Back to work

Ok, back we go.

So I basically took a month off of blogging, etc, trying to get my head back in the game. So much going on with the Election, yadda yadda yadda, I kind of shut down this part (blogging) of my life because I don't want that to be what my blog is about.

So...

I'm in physical therapy because of my knee. Patellofemoral Pain. AKA Runner's Knee. Repetitive motion injuries.... yay.

But, thankfully, I am interested in triathlons, and even though you have to run to finish, there is still the swim and the bike to challenge me. I can still swim, and I can still bike, so I am still doing that.

So I will be keeping my regular training log on here again, just as a training diary, workout diary, whatever you want to think of it.

Wednesday
7 Nov 2012.

800y swim (17 minutes,)  PT Homework, upper body workout.

Felt good to swim. Always feels good to swim. I am doing some minor interval training in my swim, with the first 50 yards at a slightly slower than race pace, then the 3rd leg at high pace, and then 4th leg back at my slower than race pace... all followed by about 20 seconds floating at the end of the pool.

Felt great lifting again. I have kind of neglected the weight work since I started PT, but I am back into the swim of things.

I am a big fan of Mike at Sixpackshortcuts. I don't think i will ever have six pack abs (although I do have some pony keg going on,) but they are great HIIT workouts for overnights. Simple when you can't get to the gym, and Interval Training is the way to go.

Friday
9 Nov 2012.

Did an hour on the exercise bike today, alternating 2 minute intervals at 80 RPM and 100 RPM (after a 5 minute warm up, and always stretch first.)At minute 50 I switched to 110 RPM for 5 minutes, and then back to 80 for the last 5 minutes as a cooldown. The computer said I did 14.2 miles, and burned 449 calories. Not too shabby.

Then I did my PT homework for my knee, and did some upper body work (dumbbell workout, mostly.) Always feels good to have a good day working out, especially when I am on a trip, and it is not me losing time with Thomas and Nicole. Even though I want to do distance work, I would like to do more triathlons, I want to take as little time as I have to from my home life.

I am going to keep a running total of distance and time in a widget on the sidebar... might be interesting to see just how far I go before next year's Chicago Triathlon.

That's all for now!

Scott

Exercising THE Civic Duty

Hi all (well, both of you who read this, to be honest...)

Anyways,

So in my running around today, I voted early.

I am really of two minds about this (alert... political talk of a sort.)

I love the convenience of early voting, especially with my job. I always hated filling out the absentee ballot, because I know it will not be counted in Illinois unless X% + something ballots are cast, and an election covered by those ballots is decided by a number related to that.

So knowing when you cast your ballot that it will probably not be counted really sucks.

Laws differ from state to state, but that was the law last time I voted absentee. As a pilot, particularly with Eagle coming out with schedules when they do, I just don't know far enough ahead of time if I will be around to vote in person.

So, I can vote early... I will be at home SOMEtime in the week window that I can vote inside. Sweet.

The problem with it was well described in a National Review article a few days ago, though (I cannot find the link): I am not necessarily voting for the same 4 candidates (presidential ticket, including Libertarian and Green) that the people on Election Day will.

Information could come out between when I cast my REAL vote when when the election comes around, that would make me change my mind about someone (Like Romney did something I found non-vote worthy, or something secret that Obama has done in office to undermine the USA, or whatever...)

Some people have early voting that started a month ago. (Same article, wish I could find it.) Before a single debate happened! Why would you want to cast a vote before the candidates had at least come face-to-face with each other, instead of their talking heads speaking for them, and actually... well... SPOKE.

Anyways, I am of two minds about early voting. I think it is great, but I pay a great deal of attention to politics, know the candidates and most of the issues, read what I can, and make an informed decision.

So Thomas thought voting was cool (he liked the touch screen.)

He asked what we were doing there ("What are we doing here, Papa?"

I said

Thomas, this is where we go to exercise one of the single most important rights we have as Americans. What we should try to do, is become familiar with the candidates, know their agenda, and understand what they are trying to do. Then, we think about what we really want, what is best for us and for our country, and then we decide our vote based upon that. That is what I do, and that is what all these people do, too (I voiced under my breath..'I hope.')

So Thomas got to see daddy vote, just like my mom took me when I was knee high to a tadpole (I remember the voting machines; big metal enclosures with a curtain across the front, all these knobs and levers to flip, literally. Then, when you were done, this large metal rod that you slammed to the side to tally your vote and clear the levers for the next voter.)

So... even for y'all who do not vote-- you make a choice. I hope everyone makes the choice seriously and takes that charge that so many people, brave men and women,

We Mutually Pledge to Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor

 died to give us. When people die for something, to give you something, we better honor that. I honor it by voting in every election since I was 18.

Cheers!

Scott

Frank Lloyd Wright 5K and a Personal Best Run Time!

Hi all!

Well, Today was 5K #2 out of 2 this weekend.

The 36th (wow!) Annual  Frank Lloyd Wright 5K/10K was my run today, and it was excellent.

So I am trying to run more, since that is by far my weakest event segment. Remember, eyes on the goal-- "Go Long," see how far I can actually get.

So I am looking for more events to run. This was a double weekend. We had the Run the Runway yesterday, and today I was going for best time.

Conveniently, they had a timer at Mile #1, so when I went zipping (for me) past at 8:04, I knew I was running way faster than I have yet.

I walked through my water station, and then started up again. I could feel my thighs from running yesterday, so I think that may have slowed me down a little bit at this point. I do know at mile #2 I was starting to feel a little muscle soreness, and at mile #3 (just shy of the finish,) I was starting to feel my knee. Not a terrible sign, that is why I am in PT, after all, but still, I was hoping that I would not feel it on this run at all.

I could see the timer from the turn to final, and it was at 27:00... Not only did I know I was going ot have my personal best time, but I knew my goal of breaking :30 was going to be breaking :29, at the least... and is it turned out, 28:07. Just slightly faster than the 10:00 pace I try to keep in general when I run/jog. If I can maintain, that that will be best for me.

So, how did I do?

I placed 21 out of 50 in my age division.
283 out of 835 overall.

I've never placed OUT of the bottom 10%, and here I am top half of my age group, and (benefit of the doubt,) leaving off... let's say... the bottom 200 as walkers, top 50% overall. I've never done that well in a race.

So I feel really good about that....

I would like to add a 10K to the list, now I have to find one I can do. Ideally, I would also like to add a few trail runs to my practice, since they are easier on the old knees and heels, less jolting because I would NOT be landing on concrete all the time.

So more to come, in the meantime, I did my best today, and it felt great.

Cheers!

Scott

Back on Track

Aaahhh.... just what the doctor ordered.... vacation.

Took a little extra time away from the blog, too, but now we're back on track, and ready to roll.

Did a 5K run today; The Run the Runway at O'Hare, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project, one of my favorite charities. The last 5K I did was the run the runway at O'Hare.... 5 years ago. lol. So, I was not nearly trying for a personal best; someone I had seen in the registration line waved me over and asked me to take a picture of her in front of the United 747 parked there... We had probably spent all of 3 minutes waiting to come out of the chute and start, so what can you do about time, ya know?

So, I finished in 33:31, which put me 68 out of 87 in my age group, and 996 (I think) out of 2500 or whatever the number was. Not too shabby for barely trying.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, I am running in the Frank Lloyd Wright 5K in Oak Park, near my home. My goal for this is to run fast; preferably a personal best time.

The reasoning behind this, is my PT and I want to load up my knee and see how the therapy is working so far. If I can get through 2 5Ks in a row, and then add some distance, I should be coming along well in the healing process.

That is how the story goes, at least.

I am planning on running quite a bit more; it is certainly the area I need to most work on.

Although I did a 500yard swim today, after 3 weeks of no swimming laps, and I could really feel how slow I was. It felt like I was dragging severely! Gotta stay in the water longer, certainly swim more frequently, even in the off season.

Lots more to come, just glad to be back on track, getting back in the groove...

Had a checkride last week, and it kind of threw everything off for me. All is well, now.

Back on track.

Scott

Anatomy of a Delay

Anatomy of a Delay

So, there we were, enjoying our 3 hour sit at New York's JFK. We had just flown in from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and were waiting to leave for Baltimore (BWI) and then on home to Chicago (ORD.)

When we landed, we saw that our plane was already on the gate, but we knew with a 3 hour sit, there was a good chance they could steal our airplane for a different flight, so better to keep our bags with us or drop them in the crew lounge than go set up house in an airplane only to have it taken away.

