Montana M.I.L.Fs

With summer finally arriving here in northwest Montana, there are more opportunities to mingle with tourists and plenty of members of the community I don't normally see. I have seen many M.I.L.Fs (Moms I'd like to Friend) around the Flathead Valley. They are at restaurants, grocery stores, and even on main street. I was chatting with one in Woodland Park the other day and she liked talking with someone her son's age because they offered a fresh perspective on life. I've gotten a chance to go on several lunch "dates" with this one mom, and let me tell you, she is just a delight to spend an afternoon with. Some of my friends ask me, "Seth, why are you hanging out with that cougar M.I.L.F?" (I believe a "cougar" is a female Bobcat fan) I tell them that summers in Montana is an excellent way to meet people that are a little bit older and yet still being just "one of the gals" at my Saturday evening hangout at DQ (Dairy Queen).

Seth

Apologies and Cloud Running

My friend Dan Jackson pointed out that my "tone" in my last blog may have come across to some as offensive. I am a sarcastic person at heart and it never seems to translate well online. Best wishes to his "blog".

Now on to Cloud Running.

Ever wish you could run in the clouds? Or hang out in the origin of a rainstorm? Now you can with the help of our friends, the Mountains. It all began with a run on 544. On a Tuesday.

For those of you not "in the know", 544 is one of the most divine running trails you can run on. It's nestled below the Jewel Basin and rises gradually in a dense canopy past roaring creeks. The way back is not knee-hurting-steepness, but is instead perfect for cruising speed. The kind of speed most people experience the coveted "runner's high".

Anyway, I was bounding up 544 and like any typical June day in MT, it was raining. Heavily. There was also a noticeable fog filling the spaces between trees. But it wasn't particularly foggy when I drove up to the trailhead. Then I realized something idiotically simple: I was running in the clouds. I was in the low-lying clouds that hugged the Swan Range each morning. This is as close as humans can get to cloud running. In some ways using the mountains is a bit of a cheat, but so is flying in airplanes, skydiving, and any other manufactured forms of flying. Not only was I running in the clouds, but the heavy raindrops were forming right over my head. If Mother Nature were using a shower-head to wash the earth, I was right near the top of the spout. It may sound like hippy existentialism. You might be saying, "Yeah, so what?" But it's moments like these that make me thankful to be a runner. So go forth and experience your own form of runner's high.

You just might end up in the clouds.

Lessons, Adventures, and the Wannabes that Follow

A lot of people think they can wake up one day and create a blog. These people have seen amazing blogs and think that they too have important life lessons to dish out. Well folks, I hate to break it to you, but it's not that easy. A blog is more than words on a webpage. It's more than slinging a few jokes and bouncing ideas off a fan-base. It takes time, dedication, and most importantly, well-put-together thoughts (also known as Sethoughts). I wish all the best to my fellow wannabes, but we all know they'll probably end up writing increasingly desperate blogs for attention (DBFA). That is what happens when amateurs think they can hit it big on the world wide web (WWW). Their recklessness leads them to a path of self-destruction and terrible, hacky puns.

On a quick side tangent I would like to say a few words about the word "literally".

There are those out there, I will not name names, who use "literally" too much. It becomes a crutch in their lexicon, a cortisone shot for their pain , or a stick of butter in their baking. In other words, there is a time and place to utilize objects, but not at every opportunity. "Literally" needs to be used in moderation because it loses meaning with each pause-filling dump in conversation. Let's take a look at this example conversation I overheard at the local deli:

Person A: I heard you got slammed at the car wash yesterday.

Person B: We were LITERALLY washing cars for four hours straight. I mean it was nonstop. There had been a few busy days last week, but we LITERALLY ran out of soap in the first hour.

Person A: Wow

Person B: I LITERALLY went insane.

Even though Person B used literally in the correct context the first two times, it was still one time too many because no one should use literally in back to back sentences. Once literally was used a third time, it was used unrealistically and well past the point of meaning.

