Monthly Archives: September 2009

Week that Was—9/7-9/13

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9/7 Mnewshoes T W R F SA SU Total
S 3,000

500’s 7:07,

7:15

1kpb 14:48

 1,600

400 w.u.

4,600

√+
C 40

1,700’

19.4

 9 29 78 √+
R

9.2 1:11:30

 6.7 52:45 1.2 5

.7 w.u.

 23 √

S: Pushed on T which set me up for a good swim on SA. Had planned to go short and light on R, but opted to ride/run short and light. Short week but a √+ because of the solid race swim.

C: Also rode hard on T evening. Short week but a √+ because of the tri course p.r.

R: Took advantage of Labor Day to front-load before pseudo-taper. Decent race run.

Nearing the end of cycling season here in the PNW so those miles will plummet.

Race Report. . . Woot Woot!

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The breakfast. Wonderful strawberry/banana smoothy, and a bit later, a chocolate Powerbar. A bit of Infinit mixed in.

The swim. Felt a little pressure. Less from the Cutter Battle Royale, more from my lady friend who said she wanted to see me exit the water first. Torched it. Smallish geezer wave of about 40 people and it’s never a strong swim crowd so I start in the front. Picked an absolutely perfect line and sighted best ever. First time in my life I didn’t swim an extra meter. Saw several people to my right on the inside where I’m usually stuck. I was stronger and had a better line so ended up in front from early on. Loved it, completely open water, like I was by myself in my “home” lake. Started to swim into the previous wave about third through, but that wasn’t a problem since they were fairly spread out and a bit off-line. Never really broke my cadence and hit the shore with a solid 30-40 second lead on the second geez. Tossed cap and goggles to my lady friend and began 200 yard run to bike transition. Last few years I’ve been putting shoes on for the semi-rough run up which meant watching a train of people pass me after pulling them through the swim. Decided to streamline things this year. Sensitive dogs held up just fine.

Swim to bike transition. Sucked as usual. Gave everyone about 45 seconds. Fought to get the wetsuit over my calves despite the Bodyglide, put socks on (sensitive dogs) which few do, couldn’t get helmet strap buckled. Comedy of errors. Still exited the park in the lead and held it for a few miles.

The bike. I rode well. Dropped over two minutes from last year’s personal best and averaged 21.2 mph. Got passed by about six-seven guys over the thirty miles, but two were working together, so I’m not counting them even though the race officials consciously chose not to enforce the drafting rules. All of them were on tri-specific bikes with serious race wheels. Not sure how much time I give up on my road bike. I don’t even use aero clip-ons. Got passed for the last time around mile 22 and the timing was perfect. I went with him, sitting about 50 meters back, working harder than I otherwise would have. I was a bit worried I was working too hard, but they shortened the run to 4.3 miles and I figured I could still run for 30+ minutes.

Bike to run transition. Sucked as usual. Gave everyone a gift of about 20-30 seconds. Don’t have speed laces so it takes a while to put the rabbit’s ears into the holes. Lower back was tight, as were my hammies, heart rate was way too high, so I wasn’t in a great frame of mind at the start of the run. Took the first downhill at about three-quarters of a mile to get the h.r. back down to a manageable level. Run was fairly uneventful until my right hammie flared at mile 4. Had to stop and stretch it out for about 15 seconds. I had been closing on a 27 year old (who I was ahead of by 9 minutes since he was in wave 1) but wasn’t able to overcome him after stopping to stretch. After getting the right hammie to work, left quad started to go. Managed to hold it together to the finish. A maximum effort.

Here’s the link to the results.

I have to decide whether to commit to racing more often and leveling the field by purchasing a triathlon bike and race wheels. Not terribly motivated to commit more time/energy to the sport. I’d actually like to talk to a sports psychologist about it if anyone has a recommendation.

In related news, Lance swam, rode, and ran hard, but didn’t have his best day. The old man made “the pass” in the middle of the run deep in the woods where his kids couldn’t see it. I felt for him because he was discouraged by his results. But it was fun hanging out with his family afterwards and watching his kids play with one another like a litter of puppies. From the talk on the way home, I know he’ll keep things in perspective. He knows his family’s well being is far more important than how fast he swims/bikes/runs. The best part of winning the CBR. . . he didn’t call me old once all afternoon.

