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.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Maximus
One of the things I want to do is talk about people. Not Brittney or Paris, but people living and dead that I look to as great examples. I will from time to time slam some as horrible warnings, but that is just when I am pissed for some reason. My fear with this is that everyone will realize I am really just a big geek. I agree with Machiavelli in "men walk almost always in the paths trodden by others, proceeding in their actions by imitation. Not being always able to follow others exactly, nor attain to the excellence of those he imitates, a prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent, so that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate he will get some tinge of it."
I will start with someone that we all know, but at the same time don't know. The character in the movie Gladiator, Maximus. He was an actual person, but the story was not. Marcus Aurelius was actually a Roman Emporer, and really cool to. As close to Plato's idea of a philosopher king as I have read about. His son Commodus did become emporer upon his death. Something that Marcus dreaded. Commodus was a ruthless son of a bitch who did like the gladiators. Maximus was the top general of Marcus Aurelius. That is where the real story ends.
Marcus does talk about Maximus in his meditations. The Roman Emporer gives the following credit to his general. "From Maximus I learned self-government, and not to be led aside by anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances, as well as in illness; and a just admixture in the moral character of sweetness and dignity, and to do what was set before me without complaining. I observed that everybody believed that he thought as he spoke, and that in all that he did he never had any bad intention; and he never showed amazement and surprise, and was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing, nor was perplexed nor dejected, nor did he ever laugh to disguise his vexation, nor on the other hand, was he ever passionate or suspicious. He was accustomed to do acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and was free from all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a man who could not be diverted from right rather than a man who had been improved. I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man. He also had the art of being humorous in an agreeable way."
In that short description we can see an example of how we should strive to live as both athletes and individuals. We may not attain this example, but a tinge of it would help us all.
'
I will start with someone that we all know, but at the same time don't know. The character in the movie Gladiator, Maximus. He was an actual person, but the story was not. Marcus Aurelius was actually a Roman Emporer, and really cool to. As close to Plato's idea of a philosopher king as I have read about. His son Commodus did become emporer upon his death. Something that Marcus dreaded. Commodus was a ruthless son of a bitch who did like the gladiators. Maximus was the top general of Marcus Aurelius. That is where the real story ends.
Marcus does talk about Maximus in his meditations. The Roman Emporer gives the following credit to his general. "From Maximus I learned self-government, and not to be led aside by anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances, as well as in illness; and a just admixture in the moral character of sweetness and dignity, and to do what was set before me without complaining. I observed that everybody believed that he thought as he spoke, and that in all that he did he never had any bad intention; and he never showed amazement and surprise, and was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing, nor was perplexed nor dejected, nor did he ever laugh to disguise his vexation, nor on the other hand, was he ever passionate or suspicious. He was accustomed to do acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and was free from all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a man who could not be diverted from right rather than a man who had been improved. I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man. He also had the art of being humorous in an agreeable way."
In that short description we can see an example of how we should strive to live as both athletes and individuals. We may not attain this example, but a tinge of it would help us all.
'
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Epiphany
One of the definitions of an epiphany is "an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event). When reveiwing the last year I have had one of these. I had worked every available minute on the races we produced and timed. I did not train for anything and I did nothing else for my own pleasure. My reward for all that is that I ended the year broke and out of shape.
The intuitive grasp of reality that I had is that I have lost all touch with reality. I had tried to become everything I am not. That is a person that is too serious and too worried about things. I basically suck at that.
It is time to have some fun. Fun Todd Heady style. To most people that is going to be a sick and scarry thing.
I have lived most of my life doing what I like to do and I am going to get back to that. Now if after the warnings you have decided to read this I will tell you a little more about what you can expect. You are going to get my honest thoughts and opinions. Not the refined version you may get in other places. Even other places on this website. I am not going to worry about being politically correct or hurting anyone's feelings. If you are the sensitive type you should be reading ths anyway. If at any time you get offended stop reading. It is not that difficult of a concept.
If you have a comment or complaint about anything in this section of the website keep them to yourself. I really don't care.
I guess I can give you an idea of what to expect by telling you a little about me and the things that I like. I love to compete and to make it possible for others to compete. I love to train. I am very opinionated. I like to drink beer. Not that fancy shit that is in fasion now, but good old Budweiser. I chew tobacco. I eat for my pleasure and fuel not for my health. Much of what I eat I have killed myself. Keep that in mind when I say I like most animals I have met better than most people I have met. I do not mind suffering and I love to make others suffer. I did the airborne thing in the military. I love Shakespeare, and think Aristotle and Niccolo Machiavelli were both brilliant. Ronald Reagan was the greatest president in my lifetime and there has not been an actor worth a shit since John Wayne died. One of the major problems in the world is a lack off well deserved ass whippings. Take most of the people in Hollywood as an example. I think endurance athletes should know the names Zatopek, Lydiard, and Corbitt. I love gadgets, expecially bike stuff. I don't think that they are near as important as the motor. I think power meters, heart rate monitors, and the like are neat toys that people put too much stock in. Most of the people who write books on endurance sports care way more about getting rich than about making better athletes.
That is enough about me for now. If that does not convince you that you do not want to follow my thoughts and experiences there is not much more I can say to warn you off. Lets just see where things take us.
The intuitive grasp of reality that I had is that I have lost all touch with reality. I had tried to become everything I am not. That is a person that is too serious and too worried about things. I basically suck at that.
It is time to have some fun. Fun Todd Heady style. To most people that is going to be a sick and scarry thing.
I have lived most of my life doing what I like to do and I am going to get back to that. Now if after the warnings you have decided to read this I will tell you a little more about what you can expect. You are going to get my honest thoughts and opinions. Not the refined version you may get in other places. Even other places on this website. I am not going to worry about being politically correct or hurting anyone's feelings. If you are the sensitive type you should be reading ths anyway. If at any time you get offended stop reading. It is not that difficult of a concept.
If you have a comment or complaint about anything in this section of the website keep them to yourself. I really don't care.
I guess I can give you an idea of what to expect by telling you a little about me and the things that I like. I love to compete and to make it possible for others to compete. I love to train. I am very opinionated. I like to drink beer. Not that fancy shit that is in fasion now, but good old Budweiser. I chew tobacco. I eat for my pleasure and fuel not for my health. Much of what I eat I have killed myself. Keep that in mind when I say I like most animals I have met better than most people I have met. I do not mind suffering and I love to make others suffer. I did the airborne thing in the military. I love Shakespeare, and think Aristotle and Niccolo Machiavelli were both brilliant. Ronald Reagan was the greatest president in my lifetime and there has not been an actor worth a shit since John Wayne died. One of the major problems in the world is a lack off well deserved ass whippings. Take most of the people in Hollywood as an example. I think endurance athletes should know the names Zatopek, Lydiard, and Corbitt. I love gadgets, expecially bike stuff. I don't think that they are near as important as the motor. I think power meters, heart rate monitors, and the like are neat toys that people put too much stock in. Most of the people who write books on endurance sports care way more about getting rich than about making better athletes.
That is enough about me for now. If that does not convince you that you do not want to follow my thoughts and experiences there is not much more I can say to warn you off. Lets just see where things take us.
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