Month: March 2005

Finish strong

Sometimes, at least.

It’s beginning to look like this year’s first training cycle is going to finish on schedule, on track. Which is an accomplishment, in and of itself. I’ll be honest, it’s the first program I’ve finished. While I stuck with Galloway’s 26 week marathon prep longer pre-kid, I didn’t come close to finishing it. So I’ve got that going for me.

The last two days have kicked my butt mentally and physically. Mentally – yesterday, my mother-in-law was flying up to spend her spring break playing with her grandkids. Yippee. It was going to work out gang-busters: I’d be able to pick her up at the airport on my way home from work, no problem. So I had been planning on finishing up kind of early and getting in an afternoon run. Yep, I knew that there was a cold front expected to blow through, but how bad could it be?

Well, y’know on those bags of frozen veggies, how they’re always bragging about “flash-freezing”? Rhode Island did that Tuesday afternoon. It’d been high 30’s and rainy all day, but right about 4:15, the temperature dropped straight through to like 15 in the space of minutes. The roads were quite literally sheets of ice, and the wind picked up to well over 30 knots (and that’s being extremely conservative). So I bagged on runnning and had supper with a friend while waiting for news from Missy’s mom. Eventually her flight got through, and we left TF Green about midnight, and were home well after 1 AM.

This morning – slept in a bit, worked about a half day, and knocked out six, yep 6 miles on the trails in Arcadia State Park. Great run, but I’m beat. We left the kids with my wonderful mother-in-law (honestly, she’s great) and headed down to the monthly trivia night at the Harp and Hound, a 19th century pub downtown. Our team came in a strong second out of about 15 teams on the strength of a round of baby animal names (Guess there weren’t a whole lot of other folks in the place with small kids at home), but ended up getting screwed by a lack of knowledge of Oscar trivia.

The other demon I’ve been fighting is my iBook. It got bit by the dreaded logic board bug. Apple’s going to fix it, but I’ve been struggling to back up pictures, etc. I think it’s done, but the lesson learned is that if you’re going to encrypt everything on your hard drive, back it up in the clear. Stupid paranoia…

So sorry I haven’t made the rounds today. Might not until Friday or Saturday.

Connundrum

At the end of this week, I finish the “build to 20 mile base” that I’ve been working on out of The Runner’s Training Diary”. I’ve been wondering what to do to bridge the gap between now and the end of June when Marathon training begins in earnest, and Annalisa may have the answer in her plan to work up to a Tri.

It meets a bunch of my desires:
1. Good blend of running, swimming, and cycling* (the weather is about to get SO much better, I just know it…)
2. It’s a plan. I cannot emphasize enough how much having someone else do the research and planning for me is when it comes to fitness. I’d love to be a self-made man, but let’s face it – I’ve spent over three decades mucking it up. In an ideal world, I’d go out and grab a personal trainer or coach, but, frankly, I’m cheap. Maybe next year. This year, I think I want to save for a PowerBook.
3. Kind of a bridge to sustain a reasonable amount of effort and hopefully let some weight come off without worrying too much about creating a stress injury and a setback
4. Did I mention I don’t have to think, just execute?

She mentioned she got the program from AllTriathlon. They seemed pretty cheap, and I didn’t want to boost content from someone who looks like he’s got what I need, so I went ahead and signed up for an 8 week fitness and weight loss plan. $20, probably could have gotten it out of a book or something, but hey – it’s all about experimentation. I’ll keep you posted…

Found a great new NPR show this weekend: Weekend America. It is, honest to god, a new program. I caught their bit about Chi Running, which I think Chris has covered. They’ve got runners on their splash screen, support RSS and Podcasting (If only Garrison could be so hip), but don’t have Bob Edwards… wait, nowhere on NPR has Bob Edwards’ dulcet tones any more.

