ApatheticConformity | By Neill Harmer

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Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:35:47 -0500

"You train with the faith that you are doing the right things given your unique situation. Because of..."

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:20:00 -0500

“

You train with the faith that you are doing the right things given your unique situation. Because of this things can go wrong and you don’t always know why. Or perhaps you do. Regardless, when “luck” seems to turn against you and you have a “bad” race a common reaction is to look for the next race you can do, hopefully very soon, so you can prove to yourself that you’re ok after all. These are called “redemption” races. You’re seeking salvation for your shortcomings with the hope of making your world right again.

This is seldom the best course of action. What I usually see happen at redemption races is the athlete is too tired, too sore or too tapered to race well again right away. This often results in a second “bad” race which brings not salvation but rather eternal damnation. Athletes then sink into a morass of mental self-abuse so deep that it causes some to quit the sport or at least come to the conclusion that they are indeed worthless when it comes racing. I’ve even seen athletes who come to believe they are not even “good” people because of a poor race performance. Sometimes we tie too much baggage onto race performances. You are not your last race.

”

- Joe Friel

"Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted."

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:59:49 -0500

“Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted.”

- John Lennon

"That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as he..."

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:31:55 -0500

“That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as he sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it’s impossible to ever see the end. The fog is like a cage without a key.”

- Elizabeth Wurtzel

Just a few of the many many benefits of riding a bicycle.

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:36:00 -0500

Just a few of the many many benefits of riding a bicycle.

I have a great story from going to San Francisco, and it...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:26:01 -0500

I have a great story from going to San Francisco, and it revolves around this here shirt.

I bought this shirt from Threadless about a year ago, love it, it’s one of my favs. Well, I go to walk around San Fran, and not even thinking put it on. I start walking, again, let me reiterate, NOT THINKING. I see Chinatown is less than a block so I start walking towards it. I’m walking for about an hour in the heart of Chinatown before I realize what shirt I have on. Yea. Luckily I did not get my ass kicked, though, I probably should have. And the Darwin Award would have fit on my wall perfectly.

"We all have problems. The way we solve them is what makes us different."

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:48:29 -0500

“We all have problems. The way we solve them is what makes us different.”

- Unknown

Another Lance Armstrong video…but this time, it was him...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:12:11 -0500

Another Lance Armstrong video…but this time, it was him doing a triathlon at the age of 15 in 1987. Pretty damn cool.

For those of you that did not know, Lance started his career as a triathlete, and moved on to biking (since biking was his strong suit!)

Lance Armstrong talks about how weight affecting biking. This...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:23:00 -0500

Lance Armstrong talks about how weight affecting biking. This reminds me how I need to lose more weight to get better/faster/more confident!

The surprising truth about what motivates us. Great info and...

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:37:26 -0500

The surprising truth about what motivates us. Great info and perfect animation.

Post Triathlon (Route 66) Thoughts...

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:47:00 -0500

I debated posting this thoughts because I did pretty poorly at this triathlon (first of the season for me). It is embarassing, but, I decide that writing it down would be enlightening to me, and hopefully get me past it and have a clear slate for my next tri.

This is the tri that I did my first ever tri at last year, and I really hoped to smash my time from last year into smitherines. I have a year of tris under my belt, a ton of training, a trainer and thought I was smarter. I wasn’t.

~~Swim (500 meters), 14:42~~

This was an open water course.

Start was ok, I did not hear the directions the guy was giving from the shore so the gun going off caught me off guard.
I kept running into people in front of me and having to stop/slow and that took a ton of energy.
Two times I lost sight of my place and faded right pretty bad, I corrected, but I swam more than I needed to. Worst, I did not see the very last buoy, and started swimming into the dock…bad idea, by the time I was halfway to the dock I realized I was alone and looked around and SHIT, saw the last buoy. Had to head back and go around. All-in-all I think I overswam about 50 or so meters.
I did LOVE my new Xterra wetsuit, but do admit, had no training time in it prior to the race, but really do not think that had anything to do with my mistakes.
Getting the wetsuit off was kinda weird. They had “strippers” there to help, and they did, but I turned wrong and added some time.

