Tuesday, April 22, 2008

EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE

Hi

An update on our 15 year old friend, known as THE BAG, in a second, but first some training news and plaudits.


Coming off a fabulous week of training. My most recent post talked of hitting the trails and the wonderful spring weather has aided that a bit. Love it that we are getting what many other cities have..a real spring... Not any teases. Just nice warm- above average temps and sunny skies. Last week, I ran a total of 6 hours..mostly trails...very little tempo work. Got in two spinning classes. Not really swimming. Schedule conspiring against me hitting some sessions, such as HB.


Still have not raced my April 5 k. That could be this weekend. House of Blues has a 10 miler and a 5 k. NFL Draft and Cavs Playoffs might jeopardize.


Got even more inspiration recently by pulling out the DVD of the Ironman 04. Norman Stadler killed on the bike. Peter Reid couldn't make up the ground. Nina Kraft won, while Natasha Badman smiled her way to second....only to have Kraft disqualified for blood doping. Nothing like the sound of Al Trautwigs voice chronicling the personal stories of those elite racers and the every-day folks who give their hearts and souls to the 140 mile distance


Props to Carrie of Austin, Texas for a incredible rookie performance in Ironman Arizona. 12 hours and some change. Amazing. Her blog is Tri to be Funny and is listed in my margin. Visit it if you can. Great recap of the race. IMAZ had an incredible percentage of people that did not finish. Was brutal. Carrie kicked butt.


Also, fellow blogger and ultra-runner Bubba completed his first 100 miler. He smoked to a 4th place overall. Great recaps at his blog... Bubba is dah man!!!


I know Daisy and E-Speed ran Boston Monday. E-speed PR'd by over 4 minutes. Daisy treated it as a fun experience because she is pointing toward Cleveland in 4 weeks. She still posted a 4:17. Props to her and look out Cleveland!!!!.


EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE

Walked to the pier and was astonished to see THE BAG at the end and looking like he was gonna end it all. He was questioning the meaning of life when he learned I was thinking of dumping him for a new bag.


I told him I was sorry he was feeling this way and that...gosh darn it...life is wonderful, and all that....even for a bag. I detected a sneer. He shot back at me that bags and jeans and caps and tee shirts are made nowadays to look like they are broken in and that he, THE BAG has 15 years of service.
The bag claims he got the distressed look because he worked his leather off. He said he would put his track record up against any bag anywhere. He didn't try to be cool...he was cool and he would out work any bag from Coach, Armani....etc. He began to win me over.

I remember all the great comments from my blogging buddies, about how THE BAG is a treasure and how he has served me well. I thought of my career. I am a mature guy (54yrs old) in a young business..(t.v.) and how would I like it if some kid with perfect hair and perfect teeth took my job?? I mean, its tough enough nowadays being on the tube with High Def. Thats not made for mid-fifites guys whose hair follicles have gone on vacation.

So, I decided its just not right to dump the TUMI. He and I will continue our working relationship. Its Batman and Robin all over again. J.T. and THE BAG will ride off into the sunset. Maybe a Cleveland team will even win a championship!!!!! Last night, we celebrated our renewed understanding before the Cavs-Wizards playoff game. Shucks, guys, I'm getting all emotional!!!!! Talk amoungst yourselves!!!

21 comments:

Wes said...

Great decision! Glad the weather and the training is going well for you!!

Kurt said...

That is to funny about the bag and the emotional baggage. Loved the post as usual.

GP said...

I'm glad you caught your buddy before we jumped off the pier. Although a little Erie water this time of year might have given it a new look.

But if your reunion was responsible for the Cavs' utter triumph over the Wizards, I implore you not to ditch the thing. Ever. Where were you last summer during the finals? More importantly: where was your bag?

Marcy said...

LMAO! Good choice :-)I would be the same way. I get that way with cars especially. All the memories *sniff* The thing could be falling apart, need MAJOR work and I'd still get emotional trying to part with it LOL

triguyjt said...

J.T. and The Bag were front and center at the NBA Finals..and we were powerless to stop the Spurs..but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day...

Jodi said...

I'll be doing the 10-miler on Sat. Maybe I'll see ya there!

Jodi

Trisaratops said...

Yay! I'm so glad you saw the light!

:)

rocketpants said...

Awww...saving the BAG!!! YEA!! Hard to part with things that have so many memories.

GetBackJoJo said...

Oh my God! Thank God you kept him! Poor guy.
You gotta squeeze in that 5K so we can all hear a race report!

Lily on the Road said...

LOL, thank goodness you kept your work buddy!!

Nothing worse than being dumped for a newer model..oh, wait that happened to me.....hahahaha

;^)

jahowie said...

The stories about your bag are great!! Good luck to you and your Cavs. Nice job getting the workouts in. I skipped out on my swimming too. This is a busy time of the year for me with the boys all active in something. How did you feel about the ejection in game 2?

Anonymous said...

OMG...you are too funny! I love the picture of your bag on the pier...got me kinda emotional, too ;)

RunBubbaRun said...

Sometimes you just to go what works and has been tried and true all these years...

Maybe Tumi just needs a buff and polish and will show its glitter once more.. You know that HD shows everything these days..

ps. Thanks for the shoutout..

Mnowac said...

Yeah, congrats to your bag!

Janet Edwards said...

Cute bag story! Glad to hear the training is going so well. Sometimes when the weather breaks it just seems to be fuel for good training!

Thanks for the shout out!

Rainmaker said...

Hmmm...not good - Cavs are up 2-0. This could be cause for a bag-napping to possibly distract the Cavs.

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

I'm sure the bag is very grateful!

Formulaic said...

Yeah Bag!

I'm sure it wasn't an easy choice but way to go.

I really couldn't see it taking a life as a tri bag!

TRI TO BE FUNNY said...

YAY!!!! You are holding on to the bag! Best decision ever...now, about some of those boxers you've been hanging onto for several years now... ;-)


FYI--thanks for the mention about Ironman Arizona! It was one helluvah day for this IM-Rookie!

triguyjt said...

You rock Carrie... Congrats on the IMAZ rookie performaning like a veteran ...one tough cookie

Viv said...

Awesome that training is going well for you. The bag prevailed :-)
Emotional baggage I love the segways!