Hurricane Ride

Hurricane Katrina hit across the state last night and then scooted south of us in Naples. We have been experiencing heavy winds and a little rain. Now, as the morning moves on, the winds have been picking up and are quite heavy.

So today was a ride day. Tthe roads were dry but there was a nice breeze, about 20 mph with guest and I thought this might be a fun ride. Well it was fun! As Tony said it was refreshing! Several times during the ride the wind pushed my bike sideways. I thought Hey this is good training for Kona. We were able to maintain an ave speed of 18 mph for 25 miles but it was hard into the wind.

I'm taking next week off from work. My my Italian grandson, Alexander, is bringing his parents to visit me. They live in Rome, Italy and this is the first time in 2 years that I've seen 3 year old Alexander. It should be fun since I have to speak English to Alexander. He speaks Italian but understands English. We are trying to get Alexander to speak more English. Pictures will follow. Especially since I am taking him up to Disney World on Wednesday.

TODAY IS THE DAY

Tony on his old bike

What a GREAT ride this morning! Woohoo! It was one of those days when everything felt just right. Tony picked me up at my house and we jumped right in riding at 17 mph. So much for slow easy warm up. But I felt good and kept up. At the turns I would sprint to try to keep up with Tony (he is much faster in the turns due to his bike, a Trek Madone).

One the first straight-a-way, remember we are trying to get to 30 mph on the straight-a-way, I was pulling as usual and we were doing 24 mph. Tony was content to sit on my wheel. We went for our second loop knowing that today might be the day.

Coming down Coffee Drinker and Collie's street, we were riding at 23 mph and took the cobblestone turn at our fastest yet, 22 mph! As we went up the next section Tony was pulling at 24 mph until the turn around. At the turn-around d we sip water and switch positions I pull around Island Circle then on to the straight-a-way. Once there I pulled trying to keep a steadily increasing speed. At the half way mark (two red poles) Tony came around me. I had to work hard to get on his wheel. At 27.8 he dropped me, pulling away. Finally at the end we go around a curve and then have to get on a bike path. It was there that Tony announced, and I verified via his Polar speedometer, he hit a max speed of 30.7 mph. A new record!

When we got all done we had gone 25.2 miles at an average sped of 19.7 mph. I felt pretty good. The only thing that would have made it better was if I had hit the 30 mph.

Tennis Ball Run

The schedule called for a fartlek run which means I took my tennis ball. You bounce the ball ahead of you and run to get it. So you have bursts of speed then back to normal pace. After my 1 mile warm up, it was fun for about 2 miles after that it became work. But I finished my hot run of 7 miles.
Perhaps you saw President George Bush and 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong riding mountain bikes around the Texas White House. Notice in the picture that Lance has a Discovery Channel jersey and shorts just like mine. Check out the mountain bikes.

Hot Hot Hot

It was yet another HOT HOT HOT weakend here in Southwest Florida. It seems we are in the clutches of a hot summer. It was 92 and 94 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. I read the blogs of people up north like Susan (Finally Running) and Shelly (Ironm4n) and get jealous of the cooler weather. But then I'll make up for it when they have snow.

Saturdays' run was horrible. I found it difficult to maintain my normal pace after the first couple of miles. I did my long route thru the woods hoping the shade from the trees would help. It didn't. At the five mile mark I had to stop and fill both of my water bottles and I took a Cliff shot. After the water stop I have a long section that has no shade and so I got even slower. I stopped again at a golf course bathroom/waterhole and refilled again. I finally gave in at the 14 mile mark. It was just to hot and besides I was close to my house. Maybe I should plan not to pass close to the house until I get to my goal?

Sunday I guess I was still dehydrated from Saturdays run. Tony and I went to Coconut Point to look for dolphins. Once again it was hot. there were no dolphins! I was doing all right until the 30 mile mark. Then the dehydration hit me and I was out of water/gaterade. Tony and I took a short cut home and I logged 36 miles. Tony went on to do 50. So all in all it was not a good weakend.


