Spokes, not slopes January 26, 2009
Posted by postalblue in San Francisco, Sports.Tags: Cycling, knee injury, skiing
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Last week: two good rides (40 and 35 miles, respectively) and three good runs (5, 5 and 3 miles respectively) before hitting the road on Friday night for South Lake Tahoe, California. I’ve never been a skier and this weekend I figured out I probably never will be.
Ever since that nasty, near-death bike crash I had a few years ago – the one that I definitely shouldn’t have walked away from – I’ve been a very, very cautious descender. It takes me a long time to grow comfortable enough with a hill to be able to let off the brakes. Turns out that same fear translates directly over into skiing. It might be even worse, actually: I feel more in control on a bike than on skis – at least on a bike, I know how to stop!
Despite the embarrassing wipe-outs, I was having a good time. No, I never graduated from that green circle run that I started with at the beginning of the day – but I never figured out how to steer, either. Maybe next time I’ll take lessons.
It was all fun until one particularly nasty crash that wrenched my knee the wrong way and left me gasping in pain for at least fifteen minutes. I was laying in the snow and all I could think about was, “My MCL is torn. I’m going to be on crutches for four months.”
Thankfully, I overreacted.
It was one hell of a painful tweak, but it’s starting to feel better already. Let’s call it a bad strain or a sprain (I never know the difference). I’m going to take it easy for a few days – and maybe try for a ride on Wednesday? – in hopes that I spring back faster than expected.
Wrong birds! January 22, 2009
Posted by postalblue in Sports.Tags: arizona, arizona cardinals, eagles, football, nfc championship, philadelphia eagles, roadtrip
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University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals
Sara and I drove down Glendale, AZ by way of Los Angeles this weekend, picking up one of her friends along the way. The trip is twelve hours each way, but we made it interesting enough with stops at random, fashion-infused outposts like Indio, California – and refueling delicious Chik-Fil-A’s.
There’s a long stretch of road between Indio and Glendale – I-10 – that is absolutely empty. Other than one or two small gas-station towns, it’s a 250 mile stretch of empty road. Oh wait, there was one exception: an emormous mobile-home mecca called Quartzsite: there were people in campers as far as the eye could see.
Anyway, the purpose of the trip was to see the Philadelphia Eagles play the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship. Despite the outcome of the game, the weekend was a blast. Arizona’s fans are super nice and the area around the stadium is a ton of fun: filled with bars, burrito shops and sushi restaurants!
Not bad for the nosebleed section...
Needless to say, I’m extremely disappointed in the Eagles’ performance. We almost left at halftime; the boys in green didn’t even show up during the first half. Then the offense went on a tear, teasing us by taking a one-point lead and holding it for about seven minutes before the defense completely failed and Arizona took back the lead, the win, and an invitation to the Superbowl.
This weekend: skiing. This should be interesting.
Go Birds! January 15, 2009
Posted by postalblue in Sports.Tags: arizona cardinals, eagles, football, new york giants, philadelphia, philadelphia eagles
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After Saturday’s ride, the remnants of the weekend were devoted to one thing: football. Namely, the Philadelphia Eagles. Sara and I watched the Cardinals dismantle the Panthers with rapt attention: after Arizona defeated Carolina, we only needed an Eagles win for the NFC Champsionship game to take place in Phoenix… and Phoenix is only twelve hours away.
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!
We took some time to get my apartment ready to host a small gathering of Eagles fans and Philly transplants for the early game on Sunday: Eagles vs. Cowboys. It was a hard-fought game with a few highlights in the first half: Asante Samuel’s interception return to the 1-yard line was absolutely brilliant. Needless to say, my boys in green took it to the team from New York and now I’m getting ready for a big weekend road trip!
