I got home from Florida to hear about a group from Oldham County that hates cyclist. There was a group of 25 of them on facebook. The discussions were on how they were going to hit cyclist with doors or just their entire cars. From what I gather the authorities got involved and now the group is no longer on facebook.
I find the whole thing both very funny and educational.
Funny from the fact that there are a bunch of people who want to threaten violence against me on a computer. That takes so much courage. Then the violence they want to do is from inside a vehicle. They don't even want to stand toe to toe with a cyclist. When I was younger I would be embarassed to even claim I would have to hit some guy with spandex and shaved legs with a car. I may have hit them with the car and then claimed to have beat the shit out of them to guard my ego. These kids needed a beating, but it should have come from their parents years ago. I am fourty years old and if I posted threats on the computer my mother would try to beat my ass to this day.
When I was younger fighting was not that big of a deal. Most boys had been in a few. As for myself I won some and lost a few. We always came up with some good excuse, but mostly it was all about egos, entertainment, or boredom. It was common to be in a fight and have 100 people gathered around to watch. If you think that sounds a little redneck you would be right. Even in that day of violence we would never hit someone from the rear in a car. We just had a little more pride than that. These kids are not even tough enough or proud enough to even claim they would face their targets. I can not even think of a name to call these people. Pussy comes to mind, but most of the people I have met that I consider pussies would laugh at these people.
As I got to thinking a little more about it I thought about the learning opportunity that comes from it. Here is one of those points that gets very political, so be prepared to be offended.
We all know there is a large portion of the population who really do not like sharing the road with cyclist. Hell my best friend is one of them. Many of these people have some stupid views that cyclist do not pay taxes. Cyclist are not a very large portion of the population. These things combined make us targets not only to punk kids, but to adults and politicians.
Take a look at what goes on in the world. The governor of California has proposed to tax everything associated with golf. If you don't believe it google golf tax. That is every ball, club, round, cart fee, club membership ect. The only people I have seen complaining about it are those who play or make a living off golf.
The philosophy is that more people don't play golf than those that do. The people it does not affect will stand by and do nothing or even be in favor of it, because we all know only rich people play golf and they need to have it stuck to them.
This plays over time and time again. Think about the following.
There are more poor and middle class people than rich. Taxing the rich is no problem or even deserved because it is somebody else.
We love luxury taxes or sin taxes because they are aimed at someone else.
People who have no assault rifle think they should be banned or don't care. Assault rifles account for 1/5 of one percent of violent crime. Less than knives. They only account for one percent of gun crime. There is that little thing called the second amendment. None of these facts matter just that somebody is getting stuck.
We have come to hate smokers so bad that we don't even want them to smoke outside. I was timing a race in Virgina and there was someone standing byside my gas powered generator smoking. A spectator 20 yards away walked up and complained that the smoke was bothering them. Not the exhaust from the generator, but the smoke. More people don't smoke than those that do.
I am sure you can come up with any number of your own examples. You are more than likely guilty of some of these. We don't care about restricting freedom, taking from people, destrying entire industries. We only cheer when people get screwed that we are told deserve it.
What do you do when these same people come after you. If many people think you don't pay taxes and they can point out that some bikes cost $2,000, $4,000 or even more how much trouble would they have getting people to back them in taxing you or passing restrictions on what you do. They could use the money to improve roads that you use but don't pay for now. Even better there are thousands of children injured in bike accidents each year and some of these kids have no insurance, so the money could be used there. Any of this sound like familiar logic used before. Those that are not on board are not going to stand up for you. Why should they stand for your freedom? Nobody stands up for theirs.
I have shot in competition and I have raced bicycles. For the sake of an example lets assume that I shot but did not race.
Laws are passed which infringe on my second ammendment rights or I am taxed for every round I fire. You either love that it was done to me or don't care. When they come after you to get some more money or to limit where you can ride why the hell should I care. My shooting has never caused you any problems, but I have had to slow down for you on the road. I can even see why someone may want to run you over.
The point is if we do not stand together to protect everyones freedom even when it does not concern us there will be nobody there to stand with us when we need it.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
2009
I am looking forward to 2009. There were several good things in 2008, but for the most it sucked. We learned that Louisville had decided to start charging for police at the races. I had expected that to happen at some point, all the other large cities I am aware of already charged. From the experiences I have had with the Louisville police in our races they are worth it. Whoever made the decision to start charging did it in a piss poor manner and set the tone for every other decision made by the people who do that sort of thing in Louisville. First there was very little warning that the charge was going to start so every race that had already planned their event budgets were forced to make less, lose money, or cancel their race. The later was what happened to the KHF Duathlon Series. Not only did we get no warning we were told originally that they could not tell us how much it would cost to provide the service. There reason was that each officer may be paid differently and they would not know who was going to work the event. What kind of moron would start any kind of business project without being able to plan for the cost involved. The bright side of the situation were the police themselves. Thanks in particular to Lt. Curtis Flaherty. He takes a look at races we have done in previous year and can tell exactly what we will need for the current year and if it a new race quickly comes up with a plan and a cost estimate.