About 40 minutes before departure time, paperwork in hand, we head down to start setting up the airplane and get ready for our flight.

We get to the bottom of the jetbridge, and we notice that the airplane has been left on (most likely the entire time.) Great... everything will be warmed up.

Warm indeed. We unlock the cockpit door, and get hit with a Mid-August Texas style wave of heat. It is at least 110F in there. Oh, and one of our computer screens is out.

Specifically, the center one, the EICAS (Engine Info, Crew Alert). Great. So my FO starts doing a little diagnostics on the screen while I call maintenance out. We power down, power back up, still nothing. Then we use a 'reversionary' mode to have the computer 'print' the screen's information on a multi-function display on the FOs side. Works fine.

So we most likely (95%) have a dead tube.

Maintenance appears about departure time (we held off boarding... nothing like having mechanics haul important electronic bits back and forth in front of the pax.. kind of unnerving.)

Our mechanic does a quick check "Yup... got a problem with the screen." (btw, not a Texas drawl... this was JFK, after all... hear Brooklyn when you hear those words in your head.)

So, I go up to the gate to tell the agents we're going to be a little bit.

Here are the possibilities in order of ease to difficult to repair.

Screen is 'confused,' so swapping the screen out with the one next to it could work.

Tube is blown... Easy to fix, unless you don't have a tube. We have a fix we could do with that, though... we could swap it out and the FO would fly looking at my instruments, basically.

"Monster under the hood." There is something wrong with the line between the computer generator and the screen. This could take all night to fix.

Mechanic says "Give me 10 minutes, you'll be all set to go."

10 minutes turns into 20... then into 45... It's not the screen; they swap the screens out, and it works just fine. So, it is the Monster Under The Hood. Great. They're going to have to chase sparks down wires to fix the problem.

Now realize, the gate agents don't know what is going on, and the passengers want as much information as possible. "When are we going to board?" "When maintenance has the airplane fixed" "How long will that take?" "They don't know." "Why not?" "Because it is a mechanical problem, they have to diagnose the problem, correct the problem, and then see if their correction actually fixed the problem." "So when will we arrive in Baltimore?" "About an hour and 15 minutes after you leave here.""So why don't they know how long it will take to fix?""Because Nostradamus neglected to add aircraft delays to his book of prognostications.""So why haven't we boarded yet?" <bang> (Gate agent shoots herself.)

For my non-airline friends------

Please realize.... There is only so much information that anyone has at any given time. The mechanics are busy repairing the aircraft, if we keep bugging them "Are you done yet?" It will take longer. IF we have no other information to give... well.. you can ask us 100 times, but if the answer is still "We don't know" and you have not seen anyone come up and say "Here is how long it takes" nor have you seen a phone ring and the agent say "Ah, ok, so it will be done in 10 minutes and we can board," Then the odds are there is no new information to give anyone. Round about your 15,000 passenger asking you roughly the same question rephrased over and over, you've had enough. Most agents get to deal with a half dozen (sometimes more, sometimes less) flights in an 8 hour shift, many times alone, many times boarding 120+ passengers (mainline flying here) for each one, with special needs, wheelchairs, missed connections, medical issues, screaming kids... yadda... yadda... yadda... If you want to know why the agent seems like he or she is looking right through you, the answer is because most likely, they ARE.

I call our routing department (part of the Systems Operation Command/Control) to see if there is an unattached airplane coming in to land at JFK that we can steal while they are working on ours. Here is what I find out.

We have no spares in the Northeast (not a surprise, spare airplanes have gone the way of the Dodo bird and Carrier Pigeon.) but they do have an aircraft that is overnighting at LGA. If they don't have an airport ready (standby) crew, they can cab us down from JFK to LGA )at 9pm,) we can fly the airplane that is just landing at LGA up to JFK, and then we can continue to BWI and ORD.

Holy crap, that sounds like fun! (sarcasm, a literary technique I was told of once.)

So we hang up, and I look at my FO, and he tells me that going to LGA might be an adventure... "think of the stories!" I say; however, things never work out that way.

It would take 3 minutes to fly between the two airports as the crow flies, but with the runway arrival and departure configuration they were using, we would probably have to fly out over the Hamptons to get back in... and they were running pretty good delays in and out of LGA... sssooo... it would be easily an hour, hour+30 flight. Then we would be looking at going illegal in BWI. All we wanted to do was get home, really (The pax can come for the ride. When I hear passengers talk about the 'crazy chances' pilots take, I usually fire back with "You know, I'm a father, and I just want to get home to my wife and son. If I land safe, you land safe.")

Finally, they find us an airplane that happened to be landing at JFK. It was planned to go to Toronto, but the Toronto crew was going to have to wait for the ready crew at LGA to fly an airplane up for them (yup.. they did it.)

We left a good 90 minutes late.

Funny moment right towards the end-- We were loading our gear on board, and a mechanic came to me and said he wanted to take the dimmer panel off of my plane to use it to test the one on the broken plane. I told him to get off my plane and find another one... you're NOT taking apart my perfectly good plane when we are about to board an hour and a half late, even if it is for only "10 minutes and I'll be right back, honest."

Been a while since I did a proper aviation post... there ya go.

Cheers!

Scott

1/2 Ironman

This is my goal for 2013.

There, I said it.

So far, my knee has been holding up well. I have not been able to go to PT this past week, since I was on vacation, but I have been doing my homework, strengthening my hips, and I have been biking and running consistently every day. So far a little soreness, but none of the sharp pains that I used to get when running. Also, I have been doing a bunch of exercise bike work to load up my knee, and then doing 5k+ runs; same result... no pain, a little soreness, but no real pain.

I ran today in Raleigh, was looking for a trailhead that would let me get some trail running in, but no dice... bummerz! Running on concrete hurts for other reasons... lol.

So, the Half.

A 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13 mile run.

I have already pretty much done the swim. I know I can do the bike, but the run will be the challenge. I am doing Don Fink's method of running 5 minutes, fast walking 1 minute, and doing that continuously. I am pretty sure I am ready for 6/1 times, but I forget my little workout timer today. so I kind of had to abandon that idea... I just ran, and did a little walking at various points.

Why go long? I don't know... maybe it is because I am finally in the best health of my life, maybe it is because I had done my bloodwork, and found I am pre-diabetic, so I need to exercise anyways to give my body something to do with my elevated resting blood sugar.

Either way, it will be an interesting ride.

Cheers!

Scott

why triathlon?

So why triathlon?

That can be a very hard question to answer, especially since I used to be known for my dislike of running, and let's face it; you can't finish a Tri without some kind of run.

As I wrote in a previous post, after reading "Born to Run," I actually enjoy running. Not treadmill running, but running outside, fresh air, cool breeze (even hot breeze!) sunshine, etc... although I enjoy the treadmill.. barefoot...

Maybe because it is multi-disciplinary; swim, bike, run. You can be a strong swimmer (I used to think I was, but I am seriously humbled by the times some of these athletes put up,) and lose your shirt in the bike or run. The majority of your time ends up being spent on the bike (on average,) so if you are a strong biker, you can improve a lot there. Then, strong runners can have an advantage, because by the time you get to the run, you are getting fatigued, and being a good runner really comes into play here.

So it is a host of things. It is an incredible feeling coming down the chute for the finish. 

Sprint Triathlon... 

Distances-- 

750 meter (0.47 mi) swim 

20 kilometer (12 mi) bike 

5 kilometer (3.1 mi) run

Let's face it, you can do this with a minimum of training. People run 5K races all the time; you just need to tack a swim and bike on to the front.

The swim is what gets most people. It is close to a half mile, true. Water is not that familiar a medium to large amounts of the population, and if you were never a swimmer when you were younger, it is intimidating to think of when you get older. I have coached a few of my friends to better swimming, and just generally being more comfortable in the water. 

Intermediate/Standard/Olympic distance--

1.5 kilometer (0.93 mi) swim

40 kilometer (25 mi) bike

10 kilometer (6.2 mi) run

Now we are starting to put up some real numbers. You are basically swimming a mile, a 25 mile bike most people could complete fairly easily, although it would take some time (most people seem to cruise about 10 mph, which would mean 2.5+ hours on the bike course...) and a 10K run is just two 5K runs back to back. Still, going to take some energy, and you'd best be training.

