I am too tired to make a blog entry. I went to bed late last night (around 10pm) and woke up at 2am with a splitting headache. So I got out of bed, took two Excedrin, drank a pre workout meal and went back to bed. This allowed me to rest somewhat peaceably until 4am when I got up to prepare for the day’s workouts.

Today I rode 22 miles, did an hour worth of strength training, swam 2500 meters and ran 7 miles, so it’s little wonder why I am tired. All of this is base training, where my goal is just to get my volume up. I suspect that 2006 will bring lot’s more volume compared to my training in 2005, but that is ok. If that’s what it takes to make the grade, then so be it.

So I am off to bed. Only one more workout left to do for 2005. It may be tough to get in. My kids are having a sleep over and I suspect I’ll be called upon to cook pancakes and generally be available in the morning.

Is a chocolate Santa Claus is Kosher? I am going to my sister’s house this evening and I am wondering if she would appreciate the irony of giving her orthodox Jewish children chocolate Santas for Hanukkah. The label of the chocolate designates its kosher status with a circle U. However, doe the fact that they don’t believe in Christmas or Santa Claus make it inappropriate for them to eat a kosher chocolate Santa? Should a chocolate Santa even be kosher? For that matter, what does it say about the Rabbi that would bless a chocolate Santa to certify it kosher?

Now that it is the holiday season, the streets of NYC are filled with tourists snapping photos. I was walking towards the subway yesterday when I spotted a Japanese couple with one of them snapping a photo of the other in front of the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue. My initial inclination was to jump into the picture with my arm around the guy. I’ve done this before to a bunch of Japanese tourist down in Battery Park and they seemed to be greatly amused by it. The thought of me being in a photo album back in Japan 50 years from now is funny. I can just imagine these people pointing out to their grandkids the crazy New Yorker who wanted to be in their picture. Maybe I will inspire future generations to visit New York.

I didn’t jump into the picture this time, but I thought how I could stage a prank where I asked the couple if they wanted me to take a picture of them. After I snapped it, another person would come along and ask if we wanted to have our picture taken, whereupon I would insist that we get a shot of the three of us. This would continue on with more and more people coming along, each insisting that we that the current picture taker get into the picture. I thought this sounds like something you would see on David Letterman.

Perhaps I just have too much time on my hands so my mind gets filled with inane thoughts. I spend so much time training, that I can’t help but let my mind wander. Today I rode 23 miles, ran 8 miles and swam 3000 yards which accounted for just over 3 hours of training time. Plenty of time for stupid random thoughts to pop into my head.

My computer no longer hibernates. Computer hibernation is a special function that effectively shutdowns your computer, but allows it to restart at the exact point you left off when you turn it back on. It stopped hibernating right after I added memory to it. Evidently when a computer has too much memory, Windows XP losses its ability to go into hibernation mode.

Memory, can do all sorts of funny things. When I was forced to ride my bike to work during last week’s transit strike, I was suddenly remembered how much I enjoyed bike riding in tough conditions. This reawakened my passion for training and I feel rejuvenated as if I just woke up from a long hibernation.

This rejuvenation is also apparent on my new Tanita Body Composition Monitor. This is a fancy scale that measures Body Weight, Body Fat %, Total Body Water %, Muscle Mass, Daily Caloric Intake, Bone Mass, Metabolic Age and Visceral Fat. It also gives you a Physique Rating by calculating all of these variables. My scale tells me that I am the metabolic equivalent of a 15 year old, which ain’t bad for a 40 year old.

I’ve been weighing myself everyday and tracking my progress, but I suspect I will soon go to once a week, now that I have a seven day average. The numbers don’t change very much on a daily basis, which is why I suppose they say you should only way yourself a couple of times per month. To keep it interesting, I could weight myself before and after I take a dump in the morning and see the difference in readings. I could add another column to my measurements that include the weight of my dump by calculating the difference in my weight before and after I take a shit. I remember weighing myself before and after years ago and telling a friend I lost over 3 pounds. He found that to be greatly amusing and couldn’t believe that it weighed so much, but was very impressed when I convinced him it was true.

