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