Long Course (1/2 Ironman)

1.2 mile (1.9 km) swim

56 mile (90 km) bike

13.1 mile (21.1 km) run

This is a serious length. Now you need to start planning for your nutrition needs as well. If you are not taking a little bit of salt, getting some energy, and drinking enough, you will have health problems. On average, as an amateur, you will be 'putting out' for a good 7+ hours. 

Ironman Length

2.4 mile (3.9 km) swim

112 miles(180 km) bike

and a full marathon: 26.2 miles (42.2 km) run

The Ironman is a specific race, copyrighted by the organizing body. Non-'branded' events are "Ironman Length" races.

This is a lu-lu. A 2 and 1/2 mile swim, a Century +, and a full marathon. For some people, just running a marathon is the goal that they have. Imagine running a marathon after an up to 2.4 hour swim and biking for 8 hours. Craziness... it's called "Going Long."

Back to our regularly scheduled programming

2 really cool 5K runs coming up. (I am going to do more 5K type stuff... running is my weakest sport (well, ok, I cannot slam dunk, so my basketball skill suck, but...) of the three in the Tri, so I will be doing a lot more running now that I can.

Run the Runway at Chicago O'Hare!

Dig it! Here it is... sign up! --- Run The Runway. (There is also a kids run; Thomas is doing the "Under 4 run... 50 yards. He is already practicing.)-- proceeds benefit the Wounded Warrior Project (great charity.)

The Frank Lloyd Wright 5K/10K Run/Walk. This run takes us past the historic houses in Oak Park (no stopping, though... lol.)

Did my first 3 miles on the treadmill now that I am half-way through my PT.

I've always gotten bored pretty fast on treadmills, and this is no exception. However, I knew I wanted to stick it out... I love running outside (considering I always hated running, that alone is a big deal to me.) So I love running outside, but for my knee I wanted to get things worked out on the treadmill.

My excellent PT, Maria, told me that she wants me to put some miles on my knee so we can assess how my therapy is coming along. She has been loading me up and making things harder, and so far no complaints from the knee.

So I did a little 3.1 mile kick on the treadmill (or... 5K, which is why I went that distance,) and had nary a complaint from my right knee, thank goodness.

So, getting whole again... years of not paying attention to it (because I am not a runner, so I never really felt the pain in my knee, it's a repeatative motion kind of dealio,) and I am back on track.

I have been cleared to do a few 5K races, and if my knees are happy, when she signs me off from therapy I can do a Sprint Tri to see how it works when I am fatigued.

More running in the future for me for sure.... :)

Cheers!

Scott

Follower of the Son of Hitler

So......

I'm riding my bike home from physical therapy, and I stop at the local branch of the library, because they were kind enough to send me an email that the books I requested came in ("The Complete Idiot's Guide To Urban Homesteading," and "Meat Eater, Adventures From The Life of an American Hunter.")

While I am checking out my books, there is an older (mid to late 50s) (older than me, anyways) lady talking with the librarian about unions, and how it all began with Reagan, and yadda yadda yadda.

O.k... I am a very political person, but I keep my thoughts (in general) to myself. I am finding more and more that "Liberal' and "Conservative" have ceased to have any proper meaning, except for calling each other names. Basically, I avoid the topic, especially in public, or where people might get their feelings hurt.

(Just so ya know, my political beliefs are quite well thought out, I've thought on them long and hard, they have stood the test of time... so far... ask me in another 20 years.)

And then we get this---

"Anyone who would vote for that Son of Hitler cannot be an American."

And then she turns to me, and smiles, because we all agree with her, right?

Now, I am in the conversation. Thanks for pulling me in. Surprise!

"Ma'am, I was born in Seattle, and raised in Chicago. I worked for the Democratic Party when I was younger, but I have voted for whomever I thought fit the bill when elections came around every time since I turned 18. I've voted for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and 1 (one) member of the Green Party (I was quite 'put out' with both parties. I even voted straight Libertarian one year.) So, I am not an American?"

"You are going to vote for that Son of Hitler? Then no, you are not an American."

Really? REALLY? You don't even know me!

This is what drives me bonkers about both political stripes, but particularly about Liberals. People who call themselves Liberal have open minds, are willing to accept those who do not talk or act like themselves, people who eat different foods, worship under different belief systems.

At least, that is the way it is 'supposed' to work.

I've found over many many years, and many conversations, that there are monsterously large numbers of 'liberals' who say that that is the case, right up until someone thinks differently than they do. Heaven Forbid!

So I said....

"So, because I believe that our current President does not have the correct answers for what is wrong with our economy, nor does he have even an infant's concept of what needs to be done in the Mid East, and I am in a position to vote for someone whom I think is the lesser of two evils, that I am a follower of the Son of Hitler?"

"Well, if you are voting for him then yes."

"I am merely choosing the lesser of two evils, I don't think either one is great, for that matter."

"You just don't want to vote for the Black Man."

REALLY?!?!?!  Are you fucking kidding me??
me--

"So if it was Clarence Thomas running for president, you would vote for him because he is black?" 

"No, he is just an Uncle Tom."

Ah, I see it now....
me--

"Actually, I will vote against President Obama because I don't like what is in his mind, not the color of his skin. I don't really care what color someone's skin is."

"You just don't want to vote for a Black Man." 

I also didn't vote for him for Senate; I guess I am a racist. Oh, wait.. he was running against a black man. How do we square that circle!!
me--

"So, let me get this straight; I voted against Gore, I voted against Kerry, but now because there is a black man running for President, on the same ticket, with basically the same platform, if I vote against him I am racist?"

"You are a follower of that Son of Hitler, yes."

Hope you are all (all 4 of you, I guess) having a lovely day, I think it is time for me to go find my Klan Kostume and get my lilly white ass down to the boat; Maybe I can find a rally and we can burn some crosses!!

What a tiny little mind, and what a horrible world she must live in.

Be of good cheer,

Scott

PT

Physical Therapist

Primordeal Torture

Whatever you want to call it, I am in the middle of it.

Knee rehab; my prescription calls for 3 sessions a week of Physical Therapy. So far so good, and the best part, is my PT has narrowed the problem down to my right hip more than anything. I guess I am slightly weaker on that side, and that is causing (eventually) my patella to retract incorrectly.

So I get 60 minutes of pure pleasure. Dynamic stretching, and then.... more work on my legs/knees/hips than I think I would normally get in a week's worth of working out.

The good news there, is that my PT (who is awesome, btw,) has a few former patients who did the IMoo this year... that's the Ironman Madison, and she is pretty sure I will be 100% coming out of therapy.

So... more triathlons in my future, good workouts, and a whole body. Gotta love it.

More to come, of course...

Cheers!

Scott

Update on the company, etc...

On a lighter note....

So, the Corporation (AMR) announced that it was closing our LAX crew domicile, and 'farming out' our flying there to SkyWest, and also it had put some flying up for bid out of DFW, and ExpressJet was awarded that.

We've known for some time that the company plan was to do this, it comes as no surprise. I guess what got us off-guard as a work group, is that we thought we would have heard something about it through company sources, or the union, such as 'Our flying in LAX is up for bid, how can we find a way to keep it.'

No, we find out from a quick eye on the news (The Dallas Morning News broke the story,) that one of our senior, and I means senior, domiciles is going to disappear.

Basically, it works like this; The company says they want the existing flying diversified, we compete on the market for that flying, instead of being normally awarded the flying.

I guess they decided it was cheaper to shut down an entire crew base (where we just updated the terminals, etc,) and move the planes to MIA and DFW (so far. They had a vacancy/displacement posted, and we are actually gaining 6 Captain positions, systemwide, although we are losing ALL the position in LAX, obviously.)

If you want to know more about vacancy/displacement, see here.

What frosts me, I guess more than anything, is they are going to be flown under the name "American Eagle."

In the 1990s, American Eagle was a consortium of carriers, kind of like what United has right now in ORD with Shuttle, ExpressJet, SkyWest, and GoJet. You book your fare for your trip, and then you fly whatever airline has those aircraft allocated to them. It is horribly inefficient, in that a SkyWest crew can be sitting on reserve, and a GoJet aircraft could be parked, needing a crew, but the flight cannot go out because you are only 'allowed' (legally and contractually,) to fly for one airline at a time. We all have different Op Specs, rules, contractual obligations and restrictions, so it is quite possible.

