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Wildflower.

Just the mention of the word evokes vivid images in my mind. Camping with my family. Sitting by the campfire and making S'mores. The Energizer bunny pounding his drum at the top of Nasty Grade. Shuffling up the never ending Mile 5 hill. Running through the amazing crowds in Redondo Vista. Drinking ice-cold post-race beers (maybe the best part of all.)

It is my favorite race on the calendar, not just for epic nature of the race itself, but for the entire Wildflower experience.

This year was our third trip to Lake San Antonio for this event. In 2006, I did the Olympic distance race and in 2008 stepped up to the Long Course. This year, once again, the Long Course was on the menu. The Long Course is the event that truly defines Wildflower. It is a half-ironman distance event and as the saying goes, the only flat spot on the entire course is during the swim. Over 5000 ft of climbing on the bike, and over 1100 ft on run course that is 60% off-road trails and 40% pavement. Brutal.

Thursday morning, we got on the road early and after a few stops we arrived at the race site around 3. After entering the gate, we stopped by the AVIA booth where they were giving out free gelatos... a welcome treat. Kenny Sousa himself hand-delivered them to our car... pretty cool. We hopped out for a minute and another AVIA athlete, Saul Raisin, was at the booth signing copies of his book, "Tour de Life: From Coma to Competition". He has an incredible story and it was a pleasure to meet him and get a copy of his book. I just started reading it and it is amazing.

This year, we camped in Harris Creek once again with a crew of Cal Poly Alums that have been working the run aid station for over 20 years. We met them last year (through our kids) and had a blast. A great group of people and there were over 15 little kids in our area so our girls had a fantastic time the whole weekend.

I spent Friday doing typical pre-race stuff... in the afternoon I went down to the festival area to get my race packet and went for a short swim to make sure the wetsuit still fit. Water temp was just touch on the chilly side (64 degrees or so), but not an issue. After my swim I cruised the expo and had a chance to catch up with Sebastian Linke from SLS3, who set me up with some of their new compression socks to wear on race day. Check out their stuff... the best compression gear on the market.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 5 to get an early start on some calories and coffee. Typical race-morning breakfast... cereal with soy milk (I am trying to cut back on dairy), banana, wheat bread with peanut butter, coffee and water. I caught the boat shuttle at 7:00 and got into the transition area around 7:30, plenty of time to set up for my 8:35 wave start.

Swim - 28:02 (10th AG). HR (156 avg, 160 max)
Swim start was super aggressive. I lined up front and dead center, which was probably asking for trouble, but my swimming has been strong lately so I was confident in my ability to swim near the front of the group. After the mad sprint into the water, there was lots of contact and elbows the first 150 meters to the first bouy... guys were hammering! I was swimming just about flat out to try to stay in a good position. Fortunately, things settled down after the first turn and I was able to get into a rhythm. One thing I like about this swim course is that since there are no waves, sighting is super easy. Got back to the boat ramp and chuckled to myself, my swim time was identical to my split at Oceanside. One of these days, I'm going to break 28 minutes!!

T1- 3:29.
I was racked in an ideal spot, dead center of the transition area on the end of the row at the center aisle. For some reason, I had a hard time getting my left leg out of my wetsuit and nearly fell over twice trying to get it off.

Bike - 2:49:56 (19.8 mph, 42nd AG) HR (139 avg, 172 max)
The course is just hard. Coming out of transition, I just tried to get the legs moving by staying in a small gear on some rollers near the lake and up the Beach Hill climb. Once out of the campground, I pushed the pace for the first 20 miles out to the right turn on Jolon Road and maintained my HR between 145-155. At the turn, I dropped the intensity a touch and just focused on staying aero and maintaining a good rhythm. The miles between 20 and 35 are rolling with some long gentle descents so I used this opportunity to let the HR drop and recover slightly. Felt very strong going up Nasty Grade and the final hills into the transition. Total bike was much better than last year (2:56:59)... wanted to go under 2:50 so am happy with it.

At the top of the Nasty Grade
nutrition
2 bottles of GuH20/CarboPro (325 cals each). 1 1/2 btls of water. Also took a few pulls off a Gu flask..but I didn't finish it (maybe had 1-2 gels). total cals on the bike. 750-800. 5 Thermolytes per hour.

