s.i.m.t.u. 4

I HAVE NO POWER!
says norm stadler, in kona in 2005 after his title defense hopes were dashed.
and so says i, in seoul in 2009 after one my longs run was annihilated.
me, i didn't have two flat tires like norm, obviously.

instead, i was running on ice.
and running on ice is about like you can imagine it.
there is about %.147832 of the traction you would get on asphault or concrete.
i'm not sure exactly how to elaborate, but just imagine or remember if you were walking on ice.
now, multiply that by say 3 or 4.
running, for me, depends so much on the lift of my knee back and up, thus the foresole of my shoe tracts and backwards and upwards.
i ran for 1 hour, but planned for approx. 2.5
after 1 hour, my heart rate was too high, my pace was too slow, my muscles and tendons felt different (from different hardness of the ice).
after an hour of trying to keep my pace where it should be, but at times not even able to keep myself moving forward, i had to call it quits for today.

ugh.

it's frustrating.
i was so set on a long run today, and i so needed one to stay on some semblance of a training plan.
and long runs over my holiday would give me so much more free time to recover well.

maybe i should get snow chains for my running shoes.
i wonder if they make those.
i mean, those winter triathlon guys must have something special, right?

usually, i don't bow to minor elements of nature when it comes to training.
but i think mother nature has bested me this time.

oh, well.
just a speedbump on the long road.
i've still got about 3 months to the race, and i've already made significant progress for me.

in related news:
i might do a half-marathon 3 weeks before my full marathon.
i found a big run on the last day of february in southern korea.
they have a 5k, 10k, half-marry, 30k and full marry course.
i just need a korean friend to help me sign up for it on the all-korean website.
i think it would be a good set-up race for my full marathon.
three weeks between is great time to rest and prep and whatnot, too.
it would also give me a better gauge at how to attack a long running race.

more news on that to come soon.

anyway, i think the rest of today will be set aside for sulking in defeat.
i asked for a cold winter when i moved to korea, and i guess i got it.
i guess i forgot that with a cold, precipitate winter comes plenty of snowpack and ice on the ground.

happy training,

jo

got aloha?

(i found this shirt at a pool hall)

some aloha might be nice, for those who are fed up with the cold weather.
granted, it's just now getting good and cold.
but the snow has been stuck to the ground for the last few days.
something to which i'm not accustomed, but my balance will quickly improve.

and snow stuck to the ground/trampled down to an icy snow pack makes for interesting running.
difficult, i must admit.
and we're supposed to get a couple more inches of snow overnight.
hmmm....
i was planning on a 32k/20 miles tomorrow.
it's looking like a cold 32k.

i might need some aloha after tomorrow.
maybe grab me some of the korean sauna/jjim jil bang.
some of that steamy, sex-segregated, public hot tubs and showers.
but not just hot tubs (of varying temperatures and ingredients) and showers.
for the few dollars it cost to enter you can almost assuredly find:
complimentary soap and shampoo.
towels.a change of clothes lent to you to wear around the place.
blow dryers.
combs.
hair product.
television sets to watch while you relax.
massages (for a fee)
on the guys side you can get your shoes shined.
or even get your haircut for a couple of bucks.

initially, an awkward and slightly uncomfortable experience, of course.
i think this is comes from my western point-of-view, because if you were to visit a jjim jil bang, you'd find small children, so i believe koreans grow up frequenting the sauna.

but you should also know that these rooms full of flesh and fog are infinitely relaxing little islands of release scattered across this stress-laden land.
god bless the jjim jil bang.

i'm not even sure why i'm writing about saunas right now.
maybe i'm destined to visit one soon.

i need to hit one up before the year ends.
that's one thing i'll take out of this year:
the great value that is the jjim jil bang.

of course, i've learned a lot more, too.
maybe this post will be a part of a mini-series of posts to close out the year.
a sort of 'tip of the hat' to KO.
i feel it's at least appropriate for this year, my most revolutionary yet, i'd say.

so as i sit in my friends apartment, i'm gazing at the paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
and as i thought they merely hung from the ceiling, drawn taut by gravity, i'm proved incorrect.
i'm reminded of ben folds's lyrics in his song 'still.'

