Rugged Individualist. Certified USA Triathlon Coach & NASM Personal Trainer, Men's Self Improvement Coach. President of Go Farther Sports. National Ranked Triathlete & 100 Mile Grand Slam Ultrarunner, only the fourth New Yorker to finish four of the oldest and most prestigious 100 mile ultramarathons in the U.S. in only 10 weeks.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Finally a Warm Day / About Clubs and Groups

Warm Day for a Long Workout!

Finally, we on Staten Island had a warm day yesterday!

So I took advantage of it. My 60 mile bike, which was originally slated for Sunday, was moved to yesterday to take full advantage of the warm day.

So I traveled to Sayreville NJ to ride on the roads there.

The above park is only 5 minutes away from the Outerbridge; you can easily take 3-4 bike routes from here for great long bike workouts! Some great routes include going Down the Shore to Long Branch and even going west into Pennsylvania!


I did well, finishing a little over 3 hours (3:09:45). I was spent during the last 10 miles, but nothing that really slowed me down, besides the traffic, of course.

Weighing myself afterwards, I "hit my mark" at 175 pounds. I won't count that weight, of course, because I lost a lot of water weight during that ride. But still, it's pretty significant on how close I really am to my goal weight for the Grand Slam.

I...am...that...close...to my goal weight! I can taste it now.

With 9.5 weeks to go, I am truly amazed at the results that I am getting now. This is the first time in my life that both my diet and all aspects of my training are firing on all cylinders.

And I actually feel like I reversed my aging process a bit. That is the best part about it!

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About Clubs and Groups

I am a member of several running clubs and groups. I happen to like a lot of people in theses clubs, and that is why I will continue to be a member of various clubs that I'm in.

But, as I found out recently, never take a prominent position within the club.

The late, great George Carlin said it right...never get too involved in clubs and groups, for it will be the end of your individuality and creativeness.

Great quote from Carlin here, click for a bigger picture.


This is in *every* club that has ever been formed, not just the running clubs I'm involved in. There will always be people in every club that will try to destroy your individuality by "adhering to a team mentality".

That means being in a hive collective. No thanks.


That also means sacrificing some of my hours for others who don't exactly appreciate what I am doing. Being chained to a formal position in a club, I had no recourse but to continue giving some of my hours up to those unsupportive people.

I finally got smart and left the position in the club...which then allowed me to get those hours that I sacrificed back. Right there and then I felt a huge weight being removed from my shoulders.

Listen, I'm not against clubs at all. They do a lot of good things for people, enable one to make friends with others who have similar interests, and enable way to achieve goals that some people couldn't have done by themselves. There are a lot of good people who will support you in a club or group. And that's a good thing. But generally avoid those people, and there will always be those people, who will try to push you into teams with activities that you really don't want to do. Avoid these people with all costs. If you join a club, even a running club, make your friends and be very social on club runs, but stick to your guns and keep to *your* schedule. If you don't really want to do a race or a club run but someone is pressing you to do it, stick to your guns and politely tell them no. If they start berating and bullying you, and yes, this is all too common, then just walk away. They don't deserve your attention at all.

And don't ever seek a formal position in a club. That will be the death of your individuality. Just stay an ordinary member. This way you are not chained to that position and can come and go whenever you like.

That will be my philosophy I will use from now on. No formal positions ever. I will continue to be friends with various club members, and will definitely continue to invite them on certain runs and rides, but now I have the freedom to pick and choose friends to do certain activities with over those in the club who are not very supportive of my efforts. And that I can be happy about.


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