*There’s a bunch of motorcycle riders in the office, and we’ve got a tenuous truce. “Cycling” refers to riding a bicycle, usually wearing some form of tights, but not necessarily. “Biking” involves gasoline and much higher speeds. Though, in the case of a couple of knuckleheads, less protective equipment.

Monday Weigh-In / Tour de Rant

175 on the old scale. Which is good.

What was even better was Saturday up at Military Medical (MilMed) – 171 fully dressed without shoes. Looks like the old scale WAS about 5 lbs heavy. Missy picked up a new one later on Monday, and Tuesday morning weigh-in was 170. I kid you not. The upside is that I’m down like 10 lbs since the beginning of the year, which is all good. I’ll probably continue to use the old scale for consistiency, but will revise target weights upwards.

Monday was a rest day. And I rested. But I think I may be better – I felt like a racehorse in the paddock all day – kind of twichy and really wanting to run. I felt GOOD. We’ll see if I still feel good when I strap on the old shoes later today.

On to the real topic of discussion: Cycling and the new season. Jeff over at Boingo Blog dropped me the following:

So, what’s your take on Lance this year? Think he’ll be able to pull off another win in France? Jan is looking really strong this season, and there’s some other climbers that will really give him a run for his money…

And Tyler will most likely be gone. Dang. Man, I had so much respect for him when he took fourth the year he spilled on the second stage and broke his clavicle. It’s almost like baseball now, you have to assume that everyone is using something, somehow.

Tyler broke my heart last year. Removing all the gay overtones, I really had a man-crush on him since the broken collarbone tour. He just seemed like one of the guys, y’know? One of the ones who you ride with from time to time when they want a really easy day.

As far as 7 goes – I don’t know if Lance has the fire in his belly any more. At least not for le Tour. He’s done the impossible and won 6, any more is gloating; although he did learn a valuable lesson in 2000 with Pantani that unless you completely and truly crush the opposition, Euros don’t give Yanks credit.

What I’d like to see (not necessarily what I think we will see) is Lance taking the classics seriously. One of the most valid criticisms of him has been that, unlike Merckx, Hinault, etc, LA is quite literally a one trick pony. In July, he’s the best cyclist in the world. For the rest of the year, he’s quite literally a non-starter. The one exception has been Amstel Gold for the last few years, but even then he’s been able to blow off not winning by saying his training for le Tour is on track.

Armstrong started off as a strong one-day race rider, and especially over some of the hillier classics could be a factor. At the very least, he could give Hincapie a run for his money (Yes, I know they’re teammates) – I think Georgie’s scant palmares reflect his dedication to making sure Lance wins the Tour; Lance going out and busting heads in northern Europe for April and May could break down the field enough for George to take Roubaix or L-B-L, races that Hincapie has talked about wanting to win.

Ullrich? Armstrong should be waking up in his oxygen tent every night with the cold sweats if Ullrich has been training as much as has been reported, provided he bounces back from his current illness. Ullrich has been a factor ever since he won in 1997, despite his appreciation of booze and recreational pharmacuticals in the off-season. I’d love to see the diesel actually perform – I think that 2004’s tour was a wake-up for him, watching Basso drop him.

My “guys to watch” for this year, though, are Cunego (the guy who won the Giro last year, I know I killed his name) and Thomas Voeckler(10 days in Yellow in July). Cunego just kicked ass in Italy, and Voeckler has the build (dude’s tiny) and the tenacity (I forget which stage it was last year, but he fought tooth and nail on a final climb, got dropped and regained the leaders – less Armstrong and Basso – six times that day, and robbed Armstrong of a day in yellow by less than a minute) to have an impact. Could he burn out? Maybe. But he’s a guy to watch.

(See how I avoided all discussion of doping? If I don’t think about it, it’s not happening… Seriously, though, I wish to high heaven that the culture of cycling, and sport in general) would change to make doping completely unacceptable at the athelete level. How to do that? Dunno….)

In any case, I strongly recommend the following cycling sites:

The Tour de France blog – not affiliated with le Tour in any way that I can tell, just a really dedicated and enthusiastic fan. Don’t know if he rides. He’s got an rss feed.

