Earworms, Talapia & Running

Well, of course I'm not going to start off with earworms, that would defeat the whole purpose of keeping you here through the end of the post (now don't go skimming to the bottom). I need my captive audience. So, let's start with something more mundane, like running.

I went out today and did maybe 4 miles, but I did them fast or what is fast in my world. I really was feeling that pain in my lungs. I was thinking how different that feeling was from the one I had in the Danksin Tri where I just couldn't get my breath, like when you get sucker punched and you can't seem to get your wind back? This was different, but in a good way. Yes, I still was gasping for air like a fish out of water, but it felt "good" (Does this mean I am crossing over to the dark side? To those folks who love running? Love the pain of running? I have a few of you bloggy peeps in mind when I say this). Not sure, but I surprised myself at how much longer I was able to hold a faster pace. Now, Let's not get carried away, I am still slow as shit, but I was holding a pace of 8:00-8:40 for about 2 miles. This is huge progress for me. Time will tell if it was a one shot deal. I also signed up today for the running class with the New York Road Runners. I start on October 13th and it goes for 10 weeks. I hear it is really good and I do run better in a group and I need to run faster.

And....

I signed up today, as well, for a 50 mile bike tour on October 18th to do with my buddy Laurie. I have a bike "date" tomorrow with a mom from my son's class for a 1.5 hour ride. yeah!

Speaking of fish out of water (yeah, I'm gonna make you earn your earworm). I was watching that show "Dirty Jobs" on Saturday night. My three year old is fascinated by it, surprise, right? They were at a fish farm (in the Mojave Dessert! What is wrong with that picture?) raising, I don't know, bass or trout or some kind of fish. That particular fish is inconsequential, it is the other fish that they raise on the farm that matters. The Tilapia (member of the Carp family). Fair warning, if you like your Tilapia, as my hubby does, turn away now, read no further. Ready? Here we go...the Tilapia is raised to eat the poo of the other fish in order to clean the water out for purification. This same Tilapia is sold to Fish Purveyors who then sell it to restaurants, stores, us! Needless to say, I am off Tilapia, even if the poo thing means nothing to my gastronomic well being. Yes, if I saw how other things were raised, killed etc., I would probably not eat them as well (except for Krispy Kreme, a girl's got to eat), but I haven't, I saw this. Blech! I won't even go into the episode called "Vomit Island".

Earworms.

Not this kind..

I'm sure you know what they are and you've had your fair share. If you don't know what they are, you've still had them. An earworm is a song that you cannot get out of your head. It buzzes around in your head until you want to tear your hair out.

This kind...

I hope you weren't expecting anymore grossness out of me today (ok, a little gratuitous grossness in the pic). My most recent earworm is the theme to Wonderpets (If you don't know it, don't click the link, you will be sorry, if you have kids of a certain age you know the torture that is that theme song). This, thanks in part to my husband who continues to whistle it almost daily. So, how to get rid of an earworm? There are three possible ways as suggested by listeners of Radio Lab. 1) replace it with another song (one listener suggests James Brown's "Sex Machine", huh! get on down!) 2) Embrace the song and listen to it over and over, dissect it, etc. (in other words, continue to torture yourself) 3) Give it to someone else; start singing it so that the other person will hear it and then suffer under it's wrath and you are therefore released from it's evil clutches. I think that is what my husband is doing, in a rather passive aggressive manner I might add. Even if #3 doesn't get rid of it for you, at least you have company and misery loves company.