More Ironman memories

Hawaii Ironman 1996

This is how you look minutes before you throw-up on yourself.

Night of the Living Dead

I found the debate last night pretty predictable and boring until McCain turned into a zombie.

More Ironman '99

Coach and physical therapist extraordinaire Mike Swan is also a not too shabby Ironman. In 1999, Mike finished in a tad over 9 hours. A pretty good day at the office.

More Vic

Here's Vic on the podium after Hawaii Ironman '99.

11 times Ironman

Vic and the late, great Steve Issaris at Ironman '02

For an amazing 11 times in a row, Vic Birtalan completed the Hawaii Ironman this past weekend. Vic finished in 13:50. Vic's accomplishment just boggles my mind. That's a lot of lava dust to pick out of your teeth over the years.

Hawaii 99

I was digging thru my archives the other day and came across this picture of my buddy Chuckie V downing a cold one during the '99 Hawaii Ironman. Chuckie was unfairly banned from from Ironman events for the following year. I think a little bit of the fun of Ironman died that day.

At the Beach

It doesn't get any better than running on the beach with my crazy dog Morgan.

Gadget Man

I love gadgets. I probably have 3 or 4 heart rate monitors, a couple of GPS devices, and seem to change my MP3 players as often as I do my running shoes. None of these gizmos seem to make me any faster but I do like the diversion of frantically pushing buttons while I work out. My latest gadget- a Electro Muscle Stimulator, recommended by my fellow nerd, the Wanger. Here I have it set on the electro shock mode. I find this very handy to erase the memory of a painful Rusty Snow workout.

Dog Attacks Shark!

Keeping with my dog theme, check out this video. I kinda feel sorry for the shark.

Man Attacks Shark

What would you do to save your dog? This Florida man took on a 5 ft shark. You can read about it here.

If I didn't Have a Dog

My friend Dave sent this to me the other day:

If I Didn't Have a Dog
I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.
My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.
All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free
of hair.
When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.
When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading
through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.
I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted, without
taking into consideration how much space several fur bodies would need
to get comfortable.
I would have money .......and no guilt to go on a real vacation.
I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians, as I
put their yet unborn grandkids through college.
The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit,
down, come, no, stay, and leave him/her/it ALONE.
My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates or
barriers.
My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags, treats and
an extra leash.
I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L,, F-R-I-S-B-E-
E,,W-A-L-K,, T-R-E-A-T,, B-I-K-E,, G-O,, R-I-D-E
I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.
I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE
dog/cat ties them down too much.
I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead of
dreading 'mud' season.
I would not have to answer the question 'Why do you have so many
animals?' from people who will never have the joy in their lives of
knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel
as they will ever get.

How EMPTY my life would be!

>Unknown

Dark Horse Candidate?

A good friend of mine and a Santa Barbara legend is making a surprising push to challenge both Obama and McCain. Could this dark horse candidate pull an upset in November? Check it out here.

To Infinity and Beyond

When I was a kid there were two things I wanted, a hover car and a jet pack. Well, Swiss Yves Rossy became the first man to don a jet pack and cross the English Channel. The trip took a mere 10 minutes. He would have gone a bit faster if not for the friction from the huge cajones this guy must have.

Sweaty palms

The Wanger sent me this article on how heat exchange through the palms of your hands will improve aerobic endurance. I've been carrying an icy water bottle during my Ironman runs for years. Yet another one of my secret tips made public.

I'm still shaking my head

I'm sorry, but some people should not be allowed to vote... or reproduce.

Santa Barbara International Marathon

The Santa Barbara International Marathon will debut on Dec 6, 2009. This will no doubt be a big time event so it is never too early to start training, or in my case, probably get injured. Coach Rusty Snow is one of the main organizers so plan on the course to be extra torturous.

The Endurance Athletes Mind

Besides long fingers, what other attributes make up an endurance athlete? For one, they are not afraid of failure. Check out the others here.

The longer the better

This latest study shows there is a possible link between people with long fingers and the desire to exercise. I have no idea how scientists come up with this kind of stuff but all I can say is ET must have been totally ripped.

Vegetables

I was reading this article linking eating vegetables and brain shrinkage. Vegans were especially susceptible. I always wondered why my vegetarian friends have small heads.

