Saturday, January 2 was probably the worst day to try out a workout place for the first time. It was a perfect day for resolutioners - it provided some time after the New Years festivities for party-goers to recover from hangovers, and was early enough that New Years Resolutions could be put to the test in full force. Oh, and it was also the first weekend of the year. What was I thinking?!
This time of year is supposed to be all bright and full of good cheer, but for some reason I always find myself stressed out. Maybe it's vestigial from years of school exams, maybe I just overreact because any stressors are the opposite of my expectation, or maybe the world directly around me really does lose its mind whenever we get to December. In any case, there are a few known remedies for stress like this.
If you do a Google search for “Art Loeb Trail” you’ll find all sorts of blog posts by people who decided to go on a hike or a trail run in the wilderness and totally got their butts kicked. This blog post is no exception.
“Can I help you find something?” the REI saleswoman asked me.
“Yeah, I guess. I need some protective gear for, uhm, doing something really stupid.”
The saleswoman didn’t bat an eye. “What kind of something stupid?”
“Like, skijoring. Well, rollerjoring.”
“Is that like rollerblading?”
“Yeah, but with a dog attached to you who’s pulling you along at a sprint.”
Everyone it seems has their own side hustle: their product that they brand and market nonstop, myself sometimes included. And right now 'tis the season to market, market, market! in anticipation of the feeding frenzy of post-Thanksgiving consumerism. "Buy my etsy crafts!" "Buy my make-up!" "Buy my skin toning device!" "Buy my juice cleanse!"
Ugh, doesn't it just make you sick?
Last week someone told me he didn't understand why anyone who doesn't run a sub 7:00 minute mile even bothers to run in a race. Granted, he was talking about his own lack of motivation to run versus other forms of exercise and he didn't know I race or my mile times, but all the same that's not the first time I've heard that sentiment expressed. You have no hope of winning, so why do you even bother racing?
This was supposed to be a blog post about Charleston with beautiful pictures of historic homes and the fort and harbor, but Mother Nature had other plans so we headed to higher ground. Higher ground turned out to be Asheville. Asheville without our backpacking gear? What could we possibly do?? Uhm, duh. Beer and Biltmore.
Gatlinburg was crazy. Imagine Disney World covered in camo, $6 parking and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. But my stomach was empty and my camera batteries were dead and I just wanted a quick recharge at a fast food place where I wouldn’t bother anyone or be bothered, so I ventured down from a long sunset at Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park through the dark twisting mountain path into the bright lights of the valley. A gas station and big sign proclaiming “GATLINBURG: Gateway to the Smoky Mountains” bedazzled me when I emerged from the forest and it took me several minutes to get my wits together.
