Keep HS sports

"I'd rather deal with them on the field or in the gym than at 2 a.m. in a cornfield." -Jim Richardson, Grand Meadow, Minnesota's assistant wrestling coach and police chief in a great but sad article by Andy Staples of SI.com.

The article is about the drastic cutbacks in funding for HS sports due to the current downturn in the economy. In fact, many districts are in the process of cutting programs altogether in order to save a few dollars. While we are almost always in favor of a smaller government, it is our opinion that school sport programs have an incredible, some could argue immeasurable, ROI and therefore should be retained at all costs.

The first reason sports programs are of the upmost importance is due to the reason highlighted in the quote above and discussed throughout the article. That is, kids in sports are NOT kids on the streets. Not only does practice literally keep them occupied for 2-4 hours a day, but coaches have the rare opportunity to display first hand that discipline and hard work will lead to success. While in theory teacher can deliver the same message in the classroom, many at-risk students simply have no desire to achieve in that arena as accomplishments are praised nearly as much as successes on the field. Whether or not that is good is another debate but the hope is when these children mature they will draw on their experiences and successes on the playing field and apply that same work ethic in life.

The other huge benefit of high school sports which wasnt even mentioned in the article, is the relationship with general health. School sports teams are one of the few ways kids stay physically active. Without that social construct in place, do we really think they are going to work out on their own?? Unfortunately in the digital age this is highly unlikely. Considering the fact that obesity and type II diabetes are already a big enough problem in this country, doesnt this just make it worse? Sadly though, something tells me the local school district chairman who is charged with the uneviable task of balancing his budget doesnt really care about a couple of extra fat kids.

There are other negative consequences as well, like a potential GOAT athlete never taking up a sport because his/her school doesnt offer it or kids missing out on the simple experiences of being part of a group of individuals working towards a common goal. Overall though the main point stands, that the benefits far outweight the costs when it comes to school sports programs.

New toy

I got a new toy in the mail last Saturday but yesterday evening was the first time I got to use it. What is it, you ask??? Toy implies something fun, maybe a new TV, video game console, or some other electronic gadget? Not quite. My new "toy" is actually just a bicycle wheel, and not even one for racing, just training. It is however pretty fancy. I got a new Bontrager Race X Lite wheel with a PowerTap SL. Functionally the PowerTap is exactly the same as the one on my current training wheel, a Mavic 32 spoke Open Pro. The wheel, on the other hand, is much stiffer and lighter so for its maiden voyage I took it out with the roadies yesterday evening and wow... it was a lot of fun. The wheel is just so much more responsive that it really makes it delightful to go out and play around with the cyclists.

Now admittedly I must mention that it is sad that I get this excited about a new training wheel but such is life.



(Isnt it sweeeeet??)

In other news... after a nice relaxing week last week, I'm sliding back into the more normal perpetual state of soreness, just in time for the race this weekend. Awesome. Good thing I didnt really want to win any money anyway...

Oxymoron Fun

During my drive home yesterday I heard one of my favorites on NPR... "Clean Coal." So this morning during my lovely 1h20 run through the cool, humid, morning I thought about some of my other favorite contradictory terms. A short list includes:

Reagan Democrat
Christian Scientist
civil war
soft rock
great depression
instant classic
new antique
internet security
progressive conservative
reality TV
metal wood
non dairy creamer
unbiased opinion
negative growth
jumbo shrimp
social science

and last but not least...
diet ice cream

I'm sure I forgot a few so feel free to add to the list...

Free Week no more

Last week was fun but this week its back to business. Last night was the always dreaded 2x20 and just to make it even more fun it was about 95 degrees outside. I really cant complain about the heat though as I'd much prefer hot to cold, especially when it comes to biking hard.

The main significance of the workout though was the new position. Over the weekend I morphed from a "Euro-pro" (coined my Mark Andrews, aerodynamic wiz from Trek) to a more traditional tri-geek setup. Needless to say, there will be some adaption time but Paulo and I were pleased that the power numbers from last night were at least close to my previous 2x20 effort on the old position. I'll post new and old position pics later in the week as I havent finalized the new position.