I had my game face on, but didn't want others to know it

I had my game face on, but didn't want others to know it

Washington on the left, UCLA on the right

Washington left, UCLA right

Go Time

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24 hours until the Black Hills Olympic Triathlon-Cutter Battle Royale is on! No pay-per-view channels have committed to televising the BHOTCBR YET. Lance’s desperation is becoming more evident by the day. Tuesday he emails asking if I want to do a “short easy spin” Thursday afternoon. I reply that I do and then he tells me the route. . . a medium distance, hilly ride, that you can’t spin easily without falling over. AS IF I was going to take that bait. Oldest trick in the book, try to blow up the old guy 48 hours out. He forgot the wiley part of the old and wiley equation.

So here’s the email I sent him this morning:

Like Michelangelo touching up a masterpiece, I spun easily at the Y this morning for 35 minutes and then ran on the dreadmill for 10. All systems go.

Here’s the reply:

Dude, do yourself a favor and don’t show.  I will accept your concession speech.  My 20 mile spin this afternoon was on fire!  My legs were like lightning and the new tires were like riding on greased rails.  Grease Lightning. I stopped by Bike Tech to true my rear wheel.  The mechanic saw my avg speed on my Garmin and they offered me full sponsorship right there on the spot I didn’t want to ruin my eligibility so I declined, but they gave me a bunch of cool schwag incl. an awesome $220 waterproof cycling jacket for $100 and my wheel, brakes, and headset all fixed for free. No Michaelangelo here.  Rather I just put the final edge on my carving knife.  The course is my platter and you, my friend, are the turkey.  Tru dat! P.S. I would carpool with you, but you probably won’t want to stick around that long after the race to watch me receive my second consecutive podium medal and the Cutter Trophy.  On second thought you might be just finishing about the time the award ceremony is starting so perhaps that will work after all.

Let’s examine his message a little more closely. “Don’t show.” Right, you wish. I have a nine year streak going. It’s going to take a lot more than a juiced up delusional dreamer to keep me from toeing the line. “The mechanic saw my avg speed….” This one’s easy, the mechanic didn’t realize Lance uses kilometers as a nod to his European fans. Wowwwww, 25k per/hour, I’m scared. “Full sponsorship” is what Lance heard, but here’s what they actually said. “Give yourself a fighting chance against old and wiley. Buy a new bike and we’ll throw in a water bottle cage.” “Tru dat!”, no, no, tell me he’s not stealing my signature line. There will be a price to pay for that.

Here’s my final prediction. Lance will cross the line before me, but only because his swimming wave begins six minutes before my geezer one. His kids won’t realize that when I cross the line five and a half minutes after their dad, I’ll retain my crown and accept all the accolades that come with it. Here’s a preview of the podium. (Lance is the younger, taller, more handsome, slower guy on the far right.)

Left to Right, Bronze, Gold, Silver

Left to Right, Bronze, Gold, Silver

:

It’s Never Their Fault

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From a December 2007 NYT article.

“When you get up there that first time and you don’t do well, you’re basically hearing ‘No’,” he said., looking out the window of an office from which you can see all the way to Harlem. “How are you going to approach this ‘no’? Are you going to respect it and put the blame on yourself and improve who you are, or are you going to blame the audience like an idiot?”

“It’s never their fault,” he said. “No matter how late it is, no matter how much they did or didn’t drink, no matter what the sound system is like, no matter how hot the building is or how cold the building is, it ain’t the crowd’s fault. You want to get up there, you want to be a good boy, you want to headline, that’s what you have to go in there with.”

Guess who.

Even though it’s a different context, this excerpt reminds me of a common dynamic among some middle and high school teachers and their students. When some middle and high school teachers bravely try out innovative, student-centered methods like cooperative learning, socratic seminar discussions, simulations, or debates, and things don’t go perfectly the first time, they’re far too quick to conclude, “These students just aren’t mature enough to handle anything but traditional lectures, answering textbook questions, and completing worksheets.”