'even the things that seem still are still changing.'

i think that is one thing i'll take from this year.
thanks to so many giant leaps forward in my life, i'm starting to be able to see this thing called change.
i feel like i'm beginning to see change and understand it a little more, comprehending only in retrospect.
after seeing my life move from leader and student to graduate and bum to ex-pat and teacher, i see how much life can change so quickly.
and is still changing.

let me put it in terms of high school classmates (approx. 70 in my class):
some are still close
some have gone far
some have passed
some have brought new life
some are married
some are engaged
(thank you, facebook)

i graduated in 2005, for those who forget.
in 4 years all this has happened.
maybe it just seems fast to me; four years is a fair amount of time for things to happen.

of course, there is positive change and there is negative change, both of which i've experienced.
but, always remember: without the bitter, there can be no sweet.
many things i can change for better or worse.
unfortunately for my invicible me that exists somewhere not so deep inside, i'm beginning to see there are some things i cannot change.
but that's okay, even for me, a control freak at times.
somethings are just meant to be, if you know what i mean.
somethings are destined.
somethings are written by a pen larger than any of us could imagine.
somethings are typed by a keyboard bigger than you or me.

but conceding inability to change some things reveals a big part of me:
i may not be able to change something and i may admit i cannot change it, but why the hell can't i try?
i'm sure as hell going to do my damndest to try, right?
call it overly-optimisitc or a sense of false hope or stubborn or crazy or stupid.
but i think that's an inherent part of me.
at least, a part of me at this point in life.
who knows if that will change?

maybe i can go ahead and call it this:
'joe cundiff's 2009 = the year of change.'
does that rule out the possibility of other years presenting more change?
maybe not, since i've no idea what the future years hold.

this week of hoiday was desperately needed.
it couldn't have come at a better time.
one healthy reflection of the year down, umpteen to go.

aloha,

jo

christmas eve and i barely noticed

(i'm out of "english on korean t-shirts" titles. at least of the time being.

i guess i'll opt to title my blogs on any recent happenings.)

i think the reason i hardly noticed today's significance is because of my lack of short-term future plans.

i'm not going to beat around the bush.

the holidays are quickly become depressing.

i'm now that guy who is single, yet capable, and griping about it.

granted, my solitude is not completely based on my marital/relationship status.

i guess i could meet up with (platonic) friends here in korea, but i still fall short when it comes to (close) family.

meeting up friends is still an entirely viable option, just to clarify.

so, for the record, the holidays and associated holiday will be spent with the maximum possibility of friends.

no other friends.

no family.

awesome.

psych.

i'm sure you've figured this out by now, judging by my blog history and the tone already set, but this blog is certainly created with the intention of my venting/realizing my words/coping with my current situation.

i'll admit: i'm a scrooge, and it only worsens with each passing year.

in the states, i love bitching about the completely corporate national day-off that is now known as christmas.

i like to whine about how people get all shop happy, spending next year's money on this year's gifts, battling the traffic jams on the roads, calming the road rage with the self-reminder of the season, camping out to get THE gift, battling the human jams in the stores, soothing the bruises received with the self-reminder of the bruises dealt.

(shockingly, this laundry list flowed almost directly from brain to fingers to keyboard to blog)

i like to gripe about people putting up too many lawn decorations or exterior house decorations or interior house decorations or any combination of the three.

i enjoy moaning about holiday-specific wardrobes, that only see daylight for a combined of maybe 3.6974 hours, given the shorter days of the season. just mothball 'em, box 'em up and remember we got 'em for next year.

that may be wrong though; i'm sure just as many people make the impulse purchase as he or she shops for gifts and get that corny ass t-shirt/sweater/sweater vest/jacket with santa driving his reindeer (including rudolph and his battery-lighted nose) across his or her belly, scaling the muffin tops, lifting off into the heavens of the garment on said wearer's back.

don't worry: all of this applies to my own family and friends as well.

i hold them possibly to a higher standard, because they're my family and friends and they should know better in order to maintain that status.

i digress.

don't accept this as an exhuastive soapbox of sorts.

being here, i've lacked much fuel to this fire.

maybe that's bad, a kind of double-edged sword.

maybe it only reminds me more of the christmas memories i hold so near and dear, however negative many of they may objectively be.

maybe that's good.

maybe, in time, that will be the tiny tim to my scrooge.

maybe i need this.

maybe i need self-inspection and reflection to comprehend the failure i've become in the realm of holidays (something i just thought as i typed it).

i haven't been the greatest christian, more or less gifter, in many a holiday.

i'm going to blame that second half on my lack of a girlfriend for many a christmas, thus permitting me to buy whatever the hell i want for my family or friends and be comfortable, because they're my family and friends and they'll pretty much accept it anyway if i gave it a sliver of shred of a thought.

i think that's enough mental jerky for me right now.

how delicious it is!

and how refreshing it feels to peel these words and thoughts off my chest!

merry christmas eve if you read this on the 24th.

merry christmas if you catch it later.

happy new year's (eve) for those behind the times.

i'd like to think i'm going to post on christmas day, new year's eve and new year's day, though we'll see how that actually goes.

lots of love,

jo

s.i.m.t.u. 3

first thing's first:

i am now registered for the Dong-Ah Seoul International Marathon, 2010/03/21

pending payment of $40 USD participation fee.

yes, you read correctly: $40 USD

that's for a world-class marathon of 30,000 runners.

the also boast fairly quick times, thanks to the course holding a mostly negative grade.

and for those who don't know of any significance of the date,

it's one day after my 23rd birthday.

ouchies.

real cool birthday present to myself.

thanks me.