T2 - 1:47
A bit slow. I took a few seconds to put on my new SLS3 compression socks. By having them rolled up beforehand, they went on quite easily.

Run - 1:43:57, 7:56 per mile (49th AG), HR (164 avg, 194 max)
This course beat me again. I came out of transition feeling good and started out very easy. Mile 1 split was 5:50..so I knew the markers were off... I'd estimate I ran something around 7:15. Just tried to find a rhythm in the first 4 miles, but couldn't seem to get my HR under control. Got to the monster hill at mile 5 and had to walk a pretty long section. After going down the descent, my hamstring started cramping. Stopped to massage it and stretch it out. That seemed to take care of it, it didn't bother me again. After mile 6, I started to feel better and managed to maintain a decent pace. The markers were all off so I don't know how fast, but I would estimate low 7 min pace. Maintained a decent pace through Redondo Vista and through the pit (no walking like last year). I did walk through the final aid station at mile 12 though, but at least it was only for a few seconds.

suffering on the run course
Nutrition. Carried a GU flask with caffeinated TriBerry GU, which I sucked on before every aid station. Alternated Gatorade and water.

Strange, I felt like I did a lot better than last year (much less walking), but my time was only a little over a minute faster. I am disappointed with this... 1:43 is pretty embarrassing. This course is slower than Oceanside, maybe 5 minutes slower. But not 14 minutes slower.

Next year, I am going to change my prep entirely for this. More run mileage, lots more hills and I will need to get a lot leaner.

A side note on the socks. It was my first time racing in compression socks. It's hard to say if they helped me on the run course. But the day after... OMG. Normally, my lower legs are trashed after a race. This time, my legs are only a bit sore. That alone is worth the few seconds to put them on.

Final time - 5:07:14 (36th AG, 158th OA).

About 10 minutes faster than Wildflower last year, but 28 minutes SLOWER than Oceanside a month ago. I have a few theories. My running has been inconsistent the last four weeks... my slower than expected 5K was an indication of that. I also had a lot of work travel this month so my diet was a way off. I am about 3-4 lbs heavier than when I raced Oceanside, on a hilly course those extra pounds are a killer.

Racewise, I am not happy with the result, I believe I performed way under my potential. Back to the drawing board.

I'm writing this in the car as we make the drive home from Wildflower. My wife is driving...

Thoughts of the past few days at Wildflower are still fresh, so I figure now is a good time to write my race report.

The Wildflower Long Course is a widely considered to be one of the toughest half-ironman distance events in the world. Two years ago, I did the Olympic distance race and this time around I decided to give the 'big' race a shot, half to take on the challenge and half to enjoy some post-race beers on Saturday night instead of going to bed early to prepare for a Sunday race.

We arrived at Lake San Antonio mid-day Thursday and were able to get a good camp spot in Harris Creek, right next to a playground for our kids, and strategically positioned close to the bathrooms and the showers. Score! Once we got our tents set up, I did a short 1 hr bike ride to make sure the bike was functioning well and to loosen up the legs after the long drive. I noticed my rear derailleur needed an adjustment. Friday morning, we drove the bike course... I've heard horror stories about tough 56 mile route and wanted to get a sense of what to expect. I'm glad I did. Then we hit the festival and race expo, got some lunch, picked up my race packet and I went for a short swim. I also got my bike checked out. Aside from the long walk back to our campsite, it was a pretty relaxing, restful day.

Race morning. Despite the difficulty of the day ahead, I felt pretty calm. Breakfast consisted of cereal with milk, two bananas with coffee and a bottle of water. I took the boat shuttle over to the transition area and was ready to go about 30 minutes before my start time of 8:35. Saw the pro men and women exit the water. This year had a pretty stellar field so as a fan of the sport, it was cool to see some of the big names like Macca, Llanos, Lieto, McGlone and Gallo up close and personal.

