"I was was told there would be no math in this debate"

I took that line from a popluar SNL skit where Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford in a presidental debate. Chevy was a god when it came to stumbling-bumbling character acting.

Now where was I...oh yes math. I post this link only because I think many of you need to have your head hurt as much as mine did trying to grasp such a simple concept...spin faster, go faster.

Enjoy. And report back on a scale of 1 to 10 on how much your head hurt reading this. Ten being you tried reading, couldn't get past the first paragraph without skipping words, looking for key phrases and then just bookmarking it and telling yourself you'll read it later and know that you won't but the information is really useful anyway.

I'm a 9. I would be a 10 but I have actually gone back twice to read more of it. Then the headache sets in.

What page is that on?

I have a point to this so bear with me...

Mighty Mo has been getting Mistress up four or five times a night for the last week and Saturday night was no different, except that on Sunday we had a luau at our house and she was exhausted getting ready for it and looking at a busy day finishing the prep work. So I skipped my two hour walk to take care of Mo while she slept in till 10 a.m.

The luau was great, lots of tri-team mates and tri-friends and their families came by for a pool party and authentic hawaiian cusine, prepared by hand by Mistress who has learned over the years from my parents.

Well 9 p.m. comes around, everyone has just left and I feel frisky enough to go for my walk, in my mind I knew where I was going, how I was going to get there and about the distance I would go. Instead I help Mistress clean up some more around the house and backyard and go to bed.

This morning I come to find out that around the precise time and place I was to be last night in my walk, a woman was killed (while walking alone) by the serial shooter roaming the city. He and a serial rapist have shot 35 people and killed over a dozen between the both of them. Last weekend he shot and seriously wounded a cyclist at 4:30 in the morning.

So the point of my title...as Mistress and I heard the news about this latest shooting this morning, I told her thats were I would have been turning around in my walk at that time and she told me that I am no longer allowed to walk, run, or bike alone until this asshole is caught, especially since he keeps getting closer to our neighborhood.

So I am mentally flipping through our Training Contract (see sidebar), trying to find the 'page and sub-section' for the damn clause that allows her to throw that bombshell out there. Then I realized its really part of the over-ride that says life dictates training. Well dying sure affects life.

Stay Alert. Stay Alive.

Oh Man that was cool

Well one side effect of not running this week is that my legs were very well rested for todays 50 mile ride, which I did in 3 hours. That seems long, but take out the stop for refuel (15 minutes), loop around for people and stop lights and knock a half hour off. Average speed 21 miles per hour.

I hauled ass and my legs after felt great. I wish I could have gone for a run afterward to see how it would have gone.

I was finally able to keep up with The Machine, my training partner, for the entire ride and even though we did do some challenges on each other to see where we were at in the legs, I still have enough humility to think that at any time he could have dropped gear and blown my lid off.

I am very pysched about this ride. Its been my best in several months. I had some pushes hitting 27+ mph for a couple miles at a time and then some strong headwinds that dropped me down to 15-16 mph for several miles at time.

And I will state for the record that my testosterone levels are all within normal range.

In Case Of Emergancy...

As I sit and ponder my next post I felt compelled to ask each of you to buy a road ID today. They are $20 or less and come in a bracelet, shoe strap, shoe pouch, ankle strap or dog tag. I wear my black ankle band on every training event and most races.

I can not stress enough the need for emergancy responders to have your name and contact information along with medical history and a means to contact your family or friends immediately upon reaching you.

I have run into several people who have nothing to do with outdoor sports who are quite interested in a rugged and classy means of important information particularly regarding allergies to medicines and medical conditions like say a heart attack, heat casualty, allergic to penicillian, take certain meds, etc.

They are also quite fashionable, if I do say so myself. The dog tags have dozens of quotes and symbols you can add to the side opposite the information. You can add personal slogans and quotes if you have no need for all five lines on any of their products. So do yourself a favor, do your family a favor and link over there this minute and buy one as a special Shiny Thing for the weekend.

You with your hand raised in the back...

Okay, I have been doing Spinerval DVD's the last couple of weeks to beat the heat in the afternoon and stick to a more high intensity, flat course program. I have actually found them to be pretty good, though not as good my long weekend rides outside.

But I don't understand this point that Coach Troy makes several times in 4.0 Lean and Mean

How can I be in the big chain ring up front and the smallest in the back, essentially my hardest gear, be putting out 95-100% effort AND spinning at a minimum of 85 rpm?

It just doesn't make sense. How can I be in my hardest gear and be spinning at the same cadence as when I am in my most efficient gear for long distance riding?

Tour De France Winner Flunks Drug Test

Et tu Floyd?

What is your status?

I think at this point in our racing sessions, and yes people if you have entered an endurance event this year your a racer, you wonder just where your state of fitness is at compared to others.

Sidenote: BTW, old running axiom: Whats the difference between a jogger and a runner? A blank entry form.

In the cold darkness of winter, we all stared out our window watching the sun rise or set and in that magical twillight dreamed and goal set where we would be at the middle or end of our endurance season. We pondered the PR's. We calculated, oh lord we calculated, our goal times for an "A" race. We manifested perfection.

Where are you at?

Dimes to doughnuts you are not happy, its the way of the world. Your not quite where you wanted to be but its where your at in your progress.

I admit that I did not expect to have my shin and ankle problems right now. But I have them. I have seen some training partner's reaching peaks that they never ever expected to hit this year in terms of speed and endurance. I know people that have big goals and yet are sabotaging themselves with social distraction and in some cases laziness.

So what is my status? Obviously I feel a bit behind, but I also have perspective. Even with my leg I am stronger than ever in the water, my cycling volume is higher with my output a bit more efficient and even with a limp I will get 3.5 hours of walking this week. Mentally I still am focused on my Ironman but I still suffer the peaks and valleys of the enormity of it all.

What's your status?