Also, you get 'whipsawing.' United can pit SkyWest against GoJet, and say GoJet says they can do the flights for $1.11/seat mile, if you can't match their cost we'll move some airplanes over to them... resulting in playing one airline off against another, work group against work group... a.k.a. 'Whipsawing.'

So they joined all the carriers together (Flagship, Simmons, Executive, and Wing's West,) who had been flying under the American Eagle name, and made them a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, under the parent company, AMR.

Once they were entirely integrated, a 'Flagship' crew could be sent out on a 'Wings West' aircraft, on a route flown by 'Simmons,' and they were all one seniority, one level of training and maintenance, the works. You can talk to some of the more senior crewmembers, and they can tell you what it was like before integration. In fact, when I was hired (way back in 2000,) at the time you could tell who had hired some of the older guys (and gals!) by where they sat in the old crew lounge at A9 (DFW.) Beach Bums over here, Flagship over there, Metro (talk about old) guys over there, etc... But it had gotten a lot better, and the different employee #s from when they were hired became the only way to tell, and that is not guaranteed. (our Employee #s are 6 digits, mine starts with a "1," (I was hired as a fueler by AA in 1989,) so my FOs who do not know me get to the airplane thinking they are flying with some old bastard.... well, they got half of that right!!

As I said, what frosts me, is that after 20 years of building up the Eagle 'brand,' the other carriers flying contracts for AA will be doing it under the "American Eagle" name. "Our" name. So Chatauqua Airlines, SkyWest, etc, when they fly for us, will be doing it under our logo and name. I know it seems like a little thing, but it is not. We were, and are for now, the last of the wholly owned subsidiaries. United had United Feeder Service, which was closed in 1999 (They flew the APTs, which was quite a monster turboprop,) and Delta had ComAir, who will fly their last flight Sep 29th of this year. Think of that... at one time, they were our ONLY true rivals on the National/Regional Airline playing field, and they are ceasing operations.... Sober thoughts there...

My airline will get a new name, we'll be 'spun off' from the mothership, and we will compete for contracts with everyone else to do the flying that we are doing right now. BUT, we will be able to compete for flying with United and Delta, or Southwest, or Virgin, or Bob's flying service... or we will be free to go it on our own, too.

But we know how well that worked for Independence Air, don't we?

There are lots of arguments for and against, and it will take years to ascertain whether it was a good, or even a brilliant decision... but if it was disaster, we will find out all too soon.

Time will tell.....

Scott

getting (or not) political

So, I promised myself I would try to blog more... because you all just are dying to hear what I am thinking, right? All 4 of you, right?

September 11, 2012 has come and gone; I wrote my post on my memories of the original 9/11, so to speak, and while that was happening, our Embassy in Libya was attacked, and our Ambassador killed.

I have refrained from making this into just another political blog; which is funny, because I am a very political animal. I read a number of political websites, of both stripes (or more than both,) although I tend to flow along a fairly similar thought stream with only one side of the spectrum. So I have left a bunch of topics untouched, topics that I find timely to address to myself now and then....

Free Speech

The Role Government Plays

The Constitution

Politics in General

I've focused mostly on my non-family passions... flying, certainly as #1; ancestral (paleo-like) health, and now that I am a lost soul, triathlons and training.

Given what this past week has been like, it is hard to hold back, though. I do have a post coming up (I know, I keep saying that) about free speech and what it all means, but I don't want to drag myself that way in this forum. We shall see....

But I will blog more.

Cheers,

Scott

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 11th.

My phone rang early (for me; I was a new line holder, so I finally had a regular schedule. Based in Chicago at ORD, back home, life was good,) and it was my mom.

"A plane just flew into the World Trade Center."

I told my mom she must be watching a preview of a new Jerry Bruckheimer movie, and tried to go back to sleep. I had been up late the night before, I had the day off, and I wanted to sleep in for the first time in ages.

My phone rang again about 10 minutes later.

"Scott, it's Kathy. A plane just flew into the World Trade Center."

"A Cessna, or something? Is there a lost Learjet?"

"I'm looking at the fire on the news, it must have been something bigger."

"Wow, crazy. You would think in this day and age with GPS and LORAN and everything, that wouldn't happen."

We talked for a bit, and she said it looked like someone had caught the crash on camera, they were replaying a plane hitting it.

Then she started screaming into the phone, because it was not a replay, she was watching the second tower get hit.

I scrambled out of my apartment (I had gotten separated from my first wife a few months prior, didn't have a TV, and for the first time in a long time I wished I had a TV.) and ran up the stairs to my neighbor's apartment. I knocked on her door, and she said that she was listening to CDs.

We watched the news together on her TV for a bit, and then she had to run to work; she left me her key, and let me stay in her apartment to watch. Thanks to cell phones, I knew I could get ahold of my friends on the East Coast.

There were reports that the flight that crashed into the Pentagon was an Eagle flight. I called numerous friends to see who knew what. My friend OJ Saxby had just landed at Islip (ISP) NY. They were turning to final, and his FO said

"Wow, OJ, you should see the fire in Manhattan."

When they parked the plane, ATC came on and asked them if they were headed back to Boston. They said yes, and then home. The controller said

"You need to call me on the phone. You're going to be here a while."

A fellow pilot who lives in Memphis was flying a trip from DFW to DAY (I think.) He heard over the radio words that were spoken by ATC the only time since the building of the modern ATC system. Words that were a relic of the Cold War, words that pilots never thought they would hear once the cold war ended...

"SCATANA...SCATANA...SCATANA. All aircraft on my frequency, I will be issuing orders for diversions. If you do not have an airport when I call your flight number, you will be given an airport to divert to. There are no exceptions. This is a National Emergency. SCATANA...SCATANA....SCATANA."

He was about 60 miles or so southwest of Memphis, and was the 2nd flight called by ATC. He said they were diverting to Memphis, and he managed to be home for the next few days.

I know dozens personally, and I am sure I have flown with hundreds, who ended up spending the days after 9/11 away from home. I happened to be off that day. I had OT for Thursday, and then Friday I was flying to Austria for a friend's wedding. In the jumpseat. I did not make it to Vienna, obviously.

That same friend called me about an hour after 9/11 happened. He asked me what should he do? His fiancee had flown to Austria the day before, and he was trapped in Chicago! He made it out on Friday, they drove him straight to the Church, and he made it in time for his wedding.

My friend Kathy who called me that morning was schedule to go down for her physical to be a pilot at American Eagle. She never made it down there, got hired by Chicago Express, made Captain, they closed, got hired by SkyWest, made Captain, and is still there. (Yes, she made Captain at 2 airlines before I upgraded at AE. Funny...)

I called our scheduling people, and told them that I had planned on taking my vacation, but there was no way to get to where I was going. I was available when they needed me. Corey said he would call me when he knew more.

A friend of mine flew the CARE Team from ORD to BOS. She said she had never had an emotional flight like that. They gave them Position and Hold on the runway, and an amended clearance (we usually fly 'canned' routes, planned routes that thread us through and around other flights.)

"American Airlines, you are cleared Direct Boston Logan, climb and maintain FL 350, you take our prayers with you, cleared for takeoff, and Godspeed."

(... at least, that is what I remember her telling me later that day... )

I got called on Thursday afternoon, they had gotten permission to fly limited flights, and if I was available, they could use me.

I flew to Peoria and back, and Charlotte and back, landing back in Chicago about 11pm. We were the 4th or 5th flight by Eagle out of ORD, I think. We had zero passengers to PIA, 1 coming back, zero passengers (but about 10 employees) to CLT, and 3 pax back.

There are as many stories of 9/11 as there are people who were alive that day. Stories of heroism, stories of panic, terror, heartache. Friends and loved one were lost, dreams were shattered, our world changed forever.

I will never forget.....

I want to lose weight... (Part 1)

"So, I want to lose weight..."

My first, instinctive, sarcastic response to this is "Well, ok, we could saw off an arm..."

Let's face it, then you would weigh less, right?

So, weight is not usually the issue. I am sure if we magically transformed 20 lbs of fat into 20 lbs of muscle tissue on the average person, they would be happy with it, even though they do not 'weigh less.'

So we need to get the words correct. Words do have meaning, after all.

You want to lose fat.

Specifically, you want to lose excess white adipose tissue. And why would you want to do that?

There are numerous studies that show that increased weight (beyond a certain point) is an indicator of decreased health, and shorter and less healthy life spans. (see here, here, here, and here.) (That last one is a lu-lu. Framingham... so much data!!)

