The Heart of the Game

As Final Four weekend is approaching, it seems like a good time to toss another sports movie recommendation out there. The Heart of the Game was just released on video. It's not a standard sports film at all. It's a documentary about a girl's high school basketball program, its eccentric coach, and one of their star players. That's all I'll say because anything you know about this film beforehand can only hurt your experience watching it. So don't listen to anyone or read any reviews. Just add it to your Netflix list or go rent it. It's one of those true stories that couldn't be written because people would think it was over the top.

I also just watched Eight Below because people kept telling me I had to (because of my dog). While I'm not generally a fan of obvious Disney-esque drama, if you like animals than this is not-to-be-missed. I will admit, I like dogs a lot more than most people. When dogs are creating mayhem at the crags and everyone is complaining, I'm the one loving it (more than my dog, who prefers things to be orderly in his old age). So with that qualifier, it's a flim that shouldn't be missed.

I realize that most of my blog readers aren't basketball people. I find this kind of funny; hardly any of my friends know or care about basketball one bit. It's like my coaching years were another lifetime. But if any of you give a crap about the game (stole that line from an ESPN columnist) you do not want to miss Saturday's games. The NCAA tourny lacked the upsets that everyone loves. Instead, we have, perhaps, that most intersting Final Four in years.

Though I realize that missing a Saturday outside in order to watch basketball is unlikely for most of you (I'm not even sure I will, but maybe I can ride so hard in the morning that I'm too tired to do anything else), I'll set the stage a little just in case.

First, there's a rematch of last year's title game between UCLA and Florida. Florida has all five of its started back and blew UCLA out last year. But UCLA is probably better. Their relentless swarming defense is allowing an average of 55 points in the tourny and they just shut down high flying Kansas--many experts pick to win it all--to a degree no one could have predicted. Florida, however, has crazy versatility and is, basically, really really good. They've been toying with teams, allowing them leads early on only to clamp down later when it matters, in a way only truly great teams are able to get away with. They should win the game.

But there is an intriguing story because they can't follow the same pattern they've played with. You can't spot UCLA a double digit lead because they're so hard to score against. If they come out flat, the Bruins will make them pay.

The next game, Georgetown vs. Ohio St is almost like an old school classic. Two teams with dominating 7 footers, OSU likes to run, G'Town plays at a crawl and has the most effiecient offense in the country. Both centers dominate games on defense. Greg Oden, OSU's freshman center, is im the Bill Russell/Bill Walton mode in that he doesn't need to score very much to completely take over a game. In the tourny, he's barely averaging double digits in scoring yet, when he's on the floor, his teams is crushing its opponents. But that's a big when, as his agressive style gets him into foul trouble and he's barely on the floor for half of each game. If Oden stays on the foor, he should be able to neutralize G'Town's biggest weapon, it's ability to use their size to dominate teams on the glass. If not, they're probably in trouble.

These are two of the most intriguing match-ups that I can recall in college basketball in many years. So if you're sick, injured, or just need a rest day consider checking it out.

Live Coverage of Bike Racing

4:25 PM Ain't it great
that a week-long stage race comes down to the final few kilometers? This is bike racing.

- From Velonews.com's live report

Now that OLN (Versus) had pretty much given up most of their coverage of cycling, you need to turn to the net for live updates. Sometimes, you can get live feeds from Europe. Eurosport always has video highlights and some commentary and you can usually find great coverage for big races, like the Giro. For the smaller and more locally based races, your choice is mainly cyclingnews.com and velonews.com.

For years, cyclingnews has been superior (maybe more of my opinion because I've written for them) but Velonews has no only closed the gap but is now blowing them away. Velo's live coverage of Parin-Nice has been outstanding, while it appears that cyclingnews is barely scraping up their leftovers. Hopefully, CN is just having a bad P-N experience and will be back on track. For the larger races, I like to read both of the live reports because you get different feedback and perspective. When they're on, both have interviews and such and have better coverage than you get on TV with the OLN crew. Sad, but true. If we could only ditch Al Trautwig and get somebody who knows something about bike racing...

Anyway, Paris-Nice has been a fantastic race. I just hope it's an indication of how the racing season is going to go.

Bracketology

I'll admit it, this year I've had less time to follow basketball than I have in a while. But as someone who spent more than half of their life living and dying--as both a player and coach--for the sport, I still have a bit of feel, not to mention nostalgia, for the game. And I follow it, at least in the news, pretty closely. I have to. My dad was a coach for most of his life. If I didn't it would put a huge damper in our conversations. Therefore, I'm upholding what I feel to be a responsibility and making my picks and observations for this year's NCAA tournament.

Last year, I said it was the most open dance in memory and that I hadn't a clue. Then I wound up picking pretty well:

2006 Picks

I even picked George Mason, well, sorta, with my 11 v 6 proclomation.

Coach's Corner

But this year is even crazier. Except for Florida. Maybe still Florida. There hasn't been one team that hasn't had a bad loss or lull or losing streak amongst all the favorites. Ohio St, the only team that's been close to consistant got slaughtered by Florida. UCLA had been consistant until they all of a sudden couldn't play defense in their last two games. Florida was playing horrible until they seemed to wake up and walk through their conference tourny.

