Alex Bain's Blog

Big Man Run

It's not often I do something and think, "I hope I do this again every year for the rest of my life."

Big Man Run certainly falls into that category. I mentioned the rules of Big Man Run in an earlier post, but here's the quick recap:

• Run ~5 miles
• At each of 3 stops, eat a hot dog and drink a beer
• You must be a man, and you must weigh >190 lbs. (excepting a few sponsor's exemptions)
• You must bring cash to tip the waitress at each stop

I encouraged a bunch of my HBS buddies to do it, but my friend Steffen was the only one with the guts (no pun intended) to do it in the end.

Here are some thoughts on the day:

• There were a surprising number of guys that looked suspiciously less than 190 lbs.
• Many of the guys over 190 lbs. were the "tall with lean, athletic muscle" type, not the "I party all the time" type.
• We hit a total of 4 bars on the loop (including the one the race begins and ends at) and they were all awesome. Makes me jealous of people who live in Somerville.
• The Somerville area was incredibly supportive of our cause. I guess I would also enjoy watching such a spectacle, but I was impressed with how many people turned out to see us massive men run.
• It wasn't that hard to run with the beer and dogs in my stomach. I hadn't eaten since 10AM, and the race started at 4:19 PM, so I was actually pretty hungry for the food when I got it.
• Considering how much fun we all had, I'm surprised that this race format is not more common. Obviously, it's probably hard to find 300 fat guys willing to run 5 miles every weekend, but if they opened up the rules a little, and tried it with other foods, I bet they'd get a great turn out. Seems like you could do one on a hot summer day with ice cream and people would love it.

Here are all the pics from the day. I have to say, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun with anyone other than Steffen. He had the perfect attitude for the event. He says he'll fly back every year from now on from Belgium just to do this, and that he's gonna have a similar version over there that I should come out for. Sounds like a great plan to me. I have to say: I highly recommend mixing athletics with speed consumption.

Block Island Style

My friend Craig is the kind of guy who’s always organizing something. He’s the guy who set up our trip to Grenada over Spring Break. He’s also the guy who dreamt up the fishing trip last fall. So when he called a month ago and said he wanted to get a group of guys for a trip to Block Island after a friend’s wedding, I knew this was gonna be good.

Well, this excursion certainly lived up to it’s billing. It was nuts from start to finish. Here are some of the highlights:

• We partied at my friend’s wedding on Saturday night until 3 AM. When the band stopped playing, we just sang songs as a group. The groom is Brittish, and his buddies from home were bragging that their women could out drink the American ladies, so we staged a “boat race” to settle the dispute. Sadly, the brits won. They were using glasses, while the our girls curiously chose to drink from bottles.
• We hung out on the Cape all day the next day, playing cornhole, pool hoops, ping pong, fishing, & bar-b-q’ing.
• We depart the next day (Sunday) by Craig’s family’s boat, and get after it early.
• We played several hours of beach volleyball, bocce, whiffle ball, and cards on Monday, and then went out dancing to wrap up the night.
• Tuesday we biked around the island during most of the morning and afternoon, before sitting down to lunch and introducing ourselves to a nice, Czech waitress named Eva. She wasn’t thrilled about our gang of idiots at first, but warmed up to us, and mentioned she’d be at the National Hotel later that night. We went there for dinner and got her as our waitress again. She was flattered, but also crushed because she had just finished her shift as we arrived, and her boss made her stay, because we had requested her before we knew her situation. We decided to remedy by doing her job for her. Cory put on her name-tag and apron and served us our drinks, everyone else kept her company and did some of her side work. at the end of the meal, I bussed all our plates. Her manager was furious with our shenanigans, even though she was giggling the whole time, and we suspect she may have lost her job in the process.

It’s hard to believe that we can have this much fun without getting in some kind of trouble, but so far so good. Here’s the complete set of pictures, if you’re curious.

My first visit to Mike Mallette's grave

The summer before 9th grade one of my best friends died suddenly from a kidney failure (I think) on his 14th b-day.

As of today, he's been gone longer than he was with us. Hard to believe.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about him, but this is the 1st time I've found it in me to visit him. Hopefully, I'll do it more often in the future. I had no idea what to expect, or what I would feel, but it's just been really comforting to review all my memories and to ponder what he could have done.

One thing that blew me away about the visit: he was burried in row 32 at lot 32 of a huge cemetery. I take that as a happy sign that he and I are still connected.

As I was really focused on avoiding cliche in my bereavement, I found comfort in both a song and a poem. The song is "I Still Carry You Around" by Steve Earle, who puts a rather soft, almost pleasant spin on living with the memory of a loved one. Additionally, I recited to myself the poem "To An Athlete Dying Young", by A. E. Housman, which my friend's father shared with me days after Mike's passing, and it has helped me ever since. I recommend sharing this poem with anyone you know who's ever lost an athletic young person from their life.

Here's the text:

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.

Funny recent conversation

Here's the transcript from a conversation that took place when I ran into my friend Erica on the street while with Lisa & my friends Randall & Shalyn...

A: Erica, good to see you. I think you know Shalyn, you went to HBS together.
S: Yeah, we did. Hi Erica. How do know each other?
E: Alex & I went to high school together.
A: Erica, this is Randall. He & I worked @ Bain together.
R: Hi Erica.
S: He's also my boyfriend.
E: Oh.
A: & this is my fiancé, Lisa.
S: She & I went to college together.
E: Oh.
L: That's how I know Randall, too.
A: I met Lisa through Randall. She & Shalyn are best friends.
E: Oh.
A (to Lisa): You know how you know Erica?
L: No.
A: We live in her last apartment.
A, L, R, S, & E: This is getting confusing.

