Is cross country a sport?
Yes! So many people think it isn't, but that is so not true. They think that to qualify as a sport it has to have finesse and showy things, but in reality, sports like Cross Country are the essence of true athletics. Think about it- you're racing. Racing with nothing to help but your own mind. You're simply running, but it's so much more- it's a battle. It really is. It isn't showy, it doesn't have touchdown dances, it doesn't have cheerleaders, but it is so much more a sport than most. And I don't say that to knock other athletes or their respective sports- I respect all sports. But I feel that the simplest ('simplest') sports are the truest forms of athletics- Gymnastics, Cross Country, Track, Boxing, Swimming, Tennis, and the like where its just you and and your opponent, whether its the finish line or a fierce one on one. I'm not saying that basketball players and football players and such aren't athletes, because that is so not true- they are very good athletes. But there's a reason when you do something wrong, the coach tells you to go RUN a lap. Football? Basketball? Soccer? Their punishment is our SPORT.
It's my first year running cross country...?
Congratulations for running XC your have lots of fun and get your self into shape if you work at it. The way I look at a beginner is that you just need more work to mold yourself into a good runner. Any one can run even a marathon it just takes time and work. Look at Nova's special on marathon running which took sedentary people. smokers and couch potatoes and got them into shape for the Boston marathon. The point is that the body will adjust to the stresses placed on it you just need to put in the time and work to become a runner. More importantly work on the I can do it since running is all mental and you need to break barriers and small goals to achieve your dreams. Don't worry if you need to stop and catch your breath XC is a physical sport. Look at improvement such as time, effort, strength, endurance, stamina, flexibility, power, speed. Try right away to work on your weaknesses for instance do resistance training at least twice a week or run a 5K race now to get in shape and start your training now even running one lap and walking the next. Visualize yourself running the whole season and improving. Learn to control your heartbeat slowing it down and calming yourself down. Run smooth with little effort. Looking stupid? Have you ever seen the Bay to breakers race in San Francisco? It's one of the largest races in the nation with over 100,000 runners each year. It's basically a huge party where people dress up and even many runners run naked. Many don't even finish the race since the hill at the end makes many runners hit the wall or maybe the Alcohol gets them. My point is run with joy. Don't take it seriously if anything the best runners run for joy. They create their own runner's high and try their best to run as it's a gift trying to set a personal record but not be disappointed if not achieved. So run with joy and determination instead of thinking about mistakes or anxiety. Try to use your anxiety for energy instead. Good luck!
Driving cross country, route suggestions U.S. Rt 20?
Driving times depend a lot on how many places you stop to see interesting things along the route. When my brothers moved from northern Virginia to San Diego, they took about 4 months for the trip zig-zagging across the country hitting places like Boston Chicago, New Orleans, Dallas, albuquerque, many national parks, etc. Any of the map sites can be good for estimated driving times. I most often use viamichelin: http://www.viamichelin.com/ Driving straight through from Auburn, NY to Corvalis, OR mostly on US 20 would take 54+ hr plus stops, etc. That really isn't practical though since you'll want to stop along the way. I would also not take US 20 across country and fail to take time to stop at places like Yellowstone for a couple of days. There are a couple of good sites for finding interesting things to see and do along a road trip in North America:. http://www.roadtripamerica.com/ and http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ . With the first site, you can use the road trip map wizard to plan a route and then with a single click get a list of attractions within 50 or 100 miles of the route. The road trip wizard on the site is at: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/maps/mapw…
Why cant we build a wall between us and mexico?
Its a great tourist attraction in China so if we duplicated the same kind of wall here it would probably be a nice tourist attraction here as well. I'm all for it.
How to build up a mental wall?
This is gonna sound stupid to some people i guess but oh well. Okay, so I am empathetic, and whenever I go out in places with a large number of people, i get an onslaught of a hundred different emotions. so I was wondering if anyone out there knew how to build up like...i guess a mental wall? to keep everyone out of my head. Any things helpful so please answer if you've got an idea!