Swim: I positioned myself one row back near the center... I would have liked to be in the front row but there were some guys that refused to concede their spots. No big deal, I'm confident in my swimming ability and a little contact doesn't bother me. Once the gun went off, I swam pretty hard the first 200 or 300 yards, than got in a nice little group and found my rhythm. The water was perfect, 65 degrees or so... very comfortable to swim in. Lost the pack at some point, ended up swimming solo on the way back. Swim time was 28:12, about what I expected.

Had some trouble in transition area, for some reason I couldn't get my bike shoes on. T1 time of 3:51. ouch!

Bike: the bike course starts out along the lake front for a mile, than goes straight up the infamous Beach Hill. I set up my bike with a 12-27 cassette and I was glad to have a extra gear to spin up the climb. I saw plenty of guys over-geared out of the saddle struggling to get the pedals over. I slid back on my saddle, put my hands on the arm rests of the aero bars and tried to keep my HR steady. Once over Beach, I relaxed, kept my effort steady and controlled as I left the park and headed out onto Interlake Road. After driving the course on Friday, I knew that the hardest part of the bike course was in the last 15 miles. Very different than Oceanside where the last 15 miles are pretty much entirely flat. I drank only water for the first 30 minutes and after than began taking on nutrition, three Thermolytes an hour, and 1 Gu (Tri-Berry w/caffeine) every 20 minutes. I alternated between drinking GuH20 from my aerobottle and water. Up to mile 40, I just concentrated on keeping it steady. No big efforts, no hard accelerations, just an intensity level slightly above what I would do on a steady effort training ride. Not easy, but steady. Mile 42 marks the left turn up Nasty Grade. Once again, I just alternated between my 25 and 27 cog keeping a high cadence up the climb. Only got out of the saddle once to stretch my back a bit. I said hello to the Energizer bunny as I crested the top. He pounded his drum in return.

The last 10 miles or so are up and down... but I felt pretty good as I rolled back into the park. 2:56:59 bike split. Under my sub 3hr goal. No cramps and no stomach issues. Another slow transition, my stuff got scattered a bit so I had to hunt down my visor and one of my socks. 3:01 T2 time.

Run: Heading out onto the run, I felt pretty fresh... Ran 7 min miles through the first 4 miles, which meanders along the lakefront. The first section was on a freshly paved with pitch black asphalt... it was getting hot out. I poured water on my head at every aid station. I briefly thought a sub 1:35 half might be in the cards, but Miles 4-6 were crazy hilly... I had to walk up a couple of the steep inclines... running up would not have been any faster. A 9 minute mile up the big hill. Once over the firebreak, the course mellows out a bit through Mile 9 as it goes through the massive Redondo Vista camping area. The crowd support was awesome, there were hundreds of people providing support and encouragement. I got into a small group and just hung on, but I really started to feel the day's effort and was fatiguing quickly. I developed a side stitch that wouldn't go away, so I just took sips of water. I couldn't stomach any more gels or Gatorade, which I probably needed. After leaving Redondo Vista, there is a short climb, than a long descent into The Pit. I mentally cracked here... running down a long hill only to turn-around and run right back out. I was toasted and had to walk for a couple hundred yards through the aid station. Once back on the flat I started running again and just tried to get to the finish line in one piece. The course ends with a long descent down Lynch Hill.

Running into the finish chute was awesome... it was a great sense of accomplishment to finish this very difficult course. My run split was 1:45:05, just over 8 min/mile pace and my final time was 5:17:10. 41st in my AG, 176th OA.

All in all, I was very happy with the day. Even though it was my slowest half-ironman ever and my slowest run split... it's really impossible to compare this course with any of the others I've done like Oceanside, Baja or Eagleman. This course is far, far more difficult. The hills keep coming and coming. It was a mistake not to do a full preview of the run course... mentally I was well-prepared to handle the bike, but the really difficult part of this race is the run and that took me by surprise a bit. All that said, its a fantastic challenge and I am really looking forward to giving it another shot now that I know what to expect.

I can't wait until next year...

Oh, and the post-race beers I mentioned earlier? They tasted damn good.

We just got back into town after a killer weekend up in Sonoma County. We stayed with my cousin and his family in Sebastopol, it was great to have some local support for the race. And, of course, the local knowledge of the area wineries came in handy for the post-race festivities on Monday!

Here's the race report.

