Pick up the phone

From another site everyone should read, even if they don’t think they’re geeks: Round 2: Dial Tone:

You can regard the history of the computer industry as pushing “dial tone” further and further up the stack. As Crichton noted, the rotary dial telephone was the first computer that allowed direct interaction between humans and computers. The personal computer pushed customer self service up the stack to programming, data processing, and eventually applications such as word processing and spreadsheets.

New applications often start out requiring operators, but eventually move towards dial-tone. For example, you can look at blogging as the “dial tone” equivalent of creating a web site. For ordinary folks (not most of my readers, but non-technical folks), creating a web site was something that required an operator. You went to a web design shop or an ISP and had them do it for you. The blogging revolution, the wiki revolution, the MySpace revolution, the CyWorld revolution, are really about providing a kind of self-service dial-tone for creating a web presence and community.

You can apply this to running, too. Fitness used to be something the rich did, as they were the only ones with leisure time. Then, it was the folks with athletic talent and access to limited facilities and training.

With the internet, we’ve all got access to the motivation and techniques of the greats. Want to run a marathon? Google it, pick a training plan, and plug into a support group.

DIY fitness. Nothing better.

Big Maggy Speaks

So, you read Pez Cycling News, right?

Today, they’ve got Magnus Backstedt’s regular bit covering the Tour of Denmark, and also a couple of paragraphs on the tiny problem Cycling’s been having. I dug these; the rest is extremely interesting.

I hear that there are a lot of people are wondering why many riders don’t speak up about the doping issue!

I think I know why, and it is all based on the media. You can say something to a journalist and the next day he has twisted it around and published it in a way that pleases him to sell more copies of his newspaper or magazine. This is never fun even when it concerns less delicate issues than doping. So as you can probably understand there is a fear of being quoted saying something that you haven’t said! So if there was some more respect being shown from journalists in this matter I think the riders might feel a bit more confident in talking. In saying this I want to add that this doesn’t go for all journalists, but you can never be sure who is the good one and who is the bad one. A bit like the doping I guess!

I can’t say that I disagree – why speak out if it makes you a target?

In happier news, last week’s Prairie Home Companion (a rerun) was amazing. Mark Knopfler … Absolutely perfect for sitting on the porch in the chill of impending Autumn, with the crickets providing percussion.

More on Doping

Sorry, folks, but I can’t let this topic go. Maybe it’s one last, desperate grasp at childhood and the need to have heros. But this bit in PezCycling News got me thinking:

“Maybe you need a traveling laboratory with the event, instead of having (samples) sent to the other side of France, Switzerland or wherever they go” Anderson said. “It’s not a static event like football where you’re in a stadium. Every day you’re in a different spot. With the amount of money or infrastructure, maybe (the Union Cycliste Internationale should) consider having a laboratory as well.”

Why haven’t they done this yet? How hard, really, could it be? Back in my days operating a mobile nuclear reactor under the sea, we had a pretty extensive radiochemistry lab in a space way less than half of a standard shipping container (40’x8’x8′ is a standard trailer size). Sample and test in the same facility and know that the podium girls are kissing the right guy.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!

(S)tudies show that cardiovascular risk also decreases with coffee consumption. … Norwegian researchers found that women who drank one to three cups a day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 24 percent compared with those drinking no coffee at all.

…(R)esearchers found that a typical serving of coffee contains more antioxidants than typical servings of grape juice, blueberries, raspberries and oranges.

“We were surprised to learn that coffee quantitatively is the major contributor of antioxidants in the diet both in Norway and in the U.S.A.,” said Rune Blomhoff, the senior author of both studies and a professor of nutrition at the University of Oslo.

Coffee as a Health Drink? Studies Find Some Benefits – New York Times

And the Norwegians should know – absolutely great coffee over there.

