In defense of lazy days and weekends

This weekend has not, perhaps, been full-fledged lazy, in that sit-around-in-bed-until-ten-AM-lazy, but the past few days have felt like a break, and not even "much-needed" since school just resumed on January 7.  However, who am I to complain about a long weekend so soon on the heels of Christmas break?

I do, though, feel a bit guilt-ridden about my sloth-like state these days. In my original vision of January, this would be the month that I would return, reenergized and excited about 2013 and all of its potential and would re-enter the world of active people.  Despite the chipper nature of my last post (yay, I can run!), I need to be honest about running and the fact that I still need to take it slow and not accrue lots of miles.  Averaging less than 10 miles per week has humbled me, but I'll get over it - as long as I can eventually work back to at least crossing the double-digit threshold.  I plan to return to ART (active release therapy) and see if that will bring on faster improvements.  Still, running is running, and I am happy about the small progress that I have made.  But, I have yet to embrace a commitment to any training, despite finally signing up for the Wildflower Oly course the day before prices dramatically increased.  I was sure that would kick me into gear, yet this has yet to happen, interestingly enough.

Because I'm at the end of the semester (our break falls after Christmas, not before), my workload is lighter than it will probably be again until the end of May.  So, I am taking full advantage of the opportunity to be lazy.  To begin, I read the book "Gone Girl" within 24 hours or so and even jettisoned all workout plans in order to finish it.  Seriously.  The ended proved somewhat disappointing to me, but for sheer entertainment, the book delivers.

This weekend has also presented me with ample opportunity to play and take advantage of good weather and little work.  Accordingly, we have indulged in an unusually 'fun' weekend.  We went to LACMA on Friday night, meeting a colleague from work and staying out until 10 pm - crazy night out!  I commented to Michael that we had turned into the LA-equivalent of the New York "bridge-and-tunnel-crowd", you know, going out to the big city is a 'big deal'.  It was totally worth it, especially seeing people goofing around the lamp posts:

(Not sure if the photo comes out, but there is a guy wearing a zebra mask - he periodically put it on, pranced around, and then took it off).

I'm not a huge Stanley Kubrick fan, but I did enjoy the exhibit on his work - both film and photography.  It was also interesting to see some of the letters and telegrams between him and other people (like Nabokov!).  If I had a higher tolerance for blood and also suspense (I like suspense, but the bloody-suspense movies are too much for me), I'd definitely spend some time watching "The Shining" and also "A Clockwork Orange".  However, I fear that I'd spend most of the movies with my hands covering my eyes.  The other exhibit that we wandered into was a small room featuring some of Mapplethorpe's more controversial pieces (they were at the center of the 1980's "Culture Wars").  I wouldn't censor them, but I admit that much of the penis shots did provoke an embarrassed exchange between me and Michael.  Yes, I have the maturity of a kid at times.  I hoped that reading Patti Smith's "Just Kids" would allow me to appreciate these photographs more, but that didn't happen, perhaps because they were so focused on some of the more controversial pieces and the homoerotic nature of the pieces?  Or, again, it could be because of my lack of maturity.

Then, last night, after much cajoling by Michael, I ended up seeing "The Hobbit" with him.  We gorged ourselves on beers and wings beforehand because the movie was so long, which, I think, put me in the right frame of mind for the movie.  I had somewhat low expectations, after reading reviews and listening to people talk about the length, and while I did find myself thinking "It must end right at this point" at least 3 times, I definitely enjoyed the experience.  I do think that Peter Jackson is trying to turn it into something that the book was not.  He constantly links it to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the idea of good and evil rather than letting it be a more playful story which is my experience with the book.  But it was a good outing for a Saturday night!

And today?  It looks to be more laziness, this time in the form of football.  Despite the heartbreak that we experienced last weekend when the Broncos (or donkeys) lost to the Ravens - and they lost, the Ravens didn't win - and the emotional hangover that followed, it is January and it is the final weekend before the Super Bowl so we'll try to enjoy it.  The Denver loss does present problems - I can't stand the Patriots (ugh, Brady and Belichick), but Flacco isn't much better.  Michael said that he hoped the score was 0-0.  Wishful thinking!

Summer sports nirvana

In addition to fresh fruit, sweet tomatoes (which are a fruit, I know), lazy afternoon naps, summer reading, and road trips, to me, summer is also the time to enjoy the "wide world of sports".  After the annual drought that follows March (when March Madness ends, of course, and then we suffer through NBA playoffs and spring baseball), June brings a multitude of choices in terms of events and sports that I happen to enjoy.  This year, of course, is an Olympic year, so that means that our choices just quadrupled about 10 times.

So far, it has been plus/minus in terms of the individuals and teams that I am supporting, and my dedication in June wavered quite a bit.  While I celebrated that Nadal won the French Open, triumphing over Djokovic, he recently took an unexpected exit at Wimbledon.  That was so disappointing, and I probably won't follow much of Wimbledon from here on out!  Then there's the NBA, which I love to hate.  Really, all I wanted this year was for Miami to lose, which did not happen.

So, this brings me to today - July 1 marks the beginning of what I am calling "sports nirvana".  We caught some of the Olympic trials yesterday, and I started this morning with the Tour de France.  Even though some people question whether this will be an exciting Tour this year (Andy Schleck is out; Contador is banned; some riders are more focused on the Olympics rather than the Tour), I don't care.  It's the 99th year, so how could it not be spectacular?!  After watching the stage this morning, which had an exciting end, I switched the channel so that we could watch the Euro Cup final between Italy and Spain (currently, Spain is up, 2-0).  We missed ALMOST all of the tournament since we were on the road and just couldn't follow it, but catching the final game?  Why not?! 

If I keep up my Tour de France viewing, I might be sorely tempted to invest in one of these:

You can read all about this exercise bike here.  Somehow, I don't think that our family budget includes a $1500 exercise bike, so chances that I'll be watching the Tour while riding my Tour exercise bike are slim to none.  

Plus, I really should just get my butt on my own damn bike and ride!

Speaking of that...  Lest it seem that I am turning into couch potato as I keep up with the Tour and the Olympic trials, I have my own plans for the summer of sports nirvana in Boulder on August 5.  Depending, of course, on wildfire and other conditions in the state.  Seeing as Boulder 70.3 is exactly 5 weeks out, I am finding myself more nervous and excited and have seriously started to question my sanity and my ability, but I have also started to ramp up my training in a big way.  While we were on the road, I managed to keep up with my running, and I did not totally abandon biking and swimming for those two weeks.  It was, however, great to put in a 2-hour ride yesterday in the saddle followed by an easy 4-mile run.  After my bike frustration from a few weeks ago when the chain kept dropping, Sunshine has behaved beautifully, and I've been more than happy on our recent rides together.  This is positive, because I have many more miles to go before August 5!