~~Transition #1, 1:16~~

I had a good rack space and it also helps that most of the bikes that were around mine were already gone when I got there. So did not have to fight with anyone.

When I was putting on my shoes I had a little dizzy spell, almost fell over. Had to stand for a few seconds to right myself.
Need to get some true triathlon bike shoes, instead of road bike shoes, so I can start trying to put the shoes on on the bike.

~~Bike (13 miles), 45:24~~

The bike is my strong suite, normally. Not this day. I have had some changes on my bike: aero bars, HED Jet6 wheels and some other minor things. I really thought I would come out here and make the bike my bitch. I didn’t, it made me its.

Got on bike well from transition.
Ok, now that I got the positive out of the way… I had nothing to give on the bike. I am not sure what was up. I’m hoping it was just a bad day.
With the wider wheels on the HED’s my brake started rubbing on the back wheel halfway thru the ride, I could hear it and it was causing massive pressure to pedal (on top of the wind and hills). In hindsight I should have stopped to fix it, but I didn’t.
I also need to rethink the smaller/harder cassette on these wheels. I had a hard time finding a good comfortable gear that allowed me to have a good speed/cadence. (Note: I have been on a few more rides since then, and am still thinking of getting a new cassette)

After the bad swim and bike, I was pretty much down on myself mentally and physically, and had to talk myself out of just throwing in the towel. I did not, but I had a huge battle going on in my head.

~~Transition #2, 1:00~~

Pretty decent transition time, not my best, not my worst.

Still need to work more on taking off bike shoes on the bike. I have been practicing this, but today it just did not happen cause I was just mentally and physically beat.

~~Run (5K/3.1 miles), 47:21~~

HORRIBLE RUN! I admit I was done, after the swim and poor bike my head left the game, completely. I don’t care for the run normally, but then with all the shit that happened before it, I checked out.

I did notice my lower back was really tight the whole run (well I say run, but there was just as much walk in this one) .. think it might be from aero bars, but I am not sure.

~~Overall, 1:52:45~~

There was a ton of negative in this post tri thoughts, that’s because it was a super negative day for me. I am really truly hoping this was just a bad race and it is now out of my system.

We will see, the sophomore slump shall not continue!

Helping other Oklahomans in the weight loss process can be rewarding | NewsOK.com

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:23:28 -0500

Helping other Oklahomans in the weight loss process can be rewarding | NewsOK.com:

It was great being asked to help out and give back with all the info I have to share. I look forward to helping Jeff and his family, and watching the change in them and their attitudes!

A public service announcement.

Tue, 25 May 2010 18:00:32 -0500

A public service announcement.

"The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time."

Tue, 18 May 2010 02:13:47 -0500

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”

- Abraham Lincoln

What would happen if the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have...

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:56:18 -0500

What would happen if the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have actually used their weapons, instead of just slapping people.

I always write really long, winding complaints in the Adobe...

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:37:31 -0500

I always write really long, winding complaints in the Adobe Crash Reporter. I hope someone at Adobe is forced to read them. This one makes a lot more sense than most of them do. (via maniacalrage)

My baby girl in her awesome Google shirt! Thank you Jenni and...

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:54:00 -0500

My baby girl in her awesome Google shirt! Thank you Jenni and Rob!

"The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done."

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:52:43 -0500

“The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.”

- Arnold Palmer

Latest prank, on @Scared whilst he was away basking in the sun...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:58:05 -0500

Latest prank, on @Scared whilst he was away basking in the sun of SXSW. Welcome back Chad! I had lots of help on this one from most all of the EF people, who also didn’t get to go to SXSW.

"Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving."

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:30:58 -0500

“Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

- Albert Einstein