Running to New York

Its time to get Blog “active” again and the motivation to do so is my entry in to the 2015 New York Marathon. I have always wanted to do a Marathon, one Marathon, and figure that I may as well do the grand daddy of major city events, which means 1 November 2015 and New York.

My entry is as part of the group representing the MND and ME (Motor Neurone) Foundation and it is with much pride that they have adopted me for this event.

I have a training program courtesy of myasics.com and with this, I am transitioning from cyclist to runner, be it only (at this stage) until the conclusion of the Marathon.

And the transition is interesting. In the space of three weeks, I have run my best 10k road run in some 25 years, begun to enjoy, even look forward to running and am watching my diet from not just a health perspective, but looking in to diet from a performance and recovery perspective.

Which brings me to my training run on Saturday morning. My program called for a 12 kilometre medium paced run. I have gained great confidence the last week or so by completing similar runs very comfortably. My average heart rate has been getting lower, my energy burn reducing and my times improving. It has actually been comfortable, verging on the edge of being easy.

However, this morning was really difficult. It was hard to get in to a rhythm, I was aware my heart rate was higher than usual and I just felt sluggish.

Not withstanding, I pushed on, paid particular attention to my running posture and breathing while at the same time looking for anything to distract me.

I completed the run; in fact, I added extra 2 kilometres just for the sake of it and was quite surprised to find my average pace was 4 seconds per kilometre quicker than the equivalent run only two days before. However, my average heart rate was 27 beats per minute higher and my energy “burn” was 334 units more than 2days prior.

So, what was different? Why the sluggish feeling? Why the higher heart rate?

I went over the period since my last run, 36 hours previously. What had I done differently?

The answer was simple and obvious.

I left work for home at about 4.30pm Friday hoping to get a head start on the weather ravaged traffic in a Brisbane that had been hit by freakish weather conditions. After driving nearly 3 kilometres, in 2 hours 10 minutes, I executed a “doubtfully legal” U Turn and returned to the office.

Back at work, I consoled myself with three Gin and Tonics supplemented by a large packet/container of Pringles.

On finally getting home at about 10.30, I had some soup, watched the end of a movie and went to bed.

Given my attention to diet has been somewhat fastidious, and my alcohol consumption basically zero, it is obvious that the difference was wholly and solely diet related.

I should note that sleep time was consistent as have been weather conditions (run in the rain excluded).

I have never been a fan of supplements but will now research them. I will also look closer into diet and what further I might be able to do to assist training performance and recovery.

If one relatively small diet divergence can have such a huge negative impact, it stands to reason there is an equal positive impact ready to be discovered from more attention to diet detail.

Watch this space…..

Facebook Delivers

Facebook impacts different people or groups of people in many different ways.

For all too many parents of teenagers, it is the vehicle by which communication with child becomes challenging because “you always have your head in your phone”. Heaven forbid there be a “friend” status update that is posted 30 seconds or more without the chance to comment. The speed responses are posted is astounding.

For many others, Facebook is a great vehicle for sharing photos of family and experiences eg Travel, sport, celebrations etc

And of course there are the negatives. The parties that find their way to Facebook and get out of control due to the number of unintended attendees is one such example. There is also the negative of hate pages.

 Major Corporations have become better at managing their images and use social media to connect with new demographics, however this can come unstuck due to the inability of the “Spin Doctors” to control feed back or comments made on their pages. And for the small business, Facebook is a low cost avenue to support other marketing and sales initiatives.

 Facebook has allowed me to follow the progress of a number of staff who worked part time for Ideal Image and it has been a delight to see them establish careers, have families and to see these families growing up 

Events of the last 7 days have reinforced one of the reasons I use Facebook, even if it has taken these events to fully appreciate this reasons.

During the last 2 years, I have re-connected with a number of people I had completely lost track of. This includes several I went to school with who I literally had not communicated with for over 32 years. One lives in the USA and has for most of their Adult life.

 I have also reconnected with a former work colleague who I knew well but we went our separate ways about 28 years ago.

Reconnecting via Facebook has resulted in several face to face catch ups and to hear and learn what has transpired in their lives has been fascinating indeed.

The benefit of using Facebook were even more clear for me this last week when I discovered a message from someone who was a much valued and trusted friend quite some years ago. For a number of reasons, we were unable to maintain, or be in contact however due to changed circumstances our contact has been re-established and hopefully, will now be maintained for life.

