“To all the cynics, I'm sorry for you, ... I'm sorry you can't believe in miracles... This is a great sporting event and hard work wins it.” -Lance Armstrong (Farewell speech at the Champs-Élysées podium, after winning his seventh Tour de France.)
Much has been written about Lance Armstrong that I will not repeat here, but I do want to write a few things.
I have had a picture of Lance Armstrong in my office for maybe eight years (Tour de France 2003 Stage 15 Luz Ardiden). I watched him daily starting at 5:30 A.M.PST during the Tour de France. I watched bicycle racing DVDs for countless hours while exercising on my indoor trainer. I followed Lance's twitter updates during his comeback. I cannot think of any other athlete that has captured my attention and imagination as Lance has. I always rooted hard for Lance.
Over the years I kept abreast of doping allegations but I was never too concerned about the possibility that Lance was a doper; I assumed he was. I assumed that all the top cycling competitors were doping to the extent that the doping controls could not definitively detect; all those that finished on the podium in the Tour de France during the years of Lance's seven victories were all involved in some doping scandal in their careers. Moreover, I figured that since Lance only had one testicle, he had to be getting his testosterone from somewhere. His hematocrit was always very "healthy," but never exceeded 50 percent. Besides all this, Lance passed over 500 drug tests (or did he?). In spite of all the hearsay and allegations I have always been excited by Lance's extreme competitiveness. Floyd Landis even admits, "He was a badass on the bike."
One interesting point about all this is that even though I have long considered Lance to be an under-the-radar doper, I have rooted for him nonetheless. I have enjoyed the hero's tale. And Lance is a hero of sorts. I think that Lance quite possibly would have been the best cyclist of his generation anyway; we'll never know for sure.I am not excusing Lance, just saying that I've enjoyed him regardless, for being an entertaining, fierce competitor. The real shame is that he was allowed to go on for so long. There is something very unjust about the belated justice that is being meted out to Lance now.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing for me is to watch the familiar patterns of human behavior in the attacks, denials, and defenses.
And as usual the real heroes are unsung.
I had long avoided studying the concept of free will until I
read a book called Conversations on Consciousness: What the Best Minds Think
about the Brain, Free Will, and What It Means to Be Human by Susan Blackmore.
In this book, Blackmore asked many of the best thinkers of the new science of
mind if they believed in free will and consciousness. I was surprised that for
the most part this set of thinkers explained away both free will and
consciousness as illusions. What?
Rene Descartes said, "I think, therefore, I
am." This statement was the
axiomatic starting point upon which Descartes wanted to rethink all of philosophy.
But according to Blackmore's collection of great minds, even Descartes' philosophical
axiom is false. What?
Finally the issue of free will has become interesting to me.
(I will address consciousness in a separate post.)
My childhood training on this subject included the Book of
Mormon verse that God "created all things, both the heavens and the earth,
and all things that in them are,"both things to act and things to be acted
upon" (2 Nephi 2:14).
So my bias is toward a belief in free will. But a
belief in free will is so natural and pervasive that even Descartes considered
it to be the unassailable bedrock of his philosophy. Everybody naturally believes
in free will.
The strongest argument against free will is called determinism which basically says that all effects have causes, and all behaviors and choices are caused by events outside the control of individuals. For example a person cannot choose not to yawn, sneeze, or have a bowel
movement, etc. (I admit that I am oversimplifying here.) The problem with denying that free will exists, as is so commonly done in the scientific community, is that it follows that no one can be held responsible for his or her actions since they have no free will.
So I believe in free will for practical reasons, first of
all.
In recent years the scientific vogue has been toward a reductionist
emphasis that causes come from the bottom (subatomic particles) and work their
way up through atoms, molecules, cells, organisms, and eventually to human
beings who are controlled by the underlying forces.
I am going to be short and unscientific here: I believe that
some forces come from below but I also believe that the emergent consciousness
of human beings can, within many constraints, make choices that have effects
that work their way back down the chain. So there is both upward causation and
downward causation.
There is much here that judicial systems need to ponder but
as far as I'm concerned, people have the power and agency to make choices. And
the consequences of those choices have very real effects in the undetermined
future.
So this boring topic of free will is important
because the denial of free will leads to a denial of responsibility, and the belief in
a deterministic universe may lead to feelings of helplessness and the futility of trying to build a better world.