Why the change? Well, hopefully this new position will open up my hip angle and alleviate some of the pressure on my butt while sacrificing neither aerodynamics or power. With that having been said, a bit of power loss in the short term is expected and will be tolerated due to the fact that as we all know, power @ LT is muscle specific and I'm certainly using different muscles in the radically different position. Hopefully though I'll be able to make some nice adaptaions by the end of August when I take off for the Netherlands.

Jun30-Jul6

S: 23,700 yds
B: 6h 40min (TSS = 353)
R: 3h 43min

Total: 16h 19min

Not bad for a "free week" especially considering I didnt work out Monday since I flew home from DC and got in to work late. Although I got in a decent amount of volume, most of it was lower intensity stuff so it wasnt very mentally taxing at all. It was also nice to feel fresh on my run workouts during the latter part of the week. This is as opposed to the usual state of soreness/fatigue which causes the legs to feel like trash for the first 20-30 minutes of a most runs.

Thursday's run was an especially comfortable 64 minute 10 miler up on top of Monte Sano with David. We started easy then finished up at a nice comfortable cruise pace. After the run we then went to dinner at Cantina Laredo which, BTW, was quite delicious. Not only was the food good, but we got half priced margaritas!

This weekend I have another race but its just a local Olympic distance affair so I'll be training through it. In fact Paulo intially sent me my schedule without the race and when I reminded him I was racing his response was, "OK, keep everything the same but do the race on Sunday." Should be a good time...

3 Day Weekend

Tomorrow is of course the 4th of July which means no work and therefore a 3 day weekend. This will be especially fun as it falls during my aforementioned "free week" which means I'll be celebrating America's birth (and TJ's and John Adam's deaths, incidentally) by hanging out by the pool, grilling, and downing what will likely end up being more than a few cold ones. Even better, Lindsey will be escaping DC for the weekend so it should be a good time all around.

Additionally, while there won't be any triathlon on TV this weekend, there will be high quality swimming, cycling, and running. The US Olympic Trials for track & field and swimming continue through Sunday while the Tour de France gets underway on Saturday. NBC's coverage of the swimming has been pretty good although its track coverage has left something to be desired. But hey, at least I'll be able to watch. Both sports have had some incredible races and there are certainly more to come on this final weekend. Then of course comes the three weeks of Le Tour, during which time anything can happen. This is especially true if the peleton is in fact clean this year. The lack of drugs makes recovery much more difficult and therefore increases parity as riders wont be able to demolish themselves on long mountain stages and be fine for the next day. Either way, Phil and Paul will most certainly make it entertaining.

Free Week

So after finishing off 3 half IMs in 6 weeks, Paulo has been nice enough to give me a "free week" which basically means hes too lazy to give me a schedule so I just get to do whatever I want. Of course he still expects me to work out but it will be nice to just do whatever I feel like and set my training schedule around when other groups are meeting as opposed to making sure I complete prescribed workouts.

I've still swam the last two mornings but since I've been swimming with the kids and the pool has been LC it has been a lot easier to get out of bed and get in the yardage. As for the PM workouts, last night I started the week with a nice easy run over to the CC park where I jogged with a few of my running friends. It was a surpisingly comfortable evening with temps in the low 80s and there was plenty to talk about with the ongoing swimming and track and field trials. All in all a great start to the week.

MedExpress Mountaineer Race Report

After a short drive from the hotel, Lindsey dropped me off at the parking garage transition area in plenty of time for me to get the bike ready and get in a bit of a warm up. It was overcast and the forecast called for rain on and off throughout the day so it was actually nice to have a covered transition area. Nothing exciting during warm up... I got the bike all set and I was ready to get the party started!

Like last year, the pros got to dive into the river so here we are, awaiting the start:



Not having been a swimmer growing up, I'm not exactly the best diver but I did what I could. We were off and right away I was caught in between some people when I noticed a break opening up. I tried to pass the two guys I was swimming behind in an attempt to catch the guys up ahead, but to no avail. So I ended up swimming the rest of the way in open water while pulling 3 guys along. Awesome.