I am often amazed at how many electronic gadgets I carry along with me. Twenty years ago, I probably would have carried none. Today, without even giving it a second thought, I was carrying six; seven if you count the transponder embedded onto my new Chase Blink credit card (inside my wallet). All of this I had with me while I was doing my long run.

My inventory included a Polar 625x (foot pod, watch, HR transmitter), Treo 650, USB Keyfob and remote alarm transmitter. The gadgets plus my water bottle and gel flask contributed to a very heavy feeling while I was running. I had the water bottle secured by a special running pouch and the rest of the stuff was in the back pockets of my Hammer Gel winter jacket. To keep it all from bouncing around, I tucked the pockets and water bottle underneath the waist band of my running tights. It made my ass appear to be the size of a baboon’s.

The course I took today was a new one. I didn’t have much time to run, so I made part of my route be the way to my mother-in-law’s house. I told my wife I would meet her and the children there for lunch, after which we would go to my wife’s aunt’s house in New Jersey. I asked my wife to take my laptop with her. I would have carried it with me, but that was one electronic gadget I thought would be too heavy to run with.

Unfortunately, my laptop was somehow left behind. When I discovered this fact, I was apoplectic. I needed this device with me. I had so much stuff I NEEDED to do with it that I wasn’t sure I could function. It was like someone took the air away from me and I found myself gasping for breath. How was I supposed to upload my HR information to my computer for careful analysis of my run? I began to hyperventilate and tried to calm down.

Sure, some of the things I needed to do could be done on the computer at my wife’s aunt’s house. But I preferred my own computer, just as I also prefer my own toilet to that of a public restroom’s. My computer is a safe haven. It has everything I could possibly need. My computer bag even carries special comfort food and headache medicine. Now I am like a blind man thrown into an unfamiliar location and told to make himself at home.

I’ll have to log my workout the old fashioned way. That is, scroll through the file information on my watch and manually enter it into my training log. Yuck, what a pain in the ass. Fortunately, though, I’ve had a couple of beers and I am nice and calm now. I am even starting to feel hungry again. Maybe the world won’t end. I still want my own computer back.

For the record, I ran 11 miles in 1:44:59 with a HR of 136/150. A bit short on the distance, but I had to get to my in-laws to watch my kids open presents.

I was just listening to the news while I am getting for my morning bike ride. Evidently, someone is making a stink about the government secretly checking mosques and other such places for nuclear material in the days following 9/11.

What is the big fucking deal? The government, as far as I am concerned can check for illicit nuclear material anytime, any day or any place they like. Hell, they can even come to my house in case the person who owned it before me was a terrorist.

Does anyone really think that the American people would have preferred to suffer a dirty bomb in order to preserve the rights of some radical extremist? At least the government was doing it secretly, in order to spare the feelings of those who may be insulted that they were search for nuclear material. Heck, if they found some, they may have prevented some innocents from getting cancer due to exposure.

So anyway I am off for my ride. Secretly, I will be looking for nuclear material or anything else that looks suspicious. Prospect Park does have some strange looking people and I will be checking them out closely; secretly of course.

I think my mother-in-law would have made a good endurance athlete. Even though she was never athletic, never participated in sports and never really showed any interest, I still think she would have been suited for endurance athletics.

Practically from the day I’ve met her, she has been looking towards retirement. It was all she would talk about. Then, finally, when the day arrived that she could retire, she decided that she would work another year or two. She has done this a couple of times already.

I know exactly why she does this. I do something like this on almost a regular basis. It is like when you are going for a run and you have completed your minimum goal for the training day, but it is so easy to continue to get the extra distance that you just keep going. Even though all you were to do is a certain distance, once you accomplished that goal, it is so easy to continue on. You can quit at any time, knowing you met you stated goal, but anything beyond that is extra bonus. This is what my mother-in-law is doing.

Sometimes we are forced into retirement; oftentimes through injury. I hope that won’t be the case for Matthew Long, the athlete I wrote about previously. I understand his injuries are extensive and I suspect that it will be a long time before he can make a comeback. I joined a ride of 25 athletes and Asphalt Green Tri Club members for a ride around Central Park as a vigil for Matt. He has many people pulling for him. It must be a great feeling to know you have so many people thinking of you.