WEAKLY TOTALS

Bike - 111
Run 28
Swim 4,300 yards

Frogs and Warts

Nancy Toby wrote an interesting piece on Fears and Phobias on her blog. It's made me think about my own fears and phobias.

I'm no long afraid of swimming with the alligators since I did that in the Publix Family Fitness Tri last summer. I also swam in the strong tide at the Escape Ft. DeSoto tri (both tris had warning signs at the start line...Danger No Swimming Alligators in Lake! and Dangerous Currents NO SWIMMING). Since I swim regularly in the Gulf of Mexico, I'm not afraid of a shark attack! So I guess swimming is out.

I'm no longer afraid of hitting the wall..I've hit it so much I bounce off now.

My mother used to say at least you 've got your health, that was before she lost her mind to Alzheimer's. So my one kidney is working fine, I've been cancer free for 6 months, my brain tumor is not growing, and the new tumor on my back is a lyphomia. So yea I'm not afraid of losing my health. I think it's already gone!

So this morning during my 7 mile run, I found my fear. FROGS. Yup a FROG attacked me! As I was running thru the woods on my regular running loop a FROG jump out of the bushes and attacked me. He landed on my shirt and tried to wrestle me to the ground. However, I prevailed and got him off of my shirt. But now I'm afraid I'll get warts. I've washed my shirt and my hands then I took a shower...but warts people. Saturday I'm going to be very careful when I go thru the woods. I want to make sure I don't get mugged again.

No Excuses

So my Timex Body Links watch crapped out.... so yesterday I took it to a watch repair shop along with the printed instructions on how to change the battery. The Master Watch Mechanic said no problem and changed the battery, set and tested the watch and handed it back to me in 5 minutes. So now I can get my Heart Rate, Speed, Distance and various other thingies... So I have no excuses for not improving!

Today was a ride and swim day. I rode with Tony this morning. We did our normal two loop course for 25 miles. On the second loop a panel truck pulled out in front of us, so Tony used it as an opportunity to draft. I dropped off at 27 mph but Tony hung on to record 31 mph...but it doesn't count drafting a truck!

Since I'm swamped at work (I'm looking to hire an administrative assistant if anyone needs a job in beautiful Naples) I'll swim after work.

Weakly Review

The Weakly Totals

Bike - 125 miles
Swim 3520 yards
Run 30 miles

It was a good weekend weather wise. It rained Friday night but somehow the weather gods forgot to have it rain on Saturday and Sunday. I did my long run Saturday morning. Tony and I were able to get our long ride of 50 miles in on Sunday morning. Along the way we saw several other cyclists but no one wanted to join up with us. This morning we did our usual 2 loops for 25 miles at an ave of 18.1 mph.

Sunday on the way back we cross over a golf course by way of an overpass. The only two hills on our route are golf course over passes. I pulled up the hill at steady 23 mph. On the down hill side Tony and I got going pretty good when he went around me and recorded a 32.7 mph. But it doesn't count since he had the down hill to help.

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG WITH A COFFEE DRINKER AND COLLIE UPDATE

Yes folks it has been a few days that we have seen Coffee Drinker and Collie, but alas they have been spotted toady and are alive and well. You might remember Coffee Drinker walks Collie on a long leash in the middle of the road while drinking his morning cup of java. Tony and I have made it a game to try to get Coffee Drinker to spills his coffee. Our spilling average is .333. Pretty good average.

Today was like most summer mornings in Southwest Florida. The air was heavy laden with moisture. The temp was 79*. The sun was just making it's appearance in the cloudless sky. The birds were just beginning their morning song. The day had all the promises of a wonderful summer morn!

Tony met me as usual at my home. I had just finished putting air in my tires for the days ride. As we started off we both commented on what a humid but nice summer morn it was, little did we know what lay ahead of us.

We started our ride as usual, just warming up riding at 17 mph for the first 3 miles, riding side by side. No one was around at that hour. Most people in our community are still asleep. We increased our speed and took our usual turns pulling each other. As we pass Coffee Drinkers house on our first loop, there we no signs of life. Not even a light in the window. Tony was pulling as we went by so I could look. As usual we switched and I pulled until the great straight-a-way where Tony passes me to attempt 30 mph...but to no avail today 28.8 mph. We now work our way back thru our first loop and begin our second loop. Now warmed up we are doing 22-24 mph on the straights but slow for turns and stop signs (no we don't stop, there is no one around).

For some reason we got out of our usual pulling routine mixed up and Tony was pulling up the street toward Coffee Drinkers. Usually he pulls on the first loop, I on the second, when as we round the bend in the road who do we spy? None other than Coffee Drinker and Collie in the middle of the road. Tony on his Trek Madone is more agile then me on my Roo at 23 mph gracefully goes into the oncoming traffic lane and I brake and follow falling off his wheel. Collie goes nuts and barks as we pass. AH but there is more!

This street is a cul-de-sac so we must turn around and pass Coffee Drinker and Collie again. Another chance! As we come back towards the duo I notice that Coffee Drinker with cup in one hand and baggie in the other has his foot on Collie's leash while trying to pick-up Collie's doggie poop ( we have a strict rule in the community that dog owners must clean up their dogs poo... good rule). As we pass Collie again Collie goes nuts, tugs on the lease Coffee Drinker in mid poopy pick up moves and drops poopy as Collie starts after us and...... SPILLS HIS COFFEE! Amid the barking we hear DAMN! Was it Coffee or Poop?

So there you have it gentle readers. Just another ride of 25 miles at and average speed of 18.7 mph and one spilled coffee!

Remember the old days....

... when men were real men and women were women? Well my Ironman watch that controls my heartrate monitor, speed and distance and my training life needs a battery. So today I ran my 7 mile run thru the woods without my watch, just like the olden days when people ran without heart rate monitors. It was fun but I feel like I was blind... no time.

It was just like back in the old days ...1978 when I trained with Earl to run the Penn Relays Marathon. We just ran... 20 mile training runs on Sat... total 70 miles a week for 12 weeks...hey I lost a lot of weight...at work people asked me if I was sick.... Now I can't run without watch, heart rate monitor, speed and distance, MP3 player, hat, sun glasses, fuel belt, and a cliff shot or two, or three.... I didn't even have running shorts or a singlet...nope cotton shorts, underwear, cotton t-shirt....and the old Brooks Vantage Supreme shoes.

Earl and I ran in all kinds of weather rain, heat, snow and cool weather. I remember having ice form in my cotton skull cap and slipping and sliding on the ice. Earl was knocked down by a St. Bernard that couldn't stop on the ice and slid into Earl.

The first time I wore a pair of racing shorts and singlet was for the Penn Relays Marathon. It's the oldest track and field games in the US put on by the University of Pennsylvania at old Franklin Field. But the Marathon was Sunday before the opening of the games at Fairmont Park in Philly.

It was the first time I experienced leg cramps... at the 22 mile mark..I guess they call it hitting the wall. A friend of my Larry jumped in the race to pace me to the finish at the 20 mile mark... I cramped and started walking... they ran out of water on the course...no gatorade back then... Larry would say "Look at the old guy ahead, or the girl ahead...ARE YOU GOING TO LET THEM BEAT YOU?" Larry was a Navy pilot waco.

Maybe I'll look for some cotton shorts, I got some cotton tees, and not get my watch fixed!

I DON"T THINK SO>>>>

This Weak in Review

So it wasn't the best week of training. My back still gives me little spasms to let me know I still have a pain in my back! It's also been hot highs about 93* most days with the usual afternoon thunderstorm. This weekend I ran at the fitness center just to get into some cooler air. Sunday's ride was hot, hot, and hot. When we stoped at the golf course bathroom/waterhole to fill our bottles a golfer being smart looked at us and said you guy ride 50 miles or something? Nope I said just coming up on 41 miles at a 19.1 mph pace... he was shocked thinking we just went a few miles. So we finished out at 50 miles.

