“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the Income Tax.” -Albert Einstein
"The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward." -John Maynard Keynes
“We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket trying to lift himself up by its handle.” -Winston Churchill
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Apr5-11
S: 31,300 yds
B: 8h 50min
R: 3h 28min
Total: 20h 32min
Sadly, the huge caveat there is although there is 3h 28min listed under the "run" column, I actually only ran 1h10. The rest was in the form of the eye stabbing procedure also known as aqua jogging. Coincidentally, I also didn't actually do any quality running.
The problem, it appears, is tibialis anterior tendonitis although I'm still unaware of the precipitating factor. Regardless, hopefully a couple of weeks off running and on PT will allow it to heal.
As a result, it looks like New Orleans 70.3 isnt going to happen. While I probably could finish the race, 13 miles in my racing flats over less than optimal New Orleans roads would not be good for the injury. If this were Clearwater, I'd be there. However because this is the first race of the season I thought it'd be a good idea not to totally destroy the tendon and instead hope for a quicker recovery.
B: 8h 50min
R: 3h 28min
Total: 20h 32min
Sadly, the huge caveat there is although there is 3h 28min listed under the "run" column, I actually only ran 1h10. The rest was in the form of the eye stabbing procedure also known as aqua jogging. Coincidentally, I also didn't actually do any quality running.
The problem, it appears, is tibialis anterior tendonitis although I'm still unaware of the precipitating factor. Regardless, hopefully a couple of weeks off running and on PT will allow it to heal.
As a result, it looks like New Orleans 70.3 isnt going to happen. While I probably could finish the race, 13 miles in my racing flats over less than optimal New Orleans roads would not be good for the injury. If this were Clearwater, I'd be there. However because this is the first race of the season I thought it'd be a good idea not to totally destroy the tendon and instead hope for a quicker recovery.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
QOTD
I wouldnt call myself a huge golf fan but I do enjoy watching the last round of the Masters. So after getting home from the pool, I turned it on around 5:15 at which time the last group of Lee Westwood and Phil Michelson were finishing up the 15th hole. Phil had been playing brilliantly and was up by three strokes while some guy named Tiger Woods was in the penultimate group but had fallen to five strokes back, all but out of it. The last few holes proceeded without much drama and Mr. Michelson won a well deserved third Green Jacket.
What struck me most, though, were the post round interviews. Messrs. Woods and Westwood were both asked a similar question, essentially, "You didnt win but other than that were you pleased with your performance?"
Although Mr. Woods has had a "busy" last few months during which he probably hadnt practiced much whereas Mr. Westwood has been playing very well lately, their answers seemed a bit backwards:
"I entered this event. And I only enter events to win." -Tiger Woods
"I finished third, third, second in the last few major championships. I can't be too disappointed. I'm getting closer." -Lee Westwood
But then again, maybe thats why Tiger is Tiger and why Lee Westwood hasn't won a major?
What struck me most, though, were the post round interviews. Messrs. Woods and Westwood were both asked a similar question, essentially, "You didnt win but other than that were you pleased with your performance?"
Although Mr. Woods has had a "busy" last few months during which he probably hadnt practiced much whereas Mr. Westwood has been playing very well lately, their answers seemed a bit backwards:
"I entered this event. And I only enter events to win." -Tiger Woods
"I finished third, third, second in the last few major championships. I can't be too disappointed. I'm getting closer." -Lee Westwood
But then again, maybe thats why Tiger is Tiger and why Lee Westwood hasn't won a major?
Friday, April 9, 2010
Happy Friday!
So according to the date on the form, this is actually ancient in internet terms but nevertheless, it is quite simply hilarious. I'm not sure what DETENTION entails at Redmond Junior High School but I'm sure it was not enough of a disincentive to prevent Mr. Duncan performing a flawless Michael Scott imitation. Enjoy!
*H/T RR for the pic.
*H/T RR for the pic.
QOTD
"His program is very, very hard, if not harder than I’ve ever done before. He certainly keeps me very accountable and he takes no crap." -Olympic Gold Medalist Simon Whitfield on Coach Paulo.
Paulo certainly doesn't need the adoration but it was nonetheless a nice article in The Star.
