2010 Steamboat race (4 miles for me)

Just the facts: I powerwalked (bent knee walk; would be illegal in a race walking event), 39:33 chip time, 40:37 gun time, overall place: 1736 out of 3056, 50-54 male: 86/126.

Going in, I was not in a position to run it nor was I in a position to race walk the Steamboat 4 mile legally (right knee) so I figured if I was going to walk illegally anyway, I ought to walk it as fast as possible.

So I did a 2-2.5 mile walk to the start line and got there in time to make one final bathroom stop. I chatted with several people at the start (Tracy, Dave, Herb) and then lined up at about the 10 minute per mile pace sign.

The crowd was off; it took me roughly one minute to reach the start line.
I fell into pace ok; the first bit was a bit slow and I was having posture troubles. I have a hard time staying straight up and down; my feet were ok and my knees didn’t hurt.

I was mostly trying to not run into people. The first mile came at 10:21. I started to pass people and got to the turn around point ok; at this time I passed the firefighter formation. 9:51 was my second mile; I was maintaining contact but my knees were soft. We were now at the highest point of the course; the rest would be downhill.

I pushed on the third mile (9:36); the sun was at our back and the glare off of some of the spandex ladies provided an interesting light show…I love glistening female backsides!

But I probably pushed a bit too hard; my knees were bent here…very bent.

Then at around 5k (just about 31 minutes) I had to slow walk for a couple of segments; but I got right back into it with .5 miles to go.
I pushed down Hamilton and heard Barbara yell “posture” at me; I pushed my shoulders back and she yelled “better”.
I came down and saw the clock right at 40 and knew that I had a shot at a sub 40 chip time. The last mile was 9:43 (down hill) and I got 39:32.

After that I slow walked up…to find Barbara and walk with her. We saw Tracy finish.

Stats for the races:

Barbara then started the non-competitive 4km Junior Steamboat and I walked with her; the first mile was right about 19 minutes and it took her just under 51 minutes to finish.

She is here early…

On the out leg

Right about 1 mile

On the return leg; the 15K runners in the distance are on their final mile too.

Finish line in sight.

Past Steamboat entries:

2005 (15K as a runner)
2006 (4 mile as a walker)
2007 (4 mile with Barbara)
2008 (4 mile with Barbara)
2009 (15K as a runner)

My personal Steamboat History (so I can compare past years)
1998: 15K 1:08:22, warm, sticky, 22:50/23:05/22:27, 183/844, 29/71 in the age group. Disappointed in my time but not place.
1999: 15K 1:07:53, better weather, 22:38/23:01/22:13, lower AG placing, blistered my foot.
2000: 4 mile: 27:51, 6:44/6:49/7:12/7:06 (split up 15K/4 mile the next few years)
2001: 4 mile: 29:13, 6:45/6:47/7:38/8:03 (knee was hurt; very hot)
2001 (fall) 15K: 1:11:16: 23:20/24:04/23:51, week after Big Shoulders)
2002: 4 mile walk: 43:15: 10:57/10:53/10:55/10:35 (shins hurt)
2002 (fall) 15K: 1:14:33 24:10/25:07/25:16
2003: off
2004: 4 mile: 33:10 (7:53/7:57/8:45/8:34); I did two hard 24 hour walks in May.
2005: 15K, 1:23:13 (26:40/27:49/28:43); very hot; McNaughton 100 in April, OKC marathon over Memorial day.
2006: 4 mile walk, 42:10 (10:32/10:25/10:43/10:28); very hot; piriformis trouble; 83 miler two weeks earlier.
2007: 4 miles easy with Barbara (1:10:04)
2008: 4 miles easy with Barbara (1:13:00)
2009: 15K: 1:27:23, 29:21/29:49/28:14 (66 miler two weeks before; torn meniscus (though I didn’t know it at the time)

19 June 2010: Pre Steamboat

Workout notes Yesterday, an easy 4 miles with Ms. Vickie (who roller bladed her own workout at Jubilee State Park). This morning: waiting for Steamboat; the plan is to warm up 2.5 miles or so (easily; it is a downhill walk from our house), walk the 4 miles as fast as possible, then stroll the “Junior Steamboat 4 km (2.5 miles)” with Barbara (my wife). That will add up to 9 miles; I’ll report back.

I’ve been preoccupied with mathematics; I am oh-so-close to being at the proofing stage of one article and am at the proofing stage of another.

17 June 2010 workout notes

Workout: yoga class, and a routine 4 mile walk. Tomorrow morning I walk with my yoga teacher in the early morning; perhaps swim over lunch. Shoulder: getting better.

Personal: making progress on my math paper. It is almost ready for the proofing process.

Celtics-Lakers Game 7

Well, if forced at gunpoint to pick, I’d take the Lakers based on being at home and Perkins being out. But the Celtics have rebounded after very bad loss and Wallace and Davis are better scorers than Perkins.

So, in effect, I consider this to be a toss-up.

The spread is Lakers -6.5.

Opening: Lakers got multiple attempts at the basket; they hit a 3 (Fisher) for a 3-0 lead.

More multiple rebounds by the Lakers; 5-2. Wallace hits again, 5-4.

The Celtics are getting murdered on the rebounds. Still, some good shots by the Celtics, all inside.

Yes, it is only 7-6, ok, 8-7 Celtics, but the rebounds look terrible.

Pierce’s shot rimmed out; Garnett missed everything. Gasol got rejected and is whining about no call.

Still, it is 10-9 Celtics half way through, but rebounds are 14-4, Lakers. The Lakers have taken 17 shots, the Celtics only 8.
Gasol has 5 rebounds and 4 points; Rondo and Wallace have 4 each for the Celtics.

17-13 Celtics with 2:58 left in the first; still very competitive. I like the Celtic defense but worry about the rebounding. The Lakers have an obvious edge inside, though Bynum’s minutes will be limited by his knee.

Gasol has 2 fouls..Pierce got the charge.
Oh no, Celtic fast break waved off due to a moving screen and Garnett has 2 fouls. Nate Robinson in the game; 21-14 Celtics with 1:20 in the quarter.
The first quarter ends 23-14 Celtics. Davis leads with 6, Rondo, Garnett and Wallace have 4, R. Allen has 3, Pierce has 2.
Lakers: Fisher 5, Bryant 3, Gasol 4, Bynum 2. Rebounds: 18-13 Lakers.

So far the Celtics have been doubling and tripling Bryant and no other Laker has stepped up. That can change though.

Second quarter; Lakers have started stronger; Bryant a basket and now 2 free throws. 23-17, Celtics.
Celtics have gone cold. Another rebound, 23-19. That is a 5-0 start in the second quarter based on offensive rebounds. Rivers wisely calls time out.

Too many outside shots. Too many second chances for the Lakers. One and done for the Celtics.
23-21. Celtics throw it away, tie game at 23.
The Celtics are playing horribly again.
Another missed shot, another offensive rebound, 25-23 Lakers another turn over. 25-25 on a Rondo lay-up.
Allen throws up a brick. Gasol throws up a brick. 25-25 with 6 minutes left in the half. Rondo throws up a brick.

Lakers: shooting 28.2 percent; Celtics 40.7 But the rebounds are 28-20, Lakers. The Lakers have 39 shots on the basket to the Celtics 27.

Celtics: TWO points in the second quarter. Count them: TWO.

Allen, missed. Garnett now has 3 fouls.

Celtics: another turn over (Allen out of bounds when he caught the ball)

Artest buries a 3 and it is 29-29.
Allen buries 2 free throws, Celtics get the stop.
2:48 in the half; 31-29 Celtics; people are diving all over the floor for balls, etc.

38-31 after a Pierce 3; a foul now a double technical situation coming up?
38-33 but the Lakers shooting 2. Artest is having an excellent quarter.

Another Celtic turn-over. They had the stop. 40-34 at the half.

Celtics: Pierce has 11, Garnett, Rondo, Davis and Wallace have 6, Allen has 5.
Lakers: Artest has 12 (all in quarter 2), Bryant 8, Gasol 6, Fisher 5.

