I Run Therefore I Am....

I sit in an office and while it gives me every excuse to be fat and lazy I refuse to give in. My life is busy anyone with kids knows that you're a slave to them(how odd how that's backwards, oh well whatever).

So I have to run during my lunch hour(which is nice it helps break up the day). I take a late lunch(I usually head out about 1:30 or so) it helps the day go by faster the only downfall it's hot as hell when I run. I like to think of it as added resistance. Since I live in Flat Florida I have no hills, but I do have heat and humidity. Unlike hills they are constant so in a sick way it's like running uphill all the time. =) I will say that my pace in the summer drops significantly compared to the winter(if you can call it that).

Running has really helped me in many ways(besides the obvious health benefits). It has given me the ability to push myself and do things I didn't think I could do(or want to on most occasions). Out there on the road it's you against yourself(and the road/trail/path/whatever), and you have nothing better to do than think so now is a perfect time. Also thinking helps you keep your mind of the fact your on fire.

With all of this I guess I run for me. At the end of the day it helps me which in turn benefits others but it helps me keep my edge and I love running more than any other form of exercising period(Though a swim in my pool is a close second).

That being said I Run Therefore I Am....

Vegas Baby

You know I've been to Vegas a dozen times(Hell I lived in LA so it was a quick 3 hour trip across the desert) and this time it was so different than all the other times.(Granted this time it wasn't about drinking and gambling 24/7).

I really took time this time to notice what Vegas has to offer and what it's really about(Yes this is correct not a single drop of alcohol). After noticing all the massive changes from the last time I was there I was quickly put back into place on what that city is all about. It's almost like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide thing. In the day it's bright sunny and people are walking around looking at all the sights taking pictures and making it appear that it's a normal place.

When the sun sets so do all the safeties and morals that most people know. The first thing that I noticed were the millions of people(men and women back in the day it was just guys) wearing brightly colored shirts handing out pamphlets for prostitution *cough* excuse me escorts or dates. OK seriously who the hell doesn't know you're trying to hand out a paper of some hot chick who doesn't exist that they're trying to get you to "Pay" to hang out with her. Enough of that no need to give any more attention to something that deserves none.

Secondly it seems like the whole atmosphere and aura changes after dark it's much more loose and a bit shady. Why is it that because you're in Vegas now 98% of all the women feel it's appropriate to dress like a Slut? Seriously? I saw more chicks dressed in clothes that were at least two sizes too small than I have combined in my lifetime. Now don't get me wrong I'm a man and I enjoy the sight seeing but it becomes pointless. You actually become desensitized to it. By the time I left the chicks dancing in the cages nearly naked I didn't even do a double take at.

I played my two favorite games of choice(Blackjack and Crap) and despite the craziness I actually left with more money than I went with(this was a first and probably a last). I could totally become a professional gambler. This is hard to believe since I also have OCD.(I'm a video game junkie I tell you). You would think that this would suck me in and I'd become a degenerate. I think it's because I don't really get the high or enjoy it like the obsessive people do. Don't get me wrong I'm doing the high five and cheering thing like no body's business. For some reason I'm able to separate myself from the act of what I'm doing and bring myself back into a logical state of mind. I also hate to lose another reason that I'd think I'd fall prey to loosing everything.

I may have to test this theory out in Vegas Baby...

Broken

I’ve been watching the Casey Anthony trial since it’s right in my backyard and I have to tell you that it’s been an incredible journey. When I first started watching this I can’t lie I was hoping to see the train wreck that would unfold. But as time went on I’ve really had a change of heart on this whole trial thing. I’m not going to lie from Day 1 I thought this selfish bitch was always guilty. Any person regardless of who you are if your child is missing I don’t think you’d be out partying and enjoying yourself. I understand we all grieve differently but I can hardly see how partying and acting like you’re not a mother is an acceptable way to grieve. The other family members seem to be more concerned about her own daughter than she was. Even to this day through all the lies and twisted tales Casey has fed us I can look past it and try to disect the rationale behind her actions. OK she’s a pathological liar I get it. But I can’t look past her sheer disregard and lack of compassion towards not only her own daughter but her family.

I don’t always have the best relationship with my extended family but I can tell you if one of them ended up missing I’d be doing everything I could to find them.

OK the vent is over now to the point of this post.

Watching Casey’s father(George) on the stand you can see a broken man, and it saddens me to the deepest core of my soul to see another human being go through this. I’m not that emotion(mainly because I’m a guy) but this is killing me inside. Watching this poor man go through all of this trama as his daughter sits there with no emotion and accuses him of unspeakable things just furthers my belief that she’s a monster. I’ve never seen another human being go through emotions like this. You can tell without certainty that his emotions are 100% raw and sincere. I think that it’s even harder to watch since it’s a man, and most men are supposed to be strong(that's the whole Alpha Male in me) and be able to handle anything. To see this man being broken down over time like this until the complete destruction of what he has become today is heartbreaking.

Now on the flipside of this I see that Casey just doesn’t seem to care about anything that doesn’t impact her. It’s so blatantly obvious that the only reason she’s even sad is because she can get in trouble. I don’t think that there’s an ounce of guilt in her mind and the only thing that she is worried about is herself. The worst thing is that she has seem to have forgotten that she even had a daughter and she’s now gone forever.

Both of these people are broken, for very different reasons and in very different ways….

Inside Your Outward Self...

Well I've been absent awhile life has been busy but hey that's what this crazy journey is all about.

I had a race over the weekend it was just a short 5K and I've been doing 4 miles pretty consistently at lunch so I thought hey no big deal. Man was I wrong first off at lunch I run in a secluded area so I can take my shirt off, I'm way too modest to do that in a group of people. Regardless if I have a six pack or a beer belly that's just not my style. So I had my regular Dry Fit shirt on which was far from dry by the time the race ended. Secondly I run with very little inclines as there's just a lot of flat land here. So the race starts going up a bridge and ends going up that same bridge. I did it in 25:27 not my best time by far but considering the sweltering heat I'll call it a push.

The nice thing about this bring me to the title of this blog "Inside Your Outward Self". You see I run because I sit in a office all day and I love to be active. I run at lunch to break up the day and it's also a great mental exercise since the heat and humidity this time of the year are just plain Nasty. Plenty of water for this parched body please! I know that if I can do this at least 4 out of the 5 days in a work week then hey I can do anything fitness related. The real reason that I started running at lunch is because I'm doing the P90x stuff at night. I used to run then do P90 or vice versa. That was just too much at one time it would wipe me out. So out of convenience I've moved it to the lunch hour. Now granted if my lazy ass could get up at 5AM and run that would be even better but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

OK so no the real reason for this blog since the background has been covered. This whole exercise thing for most I don't think do it for the right reason. Most of the people that I know that want to change their lives and look better are doing it for the Outward Self. Hey don't get me wrong this is great and this is what everyone thinks about or sees when they first see you. But this whole bust your ass for 4 hours a day working out thing is so much more than that. That's just an added benefit if you will. The mental stimulation and growth of pushing yourself is so incredibly rewarding. The funny thing is that most people who exercise will eventually learn this. Though this may not be the driving factor in getting fit, if you do it the right way you will eventually come to this point. I've always tried to push people and let them know that your body will quit before you mind will. Most people just can't get past this. If you can break down these walls and get in touch with your Inner Self you will be able to accomplish things you've never imagined. This isn't just for exercise this is for life in general.

Don't give up or get discouraged but instead learn from your setbacks and improve on them. Do something and do it well this is how you will find out what your Inner Self is made of.

This in turn will help your Outward Self Shine!