Failure is too an option

Beg to differ with that Apollo 13 team. And every other board-room bore belching out those buzzwords.

Frankly, until you've failed fabulously, you really don't know the first thing about having fire in your belly.

Got a first-class reminder about that today:

- Flunked: a written test to be an advanced soccer referee
- Fiasco: missed another day of working out
- Flop: the paste fell off my brush before it got to my teeth tonight

(How was your day, honey? Mine's full of failure.)

Buuuuuut. Those visits from the Fraternal Order of Failure leave me feeling like my fuel tank's full for tomorrow.

Yes. Tomorrow, I'm in the driver's seat of my get up and go.

Sometimes knowing Failure is lurking is all it takes to motivate. Other times, it's like I need a good ole-fashioned whupping by Failure to get the mojo moving.

Here's hoping my failings fire you up to forge ahead.

Sorry I haven't written in a while (another failure!), but thanks for reading down here.

Six degrees ain't much of a separation

Went running this morning when the temperature was 6 degrees.

But you were right there with me. We weren't separated at all.

Like you:
- I stayed up to watch the Jets entertain (tease?) us and almost win.

- Felt the drag of Monday (which is clinically proven to be the hardest day to get out of bed).

- Saw it was dark.

- Noted that, yeah, it was mightily cold.

About the only thing that tried to separate us was consciousness. You had dreams gliding through your head; I had endorphins hurdling through mine.

And yet, I could feel the encouragement, well-wishes, high-fives, the atta-boys, the "yes you can" and the occasional "go get 'em."

Thank you for your support.

And thanks for reading down here.

Feeling Lucky? Well do ya?

Tomorrow morning, there's an 80% chance of snow and sleet at 5. My buddies at weather.com also say there's a 90% chance at 6 am and 100% chance at 7 am (is that really considered a "chance" when it's 100%?). (Check it out yourself here:
http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/graph/10025?begHour=21&begDay=17#hhView.)

Sounds like it could be a bit slippery for a morning run. But y'know what - that's why God invented hot showers for afterward.

Then, there's that pesky commute to work. Eh, that's another story (or, maybe that's why there's hot coffee?).

Hope this gives you a devil-may-care attitude about anything that Mother Nature's throwing in your way.

And thanks for reading down here.

Holiday Chopping - a new tradition?

A brand, spanking new year. What a perfect time to close the loop left over from last year. And it can help your neighbors, family, friends, heck maybe even the whole rest of the planet.

MulchFest.

It's the NYC Parks Department's way of recycling old Christmas trees into mulch for trees (and some hungry worms).

This past weeekend, I rode by bicycle (to recycle, yeah, I know) to Riverside Drive and 83rd Street to help out. I was greeted by the fresh scent of evergreens, hot coffee courtesy of one of the sponsors (Dunkin Donuts) and warm smiles from the other 8 volunteers.

Our job? Drag a tree off the pile, take off any leftover ornaments, then hand the tree to the guys at the chipper. They had chipper feeders who expertly slid trees into the mouth of the mulcher. (Hey, I saw that movie Fargo. I'm totally cool with letting professionals do the dangerous parts.)

At the end of 2-1/2 hours, we'd recycled the mountain of 260 trees (not including the artificial-scented one in the photo) into a molehill of green needles and brown twigs. It's a small part of MulchFest 2011, which recycled 16,665 trees total in all five boroughs.

I was surprised the trees're were light. Maybe because they're dried out. Four of the ones I grabbed still were in their metal stands. Had to take them off. Five had extra branches wired onto them. Untwisted that. But the biggest bummer were the six that had tinsel. Had a special holiday words going out to the Tinsel Inventor.

It was fun. But let me tell you, machines that make mulch ain't meek. About the only part I'd change for next year is bring earplugs.  Putting that on my list for Santa next year.

Think that's something you might enjoy? Maybe I'll see you there next year.

Is it still a new year's resolution if you can make it fun?

Biking to the office is underrated.

Sure, it's chilly. And the overcast sky makes the dingy subway seem downright sunny in comparison.

But man is it fun. Way more than I figured. And, as part of the triathlon I'm training for, every push of the pedal is one rotation closer to less pain on race day.

Makes me wonder: do resolutions HAVE to be heinous?

But wait. Before you answer, take a peek at this video. Think it'll help sway the jury in your mind. And maybe even give you an idea or two on how to keep your resolution. Just add fun.

Thanks for reading down here.

Not much makes sense at 5:30 in the morning

Getting out of a warm, cozy bed to go running outside does not make sense at that hour.

Not hearing birds when I'm out - if I could hear them over my huffing and puffing - does not make sense.

The fact that two - not one, but 2 - people were waiting for the bus along Riverside Drive at that hour so does not make sense.

And I ask you, does a school bus driving on Riverside Drive at that hour make sense?

Exactly my point.

And yet.

Haven't found a better time to run than those pre-dawn hours.

- Nobody passes me.

- No birds are on the sidewalk, mocking me as they languidly strut aside (in the daylight hours, I'm so non-threatening that pigeons don't even give me the courtesy of a half-hearted wing-flap to get out of my way).

- No muggers are out at that hour. If they are, they're in snuggy warm in the subway system, so maybe bundling up and getting on the bus is safer.

Ok, yeah. Seeing that big, honking yellow school bus zoom by me as I finished up was a bit odd.

Hope you're finding the time and get up and go for your resolution too. No matter how weird it feels.

And thanks for reading all the way down here.

2011 - This Year'll Be Different?

Each new year seems to dawn the same way: ripe with well-meaning intentions of This Year'll Be Different.

Yet, it too soon shatters into tiny shards of wouldas. Shouldas. And couldas.

Ever the optimist, I believe I've got a way through that.

Pain.

Yes, pain. It's an excellent teacher (so says my youngest brother, a wise, high school instructor who seems to know a bit too much about the subject for my comfort).

But wait, this isn't about comfort; it's about pain. The pain that could be inflicted on me during the half Ironman triathlon that I signed up for on June 12 in Columbia, Maryland. (I'd list the website, but the race is closed to new entries, lucky you.)

So I'm relying on the fear - the very real fear - of that pain, to keep me motivated in fulfilling my 2011 resolution. The resolution that, coincidentally, is "to complete a half Ironman triathlon."

If I'm not fit, the race'll be more painful. To be fit, I'll need to be patient (don't do too much at once). And persistent (do something each day). And - don't be afraid of a little perspiration.

I invite you to visit this blog whenever you get a chance and use the fear of my self-inflicted pain to keep yourself motivated in your 2011 resolution.

Thanks for reading all the way down here.