The next thing that happened involved Cardinal Harbour. The folks over at WTC called the Louisville Sports Commission and gave them instructions to get me to stop the race. I won't go into the details, but the race will go on. I can see everyone's point. I know I present a serious threat the Ironman. I almost feel bad that I am taking so much money out of their pockets. I mean they sell out every race at over $500 per athlete so the few hundred athletes I get at a fith of that price must hurt them badly. Or it could be that they are just assholes. The fact that they tried to get the Louisville Sports Commission to have me stop a race in Oldham County is kind of funny. The Sports Commission was another one of those organizations that got their budget cut in their Healthy Home Town, so they have to do everything they can to keep what they have. You can't really blame them for calling me and giving it a shot.
Just when I thought the year was going to end without any more drama I got an email that said Otter Creek was going to close. The initial date they announced was December 14 which was the same day as the Otter Creek trail Marathon. It seemes the same Mayor who just weeks before fought so hard to spend money on land so we could have more bars in your Healthy Home Town made a decision to close the park for financial reasons. We had 400 people at the event representing 29 states. We filled all the cabins at the park plus paid to have the race there. I don't know that they could have covered the entire amount thay loose every year, but if Jerry would spend a fraction of the time he spends promoting downtown, promoting things like Otter Creek more people would have used it. How many of you knew about the 2900 acres of beautiful forest, great view of the Ohio River, the cabins, campgrounds, and conference center. Anybody aware of the historical communities that were along the creek, one of them was even started by Squire Boone. How many other facilities owened by Louisville gave you the opportunity to fly fish or go caving. The loss of Otter Creek is without a doubt the saddest event of my professional life. The park is one of the treasures on this area and not only was the staff easy to work with they were alot of fun. Jack West actually worked with us from the time we showed up to start marking the trails until the time we had everything cleaned up after the race was over.
Not sure what happened in 2008. Either I missed the Mayor's announcement that he was ending the Healthy Home Town thing, or he made a New Years Resolution last year to make my life difficult.
There is no way to go but up in 2009. Hope you come along for the ride.
The next thing that happened involved Cardinal Harbour. The folks over at WTC called the Louisville Sports Commission and gave them instructions to get me to stop the race. I won't go into the details, but the race will go on. I can see everyone's point. I know I present a serious threat the Ironman. I almost feel bad that I am taking so much money out of their pockets. I mean they sell out every race at over $500 per athlete so the few hundred athletes I get at a fith of that price must hurt them badly. Or it could be that they are just assholes. The fact that they tried to get the Louisville Sports Commission to have me stop a race in Oldham County is kind of funny. The Sports Commission was another one of those organizations that got their budget cut in their Healthy Home Town, so they have to do everything they can to keep what they have. You can't really blame them for calling me and giving it a shot.
Just when I thought the year was going to end without any more drama I got an email that said Otter Creek was going to close. The initial date they announced was December 14 which was the same day as the Otter Creek trail Marathon. It seemes the same Mayor who just weeks before fought so hard to spend money on land so we could have more bars in your Healthy Home Town made a decision to close the park for financial reasons. We had 400 people at the event representing 29 states. We filled all the cabins at the park plus paid to have the race there. I don't know that they could have covered the entire amount thay loose every year, but if Jerry would spend a fraction of the time he spends promoting downtown, promoting things like Otter Creek more people would have used it. How many of you knew about the 2900 acres of beautiful forest, great view of the Ohio River, the cabins, campgrounds, and conference center. Anybody aware of the historical communities that were along the creek, one of them was even started by Squire Boone. How many other facilities owened by Louisville gave you the opportunity to fly fish or go caving. The loss of Otter Creek is without a doubt the saddest event of my professional life. The park is one of the treasures on this area and not only was the staff easy to work with they were alot of fun. Jack West actually worked with us from the time we showed up to start marking the trails until the time we had everything cleaned up after the race was over.
Not sure what happened in 2008. Either I missed the Mayor's announcement that he was ending the Healthy Home Town thing, or he made a New Years Resolution last year to make my life difficult.
There is no way to go but up in 2009. Hope you come along for the ride.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Imaginary Friends
On to something a little more important yet lighthearted. I think it is time I introduced everyone to a couple of friends of mine. I think I should admit right up front that these are imaginary friends. They have been with me for years and taught me many things. My hope is that their stories will be as educational and entertaining for you as they have been for me. The first introduction I would like to make is Richard Harda. I have known Richard for about 20 years now. His main purpose in life is to screw up. A quick example of something Richard would do is to try running with no socks for the first time during a race and end up with blisters so bad he finished the race with shoes full of blood. The lessons from Richard will be that you can do things the easy way or you can do them the Harda way. You will also realize when you do something the Harda way that we all have a little Dick in us. Dick is, of course, just short for Richard.
