Interesting article on the house-of-cards economy in the U.S. and what issues may have the potential to trigger a collapse.

Felt much better in today’s swim, which bore a remarkable similarity to the one on Wednesday, probably because we had a new coach who I’d never seen before. No cramps, stroke felt pretty good and the session was much easier. Cycled in and out of work as well.

400 FS Warm Up
4 * {
    50 K on 1:10
    50 P on 50
    50 FS on 45}
6 * 100 FS on 1:40 (1:24)
4 * 100 IM on 1:55 (1:30)
4 * 100 Form on 1:55
4 * 50 FS on 45
200 FS warm down
Total: 2800m

S: 5200m – B: 30km – R: 7.5km – 3 core sessions

Got another core session in this morning and followed that up with a run this evening. I did 5 comfortable laps of the local park in a time of 22:51. I’d estimate that the distance was approximately 4km, but I suppose I’ll have to take the bike up and measure it some day soon.

S:2400m – B: 15km – R: 7.5km – 3 core

Got back in the pool at lunch, for the first time since before Christmas and I really noticed it. The pace was a bit slower, everything felt a little tougher and I ended up with both my legs cramping which finished my session a few hundred metres early. Hopefully it will only take two or three more sessions and all will be back to normal.

400 FS Warm Up
3 * 200 FS on 3:20
4 * {
    50 K on 1:15
    100 P on 1:45 }
2 * 100 FS on 1:40
2 * 100 FS on 1:35
3 * 100 FS on 1:30
100 IM
Total: 2400m

S: 2400m – B: 15km – R: 3.5km – 2 core sessions

Got a lot done in the last two days. I’ve been waking up with a sore lower back on and off for the last couple of months. Nothing serious, just a bit of an ache that goes away pretty soon after getting up. Nevertheless, I was wondering what was causing it, since I hadn’t done myself an injury that I could recall. After doing a bit of reading up on general training I’ve figured it out. Since I’m doing a fair bit of cycling and running, my hip flexors are getting a good workout. They tend to pull my pelvis/lower spine forward, and my abdominals would tend to pull it back. However, I can’t remember the last time I did a sit-up, so my abs are seriously weak and it’s most likely this imbalance which is causing the problem.

This week is the first week back training after the New Year, so I decided to incorporate some ‘core’ work, ie: exercises to strengthen the torso area, back and front. Did them on Monday, got up on Tuesday and did them again, then cycled into work and home again, then went for a 20min run last night. According to the scales this morning I’ve lost 2kg since Monday which gets me back to pre-Christmas weight, though it must be just a loss of water. Anyway, I’ll take it.

B: 15km – R: 3.5km – 2 core sessions

In a week where an Elvis re-release made No.1 in the UK selling only 30,000 copies, the Guardian bemoans the state of the UK Singles Chart.

According to Paul Williams of Music Week magazine, the excitement waned when singles began automatically to enter the chart at No 1 – landed there by advance radio play and mailshots to fans – rather than start low and gradually climb. Of the 156 No 1s this century, only three did not debut at the top. “It’s all about scheduling now. It’s much easier for the business to line up what’s going to be No 1 – you know from the schedules, ‘Oh, that’ll be No 1, and next week that’ll be No 1’. In the past, you could never predict – it was all up to the fans.”

I remember sitting down to watch Top Of The Pops, wondering who would be No.1 this week. Now it’s all manufactured & manipulated crap, like so much else.

Got back on the bike yesterday to cycle in to work, then got a few laps of Centennial Park in on the way home. I can feel the difference now that I’ve sat on my arse for a couple of week, and the fact that I’m almost 1.5kg heavier after Christmas excess doesn’t help either.