26.2 miles/42.2k of a new world of pain.

now that i put it like that....it actually sounds enticing.

don't hate.

some people are just sick.

you tri folks can hear me.

and boy, oh boy.

here comes the winter.

the 21 degree (F) air temp. on the run this morning told me so.

or maybe it was the 25 mph gusts in the 2 hour snow flurry during my 26k run on saturday.

granted, the air temp. saturday wasn't too bad (the forecast called for rain, really), but running in the first flurry of the year/my first december in snow beyond memory (i had only heard reports of earlier snow over here) was actually really fun.

on the other hand, my chapped cheeks beg to differ.

no, not those cheeks.

the ones on my face.

but i might be buy some ninja gear to help keep my toasty.

what gear you may ask?

oh, maybe some warmer tights.

or maybe one of these: http://trisports.com/louis-garneau-balaclava.html

or maybe some of these: http://trisports.com/lg-2in1vitalgloves.html

and, as some of you might already know, then my growing-up-in-the-90s dream can finally be realized:

i can be a TMNT.

but the newtons are ever so slightly making up for the cold.

i mean, WOW! these puppies are light!

i've never imagined trainers being so lacking in weight.

let me explain the newtons for those who are not aware.

WARNING: be prepared to be informed beyond your will.

please bypass this section if you don't care; proceed to the final paragraph.

i bought the sir isaac guidance trainers.

they're like the stepping stone from heel-strike trainers to mid-/fore-foot strike trainers.

i was going to get the motion model or the all-weather motion,

but the sir isaac's were a few bucks cheaper, so i'm not investing as much in shoes i wasn't sure about getting,

and the sir isaac's do have a little bit of stability, which is good for a slight over-pronator such as myself.

as i mentioned earlier, this things are light.

newton running is not yanking your chain.

they stripped everything superflous.

it's all you need for a shoe. nothing more.

as far as the new form goes, i'm still getting used to it.

i've never had the best running form, but hopefully newtons will help fix that.

i can already tell they've changed a lot though:

different abdominal groups became sore after the first couple of runs;

my themselves are slightly sore because of running for the first time ever;

my pace is slightly faster, and i can only predict it will get faster, especially if i actually mix in the speedwork runs i've been meaning to incorporate.

the only hard part right now is the weather.

i asked for a cold winter before i came, but i didn't want cold training.

i guess that's because i didn't anticipate a race on the first 2nd day of spring.

oh well.

HTFU, right?

happy training.

missing your smile

and ain't it the truth.

ugh.

another lengthy pause between posts.

i can attribute 7 of those days to a loss of internet access at my pad.

damn you, school and internet company for a miscommunication and incorrect billing address.

oh well.

just 7 slow days of my life. no big.

i've fallen into a funk, though, and i think that should receive the rest of the blame.

granted, 'funk' is not necessarily a narrow term.

i'll expatiate.

more and more these days i've become more and more content with sequestering myself in

my humble abode.

i find complacency in my solitude.

i'm slightly disinterested by my language exchanges.

i don't even study very much at my apartment.

i hardly go anywhere on the weekends.

i usually just stay here, run a long run, and dick around the rest of the time:

maybe read a little; sketch, doodle, or color some stuff; stretch; surf the web.

here's the most disturbing piece:

to be completely truthful, i've drawn away from girls, from some reason unknown to me still.

why the hell is a 22-year old, single, slightly athletic, decently intelligent male so resigned, especially in the realm of females?

i'll play the humility card and not exact any more.

chat me for me details.

the most powerful component to all of this, however, is my ex-affair, now full-blown, blind-love relationship with Lost.

it's just too intense.

nothing else in life brings as much spice.

it's like crystal meth, if i were to guess what it was like to expierence some crank.

i'm sure you'd rathe hear more interesting t

hings in my life other than lost.

i hate talking about it.

but now that i'm a young candidate for a hermit, i need somebody with whom i can talk.

and that is the blog.

i'm just going to write this off as a phase.

i don't want to get stuck in this rut and b

e too comfortable if or when i get homesick.

