ever since i was a high school runner and ran 4:19 for the imperial mile as a 16 year old, i’ve eaten cereal for breakfast. not every day, but most days. it’s quick and easy and it agrees with my stomach just fine. there are many out there that disagree with my point of view and that’s okay. opposing views are acceptable to me and there are no right or wrong answers here, but i like cereal a lot. does that mean i’m right and you’re wrong? i don’t know. i do know that i have 40 years in this milieu, up close, in the trenches, and i have some authority about the trends.
first, i grab the bowl out of the cupboard. for me it’s the easiest way to start out. would it be just as easy to take the white milk out of the refrigerator first? i don’t know. i do know that a lot of wonderful citizens of the sport regularly grab the white milk first. they may not always be right and you don’t have to agree with it, but they have had the best interest of triathlon in their hearts since the early days of our shared beloved sport. do they know what’s best today regarding this issue? i don’t know.
next, i grab a tablespoon from the drawer. not sure why, i just like the tablespoon. certainly you could argue that teaspoon is the way to go, but i like to get as much of the cereal in my mouth as i can at one time. other people who love triathlon use teaspoons, and they’ve been true to the sport and helped foster it to the point it stands today where it’s under the temporary care of wtc. i believe wtc makes an ironman branded teaspoon. would i use one in a pinch? i don’t know.
after i’ve finished eating the cereal, i immediately drink the remaining white milk. some people think that it’s rude to drink milk from a bowl and that’s okay. you don’t have to like how i drink milk from a bowl in the privacy of my private residence. there are no hard and fast rules here, we just sort of make them up as we go, and we’ve noticed over the last 40 years what seems to work best. there will be no trial by internet over my milk drinking, white, chocolate or otherwise.
jordan rapp, who has been hanging around this forum for a while now, tends to disagree with my cereal altogether because my varietals contain gluten. he doesn’t claim to have a gluten allergy, but it makes him happier to eat rice and quinoa. is he right? i don’t know. perhaps we can agree that the milk has protein, but i don’t really get too worked up about it. i have a disagreement with jordan about this, and we have had long debates about the issue. but at least he knows what he’s talking about, and we can have an honest discussion.
photo credit: snack time! via photopin (license)