2012 TBA 2011 TBA 2010 TBA 2009 TBA 2008 TBA 2007 TBA 2006 Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What
I'm Not 2005 Van Morrison Magic Time 2004 TBA 2003 TBA 2002 TBA 2001 TBA 2000 Elliott Smith Figure 8 1999 Chris Cornell Euphoria Morning 1998 Jewel Spirit
1996 Counting Crows Recovering the Satellites 1995 Tracy Chapman New Beginnings 1995 Queen Made in Heaven 1995 Jewel Pieces of You 1994 The Cult Ceremony 1994 Live Throwing Copper 1993 Crash Test Dummies God Shuffled His Feet 1993 Counting Crows August and Everything After 1990 Jeff Lynne Armchair Theatre 1993 10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged 1992 REM Automatic for the People 1992 10,000 Maniacs Our Time in Eden 1991 Queen Innuendo 1991 Ozzy Osbourne No More Tears 1991 Crowded House Woodface 1989 Tracy Chapman Crossroads 1989 Queen The Miracle 1989 Paul McCartney Flowers in the Dirt 1989 Lenny Kravitz Let Love Rule
1988 Tracy Chapman 1988 Freddie Mercury Barcelona (with Montserrat Caballé) 1988 Crowded House Temple of Low Men 1987 Def Leppard Hysteria 1987 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe 1986 Queen A Kind of Magic 1986 Crowded House 1985 Freddie Mercury Mr. Bad Guy 1985 Les Miserables London Cast 1985 Big River (musical) 1984 Roger Waters The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking 1984 REO Speedwagon Wheels Are Turnin 1984 Queen The Works 1983 Elton John Too Low for Zero 1983 Def Leppard Pyromania 1982 Queen Hot Space 1981 Rush Moving Pictures 1981 Ozzy Osbourne Diary of a Madman 1981 Elvis Costello and The Attractions Trust 1981 Electric Light Orchestra Time 1980 Queen The Game 1980 Elvis Costello and The Attractions Get Happy!! 1979 Queen Live Killers 1979 Pink Floyd The Wall 1979 Led Zeppelin In Through the Out Door 1979 Fleetwood Mac Tusk 1979 Elvis Costello and The Attractions Armed Forces 1978 Queen Jazz 1978 Paul McCartney & Wings London Town 1978 Emerson Lake & Palmer Love Beach 1978 Elvis Costello and The Attractions This Year’s Model 1977 Julio Iglesias A Mis 33 Anos 1977 Roberto Carlos Amigo 1977 Pink Floyd Animals 1977 Queen News of the World 1977 Pink Floyd Animals 1977 Fleetwood Mac Rumours 1977 Emerson Lake & Palmer Works Volume 1 1977 Elvis Costello My Aim Is True 1977 Electric Light Orchestra Out of the Blue 1977 Billy Joel The Stranger 1976 Rush 2112 1976 Queen A Day at the Races 1976 Paul McCartney & Wings Wings over America 1976 Electric Light Orchestra A New World Record 1976 Boston 1975 Triumvirat Spartacus (1975) 1975 Queen A Night at the Opera 1975 Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here 1975 Paul McCartney & Wings Venus and Mars 1975 Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti 1975 Jethro Tull Minstrel in the Gallery 1975 Fleetwood Mac 1975 Elton John Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy 1975 Electric Light Orchestra Face the Music 1975 Aerosmith Toys in the Attic 1974 Triumvirat Illusions on a Double Dimple 1974 Queen Sheer Heart Attack 1974 Queen II 1974 Elton John Caribou 1973 Queen 1973 Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon 1973 Paul McCartney & Wings Red Rose Speedway 1973 Paul McCartney & Wings Band on the Run 1973 Emerson Lake & Palmer Brain Salad Surgery 1973 Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 1973 Elton John Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player 1973 David Bowie Aladdin Sane 1972 Emerson Lake & Palmer Trilogy 1972 Elton John Honky Château 1972 David Bowie Ziggy Stardust 1971 Led Zeppelin IV 1971 John Lennon Plastic Ono Band 1971 John Lennon Imagine 1971 Emerson Lake & Palmer Tarkus 1971 Elton John Madman Across the Water 1970 Beatles Let It Be 1969 Beatles Abbey Road1968 Beatles The Beatles White Album 1967 Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967 Beatles Magical Mystery Tour 1966 Beatles Revolver 1965 Beatles Rubber Soul 1965 Beatles Help! 1964 Beatles A Hard Day's Night
[Temporarily borrowed photo of the British Indoor Rowing Championship.]
I had been training for the 2012 Tour de Tucson but was having difficulty finding the motivation to put in the necessary miles. Then two weeks before the event I learned that my friend whom I was planning to meet in Tucson had pulled out of the event. I was discouraged and relieved at the same time. That same day I ordered online a Concept2E rowing machine (ergometer).
The purchase of this erg was less impulsive than it sounds, as I had been talking about it for several years but was waiting for my enthusiasm for cycling to die down. (There is some literal truth to this as my good cycling friend Fred Fischer actually did die unexpectedly). Furthermore, as I approached my 50th birthday, I wanted to do something new.