that will just make things that much worse and harder to overcome.

but hey, i've always said i enjoy a good challenge.

new things in life:

a pair of newtons.

dear lord.

newtons.

such delicious shoes.

i'll expoud in my next s.i.m.t.u.

the tammy teacher countdown

this should probably be the most interesting thing in my life right now.

i feel secure in saying this because i doubt tammy will ever find this, with her severe lack of technological knowledge and networking

and if she did, she'll probably not be around me.

anyway, kim and i have decided to watch the clock tick as we move forward through time and space.

we so long for the day tammy leaves.

or i guess just the last day we have to work with her.

which is next friday, 11 dec 2009.

what a sweet, sweet day it will be.

i'm sorry, but tammy is just not the easiest person to be around.

once she leaves and our data is collected, i will share a list of tallies of minor injustices tammy has committed in a short, one month time span.

only 9 more working days.

we pray her replacement is any sort of departure from tammy.

the approach of winter

that delectable season is upon us inhabitants of korea.

and what a welcome contrast it will be (at least for me) from the mild counterpart of alabama.

one problem:

the running.

i've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve.

look for more in my next s.i.m.t.u.

whew.

i needed that.

i can watch lost all i want, bu

t i sure as hell can't talk back to it.

or i guess i could, but the little bit of sanity i have right now is keeping me from doing so.

anyway.

no Lost tonight.

i'm going to go read and study.

and i know i haven't talked to a bunch of folks back home in a while, but i will soon.

lots of love,

jo

s.i.m.t.u. 2.1/every damn day just do it

so i guess i'll throw in a few more notes about training.

i think i've finally got my sleep schedule down.

::knocks on wood::

they say the third time is the charm.

since i've been here i haven't been consistent with a training schedule.

this led to a lot of runs moved from one day to another.

should be fixed.

we'll see tomorrow.

i have a rest day, but i should still wake up a little early.

pretty chilly run this morning.

pretty windy too. i guess that was most of the bite.

i guess i'll have to get used to it at this time of year.

it's only getting worse.

and so is this whole sunlight issue.

i usually get going around 06:00 local time. mauybe a few minutes after.

so i usually finish around 07:00 local.

and nowadays i finish my run without direct sunlight.

really the only significant difference in lighting from when i start and when i finish is that the street lights cut out and the stars disappear.

i presume in a few weeks once my standard runs become longer and the sun rises later i'll finish around 07:30 or later and still be in the dark.

and freezing my toosh off.

oh well.

i've always said i wanted an actual cold winter.

now i'm about to get it.

crazy little thing happened the other day.

so in korea, advertisement is crazy.

people advertise like you wouldn't believe.

mostly in the form of fliers and free samples stapled to the flyer (if applicable).

and so this past saturday i was out running my long run where they are essentially building a town from scratch.

and they're getting close to finishing all the amenities.

like a hair salon.

for men.

and these cute little korean girls certainly let me know.

because one girl seriously handed me a a flyer with a sample of hair gel attached.

i saw her kinda mosey my direction as i was headed up the street.

i figured she was just jockeying for better position for actual potential customers.

i was sadly mistaken.

she was maneuvering into the prime spot to drop a flyer and packet of hair gel into my hands.

and i took it.

i didn't know what to do.

i guess i could have just let it fall.

but i think i was just so astounded by this girl's audacity to actually hand me an ad.

and it's not like i didn't look like an actual runner:

i don't wear socks;

i wear short shorts;

i wear technical tops;

i sometimes (as on this day) wear those sweatvac caps;

i feel like my gait and pace also usually set me aside from average runners.

i'm not saying i'm roger bannister, but i'd set myself only slightly above average.

so for like 50 meters i ran with this flyer/hair gel sample in my right hand.

and as soon as i saw a bus stop and accompanying bench,

i found a nice home for that little flyer/hair gel sample.

the nerve of some people.

anyway.

side note before i leave:

the second half of this post's title is another shirt i saw a korean wearing one day.

and yes it was a nike shirt and a shirt i so deeply wish i owned.

time for some grub.

and some lost.

and some reading.