While working at home today, I got the call from Jacqui: “I’ve forgotten my lunch. Can you cycle in and bring it to me?”,1),
(

That’s another 10km training ride under my belt ;-)

B: 53.4km

Took the day off work yesterday as it was Bevin’s last day before flying back to NZ. She decided she wanted to do a bike safari around Olympic Park, so she got to wear my snowboard helmet in lieu of a real bike one, and ride my new mountain bike as it was the only one without clip pedals. As luck would have it, Bondi Junction train station was closed for track work, so we had to cycle to Edgecliff. Bevin wasn’t too impressed with the climb out of Double Bay! Got the train to Central, then ended up sitting there for ages waiting for the train to Olympic Park. The trip planner web site said there was one, but after 30mins of waiting I approached a station guard who told us we had to go to Lidcombe and change there! You’d expect the latest information to be on the web!

Got off at Lidcombe and decided to cycle to Olympic Park as it was only a couple of minutes. Once there we cycled around the place checking out the various venues – Aquatic Centre, Stadium Australia, the SuperDome etc. and then got out the mini map with the cycle routes marked on it and followed a few of those. I had brought the video camera so I did a few pans of Bevin cycling past various landmarks to document the trip. We spent about 90mins out there looking around, then had to get on the train before 3pm as there would be issues with having bikes on the train during peak time.

Cycled home from Edgecliff via Bellevue Hill and then up the hill on Old South Head Road. Bevin definitely wasn’t impressed with that one, but she kept going and made it to the top without stopping so she was pretty chuffed. After that it was a quick shower and off down to meet Nathan at Icebergs for some well-earned beers and a bit of food.

So, that’s the first bit of exercise for 2005. Bevin flew out today, so the holidays are officially over now and it’s back to the grindstone.

B: 20km

An account of a visit to Fallujah by an Iraqi doctor, pulished in The Guardian.

So, time to take stock of last year’s resolutions. They were:

1. Get back to my normal weight of approx. 80kg

2. Complete a sprint distance triathlon (or longer)

3. Complete a 2km+ ocean swim

4. Get my body fat under 14%

Missed out on 1, but managed to drop from 89kg to 84.7kg.

Missed out on 2 as well, but I’m doing one next weekend, so that’s close enough.

Did 3 (woo hoo!)

Missed out on 4, but dropped from 19% to 16.8%.

So, to this year’s resolutions. Well, the theme is the same, so I’ll keep 1 & 4 from last year and add a couple more exercise related ones.

1. Get under 80kg.

2. Get under 14% body fat.

3. Complete an Olympic Distance traithlon

4. Do either an adventure race or an MTB race.

According to Colin Powell, the US’s $350 million aid donation gives “the Muslim world and the rest of the world an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action.”,1),
(

Someone did the maths and it turns out that the $350m is equivalent to 42.27 hours of spending on the War in Iraq.

I don’t think that’s quite what Powell had in mind.

Grab the nearest book.

Open the book to page 123.

Find the fifth sentence.

Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

We experimented with the thatch itself and found that the larva can repair it.

[via Erik’s Blog]

Cycled in and out of work on Tuesday, with a few bonus laps of the Park on the way home. Got some reasonably quick laps in (6:58) without too much effort. When I got home I decided to go for a run straight off the bike to see what it was like – bloody weird. HR was about 8-10bpm higher than normal and it just felt a little odd. Had intended to do 5km, but stopped after 2.5 as my legs were knackered. Winding down the training now for Christmas. no more swimming and not much cycling. Will try to keep some running going as that’s my weak area.

S: 2500m – B: 26.4km – R: 7.6km

After a relatively easy week in Canberra, and having recovered from teh mild cold I had, it was back in to the pool for a unch-time session yeasterday. The session was a little all over the place as the regular coach wasn’t there and the guy who took over just copied the morning’s session and adjusted it to fit the shorter time frame.

400 FS SKPS
2 * {
    100 FS on 1:50 (1:18)
    100 BC on 1:50 (1:28) }
4 * 25 FS Sprint on 30
6 * 50 FS K, 10s/50
100 BS easy
3 * 200 FS on 3:20 (2:37)
100 BS easy
4 * 50 Choice on 60
300 FS Cool Down
Total: 2500m

Went for a run when I got home which felt pretty good. However, i’ve been trying to get my run cadence up to 90bpm (180 footstrikes per min) and though I was doing well. Decided to test it yesterday and see what I wasa actually doing and discovered it was as low as 75bpm! I already felt like I was taking babay steps, but I’m going to have to shorten my stride further as a high cadence is the easiest way to avoid injury and significant pounding on the legs.