Pre-Race:

3:45am alarm. Shower, change and pre-race breakfast consisting of a cinnamon-raisin bagel with schmear (aka cream cheese), 1 vanilla-flavored Ensure and 2 cups of coffee. Final gear check and we are out the door by 4:45. Arrive at in downtown Guerneville at 5:20, park and walk down to transition. We are among the first to arrive, I set up my gear, hit the porta potty, get bodymarked and relax until 6:20 or so. Sip on a bottle of Gu20 sports drink. The official water temp is 71.5, so wetsuits are legal. I don my trusty blueseventy helix and get in the water with my fellow 37 year old green-capped comrades and do some light swimming to warmup for my 6:46 wave start.

Swim:

I've been swimming virtually zero the last few weeks, so despite the fact that I'm a strong swimmer... I'm feeling a little nervous about my ability to swim a decent 1.2 miles. The gun goes off and I immediately get on some feet. I swim with a group of 4-5 other guys to the first turn around. The water gets very shallow after the turn and my hand is hitting bottom. I opt to walk and porpoise my way forward for about a hundred yards or so. Some guys chose to keep swimming though. Start swimming again and once I do, I start feeling pretty fatigued. I am at a pretty high effort level to stay with my group. Now, I question my thinking of choosing to stay with the group versus swimming solo... but at the time it seemed the right thing to do. Get back to transition and exit the water in 28:09. A decent time, but I wonder if I emptied the tank a bit too much.

Bike:

Get to the rack, rip off the wetsuit and get my shoes, helmet, sunglasses and race number on. I promptly drop my bike and spill the contents of my aero bottle on the ground. Rookie mistake!! Another athlete gave me a heads up about a steep little hill coming out of transition, so I had my bike in my 39-23. This was a good tip as I got on my pedals and easily spun out onto the course, while several others weaved and struggled to stay upright in their big chainring on the sharp incline.

The nutrition plan: 1 Gu every 20 minutes and 2 Thermolytes every 30 minutes, alternating sips of water and sports drink every 5 minutes. Since I spilled most of my sports drink, all I had was my frame bottle with water and had to wait for the first aid station at Mile 15 to get some Gatorade. Fortunately, the weather was quite cool so I wasn't too worried about dehydrating.

Kept the effort steady through the first 15 miles or so. At one point, I heard a faint flapping and discovered that my spare tubular, inflator and C02 cartridges were no longer strapped to my saddle. (the flapping noise was the strap moving around in the wind). I guess they came loose somewhere on the rough pavement of Westside Road. Now, if I flat, I'm done. Put that aside, I tell myself, and try not to worry about something I can't control.

At around Mile 20, a race official rolls up next to me on his motorcycle and informs me that he is giving me a yellow card for blocking. WTF? I guess I was riding in the center too much. In my defense, I was passing a series of slower riders, trying to cut the corners of the curvy, technical course and avoid the rough pavement on the far sides of the road. But, the rules are rules... so I bit my tongue and as instructed, stopped at the penalty tent. There was no time penalty, but I did have to sign an acknowedgment and get my race number marked with a big 'P'. That stop cost me a minute or two. Again, try to put it aside... just keep rolling. From here on out no big spikes in effort, just keep the intensity at a moderate/steady level.

The rest of the bike course was uneventful... other than the spectacular scenary, of course! The 'big' hill on Chalk Hill Road (Mile 45) was not too bad at all. The rest of the ride went according to plan until I got back to Windsor HS. There was a lot of traffic on Windsor Road and somehow I missed the left turn into T2 and ended up riding past about a 1/4 mile past the HS to the next stop light. Very confused, I realized my mistake, turned around and finally got back into transition, glad to be off the bike and getting onto the run course. Bike split was 2:44:44. My goal pre-race was to ride under 2:40, so with the 4-5 minutes I left on the course due to the penalty and wrong turn, I was still pretty much on target with my goal.