Tux

Sadly, my 17 year old faithful training partner, Tux, passed away last night. Ellen and I found Tux wondering the neighborhood streets 15 years ago. Flea ridden and half starved, Tux was lured with a dog biscuit and cautiously followed us home. He has been faithfully at our side ever since. Tux trained with me through five Ironman races and countless marathons. He was a trail running phenom. And while age finally took away most of his giddy-up, he happily accompanied me on slow walks through Elings Park. I spent many a morning sipping my Pete's watching the sunrise with Tux strolling at my side. Good bye Tux, you lived a long, wonderful life.

Hockey Moms for Truth

There is some funny stuff out there on the internets.

Hair

Scientists have discovered that human hair follicles are a source of EPO. I imagine it is only a matter of time until this is the next doping scandal.

More Olympic News

Could this be the next Olympic Sport?

J Lo

Nothing gets my friend Cook going more than a Jennifer Lopez movie. "A very under appreciated actress" he says. In my opinion however, she can't hold a candle to say, Drew Barrymore. Now that's quality acting. But I digress. How does J Lo get back into shape after having twins? She trains like a triathlete. Check it out here.

No Speeding

I was reading a news clipping from my favorite state of Florida saying Walton County wants to impose an 8 mile speed limit along its bike path. This seems rather ridiculous since I can RUN 8 mph. (ok, ok, maybe if I'm sprinting really hard for a short distance)

The RNC

I was watching the RNC with great interest, but will somebody please explain to me what a "Mavrick" is?

Colonoscopy

One of the benefits of getting a bit older is you get to endure all kinds of new medical procedures. The other day I had my first colonoscopy. After seeing the photo of my results I was a little surprised, but my wife said she knew it all along.

360 View

If your computer has the chops and you have enough bandwidth, check out this 360 degree view of Olympic Stadium. One day, I imagine, we will be able to watch real time events this way. Check it out here.

Half way there

After a hundred days of rowing, Roz Savage arrived at Waikiki beach on September 1st. Roz isn't stopping here. Next spring she'll continue her adventure rowing across the Pacific. Check out her blog here.

Horsing around

I've been out of town for the past few days visiting my sister in Maryland. This is Herbie, my niece Julia's horse. I never noticed this before but horses have really big heads.

Give them the finger

Canada was totally depressed during the opening days of the Olympics. So says Ellen's good friend Mary, who was visiting from Vancouver. Canada was suffering from a drought of medals. "We were behind the country of Togo!" That all changed when Carol Huynh won a gold medal in women's wrestling. Here you see Carol performing her famous "stinky finger" move.

Looking Presidential

One thing I have to say about W, he commands respect.

Michael behaving badly

This video was from the raw NBC feed showing Phelps's rather unsportsmanlike behavior.

Sheila Taormina

You may remember Sheila from her ITU triathlon days. She has quite an athletic resume- gold medal swimmer at the '96 Atlanta games, Olympic Triathlete in the 2000 and 2004 games, and now in her fourth Olympics, Sheila is competing in Beijing in her third sport- the Modern Pentathlon. That's a day of shooting, fencing, horseback riding, swimming, and running. Check out NBC Olympics to see how she fared.

More 10 K Open Water

The 10k open water swim consists of a 6 mile swim and then a frantic 250 meter sprint to the finish. It is a great combination of endurance, strategy, and speed. In yesterday's race, the leader paused for a brief second sighting the finish line. This was all the opening Netherlands
Maarten van der Weijden needed to capture the gold. Santa Barbara's Mark Warkentin was in the lead pack with 500 meters to go but when all hell broke loose, he hung on for a respectable 8th place, 21 seconds back. On a side note, Maarten was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, under went a stem cell transplant and luckily made a full recovery.

2001

Olympic Champion 2008

Natalie Du Toit

Just an update on South African Olympic swimmer Natalie Du Toit. Natalie finished 16th in the 10k open water swim, finishing 1min 21 seconds back. After the race, " My message isn't just to disabled people, you have to set dreams, set goals, and never give up."

Be Like Flipper

Just strap on one of these baby's and you'll literally be able to propel yourself completely out of the water. This is a high tech monofin made by Lunocet. Is it worth the $1,800 price tag? Maybe not, but it is made of two of my most favorite materials- carbon fiber and titanium!

