11 Random Things

I’m a little late to the party on this, as I’ve seen a bunch of 11-things posts recently, but Morgan, in the midst of her triumphant comeback from a stress fracture, has tagged me to unleash some randomness, so here goes:

1. I’m not textbook ambidextrous, but I have a strange mix of things I do with each hand.  I write left handed, shoot a basketball right handed, throw a ball (football, baseball etc.) left handed, golf right handed, swing a bat left handed, bowl left handed, etc. etc.
2. Some of the above activities I can do with either hand, like writing, and I often have to pause when doing something after not having done it for a while to figure out what hand I use
3. My favorite color is green, to the point that several years ago I had to make a concerted effort to not buy any more green clothes since that was about 80% of what I owned.  It’s not easy being green.
4. I am a morning person, and love the peace and solitude of the early morning.  Unfortunately, I’m not good about going to bed at a decent hour, so morning training gets painful towards the end of the week.
5. I’m not a big drinker (fortunately got that out of my system in college), but I love a good Stout.  Recently discovered Total Wine and it’s collection of craft beers, and two craft beer stores recently opened near my house.  This has not worked out well for my wallet.
6. I’m deeply envious of those who can create original art.  I have some artistic skill, and can ‘copy’ a picture pretty well, but don’t have the natural ability to create something from nothing.
7. I really like to cook, but only if I’m not pressed for time.  I’m very slow and precise in the kitchen, which is good for a weekend meal, but not for our crazy weekday evenings.  I can grill with the best of them.
8. I enjoy landscaping, but struggle to find the time to do major projects anymore.  Just one more excuse to get outside.
9. After having lived in Minnesota for three winters before moving to North Carolina, I no longer have any use for winter.  Sunny and warm … I like it sunny and warm.
10. I grew up playing soccer up until college, and would have played in college but suffered a bad injury my senior year in high school that was the end of my career, but I don’t enjoy watching soccer, and actually find it pretty boring.  Kinda like golf I guess.  Like to play, bored watching.
11. I’m not a fan of reality TV.  I get embarrassed and uncomfortable for people who are embarrassing themselves, which is about 99% of reality TV.  I can’t even watch the American Idol shows devoted to all the bad auditions – way too negative for me.

Morgan's Questions for the Tagged:

What is the last thing you took a picture of? (I'm keeping this one, could be interesting.) This crazy dragon/knight lego display outside the lego store in Downtown Disney, Orlando.  Just got back from a great trip to FL with the family.

What finally made you decide to write your blog?  I was looking through running blogs after being injured at the end of my first marathon, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, and felt like I should add to the conversation rather than just reading

If you had to listen to one song on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?  U2 – Bad, the live version from the ‘Wide Awake in America’ album.  Thousands of miles and hours later I still like listening to this when I run.

What's one item on your 'bucket list'?  I’ve never actually put together a formal bucket list, but completing an Ironman would be the most recent addition.  Not sure when or how, but I can see this in my future.

If you could be on any TV show, which would it be?  Mythbusters – just looks like fun.

If you could start your own race, what distance would it be? 101 miles

What would you name said race? Just Beyond Crazy

If you were forced to eat like something other than how you eat now, which would you choose?(Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, Pescetarian, Kosher, Cannibal, etc...)Something involving seafood.  Is there a diet that is all seafood?  I’m not very diet knowledgeable.  If not, then I’d like to subsist solely on chocolate-covered pretzels.

If you could rid the world of one social application, which would it be? I’d be inclined to say Facebook since so many people share things there that they really shouldn't share, but my wife got her job thanks to Facebook, so I have to let it slide

If you could choose just one person to train with for a training cycle who would it be? I guess I’d go with Ryan Hall, since you assume you’d get better by training with one of the best.  For pure entertainment, probably Jay Mohr.  I listen to his podcast on my long runs and have to stop sometimes in fits of laughter.

If you were a guest at our wedding what would you bring as a gift based on what you know about Spike and I? (Ha ha, this could get very interesting...) Since you two are probably the most supportive spectators around, I’d have to set you up with this monster (hard to go wrong with the description includes the phrases "Earthquake Maker", "Deafening", and "Thundering Power":

Most of the folks I would tag to pay this forward have already been tagged, or already posted on this topic, so I’ll just ask that if you haven’t done this and have survived reading through mine, you’ll do a similar post on your site.  Let me know and I’ll update this post with a link to your list.