Best of StL

The Riverfront Times has posted the Best of StLouis 2006. Very fun reading for the locals

Stay tuned to this blog channel for my own "Best of..." in the coming days/weeks

Number Nine / Numero Neuf

Another tri on Sunday... This will be #9 for the year.

This is the fall RecPlex... And the deciding 3rd round in "Jim G vs CC 2006". The score this year is knotted at 1 apiece.

Jim G has been pretty busy with his new gig and continues to claim that he has not been training. We'll see. I'm not sure I'm as fit as I was for Lake StL but I feel pretty good.

I feel _very_ good about the swim time: 9:10 am. Woo-hoo! Now that is a reasonable time to start a race.

So far, so good

In the first half of 2006, the stats:

swim X meters
bike Y miles
run Z miles

From July to date, the totals:

swim 98% of X
bike 130% of Y
run 80% of Z

Not bad... April and May were rough months for fitness, so that explains part of it.

Lemp Mansion

Some friends went out the other night for a murder mystery dinner theatre at the Lemp Mansion.

What a hoot! A good meal and a great story put on by some fine actors. We all dressed up to fit the theme: the Roaring 1920s.

All 40 diners received roles, though about 6 received bigger roles. I was one, and ultimately was deemed "The Killer", which may have been:

(a) to fit the plot
(b) a nod toward any improv ability (they didn't know I have taken classes)
(c) the diner with the worst onion breath

Lewis & Clark

Congrats to several friends who ran/walked the 1/2 marathon at Lewis & Clark! I was part of the "cheering contigent" which was fun.

A neat sidebar was that Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and general freak, was there to do the marathon. It is his first in a series of 50 in 50 days. Pretty crazy but if you know his book/60 Minutes segment, you know it is sort of par-for-the-course.

He is a good showman and knows how to do a gimmick. The gimmick this time was that he and his wife renewed their vows during the race (with a Running Reverend, no less).

See Fleet Feet and his blog

Here comes that funny feeling again

Partly due to the realization that most companies act like sociopaths (see previous post), I have started to sniff around for other opportunities in my current locale.

It's exhilirating yet nerve-wracking. I generally disdain the "fear of change" feeling; but that irreverent dismissal is a _lot_ easier when the stakes are low.

Going to see a weird, un-reviewed movie is one thing; a new gig/lifestyle is quite another.

The Crowd Rushes By

Zounds! I am suddenly in 6th place in the FleetFeet tri series.

I was expecting Bob K, Nancy K, and some others to take over, but Luke H has come out of nowhere. That guy did extremely well last year (562 out of 600) but hadn't posted any results.

Ah well.... it was fun while it lasted.

I'll have to return to destroying Jim G.

Quote of the Day

"We are all Americans! ...how can we not feel profound solidarity with the United States..." -- Le Monde editorial, Paris, France, Sept 12, 2001.

2 Kids, A Fish, and now A Cat

She's back! My cousin is blogging on her adventures. This and Binky are the only blogs from home (so far) and massively important.

A key theme: my 2nd cousins, Action Girl (aka L) and Super Girl (aka J), whose photos adorn my office door and whose lives have happened since I came to the US (that freaks me out). Also, my cousin teaches at the same elementary school that I attended. The legendary West Kent. (I often tell people I was more of a Renaissance Man at age 10 then I will ever be now.). Finally, the "hubby" is a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame inlaw. Like my sister, my cousin chose well and I have 2 friends in the family.

Eye of the Tiger

Our hero, part man, part tiger, is aboard his trusty steed, Blackbird. The feline-equine combination race along the jungle path at blistering speeds. The tiger is on the hunt, with his senses perfectly attuned to his environment: eyes furtively darting for movement, his keen nose scours the air for the scent of prey, whiskers on edge.

It is the Lake St Louis triathlon. No mere swim, bike, run in the park, this is about redemption.

To this point all is well. The swim was longer than anticipated (tigers don't like water). Blackbird, for once, has been in a great mood. Now, our hero glides into T2, the transition from bike to run.

He quickly changes gear, and then pounces toward the exit area. He does not detect the rabbit named Jim G, who started 20 minutes beforehand, a sizable lead. Yet, some sixth sense gives him hope. He licks his lips and wipes away the sweat.

He notices that he is still wearing his bike gloves, and zounds! he has forgotten to don his race # for the run.

A rare gaffe: he turns around and heads back to T2. An abomination... It costs him 1 and 3/4 minutes.

35 minutes later, the tiger ambles along the jungle with a renewed sense of urgency, driven by his costly mistake. He may or may not have made up the time, but things are going well. The sun beats down on the rolling of hills of the affluent suburb.

Scanning the field for prey, his eyes lock onto white: a man in a white t-shirt. With a heart-rate monitor. Short, reddish hair, and a stiff, military amble.

It's him!! Incredibly, the joyous adrenalin of spotting prey sends the tiger into pure bliss. His tail flickers back and forth. His eyes widen. Again he smacks his chops.

This is going to be good. But what to do? Does he toy with his prey? Does he wait and stalk?

He decides to pounce, and before long, he strides up alongside of the rabbit. Like many animals in this situation, the rabbit has glazed eyes: fear, and an overwhelming sense that it is over. Nature has compassionately administered a powerful sedative for what is to come.

The two exchange pleasantries, as though they are not mortal enemies. They run together for a moment, and again the decision: does the tiger "hang" with the rabbit for a bit? Or does he push on, striving for total domination?

He chooses the latter. He strides past the rabbit, looking back on occasion to prevent an unlikely comeback.

It is a good day: CC 1 Jim G 1, 2006. Redemption. Domination.

ps. In fairness, Jim G had a fairly significant, though brief, bike wreck. To his credit, he generously claims that it did not affect the outcome.

Thrashing like Piranhas

This TV commercial is a delightful spoof of a triathlon lake swim, which is notoriously abusive.

If you don't have sound, the guy says "My name is John Doe. I'm a triathlete training for the swim. I like my training to simulate the race conditions as closely as possible".