citizen of the planet

I guess it’s only natural that when I’m busy doing my coaching thing I go into something of an inspirational mode.  When the people in my group struggle, I’m there to ease them through and help them find the motivation to keep going.  I really do care about them, and I hope that they can see that. So, that’s the face that I show them.  It’s all well intentioned, right?  Thing is, I seem to have a bit of trouble applying the same principles on myself.  I mean, look at my latest race results for example.  My goal was to break a certain time barrier, and I did.  Despite that, I’ve been beating myself up for not surpassing that barrier by as much as I secretly intended to.  It was a hard race.  Perhaps under better conditions I would have churned out a better time, but that just sounds like an excuse.  Still, is cutting my personal best by five and a half minutes really so insufficient?

I’ve been struggling with trying to deal with this in a positive manner.  How messed up is that?  I’ve talked to a couple of people about it, and just about each one of them told me to basically get over myself.  I guess I have to agree that it’s pretty senseless trying to find the negative a positive result.  During the group dinner last night, one person in particular made it clear that I need to work on practising what I preach.  See, the person in question has been on the receiving end of a lot of my motivational pep talks.  She’s not particularly speedy, but she has definitely been improving, and has come a long way in the span of a year or two.  I was talking about my race experience and how I was mildly disappointed for not obliterating my old time.  She reminded me of something that I had once said to her: “it’s important to celebrate the small victories.”  When I heard that, I immediately realized what a dope I’ve been.  Every race cannot be one where I achieve huge gains.  I really should be more thankful that I achieved the time that I got.  I put in a lot of hard work for that result; it could have been a lot worse.  I need to work harder to recognize these small victories as I come across them; I damn well earn each and every one.

Months ago, when I picked up tickets for the show I knew that our seats wouldn’t be the best. See, the tickets had been on sale for a while and most of the good ones were already taken. Based on the layout map, the only tickets available were at the side with an obstructed view. Back when I saw No Doubt, the obstructed view seats we got weren’t so bad, so I was hoping for a good result. However, when my friend and I got to our seats I felt like there was a lot to be desired.

Silversun Pickups was already doing their set.  From our spot we could barely see the band.  Actually, we got a side view of sorts.  There were these three tower like things in the centre which we figured were part of Muse’s set.  As far as Silversun Pickups went though the towers were really blocking our view.  It was a little bit disappointing, but regardless we could hear them just fine.  Most of the songs they played were off of their album Swoon, which meant they were familiar to me.  I heard their singles enough on CFNY Edge 102.1 and enjoyed them such that I bought the CD.  It was a good decision: for me it’s really a solid listen from start to finish.  Anyway, I found it interesting to hear their songs played live; it’s good to see how they adapted things.  The nervous (though not frantic) energy of the songs really carried through the arena.  I say they did well to showcase their work, but perhaps…they weren’t entirely engaging.  It’s hard to describe.  Perhaps if I was closer to the action I’d have been more hooked in.  Regardless, they were a great opening act.

Right after SSP, I was kind of fearing the three towers, wondering if they’d obscure Muse entirely.  Once the show started, it became pretty apparent how they would be used.  My goodness, the visuals were just crazy.  The towers themselves became screens, and the lower halves of the towers held the band members.  The setup made watching more bearable.  We still weren’t able to see all of the stage, but what we got was sufficient.

In terms of sound, Muse is eccentric, aggressive, and energetic.  They have that quirky quality that I seem to enjoy so much.  They seriously seem to be made for stadiums and arenas.  It’s all very grand and a lot to take in.  Sure, the themes seem to be a little simplistic–especially for songs from their last album.  So many of them are all about speaking up to authority and taking a stand.  I can see how it can get repetitive, but really they put on such a good show that I could have looked past that.  The screens were amazing.  The moving pillars were well used.  There was a lot of laser action being spread out among the crowd.  From my vantage point it was cool to watch, but I can only imagine that the visual effects would have been much more stunning if I was seeing it all head on.

Oh yeah, speaking of things being visually stunning, it seemed like there were a good number of people getting into altered states at the show.  As soon as Muse took to the stage, I noted that someone around was smoking marijuana.  Then the smell went away.  Midway through the show, two guys in their late teens in the seats in front of me decided to smoke up.  Minutes later, a guy next to them lit up a joint as well.  What the hell?  Especially for a group like Muse, there should be no need to get into an altered state.  I was annoyed, but what made their lighting up kind of amusing for me was that moments after the did that a bunch of eyeball balloons fell down on the general floor admission crowd down below.  It was entirely so random and unexpected and sort of related to the smoking that I had to laugh.

So yeah, man.  Overall it was a really great night.  Muse really does put on an unbelievable show.  They are definitely a band I would recommend you go see, even if you aren’t into the whole progressive rock thing.  The spectacle is just amazing.

It just happened to be good timing that Muse and Silversun Pickups would be in town the day after my half marathon. I bought tickets a while ago, and now I consider this concert to be a good congratulatory gift to myself for not only making it through the race, but also successfully coaching such a long clinic.

So, just because I can, I’m posting videos for Muse -- Knights of Cydonia and Silversun Pickups -- Subtitution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sBOsh-vyI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwX2TnsTPE

Going into today’s race, I honestly felt like I had something to prove.  I mean, not only was I the coach for the clinic, but it’s also the first race I’ve had to do since losing a large amount of weight.  Instead of the pressure really working to make me up my game positively, I think it really affected me in a less than positive way.  Instead of being relaxed, I was absolutely terrified of what I considered “failure.”  Of course, “failure” wouldn’t have been a true failure in the least, but in my mind I had one true goal: obliterate my old personal best.

The race report and a photo of the medal follow after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »