Cyborgs Taking Over - Oscar Pistorius and Natalie du Toit

The debate over Oscar Pistorius has not subsided just because he didn't qualify for Beijing.  Natalie du Toit attending the Olympics hasn't ended the bru-ha-ha...  finally, and most significantly, my opinion piece in May didn't settle it either.

The normally placid waters of sport continue to churn with the thought that a man could compete at the Olympics with two fake legs.  It just doesn't sit well with folks...

Conversely, the idea of a woman competing without a leg seems to be met with adulation.  Natalie du Toit (Open Water Swimmer, also of South Africa) is one of the darlings of the Olympics and there is no controversy around her whatsoever.  She better keep it quiet that legs drag the body down in the water...  soon people will be saying she has an "unfair advantage".

So, like a moth to a flame, I recently got sucked into a bit of a "debate" regarding old Oscar and his blades.  Have a read here if you like.  Much to the chagrin of some readers the author refers to Oscar as a cyborg.  (Note: I only have one fake leg but I want to be referred to as a Cyborg as well.)  My comments appear at the end, after the article.  Throw down your opinion...  here or there.  I'd love to hear a logical viewpoint, especially if it is contrary to my own.  

I'd love to debate this topic... in fact, debating in general doesn't seem nearly as nerdy as I once thought...  I just wish I had both of my legs because I don't want to be accused of having an "unfair advantage" in debating the intricacies of amputee sports.  

Olympics or not...  Oscar and Natalie are out there kicking ass.  "Bravo" I say.  There are arguments on both sides of the issue but there can be no debate about the inspirational nature of their accomplishments.  

And to those critics and naysayers that display inherently illogical, and at times discriminatory points of view:

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions... knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Anyway, down off my soapbox....  Nike clearly digs Oscar... Check out ANOTHER new ad all about him.  Chalk another one up for the swoosh... damn fine ad.

 

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Road Trip! Kelowna Apple - Triathlon Canada National Championship

It's the night before a trip...

For me that always means I am running around like an idiot wishing I had packed, organized, found things, done things, left things, and generally gotten on it a bit earlier.

I sort of pride myself on being able to prepare for anything in about 2 hours.  Much less if I don't have to clean my van....  It isn't worth it though.  I am going to try to remember this moment next time so that I don't keep repeating this craziness.

All this means that I am short on time for this post....  Nationals this weekend should be a lot of fun!  I feel ready.  I would say my swim might be a bit better than last year, my bike should be significantly better and the run, well, I'll hope for a minor improvement.  

Today I rode my bike from YVR to West Van after dropping off a car for friends - it was hot and sunny and I felt awesome... made me eager to race. 

Race Day Forecast

Surprisingly, it appears my rainy triathlon streak could extend to 6!  That is ridiculous!  It will certainly be hot but the P.O.P. is 60%.  What is that mysterious 39 I just noticed above though?  

Here's the schedule:

- Friday: drive to Kelowna.  Check into campsite.  Chill, eat, sleep.

- Saturday:  watch Deb's 5km open water swim race.  Attend pre-race meeting.  Eat, sleep, nap, swim a little, ride a little, run a little.

- Sunday:  RACE!  Eat!  Drive home.

It's a quick mission.  Stay tuned for photos and a race report in a few days.  Enjoy your weekend!

 

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Wish I Could Say, "Look Mom"

I got some fantastic news today...

I mentioned some time ago that I had been approached regarding an opportunity to put on a running clinic for injured Canadian Forces soldiers.

Time had passed and I wasn't sure if it was going to happen.  Today I got the confirmation and the rough outline of the trip.  I am so excited, honoured and proud.

Apologies because I am about to get a bit sappy:  It makes me incredibly proud to have been chosen to do this.  The fact that these true warriors recognize something in me that makes them want to hear more, or makes them think I could teach them something is really flattering and a complete honour.  I know it's only a "running clinic" but I know how these things go...  it will be a lot more about life - and where THAT can go - once you have only one leg or arm or eye or whatever.

Consider yourself forewarned - the prep, the trip etc. will be an ongoing storyline on my blog for the next 6 weeks.  The clinic will take place on September 20th as part of the ARMY Run Festivities (Army Run is an Ottawa 10km and 1/2 marathon that I will be doing with the soldiers on the 21st.) 

The Canadian Forces Flag

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No Goggles Required

Yesterday Rob and I decided to go for a trail run instead of the typical I.F. workout.  We only have so much good weather left and we thought it best to take advantage.  We went to Capilano River Park and ran from the bottom up to the Cleveland Dam and back.  The trails are beautiful and it was nice to run them (I used Cat-Skis on them last Thursday during dryland training with Tony.)