Run:

Got my shoes on, grabbed my Gu flask and visor and go! The out and back run course was flat for the first 1.5 miles and than is rolling out to the La Crema Winery turnaround. I typically come out of T2 with guns blazing and in my two earlier 70.3 races this year, have blown up spectacularly on the run course. A repeat of those incidents was not in the game plan, so my strategy was to keep the effort level 'easy' the first 6 miles, than pick it up coming back from the turnaround. For fueling, I sipped on my Gu flask and took water at every aid station. I definitely remembered to pack the running legs for this race, because my first three miles was all under 6:45 and I was feeling very strong. Still, I held back... chatted a bit with a fellow athlete and held the 6:40-6:45 pace through the turnaround. At Mile 7, I started to feel the ever-so-slight hint of a muscle cramp in my left hamstring, so I start taking Coke along with water at the aid stations. The pure sugar/caffeine boost is like rocket fuel. The dreaded bonk never comes, I hit Mile 10 in 1:05:51 and run the last 5K in 20:06... certainly my strongest finish ever in a 70.3 distance event. Final run split is 1:25:57 (17th fastest of the day, not including pros)

Final overall time is 4:44:37. 18th in my AG and 86th OA

I'm esctatic about the day... a beautiful course and perfect weather for racing. Despite leaving some time on the bike course with some dumb mistakes, in my third 70.3 this year, I finally nailed my nutrition and pacing and ran the run split that I've known I've been capable of.

Third time is a charm!

The first big race of the season is in the books. This is my 3rd year racing at Oceanside. It's a great event that I look forward to every year.

My weakness has always been my cycling so my goal heading into the winter was to really work on my cycling and with improved bike fitness, put myself into a position where I could be top 10 in my AG and go sub 4:30 on this course.

Overall, I'd give my winter training an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. I certainly made some huge gains in my cycling ability, but I didn't get the mega-mileage that I was really hoping for. Most of this was simply less-than ideal time management and my other life commitments springing up from time to time. It was good, but not great.

On to the race report.

Swim - 28:01 (15th AG, 126th OA)
Oceanside is notorious for having a cold-water swim, there is always a lot of angst in the transition area with people wondering exactly HOW cold is it? The posted water temp was 58.5 and the race director was allowing booties, but in all honesty, it wasn't that bad. I wore two swim caps to help keep my head warm and I was fine. Once the gun went off, I quickly got into a pretty good rhythm. Unfortunately, there were no good feet for me to draft on, though I did feel the occasional hand on my foot. Someone was catching a ride off of me for a while... I hate it when that happens. Oh well. After the 2nd or 3rd buoy I started to catch some of the slower swimmers from the waves in front of me which forced me to zig-zag a bit to get around them. Before I knew it, I was at the turnaround and heading back into the harbor. There were some slight swells near the harbor mouth, but again, it wasn't bad at all. I do have to mention that I picked up some new googles at the Expo, which I absolutely love... the TYR TRacers. They are great... visibility was perfect, no leaking and no fogging. I usually have to clear my goggles at least a couple times during a race... these were perfect. Anyway, I made it back with no issues and climbed out the water feeling pretty good. My time of 28:01 is a PR for me, but not by a big margin. I seem to always swim close to the same time... (2007 - 28:31, 2008 - 28:59).

Transition 2 - 3:43
This race has a very long run from the swim exit to the far end of the transition area and around again. I was running pretty fast to get to my bike and probably pissed some guys off that were jogging slowly when I pushed passed them. Sorry dudes. Got to the bike and briefly considering putting on the arm warmers on that I had laid out. But, despite the fact that air was cold, the sun was out and I skipped them. Got the bike and got on the road quickly from there.