Cycling News – Absolutely terrible web layout – tiny print, confusing columns, no RSS. But a great source for race info, tech, and training.

VeloNews – The USA’s cycling rag. They’ve picked up more Euro coverage later, but are still pretty US centered. Which is cool. Good classifieds, and a regional racing calendar. A couple of great columnists. They had Hamilton last year, but seem to have had a pretty public falling out with him over doping. And Friday’s Foaming Rants are hilarious. VeloNews has no RSS feed. Bums.

BBC Sport – (link is to their RSS feed) If you’re into world sports, you probably already know about the Beeb. Good stuff.

Le Tour’s homepage is a pretty useful site. Not only is it the place to be in July, but the Tour’s organizers put on a pretty comprehensive calendar of other races.

Graham Watson – The king of cycling photographers. Watson has an eye for composition that cannot be matched.

Back on track

No bonus mileage this week, but I’m back on track running wise. No really noteworthy runs, but somehow I’m pleased with muddling through.

The sun may be a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace, where hydrogen is made into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees, but it didn’t make much of a difference today. Plus, it was thinking about snowing all day, so the air was heavy with humidity. Yep, cold and humid, so I banged out my three miles for the end of the week on the treadmill. 9 minute pace. Dunno why, but lately I’ve felt a lot slower on the ‘mill than on the roads. But it’s all good. Hopefully, I can get the runner’s high kicking again, soon.

First day of Paris-Nice was just a 4 Km time-trial prologue. Frankly, (and I say this as a cycling fan) individual time trials bore the snot out of me. Yes, there’s the race against the clock, and the thrill of watching finely tuned athletes on the verge of greatness, but time trial stages always leave me cold. There was Bobbke’s kid though. And it was actual cycling on US TV, so I’m there.

Next weekend? Selection Sunday…

Five Miles

Did it today. Didn’t feel great, didn’t feel bad. Average pace was 8:14. Last mile was 7:33.

So a large part of the good but not great run may have been that I was pushing myself pretty hard for the first time in a couple of weeks. We’ll see how the legs feel during tomorrow’s three miles.

The forerunner came in great today. I was able to do side streets and such and end up with exactly the mileage I was shooting for.

It’s baaack…

The iPod, that is. Turns out there was nothing to lick. Things learned in the repair:

1. The LCD is pretty well self contained.
2. The Battery is taped to the front shell, which will make replacing it a bear.
3. The printed circuit board (PCB) is darn flimsy, unlike one of the boards you Windows types must add to make your computers useable.
4. A guitar pick makes a fine tool for opening the case.
5. To loosten the ribbon cable connecting the screen to the PCB, you lift up on the black tab at the back, the pull gently on the cable to remove. Likewise for the ribbon cable connecting the click-wheel ™ to the PCB.
6. Apple must use child labor in Thailand to put these puppies together. Criminey. Seriously – the innards are tiny.
7. The one tool that you need but might not have is a frickin’ miniscule Torx head driver. I think it’s like a T-6 or something. Ridiculous.

In any case, the iPod is functional again. It didn’t look like it’d been damaged beyond the screen. Will post inside pictures later. Many thanks to Jon and his brother for the cautionary words.

Miscellany:
– Tim Horton’s – There was a family donut chain up here, Bess Eaton, that went bankrupt about the same time Wendy’s bought the rights to Tim’s here in the States (not sure if they own it up in the land of the ice and snow from where the midnight howls and the north wind blows, and blows, and blows). Wendy’s saw an opportunity and snatched up a bunch of property and pretty well trained workforce for a song. And I finally found a donut shop I like. (One way I know I’ll never really be a Yankee is that I think Dunkin Donuts coffee is about the nastiest swill I’ve ever tasted. And I’ve drank cajun chicory coffee, Navy coffee, etc). Tim’s coffee is the bomb. And their donuts and baked goods are great. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think the secret is that they don’t use quite so much sugar in their recipes. They don’t skimp by a long shot, but it’s not oppressively sweet.

