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!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

A Boy and his Great Grandpa

This is a photo of my son Jake meeting his Great Grandpa Red for the first time a week and a half ago in Los Angeles. Red is Jake's Dad's (me), Dad's, Dad, and Jake is one of two Great Grandsons of Red who will carry on the Dinger name. Great Grandpa was born in 1918, Jake, 2007.

Bike Commute

The commuting went just fine today. I had a tough headwind the whole way into work, and the ride ended up being 20.5 miles. I had plenty of time, but felt drained from the get go. The distance and condition made for a struggle.

My company has fixed the shower and it works much better now, so getting showered and dressed was not a difficult.

The winds I was hoping to have with me on the way home had died down a bit, but it was still much better than the morning. It was was freaking hot however. Over 100 degrees.

Traffic wasn't too bad. It was better in a couple of spots than I thought it would be, but bad in a few I thought it would be good in. But no close calls to speak of.

I'll probably give it another try next week.

Bike Commuting to Work

I've wanted to try it for some time, but in reality, given the hours I typically work, and the 18 miles I'll have to cover each way, there is only enough sunlight in the day to do this for about 3 months out of the year.

So I hatched the plan and worked out all of the logistics earlier this Spring, and am ready to give it a shot tomorrow.

Here is how it will work:

Day before:
I packed a bag with my work clothes for tomorrow, along with a towel and my shower kit, and brought it in to work with me today.

Night Before:
Shave (face, not legs) before I go to bed so I don't have to worry about shaving at the shitty bathroom that has the shower in it down in the bowls of my company's headquarters building.

Morning of:
I need to get up by 6am to be on the road by 6:20 am to give me time to get here and mess with all of the shenanigans associated with getting ready for work at a company that has shitty shower/dressing facilities.

The ride is about 18 miles, and only includes about 2 miles of travel on what I'd call busy roads. If I leave at 6:20am, I should hit the busy part around 7:05am or so.

I'll be riding with a smallish back pack that will hold my phone, wallet, building ID badge, sandals, and a clean pair of clothes I can wear while tromping around in my building on my way to my office to retrieve my clothes from the day before, and then back down stairs to the shower. While I loves me my spandex, I'm not ready to stunt my career path by being "the guy in spandex on Wednesdays."

Once I get to the building, I'll bring my bike upstairs to my office (I just wouldn't dare rack it in the parking garage), grab my change of clothes and head back down to the 1st floor to shower. Did I mention the shower down there is shitty? A trickle of a stream, ice cold, and it is in the same locker room where the unionized guys (TWU) that maintain our building have their lockers. Lots of strange looks from the union guys no doubt are in store. From there, I'll get cleaned up, go grab some breakfast in the campus cafeteria, and head back up to my office ready to start my day by 8:30am.

Afternoon of:
The afternoon drill is equally complicated. I need to hit the road by 6:00pm to get home before dark. So I'll change into my skivvies, cover up with that change of clothes I briefly wore in the morning, come back to my office and grab my bike. I think I can walk it down a fire exit to avoid mixing with the usual 6pm rush out of the building. Once downstairs, I'll put the clothes in the backpack, throw my cycle shoes on, and away I'll go.

I'll report back tomorrow night, or on Thursday and let you know how it went. Wish me luck.