Young vs. Old

A recent newspaper article discussed such important subjects as the current generation gap and the differences between how the young and old view stuff.

According to the article virtually everyone agrees that there is a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today. I suppose that is correct, although I believe my point of view from my recliner is just fine, as long as I am wearing my bifocals.

The article goes on to state that the two generations differ most on morality and social values. I personally believe that it is immoral to draft on the bike portion of the triathlon and if I am presented the opportunity, I will definitely eat more than my share of free food in social situations.

It also turns out that getting old isn’t as bad as people are led to believe. I don’t have any complaints other than when my wife does not put my stuff back in precisely the same place each time. When that happens I am flustered beyond words. But of course my regular-as-clock-work bowel movements do help improve the situation.

Americans apparently also differ on when old age actually begins. People under 30 believe it begins at 60, while those 65 and older push the threshold to 74. I will try to remember that when I totter by some of you youngsters at my next race. I do hope you will move to the far right and allow me and my walker the space we need.

And please don’t be offended when I take some extra time in T1 to locate my jar with my false teeth.

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Birthday America!

Thank you for visiting on this special day!

New Nike/Lance Advertisement

The new Nike/Lance advertisement is absolutely awesome.



Thank you for visiting.

Highs and Lows and Highs

The local weather has been generating some challenges for me. Last week it was cool and wet, then the temps began to rise and this past weekend it was down right toasty. That makes it, for me at least, a bit of a challenge to acclimate.

This past Saturday I was scheduled for my normal tough three hour bike ride. This ride consists of some intervals at or above my threshold and then a number of others just below that point. I started out about eleven thirty in the morning and it was warming up very quickly with bright sun and no clouds.

I successfully navigated the three hour ride and did my best to hit all the bogeys. However, by the time I arrived back home I was toasted. A couple of naps in my recliner and I was still moving rather slowly. At that point I was questioning my physical conditioning.

Sunday brought more of the same concerning the weather and I was scheduled for a two hour bike ride and an easy, short brick run. I awoke still moving a bit slowly and again had doubts about my fitness level.

However the two hour ride, which is classified as an Always Be Pushing (APB) ride, with a goal of keeping the effort steady at about 25 – 30 watts below the threshold level, went very well. I was a bit tired but hit it hard. And my run went much better than expected.

Then this morning I was scheduled for a one hour run with three one mile Z4 intervals in the middle. The run was terrific and I felt good. I followed that up with a solid 2,700 yard swim with a number of faster 100 yard intervals in the middle.

At this point I was facing the horns of a dilemma. My training plan was designed to prepare me for the Troika Half IM Distance race on August 2. My initial plan was to follow the training for this event, with no desire to actually sign up and race it. However, on July 1 the entry fee takes another jump and I was now considering racing the event.

In short, today I got a bit overcome with a slight case of Mr. Greenspan’s irrational exuberance and signed up for the Troika Triathlon.

So now I am facing my first ever sprint triathlon, the Race the River Triathlon, on July 26, the Troika Half IM Distance race the following Sunday on August 2, and the following Saturday, on August 8, I will once again race the Coeur d’Alene Olympic Distance Scenic Challenge Triathlon.

That schedule should keep me off the streets and out of trouble for a while.

Thank you for reading.

IM CDA 09 From the Other Side

Spectating at an Ironman is hard, stressful work!

The day starts as it always does for IM events; very early with the alarm going off at 4:20. I got dressed, ate my mandatory oatmeal for breakfast and drove over to Coeur d’Alene, ID.

As expected the place with packed with people; both spectators and nervous athletes buzzing around half dressed in wetsuits. The day was chilly with winds blowing in from the lake which made the waters very choppy.

We had 16 Team Blaze club members racing at IM CDA 09 and I wandered around looking for them and others who I knew to wish everyone good luck.

Then the swim started and they were off. I headed down to the water’s edge and gazed out at the masses swimming towards the far turn buoy. Volunteers in shorts shivered as they stood knee deep in the cool lake waters in a phalanx-like wedge to funnel the swimmers onto the beach and through the turn around and out into the waters again for the second loop.

A group of us waved and cheered heartily as we saw friends, teammates, and others who just looked like they could use a bit of help with their spirits.

Soon almost all of our team mates were out of the water and headed for their bikes. However we did have one team mate still swimming and from the first loop we were calculating and stressing and measuring his swim time vs. the two hour twenty minute cutoff.

We cheered him on as he finished his first loop and fretted as he seemed a bit too leisurely during his short walk on the beach before heading out for his second loop. Then as Mike Reilly started counting down the minutes until the swim cutoff we got more and more worried. Finally we picked him out of the other swimmers and he seemed to be zig zagging a bit. We cheered and jumped up and down every time we saw his head pop up and finally he made it back to the beach with a bit under seven and a half minutes to spare.

We then moved to our strategically placed tent at the hot corner of the race and cheered ourselves hoarse as we kept an eye out for team mates and tried to stay warm.

Finally, towards evening, it looked like all of our team mates would successfully navigate the 140.6 miles of the course within the allotted time.

And as we were finishing up who should walk by after a successful race but that internationally known blogger Don from Studio YVR.


I had really hoped to meet him and there he was. It was terrific to finally see him for the first time and I kept the meeting short since he was a bit worn from his fantastic race.

In conclusion, a day spent at IM CDA from the spectator perspective was dramatic, stressful, terrific, memorable and very tiring. I would not have missed it for the world.

However, after receiving the following email, I think that next year I will be looking at things from the other side of the roadway.

Dear Al,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2010 Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

As always, thank you very much for visiting.

Visiting the Circus

Today I did my volunteer duties at IM CDA 09. They even gave me a walkie talkie for my tasks, although I think the reason for this was to ensure no matter where I went they could still keep in touch with me.

This afternoon I worked in the registration tent and who should come rolling in but Carrie from Try to be Funny and her husband. I could not let her go without a picture so here I am in all my walkie talkie dorky splendor. She is actually smaller in real life.


Next up was a visit with the great coaches from Endurance Nation; Rich and Patrick. They were holding court in a local CDA coffee shop and patiently listened to my ramblings. As I proclaimed my love for the EN kool aid, they nodded and smiled at all the right times.


Tomorrow morning I swim, bike and run.

Thanks for visiting.

The Circus is in Town!

It is once again time for IM CDA and the excitement is definitely growing around here.

I will be heading over to Coeur d’Alene on Friday to work in the registration tent. Then on Saturday I am meeting some friends for one loop around the swim course, a bike ride and a short run. And on Sunday I will be on the course bright and early to cheer on the 15 members of Team Blaze tri club.

I will also keep an eye out for the many bloggers who are racing.

It truly is a great time of year and a terrific meeting of hard bodied people from all across the country and I suspect across the globe.

Social events are planned, gatherings are being organized and life is beginning to take on a bit of a fever pitch as the countdown continues towards Sunday morning.

I must admit that I feel just a bit like I am on the outside looking in at this great event. However, I do believe skipping a year is a good thing for me in that it leaves me hungry and looking forward to signing up for IM CDA 2010 on Monday.

I will look forward to talking with you on the other side.

Thank you for reading.