The second friend you need to meet is Billy Bo Jim Bob, and as you may have guessed he is a redneck. Billy Bo first appeared one day when a bunch of friends and I were skipping school, hanging out at a lake, drinking beer and telling lies. To the best of my recolection the lie he appeared in had to do with having a flat tire on the Ford Sedan Delivery I was living in back during the great depression. I didn't have a jack and Billy Bo came by and lifted up the vehicle while I changed the tire. Not only did does he have that freakish strength, he has a wisdom that seems to evade most of us who participate in sport. His main job is to point out how silly the things we do seem to rational people. When I get obsessed with running a 100 mile trail race where the prize is a belt buckle. I tend to loose track of everything else in life. Billy Bo would say something along the lines of "sit your ass down, drink a beer, enjoy life and I will go to Wal Mart and buy you a belt buckle".
You can learn the same lessons about the sports that we do from many different sources. They seem to always be presented in much the same way. Hopefully with the help of my friends we can do it with a little more entertainment value.
The second friend you need to meet is Billy Bo Jim Bob, and as you may have guessed he is a redneck. Billy Bo first appeared one day when a bunch of friends and I were skipping school, hanging out at a lake, drinking beer and telling lies. To the best of my recolection the lie he appeared in had to do with having a flat tire on the Ford Sedan Delivery I was living in back during the great depression. I didn't have a jack and Billy Bo came by and lifted up the vehicle while I changed the tire. Not only did does he have that freakish strength, he has a wisdom that seems to evade most of us who participate in sport. His main job is to point out how silly the things we do seem to rational people. When I get obsessed with running a 100 mile trail race where the prize is a belt buckle. I tend to loose track of everything else in life. Billy Bo would say something along the lines of "sit your ass down, drink a beer, enjoy life and I will go to Wal Mart and buy you a belt buckle".
You can learn the same lessons about the sports that we do from many different sources. They seem to always be presented in much the same way. Hopefully with the help of my friends we can do it with a little more entertainment value.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Athletes, Money, and Rules
Some days make me question what the hell I am doing this for. Life would be much simpler to get a real job and just punch a clock.
Most days I know why I do it. For the athletes. In the process of putting on all these events I have given up all training myself and gone broke. The only pleasure in doing it is the athletes. When someone shows up for their first race, totally unsure of themselves or what they are doing, the excitement they have when they finish is great. To see that person develop as an athlete is even better, but to see that athlete grow as a person is priceless. There are several athletes out there who I watched struggle through their fist race who have now not only developed into good athletes, but great people. They have become mentors to newer athletes and are always there to help whenever needed.
Yesterday at the Shelbyville Chiropractic Triathlon was one of those days when a few people really made me want to hang it all up.
Leading up to the event everything was looking great. So much so that when the State Parks called needing help with a 5K I was able to send a couple of people and some computers over to score the race for them. No problems they work well with me and I was happy to lend a couple of hands.
As is often the case Cynthia and I stayed up all night getting things set up for the race. Ever notice that most races have an organization involved such as a charity or university. That's because when you do it yourself you do everything, but sleep.
Things started to go a little off on race morning. We had a ball team committed to volunteering for the race. They called early that morning to let us know that their game had gotten rained out the night before and they were making it up that morning. OK, now that sucked. But, you do what you have to do and they had a game to play. We just adjusted fire. Half the volunteers gone and paying two people to go work a free job. Not good.
The next problem was traffic control. The park gave us their on duty Park Ranger and we Hired all the off duty ones. Cynthia had a meeting with them several days before the race and everyone knew their duties. At 8:00 on race morning one of the Rangers tells us that they will not stop traffic at the traffic light and the athletes must obey the light. Not good. Actually USAT rules state very clearly that athletes must obey all applicable traffic laws. The winner of a Triathlon out in California years ago was actually disqualified for running a stop sign and lost a big chunk of prize money. We of course did not want this light to be an issue so we made a desperate call to the Sheriff and were able to get on duty officers to cover the intersection. The problem was that if an emergency arose some place else the officers would have to respond.
The first issue that arose is an easy one to address. At least for me. One athlete came up to me and complained of no mike markers on the run. He was 100% correct. The problem with that part of our conversation was that I have mile markers for a 10K and I could not find them the night before. Cynthia complained about it. So when I get an athlete complaint I have to admit that that she was right. First she kicks my untrained ass in a marathon and now I have to say those dreaded words "you were right". This athlete made the comment before knowing that I had the signs in some location unknown to me that he was a professional person and would be willing to pay more to do races with more of those type things.
I love people with money, and wish I could be more like them. The problem is this, for every person who comes up and says they would pay more to do a race I have 10 complain that races are already to expensive. Many people, myself included do very few races because of the cost.
So what to do? Seems like a simple case of supply and demand. Kentucky is a small market for triathlon. Most states average races have more participants than our largest (excluding Ironman of course). So to increase the cost of races to improve them reduces the number of people who can do them which starts a circle of needing to charge more to cover expenses, which excludes even more etc, etc.