Before I get to the picks here are two observations.

1. The play in game sucks. Jesus, these teams qualify for the "dance" but, in reality, get a showdown in some high school gym on the opening night of the NIT that has virtually zero fanfare. It's horrible, really. Does the committee really believe we need to squeeze in one more 7th place team. What kind of 7th place team even feels like they should be rewarded anyway? In most conferences, this is a long way from first place and pretty close to last.

2. If this tourney is really as "open" as all of the experts say, why is everyone picking nothing but 1 and 2 seeds, with a smattering of 3's (A&M)? And I mean everyone. I saw a rundown of "experts" picks and not only wasn't there a George Mason in a projection, but not one single LSU (4 seed last year) or UCLA and only a couple of Floridas. It's pretty much #1 vs #1 or #2 across the bored. Talk about boring. Sheesh. If the tournament actually played out like this people would stop watching.

Alrighty, then. Here we go:

West

I'd love to pick Niagra over Kansas because someday a 16 will beat a 1. Not this year though.

Nova over UK in a toss up, since the Cats aren't playing well.

Tech, I guess. This is one of the weirdest teams in the country but they'll win is the good Hokies show.

So Ill - deeefense!

VCU over Duke. Yep. I think Duke should even be a lower seed.

Wright St over Pitt. Why not? One of these brackets is going to be weird. Pitt just got worked over and WS is a sandbag 14. Didn't they just beat Butler (a 5)?

Zags over UI, and UCLA over Weber St.

Midwest:

Florida got an easy road in this bracket and will win round one.

Arizona over Purdue, though I'm not really buying all the talk over super talent. Something is missing with them.

ODU over Butler. The 'ol 12/5, since Butler's been cold lately and they rely so heavily on outside shooting.

Davidson... hmmm. No, Maryland. They were plaing well until recently and have had a great second half of the season.

Winthrop over ND. Actually, Winthrop got sorta sandbagged. This is a great match up.

Oregon

UNLV (Why do all the experts think they suck? Great coach, nice resume...)

Wisconsin

East

Kind of the group of death.

UNC

Marquette (MSU has one guy who can shoot)

SC

Texas, though I think it will be tougher than people think.

G. Wash, since Vandy's been in a slump and QW came out of nowhere this year.

WSU, maybe. Oral Roberts is tough. This should be great.

BC over Tech. Sorry, Coach. I can't see a team that loses to Kansas St by 20 in their last game making a run.

G'Town

South

Ohio St

Xavier over BYU, just to make the next round more fun.

LB St over Tenn (5 seniors sounds like a team from last year)

Albany over Virgnia (what kind of 4s and 5s are these and how did Virginia win the ACC?)

Stanford over Lousiville, since they get their point guard back.

A&M

Creighton over Nevada

Memphis, since they've been practicing beating up bad teams for months.

ROUND TWO

Kansas
Virginia Tech
VCU
UCLA in another nail biter with the Zags

Florida, though I WANT to pick Zona
Maryland. Sorry, no Mason this year.
Oregon, if just because they're so fun to watch
UNLV. Wisconsin lost their big man

Marquette. Yeah, yeah, I'm sick of hearing about NC's talent. They underacheived all year and will pay for it.
Texas, though this game will be great.
WSU. Everyone's forgetting what Dick Bennet used to do in the tourney.
G'Town

Ohio St. Those freshman are starting to get confident
LB St. Seniors, man.
A&M
Creighton, if they stay hot.

Elite Eight

Virginia Tech. Kansas has been strange all year. Tech is even stranger.
UCLA, who has been steady all year til the end

Florida. I dunno. I want to pick against them but...
Oregon. Woo hoo!

Texas, cause they're fun to watch.
G'Town in a grind it out nailbiter

Ohio St, who will play down and make this close
A&M. Everyone's trendy pick, probably because they've won a lot of close games, plus are almost playing at home.

Final Four

UCLA. Kind of boring pick but, hey, I went there. Howland is never an easy out.
Oregon, even though they have no business beating Fla. Billy ball tends to choke more than not.
Texas, if only because everyone is picking G'Town. Hey, they lost to Oregon at home, and Texas plays a lot like Oregon.
Ohio St. This seems like an upset at this point but Oden is going to become more and more dominent throughout the tourny.

Semis

Okay, I've got a 1,2,3, and 4. Not exactly George Mason but at least it's not all 1s except the home team, A&M.

In what should have been the Pac 10 championship, Oregon in a crazy game. It's tough to beat a good team three times and, so far, it's UCLA 2, Ducks zip.
Ohio St. Durant will win the Freshman stat line but Oden will dominate the game.

Ohio St over Oregon. I picked em at the start of the year. They're young and should be getting better all of the time. No team really has an answer for Oden. Well, maybe G'Town but they're getting shot down earlier.

So there you go. Bet the farm on it. Or not.

Calorie Restriction and Increased Lifespan

Here's a pretty interesting video about increasing your lifespan. More and more, we're hearing about how eating fewer calories can extend our lives.

