tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70146367582208528222024-03-12T20:34:54.685-07:00Once a Runner... Now a JoggerIn 2012, a former so-so NCAA D1 runner made a half-assed attempt at a comeback by averaging per month the miles he averaged per week in 2006. Then he parlayed the rousing success of his comeback blog into occasionally updated, self-indulgent musings on life, love, and sports.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-35988478043228516062015-02-16T09:52:00.000-08:002015-02-16T09:53:15.290-08:00Bali in a week. Part 4: Templing, beaching, bintanging(Part 3 is here. Parts 1 and 2 are linked from there. This is a blog, not a maze, I'm sure you can find them on your own)
Pura Besakih, the biggest and most important temple in Bali.
On Thursday we visited Pura Besakih. It's the biggest temple in Bali and built way up on a mountain. Like way way up. It's astonishing that people were able to build stuff like this a bazillion years ago Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-52457334177277713652015-02-15T11:02:00.001-08:002015-02-15T11:02:32.085-08:00Bali in a week. Part 3: Searching for turtles, finding sharks, and getting bit by invisible piranhas(Part 1 & Part 2 in case you need a refresher after the month of anticipation for part 3)
Apologies to my three or four readers for the extended delay between parts two and three. The excuse I'll use is that I've started writing a post-apocalyptic dystopian young adult novel. That's actually true, I have started doing that. My New Year Resolution is to finish it this year and I'm like 33% Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-71299166232205806972015-01-13T21:44:00.002-08:002015-01-13T21:52:20.087-08:00Bali in a week. Part 2: Ubud and dancing(Here's part one if you "missed" it)
I may have scared some of the locals with my guns. Or maybe just blinded them.
On Tuesday, we headed to Ubud. on our way there, or maybe after we got there (geographically, I was never completely sure where we were), we stopped to watch some sort of play/dance/tourist attraction. They provided us with a translation of what was supposedly going on, but itUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-83863818921739937982015-01-13T19:14:00.001-08:002015-01-13T21:01:50.570-08:00Bali in a week. Part 1: Flying, driving, paradise, eating, sleeping, adventuring.
Jenny and me at a water temple.
I've already chronicled in detail what flying to Southeast Asia is like in part one of my Vietnam Anthology. Bali is a little bit farther away than Vietnam but it's not Austalia-far. So no big difference. Our route was essentially the same too: Seattle to Taipei, Taipei to Bali, sketchy car ride from the airport to where we were staying. Bali is slightly more Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-11074068969185284712014-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:002014-08-09T12:43:12.336-07:00Reinhart Reunion Ropes Course: It just got realYour chances of being struck by lightning are exceedingly low. So low that most of us never really think about it. But they go up dramatically when you’re in the middle of a lightning storm. And go up even more still when you’re 65 feet up in a tree in the middle of a lightning storm. Then up even more when you’re strapped to a bunch of metal obstacles in that tree, 65 feet in the air, in the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-78476289963030668652014-07-31T13:42:00.001-07:002014-07-31T13:42:04.928-07:00Vietnam in a Week. Part 6: Sa Pa to Seattle via Hanoi and TaipeiIt's sort of ironic that final chapter in our whirlwind week long trip to Vietnam has taken me three months to finally finish and post. And odds are it'll be a bit of a let down. Much like Rocky V or the three Star Wars prequels, sometimes it's better to just quit when you're ahead. Nonetheless, I feel like I might as well put a bow on this trip. Part five of our Vietnam Odyssey is here if Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-38541234428979834362014-04-13T20:44:00.001-07:002014-04-13T20:53:58.399-07:00Vietnam in a week. Part 5: Sa Pa (Part 2)(Holy guacamole this is getting out of control. If you haven't read parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, I'd just skip them and wait for the movie, that's what I did with the middle few Harry Potter books.)
When we last left our heroes, we had finished our first eventful day in Sa Pa and PTFO'd in our massive hotel beds (they were literally two queen beds pushed together) in preparation for our first full Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-1627532841399097222014-04-12T12:12:00.000-07:002014-04-13T21:00:46.039-07:00Vietnam in a week. Part 4: Sa Pa(Jump to previous episodes in this Vietnam anthology: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.)