The answer to better races while not making them overly exclusive is more sponsorship revenue. That is an easy answer but a hard thing to accomplish. First of all I am not a great salesman. Secondly sponsors want things we have already touched on. They want numbers which are hard to get in a small market. Or they want to be tied to a charity or large organization in an overt way. Last year we donated more money from our races than we were able to keep for ourselves. As an example half of all profit from yesterdays race goes to Shelby County Parks. We also pay volunteer groups at all our races. These groups range from high school sports teams to TNT athletes. Sponsors do not get acknowledgement for those types of donations so they are meaningless to them. Two people trying to help a church youth group and 200 triathletes really does not mean shit to a sponsor.
Let that be a lesson to everyone out there. If you do a race that Headfirst Performance or anybody else puts on and you see or hear the name of a sponsor support that sponsor if at all possible, because they are making your passion possible. Even if you have no need for their product or service send a note or an email of thanks for sponsoring the event.
Any help with sponsorship ideas, leads etc from anybody is greatly appreciated.
Now the biggie the question of rules.
We had an issue with a turn on the course. The issue was that several people took it and should not have. The best I can tell is 11 people took the wrong turn and all of these people came up and admitted it. The funny thing from my standpoint is that all these people are fast. They normally win races outright or at least win their age groups. None of the slower athletes missed took the turn or at least corrected their mistake when they did. I seem to recall from a past time in my life when I could be competitive that there is a lot going on in your mind that makes it easy to miss details.
Almost all the athletes who took the turn were very gracious. I'll speak of the those that were not in a bit. What we decdto do was to create a separate division for those that took the turn and just make it a shorter race. That was the best way we could think of to appease as many people as possible.
Now lets get into rules. I heard after the race that one of the athletes who made the turn was going to have me shut down because I do not follow the rules. OK granted there were some rules not followed and lets take a look at them.
I broke the rule that says that anybody cutting the course should be disqualified. I decided to make as many people happy as possible.
Actually there is a rule saying that it is the responsibility of the athlete to know the course. We posted a map on the website. had individual maps at the race, posted a large map, and posted written instructions. At the pre race meeting we covered everything. Athletes were told to follow on white arrows on the ground and each turn would be marked by a plastic arrow stuck in the ground. Athletes were informed that on the particular road they would be riding they would go all the way to Bagdad and take a right at the fire station onto 395. They were told there would be a volunteer and someone taking photos at the turn. At the turn they made there was no white arrow, no plastic arrow, no town, no fire station, no 395, no volunteer and no photos.
I admit in a perfect world there would have been a volunteer at every possible side road,dirt road,and driveway, This is not a perfect world and did I mention the volunteers who could not show up.
That's one I broke, but that is not even the one I am supposed to get in trouble for.
The first one is that I did not ask every person for an ID at registration. Guilty as charged. Even though I know 90% of you personally I am supposed to ask you for your proof of ID at every race. Which means in this particular case that I had to make you stand in line for longer because we had no more volunteers (did I mention that?). That would have meant we start the race late. Late even for me. everybody loves that. You guys, the fire department water patrol, the volunteers on the course and the people who run the lake. Everyone who expects things to happen on schedule.
That's two. I am really starting to feel like a terrible person.
Thirdly I am accused of violating some type of rule when I announced that the sheriff's officers may have to leave in case of an emergency. As I pointed out earlier if that was to happen there would still be a Park Ranger in uniform with a car with flashing lights at the intersection, who would make sure the traffic signal was followed by everyone. My announcement included athletes must follow directions of the official at this intersection. Remember the rule about applicable traffic rules?
Fairly certain I did nothing there. Makes me feel a little better about myself.
So that's it. I will be out of business because I did not disqualify people or ask everyone for an ID. Do I really want to be in business if that is the case.
But wait there were a few more rules broke.
There are only two of the most commonly violated rules on the USAT list that mean automatic disqualification.
One involves not wearing a helmet. We had someone fly out of T1 with no helmet. A volunteer stopped them and they came back to get it. A simple oversight. I made the call that the time they spent going back to get the helmet was a sufficient penalty.
Shit, I guess I just never disqualify enough people.
The other automatic disqualification reads like this "Foul, harsh, argumentative or abusive language or other unsportsmanlike conduct directed at race officials, USA Triathlon officials, volunteers, spectators or fellow athletes is forbidden"
In any business there will be complaints from time to time. Most of the time these these complaints are presented in a civil manner and handled in the same way. Of course there are exceptions to that.
We had one person who came into T2 screaming and yelling. They made a very public showing of there complaint. Later I found out that this same person went off at a volunteer on the course. The volunteer was not a triathlete so was not very impressed with being yelled out and told of the athlete's resume which somehow gave them the right to yell.
Did I mention the same person who is going to have me shut down for the small rules is the one who broke this last one. Funny thing that.
Why do I do this again?
Most days I know why I do it. For the athletes. In the process of putting on all these events I have given up all training myself and gone broke. The only pleasure in doing it is the athletes. When someone shows up for their first race, totally unsure of themselves or what they are doing, the excitement they have when they finish is great. To see that person develop as an athlete is even better, but to see that athlete grow as a person is priceless. There are several athletes out there who I watched struggle through their fist race who have now not only developed into good athletes, but great people. They have become mentors to newer athletes and are always there to help whenever needed.