Thank you Facebook.

It should be said however, that my skills using the message functionality of Facebook are somewhat under developed and it was only by accident that I actually found the message. The message to me had been sent some weeks ago and had been sitting unread. In fact, if I had not clicked on a button/icon by mistake, it may well have gone unread for many weeks, months or longer.

Lance Armstrong

Let me state front and centre. I have been a Lance Armstrong fan since 2002 when I became aware of this amazing story of recovering from cancer to come back and dominate the world’s hardest, most demanding annual athletic contest.

Since I started cycling in 2004, I have read many books on the subject including those written by Armstrong and several about him and his Tour wins.

I have also worn a Livestrong band since 2004, partly in support of the cause and partly because I like the general concept of the message “Livestrong”

In addition, when I confronted my own (non cancer) health challenge in 2008, I adopted the “Livestrong” mantra as part of my recovery philosophy and have continued to do so in subsequent years. Also, I adopted words Lance stated when talking about his Cancer treatment as my motto “You’ve got to strong, you’ve got to be brave”

I regularly reminded myself of his words particularly during some of the less than pleasant processes before, during and after surgery as well as in the initial rehabilitation period. I continue to adopt this motto today.

Having said that, my first real bike was a Trek however I was not familiar enough with the sport of pro cycling at the time of purchase to realise that this was the bike of Lance and his team. In fact, I was somewhat disappointed to discover it was his bike brand as I have always avoided purchasing sporting equipment used by the mega stars. For example, I never used a Gray Nichols cricket bat largely because this was the brand used by the test stars when I was a teenager.

I have also been an advocate of “if you test positive for banned substances, you are guilty and serve a suspension” and I don’t care of you are a famous cricketer or world ranked Australian swimmer taking a head ache tablet. The circumstances leading to your positive test are irrelevant because you are responsible for everything that goes in to your mouth. By logical progression, if you do not test positive, you are innocent.

All that aside, for many years now it has not been logical to me that Lance raced clean. Every competitor who challenged him at the Tour has subsequently returned a positive test or been implicated in doping. By extension, I felt it highly likely that Lance also doped.

So how do I feel now with the basically irrefutable evidence that Lance Armstrong built an athletic career largely based on being able to plan, participate in and execute the very best drugs in sport regime there has ever been?

I feel hollow and sad.

My hollowness is as a result of being fooled by the most extraordinary non military propaganda campaign ever. What’s more, it was an institutional campaign seemingly implemented and enforced by aggressive, almost bully boy methods and anyone who dared protest was pursued and dealt with, be it cyclist, staff member of journalist.

If you look at how the behaviour of  the teams of Armstrong evolved over the years, a pattern of increasing paranoia is evident. This increased paranoia is almost understandable behaviour and can be compared to anyone involved in long term illegal activity.

My sadness is born from becoming aware that it is possible for a person to perpetuate such a lie for so long and do so aggressively and assertively while cutting down the careers and lives of anyone who sort to challenge the legitimacy of what was being achieved.

Would it make any difference now if Lance came out and confessed all – I don’t think so. It may appease Lamond, Landis and many others but to normal fans like me, I don’t think it matters any more. It is too late.

I am fan of pro cycling and will continue to be. I want to believe in the cleanliness of the sport as evidenced these past 2 or so years. I also want to believe that such a systemic doping program as that in play at US Postal could never occur again – I just need some time to be convinced of this. I would also like to be confident in the drug testing science and that it will actually catch cheaters.

A part of me is uncomfortable with the evidence against Armstrong being testimony and not science based. I should add, that my discomfort is not so much with the Armstrong case but with where this could go in the future. For example, could several cyclists with a grudge to bear against another make baseless allegations? I like the science and perhaps the main challenge for the UCI and others is to convince us the science is solid.

Finally, I am still wearing the Livestrong arm band however I do so and want to continue to do so for what it means to me, which is primarily why I have worn it these last 4 years anyway. Sadly, I am already being challenged about why I am still wearing it.

Gender Equality - Yes or No?

This coming Friday, Catherine marries William in what is being described as the wedding of the century.

Who is planning their day and evening around following this event and watching it on television? Do you prefer the serious and traditional take on the wedding on offer at ABC 1 or is the offering of the Chaser’s commentary on ABC 2 more appealing?