Paulo certainly doesn't need the adoration but it was nonetheless a nice article in The Star.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Mar29-Apr4
S: 25,400 yds
B: 10h 45min
R: 3h 56min
Total: 21h 22min
It was the second wacky week in a row but that is to be expected when you have to fly across the country and back. Needless to say, its nice to be back home, especially now that the temperature is finally warming up!
Aside from the travel, there was some bad news as I had some leg pain which started at the beginning of the week and was bad enough to warrant a trip to see Dr. Krichev immediately upon my arrival back in Huntsville. I was having some soreness in my lower left leg so I wanted to see him right away as I was worried about it being the always dreaded SF. Luckily though, his diagnosis was a strain and/or tendinitis and therefore relegated to soft tissue. Unfortunately I'm still baffled by the cause but hopefully ice, NSAIDS, stretching, and a decrease in running training load will spur recovery and have me ready to go for New Orleans 70.3 in just under 2 weeks.
Finally, this is nothing new but it was confirmed twice in four days that cycling, even in nice weather, still sucks.
Case #1: On Thursday I finished up my ride at the Cross Country Park to get a free chocolate bunny and one my friends asked if something was wrong. I replied "no" at first but then realized that I had just been on my bike for 2.5h and still had a 5 mile ride home. So yeah, that can easily manifest itself into some bad vibes.
Case #2: Then, on Sunday, Paulo picked up something similar on gchat, noting, "so I see the 10+h of cycling since Thursday made you slightly grumpy." Now there is a coach that knows his athletes!
B: 10h 45min
R: 3h 56min
Total: 21h 22min
It was the second wacky week in a row but that is to be expected when you have to fly across the country and back. Needless to say, its nice to be back home, especially now that the temperature is finally warming up!
Aside from the travel, there was some bad news as I had some leg pain which started at the beginning of the week and was bad enough to warrant a trip to see Dr. Krichev immediately upon my arrival back in Huntsville. I was having some soreness in my lower left leg so I wanted to see him right away as I was worried about it being the always dreaded SF. Luckily though, his diagnosis was a strain and/or tendinitis and therefore relegated to soft tissue. Unfortunately I'm still baffled by the cause but hopefully ice, NSAIDS, stretching, and a decrease in running training load will spur recovery and have me ready to go for New Orleans 70.3 in just under 2 weeks.
Finally, this is nothing new but it was confirmed twice in four days that cycling, even in nice weather, still sucks.
Case #1: On Thursday I finished up my ride at the Cross Country Park to get a free chocolate bunny and one my friends asked if something was wrong. I replied "no" at first but then realized that I had just been on my bike for 2.5h and still had a 5 mile ride home. So yeah, that can easily manifest itself into some bad vibes.
Case #2: Then, on Sunday, Paulo picked up something similar on gchat, noting, "so I see the 10+h of cycling since Thursday made you slightly grumpy." Now there is a coach that knows his athletes!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Pool Review: Cocoa YMCA
Address: 1519 Clearlake Rd., Bldg. 18 Cocoa, FL 32922 (on the campus of Brevard Community College)
Hours: M-F 5:30AM - 7:30PM, Sa: 8:00AM - 4:00PM, Su: 12:00PM - 3:30PM
Size: 50M x 25M, SC when I was there. However, the day I left they were setting it up for LC for the German National Team, or so the lifeguard said.
Environment: Outdoor, ~80F
The Cocoa YMCA's aquatic center's main attraction is a pretty nice pool. While the pool certainly wouldve been better if it had been set up for LC but SCM is still preferred in my book over SCY. Other positive attributes were the jet location, water used, and the availability of lanes at 5:30AM.
The jets pumped warm water in through the bottom of the pool which is therefore a force perpendicular to a swimmer's direction of travel rather than parallel to it in the case of jets mounted on the side of the wall. The obvious advantage here is that water does not effect the swimmer's lap times.
Speaking of the water... the temperature was nice but more importantly the concentration was superb. No worrying about excessive chlorine because the water was slightly salty rather than chloriny. I'm guessing this decision was made due to the high salt in the air which exists due to their proximity to the ocean but who knows. Regardless, less chlorine is always better!