Save those literallys. A little goes a long ways. Do you know how AXE Body Spray became a disgusting fragrance in locker rooms across the country? One tool thought to himself, "When I use this deodorant, it makes me smell good. I should use half a can after every shower and I'll smell that much better!" This is simply not true and because of a select few individuals, AXE has gotten a bad rap and no longer functions as deodorant.

On a running-related note, here is a video of me running in Southern Spain. It was in Malaga, one of the oldest cities in Europe.

Seth

Finally Saw a Butterfly Today

I found this gem the other day, so I'd thought I would share it with you guys...

Owl City - Butterfly Wings

If I was a raindrop
Would you be my thunder storm?
It's cold so surround me
With rain clouds to keep me warm

I feel like I'm falling
So darling, don't let me go
The thought is appalling
But should I slip away
Into the stormy sea will you remember me?

Asleep in our warm cocoons
We dream of lovely things
We're both gonna wake up soon
So we hope that tomorrow brings
Us our butterfly wings

If I was a grain of sand
Would you be Miami Beach?
So dusty with starlight
Close your eyes and cuddle close to me

I'll try not to wake you
Or make a sound while you're dozing off
But in the night should the high tide
Sweep me away from you
Tell me again, my dear, will you be waiting here?

Whenever we leave the ground
And take to the sky
I'll smile as I'm gazing down
'Cause I've always wondered why
We won't need feathers to fly

The Interview You've All Been Waiting For...

There's been a lot of crazy rumors about what kind of shape Seth is in, what he has been up to in the U.K., and his take on the royal wedding. Luckily I am a close friend and talk to him almost on a daily basis, so I figured I should interview him for the blog. I sat down with him in his London apartment last Sunday fresh off of his bachelor party with Prince William.

Sethoughts: First things first, several sources have said you are not doing the Glacier Challenge this year. Are you out of shape? Can you even run a 10k under 40 minutes?

Seth: That's a lot of questions, Sethoughts! I'll address your first question. Those are wild accusations. I am not in the best shape, but that's only because I'm not racing. I just ran 11 miles the other day and barely broke a sweat. I am opting out of the Glacier Challenge because it is an insult to lose to older less athletic people in faster kayaks and canoes every year. As much as I love Glacier Bank as the main sponsor, they have failed to prepare the teams for the highly competitive water legs each year. Currently, I plan to run in the 10k of the 2011 Whitefish Lake Run. It will be a good warm-up for my summer training of 90 mile weeks.

Sethoughts: Are you worried that your teammates back in Bozeman will treat you with disrespect when you arrive back in the states?

Seth: I love my teammates and Kevin, but they have a tendency to be jerks on Thursdays anyway, so there will be little surprise there.

Sethoughts: Tell us about Prince William's Bachelor Party. Was it as amazing as the wedding?

Seth: We barely made it to the wedding because Bill, I mean Prince William, disappeared on us the night before. We all woke up in Buckingham Palace not knowing where to even start to look. But after a few hours of detective work (I hooked up with Kate Middleton's sister, Pippy. How crazy is that?!) and determination (a few minutes from calling off the search altogether, actually) we found him wandering Parliament in his underwear. We gave him a Redbull, changed into our Prince suits on top of a double-decker bus, and showed up in the nick of time.

Sethoughts: Wow! That sounds intense! You've been away from your roommates Andrew and Carl for awhile now, is there anything you miss about living with them?

Seth: No.

Sethoughts: The MSU team has really gelled since you left in January. Do you think you will still get the coveted 'Team Captain' position next fall? What would be your first decision?

Seth: It's really up in the air right now, I guess. But IF I were to somehow be so lucky, I would definitely implement my shave-when-you-PR rule, or SWYPR for short. Each member of the team would set a time to run under and then when they break it during season, they are then allowed to shave their head (or face if they want to be a sissy about it). I haven't fully worked out the kinks. We all would shave our heads before the conference meet in case there is anyone still with a full head of hair left.

Sethoughts: Are you sure you can even make them do something so stupid like that?