This morning Kevin and I were on the road at 6am for a quick 60 minute blast out towards Deep Cove.  We followed that with a quick run off the bikes....  I called it early because my ankle was a tad sore after the trail yesterday....  nothing serious but I didn't want to take the chance of aggravating it.  No more running till Saturday I've decided - I'll do a quick jog on Saturday then see what happens during the race on Sunday.

One of my tires was flat this morning - luckily I noticed and poached a wheel off another bike....

Kevin doing curls with his bike pre-ride....  to pump up the biceps.

On another note:  There's not much to say that hasn't been said regarding Michael Phelps and his mission to win 8 gold medals.  Nevertheless, I have to mention how much I am enjoying watching it...  Mattias and I (and even Sacha and Aia) are glued to every race.  He is certainly the most dominant athlete in his sport - more than Tiger Woods, more than Federer (even before Nadal came along) - and it is pretty incredible to watch.  I am so glad that Mattias is old enough to be inspired by it and think how 'cool' it is.  I hope he wins all 8 - if only so Mattias can bore his kids by talking all about Michael Phelps one day.

I ALMOST FORGOT.  I was watching the old tape of Mark Spitz before one of Phelps' races.  Did they not have goggles in 1972???  WOW.  I can't believe they swam like that sans goggles.  I wonder how fast Phelps would be if he had to race without goggles?

Phelps - with goggles.

Spitz - no goggles required.

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Sunday Brick

After the photo post last week I decided to take a ride past the Bannister/Landy statue over by the PNE.  After writing about it I got excited to ride my bike over there.

The other reason I was excited was that I have been lacking a bit of inspiration in the cycling department.  As beautiful as the city is, I ride in the same places again and again and it gets old after a while.  

So I struck out from my house on Sunday for a 90 minute ride which was to be followed by a hard 30 minute run.  Sacha and the kids were going to meet me downtown with the van so that I could do a transition to the run.  

I decided to ride out along the North Shore and over the Ironworkers Bridge (Second Narrows), from there I wound past the Miracle Mile statue (tried to take my own picture but the battery was dead...)  Then I got onto the Adanac bike route.  

(....  Enter dreamy sequence going back in time to about 1984 ...)  My Dad tells me at the tender age of about 10 that "Adanac" is "Canada" backwards.... and I decide he is the smartest man alive.  Now I always remember that whenever I see Adanac St.

Back to the present day.  The Adanac bike route criss-crosses the city in an East-West manner.  It is pretty much devoid of cars and, for an urban bike route, you can hammer.  I have ridden it a few times but this time I really enjoyed taking in the different neighbourhoods on the way back to Coal Harbour.  It isn't a long ride though.... way shorter than I thought so I had time for a loop of Stanley Park.

So I headed along Pacific to English Bay and into the Park.  Once there, I got mixed up in a massive Hare Krishna Parade...  My second niche parade in the last couple of weeks.  These parade goers didn't enjoy my presence as much as the Pride Parade folks did - but they didn't seem too troubled either.  The Krishnas were singing a song, and I memorized the lyrics:

Hare Krishna

Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna

It was pretty catchy.  They had huge floats too (I am sure they are not called floats, but what do I know about Hare Krishna parade equipment?)  They looked just like this one (image found on the internet.)

Anyway, I went for a partial loop of the park then headed to Coal Harbour for my transition.  Sacha and the kids were there, I did a quick leg change/gel eat/sweat wipe/shoe switch and headed out on the run.  I was running to Yaletown via English Bay and then along the seawall.

The first kilometer or two was pretty slow, but from there I was able to stride along pretty well.  I figure I went 5.5km in about 25 minutes or so...  running steady - not pushing too hard.

I met Sacha and the kids at David Lam Park and passed the torch to Sacha, she headed out for her run (back to Coal Harbour).  I hung out with Viggo while Mattias and Aia played on the playground - then we all headed back to pick up Sacha.

David Lam Park (My finish line - Sacha's start line.)

Urban Fare - Coal Harbour (Finish Line for our workout.)

This is one of our tricks for fitting in a workout for 4 people in the space of three hours.  It isn't easy, but once you have the logistics ironed out it is awesome, and you even get to see your family at the start/transition/finish of the workout.  Parents - I recommend this way to get your family involved in your workouts and enjoy them more.

I hit the pool for Masters this morning and soon will be off to Innovative for a workout with Rob.  These are good days...  I am feeling good for Kelowna this weekend.  Cheers!