Yesterday at the Shelbyville Chiropractic Triathlon was one of those days when a few people really made me want to hang it all up.
Leading up to the event everything was looking great. So much so that when the State Parks called needing help with a 5K I was able to send a couple of people and some computers over to score the race for them. No problems they work well with me and I was happy to lend a couple of hands.
As is often the case Cynthia and I stayed up all night getting things set up for the race. Ever notice that most races have an organization involved such as a charity or university. That's because when you do it yourself you do everything, but sleep.
Things started to go a little off on race morning. We had a ball team committed to volunteering for the race. They called early that morning to let us know that their game had gotten rained out the night before and they were making it up that morning. OK, now that sucked. But, you do what you have to do and they had a game to play. We just adjusted fire. Half the volunteers gone and paying two people to go work a free job. Not good.
The next problem was traffic control. The park gave us their on duty Park Ranger and we Hired all the off duty ones. Cynthia had a meeting with them several days before the race and everyone knew their duties. At 8:00 on race morning one of the Rangers tells us that they will not stop traffic at the traffic light and the athletes must obey the light. Not good. Actually USAT rules state very clearly that athletes must obey all applicable traffic laws. The winner of a Triathlon out in California years ago was actually disqualified for running a stop sign and lost a big chunk of prize money. We of course did not want this light to be an issue so we made a desperate call to the Sheriff and were able to get on duty officers to cover the intersection. The problem was that if an emergency arose some place else the officers would have to respond.
The first issue that arose is an easy one to address. At least for me. One athlete came up to me and complained of no mike markers on the run. He was 100% correct. The problem with that part of our conversation was that I have mile markers for a 10K and I could not find them the night before. Cynthia complained about it. So when I get an athlete complaint I have to admit that that she was right. First she kicks my untrained ass in a marathon and now I have to say those dreaded words "you were right". This athlete made the comment before knowing that I had the signs in some location unknown to me that he was a professional person and would be willing to pay more to do races with more of those type things.
I love people with money, and wish I could be more like them. The problem is this, for every person who comes up and says they would pay more to do a race I have 10 complain that races are already to expensive. Many people, myself included do very few races because of the cost.
So what to do? Seems like a simple case of supply and demand. Kentucky is a small market for triathlon. Most states average races have more participants than our largest (excluding Ironman of course). So to increase the cost of races to improve them reduces the number of people who can do them which starts a circle of needing to charge more to cover expenses, which excludes even more etc, etc.
The answer to better races while not making them overly exclusive is more sponsorship revenue. That is an easy answer but a hard thing to accomplish. First of all I am not a great salesman. Secondly sponsors want things we have already touched on. They want numbers which are hard to get in a small market. Or they want to be tied to a charity or large organization in an overt way. Last year we donated more money from our races than we were able to keep for ourselves. As an example half of all profit from yesterdays race goes to Shelby County Parks. We also pay volunteer groups at all our races. These groups range from high school sports teams to TNT athletes. Sponsors do not get acknowledgement for those types of donations so they are meaningless to them. Two people trying to help a church youth group and 200 triathletes really does not mean shit to a sponsor.
Let that be a lesson to everyone out there. If you do a race that Headfirst Performance or anybody else puts on and you see or hear the name of a sponsor support that sponsor if at all possible, because they are making your passion possible. Even if you have no need for their product or service send a note or an email of thanks for sponsoring the event.
Any help with sponsorship ideas, leads etc from anybody is greatly appreciated.
Now the biggie the question of rules.
We had an issue with a turn on the course. The issue was that several people took it and should not have. The best I can tell is 11 people took the wrong turn and all of these people came up and admitted it. The funny thing from my standpoint is that all these people are fast. They normally win races outright or at least win their age groups. None of the slower athletes missed took the turn or at least corrected their mistake when they did. I seem to recall from a past time in my life when I could be competitive that there is a lot going on in your mind that makes it easy to miss details.
Almost all the athletes who took the turn were very gracious. I'll speak of the those that were not in a bit. What we decdto do was to create a separate division for those that took the turn and just make it a shorter race. That was the best way we could think of to appease as many people as possible.
Now lets get into rules. I heard after the race that one of the athletes who made the turn was going to have me shut down because I do not follow the rules. OK granted there were some rules not followed and lets take a look at them.
I broke the rule that says that anybody cutting the course should be disqualified. I decided to make as many people happy as possible.
Actually there is a rule saying that it is the responsibility of the athlete to know the course. We posted a map on the website. had individual maps at the race, posted a large map, and posted written instructions. At the pre race meeting we covered everything. Athletes were told to follow on white arrows on the ground and each turn would be marked by a plastic arrow stuck in the ground. Athletes were informed that on the particular road they would be riding they would go all the way to Bagdad and take a right at the fire station onto 395. They were told there would be a volunteer and someone taking photos at the turn. At the turn they made there was no white arrow, no plastic arrow, no town, no fire station, no 395, no volunteer and no photos.
I admit in a perfect world there would have been a volunteer at every possible side road,dirt road,and driveway, This is not a perfect world and did I mention the volunteers who could not show up.