S: 2500m – R: 5.1km

Myself, Tom and Niall went down to Cronulla this morning to pick up my new MTB, and then continued on to the Royal National Park, the second oldest National Park in the world, after Yellowstone, apparently. Did a nice 26km ride to test out the new bike and I’m delighted with it. The rear suspension makes riding a whole lot easier. No need to stand up over the bumps, so there’s no real need to lower the saddle too much, so it’s easier to pedal efficiently. Had a great time, even though the ride we were on was pretty simple. Looking forward to getting out and about again.

S: 3300m – B: 46km – R: 8.9km

Well, it’s Friday and I’m about to leave Canberra for the final time this year. Good news is that my contract has been extended for another six months so there’s no worries on the job front. Bad news is that I’ve managed to acquire a cold, so training is out the window. I got another run in on Tuesday evening, then went mountain biking with Dean and Tom on Wednesday, ending up at the pub splattered with mud. It was Christmas party time yesterday, so many more beers were had, so it’s been an active week on all fronts. No more training for the rest of the week, but I’m collecting my new MTB this weekend, so we’ll be out for a ride in the Royal National Park.

S: 3300m – B: 20km – R: 8.9km

Got a good run in last night on the treadmill in the hotel. Felt a bit shitty after about 3km, but decided to stick it out and it came good in the end. Still recovering after Frantic on the weekend! Got up at 5:15 this morning to go swim training with the local triathlon club, Bilbys, here in Canberra. Although the last time I got up this early to go swimming was about nine years ago, it wasn’t that hard to get out of bed, though I’m sure I’ll pay for it this afternoon. Felt pretty sluggish in the pool, which was to be expected given the hour. The session was pretty easy, as none of the rest of the squad came from a swimming background, but it was good to get a session done. I had intended to go to last night’s session, but managed to leave teh hotel without putting a towel in my bag. Everyone was very welcoming and invited me along to other sessions, so I might take them up on that if my contract gets renewed. In the meantime, I can lie-in until Friday morning’s session.

300 FS warm up
2 * (100 FS/ 50 BC) on 3:00
2 * (100 IM/ 50 FS) on 3:00
4 * 50 FS build on 60
2 * {
    2 * 300 FS @ 70% on 5:30 (4:15)
    2 * 100 FS @ 80% on 2:00 (1:20)
    4 * 50 FS Hard on 2:00 (35) }
200 FS cool down
Total: 3300m

S: 3300m – R: 5.1km

Bought myself a new MTB at the weekend. It’s a Rocky Mountain ETSX-50 and I managed to score a bargain. It’s the 2003 model, so the importer was having a bit of a fire sale trying to clear out their remaining stock, so I got it for half price! I’ve put a deposit down and will be picking it up at the weekend.

Got a good swim in today. Was feeling a bit lethargic this morning, but once I got into the pool everything fell into place and I got some good times done without too much effort.

400 FS warm up
4 * 200 as {
    50 K/ 100 Drag/ 50 FS } on 3:50 (3:05)
2 * {
    200 FS on 3:00 (2:40)
    200 BC on 3:30 (3:05) }
3 * 100 IM on 1:50 (1:23)
5 * 100 as {
    75 Hard/ 25 Easy } on 1:40 (1:20)
200 FS cool down
Total: 3000m

S: 8800m – B: 45.2km – R: 5km

Cycled in and out of work yesterday with a couple of laps on the way home again. Wasn’t feeling the greatest after being at Jacqui’s christmas party the night before, so took the bike on the ferry on the way in. Still wasn’t too enthusiastic about cycling home either and debated leaving the bike in the office, but leaving a good bike without a lock wasn’t a good idea. I’m sure it would have been fine, but if it did get nicked I’d be screwed, so I cycled home.

S: 5800m – B: 45.2km – R: 5km