Seth: Listen, when I'm captain I will be an unstoppable force. Who do you think you are calling my rules stupid? You're stupid! What kind of a moronic name is 'Sethoughts'?

Sethoughts: I am just asking something that I think the majority of the team would question. There's no need to get worked up over it.

Seth: That's it. This interview is over.

At that point in the interview, Seth had security escort me to the lobby. I attempted to contact him several times to reschedule the rest of the interview, but he did not return any of calls. I will update the readers of the blog when I am able to talk with him.

Things that Grind my Gears

You may have been talking with friends earlier this week, wondering about what some of the differences are over in the UK. It could be in line for a cup of coffee or maybe out on a hospital loop run. It might be something like this:

Tanner: Hey Dan.

(Dan keeps running)

Tanner: DAN!

Dan: What?

Tanner: Do you think that Seth has a hospital loop that he runs on in England?

Dan: No, Tanner. First off, Seth hates the hospital loop in the states. Secondly, they don't call them hospitals over there, they're called "spitals". And thirdly, Seth is probably too fat to run from all the fish & chips he's been eating.

These are all valid points, but it makes more sense for me to tell you guys the differences. Here's a list of them, in no particular order.

1. Like everything else over here, the roads are smaller, often only wide enough for one car to pass through even if it's not a one-way. This causes a whole slew of problems such as ambulances trying to get to the spitals. Drivers can see an ambulance coming, but there is literally no place for them to pull over. The streets are lined with cars and they are already pulled over to let the other flow of traffic through. That's three cars trying to maneuver in a car-and-a-half space. I've never seen an emergency vehicle go over 30mph here in Exeter.

2. Police officers wear bright, neon-green jackets as their uniforms. They all remind me of crossing guards.

3. I run with this French guy who speaks ok English. He calls "workouts" training. It's a small difference, but I still get caught off guard whenever he asks me if I want to do some "training" during a run.

4. Instead of the phrase, "How are you?", they say, "Are you alright?" Again, this is a subtle difference, but any first reaction by an American would be to respond defensively. In the states, we only ask if someone is alright if we suspect that they are not well. It took about ten conversations of sheer confusion before I caught on.

5. Macaroni and cheese at it's cheapest level comes in a can. One cannot buy boxed macaroni and cheese. You can make it from scratch, purchase it frozen, from the deli, or from the can, but there is no box substitute.

6. Cookie dough and most forms of instant cookie/cake/cinnamon roll variations that you or I could find in any Walmart are nonexistent in the UK.

7. Jeggings are all the rage over here. Also fashionable: jean shorts over fishnet stockings.

8. Leaf-letting, campaigning, and all forms of annoying solicitation is a daily event here. They don't send their kids to preschool, instead they are dropped off at street corners promoting the latest charity event. This could be a city related trend, but I suspect otherwise.

9. Families have strollers here, but sometimes they are quite short or the kid is riding a tricycle low to the ground. In either case, the parent has a long handle to push their kids along. The cheaper families simply tape a 2x4 to the back of the tricycle and push them along without stooping down.

That's enough for today. I hope you guys have a good day!

Seth

Travelin'

Hey guys, I've been busy lately. Sorry I haven't been posting as much.

Good job at conference! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun in good ol' Pocatello. I look forward to running that track for the first time next year. I'll be throwin' down the PB's!

Speaking of PB's, I bested my previous performance of most random track with a new track in Taunton, UK. You see, the Exeter track is being resurfaced for the month of March. So we have to pile into a mini-bus and drive 30min to the neighboring town of Taunton at their high school track. As many of you know, land is uber-valuable here. More valuable than chicken tenders in the SUB. So naturally, that area in the middle of the track should be put to better use.

There's a lacrosse field in the middle. You have to go through a gate to get to the track and ANOTHER gate to get to the interior field.

Anywho, I'm off to Venice this weekend. I'm not sure where I will be running, but it should be fun nevertheless.

Do some sub-rattin for me

Sethdiana