Other benefits (some from the article, some made up for comic relief):

  • Twitching burns additional calories equivalent to a donut a day!
  • Waking up to a cup of black coffee after a night out on the town reduces the risk of chirossis of the liver!
  • Slices, Dices, Circumcises, even makes Julianne Fries, whatever the hell those are!
  • Reduces the risk of death from all causes by over 15% (That one is honestly not made up)
  • Chicks dig guys who write and drink coffee
  • Changes your tie pattern on a near daily basis

From an American Classic, and the best movie you haven’t seen this year:

Smells so lovely when you pour it

You’ll want to drink a quart of coffee

It’s delicious all alone

It’s also good with donuts, black coffee

Yeah, OK, I’m done.

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Ladies and Germs, Buoys and Gulls, Children of all Phases!

Pencil in the date now: 21 August, 2006 – the beginning of the running world as you want it to be.

A while back, a couple of guys had a thought: Hey, there’s a bunch of folks running and writing about it out on the web.

Anyhoo, they’ve got a concept – start a spot with running advice and lifestyle info targeted at real runners – folks with real jobs, real commitments, and mundane, every-day challenges (like “How do I get out of bed in the morning to go run” as opposed to epochal challenges such as “I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer. How do I train to win the Tour de France”). Continue to build on the “wisdom of the crowd” but to consolidate and distill a little bit of that information into an easy to find, easy to use spot.

They’ve invited me and a grunch of other “old salts” of the RBF to write for the Complete Running Network. Frankly, I’m excited about it. I love reading my monthly Runner’s World, Outside, and other professional magazines, but in a way, I kind of feel like they’re geared towards folks with a much more single-minded drive than I have. The writing I’m planning on doing for Mark et al is going to be focused more on the transition from slacker to runner.

The rest of the regular cast should include:

Speaking for myself, I’m the first to admit that all I bring to the table is commitment and a love of sweat and shortness of breath. But smaller ideas with less passion have turned into bigger things!

Summer

So, I did make it out for a run yesterday afternoon, just not the lunchtime hammerfest. Decided to do 10K on the way home; felt REALLY good, so extended it to 7 miles. Got Lance Armstrong after the summary telling me I’d done my longest run ever. Think I preferred Paula.

However, I come not to blog about Billy, but to bury him… wait.

Anyway, Yesterday evening’s festivities were me as a spectator. We trundled on down to Old Saybrook so that Jake could run the L&M Hospital Kid’s 1/2 mile race (Can’t figure out why they’ve got him listed as living in Missouri), and Melissa ran the Comcast Shoreline 5 mile race. Jake gutted out his first ever side stitch to finish. Melissa ran strong through 4 miles (her daily routine) and gutted out the last mile.

The race rocked. Old Saybrook looks like it’s cut from a Norman Rockwell painting. The race starts on the town green, and runs an out-n-back course down to an old fort. The town does a summer concert series that the race coincided with, so the finishers got to mull about with live tunes, decent post-race grub, etc. There’s even a bunch of resturants and such downtown, so with a clean pair of clothes, a sink-shower, and lots of deodorant, you could make an evening of it. Plenty of parking.

This was the first race I’d gone to in a while as a pure spectator, and it was fun. Nate, Jake, and I ate sandwiches and drank juice boxes while watching the runners come in. Got to see the firetruck go out. Absolutely great summer evening.

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Get the blood pumping

Woo HOO!

I finally got off my butt early enough to exercise before I sit down at my desk for the day! Quick bike ride on Jamestown before crossing the bridge. Cool but not chilly, and I was really disappointed that it was as humid as it was without going into full-blown fog.

Rode the 8 mile loop at the north end of the island – 25 minutes! on the Singlespeed.

I’m really, really getting into the single-speed. There’s something just pure and easy about it – click in and pedal. No shifting, no grinding – just chain, wheels, frame, and the road. Can’t quite figure it out, but somehow it’s tight. Instant acceleration, the satisfaction of spinning out on the downhill (though I’m really thinking about going down a cog size – would be nice to be fast.)

Anyways, life rocks. The boys are healthy, the wife tolerates me ;) and there’s still two months of beautiful weather at least.

OH, and Jon’s in today. Run at lunch.

Party on, Wayne.

I Wish I could believe…

Phonak’s disbanding after this year. An open letter from Floyd Landis:

While the recent allegations against me hurt us all, I respect the fact that the Phonak team must follow its own rules and charter under these circumstances. I just wish that all the parties involved would do the same. Despite this, I will not relent on my pursuit of the truth. I will not shy away from this fight.