That's one I broke, but that is not even the one I am supposed to get in trouble for.
The first one is that I did not ask every person for an ID at registration. Guilty as charged. Even though I know 90% of you personally I am supposed to ask you for your proof of ID at every race. Which means in this particular case that I had to make you stand in line for longer because we had no more volunteers (did I mention that?). That would have meant we start the race late. Late even for me. everybody loves that. You guys, the fire department water patrol, the volunteers on the course and the people who run the lake. Everyone who expects things to happen on schedule.
That's two. I am really starting to feel like a terrible person.
Thirdly I am accused of violating some type of rule when I announced that the sheriff's officers may have to leave in case of an emergency. As I pointed out earlier if that was to happen there would still be a Park Ranger in uniform with a car with flashing lights at the intersection, who would make sure the traffic signal was followed by everyone. My announcement included athletes must follow directions of the official at this intersection. Remember the rule about applicable traffic rules?
Fairly certain I did nothing there. Makes me feel a little better about myself.
So that's it. I will be out of business because I did not disqualify people or ask everyone for an ID. Do I really want to be in business if that is the case.
But wait there were a few more rules broke.
There are only two of the most commonly violated rules on the USAT list that mean automatic disqualification.
One involves not wearing a helmet. We had someone fly out of T1 with no helmet. A volunteer stopped them and they came back to get it. A simple oversight. I made the call that the time they spent going back to get the helmet was a sufficient penalty.
Shit, I guess I just never disqualify enough people.
The other automatic disqualification reads like this "Foul, harsh, argumentative or abusive language or other unsportsmanlike conduct directed at race officials, USA Triathlon officials, volunteers, spectators or fellow athletes is forbidden"
In any business there will be complaints from time to time. Most of the time these these complaints are presented in a civil manner and handled in the same way. Of course there are exceptions to that.
We had one person who came into T2 screaming and yelling. They made a very public showing of there complaint. Later I found out that this same person went off at a volunteer on the course. The volunteer was not a triathlete so was not very impressed with being yelled out and told of the athlete's resume which somehow gave them the right to yell.
Did I mention the same person who is going to have me shut down for the small rules is the one who broke this last one. Funny thing that.
Why do I do this again?
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The importance of training
In the past I related good racing experiences, but today I thought I would share a bad one. I think at my last posting I was talking about getting back to training. Well that didn't work out so well. Bussiness took priority over training and very little running took place.
I signed up for the KDF Marathon with all good intentions of being in shape for it. It did not work out that way. A friend was trying to qualify for Boston and asked if I would pace him to a 3:10. I knew I could not finish in that time in my current condition, but I agreed to set the pace and provide entertainment as long as I could.
We had a ball the first part of the race. We were on pace and having fun. Things started going poorly just after going through the downs. The person I was pacing started slowing. We tried to hold on but it did not happen. Personally I felt good until after Cherokee. I didn't hit the wall. That normally happens from nutrition issues. For me it was a gradual decline in performance and increase in discomfort.
No problem. I knew the end was not going to be pretty, so I just kept moving forward. I have been in much worse conditions with much much longer to go.
The physical pain was nothing I could not deal with. At mile 24-25 a major blow to my pride occured. I was within seeing difference of the 24 mile mark when I looked over my shoulder and saw my wife, Cynthia about 70 yards behind me. She was all smiles. I knew that there was no way I could hold her off for another 2 miles, but I have never been good at accepting the enevitable so I shifted into a higher gear. Unfortunatly I had no higher gear. The worst part about it was that Cynthia was laughing and talking to everybody around, so I could hear her getting closer, and closer. The pass occured right at the 25 mile mark. I made an empty threat, which was ignored. Cynthia just smiled and lied to me about how great I was doing.
The moral of this story is that if you think consistant training is overrated you had better not be the kind of person who cares if your wife kicks your ass.
I signed up for the KDF Marathon with all good intentions of being in shape for it. It did not work out that way. A friend was trying to qualify for Boston and asked if I would pace him to a 3:10. I knew I could not finish in that time in my current condition, but I agreed to set the pace and provide entertainment as long as I could.
We had a ball the first part of the race. We were on pace and having fun. Things started going poorly just after going through the downs. The person I was pacing started slowing. We tried to hold on but it did not happen. Personally I felt good until after Cherokee. I didn't hit the wall. That normally happens from nutrition issues. For me it was a gradual decline in performance and increase in discomfort.
No problem. I knew the end was not going to be pretty, so I just kept moving forward. I have been in much worse conditions with much much longer to go.
The physical pain was nothing I could not deal with. At mile 24-25 a major blow to my pride occured. I was within seeing difference of the 24 mile mark when I looked over my shoulder and saw my wife, Cynthia about 70 yards behind me. She was all smiles. I knew that there was no way I could hold her off for another 2 miles, but I have never been good at accepting the enevitable so I shifted into a higher gear. Unfortunatly I had no higher gear. The worst part about it was that Cynthia was laughing and talking to everybody around, so I could hear her getting closer, and closer. The pass occured right at the 25 mile mark. I made an empty threat, which was ignored. Cynthia just smiled and lied to me about how great I was doing.