Well, yeah!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3401/01.html

I mean, what is "calorie restriction" anyway? It means we eat too much but we're only eating based on amounts that we've come up with. So maybe it's just that our science has been a little off. Then there's that whole other issue of eating WAY too much and lying about it. We produce about 3,900 calories of food a day. The average person claims to be taking in 2,000 calories per day. That's a lot of missing food to be accounted for. Can you image how we would change to dynaimic of the planet if we only needed to produce 2,000 calories a day?

Finally Missed a Day of Training

So I've blown my goal of training every day this year. I got the flu, and after one day of attempting to moderately exercise to stay on track I was flat on my back feeling as though I'd gone 15 rounds with Macho Camacho.

"I'm an idiot," I'm thinking as I lay there.

Ya see, I know the physiology of what happens to the body when you're training and what happens when you're sick. Therefore, I had no business trying to do any sort of exercise once I was sure I was getting sick.

In it's most basic sense, what happens to your body when you exercise? Breakdown. Hence, the key to effective training is effective recovery.

What happens to your body when you're sick? Breakdown. The key to recovering quickly is focusing your immune system on the task at had. There are only two things that can help at this point, rest and nutrition.

Since illness causes breakdown, adding further breakdown to the equation will compromise an already stretched thin immune system leading to an almost certain exacerbation of the symptoms of the desease.

The variable is recovery. Anything you can do to increase this will decrease the effects of your illness. Your body recovers best during sleep. Far better than at any time while you're awake. Therefore, it makes sense that the more you can sleep when you're ill the quicker you'll recover.

At least I got back to my senses quickly. I spent 99% of the next 30 hours in bed and cracked my fever. The next day I spent back and forth between my computer--working--and bed. By the following afternoon, after two 'tube' days (A tube is a day when you don't leave your house. It's was named after a rather cylindrical dog we knew whose owner never took it anywhere, resulting in his tube-like physique), I was ready for a test hike.

A "test hike" is a fitness test. Towards the tail end of an illness you can often "blow it out" by doing some mild cardio exercise that increases your breathing and blood flow. It's important to pay attention to warning signs though because heading out too early can land you back in bed and regress your recovery.

Mine went well, thankfully, and this afternoon I should be back to training as normal. Not too bad considering a bunch of folks around here have been down for a full week with this bug.

Feb Training Update

More base training.

Unfortunately, my streak of training daily came to an end due to a quick bout with the flu. Ultimately, it was a decent month of adding to my base. I didn't do as many long days as I wanted, though I did manage to tick a few summits and a couple of ridge traverses. Bike riding was minimal. Climbing was dismal, though I managed to do a couple of 5.12 in my few days outside. "Only" 44 to go.

Since I had nowhere for Tuco to hang out, I axed the Red Hot 50 from my list and ran in support of Sandee instead. It was still a decent day out in perfect Moab conditions. Tuc and I did 12 miles. Then I added another 10-15 on my own running around looking for and photographing Sandee. All in all, it was a beautiful day in the desert.

The big stat to report is injuries: 0.

March has started well with my two biggest rides of the year. I'm sore, tired, and plan to get back on the bike again today. I'll be the guy out suffering on some mountain pass.

Cheerio,

Steve

Human Powered Iditarod

This looks like great fun!

Check out the reports.

The Hardest Endurance Events on the Planet

“Grown men also cry.”- Jeffery Lebowski

“You look like you need your ass kicked.”
- Some guy named Chuck, in a bar

There are times in life when hard just doesn’t cut it; when being miserable just isn’t quite enough; and when the travails of living require higher octane. This is a list for just those times.

After receiving some feedback, here's what I've come up with as the hardest recreational endurance events in the world. My definition of recreational is that anyone may enter. You may have to qualify but that standard isn't based on natural ability. This eliminates obvious events, like riding the Tour de France, but also things like age group world championships and races like Hawaii Ironman. I wanted to a list that anyone could think "I want to try that" and then, with enough motivation, have a chance to do it.

This is my first attempt and it comes to you in no particular order as to difficulty. And I think you’ll see that assigning difficulty in order would be a hard—and somewhat random—task. I've tried to encompass as many different disciplines as possible though with hard and endurance in the same sentence they all generally consist of some sort of human powered locomotion over various types of terrain.

All feedback is welcome.

Badwater 135 (or 146 since you SHOULD continue to the summit once you've come all this way) - From what I can tell, this is the world's must rugged foot race, mainly because it's held on what's supposed to be the hottest weekend of any particular year. In temps that nearly always exceed 120 degrees F, you run through the desert from the lowest point in the United States to the highest (in the lower 48). The entire race is on pavement, adding to its nastiness, since runners must stay on the white lines of paint to keep their shoes from melting. Oddly enough, this race is so popular that it's hard to get in, so get creative with your resume.

Race Across America - This event could also count as the most boring but no one will argue its grimness factor. Just sitting on your bike for 3,000 miles is daunting enough. But you've also got to pedal, and at a decent pace to not get kicked out. Add lack of sleep in extreme heat, cold, snow, rain, wind and then throw in the occasional tornado and you've got the perfect recipe for sheer misery. To give you an idea of what you’re up against, consider multiple-times winner John Howard’s statement “When I can sit on my trainer staring at a blank white wall for five hours straight, I’m just about ready for RAAM.” Anyone can enter but you've got to complete a qualifier of, at least, 400 miles within a respectable time of the winner.