The Fightin’s October 31, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Life, Sports.Tags: chase utley, philadelphia, phillies, world series
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I normally don’t write two posts on the same day, but my life has been utterly consumed by the Fightin’ Phils and I’ve just got to write about it. I can’t put the feeling into words. They brought a world title to the city that I call home. I’ve honestly watched the ninth inning of Game 5 five times a day since it happened. I think Chase Utley, the best second-baseman in the world, said it best this morning:
Wednesday night was probably one of the best nights of my entire life. Sharing the experience with a bunch of like-minded fans, dousing each other with celebratory champagne immediately afterward and then trolling up and down the streets of San Francisco praising the Phillies at the top of our lungs… it doesn’t get much better than that.
I’m in love with this team. They’ve done what no other team could do in twenty five years. Philadelphia has been without a championship team for as long as I’ve been alive… until now. Now WE are the winners. And damn, does it feel phantastic.
GBC Sprint Update August 25, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Cycling, Life, Running, Sports.add a comment
Good news! They posted the results today and guess what? I placed twelfth out of 208 competitors! Not only that, I but I placed first in my age group: Men 25-29. Kick ass.
I had the 6th-fastest swim time and my bike and run times both ranked around 25. It’s a shame, though, because the results on the site don’t account for the four-plus minute wait time between when the dualthetes started racing and when my heat finally launched.
1000 meter swim: 17:54 (though probably more like 12:54).
22 kilometer bike: 39:37 (20.7 miles per hour).
5 kilometer run: 23:12 (7:29 minutes per mile).
Transitions: 1:38 and 1:25.
Total time: 83:48 (adjusted to 78:48).
GBC Sprint Report August 24, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Cycling, Running, Sports.2 comments
I woke up extra early this morning to head to Springfield, Ohio for the Great Buckeye Challenge triathlon. I haven’t been training specifically for the event, so it was probably a good thing that I only signed up for the sprint (or shortest) distance. Ever since the stress fracture in late July, I haven’t been out for a run a single time… and I haven’t been in a pool since June.
I haven’t exactly been resting, either. I got home Thursday evening and went out for fairly aggressive rides on both Friday and Saturday – including some hill repeats near Central State – for a total of 75 miles. Yum.
As you can imagine, I wasn’t so much interested in performing at this event. I don’t even know why I bothered waking up… but after paying $65 for the event, there’s no way I could skip out.
Anyway, I get out to Buck Creek State Park only to find out that this particular sprint triathlon isn’t a traditional sprint, in that the swim’s 1000m instead of 750. Okay, I can deal with that. Sorta wish I had done some swimming first, but that’s fine. My heat hit the water around 8:15 and it felt like a long 1000 meters. My sudden inability to swim in a straight line definitely didn’t help, but I am happy to report that even after absolutely zero minutes in the pool, I was still fifth out of the water!
The bike was good. Twelve miles is nothing on a bike, even after 75 and hills. I didn’t even bother with my Garmin, so I have no idea how fast I was going. I did pass a bunch of people and very few people passed me, so I think that’s a good sign. I’ve said it before, though, and I’ll say it again: you cannot be competitive in a triathlon without aerobars. I’ll get’em some day.
The run kinda sucked. Again, I don’t have split times so I couldn’t tell you for sure. I was worried my fracture would make running impossible, but I didn’t really feel it. A very good sign. I did, however, feel how out-of-running-shape I was after not even logging a 5K during the month of August. I might have been moving at a good clip for the first 1.5 miles, but the last 1.5 were not fun. I took two or three thirty-second walking breaks to rid myself of a pesky side-stitch and clawed my way to the finish line.
The clock at the line read 1:23.33 and I’m going to guess that my heat started between four and six minutes after the timer began. That’ll put me squarely in the 1:17 to 1:19 range, which is, well… it’s fucking awesome for a guy who’s done nothing but three rides a week for the six weeks leading up to it. Just confirms my theory: anyone can do a sprint triathlon.