It is all fun and games until someone loses an eye, or so the old adage goes. I understand the Transit Strike is going to end today, so that means my intense pleasure of commuting by bicycle to work will come to an end. In reality, I will probably continue to ride my bike, but it won’t be the same. I enjoyed speeding through huge traffic snarls while 1000’s of motorists sat trapped in their cars for hours on end.

Unfortunately, the strike did not end soon enough for a fellow member of the Asphalt Green Triathlon Club. Matthew Long, a Tri Club member, firefighter and all around good guy, was struck by a bus while riding to work. He sustained some very critical injuries. Here is the story according to the Associated Press:

(New York – AP, December 22, 2005) –

An off-duty firefighter was struck and critically injured Thursday morning after being struck by a private bus while riding a bike to work.

The firefighter, identified as Matthew Long of Ladder 43, was struck at 5:58 a.m. on 52nd Street and Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan, said Fire Department spokesman Ken Bohan.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

I feel for Matt. I too was hit by a bus 22 years ago so I know how devastating and shocking it must be for him. My injuries were not nearly so bad; broken ribs, punctured lung and contusions, and I recovered almost 100 percent (I still have some weakness in my left shoulder). I didn’t know Matt well, but I sincerely hope that he will make a quick and full recovery. I’ll send out some prayers for him.

Tomorrow at 6AM, the Tri Club will do a ride in suppor of Matt. They will meet Engineer’s gate between 5:45 and 6am to ride a few loops in collective support of Matt. I will be there to show my support.

I am crediting the Transit Strike with helping to kick my training back in gear. There is something about riding my mountain bike in cold wintry conditions through heavy traffic that just gets the adrenaline flowing. I felt oddly inspired today to wake up at 4:30am and pack all of my gear necessary to do a 2000 yard swim and a run 10k run at Asphalt Green and then make it to work. The cool crisp air was fantastic and felt great and the 10 mile ride to AG took only 43 minutes.

Due to the strike, many people were not in my office. This made it oddly quiet and allows me to have a fairly productive day. The hours passed by quickly enough and I started to look forward to my ride home. At around 4:30pm, I heard from a friend who worked only a couple of blocks away. He asked if I wanted to catch a couple of drinks before he began his commute home and I readily said yes. I figured I may as well carbo-load with some beer to have enough energy for the way home. We met at Paper Moon Restaurant and drank several Moretti beers.

I filled myself with the prerequisite calories needed to ride home and headed back to my office to change into my cycling gear. The traffic was very thick on the way home and I did a great deal of bobbing and weaving between cars. I love urban mountain biking. It is very exciting and I loved doing it with 100’s of others. Seeing so many cyclists out on the roads all making their way like they were on a single track trail reminded me of when I used to competitively mountain bike.

At the foot of the north side of the Manhattan Bridge, was a contingent from Transportation Alternatives offering encouragement, support, candy and stickers. I adorned my bike and helmet with a “Bike the Strike” sticker, downed a Snickers candy and then continued on my merry way. My total time home was 53 minutes, included TA pit stop. Still faster than any subway commute.

Today is the first day of the Transit Strike. Personally, I think Roger Toussaint, the leader of the Transit Workers Union is an asshole and deserves to be thrown in jail for breaking the Taylor Law. In a nutshell, he has shut down all of NYC since he refused to give in on one issue. That issue is having new hires pay 6 percent into the Pension Fund, rather than 2 percent for current employees. So everyone who is striking is doing so for an issue that doesn’t even affect them. There, I’ve said my piece on that.

Since I am affected by a lack of subway service into the city, I decided to forgo my scheduled bike ride this morning, since I figured I would simply ride into the city by bike. While I was getting ready, a rusty nail punctured the bottom of my foot. The thick wool sock I was wearing pulled up an old nail from between my 100 year old floor boards. It went in about an inch, but fortunately missed anything vital.