Out of the water I was a little upset that I had missed the first two guys and then had to pull the second pack the whole way but I'm pretty sure we would've swam slower had I not been in front, so sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Once I was out on the bike the guys I pulled through the water (David Thompson, Daniel B., and Chris Bagg) immediately left me at the start of the ride. Coming to the first out and back, Andrew Yoder was way out ahead but I just tried to settle into my pace and ride with a nice consistent effort. As if I didnt already dislike biking, the conditions didnt help any as the roads were littered with obtrusions and it was raining and a bit chilly. Anyway, the rest of the ride was more or less uneventful other than the dodging of potholes and occasional downpours. The bike course was two loops and I did manage to negative split, finishing my second lap faster than my first, so I was feeling pretty good coming into the run.

As I entered transition, I noticed only four bikes on the racks. Apparently Andrew Yoder had gone down in a corner, moving me up a spot. So just like last year, I was starting the run in 5th which I was pretty happy about because the prize money went 5 deep and I was, as usual, pretty confident no one would be catching me.

I set out on the run and was feeling awesome which just reaffirmed me belief that the ART has really helped. Within the first mile I got my first split from Lindsey, "3:30 to 4th!!" she informed me. The next time I saw her, only a few miles later, the gap was down to 1:30. I moved into 4th around mile 6 and was still feeling great, moving fast but still under control. Starting the second lap blisters started mounting and the HEED they were serving was not sitting well in my stomach but other than that my legs felt great so I kept clicking off the miles. Finally between mile 9 and 10 I passed another guy, moving into 3rd. 1st and 2nd were way ahead and both of them were moving pretty good so I just kept up my pace and was content to cruise on home.

I was still feeling fine until about half a mile to go when I had a blister under the ball on my left foot pop. I had plenty of other blisters all over my feet but this particular one was where I had had another blister which had popped in Kansas. So basically there were probably 3-5 layers of skin removed which made it VERY painful to put any kind of pressure on it all. Luckily though I was only about half a mile from the finish so I crossed the line as quickly as possible and proceeded to go directly to the medical tent where I was cleaned up and taped up.

Although there was a great spread which included trail mix, watermelon, soda, pasta with marinara sauce, huge cookies, and other goodies which I'm likely forgetting, Lindsey and I had to dart back to the hotel to check out. After that it was back to transition to pack up the bike. Here we are in the middle of packing my bike in the transition area parking garage. Doesnt Lindsey look good in orange??

After a quick packing, we were on the road back to our Nation's Capitol where we had reservations at a fancy restaurant, Central. (BTW, thats sen-trahl not sen-truhl...) The company was great and dinner lived up to the hype. It was a nice evening in DC:

but unfortunately due to my early flight in the morning and the multiple flesh wounds which had devoured my feet, we didnt hang around the ciy much.

All in all the trip was a lot of fun and even a bit rewarding as I made some money on the deal.

Results can be found here: http://www.hfpracing.com/results/results.php?eventid=38&raceid=94

WV

After a slight delay I finally arrived in Baltimore yesterday where Lindsey was waiting to pick me up. Thats right, even though shes not racing Lindsey was kind enough to pick me up from the airport in her fancy BMW, give me a ride to Morgantown, and even put up will all my bitching about how much I hate biking. Isnt she great?

We had a fairly uneventful drive through the mountains and upon arriving at the hotel we were ready for some dinner! I had scoped things out last week on yelp.com and we decided to try out Black Bear Burritos in downtown Morgantown. The atmosphere was great, they had an awesome selection of beer, both on tap and in bottles, and the food was unique and tasty. However their desert menu was a bit limited but luckily we spotted a local gelato joint which totally hit the spot. All in all, not a bad evening.

Veggies

Summer is in full swing and so is the summer harvest, meaning this week's CSA share was a full half bushel and then some!




For those keeping score at home thats:
13 ears of corn
6 beets
5 squash
2 zucchini
4 lemon cucumbers
2 cucumbers
1 pint of blackberries
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
1 head of cabbage
1 eggplant
and not pictured... a few sprigs of fresh dill and a brown paper bag full of green beens

And best of all, it was all picked today just about 70 miles away. Off to ride and figure out what to make with my stash. Something tells me eggplant parmesan may be on the menu next week sometime.

