The Answer?

So the Dodgers have finally made a move that might actually improve the team, and really didn't give up too much to do so. Bryan Morris was promising, but very green, and Laroche though a stud in AAA, had been given ample time to show flashes, and really hadn't. I think he'll be good, but do think he is expendable, particularly in light of how well Blake Dewitt has played.

I've never been much of a Manny fan, though I respect the skills. I'm just not sure I'm up for the drama.

Slim DV

Rumor has it that my buddy Darren V has dropped a boat load of weight. That is awesome news my man! Hope you didn't break the bank updating the wardrobe. Half Marathon in Nov?

DV, drop me a comment with the secret.

Training in Austin

I'm back in Austin for the weekend, and brought my running shoes and bike with me.

I got in a short run down at Town Lake in downtown Austin this morning. I've said it here before; it is my favorite place to run. Crushed clay trails, amazing views, and lots of people make for the best people watching you could imagine. The miles fly by. Run Tex, the big local running shoes store puts about a dozen jugs of ice water out every Sat and Sun morning, and they are placed at two strategic spots on each side of the lake about 2 miles apart.

I'll tackle the hills on the bike tomorrow morning. Hope to get in about 2 hours or so before we head home.

It is hard to believe, but the weather is a few degrees cooler here, which makes all the difference in the world. I'm looking down at my Accuweather Firefox add-on bar on the bottom of my browser, and it says it is 100 in Dallas right now with a real feel of 102, and will be 104 tomorrow. By contrast, it is only 97 in Austin right now, and is supposed to be 96 tomorrow.

Safe training!

David Does IM USA

---Update 7/20/08---

An amazing effort, on an unforgettable day. David went an 11:58.56, setting a PR by 45 minutes, and slipping under the mythical 12 hour mark.

Talk about Mr. Consistency! David was 123rd place out of the swim with a mind boggling 1:09.43, moved up to 115 with a steady negative split 6:11 bike, and held that 115 spot with a curageous 4:24.33 marathon.

I watched much of the coverage as my friend Hillary had me hanging on a thread in search of a win. She was in the lead from the swim through 20 miles of the run in the women's pro field, so I can tell after watching as much of the coverage as I did that it was WET! It rained all day it seemed.

This effort by David on this day was all the more spectacular given the weather, that is for sure.

Job well done, now go get dry!

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My buddy David who you may recall from my Cross Timbers Classic post or my Timberman Race Report is doing IM Lake Placid this Sunday, and I just got off the phone with him giving him my prediction for what he is going to do on Sunday. I figured I'd post it here for posterity.

This is David's 2nd IM, his first being the Redman Iron Distance Triathlon in Sept of 2006. He went something like 12:43 there, and I believe David should break this PR handily. In fact, I told him he could probably PR without even getting his face wet for the entire swim.

Still, his goal is to PR, so going sub 12:43 is the job at hand.

I've ridden with David a bit, and as I mentioned in my Timberman report, David is a billy goat and can fly up hills, so he will be well suited for the climbs in upstate NY. He is a heck of a runner, although not as good as his wife Sarah, and I think he's focussed on his swim a bit more this go-round as he usually does the minimum in the pool (although I do even less). I did an open water swim with him on the 4th of July and he seemed steady and under no stress holding a good pace.

So with all of this info, here is my prediction for him:

Swim 1:25
T1 :07
Bike 6:00
T2 :07
Run 4:09
Total: 11:48

Good luck David, we'll be watching online!