jeremygrant.com

woman in Boulder Peak Triathlon hits wild bear at 35 mph on the bike, crashes, and still beats 50% of her age group…

FULL STORY HERE

AND she’s doing the half marathon next week … thats hardcore …

today was hill day. i rode strong but the bike went mad and some bad juju ensued. this happened before about 800 miles ago… i got two flats and my water bottle ejected before i could ever get to the start of a group ride. this time i eject one water bottle at mile one and flat one tire at mile 44 (1 mile from home) and changing that flat took me off pace on the run after… whatever… i think the bike was just mad because i skipped my extra ride friday and went to korean bbq instead… sometimes you have to make sacrifices right?

the experiment continues tomorrow when go i “rest surfing” for my rest day this week…
i can beat the heat and beat the weekend warriors at the same time.

“I got a feeling inside of me
It’s kind of strange like a stormy sea
I don’t know why I don’t know why
I guess these things have got to be”

yeah… can’t change the world without a trillion platinum cards… and a handshake with the president.

ANOTHER world power unleashes ANOTHER messy war

its disgusting. Israel has the intelligence and weapons to surgically bomb Hezbollah one by one, yet they choose to do 20 times more collateral damage than those dinky homemade terrorist rockets do.

look who ELSE is showing off for the world!

don’t you think this is overkill?

Israel:
1 hit / 52 misses

Hezbollah:
1 hit / 1 miss

this basically amounts to genocide… dare i say… a remote control holocaust…someone ELSE gives into peer pressure…

Why isnt the US or UN doing anything? Because they and their allies are protectors of a free range global holocaust of the unwanted and unprivledged.

If you look at the numbers after isolation and since the end of the cold war… say 1965 you can see the dramatic modernization/economization domestically and a gentle rise in violence and conflict internationally (half of it funded by the US). Its a steady rise until now we have reached the pinnacle of twisted success…CEOs get to declare war! thats like having complete control of the stock market.

“I don’t know why I don’t know why
I guess these things have got to be”

what was once called “deathless anthem of nuclear-strength romantic angst untroubled by bad vibes” 30 years ago is now the anthem of our auto fixated american culture… if punk needs malaise YOU GOT IT!!! except the new “punks” today don’t care about this political crap… thats why it sounds so bad.

the following has been brewing in my mind since i moved to los angeles…

so i was in line at the Subway on Third Street Promenade to get a sandwich in the afternoon and there was a long line (like 20 people). i needed to get out of the office for a while but at the same time i wanted to get back asap (we’re just bombed nonstop). it was hot. i was sweating and i wasn’t even in the sun. i really didnt want to eat. but it would be weird if i didn’t and i had a brick workout to do later and no way was i going to bonk. i just wanted to get my 4 dollar sandwich and go.

i noticed a guy stand behind me in line. then he went up to the front of the line, looked around and then walked back and stood behind me. he was kinda tweeked out a little trying to draw attention to himself swaying around. he had that “hey look at me i am cool” vibe going… then he said something like “no one at the back of the line crowd is talking” kind of wanting to start a conversation — you could tell. whatever there was a little insulting tone in his voice… so he started about how he talks to people all the time — he calls it “networking” — and at this point everyone is ignoring him except me because i am directly in front of him.

he’s like, ” don’t you just talk to people?”

I said “yeah, but today is not the day”

“why? bad day? its hot?”

I kind of just shrug it off… I’ve had a hard week at the office and its only tuesday, plus i have not had a rest day in 6 days, i felt weird all morning and i have been a little unhappy lately. i was just trying to keep calm and gain some energy. i want to be a jerk but i force myself to be nice… I accidently validate myself….I tell him, “hey, if my friends are with me i’ll talk with them but i dont make a habit of talking to just anyone” oops…

he says something about new york and how the people out in new york don’t want to talk to him and how he bought luch for someone he met in new york. and the guy in front of me turns around a little… me and the guy both laugh because he got his attention with the free lunch; but the way the guy is puffing himself up I have to kinda switch the ignore button to “on” just too weird…

so his friend shows up and the guy starts telling his friend about his “deal” & “contract” & “talent” & “promotions” & “producing” and “internet” & “download for a dollar” & “blah blah blah look at me i am in the entertainment industry” bleh i’ve heard it every which way before…stale…

this continues all the way to the register where just before i pay the guy asks if he can pay for my lunch. i was anticipating that.

now i know that there are some of you out there that would say “Jeremy, let him buy you lunch, he’s a sucker, you dont have to talk to the guy again” and there are some of you that would say “Jeremy, he’s trying to be nice to you, you should be his friend… blah, blah blah”

well, i kindly told him “No, I can buy my own lunch, thank you.” paid and left.