The moral of this story is that if you think consistant training is overrated you had better not be the kind of person who cares if your wife kicks your ass.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
A Song You Can't Get Out Of Your Head
In November a few years ago I did a quintuple iron distance triathlon in Mexico. The short story is I came out of the water second. Took the lead on the bike and held it for a few hundred miles until I had some serious knee problems. I then went to survival mode and held on to finish and have the fastest time ever by a U.S. citizen at that distance. I will give you all the deatils some other time.
After that race I took a little time off. The goal was to grow Headfirst Performance Services and to provide more and better opportunities for all of you to participate in events you would love. I made myself really busy with that goal. I also used that as an excuse. In reality not only was I busy I was depressed. Not with life, but with competition. I had spent everything I had physically, mentally, and financialy on one great adventure. Having reached that goal I had a hard time getting motivated for anything else.
After a year of getting out of shape and gaining weight Cynthia signed me up for Ironman Louisville for this year. Even with that out in front of me I had no real motivation to train. Then a few weeks ago I was sitting in be checking my email. I told Cynthia I had an email from Jorge. Her response was the same as the one you are having. Who is Jorge? I said you know from Mexico. She encouraged me to open the email. I knew it was a mistake to do so, but I did it anyway. Jorge's newest adventure was a deca Iron distance triathlon. Thats right 24 mile swim/1120 mile bike/ 262 mile run. What a stupid idea. Ever get a song in your head you can't get out? I am having that same experience. Even though I know it is a bad idea I can not get it out of my head.
I know the cost but I am compelled to do it anyway. It will mean countless hours training, all kinds of money, and three weeks in Mexico for the race. In addition to that it means sleep depravation, certain pain, mental stress, and most likely injury. Sounds cool don't it.
At any rate I have found new motivation and I have until the end of March to accept the invitation to the race. I can't wait to see what happens.
After that race I took a little time off. The goal was to grow Headfirst Performance Services and to provide more and better opportunities for all of you to participate in events you would love. I made myself really busy with that goal. I also used that as an excuse. In reality not only was I busy I was depressed. Not with life, but with competition. I had spent everything I had physically, mentally, and financialy on one great adventure. Having reached that goal I had a hard time getting motivated for anything else.
After a year of getting out of shape and gaining weight Cynthia signed me up for Ironman Louisville for this year. Even with that out in front of me I had no real motivation to train. Then a few weeks ago I was sitting in be checking my email. I told Cynthia I had an email from Jorge. Her response was the same as the one you are having. Who is Jorge? I said you know from Mexico. She encouraged me to open the email. I knew it was a mistake to do so, but I did it anyway. Jorge's newest adventure was a deca Iron distance triathlon. Thats right 24 mile swim/1120 mile bike/ 262 mile run. What a stupid idea. Ever get a song in your head you can't get out? I am having that same experience. Even though I know it is a bad idea I can not get it out of my head.
I know the cost but I am compelled to do it anyway. It will mean countless hours training, all kinds of money, and three weeks in Mexico for the race. In addition to that it means sleep depravation, certain pain, mental stress, and most likely injury. Sounds cool don't it.
At any rate I have found new motivation and I have until the end of March to accept the invitation to the race. I can't wait to see what happens.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
What A Bunch Of Geeks
For the last year I have done very little. My level of fitness and my waistline both show it. Recently I decided that I have to get back into the swing of things, so I started training again. It is difficult to get back into it, but that is a story for another day.
In the 26 years since I competed in m first triathlon I have acquired more than a few books on the subject, so I started looking over a few of them. The major thought I had in this was what the hell has happened to us. The answer must be that we have become the biggest bunch of geeks the sports world has ever known.
In the years shortly after the whole triathlon thing started life was simple and so were we. That was only 30 years ago. Not so much any more. In the old days we wore speedos for the entire race, even on our 12 speed steel framed bikes without areobars. We talked in terms of mileage and speed. We were tough and we had fun.
Now you need a post graduate dregree and to be taught the secret handshake to be a triathlete. Get this, one plan tells me my thursday ride should be "F1d 1:30". I looked up what that meant an here is what it said.
F1d Fast-pace long climbs. Ride in heart rate Zones 1-5a on a hilly course with long (6+ minutes), steady climbs of 4-6 percent grades. Power should be at CP12 on climbs. Climb mostly seated at 60-70 rpm.
First off where I am going to find a course with several 6+ minute climbs? Of course I have to have a heart rate monitor to make sure I am in zones 1-5a. When did we add a, b, and c to zone 5 and who is responsible for that added bit of confusion? I have to take my handy GPS device out to make sure I am on a 4-6 percent grade. After I find out what the hell CP12 means I have to go out and buy a power meter to make sure I am doing it. I also need to make sure that I have a cadence measuring device to keep me at that 60-70 rpm.