Second half I love the score but I don’t see the Lakers shooting this poorly for another half. The Celtics either need to play a good offensive game OR rebound better.

Third Quarter

Good start; 42-34 Celtics after a high lob to Garnett; second chance again for the Lakers 42-36.
Dang…Garnett’s shot didn’t count.
Ray Allen is not shooting well at all.
Garnett gets another lob from Rondo; hits the lay-up and gets the foul.
45-36 Celtics.
Stop, Rondo a shot in the paint, 47-36 Celtics!

Pierce has drawn another charge!

Rondo a put back, 49-37. Celtics another turn over; Pierce goes out with a sore shoulder?

Now 49-49. Rondo hustling…Pierce back in the game. Still, the Lakers have cut into the lead.
49-41…Lakers making a run.
But Garnett abuses Gasol again. Fisher responds…more scoring now.
It is back to 51-45; the Lakers have made up 7 points. But this was the half-time lead.

Pierce hits a big 3 after a crappy possession.
Now it is 56-49 with Gasol shooting 2 shots; Wallace’s back looks gimpy.
2:31 left in 3′rd quarter.
Fisher had a bad break when he slipped and possibly got injured. Celtics have had some sloppy possessions.
OMG, Rondo hit a free shot. Davis got the rebound but lost it. But the Lakers turn it over.
Allen misses another shot. He has sucked on offense, though his defense has been excellent.
ANOTHER rebound; another putback, 57-53. The Celtics have gotten killed on the boards.

The Celtics get a 24 second violation, another crappy possession.
57-53 with one quarter to go. Celtics: 41.5 percent, Lakers 31.3 percent. But the Lakers lead in rebounds 49-36.

Odom has come on strong and has 7 points.
Artest 14, Bryant 13, Gasol 10.
Pierce 14, Garnett 13, Rondo 11.

Fourth Quarter.

Bryant is resting for the final bit. Gasol hits a jumper and goes to the line. Oh boy. 57-55.

Celtics threw it away again. Sloppy pass by Pierce.
But the Celtics get a big stop.
Another sloppy pass; the Celtics are not taking care of the ball.
My goodness the Celtics are playing horrible on offense. Another missed shot. Bad possession.

Finally, a score. 59-55. Garnett a lay-up. 3 minutes into the 4′th quarter; each team has two points.
Bryant draws a 3 free throw foul. What a flop. 59-58.

Boston has Tony Allen and Robinson in the game. Ray Allen finally hits a shot.
The Celtics are rebounding better this quarter. But Robinson misses the high lay-up.

Artest a basket in the paint with a foul. Oh boy…will this tie the game? Yep; 61-61.

But on the subsequent possession, Ray Allen draws a foul. Oh no…Allen misses a free throw…his first miss of this series.
62-61.
Gasol gets rejected and the referees don’t buy the flop. Wallace has 5 fouls on the rebound. Gasol could give them the lead. Well, he missed the first. Brutal game. Davis in the game.
Celtics have the ball and lead by 1. Allen fouled while shooting. Allen hits both, 64-61 with 6:30 to go.
Fisher ties it with a 3. Bryant goes to the line on a loose ball foul with a chance to take the lead.

I don’t like the way this is going. It sure looks as if the Lakers will pull away in the last 6 minutes.
The Celtics have 7 points in the first 6 minutes of this quarter. Now the Lakers have taken the lead.
Will the Celtics even score again?
Allen, a brick.
Bryant a shot…this one is over. 68-64.
Pierce misses a 3. Gasol to the line…this lead is about to go to 6.

The Celtics are shooting so, so poorly; they are not executing on offense. 70-64.
They miss a lay-up. My goodness, they suck on offense.
Finally, Pierce hits a shot.
The Celtics need to get some stops and make some shots.
Still it is 71-68 after a Garnett dunk.
Garnett fouls Gasol.
73-68, Celtics miss another close shot…blocking foul.
20-11 edge to the Lakers in the 4′th.
74-68. Normally, winnable but not today.
74-70 after two Pierce free throws.
Pierce a drive but a blocked shot. Good effort to try to get the ball back.
Gasol makes 76-70 with 1:30 to go. The Celtics have gotten outscored 23-13 in the 4′th quarter.