For a while in that Subway and on the walk back to the office I hated Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica and all of the egotistical blowhards that inhabit these lands the most I have ever in my life. I tried to think of an option out of here but to no avail–i must live here… i have to deal with it. mostly i avoid those places that these donnas frequent but sometimes they get hungry for a sandwich… makes me wonder why they didn’t have an “assistant” go pick up some overpriced sandwiches from spago for them…

its not just the people that live here its the people that come here to party too… this place just attracts so many of these types its kind of hard to avoid them. i’ve found some of the cool places that they dont know about yet or wont go. i get no virtually no hassle at my places and the people are nicer and better looking… i just dont understand why people want to go to these clubs, stand in line for an hour, get hassled by the bouncers while they let in their loser friends, and then pay an outrageous cover, buy expensively weak drinks from the slowest/rudest bartender, listen to the most popular/overplayed music and then have to listen to the players club clumsily trying to peacock for the ladies (sometimes peacocking includes picking fights with the biggest guy in the room — me) everyone looks the same — same haircut, same pressed shirt, same jeans, same attitude, same fake tan, same make up, same dress, same sun glasses, same beer belly, same stories. i get bored, aren’t you?

as far as that guy goes I have a little advice for him… and all those other donnas practicing for friday night in the club:

don’t open with “why isn’t anyone talking?!” because that (1) tells me that you are verbalizing whatever advice/critique you are getting from your player book, and (2) there are better openers that are so subtle, disarming and introspective that you can get people talking to you without hardly trying

do pick better places to initiate conversation than a hot, sweaty long line for a cheap sandwich…or at least open with “man, its freaking hot” or “this line is taking for – freaking – ever”. remember to adapt to your situation.

don’t focus on yourself if you want to engage in conversation. focus on the other person… hopefully on their positive qualities. people dont want to stand there and listen to you ramble on about your life when they didnt even ask about it.

don’t keep validating yourself. its makes you look stupid.

do work on a routine and practice it if you really want to talk to people all the time… routines are made for people to feel good about and easily engage in conversation with strangers.

do respect that some people choose to be introverted sometimes in some circumstances and don’t take offense that they are different than you.

do try and be humble about your life no matter how wonderful or successful it is. remember that validating yourself for no reason is stupid. people will respect you more if you are humble.

do wait in line with the rest of the masses. just because you think you are special doesn’t mean you can cut in line.

don’t sharpen your socializing skills on the tallest, biggest, meanest looking guy in line… go hit on the cute girl two people ahead of us because we know thats who you are really practicing for.

yeesh, you donnas ruin it for the rest of us LA guys…

thats a stereotype…i’m not

going to ride to the middle of the bike course and back then a 3 mile run through downtown… just a little HILLY :S

*update* it was 96 degrees, the heat, humidity, hills and smog combined completely zapped my legs. the hills were humiliating on the bike but i still made time only 5 minutes off my best and still averaged out at regular pace. i had to stop for a minute on the second pass over bunker hill at mile 17 because i would have fallen over sideways i was going so slow. the the second half of the run i my mind completely drifted off and I just tried to keep pace with my breath. training in extreme weather conditions like this will help me build greater endurance for race days and longer events; but it really kills the mind. its taken me a cold shower and 45 minutes of rest to even think straight and stop sweating…asphalt radiating 100 degree heat combined with high glucose levels tend to wash out the mind and ravage the body ~ now its time for the swimming event an afternoon of surfing

*update* swells were strong and bigger this weekend; but, the strong winds made the lineup a bit too choppy to catch any decent waves. most surfers tried to give mother ocean a chance to give up some waves but gave up after bouncing around in the lineup and outside with nothing to catch but crumbles. after a couple hours I gave the board a rest and practiced some my swim/run entry/exits and did a bunch of 150 meter swim sprints through the breaks and back.

*update* tried the ride to the middle of the race course again today (sunday 7pm) in 80 degree weather and it proved to be a strong ride. i went 5 minutes under my goal time and still felt i wasn’t pushing hard enough. maybe next time. heres a story: when i was waiting at a light in hollywood a little boy was facinated with me and my blinking “flashlight”…his dad told him, “it looks like he’s lost [referring to me] — he rode all the way from france”, i thought that was funny…that would be one hell of a time trial. parents, please don’t lie to your children.

my regular run now is to the middle of this course (J Town)