ASO kills the Tour de France February 13, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Sports, Strange Happenings.add a comment
The ASO is the undeniably pompous and self-centered French race organizer that handles some of cycling’s most famous races – including the most important race of them all, the Tour de France. This morning (or afternoon, in Europe), the organization decided to exclude the re-vamped Astana team containing Alberto Contador (last year’s Tour winner), Levi Leipheimer (third in last year’s Tour) and team director Johan Bruyneel (who has won the tour eight times as the director of Team Discovery/Team USPS), amongst others.
They cite some doping issues in 2006 and 2007 as part of their reasoning. Yes, the Astana team was an embarrassment at last year’s tour, but team sponsors have rebuilt the organization from the ground up. It’s more Discovery 2.0 than Astana 3.0. Their roster boasts some of the cleanest, most well-respected riders in the peloton!
The ASO thinks it best for the sport to exclude the world’s best stage-race team? And last year’s champion? Tell me this: how is ANYONE supposed to take the Tour de France seriously when three of the top contenders haven’t even been invited to return?
What a bunch of idiots. I can’t even tell you how pissed I am. As if the sport of cycling needed another reason for people to scoff and snicker. My only hope is the ASO will realize how ludicrous their decision is – and reverse it.
Learning to Run? February 9, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Sports.2 comments
I’ve got a bad history when it comes to running. I’ve always blamed it on my plank-flat feet, but I think it goes a little bit deeper than that. My fitness is not the issue – I’ve got twelve years of competitive swimming (including four years on a Division I college team) and six years of relatively competitive cycling under my belt. Now that I’ve graduated, I am trying to broaden my horizons a bit and the most efficient use of my skills seems to be in the world of the triathlon.
Unfortunately for me, triathlons are three legs long – and one of those legs is a run.
That being said, I’ve effectively hung up the goggles and bike shoes this off-season to try and get my legs in shape for some serious pedestrian mileage. It hasn’t been easy. In fact, I tried this once before: last summer I tried hitting the road (on foot) and wound up in a cast for six weeks with a stress fracture in my right foot. That’s not a great way to kick off the season, that’s for sure. This year, I’m determined to succeed. I’m also determined to succeed in the smartest way possible. I can’t afford to spend another month hobbling about on crutches.
I started running on January 2. It’s cold here, so I’ve been running on the treadmill. I’ll put in thirty minutes almost every time with one or two forty-minute stints mixed in every week. My schedule has been fairly aggressive: three days on, one day off. That’s been fine for treadmill runs, I’ve been out on the roads the past few days and my legs are filing serious complaints. I may have to back off to two on, one off for a few weeks or until my legs can handle hitting the pavement that hard.
Anyway, my main problem? I’m slow. Really, really slow. I don’t know how fast the average person runs, but I think they run a lot faster than I do. If I break nine minutes per mile on a typical thirty-minute jog, that’s flying. Is that normal? 8:30/mi is almost unattainable. And there’s no way in hell I could even come close to the nine minute mark over forty minutes – I drop off like a skydiver after three and a half miles every single time. This morning I ran 3.45 miles in 30 minutes and 9 seconds and I don’t know if my legs will even support me tomorrow morning, let alone allow me to get another run in!
Let’s see. 5-6 days a week, 3-4 miles per run: that’s 15-20 miles a week. It’s February 8. By this time next week, I want to be running 30 miles a week. Let’s see if I can get there.
Not Quite! February 4, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Sports, Strange Happenings.add a comment
Wow, the Giants won!
I know I was pulling for the Patriots (and it does sting to see the Eagles’ NFC rivals hoisting that Lombardi trophy) but I have to give the boys from New York some credit. They looked great out there tonight. Those two teams gave us one of the most exciting Super Bowls I’ve ever seen. If only every football championship could be that exhilarating…
How pissed was Bill Belichick after that 4th down? Man, super pissed. That’s a real shame though – I don’t think we’ll ever see another 18-0 team in the Super Bowl… and I don’t think we’ll see the Patriots back there any time soon, with their linebacker core aging so quickly.
Anyway, I’m off to bed.