Bottom line: younger legs have more left late in the game; when your legs go, your shots don’t fall.

Wallace cuts it to 76-73. Artest hits a 3…dagger…
Allen hits a 3. 79-76.
Bryant drives in but doesn’t get a charge.
Rebounding kills the Celtics AGAIN. Wallace fouls out.
Big free throw…81-76 with 25 seconds to go.
This one is over.

Rondo with a big 3, 81-79 with 16 seconds to go.
Lakers shooting free throws….and hits both (83-79 with 11.7 to go).

It ends 83-79. Heck of a good game and series though.

(photos from yahoo)

Trust Me!

PM workout: 2 mile walk on my own, 2 with group.

Politics

Daily Kos: Cao (R-LA) “suggests” BP exec commit suicide!

more about "Daily Kos: Holy Crap: Cao (R-LA) sugg…", posted with vodpod

This is one Republican that I agree with (this time). Then again, he gave the House HCR bill (the first one; not the “reconciliation” one) its only Republican vote.

Sarah Palin makes a fool of herself on the BP spill issue on O’Reilly

Watch and enjoy.

16 June 2010: Pair Up For Health 3 miles

Workout notes 1800 yards (1 mile) swimming; 5 x 100 on 2 (1:53-56), 4 x (25 3g, 25 free), 50, 4 x (25 3g, 25 free), 50, 5 x 100 on 2 (1:46 (3), 1:43 (2)) 6 x (25 free/25 back)
Then rotator cuff exercises, abs. Shoulder: not that bad; some pings in the “left” shoulder which surprised me a bit.

I talked about my race here; I walked but still finished 1′st in my age group (yes, others showed up) and 70 out of 185 overall.

Photos (yes, I paid for the photo download )

The “going down the slide” part:

early: going over the hay bale and trying to get back to a walk:

My goodness, I look clumsy and awkward. Oh wait… I AM clumsy and awkward.

Contrast that to the front runners (who were running):

The bodies of good athletes just do different things when they move.

16 June 2010-am

Posts (workout will be later today)

President Obama’s BP spill address

Ok, I could have done without the god stuff toward the end; that was lame. But for the most part, I thought it was ok.
Of course, the right wingers won’t like it, and many on the left wanted more fire and brimstone against big oil (here, or here)

Frankly, this captures my attitude: this address really wasn’t aimed at the political/news junkies:

This was not a speech for us.

It was a speech for the average American who heard something of an oil leak located vaguely downwards. Hell, three people I work with hadn’t even HEARD of it at ALL until I brought it up last week.

People like that wouldn’t understand a comprehensive plan, wouldn’t care about it, wouldn’t want to sit around and listen about it.

They want to know the “what,” “why,” and “when” of the clean-up and the reform. You and I are interested in the “how” as well.

His speech was designed to be a pep-talk. It was designed to give basic facts and to leave average Americans feeling slightly better somehow about this whole situation.

We were not his audience for this speech, so getting pissed that it didn’t cater to what we look for is beyond ridiculous.

Whatever policy he would like to pass needs to make it through the Senate, filled with corporate politicians and Blue Dogs looking for some press time.

I’d like to head off all the knee-jerk “You’re an Obama-bot” or “We’re just holding his feet to the fire and not worshiping Obama-God” crap that flows in these sorts of quasi-meta fights by stating that I am not happy with how this oil spill has been handled. I want more, I want to hear more, and I want to see more as well.

I’m also able to see the purpose of tonight’s speech was not for Obama to give the final word on environmental issues or the oil spill, nor to let us know the “how” we’re all craving.

I hope like hell it’s coming soon and it’s comprehensive, but getting upset because Obama didn’t give us a comprehensive, detailed plan of attack for the spill and for getting off fossil fuels like 3 minutes after his speech ended is insipid.

Not quite as insipid with how quickly the diary in question made it to the top of the list, but that’s no surprise there, given the current climate of Daily Kos these days.