::sighs::

lots of love,

jo

seoul international marathon training update #2

another 'non-traditional' post.

this one with a purpose.

that purpose?

my training sojourn towards my first full marathon.

a complete 26.2 miles.

or 42.2k for the metric-minded.

so i don't remember where i left off last time.

maybe something about posting my training log online?

that obviously hasn't come to fruition.

i can't allow myself to do with how many sick days have littered the past two weeks.

it's embarrassing.

but i guess i can't completely help getting sick and stuff.

anyway. training is coming along.

but not at the pace i've planned for myself unfortunately.

i hope i can change that as now i feel it's more important than ever to stay on track.

the race is sometime mid-march.

so i've got some 18 weeks to train.

i guess not enough time (considering my actual skills at running and given background in the sport) to run with the pros, but enought time to train for a successful finish.

when i say 'successful,' i guess i really mean 'any.'

cold weather training is going to be tough.

bundling up can be quite uncomfortable for me.

seeing as how am i boy who used to run in only shorts and shoes down in the alabama sun.

but i should get my first taste tomorrow morning.

weather predictions are forecasting for the 6 o' clock hour temperatures between -4 and 1 degree celsius.

that's between 25 and 33 degrees, to the layman.

not too terribly cold, but cool enough.

i'll cut to the chase.

the biggest thing to happen since training update #1:

my personal advent of the garmin 405.

i actually know where i'm running now.

and i can log all my runs on garmin connect.

how convenient!

and this little wrist-top computer (it's more than a watch) gives me more information about my running than i'd ever really want to know.

i mean, it will give me my current altitude.

is that necessary?

absolutely not.

is it sweet as hell?

entirely so.

mostly, it's just good to know exactly how far i'm running since i had no way of measuring.

running by time is always an option.

but i feel more comfortable running distance.

since i'm shooting for a set distance with a marathon, i think it makes more sense, too.

i have no idea what kind of time i'll put up but i know how many miles/km i'm going to run.

so i can prepare that way.

i wish i had some stepping stone races along the way to give me shorter term goals.

mental jerky:

should i simulate races along the way?

maybe a 10k or a half marathon?

or both?

if you're experienced with endurance training, feedback would be cool.

that means if you're in the alabama tri club, tell me something good.

i think the chances are slim of anybody else with exposure to endurance sports reading this.

anyway. i need to go study some korean.

and de-brief from the season 2 finale of lost.

(OMGZ!!!1)

happy training.

and lots of love,

jo

a quick reaction to game 1 and a prediction about game 2.

i'm breaking stride here.

sorry if you've become used to the trend.

change is eminent, and of course they say it's good, too.

anyway.

game 1.

wtf.

as K.O. knows, a bad call to the pen.

....

joe g. has done this before, but he's also made the correct call numerous times.

true, cliff lee and chase utley certainly wanted to come in and steal game 1.

which they successfully did.

but the yankees easily should have kept game 1 to themselves.

thank you #2, for doing your part, as you always do.

love you, DJ.

am i worried that cliff lee fanned us 10 times last night?

no.

can i say fanned?

probably not. it's probably too light of a word for each K.

am i worried that chase utley airmailed two balls to ebay, driving in the first runs of the series like last year?

no/

am i worred that Karl Ravech tells me that 11 of the last 12 WS winners have won game one?

and that 6 straight WS winners have won game one?

maybe.

am i worried that everybody is pulling for the phillies because they hate NYY?

no.

am i worried that everybody want the phils to win to see a repeat?

maybe.

when was the last repeat though?

the NYY three-peat.

am i worried that pedro is pitching game 2?

ha.

critics, and even critical yankee fans, might argue, given the position of a.j. burnett.

if i had to pick one though, (call my opinion biased) i'd pick a.j.

i don't care about pedro's postseasons past.

i don't care about earlier this postseason.

look at pedro this year.

i know i'm in korea, but didn't he rehab back from single A, after barely being offered a contract?

all the way at the beginning of the season?

call it what you will.

some may deem it a great athletic story.

some may see it as a good underdog motief.

i see it is unreliability, even in light of his performance against the dodgers.

anyway. all i can say is i hope the yankees win game 2 and eventually the rest of the series.

you guys know me.

call it wishful thinking.

but even with our bullpen mishap, i think our bullpen and rotation should top that of the phils.

our bats are more than capable of beating those of the phils as well, even though they pack a punch.

::jo opens can of worms.....now.::

i guess we'll just have to wait and see.

anyway.

just some quick thoughts on the world series from the other hemisphere.

i wish i could have a live discussion with somebody who could offer counterpoints.

i know my argument is far from perfect.

but my faith in the yankees makes believe it actually is.

i wish i could actually watch the games live.

but alas, the time difference puts my first class and the first pitch within minutes of each other.

all in all, even if we don't win, i just hope we don't get peed on like the rays did last year.

you know, the tampa bay rays?

from tampa bay-ish, florida?

the underdog story of last year, or perhaps the decade?

the team whose hat you have sitting on the top shelf of your closet?

oh....

i guess everybody forgot....

lots of love,

jo