I believe that there are three common languages in the world today: love, mathematics, and music.  When it comes to how these dialects influence my motivation for training it comes down to understanding how each of these languages touch my life.

First there is love.  When I decided to make public this DMB project with people, my greatest concern is how those around me would interpret my actions.  There are those around me who just don’t understand why I would choose to punish myself in such a way that takes great courage, dedication and a touch of insanity (their words, not mine).  I believe that most of those who read this face the same questions about what adventure racing is and why we, as racers, choose to put ourselves through this kind of abuse.  It affects everyone around us; our loved ones especially.  I was truly amazed by the response I got from my family and friends when I told them my plans.  They were ecstatic and utterly supportive.  So when it comes to my love for the sport and the loving support from those around me, I have that in spades.

Secondly there is mathematics.  I have been tracking my personal progress using various measurements to determine my progress: body mass index (BMI), lap times, number of repetitions in the weight room, number of crunches, body weight, etc.  As I mentioned last week, these numbers allow me to see my progress.  This week was a tough one for me when it comes to the motivating support that improving numbers could give me.  I did only two hard cardiovascular sessions (my minimum is four) and I only did my core exercises twice as well.  I stared at my training calender several times hoping that the motivation for improving those numbers would help me lace up my trainers, but that didn’t happen like I had hoped.  So the math wasn’t really there for me this week.  At this rate, progress will be slow, but hopefully steady.

Lastly is music.  When it comes to that kind of motivation I must say that I am proud of my international support.  With all of my travels, I have done my best to collect different sounds, styles, and varieties of music that would hopefully come in handy some day or some week as the case may be.  Worldwide music is much different.  For example, I was in the outdoor market in the city of Penza in the Russian Federation last Saturday looking for some motivation for the week.  I picked up a compilation disc of favorites from the 80′s and 90′s in the hopes to find something new.  I was not disappointed in the least.  I had to remind myself that these were Russian favorites from the past two decades when I barely recognized the songs listed on the back cover.  Lucky for me that is a thrill; like finding a new favorite candy or brand of beer.

So, for your listening pleasure this week I have included some of the songs that got me through this week’s training, as minimal as it may have been.  I suspect you may know some of them and I hope that there are some that are new to you.  They don’t all come from the Russian disc because I am still trying to get through the cryptic translation of the tracks.  Enjoy!

1. “Law Down the Law”- Switches
2. “Mas Papaya”- Sidestepper from 3AM- In Beats We Trust
3. “Red Part of Town”- Frankel from Lullaby for the Passerby
4. “Bring Me to Life”- Evanescence from Fallen
5. “Daniella”- John Butler Trio-
6. “Through the Rain”- Soul Creation
7. “Charmer”- Kings of Leon from Because of the Times
8. “Move Away”- The Killers
9. “Atlantis to Interzone”- Klaxons from Myths of the Near Future
10. “Henrietta”- The Fratellis from Costello Music

Until next time…..TODD
quest4pq@gmail.com

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