Most people who have fought the battle with increased weight tell all too familiar stories.

"I get winded just going up a flight of stairs."

"I have problems sleeping."

"My knees hurt; I can barely walk to the end of the block sometimes."

"I run out of energy so fast. I try to stop eating, but then I am lethargic, and angry." (I would be too, if I had to eat less!)

There are so many questions involved, so much information, and so much mis- or even mal-guidance; some people come and go off of diets and end up in tears.

We want to be healthy.
We want to live long lives, and disease free.
We want to enjoy life, our families, our children, our friends.

So, I am going to try to do some 'splainin' (Hey, Luuuuucy!)
All (or nearly so) of this will be from an evolutionary/ancestral point of view. I want to cover a number of topics;

What exactly is fat? (There has to be a reason we have it in the first place, right?)
Why do we get fat? (How does it get stored, what is the physical processes, etc...)
What are some myths about fat?
How can we 'lose' fat? (We get it, people lose it, how does that work?)
What is good health, and how can I be healthy?

 

 I think that last one is the most important. Generally, if you ask your doctor to get blood work done, you are looking for a 'baseline,' In other words, what are the normal scales for individuals, and where do I fall on those scales? For instance, I am 5'8" tall, and yesterday at the gym I weighed 166 lbs, giving me a BMI of about 25.2%. Am I healthy? Am I overweight? 25.2% (according to that nifty calculator provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services,) means I am overweight. O.k., all 3 of you who read my posting know me fairly well, and I am not overweight. There must be more to that story!

So you can see, just like "I want to lose weight," there is more information needed. Simply taking height and weight does not give you nearly enough information about health. (Which is a serious bone I have to pick with Michelle Obama. The original interview on Yahoo is gone, but there are references to it all over the place (like here) where she encourages BMI screening for kids.) BMI is a number, it does not tell you jack shit about health.
All it will do is make you fear the scale. Specifically, BMI is calculated this way, using the equation at the right. Honestly, does it tell you anything??? (other than a mathematical ratio, that is.)

So you ask your doctor for a blood screening, and you find all your numbers are in the 'green,' but you still have a high BMI. What to do.. what to do.

What can we do about our own health? I cross-posted on Facebook a picture with a quote superimposed upon it "People are fed by the FOOD Industry, which pays no attention to health... and are treated by the HEALTH industry, which pays no attention to food."

Are there people who do not get sick? There is a good question. Are there people who do not get cavities? Who do not get overweight? Who do not suffer from hypertension, gout, diabetes, cancer? Who live long lives?

My dad died when he was 54 years old. Cancer got him. He lived his life like he was trying to end it. Alcoholic. 2 to 3 pack a day smoker. I guess we were lucky he made it to 54.

Who are the people who do not get sick? Better yet, what do they eat? How do they live? What do they do, what don't they do?

Because, you know, we are the most 'overexercised' people on the planet. We have more health clubs, more gym memberships, more people running, than any other country in the world. People were sweating to the oldies for years, and yet....

We're still dying off.

We have obese children (Really, that is sad... except for the obvious genetic mutations that cause it, where can that problem originate?)

What on earth are we doing wrong?

Anyway, I hope to shed a little light with what I have learned along my own journey. In February of 2008, all they wanted to do was keep me alive. Today? I've completed my first triathlon, and I am looking for more. I want long life and good health, and I want you to have it, too.

This might be a strange journey... but why should this be any different?

Cheers!

Scott

The Knee

Well, those of you who remember my story from last year, knee problems stopped me from finishing my first triathlon, so I had to try again this year.

Only, now, I love it. The prep work, the working out, the biking, swimming... all of it.

This year again, knee problems bothered me, but I forged on through and finished.

The problem, is that if my knees keep having problems, I won't be able to do more triathlons. Mostly, it is as the knee loads up; It does not happen while I bike, but it happens on the run. I don't have any pain when I am not running, and have no problems going up and down stairs, although if it is tender, I am cautious going down stairs.

A good friend of mine who is doing his clinicals to become an MD checked out my knee, and told me of a common overtraining type of injury where the thigh normally kind of helps the patella (kneecap) retract straight back so that the knee can bend, instead let's it move at a very slight angle. Considering that my knees stay slightly bent on the bike, that would explain how it doesn't hurt normally biking, but it starts to hurt on the run. It is a fairly easy fix, but to still go see a specialist.

So I went to see Dr. Daley, at Hinsdale Orthopedics. He is a long long time family friend, but he is most famous for being the doctor who replaced Bo Jackson's hip when he (Bo) played for the Chicago White Sox.

Some x-rays, some manipulation, and the good Doctor said "If this is any indication of the kind of doctor your friend will be, then he will be very good indeed; he described exactly what is going on in your knee."

He showed my on the x-rays how the kneecap was very slightly off when my knee was flexed, and then described how we take care of the problem.

Good physical therapy, maybe modify the way you run a little bit, and a brace for support for your kneecap when you are exercising. Simple, or as I heard a second person say in 2 days, "Easy Peasey."

So, here is my leg in its brace... kind of bionic man-looking, but the advantage is that for the most part, I can continue exercising, although long distances are out for a little bit. Plus, I don't need surgery as of yet...  (and should not...) that is always a big plus!!!

So far so good!!!!

Cheers!

Scott

Bike mods

Hey there!

So, did a little bit of work on the bike; I added a set of Profile Design GT Aerobars. Thanks to a coupon for participating in the Chicago Triathlon, I picked them up at a deeeep discount from an online site. Basically Amazon has them for around $79, I got them for about $39. Gotta love combining clearance and discounts and coupons.

So the idea behind using Aerobars (they came out in the 1986 Tour De France, and are pretty much de rigueur in triathlons now,) is that instead of keeping your hands up 'on the horns,' (the black 'horn looking' part of the handlebars,) or staying low 'in the drop' (the downward curved part on road bikes,) you can rest your upper body weight on the elbow pads, grip the forward part of the bars, and accomplish 2 things: Rest your body, and achieve a more aerodynamic position.

Now, on a road bike, this gets a little dicey. The seat post is slightly aft of where you would want to sit to get proper leverage in the forward 'aero' position, and your body would still be elevated, as opposed to the slightly head down profile you get on a dedicated tri bike.

You can reduce this a bit by removing a spacer or two from the gooseneck of the road bike, and on the Trek 1.2, the seat post is designed to be reversed 180 degrees, allowing you to have that more forward, aggressive, tri-bike type of position on the aerobars.

So after installing the aerobars, I reversed the seat post, rebalanced the seat, and started doing quick bikes to adjust the aerobars to my body size.

I found a pretty comfortable position, but there will be lots of small adjustments. The idea is that you spend the majority of your time once you are in the aerobar position, so that you can rest your body and have a less dragg-y position.

More to come on this as I experiment with it....

Cheers!

Scott

A swim and some sailing

Racing the Tri-State this weekend. This is my favorite race of the season (yes, even the Mac falls short for me.)

Tonight it looks good, albiet slow, crossing the lake. Should be in the 70s, we have a great crew, so all is well.

I am heading down to the boat early to scrub the bottom and get some work done on the boat (rig tuning, etc...) but if I get it all done fast, I can go for a little run... gotta keep trying the knee.

Maybe I can squeeze in a harbor swim... a quick 500 yards or so just for fun.

A bad day on the water beats a great day just about anyplace else...

Off to the races!

Scott

The knee thing

So a friend of mine in medical school checked out my knee on Wednesday.

Apparently, a fairly common 'non-injury' is besically one side of your thigh being stronger than the other, cause a-symetrical loads on your kneecap. The result of this is usually what I have been getting during the run portion of the Triathlon, but not really at any other time...

So no pain normally, no clicking in my knee, or locking of the kneecap, etc, just a bit of pain when it loads up (like when I go down a flight of stairs.)

The solution is simple... strengthen the inner thighs!

I did a quickie 1.3 mile run on Wednesday, and I hope to have another run or decent bike or two soon to see how my leg feels.

Either way, as back-up, I am going to see a friend of the family who is an orthopedic surgeon. He used to be the Ortho for the White Sox, he did Bo Jackson's hip replacement surgery... he has his act together. He'll give me a scan on Sep 7th, and we'll see if I have something damaged in there.

Sailing this weekend, so short posts again. Here comes the Tri-State! (something else that is tri-!!)

Cheers!

Scott

Short bike work....

