couch potato. I was the stereotypical lazy American eating junk food and not doing anything physical. I worked in a farm test lab and we'd have two days a week where I was physically active for short periods. They were hell for me. I recently went back to help out my old crew because they were short a man. I have no idea how the hell I found the work so hard. I hardly broke a sweat and it was FUN.
WORK ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE FUN! I actually missed it after that.
Going back to the whole shoe thing . . .
As a fat person, I wanted a SOLID foundation. If I had to move or stand, I wanted hard soled shoes. They were stable and didn't move around on me, they didn't give. Chucks were a close second. I'm pretty sure other round people will agree.
I love my VFF's and MTG's! If I have to go out somewhere I'm slapping on one of those shoes. If I'm at home, I'm barefoot. I haven't run barefoot really except for a couple of laps around a track. That was fun, but I had some hotspots. I may get into it more this winter around the neighborhood.
My point is, fatties may not consciously know it but they want something solid under them. Everyone does. Skinnier people are fine with their trainers because they don't squish out much. But try putting 250 lbs plus in your shoes! See how well they do then.
I'm still strengthening my feet and legs, but I feel like I'm getting closer to nirvana here. One of these days I'm going to go out for a run and it won't be until after I've gone home that I'll realize how easy and fun the run was.
I'm working towards that day!
GD
p.s.
too lazy, run smiley :)
You've all seen them, especially on TV when there's some new study saying that Americans are fat. They won't show the faces so they pan down and show the fat people walking or standing from the chest down. The bulbous belly, the trunk-like legs, the squished trainers . . .
Squished Trainers with the feet either bent inwards but mainly outwards . . . that cannot be good. Before getting into this whole minimalist shoe thing, I always wore Altama combat boots. The old-school ones with the hard leather insole and tough, hard rubber outsole. I'd use trainers only for running and I was never really comfortable. The closest I got to comfortable "tennis shoes" were Chucks (Classic Converse All Stars).
I prefer hard soled shoes (dress shoes) or be barefoot. Always have. Cushy shoes for me as an overweight person would only be comfortable for a couple of hours and then they'd feel suffocating. I'd have this urgent need to rip them off my feet! My boots I could walk around in all day. I guess that's why a lot of fat people have a need to not move often. If you feet aren't comfortable, you don't want to use them.
At my fattest (280 lbs) a few years ago, I was a couch potato. I was the stereotypical lazy American eating junk food and not doing anything physical. I worked in a farm test lab and we'd have two days a week where I was physically active for short periods. They were hell for me. I recently went back to help out my old crew because they were short a man. I have no idea how the hell I found the work so hard. I hardly broke a sweat and it was FUN.
WORK ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE FUN! I actually missed it after that.
Going back to the whole shoe thing . . .
As a fat person, I wanted a SOLID foundation. If I had to move or stand, I wanted hard soled shoes. They were stable and didn't move around on me, they didn't give. Chucks were a close second. I'm pretty sure other round people will agree.
I love my VFF's and MTG's! If I have to go out somewhere I'm slapping on one of those shoes. If I'm at home, I'm barefoot. I haven't run barefoot really except for a couple of laps around a track. That was fun, but I had some hotspots. I may get into it more this winter around the neighborhood.
My point is, fatties may not consciously know it but they want something solid under them. Everyone does. Skinnier people are fine with their trainers because they don't squish out much. But try putting 250 lbs plus in your shoes! See how well they do then.
I'm still strengthening my feet and legs, but I feel like I'm getting closer to nirvana here. One of these days I'm going to go out for a run and it won't be until after I've gone home that I'll realize how easy and fun the run was.
I'm working towards that day!
GD
p.s.
too lazy, run smiley :)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Does being fat help barefoot transition?
I bring up the question because it's something that I was thinking about . . .
As I've posted before, when I first started running I was in motion control shoes and I was experiencing horrible shin splints. The only reason I kept running was because I had already signed up for a training program at my local YMCA for the Salinas Valley Half Marathon. I enjoyed the program and we got plenty of advice on training, injury prevention and treatment. I liked it enough that I signed up again earlier this year to get more out of it.
But by the time the training program started, I already had several months running a couple times a week in minimalist shoes (Merrell Trail Gloves and New Balance Minimus Trail) and still building my comfort level of no heel shoes.
Now as to the question: Does being a fat person help to transition into barefoot form easier than being skinny or not as fat?
I would argue with a vehement YES!
First of all, the fat person needs to have the willingness to do something in the first place. In my case I had two choices:
Suffer a life of meds, depression, increasing weight 'cause of depression.
Fat Bastard: "I eat because I'm unhappy. I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle."
And slowly spiral into my own stinkin' grave unless I dive because of some coronary!
OR
Get off my fat ass and DO somethin'!
I can't remember what he did, but I hope I don't get that funky looking waddle on my chin!
Once willpower has been assessed and the feeling is positive, what next?
I chose running. I'll tell you, it was a bitch-and-a-half! The motion control shoes weren't helping me aquire this Love-Of-Running I'd heard so much about. I got lucky and heard about Born To Run by Christopher McDougall on I think the Runners World forums or something.
That just spiked my curiosity and picked up the book. Wow. What a revelation.
The thing is, not a one of these people who had begun minimal or barefoot running were in my shoes . . . fat. Most of the runners were runners already with injuries or curious about this movement. Others had no choice like Michael Sandler who would not take no as an answer! I'm not saying my condition was anything like Mr. Sandlers'. Mine was preventable from the beginning and I chose to let myself go. My struggle now is to start at the bottom of the hill and bust my ass back up it.
So when I began running, I started out ok. Then it got painful. I went through so many different styles and fit of motion control shoes because the shoe people at the sports shoe store didn't know any different. They were truly helpful, except for me. I stuck with the last shoes I got from them because they did help some, but I was still working hard to prevent the worst of the pain with exercises and stretches. Even taping!
With Born To Run, I started looking into barefoot form. I got some chintzy flattish, still cushioned shoes and began running again. It was several months after my abysmal half-marathon and I hadn't done any running since then. So I started out slow using the training calendar I had used for the Y. A couple of months later, the Merrell TG's were released and I attempted a run in them. By that point I was running about two miles twice a week. So I went out for my two mile run thinking I was ready for it.
I got a quarter mile into the run before turning back.
My calves were a bit sore the next day, but not as bad as I'd read other people saying they could be. They felt like I had a good hard work out. Being the lazy bastard that I am, I suspect by cutting my run short because I started feeling my calves saved me from the excruciating pain a lot of more experienced runners feel when doing TMTS (too much too soon). Of course being fat helped in that department.
Being fat forced me to take it slow. There's a psychological and an obvious physical barrier preventing me from pushing WAY TOO FAR. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pushing. Just not as much as a conventional runner would. I'm still slowly increasing distance and speed. Taking Caballo Blanco's tips of first working on smooth, then easy to get fast, I'm still working on smooth.
I can get a sub 9 mile on a track. But you're only getting a mile. If I'm feeling good. I can probably do better than that now and get a lot closer to 8. I'm doing much better now than I did before the SVHM. I can probably get pretty close to a two hour finish. My feet don't get as exhausted now than they did before. But it's taken me a YEAR to get this far. And I still have a lot of improvement to work on.
I'd like to get to two hundred pounds by January and I truly believe I'm going to do it. It's only another 30 pounds away. I dropped 20 in about 5 weeks. I have about two months to make it work. I know the holidays won't make it easy, but I have a lot of opportunities to run while waiting for the daughter to get out of whatever event she's at. I want to be able to run 5 miles three times a week. And I'm gonna enjoy every mile of it!
