Meg in the City

Shocking, really.

2004-09-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Very few things surprise me...anymore. However, seeing advertisements for the new show "He's A Lady" reminded me of an observance a few weeks ago.

There was a time when I frequented the gay bar in OKC called Angles...great dancing (music and partners--gay men are the best for twirling girls around!), safety from meatheads, and my hair guy did a great drag show. So its not like I haven't seen it before. But a couple of weeks ago I went to Discovery, a multi-format gay/straight bar with a late late night drag show, and talk about contortions!

Visualize - black male with bikini top and bottom, no wad. Parts aparently tucked COMPLETELY in, like back to where things were before birth. I didn't know this was possible. The leftovers looked pretty much like a woman's anatamy 'down there'. It was really shocking. Even to me. No question in my mind why he/she looked like a raging bitch!

Not...

2004-09-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

Reason set in...no IM until I get a season or two of year-round training under my belt.

To Ironman? Or not to Ironman? That is the question...

2004-06-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

So two summers ago I started doing triathlons. Partly for stress relief and a reason to kick myself out of the office before 9:00PM, fitness, and social life in new city. The first summer I did five races--four Sprint and one Olympic Distance (Los Angeles). Last summer I did only one race, but it was a Half Ironman (Maryland).

For those of you who aren't familiar with triathlon, you always swim-bike-run in the same order. The Sprint distance is usually .4m swim, 12-14m bike, 5k (3.1m) run. Olympic/International distance is .9m swim, 24m bike, and 10k (6.2m) run. An Ironman is 2.5m swim, 112m bike, and 26.2m run--logically, the Half Ironman is half of the length of the Ironman.

So here I am, somewhat adusted to my new job and new city after almost a year, and I'm ramping up for three area races. Each of these are Sprints. I had a fourth planned, another Half Ironman, but now I have a conflict with that weekend. Grrr. What can I replace it with?

In comparing my work calendar to national race calendars I have come up with another possibility for a Half Ironman this season. It's in October, in Tempe AZ, which also happens to be the same site as a new Ironman event to be held in April 2005, which also jives with my work schedule. Intriguing. I could do the half, and be familiar with the course and general drill for the full...

What on earth would possess me to want to do an Ironman? 10+ hours of training every week. My schedule includes lots of weekend work from Sept-May which makes longer runs and rides hard to get in and recover from. The time committment leaves very few social options (unless you can find people to train with) since you're always training, working, eating, sleeping, or replacing gear that you've worn out. RE Gear: it gets expensive...not to mention race entry fees and travel. And yet, I'm still intrigued by the challenge. The training is challenging both physically and mentally--planning schedules, diet, sleep, etc.--everything right down to your underwear!

The kicker is that you have to sign up almost immediately after these races open (a year in advance usually) or they fill up. I have to make a decision very soon. Now that I'm contemplating it, I think that I may have to sign up (a $500 mistake if I don't follow through). I am not 100% sure I can commit to the training time during the year. Not to mention the fact that I've never done a marathon (there is one I could get under my belt in December nearby).

What's your vote? Would/could anyone come cheer me on? I will need all the help and support I can get if I decide to do this crazy thing.

A Pain in the Neck?

2004-05-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

For two days now my neck has been getting more and more stiff and sore. I originally thought it was just the general tension 'crick' in the neck, but it kept getting worse. The unusual thing is that it is muscle soreness that seems to be isolated to two movements--not chin to chest or chin up, not ear to shoulder--but direct gaze over each shoulder both left and right side. This must be what it's like to have whiplash.

What gives? What could I have done to myself to cause this? I carried some pictures and posters at work on Monday, but that doesn't seem likely. Was I doing something crazy in my sleep (I have been known to sit up in bed laughing my head off)? Do I have some tragic illness that starts out this way? It was really starting to disturb me...but in a flash, I figured it out driving home from work tonight.

I'm thinking of buying a little house or a condo this summer and trying to get a sense of what the market is, so both Monday and Tuesday night I drove around my neighborhood until dark scoping out the homes in the area.

Drive, whip head left, whip head right....Drive, whip head left, whip head right....Drive, whip head left, whip head right. Repeat, ad nauseum.

If 'just browsing' for a home is this much of a pain in the neck, I think I might just sit tight in the apt for awhile...ouch!