sobota 25. decembra 2021

How hard is it to run 21k on powder snow?

Nimble footwork handy. For purposes of damage dealt, the stream is lava liquid nitrogen.
 

I set out for a 21k course I know very well. There was fresh powder snow and it was not cold (-4C) with no wind. I did a cross-country the day before and a 12k run the day prior to it. In the end, I finished after 3hours totally exhausted. My previous attempt on the same course was 2h:08min with some snow on the trail and considerable time pressure. And I felt okay after the experience. So where can I attribute the differences in finishing time and the toll the run took?

štvrtok 28. októbra 2021

Two Institutions

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Theatre_Masks_PNG.png

Theatre masks from wikimedia. Attributed to Matthew E. Semrau, www.PureLightStudios.com.

Two is a fantastic number. When you have two objects, you can set them side-by-side to juxtapose them. And you can see a lot more in this way, even if you take almost random objects.

štvrtok 14. októbra 2021

Job's done!

 Not everything goes as smoothly as these simple calculations, where the result (underlined twice) emerges quickly.

Satisfaction from a task done depends on its relevance, complexity and on the ratio of outcome/energy invested. Since rarely do these all meet, I find it nice to celebrate when this is the case. 

nedeľa 10. októbra 2021

Historical memory in France

  Man shrugging from Emoji Terra. The portrait of M.P. from wikimedia.

There are a few French institutions that warm your heart. For example, Boulangerie, bakery. They operate on the premise that people will buy fresh bread and pastry any time of the day. And guess what, they do! (Granted, boulangerie does close around 8 p.m., but that's good enough.)

Another one is the historical memory. While working in the office, you suddenly hear a sonorous voice uttering a calmly energetic invocation of an old historical character, "Oh, Pétain!"  You can only envy the French that they use wartime collaborators as a figure of speech. The trend extends to hard-core intellectuals as well: later in the day there was an alarmingly angry Pétain! from someone who got a letter from the tax office. Very appropriate choice of words.

I find it fascinating that darker characters from national history in the West get the same treatment as old pagans spirits and gods like Perún/Parom, Lempo and become swearing bywords. Wouldn't it be appropriate if we followed suite with our war-time collaborators as well? :)

utorok 5. októbra 2021

What makes a home?

 

There's a bed to sleep on. A book about Paris that my new colleagues gave me. A set of keys from my flat and our office. And the card for the Paris public transport system. 

Now I finally feel that I'm settled. Thank you, Michaela, thank you, Katarína!

utorok 21. septembra 2021

ST 140 ruminations II – Dē praeparātiōne

Spot one difference.

An old humorous story by Ander z Košíc has him buy his wife a prohibitively expensive fur coat, only for her to start complaining that the fur coat "bites" after they leave the store. After they return to the store and make a proper scene, it is discovered that the woman had put the coat on herself with the hanger.

Too hilarious to even sound true, right? Yet, this is exactly what happened to me. I packed my new poles with the protective covers for the tips and somewhat forgot about their existence. After the race, they looked like the pole on the top. (The bulky stuff is dirt packed inside the perforated protective cap.) The bottom pole is a "near-mint" state – washed and without the cap. Of course, the presence of the caps during the race explains why I felt the poles slip unexpectedly a few times!

Laugh, o my heart. And test your equipment before the race next time.

nedeľa 19. septembra 2021

ST140 ultra ruminations I

 
 

There shall come an hour when I will retell my experience from Štefánik ultra in a narration. For now, I will present a few observations. 

sobota 17. júla 2021

Sober Reflecting

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Lord%27s_weathervane.jpg
The weather wane at Lord's Cricket ground. (Wikipedia / Hamilcarsouth)
 

"Do you feel like returning the medal?", I was asked right after the race. It was a shrewd question given that my previous attempt was 57:04 minutes and my current one was 1:06:47. 

piatok 16. júla 2021

How do you feel?

Abram’s new-Spock would likely use this moment to cry and deliver a soliloquy about his feelings. With old-Spock - proper Spock - you get an eyebrow. Leonard Nimoy, fuck yeah!
So, how do you feel?
Created by Abel M'Vada. Thanks to Sapo for showing me the video.

How does one feel when they are moving house? How to express some of these hard-to-track, hard-to-understand states of the mind if you cannot put a name on them? 

Music – without lyrics – is a good medium for such expressions. These are the pieces I played right before I left my old flat.

Bourrée in E minor (from BWV 996) is a notoriously known piece by J.S. Bach. Forget about the Jethro Tull version if you can and imagine the stately procession of tonesThe fact that the piece keeps moving can be felt even on a solo line. And I also find it non-committal in its mood.

 

My colleagues and neighbours have heard me play Podzimní (An Autumn Tune) many a time. Tichota's adaptation from a renaissance lute tab speaks of melancholy.

The lyrics (Malá and Tichota) also reflect passing of the time and disquiet in the soul. And even these are the underlying tones, the bridge is uplifting and playful.

 

And the biggest all-time recorder hit. Daphne (or Doen Daphne d'over schoone Maeght in full) is a real deal for a lover of old music. Granted, every recorder player and their dog know Jacob van Eyck's masterpiece, but it is so awesome it would be churlish if they did not. It has a hauntingly sweet melody and it subtly changes and shifts from one part to another. It is also fun (read challenging) to play. And what what does it communicate? Lyrics aside, based on the fact that main motif keeps coming back, it has a feel of permanency but one of a change as well. Evolution and reinvention? 

Let's see what I will play in the future.