Sometimes my fellow lefties forget that most of the public isn’t like us and that the Republican politicians are closer to the right wing base than the Democrats are to the left wing base.

So how is the President doing in terms of job approval?
Here is a bit of reality:

Note: the numbers haven’t been smoothed for President Obama’s “this month” approval rating, but you can see the raw graphs; not much difference between him, President Reagan and President Clinton in terms of job approval ratings.

Intrade:
From here

So, the Republicans who are currently running off their mouths about the President being a “one term president” have no data to back that up; only their opinions.

Other stuff
Humor and working out: this post about the Army “PT” and their required workout gear was hilarious. It wasn’t quite that bad in the Navy when I was in it (1981-1985), but they had rules about shirts, etc.

Speaking of working out: Secretary Ray LaHood (whose appointment I opposed…I was very wrong here) has some good news about the use of running, walking and cycling trails and paths:

Now, the original goal of The National Biking and Walking Study submitted in 1994 was to “double the percentage of total trips made by bicycling and walking from 7.9% to 15.8% of all travel trips.”

Americans are walking In transportation circles, we call that percentage “mode share,” and any planner will tell you that doubling mode share is an ambitious goal. But it turns out that we’re getting there.

According to the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, bicycling and walking now account for 11.9% of all trips. It’s not the 15.8% we hoped to see, but–considering the increase in population and overall number of trips–it’s progress.

Even better, the safety data is also promising. From 1994 to 2008, the number of pedestrians killed decreased by 22.3% and the number of bicyclists killed decreased by 12%. Since the number of trips taken on foot or on bike has more than doubled in the same period, those declines are a good sign of increased safety.

Also, even as the percentage of all trips taken on foot or on bicycle has increased in the same period, the number of bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities as a percentage of all traffic fatalities has dropped. Again, not only have bicycling and walking gained in mode share, but they’ve also gained in relative safety.

Mind: when planning trips, people tend to have a “southern bias”:

People making travel plans may unwittingly heed a strange rule of thumb — southern routes rule. In a new experiment, volunteers chose paths that dipped south over routes of the same distance that arched northward, perhaps because northern routes intuitively seem uphill and thus more difficult, researchers suggest.

Volunteers also estimated that it would take considerably longer to drive between the same pairs of U.S. cities if traveling from south to north, as opposed to north to south, says psychologist and study director Tad Brunyé of the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command in Natick, Mass., and Tufts University in Medford, Mass. For journeys that averaged 798 miles, time estimates for north-going jaunts averaged one hour and 39 minutes more than south-going trips, he and his colleagues report in an upcoming Memory & Cognition.

“This finding suggests that when people plan to travel across long distances, a ‘north is up’ heuristic might compromise their accuracy in estimating trip durations,” Brunyé says.

Only individuals who adopted a first-person, ground-level perspective treated southern routes as the paths of least resistance, he notes. From this vantage, one moves forward and back, right and left.

No southern leaning characterized those who assessed routes from a bird’s-eye view. This type of navigation uses the directional terms north, south, east and west.

The description of the study can be found at the link (N = 160)

Security:
Device called “the club”: does more harm than good?

Forensic science Yes, there are power line variations that can be detected. These provide a time signature that can be used to determine if recorded voices are authentic or have been added later!

More science
Here is an excellent summary of what we know about exo-planets, that is, planets that orbit other stars. Included in this post is the controversy over when scientists should release their raw data; is it really fair to expect them to expose their data thereby allowing other number crunchers to “scoop” them on findings?

Boxing: Who had great chins?

Interesting video; all are good choices. But one person on my list would be Muhammed Ali. He was knocked out once; that was in his next to last fight against Larry Holmes when Ali’s corner wisely put a stop to the carnage; Ali shouldn’t have been in the ring at all by that stage in his life. To his credit, Holmes put it on cruise control when it became clear that Ali was no threat to him.

Watch Round 11 of Ali Frazier I here; most fighters would have been out cold.

Watch round 6 of Ali-Frazier III here:

Watch rounds 14 and 15 of Ali-Shavers here; Shavers was hurting him but watch Ali rally in the last 30 seconds of round 15