While the pool had some positive attributes, there were a couple of negatives as well. Although it did have a pace clock, the clock was a good 15m from the pool and the second hand was one of the skinny ones which made it a bit hard to pick up. Additionally, the gutter system was minimal which resulted in a bit of a chop when the swim team was also in the pool but nothing too bad. I've certainly swam in much worse.
All in all I had a pretty good few days at the Cocoa YMCA. The staff was very friendly and I didnt have to pay a dime!
Hours: M-F 5:30AM - 7:30PM, Sa: 8:00AM - 4:00PM, Su: 12:00PM - 3:30PM
Size: 50M x 25M, SC when I was there. However, the day I left they were setting it up for LC for the German National Team, or so the lifeguard said.
Environment: Outdoor, ~80F
The Cocoa YMCA's aquatic center's main attraction is a pretty nice pool. While the pool certainly wouldve been better if it had been set up for LC but SCM is still preferred in my book over SCY. Other positive attributes were the jet location, water used, and the availability of lanes at 5:30AM.
The jets pumped warm water in through the bottom of the pool which is therefore a force perpendicular to a swimmer's direction of travel rather than parallel to it in the case of jets mounted on the side of the wall. The obvious advantage here is that water does not effect the swimmer's lap times.
Speaking of the water... the temperature was nice but more importantly the concentration was superb. No worrying about excessive chlorine because the water was slightly salty rather than chloriny. I'm guessing this decision was made due to the high salt in the air which exists due to their proximity to the ocean but who knows. Regardless, less chlorine is always better!
While the pool had some positive attributes, there were a couple of negatives as well. Although it did have a pace clock, the clock was a good 15m from the pool and the second hand was one of the skinny ones which made it a bit hard to pick up. Additionally, the gutter system was minimal which resulted in a bit of a chop when the swim team was also in the pool but nothing too bad. I've certainly swam in much worse.
All in all I had a pretty good few days at the Cocoa YMCA. The staff was very friendly and I didnt have to pay a dime!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Mar22-28
S: 29,500 yd
B: 7h 52min
R: 2h 54min
Total: 18h 32min
Saturday I was in Orange County, FL but today I'm checking in from Orange County, CA. Seeing new places can be fun but at the same time traveling is always a bit of a hassle. Certainly the most obvious victim is cycling fitness but the real detriment is just all the extra time due to being thrown off of the schedule. Finding hotels, worksites, and pools just gets old after a while. On the bright side, it was nice to swim LC outside in Cocoa, FL.
The first half of the trip was for an environmental effects meeting while the second half is for a SRB separation bolt plating issue (again). Seeing that these bolts are for the Shuttle and there are only four Shuttle flights left, hopefully this will be my last trip to AMP here in CA.
B: 7h 52min
R: 2h 54min
Total: 18h 32min
Saturday I was in Orange County, FL but today I'm checking in from Orange County, CA. Seeing new places can be fun but at the same time traveling is always a bit of a hassle. Certainly the most obvious victim is cycling fitness but the real detriment is just all the extra time due to being thrown off of the schedule. Finding hotels, worksites, and pools just gets old after a while. On the bright side, it was nice to swim LC outside in Cocoa, FL.
The first half of the trip was for an environmental effects meeting while the second half is for a SRB separation bolt plating issue (again). Seeing that these bolts are for the Shuttle and there are only four Shuttle flights left, hopefully this will be my last trip to AMP here in CA.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Mar15-21
S: 26,000 yds
B: 10h 8min
R: 5h 19min
Total: 22h 18min
Yes, I did work out last week. However this week I've been down in Cocoa Beach for meetings all day and thus the procrastination.
As for training last week.... OUCH. It appears that the racing season is right around the corner! Last week saw the return of the hard work necessary for me to keep from embarrassing myself. Winter was fun but now its time to get serious. This means out with the "adaptation" phase and in with the "ass kicking phase". Less really easy and really fast, more long tempos. It was a rough first week but it definitely makes we want to get out there and race!
B: 10h 8min
R: 5h 19min
Total: 22h 18min
Yes, I did work out last week. However this week I've been down in Cocoa Beach for meetings all day and thus the procrastination.