So I decide to do this workout the way it is written. It is impossible. I have to work overtime on the Thursday I was supposed to do it, because I needed the money to pay for all the crap I need for the workout. If I did manage to get to the workout I have to drive to a suitable course, which of course I had to spend time searching for and making sure of the distance and grade of the hills. Now I have to make sure that I have charged up or have good batteries in all my gear. It would be impossible for me to ride without it. You get the point by now.
Why could this not be the workout. Ride for 1:30 on a course with some long steady climbs. Ride easy between the climbs and steady on the hills. Stay seated as much as possible on the climbs and keep a cadence about 60% of what you ride on the flats.
Same thing without the fancy codes and gee wiz gadgets. All I need is a watch, and it can be a cheap one.
We have become a sport of high tech bullshit where guys shave their legs, we wear skin tight clothing and pointy helmets, train in all weather at ungodly hours of the day and night, and dream of abusing ourselves in Lava fields. With all that going for us we of course needed to develop our own secret code so no non triathlete could understand us. Kind of reminds me of hearing Tom Cruse talk about Scientology.
There is an old principle that I would like to introduce into the triathlon world. That is K.I.S.S., which means keep it simple stupid. Following this principle will be repulsive to some. If that is you take a moment to reflect on the fact that you may be an elitist with serious issues of inadequecy. I'm just saying. I will start a section with information in the near future. If you have a good coach who works with you as an individual and not as another paycheck in exchange for a canned workout they give to everybody ingnore that section of the website. A good coach is a great luxury and will be of much greater benefit than my ramblings. I will give general tips on what I think about training. I will not give out schedules. I do not know anything about your daily life and really don't care enough to tell you what to do on a daily basis.
In the intrest of full disclosure I own several heart rate monitors which I wear every once in a great while. I also have a Garmin 305 I use for mapping courses to put on the web. It offers the ability to post elevation profiles, which is really cool because all the geeks want to know.
In the 26 years since I competed in m first triathlon I have acquired more than a few books on the subject, so I started looking over a few of them. The major thought I had in this was what the hell has happened to us. The answer must be that we have become the biggest bunch of geeks the sports world has ever known.
In the years shortly after the whole triathlon thing started life was simple and so were we. That was only 30 years ago. Not so much any more. In the old days we wore speedos for the entire race, even on our 12 speed steel framed bikes without areobars. We talked in terms of mileage and speed. We were tough and we had fun.
Now you need a post graduate dregree and to be taught the secret handshake to be a triathlete. Get this, one plan tells me my thursday ride should be "F1d 1:30". I looked up what that meant an here is what it said.
F1d Fast-pace long climbs. Ride in heart rate Zones 1-5a on a hilly course with long (6+ minutes), steady climbs of 4-6 percent grades. Power should be at CP12 on climbs. Climb mostly seated at 60-70 rpm.
First off where I am going to find a course with several 6+ minute climbs? Of course I have to have a heart rate monitor to make sure I am in zones 1-5a. When did we add a, b, and c to zone 5 and who is responsible for that added bit of confusion? I have to take my handy GPS device out to make sure I am on a 4-6 percent grade. After I find out what the hell CP12 means I have to go out and buy a power meter to make sure I am doing it. I also need to make sure that I have a cadence measuring device to keep me at that 60-70 rpm.
So I decide to do this workout the way it is written. It is impossible. I have to work overtime on the Thursday I was supposed to do it, because I needed the money to pay for all the crap I need for the workout. If I did manage to get to the workout I have to drive to a suitable course, which of course I had to spend time searching for and making sure of the distance and grade of the hills. Now I have to make sure that I have charged up or have good batteries in all my gear. It would be impossible for me to ride without it. You get the point by now.
Why could this not be the workout. Ride for 1:30 on a course with some long steady climbs. Ride easy between the climbs and steady on the hills. Stay seated as much as possible on the climbs and keep a cadence about 60% of what you ride on the flats.
Same thing without the fancy codes and gee wiz gadgets. All I need is a watch, and it can be a cheap one.
We have become a sport of high tech bullshit where guys shave their legs, we wear skin tight clothing and pointy helmets, train in all weather at ungodly hours of the day and night, and dream of abusing ourselves in Lava fields. With all that going for us we of course needed to develop our own secret code so no non triathlete could understand us. Kind of reminds me of hearing Tom Cruse talk about Scientology.
There is an old principle that I would like to introduce into the triathlon world. That is K.I.S.S., which means keep it simple stupid. Following this principle will be repulsive to some. If that is you take a moment to reflect on the fact that you may be an elitist with serious issues of inadequecy. I'm just saying. I will start a section with information in the near future. If you have a good coach who works with you as an individual and not as another paycheck in exchange for a canned workout they give to everybody ingnore that section of the website. A good coach is a great luxury and will be of much greater benefit than my ramblings. I will give general tips on what I think about training. I will not give out schedules. I do not know anything about your daily life and really don't care enough to tell you what to do on a daily basis.
In the intrest of full disclosure I own several heart rate monitors which I wear every once in a great while. I also have a Garmin 305 I use for mapping courses to put on the web. It offers the ability to post elevation profiles, which is really cool because all the geeks want to know.
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