The Norseman - Billing itself as the world's toughest triathlon, it's certainly hard to argue. While it’s only slightly longer than a traditional ironman, the course profile alone looks like an entirely different animal. This is before accounting for the fact that you’ll be swimming in sub 60 degree water and that the run is a rocky ascent (no trail from what I can tell) to the summit of a mountain.

Iditarod Trail Invitational - Dogs? We don't need no stinking dogs! This human powered version of the famously grueling Iditarod really needs no description. It's February in northern Alaska. It's dark. It's really really cold. And you get to ride your bike 1100 miles across the ice. Good times.

The Hardrock 100 - The trail runners Holy Grail, this 100 mile jaunt across the top of the Rockies is a shoo-in. Many life long ultra runners never finish this extreme test of will that features nearly 70,000' of elevation change over rock and snow at an average elevation of 11,000'. Numerous ultra record holder Karl Meltzer calls it "the hardest ultra on the planet."

Climbing Mount Everest – Sure, sure, K2 is heaps harder, as are many peaks, but none of those are available to the recreational athlete. But Everest, most notoriously, is. If you're rich or good at schmoozing pretty much anyone can get themselves a shot at standing on the world's rooftop. But cash and cocktail partying aside, you've still got to get yourself up the sucker and no guide, fixed rope, oxygen tanks or Sherpa can do it for you. Most that try don't make it. Those that do come down changed. And some don't come down at all. Commercial as it gets, high altitude roulette is still a dangerous game.

Primal Quest - According to Rebecca Rusch, one of the sports elders, adventure racing ain't what it used to be. "I'd say, for sure, the old style Raid Gauloises would be on this list. In those days even the organizers didn't know what to expect. It was truly adventurous. Now they run it in stages." Commercialism and a "safety first" attitude aside, AR is still a tough test of the limits we can endure. And none, currently, is tougher than the Primal Quest.

Crocodile Trophy - This 10 stage, 1400 kilometer mountain bike stage race through the Australian Outback is the antithesis to the Iditarod. It crosses Oz through what is famously some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. From rain drenching rain forest to the bleakest desert, the course profile doesn't begin to do this race justice. Most of the competitors are elite, if not pro, yet the most common quote heard throughout the race is "I expected it to be hard but completely underestimated it." Probably why the organizers have dubbed it "the toughest test on two wheels."

Patrouille des Glaciers – “Ski Mountaineering Racing is said to be one of the hardest sports in the world and the Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers is perhaps the hardest of them all,” according to the race web site. This tradition, which began in 1943, may not be as crazy as many modern sufferfests but pageantry and tradition should still count for a lot. And, as anyone who’s familiar with ski mountaineering can attest, it’s not a sport that attracts the meek. Sure, this race is a ‘mere’ 53k with an altitude change of 7,000 meters, but expect every step to be either laborious or scary.

The Nose in a day – What Everest is to the mountaineer, Yosemite’s El Capitan is to rock climbers. The Nose, a plumb line up the most famous rock face in the world, is not only the world’s most famous rock climb, it’s the most sought after and, arguably, the best. So much so that when asked about his future climbing goals, Touching the Void author Joe Simpson stated “to end ones career with having never climbed The Nose would be a travesty.” Style is everything when it comes to climbing and, these days, less than 24 hours is de rigueur for those aspirants of an elegant ascent. Yet it’s still not regularly achieved. The Nose in a day is a rite of passage for an “elite” recreational athlete.


Jungle Marathon – This 6-stage 200km race through the Amazon doesn’t promise that it’s one of the great epics of our time. But this could be a ploy that’s due to the anecdotal reputation of the area and the race organizers not wanting to scare away participants. I dunno, I sorta think “See piranhas, anacondas, the last vestiges of headhunting, and a completely unknown quantity of as-of-yet undiscovered diseases and human parasites!” has a nice ring to it. Regardless, you don’t have to scour the fine print to see that the challenge “isn’t the distance, but the terrain,” that “common sense” is a prerequisite, that your hammock “should include mosquito netting and a rain fly” and that one of the finishers wrote an entire book about the experience to get a notion that your not signing on to an episode of Survivor.

Yukon Arctic Ultra – Apparently, the Iditarod isn’t the toughest dog sled course because, according to the race web site, this one is tougher. Now you can try it via skis, bikes, foot or whateverthehell “skijorer”-ing is. Regardless, it’s supposed to be “the world’s coldest and toughest ultra”. All I know is that the course reminds me of a Jack London novel and those always sounded pretty dammed tough to me.