As for training last week.... OUCH. It appears that the racing season is right around the corner! Last week saw the return of the hard work necessary for me to keep from embarrassing myself. Winter was fun but now its time to get serious. This means out with the "adaptation" phase and in with the "ass kicking phase". Less really easy and really fast, more long tempos. It was a rough first week but it definitely makes we want to get out there and race!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mar8-14
S: 24,700 yds
B: 7h 30min
R: 4h 38min
Total: 18h 38min
Last week was a nice light week to end the training cycle, capped off by a Sunday ride that included ~ 2 miles of cyclocross on my road bike over an unpaved road in the rain... Fun times!
While that ride was fun, the highlight of the week was without a doubt the beginning of daylight savings time. This is HUGE as it means the end is near for the trainer for another year. Now, if I could only get my new bikes, I'd be all set...
B: 7h 30min
R: 4h 38min
Total: 18h 38min
Last week was a nice light week to end the training cycle, capped off by a Sunday ride that included ~ 2 miles of cyclocross on my road bike over an unpaved road in the rain... Fun times!
While that ride was fun, the highlight of the week was without a doubt the beginning of daylight savings time. This is HUGE as it means the end is near for the trainer for another year. Now, if I could only get my new bikes, I'd be all set...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse....
It wasnt too long ago that new, exciting purchases included things like stereos, hats, DVD players, and other items which portrayed youthful exuberance. While this has still been seen a bit lately in my fairly recent acquisition of a flat screen LCD TV, other exciting "big ticket" items have been, well, less exciting.
First off, there is the the gas grill (thanks, Dad!) which, while awesome, certainly wouldn't be classified as a toy. Next on the list, the BA Jenn-Air refrigerator, is probably the dismal turning point from "cool toy" to "boring domesticated expenditure."
Yesterday, however, I sunk to a new low. I got all excited about purchasing a new washing machine.
Really? A washing machine? REALLY?? I know... sad but true. But such is life in suburbia.
To sum things up, I put together a little chart. Note the downward trend of Fun as a function of time (with the TV an obvious outlier):
On a bright note, I do have a couple of new bikes which should certainly help buck the trend. After all, if a new bike doesnt epitomize childhood joyfulness, I don't know what does.
First off, there is the the gas grill (thanks, Dad!) which, while awesome, certainly wouldn't be classified as a toy. Next on the list, the BA Jenn-Air refrigerator, is probably the dismal turning point from "cool toy" to "boring domesticated expenditure."
Yesterday, however, I sunk to a new low. I got all excited about purchasing a new washing machine.
Really? A washing machine? REALLY?? I know... sad but true. But such is life in suburbia.
To sum things up, I put together a little chart. Note the downward trend of Fun as a function of time (with the TV an obvious outlier):
On a bright note, I do have a couple of new bikes which should certainly help buck the trend. After all, if a new bike doesnt epitomize childhood joyfulness, I don't know what does.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Mar1-7
S: 30,000 yds
B: 8h 23min
R: 5h 17min
Total: 21h 34min
A little ITB flair up resulted in an extra swim workout and one less run. It was too bad, too, because Chris P, who I was going to run with, had a very nice workout on his own and it would've been fun to run a nice tempo with him.
B: 8h 23min
R: 5h 17min
Total: 21h 34min
A little ITB flair up resulted in an extra swim workout and one less run. It was too bad, too, because Chris P, who I was going to run with, had a very nice workout on his own and it would've been fun to run a nice tempo with him.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Feb22-28
S: 25,800 yds
B: 8h 20min
R: 5h 50min
Total: 20h 57min
Back in the saddle.... After a couple of weeks of skimping on the cycling, I had a solid weekend on two wheels. Of course it helped that the weather cooperated as Saturday and Sunday were nice and sunny.
In other news, I really need a haircut because I'm looking like a hippie.
B: 8h 20min
R: 5h 50min
Total: 20h 57min
Back in the saddle.... After a couple of weeks of skimping on the cycling, I had a solid weekend on two wheels. Of course it helped that the weather cooperated as Saturday and Sunday were nice and sunny.
In other news, I really need a haircut because I'm looking like a hippie.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
WARNING... dork alert!
Ouch... triathlete alert! So I finally got a look at my pictures from the Mercedes Half Marathon and sure enough, I look like a total dork. Exhibit A was taken somewhere around mile 9, IIRC.