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Bill Bowerman

I hope you're enjoying your weekend (watching lots of Olympics).  I'll tell you all about mine tomorrow or Monday...  for now I have this:

Remember that quote I was referring to a couple of posts ago?  If not, you can read the post again by clicking here.

I said I wasn't sure who it came from....  

Weird coincidence - I got an e-mail from "anonymous" who apparently reads my blog from time to time.  "Anonymous", who aside from being mysterious, is also knowledgeable about famous quotes, informed me that it was Bill Bowerman's quote and that it is featured in the latest Nike ad.  That's right - the one I posted about a week ago.

I knew I had 'heard' it recently, and that might have been what made me think of it when I wrote the post.  I had no idea it was Bowerman's quote - that makes it 100x cooler.  

(Note:  I am ignoring the fact that I didn't even remember seeing those words on the screen when I watched that ad 30 times last week.  My memory may not be my strongest quality...)

  

Bill Bowerman, for those of you who don't know, came up with a great idea for running shoes that he made using a waffle-iron.  Seriously.  He called them Nike and sold them out of the trunk of his car.  Bill turned that idea into a tidy little business.  He is described in the image below (click to enlarge.)

In order to posthumously honour Bill, I have added his quote to my sidebar under the "Wise Guys Quotes" section, where his words will sit alongside Roosevelt's.

Further reading should you be interested: Bowerman and the Men of Oregon is an awesome book packed with great stories about Bill and his athletes and Nike. I highly recommend it.

Enjoy your Sunday.  Especially you "Anonymous" - thanks!

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Training Ground - I am lucky...

The weather has been absolutely beautiful.... I've taken full advantage and gotten outside as much as possible. I'll take you through my training week in pictures from awesome local photographers.

In the last week or so I rode three times. Ran twice.  Swam in the pool twice and in the ocean once.  Dryland training twice.  Innovative Fitness twice.  

This is where it all goes down:

Taken from Marine Drive, West Vancouver looking back towards Lighthouse Park. This is about a 5 minute ride east from my home (which is near the Lighthouse in the pic). I go by this spot every time I am on my bike and almost every time I run. Photo by: renovatio06.

The Lion's Gate Bridge - Our exit/entry point to the North Shore - crossed it four times this week. This shot from www.beyondrobson.com.

One of the massive trees in Stanley Park. I love riding in the park - 10km loop, one hill, lots of fast descending... sometimes a bit busy but in the early morning it is awesome. Was here twice this week. Photo from: parkbenchdaily.

One of my favourite parts of the Stanley Park Loop - the statue of Harry Jerome in front of Coal Harbour with downtown in the background. Harry was the man - he won bronze in Tokyo (1964) and set 7 world records during his career. Photo: Dan Heller.

After riding across the Lion's Gate and through Stanley Park we ride along Beach Avenue. The view is spectacular as you can see. That is West Van jutting out... Photo by: Su-Chan.

On the way to and from UBC we ride along Spanish Banks. This is just before the hill up to UBC where I did hill repeats a few days ago. This awesome night shot is by Kloppster.

West Vancouver Aquatic Centre - Masters Swim Club at 6am mon, wed, and fri.... We are lucky to have such a great pool (Even if it is only 25m.) Photo from: WVAC site.

Couldn't believe I found this photo... This is Bird Rock (not sure if this is the real name but that is what we call it).... this is outside of Batchelor Bay where we swam yesterday. This is usually the second point in the swim.  If it is calm we go around it, if choppy we go to the near side and head back. Photo by: nightmusik.

A few times a year I swim here - Kits Pool. Possibly one of the nicest pools in the world - maybe the universe.... AND, 1 length = 137 metres! Photo by: treygeiger.

Capilano River Park - Dryland training (Plyometrics and hill repeats on the Cat-Skis) took place with this backdrop this evening.  Photo from the park website.

Innovative Fitness - twice this week.  This photo is not from Vancouver but Machu Picchu where a group of us travelled last year. I could have loaded a picture of the gym but that's a tad boring.... and it's about the people anyway. Photo by: I can't remember.

I didn't go anywhere near this statue this week....  but I love it.  Statue of the Miracle Mile is by Jack Harman , commemorating the August 7, 1954 race at Empire Stadium.  Bannister beat Landy in the home straight.  It was the first time the two had competed against each other (they were the only ones to have broken the 4 minute mile prior to this race.)  In the race they both went sub 4 again....  Read The Perfect Mile - it is all about their stories and it is one of my favourite books.  P.S.  Roger didn't have the Burger King's crown around his arm in the real race.  Photo by:  Su-Chan.

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