Had a great short ride today; Thomas on the back, and out for Ice Cream!

I'm trying to pay more attention to my pedaling, mainly, I am trying to pedal the entire 'circle' of the pedal stroke.

Why just press down, when you can use all the muscles in your leg to make a circle (push the pedal down, pull it back through the bottom of the ark, pull it up through the back of the circle, and slide it over the top to complete the circle.

More things to work on, obviously.

At least I really have no lingering soreness from the tri, so I think that means I did not put enough into it... guess I'll have to do another one, soon... ;)

Scott

What to do next...

So, what to do next;

I would like to think of maybe a 1/2 Ironman. Any suggestions? I looked at pricing if I wanted to do a trip somewhere, and the bike shipping is ridiculous.

I would like to do more 5K runs, considering I really don't do any. This is my big event of the year... lol.

I slept for 13 hours yesterday... I guess it was a good workout!

Cheers!

More to come.... stay tuned!

Scott

After the Tri...

Wow, that was a good day!

It started nice and early; Had to be in the Transition Area, bike racked and out the door by 0545, so with an 0900 start, had a little time to kill.

So after getting my bike set up, I went to watch the Triples start (They did the Super Sprint Tri on Saturday, then were doing the Sprint Tri and then the Olympic Tri... so 3 triathlons in 2 days.)... They would start their Olympic with my swim wave.

After 3 or 4 starts went by, I continued my wandering, went over to Maskwa, slept a bit, did a quick run, then swam a little bit in the harbor. I was feeling pretty good.

Made it back with plenty of time to spare for my start; Got in the water for the start, and then off we went!

Swimming, even in a pack, is always solitary. I think I seeded myself in the water a bit too far back; it took a long time to get going properly... and it seemed that every time I went to pass someone on the first leg I was getting a foot to the face... so, I just took things steadily and swam my own race.

Swim time: 38:33. (I was shooting for 38... I think I could have done it in 36 or so...)

Biking... I was not as strong as I thought on biking this year. I had had good practice bikes, good leg training, but I think I need to kick it up a notch for next year. The winds on leg 2 kind of knocked me out, and I should have been able to handle them...

Bike time: 1:35:33. (I was shooting for 1:20... I think 1:25 would have been realistic.)

Running... well... About mile #3 my knee started acting up, so I almost walked from mile #3 to #4. After that, I was running till my knee hurt, and then walking until it went away. Unfortunately, my knee kept hurting, so I had to keep walking more and more.

Run time 1:19:30. (I was shooting for an even hour... no such luck.)

I think if I had made my planned times, I would have been a bit below dead center in my age group, which I think would have been awesome.

I loved the race; at no time (unlike last year) did I think WTH am I doing out here? lol.... Well, I did question myself during the run, but I never felt winded, I just felt like my knee was letting the team down... That's ok, though... it will get better.

Had a great day, all in all... finished... now on to the next one!

Why haven't YOU??

1,640.42 Yards.

24.85 Miles.

6.21 Miles.

That's a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike, and a 10K run. Back to back to back.

This is what a triathlon is. International/Olympic Length. The Chicago Triathlon.

It is roughly 1/4 of the biggie race, the Ironman.

Bags are packed, bike is next to the car, bike rack is on the car. Helmet on the pax car seat. Wetsuit is on Maskwa, gear bag is ready to be set up just so.

Last year, I did my first triathlon more as a lark than anything else. If you knew me 5 years ago at this time, all you would be is amazed that I had recovered from almost dying.

Mile after mile in the pool... Mile after mile (x10) on the bike. Miles on foot.

This year, I am doing the triathlon because I am hungry for it. Because I have a bike that makes me want to look up the distances again for a 1/2 Ironman (56 miles... I can see that happening...no problem now.) Because I have changed my running technique such that when I went for a casual run 2 days ago, I was 4.5 miles into it before I thought about going from jog to walk. Because I love to swim.

How long is that 1/2 again??

So, what is holding you back from doing something just because you want to challenge yourself?

I used to hate to run. I always tried to like it, but it would snub me over and over.

Now I love running... I loved running in the 110F heat in Arkansas... I love feeling mile after mile slide under my feet in a steady rhythm at 180bpm (run barefoot cadence, so ingrained now that I do it even with those 'foot coffins' on)... although I prefer to run in sandals. Barefoot is for the treadmill.

So, what is holding you back?

I stole this picture from a friend of mine, Kim. Her daughter did the kids Tri today that is part of Chicago Triathlon weekend. It is a picture of a 10 year old with 1 leg... completing the kids triathlon. She also saw a blind 8-year old cross the finish line. Last year, I saw a blind swimmer being helped out of the water at transition and pointed in the right direction with his swim partner for the next leg.

If I were in that situation, I don't know if I would have the balls to do that. Blind swim a mile... yeah, sure, let me get right on that.

What is stopping you from at least trying? Take a little chance. What is it that you really want to do?

As I said in a previous post, how much do you really want it? How far are you willing to go to go get it? Not everything takes great sacrifices... Maybe you are a natural at what you would really like to do, but because you have been held back, or you have held yourself back (we are our own worst enemies,) you just have not had the time, or the ability, or the wherewithall to try.

Are you worried people will laugh at you? I'm still waiting for people to laugh at me... Not athletic rock hard like most of the competitors... After the race last year (which I DNF, because I had a massive tendonitis flare-up in my right knee at the start of the run. I ran almost 2 miles on it... Just was not to be.) So after the race, I was working my way through looking for my family, when one of the women who had just finished had overheard my story to the race official on why I didn't want to take the "finishers" medal. The official still pushed it on me, and the girl who was right there thought it was an honorable thing to try to give it back. Then, she gave me a hug, told me it was her 10th tri, but she remembered her first, too, and that she couldn't complete that one, and I'd come out and kick ass next (this) year.

But she didn't laugh at me, and she encouraged me to do better and come back and just do it.

Here is my wave #; wave 43, inked on my right calf. I start at 09:06AM. I am inked the same as the pros will have their calfs done, the same as everyone will be. I have it because I am doing the Chicago Triathlon... that makes me a triathlete. I've never even been an athlete before, not really.

So, what is stopping you?

confounded by technology and behind the 8 ball all day.

So, I managed to leave my laptop cable at home, burned the battery out, and then made it home at midnight, so technology got in my way.

Just a personal note------

The other day we were taxiing out, had a long route to the runway, but because of the gate we were on, I had to have both engines started to turn out of the gate...

It was almost 10pm, the weather was good, so there was no need to shut an engine down to conserve fuel (can be a big deal with some long taxi routes) not to mention that the start cycle basically costs money, too.... everything costs money.

So we were told to follow a Skywest who was following 'company' (another of my airline.)

I don't know (but I am pretty sure) why this captain was taxing so slow, but for all you pilots out there, listen up.

Taxiing like a douchebag to 'punish' the company is unprofessional, pisses off our passengers (who, btw, pay our salaries... piss off enough of them, and they will stop coming back,) and aggravates your coworkers. It is a waste of money (both engines running, etc...) time, and energy.

This flight took off 2 ahead of us, and we managed to pass them by Detroit. For those of you who are not in aviation, passing the same aircraft (make, model) in the air is almost impossible because we all fly at the same speeds (unless the pilot is an asshole and is sandbagging the company) We landed 6 minutes late in Rochester, NY, because of this jerk, but his flight landed almost 20 minutes late.

Way to go, asshole, you annoyed a planeload of people, you cost the company money, and you delayed the 7 flights that got stacked up behind you on your protest taxi.

I was too pissed off last night to write this, because I was ready to name names. I know who you are, though...

Scott

After midnight

So I get in after midnight in Rochester, NY... and I don't have my charging cable for my laptop (whoops!) so I missed my post yesterday... crap.

A resolution for a year, that lasted exactly 6 days.... lol.

Things have been really busy lately with the run-up to the triathlon and my father-in-law being in town. It's great to have him visiting... Thomas loves his time with Opa, we were able to get in a fantastic round of golf, and it is always fun just sitting around and talking with him. Nicole, of course, appreciates the time with her father, too... Great visit no matter how you slice it.

Yesterday I did something silly.... I went down to the lake to get in a swim and a bike. I jumped in off of Maskwa with my wetsuit, swam down to the firehouse and back (.3 miles, or about a third of what I will do Sunday,) did a quick change, and hopped on the bike.