Sa Pa was the highlight of our time in Vietnam. For me an ideal vacation needs to include the right mix of unique experiences, the kind of stuff that make for great stories (or mediocre blog posts). But also enough relaxing down time that you can actually soak in an appreciate where you're at and what you're doing. SaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-63324642483779165512014-04-04T18:07:00.000-07:002014-04-12T12:14:11.560-07:00Vietnam in a week. Part 3: Ha Long to Hanoi to Sa Pa(Links to part 1 and part 2 if you missed those)
Flying halfway around the world is tiring and takes a really long time. An arguably more arduous endeavor however, is traveling from Ha Long bay to Sa Pa without the gift of flight. Vietnam doesn't have a freeway system. Even Seattle's display of civil engineering idiocy where we narrow down to two lanes through the heart of downtown would be a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-21361165509764233252014-04-01T17:09:00.001-07:002014-04-04T18:12:15.612-07:00Vietnam in a week. Part 2: Hanoi to Ha Long Bay
(If you missed part one, nothing really happened. Sort of like how the first billion pages of Lord of the Rings is just walking, smoking, and eating, part one just covered our epic journey uneventful plane flights to Vietnam. Boring, but necessary in order to construct the proper narrative. If you still want to read it despite that incredible recommendation, it can be be found here)
AfterUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-35856368213824848752014-03-31T20:44:00.000-07:002014-04-01T17:09:46.566-07:00Vietnam in a week. Part 1: Seattle to Hanoi
Last year, Jenny and I flew to Western Australia. That's like a 9 hour flight, then a 7 hour flight, then another 6 hour flight. Probably even more than that, I may have blocked the specifics from my memory. Plus there's plenty of hanging out in airports all over the globe in between the mind-numbingly long flights. It's really freaking far. Vietnam is pretty far, but it's not Australia far. SoUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-31622620033325880262014-02-02T21:26:00.001-08:002014-02-05T07:02:06.908-08:00There's no such thing as a second favorite team
Being a Bronco fan living in Seattle, I’ve had to answer a couple questions over and over again the last couple weeks.
“How do you decide who to root for?”
It was never a decision. I’ve been a Bronco fan since before I have memories. The earliest memories that I do have are of playing football in the backyard of our house in Denver. Pretending to be John Elway. Broncos are my team. Plain Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-73767737417040852862013-10-20T08:39:00.000-07:002013-10-20T08:39:57.955-07:00My below-average weekend
Anytime you start a story with something like “it could
have been a lot worse” or “at least no one was hurt”, you know what follows
will be at least mildly shitty.
Well my weekend could have been a lot worse; at least no
one was hurt. And I do mean that somewhat sincerely. I realize that there are
starving kids in China – probably elsewhere too – and there is homelessness and
poverty and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-31238053544677815262013-04-14T10:11:00.000-07:002013-04-14T10:11:08.265-07:00Soccer is way harder than I remember
Last Tuesday I played a soccer game for the first time in about 15 years. Despite the long absence from the game, my resume preceded me: Cost Cutter Cup Champion, nineteen-ninety-something. I'm sure everyone's well aware of the famed Cost Cutter Cup, but for those who don't follow U-13 rec soccer in Bellingham, Washington: it's only the most prestigious thing you can win on a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-49025878810892190342013-03-13T21:34:00.000-07:002013-03-13T21:56:16.721-07:00Can't hang with 'em, can't out kick 'em
When I was a real runner, we used to have a saying: "Can't hang with 'em, can't out kick 'em, what can ya do?" It was sort of a joke. There are times when you have to race against someone who's just better. Maybe not if you're Mo Farah, but for basically everyone else you'll have races where there doesn't seem to be any possible way you can win.
That's how it felt for the first 134 minutes of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-87097087144841027482013-03-09T11:44:00.001-08:002013-03-09T11:47:06.522-08:00Way over-thinking a reality television show
There's that saying in sports, "May the best man/woman/team win". I don't know if anyone really means it, it's just what we say. But I've long argued that the thing that really makes sports great is that the best man/woman/team doesn't always win. It'd be boring if they did. Most of the time, the best team wins. If they didn't, it'd ruin the integrity of the sport. But without upsetsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-9359871513280799352013-03-03T11:51:00.000-08:002013-03-03T11:51:24.134-08:00A quarter inch the other way and you'd have missed completely
There's a great scene in The Mighty Ducks -- well there are a lot of great scenes, it's an awesome movie, but specifically there's a scene where Coach Bombay is talking to Charlie about how close he came to winning a championship when he was a kid.