Taper time

With another race this weekend it would appear its taper time again. I think I'm starting to like this racing every other weekend deal as it means I get to be on a part time training schedule and therefore I get a bit of a break from the usual perpetual state of soreness. However, the whole not-being-able-to-walk-normally for a few days after the race is a slight downside to racing a HIM every weekend. That and the absolute shredding of my feet courtesy of my racing flats. Ahh... the joys of racing.

The other downside of going to a race is the always dreaded packing of the bike which will have to take place tonight. Its the little things like this that make triathlons such a pain in the ass. Wouldnt it be a lot simpler if the race provided bikes? That way not only do you not have to pack your bike for a race but you also dont have to worry about whether or not you have the nicest equipment because everyone would have the same thing. Of course as it stands this model certainly wouldnt help me at all (because I defintely get an advantage from my bike + wheel combo) but it really would be a neat idea.

A rude awakening and running some CC

Yesterday I had a meeting with the primer folks to discuss the weighting criteria for the properties which will be used to determine which primer will be used to protect the outside of the Upper Stage for Ares I. Exciting, I know. Anyway, about 30 minutes into the meeting we were discussing the relevance of one of the tests and just as I was about to say something the guy across the table from me started snoring. Caught off guard a bit I paused momentarily before continuing with my thought while everyone else was being attentive. Mr. sleeper actually got in a couple long snores before awaking to (slight) embarassment. No one said anything but needless to say it was pretty funny. The meeting was right after lunch but still, dozing off in a meeting is never a good thing. In your office/cubical is one thing but in a meeting with five other people is an entirely different story...

In other news I'm heading over to the cross country park this evening where Steve Carter puts on 1-, 2-, and 3-mile fun runs/races every Tuesday night during the summer. The mile goes off at 6:30 followed by the 3, then finished off with the 2. Each "race" is timed but there is no registration so people just show up and run. Some race, others jog but all in all its a lot of fun as there are usually a wide range of paces providing some great company. The best part is that the park is only about a mile and half from my house so I can just run on over there.

Jun16-22

S: 21,500 yds
B: 9h 5min (TSS = 528)
R: 3h 30min

Total: 17h 58min

Fairly standard recovery week after the Kansas 70.3 last Sunday. As usual it took a few days to recover but by the weekend I was feeling better and got in a few quality workouts. Next Sunday is the Spirit of Morgantown Triathlon in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The race is a half Ironman which is put on by HFP racing. I did the race last year and was pleased with the race organization, course, and event atmosphere so I'm looking forward to going back again this year. I'm not however looking foward to the huge hill on the run which we'll have to traverse twice. All in all though it should be a fun trip and hopefully I'll have a good race as well.

ITU LD Worlds!

Well its official. Yesterday I booked my ticket to Amsterdam for the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. The race will consist of a 4km swim, 120km bike, and 30km run which makes it a bit longer than the 70.3 distance but not quite as bad as a full IM. Luckily though the swim is actually longer than an IM swim, so I'm looking foward to that. Any thing to give me little more time to hold off the bikers...

The race will actually take place in Almere and I'm really excited to be going. I've never been to Europe so when I found out USAT would be providing travel money I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to head over to the other side of the pond. The only downside is that vacation days are tight so it will have to be a short trip. I'd really like to hang around afterwards for a while and sample (among other things) some local brews but these are the kind of liberties not extended to a first year engineer.

The other, more depressing problem is that I'll not only have to race 120k on my bike, I'll also have to train for a race with an 120k bike. Ouch. My butt is trembling at the prospects.

De Lorean sighting

Yesterday evening I was out for an easy run when I spotted a De Lorean driving by which is pretty cool as you dont see these very often.

The Delorean is of course the car which was used in Back to the Future for the time machine. It was chosen by Doc because, "if your gonna make a time machine..why not do it with some style? Besides the stainless steel construction makes the flux dispersal...."

While we're on the subject, I figured I'd post some pics and quotes from what is truly one of the greatest movies (and series) of all time. The sound track, the cast, the plot, and the cinematography are all top notch. I mean who can forget these quotes:

"1.21 gigawatts!?!?!?!"

"Why dont you make like a tree... and get out of here!"

"Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think!"

"I mean, I just don't think I can take that kind of rejection."

"There's that word again; 'heavy'. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?"

I could go on and on, but here are some pics as well...