Weakly totals

Bike .....125 miles
Run......19 miles
Swim.... 2,200 yards
No Plilates/Weights

Death Notice

Panhandle sports fan gets death for killing wife after sex

PANAMA CITY, Fla. A man who said he was angry with his wife because she nagged him to cuddle after sex while he wanted to watch sports on television has been sentenced to death for killing her with a claw hammer.

Christopher Offord, 30 received the sentence Wednesday from Circuit Judge Dedee Costello, who said the brutality of the killing outweighed any mental health issues.

"The defendant struck his wife approximately 70 individual blows after spending a happy interlude with her," Costello said. "Her desire to cuddle after sex does not justify the extremely violent, brutal response of the defendant."

Offord pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the July 31, 2004, death of Dana Noser, 40, at his Panama City apartment.

He initially confessed to a bartender at a sports bar before being arrested. He told investigators, in a taped interview played to the jury, that he got annoyed when he wanted to watch a sports program and Noser continued to ask him to return to bed with her.

Offord did not speak in court Wednesday but in the past has repeatedly said he wanted a death sentence.

"Prison isn't the issue," he said in June during a jailhouse interview with The News Herald of Panama City. "I figured I killed her so I deserve to die."

All death sentences are automatically appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

A 12-member jury unanimously had recommended death. The only other option was life in prison without parole.

At that June hearing, Offord claimed he had a history of mental illness since he was 6 years old. He also told arresting officers that a voice in his head told him to kill Noser.

At a second sentencing hearing last month, however, he denied having any mental impairment, saying he had fooled doctors all his life. He said he "just lost it" when he killed Noser and had been thinking about murdering her for weeks.

Costello said his main problem probably was substance abuse. She nevertheless considered his history of diagnosed mental disorders but said it was outweighed by the "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" way Noser was killed.

"This was not an instantaneous death and it was obviously extremely painful and unnecessarily brutal," Costello said.

---

Information from: The News Herald,

You heard it here on Oldman!

Oldman's Public Service Announcement

In just a few days telemarketers will be given a directory of cell phone numbers that have not registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. This means you will get calls to remortgage your house on your cell phone if you haven't registered! To register go to

National Do Not Call Registry

and register your cell phone number. It is as easy as that!

This was a Public Service Announcement from Oldman's Blog. We now return you to our regular blogs. Had this been an actual emergency we would have instructed you how to kiss your a** good bye.

Melanoma Strikes Again

Perhaps you read or heard about the woman who gave birth to a daughter while in a coma from cancer? Susan Torres age 27 was diagnosed with Melanoma, a very aggressive form of skin cancer. May 7th Susan suffered a stroke , the melanoma spread to her brain, and was placed on life support.

READ the Full Story Here

So maybe now you'll remember your sun screen? Skin cancer is no joke.

WARNING Rant Ahead!

Ok you were warned!

I had a business meeting and lunch across town yesterday. The guy I met with was my age or younger but GROSSLY overweight, by about 200 lbs.! The first thing he said when we met was where do you want to go to lunch? I'd like to go swim but if I can get something that fits my diet I'll go with you... DIET! whats that? he says. But hey I guess each to his own. If you want to eat yourself to death be my guest.

So after lunch I swing by the LBS (Local Bike Shop where I bought my bike 2 years ago, have it services and regularly buy stuff). OK I'm looking to spend some of my bonus you know jersey, shorts, helmet, etc. So I'm greeted by a Hispanic guy who says I'll be with you in a moment...he's talking spanish to a guy try to explain why he needs to buy a carbon fiber Trek and the guy has no F'ing clue what a carbon fiber bike is and prob doesn't need a carbon fiber bike....

So I walk past the beach cruisers... surprised one has gears... and the guy says I can give you a great deal on one of those... I can't contain myself and say DO I LOOK LIKE I RIDE A BEACH CRUISER? and the guy says YES!!!!! WTF? Hey I know I'm old but a beach cruiser?