Knee Pads are for Wussies

While the world waited in anticipation to see if Michael Phelps would win his record 8th gold, thousands of Santa Barbarians packed the City College track to witness Geoff Gray attempt to break the 1 mile lunge record. In true Olympian fashion, Geoff shattered the existing record of 30 minutes, 50 seconds by posting an amazing 27 minutes, 5 seconds. Inspired, I am now preparing to take on the 1 mile somersulting record. Stay tuned...

1/100th

In case you are wondering what 1/100th of a second looks likes, here it is.

Greatest Olympian Ever?

Is Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian ever? Philip Hersh of the LA Times doesn't rank Phelps even in his top five. Carl Lewis is his number one. The question is- Can Phelps sing?

Time Waits for No One

NBCOlympics.com ran a little slide show on how some of the greatest Olympians looked then and now. All I can say is Bruce Jenner is one creepy looking dude.

High Tech Gear

It certainly pays to have athletic talent, but here is an interesting article on the gear that can give you the Olympic edge. Everybody is familiar with the high tech swimsuits, but how about some Nike contact lenses that help you pick up the rotation of a ball. Check it out.

Leadville 100

This just in from the Wanger- Famous marathon runner, Lance Armstrong, finished around 2 minutes back of defending champ, Dave Wiens, in last weekends Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race. Lance was around 1 minute back with 10 miles to go, then crashed and finished 2 minutes behind. Wiens finished with a flat. The Wanger is hanging out in Colorado preparing for next weekend's Leadville 100 mile run. More pictures here.

Tour de Lake

Today was a good day. I successfully defended the yellow jersey of the Tour de Lake. The attacks came early and often. The first came soon after I pulled out of the East Beach parking lot. Team Guy-with-panniers-and-reflective-vest launched a furious attack on Cemetery Hill, the first climb of the day . When he stopped for a smoke near the Biltmore, I put the hammer down and dusted him. Next on Hwy 192, Out-0f-town-tri-girl closed the gap and pushed the pace to the top of Toro Canyon. Fortunately her descending skills weren't quite up to snuff and her attack was denied. I rode hard and steady, my solo break away seemed to be working. Along the coast, Guy-riding-in long-pants-and-no-helmet made a brief challenge. No problem. I was confident as I rounded the Bird Refuge that victory was in hand. As I approached East Beach I caught Family-of-four-riding-a-surrey making a move out of the corner of my eye. I dug deep and snaked them at the line back into the parking lot. Victory was sweet. I must recover now. Tomorrow I will be attempting the arduous San Ysidro Trail climb with the Nerd Herd. I will be doing this without the aid of supplemental oxygen.

Justin!

Meet Justin

My buddy Justin just passed the Bar exam and is Santa Barbara's newest lawyer. Justin has been collecting various graduate degrees over the years but after decades of schooling, he finally says he's done. His lovely wife Melinda is breathing a sigh of relief.


Here is my poor collar bone after getting tangled up with Justin a few years ago on a club ride. Since Justin has been in Law School I haven't seen much of him on the road. My old bones are breathing a sigh of relief!

My Swimming Hole

Los Banos del Mar Pool is my favorite Santa Barbara swimming hole. It's been undergoing a major repair all summer. Check out these demo pictures courtesy of Dean the pool guy. More Here

Someone to Root For

It seem I can't get enough stories about limbless athletes. Here's another one:
In the year 2000, 16 year old South African swimmer, Natalie du Toit, barely missed qualifying for 3 events for the Sydney Olympics. Natalie seemed like a sure bet for the 2004 Athens Olympics but her life took an abrupt turn when in 2001 she was hit by a car and lost her left leg. Now at age 24, Natalie has realized her Olympic dream. In a few days she will be competing in the 10k open water swim in Beijiing. I doubt you will see much coverage of Natalie on NBC. Kobe and LeBron's quest for gold is far more engaging. Root for her anyway.

The Nerd Herd

On Sunday mornings I've been running trails with Scott DeVore and the self proclaimed "Nerd Herd". Scott is a talented athlete but like a fine thoroughbred horse, he has a tendency to injure himself quite easily. Before each run, the group draws straws to see who will put Scott down in case he pulls up lame.

A Couch Potato's Dream

A long day training or pop a pill? The latest development of why hard work may be a thing of the past.

The Most Important Meal of the Day

What's great about this wholesome breakfast meal is it comes with a free pack of cigarettes.

Think Big

Sometimes it doesn't hurt to think big