I vividly recall watching the wedding of William’s parents at a party at my Sister and Brother in Laws house. All the guests at the party were required to wear the same clothes as they wore on their wedding day. It was a fun night of celebration for the future King and Queen of England (and Australia) and a couple who were destined to set the standards for the next 30 years.

Sadly, in many ways they probably have. Arguably, the interviews they gave to the press as their relationship deteriorated represented our first exposure to the reality TV revolution that seems to dominate so many peoples’ lives today.

The wedding of Charles and Dianna was to be the start of an optimistic future at a time when the world was rapidly changing and values were under attack. It was misplaced optimism.

Unfortunately, the Royal wedding of 2011 represents a massive lost opportunity.

In my opinion, this week’s Royal wedding should have provided the motivation for some significant and tangible leadership in gender equality.

The current succession line to the Throne is in order, Charles, William, Harry and Andrew.

As the Law stands, the eldest male child of the monarch is the next in line to the throne. As both of Charles children are males, there is no controversy about who is next in line.

The lost opportunity however is that there may be no better time than now, and before William and Catherine marry and have Children, to finally acknowledge that males and females are equals.

There should be a Law introduced into the British Parliament with effect from the date of the wedding of William for the future line of succession to the Throne to be the eldest Child of the King or Queen irrespective of gender.

As I wrote in April 2009 (http://philosophyfunandfantasy.blogspot.com/2009/04/monarchy-gender-and-religion.html) there was a Bill introduced into the British Parliament to do just this but it was voted down by the major Parties.

Now is the time to introduce such a Bill again and to have it passed unanimously. To not do so, relegates Women to an unequal position in society, and a society that believes itself to be tolerant and fair. It is not. What possible better example could there be of leadership of gender equalisation of opportunity?

And while we are at it, let us also rid ourselves of the religious discrimination that applies to the British Monarchy.

I for one will not be watching or following the Royal Wedding on Friday.

Instead of watching the wedding on Friday night, does anyone want to join me for wine and dinner to celebrate the concept of hope for gender equality? I am sure the restaurants will be empty.

Just Answer the Question

I have been looking forward to the return of the Insiders so I can get my weekly fix of political analysis, debate and cartoons.

This morning’s program illustrated two classic examples of why we not only remain cynical about our politicians, but why this cynicism grows.

The first example concerned Tony Abbott.

It was revealed last week that at the end of an e-mail distributed to party members and others putting forward arguments against the Flood Levy, there was a request for donations to the Liberal Party inclusive of a link to allow easy facilitation of such donations.

Apparently and not altogether surprisingly, this is a standard request included on all e-mails.

The Leader of the Opposition has been criticised for being insensitive in that he had his signature on an e-mail requesting donations at a time when funds are being requested from the public to assist with the rebuilding of peoples’ lives after the devastation of the Queensland Floods.

The Prime Minister and Treasurer have had a field day calling the request ‘disgusting’ and politicking aside, the request for money to the Party was an unfortunate inclusion in the e-mail.

In the interview on Insiders, Tony Abbott was asked if he thought the Liberal Party was more deserving than the Queensland Floods appeal for funds at this time. Instead of plainly and unambiguously answering “no the Queensland Floods appeal is more deserving,” Abbott answered to the effect that everyone has the right to make up their own minds as to where monies are directed.

When pushed further on the matter, he said words to the effect that he would never discourage anyone from donating to the Floods Appeal but again added that it is an individual choice and he would also never discourage anyone from thinking a donation to the Party was also worthwhile.
You are on a hiding to nothing Mr Abbott. Surely at a personal level you believe the floods are a more worthy cause in the immediate term. In addition, at a political level this would surely be the correct answer also.

The second case involved the Education Minister in the New South Wales Government, Verity Firth whose husband Matthew Chesher was arrested last week for allegedly purchasing Ecstasy.
I don’t care about the private life and habits of a Politician’s spouse however the reality is, such an event is a news story and many people are interested.

I also do not think the Minister should have to conduct a press conference to answer questions about her husband however the fact is this is exactly what she was required to do. I guess there is some relevance in that he was once a ministerial staffer however he does not hold such a position at the moment.

Inevitably Verity Firth was asked if she had ever taken Ecstasy. She answered by saying she had “done nothing wrong”. When pushed, she repeated the same answer and when pushed further expanded the answer with “I have nothing to apologise about. My conscience is absolutely clear.”