My erg arrived on November 7, 2011. Erik, Grant, and I set it up and did what comes naturally; we all attempted a 500m sprint and recorded the results. My initial goals were to achieve a 2k in under 7 minutes and achieve the 90th percentile in my age group. Well, since it only took me 15 days to go under 7 minutes, I started to make some more ambitious goals.
I learned that in the Southwest USA there are two main indoor rowing competitions, the San Diego Indoor Classic (Jan 28, 2012), and the Long Beach Indoor Sprints (Feb 4, 2012). At first I wanted to attend those events as a spectator but then I decided that I should compete and use the ambiance to achieve a personal best.
I fanatically read the Concept2 forums to learn all I could about training and racing strategies--especially drag factors was a big concern of mine. I knew that my cardiovascular system was in peak condition (almost) from cycling, and my legs were also strong, but my back and arms were a little atrophied from all the cycling. Since I naturally have a strong back, and since there have been times in my life that I have worked my back hard with weights and yard work, I had a pretty good idea about how long it would take to build my upper-body strength.
My training strategy was fairly simple. I tried to spend as much time at race pace as possible without over training (short intervals). That means my total volume was low but my quality was high. I rowed five or six days a week, two speed days per week and one or two tempo days per week. I allowed my body weight to increase to 208. It was really enjoyable not to have to keep my weight down as I did in cycling events. In rowing my extra weight would not be the handicap it was in cycling, although extra fat is still a handicap.
On Feb 4th I drove myself to San Diego and couldn't find the event or a parking space. So after a bit of panic I finally parked a mile away at Mission Beach and hiked to the competition. I was greeted by a happy woman at the registration table but all I could say was, "I didn't know there would be no parking; I didn't train for that." She happily said, "Well, now you know." I tried to muster a little happiness and wistfully said without making eye contact, "Maybe I'm taking this competition too seriously."
I walked around and sized up the event and saw Steve Krum, age group world champion for the last two years, who unfortunately was in my race. So I had no illusions about winning on this day. I simply had my own target pace and was attempting to achieve a new personal best.
When it was time to stage, I was in lane one, David Frost (President of the San Diego Rowing Club and past winner) lined up next to me in lane two. Steve Krum was in lane three. Two of the race officials approached Frost and Krum and said that they would be putting their foot on the back of their machines to prevent their machines from hopping during the first few violent pulls (legal assistance). Immediately I turned to the officials and asked, "Is this a service that you provide everyone?" The race officials looked at each other quizzically and one said, "We can." In retrospect I wish I had said nothing but I was feeling edgy and competitive, about to have a self-inflicted near death experience and wanting every microsecond.
"Sit Ready." "Attention." Row!" And we were off. I raced without my glasses and could not read the bottom half of my screen to know what place I was in. I didn't care because I was doing my own thing. I had targeted a pace of 1:39 per 500m. I did not want to do what is called a "fly and die" which is when beginners go out too fast at first and then can barely finish. My race strategy was even splits, start to finish, which I achieved. I finished in 6:36.8 drag factor 135, second place to Krum and third for the entire event. I was happy with that. Afterward, Frost and I shook hands and he said, "See you on the water," which to me suggested that he was a little frustrated about losing to two ergers who had never rowed on the water. Ha.
Afterward there were a few people who were interested to know who I was. One of the race officials said that while I was rowing, they were trying to figure out who I was (and probably if I was going to fly and die). I must have looked a little funny because my stroke rate per minute was probably the highest of the day, which means that I was relying on cardiovascular fitness more than strength to achieve my results.
It seems that I am a small rower when compared to others at my speed. In rowing I have to compete against Goliaths, many of whom I can slay but there are some that I can never slay--physically impossible.
The next week in Long Beach I improved my time to 6:34.5 drag factor 140. The Long Beach event seemed bigger and had some more very fast times. I saw Krum again, and also Mike Caviston who was another age group world champion and author of the famous Wolverine Plan for rowing training. But the highlight was another guy, Jack Nunn, who was the best rower of the day. I talked to him a bit after his race and he told me that he was using a drag factor of 140 with a stroke rate of 31. I concluded then that if such a musclar guy could use a drag of 140 then I surely do not need to go any higher, if that, but I will experiment.
I hung around until the end of the event and then purchased one of the almost-new machines to bring back home to my cycling buddy, Brian McNeece and his wife Angie, which I set up in their house and gave them a quick introduction. I hope they become converts and will want to compete next year.
I still haven't decided how far I want to take this rowing thing. For now I am going to focus on yardworkouts.
Check out this clip of Cracknell and Pinsent in one of the all time great match ups.