Coach Bombay: I go in, I triple deke. I fake the goalie right out of his pads.
The puck's headed in, and then, Clang! Hits the post.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-12732041290940971792013-01-26T10:00:00.002-08:002013-01-26T10:00:56.337-08:00Heroes aren't allowed to use asterisks
In college, my summers were defined by running insane amounts of miles and then watching obscene amounts the Tour de France. We'd watch each entire stage as uncut as possible -- not the prime-time coverage geared toward an American audience where they replace the legendary Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen with the Jar Jar Binks-esque comedy relief commentary of Bob Roll. We loved the tour. As Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-83919208670821897222013-01-21T09:59:00.001-08:002013-01-21T09:59:43.520-08:00The Fire, explained
If there's one quality I want in my sports heroes, it's The Fire. I mentioned it in my (maybe) slightly over-critical critique of Manning and Fox following the Broncos playoff loss to Baltimore last week. How in the late 90s there was more to John Elway than just quarterback rating and completion percentage. He had The Fire. By it's very nature, I think The Fire can't be explained without Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-52118895665100318192013-01-13T11:44:00.002-08:002013-01-13T11:53:31.161-08:00Don't be a candy-ass
There is only one real Favinger house rule: don't be a candy-ass. It came about while we were playing Wits and Wagers (google it) and didn't want people to just sit on a big chip lead and ride it out to a slow but sure win. That's no fun for anyone and it's total candy-assery. So if you come to our place for any kind of board game night, New Years Eve party, or anything else. Remember, don't Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-42379877091788778062012-12-31T09:14:00.000-08:002012-12-31T09:14:25.170-08:00Now a Jogger
I'm sure everyone's experienced something like this. One night you get suckered into watching The Bachelorette, partially against your will. Maybe your girlfriend or wife talked you into it, or maybe you're just home alone on a Monday with half a bottle of wine and you figure, "why not?". You start off watching it sort of ironically, making fun of how ridiculous it is and how desperate Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-32336933795844064792012-11-19T22:23:00.000-08:002012-11-20T10:40:05.438-08:00The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows
Last night ranks number two in my sports-heartbreak hall of fame. Right behind the 1996 Denver Broncos. You'd think that being 27 years old instead of 11, and having a little more perspective on things and the relative importance of sports -- or lack thereof -- would make it hurt a little less. But it doesn't. Perspective doesn't help with these kinds of things. Not really anyway. I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-3723129352584429422012-03-19T18:01:00.001-07:002012-03-19T18:01:36.627-07:00Mile High Manning Miracle
You know how in college, when you’re forced to drink cheap crappy beer, you find a way to talk yourself into it. “Busch Light’s not so bad -- it gets the job done and comes in packs of 30, what more do you need?” You put blinders on, play some beer pong, and ignore the fact that what you’re drinking tastes like dog urine. It’s a survival technique. It hurts too much to admit that there are Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-51403038845032623042012-03-06T09:59:00.001-08:002012-03-06T09:59:38.744-08:00Blah Blah BlogQuick update because I didn't post a self-indulgent memoir from the glory days last week.
Sunday: 5.29
Monday: 4.1
Tuesday: 0
Wednesday: 4.1
Thursday: 4.1
Friday: 4.22
Saturday: 8.2
Total: 30.01
I'd like to bump up the mileage over the next couple weeks, mostly because I want to get back on schedule. I'm now 42.25 miles off pace and that gap will evaporate quickly if I can bang out a few 35-40 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014636758220852822.post-34492730269038261742012-02-25T13:21:00.000-08:002012-02-25T13:22:36.117-08:00That time I raced some candy-ass bikers
Each summer when I was in college, I’d spend a couple months at home in Bellingham running in the hills, building strength and preparing for the upcoming cross-country season. Galbraith Mountain was my favorite old stomping ground. There were countless miles of “mountain bike” trails and logging roads, giving you the option to hammer up some brutal climbs or just take it easy weaving through Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0