So I wonder around look at jersey...none my size (GRANDE). I look at shorts none my size (GRANDE). Ok finally the guy comes over to me what can I help you with? I need tubes...presta vales, medium stem with the locking nut please...700cc x 18-24. DUH... the guy looks can't fine them. Looks around some more, can't fined them...then comes up with Schrader valves...nope I need preseta.... don't have them... where's the owner? I asked...Out sick is his reply.

OK one last try... I have Speedplay's that the bushing has come out. do you had a re-build kit for the Speedplays? DUH>>>> You'll have to come back Friday and ask Clint! I didn't even want to ask if I could get my rim trued...

So I drove back to my office and stopped at a competing chain bike shop... 2 tubes, CO2 canisters and check their jerseys, shorts and helmets...NADA. So I called it a day.... now it's surf the web time and forget supporting local businesses.

OK RANT OFF

This morning my timex Ironman watch died...I guess it needs a battery. So I ran blind. But due to my back issues I just did a light 3 mile run....plus it was humid. I'm going to swim at lunch.

O My Aching Back

Some random Thots:

Why can I ride but not run or walk without pain? So I rode this morning 25 miles.

I bought a Bike rack for my garage:



On sale this week at Target for $39.99. Kinda neat and gives me a little more floor space.

I got a bonus this week. Here is what I want buy. Let me know what you think!

1. A new jersey. My Quintanna Roo jersey is torn from my fall in November but I wear it anyway so it needs replacing. I like the Discovery Channel last day of the Tour jersey but I don't want to be a poseur.

2. New cycling shorts. I would like a really comfortable pair with a good pad. What kind do you use?

3. A new helmet - my helmet is scraped from my fall in Nov. So a new Giros is in order.

4. A media PC by HP for my big screen HD TV. It would replace the DVD, CD Changer, VCR and give me TIVO type of recording ability and I can put all my cds on the hard drive. It also decodes Dolby 6.1 for my sound system. It has two tuners so I can use my PIP features too.

5. A new digital camera. Cannon or Nikon. I like both but I have an old Cannon already so maybe my lens would fit the Cannon EOS?

6. Nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Sign of the Vine or Chardonnay but I've gotta find someone to go with since I don't want to eat alone.

7. A weekend get-a-way over Labor Day weekend. But I don't know where to go... Mexico? Italy? ---that's a week but I have a place to stay in Rome and a car to use plus a scooter.

A penny for your thots!

Weakend Update

Salty Sam's Marina




OK thanks for all the "bee sting' and fat lip jokes. Yes my lip has gone back to it's normal size.

So what else could happen you ask? Well I'm glad you asked because Saturday when I got up I felt pretty good. I did my normal stretch routine and suddenly I felt that all to familiar feeling of a muscle pull in my back. It became so painful I had trouble walking. So no long run..hey I could hardly walk!

My neighbor bought a new power boat, yea know it's not a real boat unless it has sails. He wanted me to go out with he and his wife for a ride. It was a great day for a boat ride, we stopped at Salty Sam's for lunch, toured the boat grave yard and then out ran a rain storm on the way back home. I still have my navigation skills.

Saturday afternoon I decided to get a massage to hlep my back. It was very relaxing but I still had pain when the massuse got done. She suggested some exercises to strenthen that area. By Saturday night my back really felt aweful. I couldn't lie down to sleep and felt uncomfortable sitting. When I finally managed to get to sleep the muscles started to spasm! I woke screaming in pain... So I took so industrial strength ibprofin and had a very horrible night of spasms and screams. I didn't ride Sunday and lazed around the pool. By this morning it was much better so I rode 25 miles but only at an ave pace of 17.8 mph. Hopefully I'm on the way to recovery.

WEAKLY TOTALS

Bike - 100 miles (no long ride on Sunday)
Run - 15 miles ( no long run on Saturday)
Swim - 9,000 yards (no open water swim on Sat)