Surprisingly enough, in Exhibit B, taken 4 miles later just before the finish, I was still wearing the same apparel!
Now then, we'll have to dissect the ridiculousness one piece of apparel at a time. First, the arm warmers. Mr. Stover thinks running in a singlet and arm warmers is akin to running around in Newtons with an M-dot tattoo on your leg. However, note Exhibits C and D, Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein. Both are my age (coincidentally), both are very fast runners, and both have worn arm warmers and singlets recently in races. Additionally, neither of them run or swim. While I'll agree this is foolish in training, this is a very effective choice in racing as it enables you to stay warm without being constricted by a long sleeve shirt.
Now, on to offense #2, the compression socks. The recent rise of compression socks has been well documented talk of a ban at Kona last year caused quite an uproar, leading to its reversal. I had never considered racing in them before, mainly because there was now way I was going to try to swim in them or try to put them on during a race. Furthermore, I actually enjoy running without socks in my racing flats, so I really saw no point.
However, this winter has been especially cold here in the southeast and there were a few weeks where I was doing everything I could to keep warm on runs. One of the solutions was to run start running in my Sugoi R+R Compression Socks. I really dont like cold weather and quickly found I could run in colder temps with them and shorts where otherwise I'd have to wear pants (I dont run in tights). I dont like to wear shorts under 40F so when the temperature at the start of the race was 30F, compression socks it was.
As a bonus, I have more photographic evidence that compression socks are, actually, OK to wear. Exhibit E: Simon Whitfield in Maui:
Surprisingly enough, in Exhibit B, taken 4 miles later just before the finish, I was still wearing the same apparel!
Now then, we'll have to dissect the ridiculousness one piece of apparel at a time. First, the arm warmers. Mr. Stover thinks running in a singlet and arm warmers is akin to running around in Newtons with an M-dot tattoo on your leg. However, note Exhibits C and D, Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein. Both are my age (coincidentally), both are very fast runners, and both have worn arm warmers and singlets recently in races. Additionally, neither of them run or swim. While I'll agree this is foolish in training, this is a very effective choice in racing as it enables you to stay warm without being constricted by a long sleeve shirt. Now, on to offense #2, the compression socks. The recent rise of compression socks has been well documented talk of a ban at Kona last year caused quite an uproar, leading to its reversal. I had never considered racing in them before, mainly because there was now way I was going to try to swim in them or try to put them on during a race. Furthermore, I actually enjoy running without socks in my racing flats, so I really saw no point.
However, this winter has been especially cold here in the southeast and there were a few weeks where I was doing everything I could to keep warm on runs. One of the solutions was to run start running in my Sugoi R+R Compression Socks. I really dont like cold weather and quickly found I could run in colder temps with them and shorts where otherwise I'd have to wear pants (I dont run in tights). I dont like to wear shorts under 40F so when the temperature at the start of the race was 30F, compression socks it was.
As a bonus, I have more photographic evidence that compression socks are, actually, OK to wear. Exhibit E: Simon Whitfield in Maui:
Monday, February 22, 2010
Feb15-21
S: 24,700yds
B: 2h 45min
R: 3h 30min
Total: 12h 45min
Yeah.... so that happened. Not a great week of training due to the necessity for some recovery from the half marathon on the front end and the Timex Multisport Team Camp on the back end. While camp wasnt exactly great for training (NY, no pool, no bike, etc.), it was a lot of fun and as usual got me really pumped for another year of racing. I'm really grateful to Timex for providing the funding and Team Sports for putting everything together and selecting me to race with such a talented group of individuals. I'll hopefully have a little summary up later but for now you can check out the team blog as a couple of people have already offered up their summaries.
B: 2h 45min
R: 3h 30min
Total: 12h 45min
Yeah.... so that happened. Not a great week of training due to the necessity for some recovery from the half marathon on the front end and the Timex Multisport Team Camp on the back end. While camp wasnt exactly great for training (NY, no pool, no bike, etc.), it was a lot of fun and as usual got me really pumped for another year of racing. I'm really grateful to Timex for providing the funding and Team Sports for putting everything together and selecting me to race with such a talented group of individuals. I'll hopefully have a little summary up later but for now you can check out the team blog as a couple of people have already offered up their summaries.
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