It always seemed to me like there are some guys out there who are simply on another level.
I worked on a fire crew with a guy who half assed worked out, and was powered by a combination of Mountain Dew, Jack Daniels, and hate. He often forgot a lunch, and rat [bleep] an MRE or ate candy bars for lunch. Ate bar pizza for supper. Despite all of this, he simply stomped everyone he met athletically. We did a hike up a mountain for PT one time with saws and full kit. Many of the crew dropped out. I puked at the end. This guy not only completed the hike easily, he did so while chain smoking cigarettes the entire hike, wafting the smoke back over his shoulder to give the rest of the crew lungs full of cigarette smoke.
I'm not saying he couldn't have been in better shape had he foregone some of his less healthy habits, but it just goes to show that some guys are animals. I've been around a few of these guys.....interestingly enough, several went SF.
prairie goat,
that friend of yours sounds like a real anomaly to be sure, and with him being a smoker, those feats that he was capable of are nothing short of astonishing...
my wife and i used to occasionally hike/climb with a guy that was a near "beanpole" in stature, he was 6' 1'' tall, and 160 lbs--but he was really in superb condition.
my wife and i climbed a difficult peak one time that was about 6500 feet in vertical gain, and did it in about 7 hours to summit. to give you an idea of his conditioning, he did the same peak/route in just over 2 1/2 hours. his typical "diet" was unconventional to say the least. he ate a lot of elbow macaroni covered in ketchup, pop tarts, and sundry other out-of-date items such as squids, tv dinners, etc., that he procured out of a grocery dumpster near his apartment...
another comment on Lowe: whenever i saw him talking to someone--such as in a lecture hall or out at an event--i remember that he would always stand with both of his knees bent about 4-5 inches forward, so that he was basically supporting himself with the muscle strength of his legs--he would stand there like that for 15-20 minutes while talking to someone...
all learning is like a funnel: however, contrary to popular thought, one begins with the the narrow end. the more you progress, the more it expands into greater discovery--and the less of an audience you will have...