Everest Challenge – Billed as the hardest USCF stage race it likely also has the highest drop rate. It’s also a “fun” ride for those who want to test themselves on back to back rides that are both as hard as any stage of the Tour de France. This race climbs 30,000’ in its two stages but is even tougher than the elevation gain total would suggest. Hardly a meter of its 200 miles are flat and three of the six climbs are over 20 miles long, at grades up to 20%. Adding to this torture test is the knowledge that the hardest bit you’ll encounter is the final 10k of the last climb. It’s a Sword of Damocles that hangs over you the entire two days. Said former winner, Pam Schuster, “At the end of the first day you’re so wiped out that you think there is no possible way you could ever do it again, much less the next day. But, somehow, you find a way to make it.” Somehow, but not always. Each year many riders who’ve finished the first day don’t even bother with the second. “Mainly due to fear of injury,” adds one its victims, Aaron Baker. “Look up the word ‘suffer’ in the dictionary and I’m sure it will be defined ‘Everest Challenge.’”


Arctic Circle Ski Race - “The ultimate challenge to cross-country skiers” sure looks appealing upon perusing their web site. It features many stunning pics of beautiful landscapes and smiling well-dressed skiers sauntering along at what looks to be a quite civilized pace. It’s only 160km over three days, so why that bit about competitors featuring a “stable mentality”? But, wait a minute. Isn’t it dark most of the time in March in northern Greenland? And isn’t it cold? And if these people are all so happy then why are there quotes like this on page one? “I had to fight myself, my pain, cramps and exhaustion. I came here to win the race. Instead, I have won a personal victory.” Hmm.

Tour de Afrique – Is it a race, a tour, or an expedition? In reality it’s all three. Participants can choose between whether or not they’d like to race so, in theory, it’s can be leisurely and, hence, not all that tough. However, it’s a 96-stage bike ride (yes, 96) dissecting 9 countries in Africa so there is no denying its expedition status. And considering both the physical and political climates of the region there is little chance of not experiencing adventure on the grandest level. If you’re in the position of being able to take six months off and living out of a tent, this is probably one that you don’t want to miss.

La Ruta de los Conquistadores – This 3-day stage mountain bike race across Costa Rica appears, at least on paper, not to be anything special. Due to lack of paper, they hold the actual race on Costa Rica’s less stable terrain which has resulted in a tag line stating it’s “more than a race; it’s a personal journey.” According to US 24-hour mountain bike champion Rebecca Rusch, there’s not a lot of hyperbole in their claim. “The Trans Alp and Trans Rockies both have much harder looking profiles, but it’s my understanding that in those races you get to actually ride your bike. In La Ruta, you often have to carry your bike. And not just on the up hills. I can’t even begin to say how difficult it is but it features brutal mud, intense heat, tough cut off times…. I almost dropped out on the first day!”

The Barkley Marathons – This one’s hard to explain but first just consider the stats. It’s not a marathon as in “26.2”. It’s 100 miles, more or less, with nearly 55,000 feet of elevation gain, and it’s only had 6 people finish within its 60-hour time limit since 1986. Next, consider a format that includes no real trail and check points where you need to tear a page out of a book that’s personally assigned to you. Oh, and there are the briars to consider. Lots of ‘em. Everywhere. And rain. Usually lots of it, too. It’s quite common for sub 24-hour runners to not finish. Some don’t even find their way through one lap and retire “with legs that resemble uncooked hamburger”. One runner, on this eleventh attempt, is targeting two and a half laps as his goal for 2007. That’s about half way. There’s also a shorter “fun run” option. Hardly anybody finishes that option either. And it’s hard to get in. But you can. If you want to badly enough, you can find a way. You just have to really want to. Bad.

Victory and Why You Matter

We tend to feel insignificant when it comes to policy issues. This is why we shouldn't.

In the legal battle in San Diego county over climbing access the climbers have won round one. This was a purely grass roots victory and would not have happened without your input. It's only round one, with a lot of work left to do, but this is why you should stay informed and involved in issues that matter to you.

A quick recap:

The Forest Servce proposed bird closure rulings that would affect many climbing areas in San Diego county.

These are supported by local climber, guidebook author, and Access Fund representative Dave Kennedy.

Local climbers dig into the issue and find that some of the cliffs involved in the closures are not nesting habitats of the birds involved. San Diego activist Jeff Brown aided by his wife, wildlife biologist Keli Balo, publish fliers calling for community support.

Kennedy counters, calling for commnunity acceptance. The Access Fund, the only national organization for climbing access, supports Kennedy initially.

Brown finds that the proposed closures are not only sloppy but illegal. Furthermore, he finds evidence that Kennedy "swapped" crags with the USFS, essentially in order to keep "his" cliff open in exchange for closing others. None of these actions have anything to do with birds. Furthermore, Kennedy--in his latest guide--stated various crags were closed and that offenders could be fined $10,000, a complete fabrication.

A letter writing campaign overloads the USFS server and crashes it.

Brown goes on the local PBS station in a debate over the issue.

Kennedy resigns that day.

The Access Fund completely revises its position.

Access Fund revised letter to USFS

The USFS tables the proposed closures and is re-evaluating the situation in an open dialog with the Access Fund, which is being led by a local climber collective.

A web site is being built but, for now, find the latest access information at:

http://www.birthdaychallenge.com/access.html

Gym Jones

At the climbing gym the other night, a friend asked if I knew Mark Twight and sent my to his training facility's page:

Gym Jones

Twight is famously a completely different in person than in his musings. So much so, in fact, that one of his climbing partners stated, after reading an account of an epic they'd shared, "That's not the same person I was on the mountain with."

