rehab

I haven't mentioned it many times, to anyone, but my knee has been pretty f'd up since Ironman Canada. The Second half of the marathon that day was pure torture. It wasn't the torture of moving your body 140.6 miles in one day, but acutal pain. I ran through it. There was no way in hell I was stopping. Afterward, I didn't really run a lot leading into Clearwater. When I did run there was some pain, but it was managable. I figured it would be ok. The run at Clearwater was another exercise in pain tolerance. I ran 1:35 about 6 or 7 minutes slower than I was hoping to run. It was disappointing and afterward in each successive run the pain increased.

Finally, I went to the doctor and after deliberation it turns out it is probably my soleus creating pain at the attachment point. So I started physical therapy yesterday. I hope for a speedy recovery, but am not optimistic.

plato

I posted this on a friend's blog today. I thought it may be appropriate here as well.

From Plato's "Symposium":

'And is that which is not wise, ignorant? do you not see that there is a mean between wisdom and ignorance?’

‘And what may that be?’ I said.

‘Right opinion,’ she replied.

influenced

Recently I was asked about writers who have influenced me. I have often thought about those who have steered my thinking in various directions and wondered whether it was worth commenting on in public. After consideration, I thought it may be interesting to throw up a list.

Ordered alphabetically:

Woody Allen
Paul Bowles
Ed Burns
John Cheever
Tina Fey
Ernest Hemingway
Jack Kerouac
Norman Mailer
Cormac McCarthy
Eugene O'Neill
George Orwell
Aaron Sorkin
Gary Snyder
Hunter S. Thompson
Jose Saramago
Gary Snyder
Wallace Stevens
John Updike
William Carlos Williams

coverage

Today was the annual coverage of the Big Race on the Big Island. It was NBC's award winning coverage of Ironman Hawaii. Kona. It is the one time when our sport gets placed front and center. Where the spectrum of human experience is exhibited in one glossy, tightly wrapped, heart string pulled package. As usual, tears were abundant.

I remember watching this race in the early days, on ABC's Wide World of Sports. The coverage was different then. I wasn't a fan of the sport, just sports in general. I didn't know then what this sport would mean to me one day. I watched in amazement. Men and women torturing themselves. To a young kid this made no sense. Why would anyone do this?

That is the question. Why would anyone do this? Sacrifice so much? The answers are always varied. You could ask one thousand different triathletes and get one thousand different answers. There probably is not one unifying theory that draws us all to early morning start lines, that urges us to spend our lives in dedication. I cannot speculate on the string that ties us together. I know why I do it. Most of us do. We are a self aware group.

As the days continue to shorten, in the Pacific Northwest, in December, this day is always circled on my calendar. It is the day when one race season turns into the next. It signifies one year passing into another. Watching this race and the rain outside my window always means the beginning of that mental preparation for what lies ahead. It means a keen yearning for those long rides and runs, the morning swims, the camaraderie and the finish lines.

Let another year begin today.

promo

We don't get to see much acutal ITU style racing here, but if this video doesn't get you fired up, nothing will.