GD
p.s.
too lazy to check. especially this longish post. run smiley :)
As I've posted before, when I first started running I was in motion control shoes and I was experiencing horrible shin splints. The only reason I kept running was because I had already signed up for a training program at my local YMCA for the Salinas Valley Half Marathon. I enjoyed the program and we got plenty of advice on training, injury prevention and treatment. I liked it enough that I signed up again earlier this year to get more out of it.
But by the time the training program started, I already had several months running a couple times a week in minimalist shoes (Merrell Trail Gloves and New Balance Minimus Trail) and still building my comfort level of no heel shoes.
Now as to the question: Does being a fat person help to transition into barefoot form easier than being skinny or not as fat?
I would argue with a vehement YES!
First of all, the fat person needs to have the willingness to do something in the first place. In my case I had two choices:
Suffer a life of meds, depression, increasing weight 'cause of depression.
Fat Bastard: "I eat because I'm unhappy. I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle."
And slowly spiral into my own stinkin' grave unless I dive because of some coronary!
OR
Get off my fat ass and DO somethin'!
I can't remember what he did, but I hope I don't get that funky looking waddle on my chin!
Once willpower has been assessed and the feeling is positive, what next?
I chose running. I'll tell you, it was a bitch-and-a-half! The motion control shoes weren't helping me aquire this Love-Of-Running I'd heard so much about. I got lucky and heard about Born To Run by Christopher McDougall on I think the Runners World forums or something.
That just spiked my curiosity and picked up the book. Wow. What a revelation.
The thing is, not a one of these people who had begun minimal or barefoot running were in my shoes . . . fat. Most of the runners were runners already with injuries or curious about this movement. Others had no choice like Michael Sandler who would not take no as an answer! I'm not saying my condition was anything like Mr. Sandlers'. Mine was preventable from the beginning and I chose to let myself go. My struggle now is to start at the bottom of the hill and bust my ass back up it.
So when I began running, I started out ok. Then it got painful. I went through so many different styles and fit of motion control shoes because the shoe people at the sports shoe store didn't know any different. They were truly helpful, except for me. I stuck with the last shoes I got from them because they did help some, but I was still working hard to prevent the worst of the pain with exercises and stretches. Even taping!
With Born To Run, I started looking into barefoot form. I got some chintzy flattish, still cushioned shoes and began running again. It was several months after my abysmal half-marathon and I hadn't done any running since then. So I started out slow using the training calendar I had used for the Y. A couple of months later, the Merrell TG's were released and I attempted a run in them. By that point I was running about two miles twice a week. So I went out for my two mile run thinking I was ready for it.
I got a quarter mile into the run before turning back.
My calves were a bit sore the next day, but not as bad as I'd read other people saying they could be. They felt like I had a good hard work out. Being the lazy bastard that I am, I suspect by cutting my run short because I started feeling my calves saved me from the excruciating pain a lot of more experienced runners feel when doing TMTS (too much too soon). Of course being fat helped in that department.
Being fat forced me to take it slow. There's a psychological and an obvious physical barrier preventing me from pushing WAY TOO FAR. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pushing. Just not as much as a conventional runner would. I'm still slowly increasing distance and speed. Taking Caballo Blanco's tips of first working on smooth, then easy to get fast, I'm still working on smooth.
I can get a sub 9 mile on a track. But you're only getting a mile. If I'm feeling good. I can probably do better than that now and get a lot closer to 8. I'm doing much better now than I did before the SVHM. I can probably get pretty close to a two hour finish. My feet don't get as exhausted now than they did before. But it's taken me a YEAR to get this far. And I still have a lot of improvement to work on.
I'd like to get to two hundred pounds by January and I truly believe I'm going to do it. It's only another 30 pounds away. I dropped 20 in about 5 weeks. I have about two months to make it work. I know the holidays won't make it easy, but I have a lot of opportunities to run while waiting for the daughter to get out of whatever event she's at. I want to be able to run 5 miles three times a week. And I'm gonna enjoy every mile of it!
GD
p.s.
too lazy to check. especially this longish post. run smiley :)
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