At any rate, this gym looks intriguing when you get past all of the macho horseshit on the front page. Now, if the guys are actually this serious it would suck. I mean, c'mon, it's just training. But I'll bet, like Twight is when you meet him in person, they're just some regualar folks who like to get after it a little bit.

Anyway, prior to heading over the "wait on the doorstep" for acceptance, I need to do a little homework. First off, I'm not near prime pull-up shape. But since the company I work for just happens to have a perfect solution to this (P90X, a program I helped create that's essentially the home version of Gym Jones), that shouldn't take too long.

Furthermore, I'd like to smoke a few of their diciples PR's before "appying", so I thought I'd do a test run on Grandeur's west ridge to see what I was up against.

Twight's 56 minutes seemed pretty fast. Given its winter and that the trail would be a combination of slush and snow, onsighting it didn't seem prudent. Plus, if it was a recon trip the Rat could come. So instead of Twight's PR, we went in search of that fastest winter onsight ascent by a 12-year-old Malamute mix.

The route was gorgeous but a little tendious. I can see why Twight and his masocistic tendencies would like it. It's like an hour long stairmast session at the higest level. The trail actually was in decent shape, for the most part, and in spite of a couple of water stops to make sure the little guy was doin' okay, we were still with in striking distance of 56 m, or at least breaking an hour, when we hit the summit ridge and just a bit o' snow. While fun, the ensuing post holing was slow going. We hit the summit at 68 minutes.

Tuco was awesome. On our first ascent of Grandeur, via an easier line, I had someone take out pic because "he probably doesn't have too many summits left in him." Well, we've nailed quite a few since then and his fitness is fine. He's limping less than he was last summer, for sure, and he's taking far less Rimadyl.

On the way home I though about going after Twight's 36.42 on Beachon Hill. Unfortunately, I didn't know where it was. When calls to a few friends proved fruitless, I joined my friend Dustin for a ride up Little Mountain instead and got smoked so bad that I guess Grandeur had taken a bit of zip out of my legs, even at the Rat's pace.

All in all, a pretty decent training day.

Trust Your Local Pharmaceutical Company

I really see no need for comment. More fun from Big Pharma, courtesy of Dr. Jay Rowen, MD.

Inventing a Disease

You've got to admire the chutzpah of the marketers at pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-SmithKline PLC. They've figured out how to increase sales for one of their most popular drugs by more than $300 million a year. All they had to do was invent a disease for it to treat.

The name of the drug is Requip. It works by regulating the brain chemical dopamine, which is responsible for controlling body movements. It's effective enough that it has become the drug of choice for doctors treating patients with Parkinson's disease.

Then someone at Glaxo had an "ah-ha!" moment. There are millions more people who suffer from leg twitches at night than Parkinson's. What if Requip became the drug of choice for them? Only problem was, "leg twitches" isn't a disease. So HMOs and insurance companies won't pay for prescriptions to treat it.

The wizards at Glaxo decided on a three-step campaign to change all that. First, they spent millions of dollars to educate the medical profession about a new disease. But not "leg twitches." No, "restless leg syndrome" sounds much more serious. And "syndrome" is almost the same thing as "disease," isn't it? Glaxo's ads in medical journals started carrying the tagline, "GlaxoSmithKline: A Leader in RLS Research."

Next, Glaxo hired dozens of "sleep-disorder specialists" to go around the country, pitching local doctors about the seriousness of RLS and the wonders Requip could work in treating it. They invited the docs to lavish meals at country clubs and four-star restaurants, with Glaxo picking up the tab. They attended by the hundreds.

Finally, Glaxo spent millions more on TV ads aimed directly at consumers, to tell them that their pain has a name - and a drug to help treat it. Before you could say "gimme some of them pills," Glaxo's sales of Requip increased by more than $300 million a year. As they say, that ain't hay.

But before you rush off to your doctor and ask him to prescribe a bottle or two of Requip for you, here's a suggestion from one of my favorite health writers. Dr. Robert Rowen, editor of Second Opinion newsletter (www.secondopinionnewsletter.com), says if you're bothered by leg twitches at night, chances are you're suffering from a potassium deficiency.

He suggests eating a banana or two before you go to bed. Or get a bottle of potassium supplements from your local health food store. You could solve your problem without spending a fortune … or taking a fancy new drug with who-knows-what side effects.

New Diet Pill

This goes into the Friday dump, since that's pretty much were it belongs:

Diet Pill okay'd by FDA

Funny thing is, you don't even have to read the fine print. Right up front they say it only works with diet and exercise, and if you were eating well and exercising you wouldn't need it. They're also saying it could cost $60 a month. This is equal to a gym membership, payments on a super nice bike, a bushel of fruits and veggies or, hell, a round of drinks for you friends as a reward for all those improvements in diet and exercise you've been making since you decided to just do that part of the equation and skip to drug.

Also, if this supplement sounds interesting to you, consider trying chitosan first. It's cheaper and, more or less, does the same thing with less gastric stress. I've seen it be effective in certain circumstances but, in general, it's no major player in ones fitness transformation.

