A few pictures from the run up into Yosemite National Park. More than one thousand feet of vertical gain in less than three miles. Boom.
Tracks
2013 Goals
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao-tzu
- PR at Boston Marathon (sub 2:45) and make All-Navy Marathon Team
- Qualify for Team USA for Duathlon National Champs
- Fast enough Olympic time to qualify for All-Navy Tri Team (sub 2:05)
- Sub 4:30 at HIM race
- Qualify for 70.3 WC (and possibly Kona if I can do Eagleman)
- Get to Age Group Nationals and Qualify for 2014 World Champs
- Place top 10 overall at Duathlon World Champs (top 3 in age group)
- Win a multi-sport race
- Break 1hr for 40k in a tri
Here we go…
How to Fix Cycling
Amen, Jonathan Vaughters. Amen.
The hardest places to reach are the coolest places to find!
Long run yesterday, 3.5km swim the day before, I guess this snow means the long ride is going to be on the trainer. Hard work in winter yields fast racing in the summer.
I wouldn’t even know exactly how much money I make. My wife know’s that; my managers know that….I don’t want to be running out of the Energy Lab with the ability to take a soft option because I’m getting paid anyways. I want to be desperate. I want to feel if I don’t win—we’re not eating next month.
Craig “Crowie” Alexander on why he deliberately seeks tough fields and championship races versus major pay days. Via Competitor Radio: http://competitorradio.competitor.com/2013/01/craig-alexander-5/
Is there any question why Crowie is ALWAYS the man to beat in Kona?
The long dark blue line and I are getting acquainted. Did a baseline test yesterday. 400m time trial; 2-3 minute recovery and then 200m time trial. 7:21 and 3:30.
I could use a thousand different excuses about why I didn’t swim as well as I should have, but the bottom line is that I’m going to be better and faster in a few weeks, so why waste time wallowing in excuses?
Catch. Pull. Kick.
Changes
Couldn’t sleep this morning, so I spent some time playing around with the format on the blog. If there’s anyone out there reading this, you’ll have to let me know how you like the new look.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
It’s pretty straightforward; the numbers don’t lie. I just don’t have the hours under my belt. Looking at my training over the past year, I’m waaaay down compared to this same point last year. October-November ‘11 was my most consistent training volume in years and set the base for a number of good fall races. I struggled in February (low month) and then started building back up with quality training with the St Ives Elite from March into early June. April and May were my heaviest months and—not unsurprisingly—the months I really felt as though I was in the best shape. Runners constantly negotiate with themselves, trying to reason out good or bad performances, build up the psyche, and prep themselves for the next race. Sometimes though, we need a frank, honest asessement. This is it.
I am a science and engineer by trade, and so ultimately, my decisions are made based on data.What do the numbers say?I ask myself. Here, the answer is pretty simple. If I want to have a good spring season, I need more hours. Not hours for hours sake, but volume to build a more complete aerobic base and set myself up for the harder work which will come later. Time to get training.
On Lance
Dan Empfield—the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Slowtwitch.com (one of my favorite triathlon sites)—wrote this very articulate and well-reasoned opinion piece on Lance Armstrong. Dan worked with Armstrong personally during his first triathlon career and even let the young pro cyclist live with him when he was breaking onto the scene.
It is—in my opinion—the best, most unbiased piece on Armstrong since his doping suspension. Lance has (perhaps understandably) attracted a lot of negative press over the past several weeks. The US Anti-Doping Agency report unveiled a comprehensive, systematic doping program which helped power Lance and US Postal/Discovery to 7x Tour wins. In the aftermath, each of those seven titles has been stripped, and the man best known as a fighter resigned to a quiet ‘mea culpa’. It has yielded a firestorm of opinion—supporters blindly ignoring the comprehensive and overwhelming evidence of doping, and the opposition damning any endeavor (charitable or otherwise) that involved Armstrong.
Let us state it simply. Lance Armstrong cheated and doped to win cycling races. He used his story, his talents, and a regimented doping program to earn a fortune and become an icon. He lied—repeatedly—and coerced the silence of fellow riders, associates, and former friends. Armstrong’s rolodex must be like a mine field of friends bygone.
But he was also selfless. His charity, Livestrong, raised hundreds of million dollars helping cancer awareness, education, and building support networks for those diagnosed. He rode bikes with NYC firefighters after September 11th; he visited hundreds—if not thousands—of cancer patients each year, telling them to keep fighting and providing whatever help he could.
Humans are tragically flawed. History has shown that we all are capable of both incredibly generous and terrible things—often simultaneously. Lance Armstrong is no different.