What would happen if instead of projecting their lessons’ shortcomings onto their students, and often, their students’ families and communities by extension, they took our mystery comedian’s “It’s never their fault” approach to heart?

The Week That Was—8/31-9/6

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M—8/31 T W R F SA SU Total
S 4,000

2k-30:55

200×8 p/b

2:55493:10

 2,000 Ward Lake

wetsuit

6+, 9:35, 9:25, 6+

 6,000 √
C 56 2k’ 20.2

peak

 40 solo 1,200’ 18.3 20 indoors

1:08

:30racepace

 116 √+
R 7.3 6.7 9.7 24 √

S: p/b=paddles/buoy and 2:55493:10 means I did my eight 200’s on 3:10 starting with 2:55’s and descending to 2:49’s. That’s short course yards for those scoring at home, but I record total distances in meters. Put differently, I swam 4,400 yards on Monday. Quirky I know, but my log, my rules. Lake distances are about 400m and 600m. Someday I’ll have to tuck the garmin into the swim cap to get more precise distances. Water has definitely cooled off over the last three weeks. I should have swam more in the lake this summer to work on sighting. I get lazy, don’t look up often enough, and inevitably drift to the right of my target. Probably need to have my limbs rotated and balanced. Note to self, the shortest distance between two points. . . .

C: Tuesday’s team training ride was my best of the season. Nice to be peaking right before the Cutter Battle Royale. Six days on, four off is a great formula. I felt strong all night and rode aggressively. Might have been the black jersey. Reeled in a solo break, stayed up front, and punched Lance HARD at one point. When I passed him like he was standing still, he said he turned to the other guy he was on a break with and said, “Oh that’s just an old guy showing off, don’t worry about him, he’ll come back to us.” As they say in football, more bulletin board material! Way fun. Even attacked a commuter with panniers over the final miles. In my defense, he passed me hard after I gently slid past him and said hello. I proceeded to ruin his night and his self image. I didn’t expect to see Lance cleaning his gutters as I rode past his house in the middle of Thursday nights ride. Cocky mother thinking he doesn’t have to train to beat the old man.

R: Should have ran F, but spent the morning planning for a 9a meeting. Meeting went much better than it otherwise would have so I guess I should give myself a break. Also should have ran off the bike once or twice. I did mow after Thursday’s ride. If I jog with the mower, can I can convert the time spent into running mileage?

Ted Kennedy-Don Byrnes

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The media spotlight has shifted, but fortunately, I’m not beholden to it. Here’s one perceptive paragraph in a post on Ted Kennedy’s death that’s thoughtful throughout.

“There are of course those on the far right who are so used to hating Kennedy that they’ll not recognize how he was motivated by the best of intentions, how he struggled to overcome personal tragedies and flaws, and how widely respected he was by colleagues on both sides of the aisle.   They’ll demonize him in death, just as many on the left were unable to let Strom Thurmond live down his early segregationist days.  Those people don’t know what being human means, they are too wrapped up in politics and their own biases.”

Watching the aftermath of Kennedy’s death made me think of my dad who was born just five or so years earlier and died as a result of a heart attack fourteen years ago. At first I suppose Kennedy’s death made me think of my dad because of a physical resemblance, but ultimately, because they shared similar personal attributes.

Like Kennedy, my dad excelled at his life’s work, in his case business, rising to be the chief executive officer of two large companies at the time of his death.

Like Kennedy, he was well respected by everyone he worked with. Like Kennedy, that was because he asked genuine questions of everyone irrespective of their status and then listened as if they mattered.

Most impressively of all, like Kennedy, my dad was humble, not needing or wanting public praise for work well done.

Like Kennedy, my dad’s work ethic was off-the-charts.

Unlike Kennedy, my dad grew up in an Eastern Montana family of very modest means. And unlike Kennedy, my dad was not religious or liberal.

But the more I’ve learned about Kennedy over the last few weeks the more convinced I am that those differences wouldn’t have mattered. Had they met, they would have liked and respected one another a great deal.

The world is a better place as a result of the lives they lived.

Long live their memories.