The Mind is a Funny Thing
It's funny how the mind works. And it is funny that no two people's minds work the same. Well, maybe not funny exactly but maybe more like it is is interesting and worthy of contemplation.
Sometimes I am amazed by the workings of my mind . . . is that possible to think about your own thinking?
Anyway, the reason I bring all this esoteric crap into my otherwise unphilosophic blog is because of the 24 hour ski race that I just did. Contrary to what you might think or have been lead to believe I really haven't skied all that much in my life. Oh sure, I did some shuffling around on classic skis for many years but I never took a lesson or really learned the art of striding. Then it seemed that everyone was getting into skate skiing so I got a really cheap pair of skate skis. However, I didn't take a lesson and just proceeded to only ski (and I use the term ski very lightly) around the baseball diamond at Elver Park which is one of the flattest places you could ever hope to ski although I always complained about the "climbing."
Two years ago I bought new, super nice skate skis on January 1 and took a lesson. Soon thereafter I signed up for the Kortie so I could put my new skis and knowledge to some use. I thought that made perfect sense at the time but quite a few people expressed amazement when I told them I was going to ski the Kortie--not my close friends but acquaintances.
This year my friend Pam wanted to put together a 6 woman team for the 24 Hours of Telemark so she asked a bunch of her friend who ski to see if we wanted to join her. My first reaction was absolutely no way would I do that. I had very valid reasons for that such as that I had never skied more that 26k in one day, my technique was horrible, I didn't even ski last year because of my knee surgery, and I would be racing cyclocross until less than a month before the race. It just seemed too overwhelming to contemplate.
However, when Pam emailed to ask us the second time I knew I would say yes. I had just finished my cross season the day before and so I had nothing big looming on the horizon. The idea suddenly seemed to hold such possibility for excitement in an otherwise drab world. So even though only a few short weeks earlier I had declared that there was "no way" I would do the 24 Hour race I emailed and said "sure count me in."
Some people would say that I only did it for the schwag (which was unbelievable in its quantity and quality) or the free entry (which I really appreciated) but it really is more than that. Part of my mind knows that something is a bad idea (hence the initial "no way") but my mind also has a way of overlooking reality and seeing things in "movie-vision."
What is movie-vision? It's seeing life as being about the pursuit of the endless summer or endless winter or the big wave or some series of moments or activities that are more than the usual existence. It's the ability of part of my brain to really believe that it might be best to quit my job, sell my house and just live life on the road. It's the part of my brain that believes I can only have children if I'm willing to raise them in a commune or a foreign country or some other similar scenario. It's the part of my brain that likes cyclocross. It's the part of my brain that likes kitschy motels and driving on the interstate at 3am. It's the part of my brain that got me into a whole lot of trouble as a teenager. It's the part of my brain that thought a 24 hour ski race was something I needed to experience even when the more realistic side of my brain was trying to point out the flaws in that idea.
The more realistic part of my brain wins out on many if not most things these days -- I get up and go to work everyday as the realistic part of the brain reminds me that I don't want to forgo the comforts and luxuries affoded by a regular paycheck and 4 weeks of paid vacation. I bought a house as it was the "responsible" thing to do. I save for retirement to assuage guilt for living too often "in the moment."
But sometimes the other side of my brain takes over and I agree to do things like 24 hour ski races and life is better for it. More on the actual race along with photos at a later time. I'm too tired from lack of sleep to post about things that might actually interest you such as how the race went, how many laps did I do, did we win, did we look stylish, what color did we paint our toenails, etc. etc.
Sometimes I am amazed by the workings of my mind . . . is that possible to think about your own thinking?
Anyway, the reason I bring all this esoteric crap into my otherwise unphilosophic blog is because of the 24 hour ski race that I just did. Contrary to what you might think or have been lead to believe I really haven't skied all that much in my life. Oh sure, I did some shuffling around on classic skis for many years but I never took a lesson or really learned the art of striding. Then it seemed that everyone was getting into skate skiing so I got a really cheap pair of skate skis. However, I didn't take a lesson and just proceeded to only ski (and I use the term ski very lightly) around the baseball diamond at Elver Park which is one of the flattest places you could ever hope to ski although I always complained about the "climbing."
Two years ago I bought new, super nice skate skis on January 1 and took a lesson. Soon thereafter I signed up for the Kortie so I could put my new skis and knowledge to some use. I thought that made perfect sense at the time but quite a few people expressed amazement when I told them I was going to ski the Kortie--not my close friends but acquaintances.
This year my friend Pam wanted to put together a 6 woman team for the 24 Hours of Telemark so she asked a bunch of her friend who ski to see if we wanted to join her. My first reaction was absolutely no way would I do that. I had very valid reasons for that such as that I had never skied more that 26k in one day, my technique was horrible, I didn't even ski last year because of my knee surgery, and I would be racing cyclocross until less than a month before the race. It just seemed too overwhelming to contemplate.
However, when Pam emailed to ask us the second time I knew I would say yes. I had just finished my cross season the day before and so I had nothing big looming on the horizon. The idea suddenly seemed to hold such possibility for excitement in an otherwise drab world. So even though only a few short weeks earlier I had declared that there was "no way" I would do the 24 Hour race I emailed and said "sure count me in."
Some people would say that I only did it for the schwag (which was unbelievable in its quantity and quality) or the free entry (which I really appreciated) but it really is more than that. Part of my mind knows that something is a bad idea (hence the initial "no way") but my mind also has a way of overlooking reality and seeing things in "movie-vision."
What is movie-vision? It's seeing life as being about the pursuit of the endless summer or endless winter or the big wave or some series of moments or activities that are more than the usual existence. It's the ability of part of my brain to really believe that it might be best to quit my job, sell my house and just live life on the road. It's the part of my brain that believes I can only have children if I'm willing to raise them in a commune or a foreign country or some other similar scenario. It's the part of my brain that likes cyclocross. It's the part of my brain that likes kitschy motels and driving on the interstate at 3am. It's the part of my brain that got me into a whole lot of trouble as a teenager. It's the part of my brain that thought a 24 hour ski race was something I needed to experience even when the more realistic side of my brain was trying to point out the flaws in that idea.
The more realistic part of my brain wins out on many if not most things these days -- I get up and go to work everyday as the realistic part of the brain reminds me that I don't want to forgo the comforts and luxuries affoded by a regular paycheck and 4 weeks of paid vacation. I bought a house as it was the "responsible" thing to do. I save for retirement to assuage guilt for living too often "in the moment."
But sometimes the other side of my brain takes over and I agree to do things like 24 hour ski races and life is better for it. More on the actual race along with photos at a later time. I'm too tired from lack of sleep to post about things that might actually interest you such as how the race went, how many laps did I do, did we win, did we look stylish, what color did we paint our toenails, etc. etc.
posted by MadCross at 10:50 AM
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