10 years without a drop to drink

As of yesterday, I have gone 10 years without a sip of soda. For the full explanation of why that's interesting check out the previous post.

Sailing in Grenada

I just got back from 10 days of sailing in Grenada with 17 of my friends from HBS. Here are my favorite memories:

• Van ride down - A huge blizzard hit the East Coast the afternoon of the day we were supposed to leave. My friend Matt Kennedy quickly (and wisely) changed our flight from D.C. to Grenada to the next morning, and rented us a 12 passenger van to drive to D.C. (there was truly no other way to Grenada). The van ride would be 6-8 hours in normal conditions, but took us over 13 because of the inclement weather. It was not clear that we'd arrive safely or on time, which added to the sense of adventure.
• Sleeping in a hammock or a coffin - We leased a mono-haul and a catamaran, and I was assigned to the cat. The cat has a bit of netting that forms a hammock connecting the two hals in front, and I tried to fall asleep out there each night. The winds reached 30+ MPH, and some nights it drizzled, but it was incredible to sleep under the stars in an area with so little light pollution.
• Steffen's field study in leadership - One member of each boat had to sign his name on the insurance contract of a $500K boat. This person was the captain, and would have the last say in all decisions. Our friend Steffen volunteered to captain the cat, and I had no idea what a great responsibility that was until mid-way through the trip. Steffen's "crew" of 9 did not include anyone with previous sailing experience. In teaching us what to do and how to act on a boat, he was hands off enough that we felt we were acting on our own, but mindful enough that we knew we had someone looking out for us. A simple act like anchoring is not so simple when you realize that, if done improperly, we could drift out to sea or into another boat. He gave us each areas of ownership on the boat, but encouraged us to "cross-train" in case anyone got sick or hurt, and so we'd better understand sailing in general. We couldn't have asked for better leadership.
• The great debate (sail or anchor) - Part way through the trip, there was a disagreement about how to spend our remaining 3 days. Some of the more avid sailors wanted to take off on a trip that required 15 hours of relatively intense sailing in two days. The rest of the people wanted to stay in the area we were, and enjoy the local, bucolic beaches and snorkeling. We had a lengthy debate at lunch, which led to the group splitting in two. It seems like an obvious resolution, but we were very concerned about dividing the group.
• Living in filth - It was not easy or cheap to refill out fresh water supply on the boat, so our showers (and dishwashing) had to be "conservative". In addition, almost as soon as you stepped onto the deck after a shower, you'd get splashed with sea water, sand, or something else, and you'd be dirty again. As a result, we ended up living in filth and getting used to it. We were wearing the same clothes over and over again. It felt incredible to get a nice, hot shower and a fresh outfit upon my return, but it did make me appreciate that those activities are not necessities.
• Hard to say goodbye - Now that I've met a few soldiers through HBS, I'm hesitant to compare anything I've done to war, but I know that war brings people together through its intensity, and (to a lesser extent) this trip did too. Flying home, I was sad that my vacation was over, but I was also just not eager to let this adventure end. If not for the fact that I hadn't seen Lisa in 10 days and missed her tremendously, I'd have had a really hard time coming home. All week, it has felt funny to have my sailing mates intermingled with the rest of my b-school friends, since we have such a unique bond now.

The pictures from the trip turned out quite well. I've included my favorite below, but I highly recommend clicking in and out of the whole set.

[I had a blast trying to drink coconut milk by throwing a rock to hit the fruit down, then tearing away the husk and cracking open the shell. It's harder than it looks].

Catching the Pats live from San Diego

I haven't usually been a big live pro football guy. I usually like to see one game a year in person, & then watch the rest from the comfort of my living room with my 60" HDTV.

Well, I had made plans months ago to be in San Diego this weekend anyway, for a big guys golf trip. Then the Pats' season & my vacation collided. My buddy Zach came through with a ticket, & the rest is history.

We tailgated for 5 hours this morning, & now I'm in my nose-bleed seat, ready for action.

It's been freezing here in SD, which hurts me, but helps the Pats. Hopefully my boys can pull one out today.

Regardless of the game's outcome, this wouldn't have been possible w/o HBS's month-long vacation. God bless business school :-)

The first time I've ever played with a dog

Because I'm getting a cat soon, I feel inspired to spend time with & understand all animals. My Dad & Ann were out tonight, so I had to feed Whitie. The dog was very confused.

After I fed it, I sat down to read. I unwittingly did this in my dad's favorite chair, & the dog hopped up to join me. I guess this was it's way of thanking me for the grub.

I never thought I'd spend any time with a dog, but I guess people change, and there's a first time for everything :-)

Christmas in the East Bay

Twas the morning of Christmas, & all through the house, Charos were anticipating sticky buns, and patenting a mouse :-)

(some of her family members (including her at one point) do medical research on mice, in case that joke wasn't clear).

Merry Christmas!

Buying our first real X-Mas tree

Lisa's very excited about having a real tree this year, but I fear anything smaller than the one from Rockerfeller Center won't please her. She measures my spirit by the size of the tree we bring home. Next year I'll go nutty, but this year we're getting a 4 footer.

In case you can't tell from the low res cell phone picture, that little blob in the middle is the tree we've selected. They're about to trim the bottom back a bit for us.

Whatever we got, it was gonna be better than last year, when we had a tiny, fake tree. I'm partial to those, because they're very little work, but for Lisa, the journey is the reward.