My goal for the bike ride was to hit the south end of the Lakeshore trail. They finally tied all the lakefront paths together, but the south end is considerably less travelled. Here is the South Shore Lakefront Trailhead, at 7100 South and Lake Shore Drive.

I pedaled out of the BPYC parking lot, and started tryign to figure out why my legs were so fatigued. I had just done a swim, but really, you barely move your legs when you swim. In fact, on a triathlon, it is usually the opposite problem, that you have no oxygen enriched blood flowing to your legs when you get out of the water; that is a problem. Most trainers tell you to take fast tiny steps when you first get out fo the water to maximize blood flow to your legs and get them ready for the longest part of a triathlon, the bike (which is obviously, all leg work... then again, so is the run...  :P  )

So a mile into my ride, I was just flummoxed. What the heck was going on?

Finally, I got off my bike and checked; I had bumped the brake caliper when I was getting the bike onto the rack on my car, and I had been basically pedaling with the rear brakes on. No wonder 11 mph was a challenge! Getting passed by a rollerblader was the killer, though.

So I grabbed my bike tool, did a little work (on both calipers... no sense repeating the goof,) and shazaam, I was back in business, ticking off the miles at a steady 18 mph.

Sigh... sometimes, we are our own enemies... lol..

Cheers!

Scott

Golf

I got to take my father-in-law out golfing today, so I did a little advance planning and took him to Cog Hill.

Cog Hill's famous Dubsdread course is where the Western Open was played from 1991-2006, and where the BMW Open will be played this year (and was played for 5 of the past 6 years,) Most important course, etc.. etc... etc...

It is one of the only places where the pros play that is open to the public.

Well, that is Course #4 of the 4 courses (18 holes each,) but we played course #3, which is famous for water and lovely greens.

My dad was a big golfer. Most of you have never met my dad (he died in 1995, complications due to smoking... cancer of pretty much everything, etc...) He loved golfing. Somehow I got the bug from him, and some of the best days we had were golfing together when I was in 8th grade through high school.

I guess it helped that I was a pretty good golfer. I tried out for the Freshman Golf Team at Marist High School, made the team, and got bored practicing putting on our first practice meet, so quit the team (although I found out later the coach really wanted me on varsity, since I was hitting so well at the ripe old age of 13.) Practice was boring. (This is the difference between professionals and amateurs... the professional continues going even though he is bored as crap... It is a mindset, not just because you are making $$ at something.) I hated practice.

I got a job caddying at Ridge Country Club, for the princely sum of $6.50/round. A round could take a good 4 hours when play was slow. Nothing like that $1 tip, too.. thanks, Mr Successful Business Man for the wad of ca$h!

Actually, that is just sarcasm coming out. Most of the guys (and gals!) would hire out the caddies and we learned a ton on the course. We would show up at 0530, get slotted for a spot on the roster, and then play foozball until we were called out (This is where I first started playing fooz regularly, it is a very common table in the caddyshack.)

I was a "B" caddy, #330 (amazing some things you remember. Of course, I answered to "330, up!" probably 200 times that first summer.) We would do a fast round with the early birds, and then usually follow that up with another round with the noon crowd (on weekdays, business peeps skipping out at lunch for a sandwich which turned into a 3+ hour round of golf.)

My dad was a member at the club, too, so after 2 sweaty rounds of humping bags around the grass I would take a break and go jump in the pool. After 5PM, children of the members could play a round for free, so I would usually grab a "Caddy Bag" (Driver, 3-5-7-9 Irons, Putter) and go play a round on my own or with one of the Cunninghams or Ed Hayes.

So three rounds of golf... on a slow day... with a swim break in the middle. Do that for a full summer, and you'll be a relatively wealthy little 13 year old who knows his way around a golf course.

My second year caddying, I was promoted to "A" Caddy, and answered to #161. I caddied an early tournament for Don Birmingham, and he won. The following week, he requested me, and he won... a big 2 day tourney... again. He gave his lucky caddy a $100 tip (woohoo!), and I was promoted to Honors Caddy #60. (Honors went from 1-60, A from 61-180, and B from 181+, if I remember right.) If you were promoted to Honors, someone else was demoted to A, usually pushing a slackard to B. Honors Caddy was a big deal. It was based on reports from the members, being requested, etc... etc... They used to actually keep track of all these things.

Realize, this was back in 1981-1984. Nobody who was a decent golfer at a country club used a cart. You always walked. It is a walking sport. Although, for the guys who used carts, you got a caddy for 2 golfers, so you would wash golf balls, clean clubs, and 'fore'-caddy. This was running ahead of the golfers as they went to the next tee, so you could be downrange and spot their shots when they landed in the rough, etc. You could also measure off distances (to this day I can take a pretty regular 1-yard stride) to the pin, and if there was a big back-up at the tee you could even wrangle a nap.

This is stream-of-consciousness, so I'll add something else. I noticed that old habits die hard. Today, I was judging golfers around us by how they positioned themselves around the greens, on the tee, etc. For instance, on the tee, you always stood at least 2 or 3 lengths in front of the golfer hitting the ball. (not in the direction the ball travels, but directly in front of their body, if they stood up straight and looked forward.) You can sense someone within a few bodylengths behind you, and that would cause a player to jerk his swing. You also froze from the moment the golfer finished practice swings til the ball was gone and away. Little motions are caught by the eye, and cause the swinging golfer to flinch. On the greens, you don't step in the path that a golfer's ball will most likely take, you don't let your shadow cross it, and you also stop moving when a golfer is ready to putt. Little things, but I could tell people who had certainly never been a caddy!!

Caddy Golf... It was a great thing. We would just take a pocketfull of golfballs and a 2-iron and maybe a 7 iron, and play the entire course. You can putt with a 2-iron, and if you flare out your grip, opening the club face, a 7 makes a passable pitching wedge. Gives you all kinds of control. My long iron game is still the best part of my playing. Today I was taking shots with a 2- and 3- iron that my father-in-law was taking with a 5-wood (which are not wood, anymore.)

Which is something that I want to complain about. I always played with wood "woods." Today, they are made of metal, have humongous clubheads, and all go "Ping!" when you hit your shot. OMG, I hate that sound! There are very few things like the sound of a true wood clubface connecting with a golf ball. All those metallic pings flying around the course made me think of college baseball, and that horrible aluminum bat sound. Ugh... I guess they are so much better, but still... yuck.

Where was I....

So my dad loved to golf. The way they 'handicap' a course, is they take the 18 holes, and they are rated toughest to easiest. So, the hardest hole on a course (not necessarily the longest, but usually one of the longer holes) will have a rating of "1." That means that if you are a "1" handicap, that is the only hole you get a stroke on. That continues down to 18, the 'easiest' hole on the course.

My dad was a 24-26 handicap. That means that on a par 72 course (pretty standard,) he could shoot up to a 98 and basically be 'even' with the golf course. The hardest hole at Ridge Country Club was #4. #1 was a straight par 4 away from the clubhouse, #2 was a little chipper of a par 3, Hole #3 came westbound along 103rd Street down the hill, and hole #4 was southbound along the railroad tracks on Sacramento Ave. (this is all from memory... I knew this course like the back of my hand at 13 years old.) My dad had never made par on Hole #4. He was just not a consistent enough player. It was a long par 4, and the train track on the right meant that if you were right handed and prone to 'slicing,' you were 'out of bounds' 7 times out of 10 (smart caddies always went down the left side of the fairways, since you were less likely to get smacked by a golfball. Righties rarely 'pulled,' or went to the left, since there are so many ways to 'slice' a golfball to the right (not turning your hands, open the clubface, lift your head, etc...)

On my best days, I could play to about a 4 handicap (FYI, this was at 15, on the golf course every day. You can get into a Pro-Am with a Handicap like that. God, I hated putting practice, though!) I did get semi-officially rated by the Club Pro, and he gave me that "4." Got me respect from the other caddies (we knew how each other golfed... at least one went on to a Chick Evans Scholarship, which was cool) but made me give up entirely. I was terrified of success, I think. More than likely, being honest about it, I was just lazy. Why do all that putting???

We were in the Father-Son tournament that summer (my best golfing summer,) and we were on hole #4. We were actually shooting par together at that point (It was best ball off the first tee, then alternate shots, with the putter getting the drive on the next tee.) My dad hit a little squirrel chaser that wandered up to barely reach the fairway, but was in the rough on the left. He wanted me to take the 2-iron, but I used a new wood called a "Ginty," which was a wood with a little metal flange at the bottom, so you could use it in the rough.