2. Tim Horton’s Chocolate Cake Donuts are surpassed only by their chocolate old-fashioned glazed donuts.

3. I’m all up on dislikin’ wind again after yesterday’s attempt at reconciliation.

Work went long again today, so I missed running outside, but even worse I missed bedtime by about 10 minutes. For the baby, that’s the same as missing it by hours, but the boy was still singing softly to himself. Grrr. It’s drill weekend, too, so I miss out on cooking Saturday and Sunday breakfast. We do get to have pizza night, though.

4 miles on the treadmill, 9 minute average pace. The first three miles stank, but something clicked for the last mile, and my legs finally realized I wasn’t giving up after this illness. I’m looking forward to 6 miles tomorrow. Unless it’s only 5 on the schedule.

Oh, crap

One more, then I swear, it’s to bed:

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Coming to you (not quite) live, it’s

PARIS-NICE!

See:
– Lance Armstrong!
– About 200 men in tights!
– Bicycles that cost more than every car I ever owned in my first dozen years of driving combined!

Hear:
– English guys commentating on cycling sounding much like the Spanish futbol announcers!
– Bob Roll!

Me? My goal for the weekend is to get a bike in working condition, oil up the rollers, and watch and ride. Hopefully there will be no riding off the rollers and into the basement wall this time.

No Run Today

Despite best intents. Ah, well, tomorrow is a new day. Work got in the way of running today. I think this was the first time in a long while, and I fought it fiercely. But it did.

iPod repair is proceeding slowly. Just realized I need a tinier Torx head than I have to remove the motherboard. I got the case open, unscratched. Well, no worse than it was from 6 months of riding in my pocket. No large pools of LCD came out. Big thanks to Jon’s brother for LCD tips, BTW.

Work was aided by a bitterly cold wind. Which makes me think that it’s karmic retribution for bagging on Zephyr.

So here’s a couple of ideas in Wind’s defense:
1. Chris’ riff on “No Excuses, Sir.” That’s wind, baby. No hiding. No downhill. No cheating. No excuses, deal with it wherever.
2. Wind is a training tool no matter where you live. In the ‘burbs in Houston, my best runs were the ones on windy days, where there finally was a challenge besides merely putting one foot in front of the other.
3. Drafting. If you haven’t, take up road biking. Then find a couple dozen people who like to do it too. Learn how to pick up a wheel, and revel in the joy of instantly upping your top average speed by about 3 MPH. Then segue into dreams of riding in the pro peleton at average speeds of upwards of 30 MPH for a race like the TDF. That’s for the entire race.
4. And completely un-fitness related: Without wind, there’s no sailing. No prospect of building a boat in your backyard, rigging it up with sails, and going literally anywhere touched by the seven seas in the world without without burning a drop of petroleum, splitting a single atom, or dipping an oar. (Note the word “prospect” in the previous sentence.

Chew on that.

Me, I’m going to bed early. I’ve got me some running to do tomorrow. Or maybe swimming. Or maybe both.

But for sure, I’ve got a date with a one year old and a five year old (less three weeks) tomorrow evening that will involve roaring terrible roars, gnashing terrible teeth, rolling terrible eyes (Their mommy participates in this part), showing terrible claws, and will lead to a wild rumpus, complete with a parade featuring a barking dog and two terribly out of tune renditions of “Baby Elephant Walk” accompanied by a baby laughing his fool head off. And maybe cookies.

Question

Not meant to generate more questions, but how does one best clean Liquid Crystal after one has cracked a Liquid Crystal Display?

And what is its effect on electronics?

I busted my iPod at the gym. Apple said “Ha, Ha!”. I’ve ordered a replacement screen, and have the install instructions. But I am worried about cleaning LC out of the iPods insides.

I figure I can just lick it …

Cross post from here.