Most of all, I understand that this situation impacts families and friends other than my own. It affects the businesses and sponsors that support cycling as well as the sport itself. It is for this reason that I am determined to show that I followed the rules and won fairly and cleanly. There is a greater integrity at stake here than just my own.

I thank you all for your support and courage as I embark on this journey to restore my name, the team’s name and the image of cycling.

Jimminy Christmas. I’ve sat here looking at this for like 10 minutes, and cannot think a coherent thought on the whole subject.

If Floyd’s lying, well, he’s a dirtbag of the highest rank.

If he’s telling the truth, and the lab, or the Societie de Tour de France is trying to frame him, then the UCI, the WADA, the ACA – the whole organization is crooked, and what’s the freakin’ point?

Hey Jane! How do I get offa this crazy thing…
<snare>
called
<snare>
Life?
<Cue soprano sax and standing bass; blow out candle, tilt hat down on nose, take deep drag on unfiltered Camel, and Exit Stage Left>

Betchya I’m Faster!

Monday, Lunchtime:

I set out with Jon to go run Burma. The breeze blew, the birds sang, and the sun beat down on our ears. It was an unusually cool day for August, a gift from our neighbors to the North – clear, with a fresh breeze blowing in off of the Atlantic. Absolute perfect weather to beat the snot out of each other.

One of the “real” runners in the office, Frank, was joining us on Monday, as his usual running buddy was off. But, Frank left his ID in the locker, and had to go grab it right after we started. We went ahead and continued on.

Man, what a day! There’s good ones around here much more often than people let on (Southern New England? Think “Gulf Stream” in the winter, “North Atlantic” in the summer), but this one was Primo, after a week or so of borderline “Hot” weather. Plus, we actually made it out of the office on a Monday, so it felt doubly like playing hooky.

A little after the first mile, Frank caught back up to us.

And something snapped – The juice kicked in (not like doping juice, just “the juice”, y’know?), and I thought to myself, “Self? Sure, you completely blew up last Thursday and Jon spanked you like a whiny child. But today’s a new day. Why not take a flyer off the front, blow out the carbon, go for broke? When you blow up, Frank and Jon’ll continue on and have a pleasant run, and you can run in peace.”

I couldn’t think of any reason why not, so I gradually upped the pace until conversation ceased and I noticed Frank and Jon a pace or two behind. “Great,” I thought, “Now just wait until I croak.”

We continued out until the iPod said “20 minutes”, then turned around. I started to pop almost immediately, but I think that Frank and Jon were, too.

About a mile into the “Back”, Frank finally catches back up and starts talking. Jon’s hanging in pretty well, but about 20 yards back. Frank and I run for a while, putting a little distance into Jon (We did call back after the turn; he told us to go on ahead if we had legs). After about a mile, Frank goes off the front on a gentle rise, and i watch him go, saving some energy for the hill at the end.

Frank slows up for me, and says “We were setting a pretty good pace on the way out. What happened?” I say “I just wanted to see how hard I could go. Dunno why, but I love to press on the out and suffer on the way back.”

We finish up, then walk back to Jon as we’re cooling down. 4.8 miles, 41.5 minutes. Freakin’ Awesome.

Round

Lake Manicouagan as seen from Earth orbit. Image courtesy NASA.

So, I’m looking for something on Google Earth, and what catches my eye but this ring way up in the Great White North (Which is inhabited, entirely, by guys wearing “tooks” and trying to get free beer by growing mice in beer bottles. Or, so says this educational film that we watched in High School.

Manicouagan Reservoir is an annular lake in northern Quebec, Canada, the remnant of an impact crater made approximately 212 million years ago, towards the end of the Triassic period. … The island in the center of the lake is known as René-Levasseur Island.The crater was created by the impact of a 5 km diameter asteroid which excavated a crater originally about 100 km wide although sediments and erosion have since reduced its diameter to about 72 km.

(More at Wikipedia)(Which is probably the understatement of the year)

Anyway, it looks like an absolutely cool place to take the kayak – something like 40 miles side to side.

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