By answering the question as she did, my, and perhaps most viewers would not unreasonably form the opinion that she had in fact taken the drug.
If you haven’t, say definitively that you haven’t, and if you have, say so.
A ‘yes’ answer would actually achieve more for your self image and even the honesty and integrity of your Government than the wishy washy rubbish you came out with.

And if the answer was to be yes, say so and then immediately ask the journalist of they have taken or used any illegal drugs and push them for an answer. After all, aren’t political journalist also public figures who help form opinion? If it is good enough to know about a Politician’s family’s private lives on the basis this might influence decisions they make and policies they develop, surely it would be fair to know about a Journalist family private life because this could influence the way a story is reported.

Off to France

Leaving tonight for France.

Follow the adventure on http://2010cyclingtour.blogspot.com/

In his epic Roman Tragedy Julius Caesar, Shakespeare wrote ”The Ides of March are upon us”.

And the Ides of March 2010 have just passed and I wonder just where the year has gone and what the hell I have been up to. It just seems to have been so hectic.

It is Sunday afternoon and for what feels like the first time in a very long time, I have a few hours with no specific commitments and no where I have to be. I am taking some time out to catch up on a three month back log of Blogs I usually read and so much seems to have passed me by. Reading all the back log in such a concentrated way makes me realise there are two very specific threads at play – Cycling and Politics. Then again, if I look at the bookcase behind me, the themes of the books are the same. I really should expand my horizons

But what happened to January, February and March 2010?

Work has been hectic and challenging. In short, we have achieved ‘flat growth’ since 2000and need to do something to reverse the trend. Does anyone else think the term ‘flat growth’ is one of the silliest business expressions of the century? I guess however it does sound better than saying ‘we have been abject failures’ for the last 10 years.

Given I am responsible for ‘Strategy’ the ideas are expected to flow from me.

3rd March was the 2nd anniversary of my open heart surgery and the date for my annual comprehensive check up. I am not sure why, but in the weeks leading up to it I was becoming very apprehensive and agitated. The more agitated I become, the more annoyed I was getting with myself for being agitated. I knew there was absolutely no reason to be concerned but I was.

Fortunately, all my concern was without foundation. My blood figures were better than excellent and the results of the physical tests were outstanding. In addition, my exercise heart rate restrictions have been lifted.

An undisputed highlight of February was the AC/DC concert.

On several occasions in my teens I attended early AC/DC concerts with the best and most recent being at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl in 1976. Sometimes it is dangerous to re-visit experiences from youth. It can be disappointing and end up diminishing the original experience.

In this case, the intervening 34 years has not diminished the original experience. Mind you, the cost was somewhat more in 2010. We had premium tickets in the pit in the front section less than 50 metres from the main stage and literally 5 metres from the stage extension.

It rained heavily at times during the concert but these guys did not back off one bit. We experienced High Voltage Rock and Roll and for those who rocked and rolled ‘We Solute You’.

I usually find a guitar solo of more than a few minutes duration a little tedious. Angus Young performed an 18 minute solo and I did not want it to finish.

These photos were taken during his solo on a standard Nokia phone camera and indicate just how close we were to the Stage Extension.












On other matters..............

I have been cycling but not with any great consistency of intensity.

My concentration has been on trying to get the shoulder I busted in August back working with some degree of normality.

I have full movement but very little strength so 4 or 5 visits a week to the gym has become part of the weekly routine.

Finally, I have bought a new car (reluctantly). The problem with owning a SAAB is every time you need something done to it, it has a four figure price tag even for a relatively minor thing. With a few things needing attention, the first of the four figures was going to be an ‘8’ and simply not worth it.

I wrote some time ago about making sensible decisions with things like car purchases rather than decisions based to a large degree on ego and image. I guess this was my opportunity to let action reflect the words – and as hard as this was, I think I have done that. I do however have some change left over to also invest in a second car as a fun item so look out for something with a 7 or a 350 in the name during the next 12 months.

Then again, I could always buy that elusive new bike?

Going forward in 2010, I really need to return to circulation. I feel I have been somewhat unsociable and it is time to correct this.

Hockey season is back and the TV Broadcasts start again this coming week. There is also an extra show to be recorded in the studio so that will be challenging, time consuming and educational.

I have the objective of completing a half marathon in July and a triathlon in April so that provides a training purpose.

Notwithstanding, I do need to make a greater effort.

In the meantime, I am also in the market for a new house/unit. I like Spring Hill and West End but it is difficult to match desire and wants with needs and price. The hunt continues.

Stay well