The Hardest Endurance Events on the Planet

After receiving some feedback, here's what I've come up with as the hardest recreational endurance events in the world. My definition of recreational is that anyone may enter. You may have to qualify but that standard isn't based on natural ability. This eliminates obvious stuff, like riding the Tour de France but also things like age group world championships and races like Hawaii Ironman. I wanted to make a list that anyone reading could think "I want to try that" and then, with enough motivation, have a chance to do it.

This list is my first attempt and in no particular order as to difficulty. I've tried to encompass as many different diciplines as possible. All feedback is welcome.

Badwater 135 (or 146 since you SHOULD continue to the summit once you've come all this way) - From what I can tell, this is the world's must rugged foot race, mainly because it's held on what's supposed to be the hottest weekend of any particular year. In temps that nearly always exceed 120 degrees F, you run through the desert from the lowest point in the United States to the highest (in the lower 48). The entire race is on pavement, adding to its nastiness, since runners must stay on the white lines of paint to keep their shoes from melting. Oddly enough, this race is popular enough that it's hard to get in, so get creative with your resume.

Race Across America - This could also count as the most boring but I don't think anyone could argue its gruel factor. Just sitting on your bike for this long is daunting enough. But you've also got to pedal, and at a decent pace to stay in the race. Add lack of sleep in extreme heat, cold, snow, rain, wind and then throw in the occasional tornado and you've got the perfect recipe for sheer misery. Anyone can enter but you've got to complete a qualifier of, at least, 400 miles within a respectable time of the winner.

The Norseman - Billing itself as the world's toughest triathlon, it's certainly hard to argue. Only slightly longer than a traditional ironman, the course profile alone looks ridiculous. This is before being told that the swim is in 60 degree water and the run is a rocky ascent (no trail from what I can tell) to the summit of a mountain.

Iditarod Trail Invitational - Dogs? We don't need no stinking dogs! This human powered version of the famously miserable Iditarod really needs no description. It's Febuary in northern Alaska. It's dark. It's really really cold. And you get to ride your bike 1100 miles accross the ice. Good times.

The Hardrock 100 - The trail runners holy grail, this 100 mile jaunt across the top of the Rockies is a shoo-in to make the list. Many life long ulra runners never finish this extreme test of will that features nearly 70,000' of elevation change over rock and snow at an average of 11,000'. Record holder Karl Melzer calls it "the hardest ultra on the planet."

Climbing Mount Everest - Sure sure, K2 is heaps harder, as are many peaks, but none of those are available to the recreational athlete. But Everest, most famously, now is. If you're rich or good at schmoozing pretty much anyone can get themselves a shot at standing on the world's rooftop. But cash and cocktail partying aside, you've still got to get yourself up the sucker and no guide, fixed rope, oxygen tanks or Sherpa can do it for you. Most that try don't make it. Those that do come down changed. And some don't come down at all. Commercial as it gets, high altitude roulette is still a dangerous game.

Primal Quest - According to Rebecca Rusch, one of the sports elders, adventure racing ain't what it used to be. "I'd say, for sure, the old style Raid Galuouse would be on this list. In those days even the organizers didn't know what to expect. It was truly adventurous." But commercialism and a "safety first" attitude aside, AR is still a tough test of the limits we can endure. And none, currently, is tougher than the Primal Quest.

Crocodile Trophy - This 10 stage, 1400 kilometer stage race through the Austrailian Outback is the antithesis to the Iditarod race. The race crosses Oz through what is famously some of the most inhospitible terrain in the world. From rain drenching rain forest to the bleakest desert, the course profile doesn't begin to do this race justice. Most of the competitors are elite, if not pro, yet the most common quote heard throughout the race is "I expected it to be hard but completely underestimated it." Probably why the organizers have dubbed it "the toughest test on two wheels."

Groundhog Day

So some rodent named Phil doesn't see his shadow (nice 'stache, btw) and, voila, it's instantly spring around here. I'm surprised the Bush administration hasn't blamed Phil and his kind for global warming and declared war on groundhogs.

Regardless of our impending demise, folks around these parts seem to be enjoying it. With all the shorts and tank top being sported, you'd think it was summer and not in the high 40s. It even inspired me to tick the year's first 5.12, complete my first ridge traverse, take my first road ride, and wash the salt off of my car (that's right, it's black).

Alas, there is snow in the forecast. So I'd better wrap it up and get out there while I can.

The State of Cycling

Oh, dear.

From an article in Velo News:

Sadly, Hamilton's last day as a pro serves as a painful reminder of just what the sport has suffered through in recent years. That day's stage was won by Roberto Heras (stripped of the 2005 Vuelta title and suspended for EPO), who knocked Floyd Landis (facing the loss of the 2006 Tour de France title on a testosterone charge) out of the leader's jersey. Finishing second that day was Santiago Perez (suspended for blood doping), who finished ahead of third-placed Francisco Mancebo (named in Operación Puerto and ejected from the 2006 Tour).