I screamed when the nail went in and I screamed again when I pulled it out. The nail was an angry rusty thing with a hooked curve to it. While I was sitting on the floor squeezing out some blood, I asked my wife for my cordless phone, whereupon I called my local doctor and asked if I could come in for a tetanus shot. Fortunately he had one available so I hobbled on over to be stuck again. I’ve included a picture of the nail to the left.

I really didn’t mind having to get a tetanus shot, because I knew I would need to do so to have protection against illness when I do the Manhattan Island Marathon swim in June 2006. I also had them draw blood to see if I needed a Hepatitis A or B vaccination. So while the nail in my foot was inconvenient, it really didn’t take me out of my way.

When I returned home, I had to make some business calls before I headed into the city. Unfortunately, it appeared that my home technology was going on strike as well. My cordless phone battery died, my cell phone couldn’t get a signal and my internet connection went out taking along with it my secondary Vonage line. Since I had no email, phone or Internet, I decided I may as well get going.

My original plan was to get into my office around 10am. I have a special garment bag for my bike and I packed a suit, tie and shoes. I wanted to make a point of showing up for work, properly dressed and ready to go. My lunch plans included going to the dentist for my regular hygiene visit.

The ride in was very smooth and easy. There was a lot more traffic than usual compared to the times I’ve commuted to the city by bike in the past. Overall though, it was a great day for a ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While on the Manhattan Bridge, I even helped a young lady who had a flat tire.

I arrived at 57th and Lexington around 1:10pm, so I just headed over to the dentist since it didn’t make sense to go to my office first. During my examination, it was discovered that I had a cracked tooth and I needed to get a crown put on it. I decided to make the most of this situation and asked for them to bring on the Nitrous gas while the dentist did his business. I must say the day was turning out well. First a very pleasant ride on a beautiful winter day and now an hours worth of relaxation under a Nitrous induced hypnotic daze. It reminded me of my college days when I would do whippits with my friends.

The gas was taking a few minutes to clear out of my system, but that didn’t stop me from getting back on my bike and riding the half mile back to my office. Traffic was moving very slowly, so it wasn’t all that dangerous to be bobbing and weaving between the cars. Upon arriving at my office, I received many smiles and laughs over my riding outfit. Baggy tights, brown work boots and my down jacket, with a balaclava and helmet to round things off.

I worked for a few hours and then began to get ready for the return trip home. Traffic was a little heavier at this point, but that only meant an extra 5 minutes of travel time. It took me 47 minutes to get home and 42 minutes to get in. I can honestly say, I’ve had my fastest commute in quite some time. I think I need to commute like this more often.

Stage fright is defined as acute nervousness associated with performing or speaking before an audience. I suppose participating in a race can cause stage fright, just as much as appearing on a stage. Perhaps this explains why many people have their race performance go into the toilet. They are so nervous that they forget crucial things or their race plan all together.

Speaking of stage fright and toilets, I had the unpleasant experience of stage fright when I went to the bathroom last night in Tao Restaurant on 58th Street in Manhattan. The bathroom is patrolled by a washroom jockey who directed me to one of the most elaborate urinals I’ve ever experienced. It consisted of a backlit wall with a water fall that went on the moment you ponied up to do your business.

The urinal jockey stood only a few feet away waiting for you to finish so he could promptly turn on the water, squirt some soap and then had you a towel. I found the whole experience of pissing into this perverse form of artwork while someone stood by looking and waiting for me to finish very discomfiting. It took at least a minute for my flow to start. When it did, it was with such fits and starts to barely consist of more than a dribble and lacked the force to even hit the wall. By the time I got a nice flow going, I left a tidy little puddle on the floor. It was a major relief to get my florescent colored (like this young lady) and vitamin enriched pee to hit the water fall.

I supposed the dude was just trying to be conscientious and helpful, but this was too much for me. Bathroom attendants get paid like crap, but I suppose it’s a shitty job. Personally, when I go to the can, I just want to be left alone. I can turn flush my own toilet, turn on my own water and dry my hands myself, thank you very much. I resent having what should be a relaxing thing turn into a stressful encounter.