I smashed the ball... I absolutely crushed it. I popped the ball right up on the runup to the green, giving my dad a little chip shot for pin placement (although the pin was close to his side of the green)

He skulled the shot, hitting it off the toe of his club, sending it flying past the hole, giving me a good 20 foot putt for par.

Ok, if you are not a golfer, you have to realize, that only the pros regularly make shots longer than 6 feet. That is the dreaded 6 foot putt. It is just short enough that you know it should go in, but long enough that there is a LOT of grass between you and the cup. That is why shot placement is so important coming up to the green... shorter putts leave less room for error.

So my dad was really apologetic, but was just happy that we were on the green in 3. Many many times I had caddied for him and had to dig golfballs away from the fence on the right, by the train tracks, etc...

So he said to just get the ball close enough so that he had an easy putt, and we'd be 1 over par, and on to the next damn hole.

I sank it. I dropped it in like it had a little magnet and it just drew the ball right in. I am pretty sure you could hear my dad whooping and hollarin' across most of Chicago (Useless trivia-- highest point in Chicago above Sea Level is at 103rd Street and California, the NE corner of Ridge Country Club.)

We took second place in the tournament (to one of the Cunninghams, I am sure... Bobby, I think.) and my dad just ate it up. It was wonderful.

Some of the best times I had with my dad were on the golf course. Probably one of the reasons why I love a good round of golf (even though I almost never go...) is the memories of my dad being so proud of the way that I played, and having that time with him.. just us.

So I am not nearly that good anymore. I put down my clubs while I was still in high school (summer of 1985 was my last year as a caddy)(so long lucrative golf career, hello penury!.. kidding...) and I can name the times I played golf after that.

Rich's bachelor party (probably 1991)
Jason's bachelor party (in Jamaica, in 1996)
with Nicole's Uncle Klaus, in Germany (2006)
with my father-in-law in Germany (2008)
"" in Chicago (2011)
This morning.

So I am picking up the pace again!

Cheers!

Scott

Food and Freedom

Hi there!

I am sure there will be a way to make this end up in a larger post, but for right now, I just need to burn off a little steam.

I had another conversation with a friend of mine (who is quite learned,) about raw milk. Basically, it came down to this-- "It's poison."

Really.

I mean, honestly, it's poison. How so? People die from it all the time. Again, really?

So... I did a little digging...

Here are the food stats for food related deaths for all reasons, compiled from a number of sources: The CDC, FoodNet (run by the CDC,) MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,) DBMD (Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases,) etc...

*all numbers are estimated, or averaged yearly between 1995-2010

Salmonella - 1,000/year
Campylobacter - 500/year
Cholera - 1/year
Shigellosis - 10/year
Rotavirus - 20-100/year
Non-ulcer dyspepsia - 49 in the 1980s (later stats are hard to find, basically on the level
of cholera in the Western World)
Food poisoning - about 5,000/year
Listeriosis - 500/annually

I'm skipping over the people who get sick from food poisoning, or any of the above diseases, but the CDC website says 1 in 6 Americans, or about 55 million people... every stinking year... get sick from something food-borne.

So look at those numbers for the dead.

Raw milk has contributed 0 deaths since 1980.

ZERO (in bold, for the hard of hearing.)

Most deaths from food are from:

Spinach
Cantaloupe
Undercooked/Raw Poultry
Undercooked/Raw Meat
Raw Vegetables/Fruit

Hm. But no raw milk. Surprise, surprise.

However, all over the CDC website, they have warnings about raw milk, and that it should be pasteurized, no matter what. Even though they cannot back that claim up...

So here is where it all comes together for me.....

I get my raw milk from the Boge family (of Golden Guernsey of Illinois.) They have lovely Guernsey cows that produce just the most amazing milk. Higher fat content, the works. And the spring milk just tastes divine... oh, my oh my... lol. Thomas even knows that it is REAL milk. He loves it (we both have a glass a day, and so far with my triathlon training, I get the best recovery when I have a glass about 30-60 minutes after the hardest workouts.)

However, Illinois law say that raw milk producers cannot advertise, and purchases of their 'product' must use their own containers.

Needless to say, you cannot purchase it in stores (from what I recollect, only 3 states allow that... California being one of them. Go Cali!!)

They are not trying to stop the purchase of sushi... or produce... or Burger King (anyone remember the salmonella outbreak at the BK on 79th street in the 1980s?)

20 states had a recall on cantaloupe after an outbreak of salmonella that hospitalized 140+ people and killed 2 (the headlines all say that over 30 died, but the stats don't back that up.) The cantaloupe were grown in Indiana, and the produce was shipped across the country.

A year ago, it was lettuce. About the same numbers....

Green onions have also been linked, as well as tainted meat, tomatoes, and peanuts.

Every year, all these foods are linked to salmonella, however only raw milk is on the list to get banned if the CDC gets their way.

In Kentucky and Rhode Island, you cannot purchase raw milk under any circumstances except for raw goat milk, and that only with a prescription for it by a licensed physician.

So, as an adult, I cannot enter into a contract, written or verbal, with someone whom I know, to buy raw milk from them under any circumstances.

More to come......

Chicago Triathlon!

This Sunday, August 23rd, I am doing my 2nd Triathlon.

I'll be doing the Olympic/International length race, which is----

a 1.5K swim (.93 miles, or 1740 yards.) followed by
a 40K bike (26.8 miles) followed by
a 10K run (6.2 miles.)

Unlike last year, I have not had any training problems slowing me down. I am really ready for this, and I am looking forward to it. I am not looking forward to getting up at 0330 to get my gear down there, but I am looking forward to the race.

I am much better prepared than last year, and I have better equipment, too. I have a triathlon wetsuit, and a nice new road bike to zip around the course on. I also changed my running style... I am jsut so much more comfortable now.

I think they have pretty much given up on the tracking attempts for the race, but I know the results will be up as we transition from course to course. My bib# is 6329, I start at 09:06AM. I should be done with the swim about 09:45. I am hoping to be done with the bike by about 11:20, which means I should finish the run straight up at noon. IF you want to try, you can see my results pop up on the results page here.

Wish me luck Sunday morning!!

Off to bed, so I can get up and knock out a little bit of training tomorrow morning....

Cheers!

Scott

Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity

This is an interesting post by Melissa at HuntGatherLove on a new study.

A really well controlled study (as well as it can be controlled) on non-celiac wheat sensitivity. The study starts with people who have already been segregated from the general population by a number of categories, so they have already been tested for and scored as far as--- IBS-like symptoms; both of the common tests for celiac; negative biopsy from an intestinal test; negative skin prick tests for wheat sensitivity; 4 weeks of gluten free diet, with (as far as I can tell) all food supplied for the time period.

Let's face it, as far as food testing goes, this is as good as it gets!

So the results were interesting, and Melissa has a much better take down than I can give, but from what it looks like, even with all those markers for celiac testing coming up negative, you can still have an intestinal reaction to wheat or gluten.

This, is what they call in science, a big deal.

Think of that... you can come up totally non-responsive to medical test after medical test (the common celiac tests, the anti-tTG and the EmA tests are considered the "gold standard" of celiac tests. Most doctors do not go further than that (from what I have read... I don't 'know' most doctors.)

Wheat can be a much bigger problem for many more people than we thought. The fact that our major food companies put it in damn near everything might help explain some of the health issues we are facing. 

So, even if you don't have celiac disease, wheat can cause you problems.

Here is some more reading on this, courtesy of Stephan Guyenet.

I like his section where he lists his takes on the study, so I will quote them here:

Wheat gluten can cause symptoms in susceptible people who do not have celiac disease.

A lack of circulating antibodies against gluten does not necessarily indicate a lack of gluten sensitivity.

People with mysterious digestive problems may want to try avoiding gluten for a while to see if it improves their symptoms**.

People with mysterious fatigue may want to try avoiding gluten.

The second point is a great one--- Just because you don't have a classical celiac reaction to gluten (your body releases antibodies, since it sees it as an intruder,) that does not necessarily indicate a lack of sensitivity.

I would do a variation of Robb Wolf's 30 day Paleo Solution. Just simply cut wheat and gluten from your diet for 2 weeks, and see how you fare. Reportedly, most people actually notice differences almost immediately, from reduced gas pains after eating to losing their GERD completely.

Cheers!

Scott