Great Article on Doping

For your Monday morning reading pleasure (I mean, what else are you going to do at work?) This is an interesting piece about an aging recreational cyclist who tests modern doping procedures. It ties in well to blog I wrote last month on doping in sports and some of the other stuff from the tour. One thing to consider is that this guy is, probably, in his late 40s and the performance boosting difference between him and someone in there physical prime is huge. He's saying 10 to 15% (based on feel), whereas it's much less for someone younger with higher hormonal levels. Then there are the yahoos from Extreme Bodybuilding who chide his regement ("What are you, afraid to get strong?") These knuckleheads have and always will exist. They might, and I mean MAY, get more performance out of themselves but are also the ones getting themselves dead.

This is long, but if you're interested in performance-enhaning doping it's worth you time. Enjoy!

Drug Test

More On Access Issue In San Diego

I blogged on this subject a few weeks back. It's getting down to crunch time. Jeff Brown will be on Full Focus KPBS San Diego, tonight

This is concerning the access issue which could be about a lot more than San Diego. Tune in or head to the San Diego Access page to see how you can help.

Full Focus KPBS

http://www.kpbs.org/fullfocus

http://www.birthdaychallenge.com/access.html

January Report: Base Training

Wow, that was a quick month! Lots of work. Not so much training. All the smog you need.

With a big year ahead, this report card is going to look pretty dismal. However, it doesn't feel dismal. I'm building base, not injured, and not sick. Given we've had 25 red alert smog days this January--compared to 3 all of last year--I think I'm going to be okay with it. After all, my main challenge for the year is to remain uninjured.

Jan Report

Days trained: 31
Longest day: maybe 3 hours
Shortest day: 20 minute set of pull-ups (push-ups, etc)
Long run: about 9 miles of steep trail
Longest ride: Hmmm, maybe an hour fifteen on the hippy bike
Longest trainer session: 45 minutes
Days on the bike (trainer included): 4 or 5
Days skiing: 4
Days climbing: 7 (includes gym)
5.12s: 0
12s attempted: 0
Swim days: 0
Trad routes: 0
First ascents: 0, though one bolted at The Owl Tor, which is no small matter
Summits: 1
Injuries: 0

Grade: C +

As bad as this sounds, I feel pretty good. I would have gotten on my bike more had it not been for the inversion which forced most of my training up into the canyons. And I've been backing off on workouts to ensure I don't overdo it. Slow steady progress will be fine. There's no rush. Some of my chronic injuries could use a bit more love but they aren't really bothering me at all, which is huge. I am jonzin' for a big day, which is going to happen soon.

photo: me n' ratso on Grandeur peak

Unhappy Meals

This is the kind of stuff I might write on a reactionary day, albeit with great detail. It's great, for the most part, and will worth your time (12 pages, so it takes some) if you're concerned with your health. It's by the guy who wrote the Ommnivoire's Dilemma, Michael Pollan.

There are a couple points of conjecture that I'll address now. First, in regards to the female study where he does a bit of math to state they lied, he could be flawed (though I complete agree about their lying over how many calories they are eating). I've had many clients (hundreds, if not thousands on the Message Boards) that do get stuck in low cal mode and can't drop weight. This is especially true if one is on an exercise program. If you undereat chronically your body will shut down your metabolic processes, in a survival-type response, in an attempt to keep you alive. So an under eater will go into an overtrained state, resulting in a weight plateau.

He also states that science shows that supplements don't work. This is not true. They often, if not most of the time, don't work as advertised (which I believe is his point) and there is definitely a huge issue with taking supplements and your normal diet due to your body's pH balance, meaning a healthier person eating a balanced diet will benefit more from supplements than someone eating crap. But they can aid your diet, for certain. There are plenty of studies to show efficacy. Besides that, I have trial and errored just about everything on the planet. I know when something is doing something and when it's not.

Regardless, it's a fine piece of research and should be considered.

Enjoy.

Unhappy Meals

It's the NY Times, so you may have to sign up (which is free)

Running In The Snow

I've found a new sport: snow running (like I really need more options around here). Our trail system stays in place during the winter, at least the main ateries, and you can pretty much access all of the peaks and canyons. After a couple of slogs up stuff in my Gor-tex boots, I decided it was overkill and reverted back to my running shoes, with Yaktracks added for traction.

With my new found ability to cover heaps of soft ground I'm actually thinking that the winter might be the best time of year to get a lot of base mileage. I think it'll add ten years on to my body's ability to run.

Perhaps even more important, it's adding to Tuco's ability to run. At 12, he's slowed quite a bit. I can't really run with him at all on streets anymore and, even on trails, it's purely aerobic training only. In deep snow, however, he smokes me, at least downhill. I think that because there's little pounding on his well-used joints he feels like a puppy again. It's fantastic.

A typical day has us both putting in a two to six miles, usually with a lot of elevation gain. Then the old man takes a powder while I head out for another loop or, perhaps, a ski. My base is starting to come and, more importantly, nothing hurts.

I was thinking yesterday that it's so fun I'm going to have trouble getting used to running on hard ground and that all those rocks in Moab next month might be kinda rugged if I don't make myself do something different.

Today is on-snow demo day at OR. Good times...