Bike - 2:35:39, 21.6 mph avg (34th AG, 158th OA)
New bike, new position and a focus on cycling for the winter... I had made the investment, this is where I was hoping to see the big improvement from last year. Nutrition on the bike was two bottles of my GuH20/CarboPro mix, 2 scoops of each which equates to approximately 325 calories. This is a proven mixture that I've used a lot in training which my stomach handles easily. One bottle on the downtube and one in my aerobar-mounted bottle cage. I also had a flask with 14 Thermolyte tablets in a small bento box. No solid food. Once out on the course, my legs came under me pretty quickly and I started to roll through the field, passing lots of guys right away. I race without a HR monitor, but I could tell that my adrenaline was pumping and I was being too aggressive. After the first little climb on San Mateo (about 4 miles in), I dialed it back and just kept it steady. The first 20 miles of the course is mostly flat with just a couple little rollers, its very tempting to hammer and put lots of time in the bank. But after having done the race a couple times, I know that it's the back half where the race can be made or broken. Even so, I felt really good and was keeping a nice pace... I hit the 20 mile mark in 52:32 (22.8 mph avg). After the left turn at around mile 23 onto Christianitos, the course gets more challenging with a series of rollers until the first major climb at mile 28. By this time, I had finished my first bottle of nutrition and at the first bottle exchange I swapped it for a bottle of plain water. I also took 1/2 of my electrolyte tablets. From this point on, I alternated between taking drinks of plain water and my drink mix. Just after the aid station, I caught up to a guy with nearly the same exact bike set-up as me (same model Cervelo P2C, same wheelset) in this section who I ended playing cat and mouse for about 15 miles. He would pass me on the uphills, I would catch him on the downhills and the flatter sections, back and forth. It made the time go faster and we ended up working our way past a lot of riders as we passed and repassed one another. I managed to get away from him on the final climb and that was the last I saw of him the rest of the race. Once over the final climb, I caught another guy on a black Guru and we did the same thing on the descent and on the final approach down Vandergrift. I passed him, he repassed me... I fell back to 10 meters... repassed, repeat. All the way back into transition. Rolling back into the Harbor, I finished off my second bottle of nutrition, took the rest of my electrolyte tabs and was feeling really good and optimistic for a good run. I was really hoping for a ride closer to 2:30, but after seeing how my relative performance improved this year, compared to prior years (2007 - 224th, 2008 - 386th ), I was pretty happy.

Transition 2 - 1:47
A pretty quick transition. I had my feet out of my shoes as I rolled in. Got the bike racked quickly and was into my running shoes. Grabbed a flask of TriBerry-flavored GU (w/caffeine, natch) to carry with me and my sunglasses and was off.

Run - 1:29:53, 6:52/mile avg (19th AG, 107th OA)
Last year at Vineman, I had my best run ever in an half-ironman (1:25) by running the first 5 miles very conservatively then slowing picking up the pace the back half of the course. My intention was to use the same strategy and I kept telling myself to take it easy, get the HR under control and let the legs get loose before trying to make any moves. The only wrinkle I hadn't really trained for was the 1/4 mile sand section which was re-introduced this year. We had to run over the sand section at the beginning and end of each loop, so there was about one full mile of running in semi-soft to soft sand. However, my first mile was 6:47 even with the sand section and I was feeling pretty good. Mile 2 was 6:45. I took sips from my gel flask and got some gatorade and/or water at each aid station and I kept the pace right around 6:45-6:50 range for the first loop. I tried not to pay attention to the other athletes or worry about catching anyone, I simply concentrated on keeping a steady, strong pace. Once out on the second loop and through the 3rd (of 4) sand sections, I tried to pick up the pace. I started looking ahead at the runners and worked on reeling them in, one by one... especially if they were in my age group. Despite my efforts, my pace was not improving and even slowing slightly. At the aid station just before mile 9, I started taking cola to try to get a boost from the sugar and caffeine. After doing some mental arithmetic, I realized that I couldn't afford to slow down at all if I was going to break 4:40, I needed to maintain nothing slower than 7:00 pace. That was my motivation the last 2 or 3 miles. Finally, once through the final sand section, the finish line and crowd was in sight and I even managed a slight surge to pass one last guy in my AG in the final straight.

Final time 4:39:02 (14th AG, 95th OA)

I'm happy with the performance. It's not the 4:30 I was looking for, but it's a solid improvement from previous years. Execution was solid, there isn't anything I'd do differently and it's a lifetime PR for the distance (though not by much... I went 4:39:4-something way back in 1999 at Eagleman, a far easier course). Both the swim and bike splits were PR's. The thing I'm happiest about is that my relative performance in all three sports was much more consistant than it ever has been. I still have a lot of work to do on my cycling, but now my ability on the bike is at least somewhat on par with my swimming and running.

Now onto to Wildflower.

This was my first Olympic distance race in over a year, since Wildflower last year. I'd been focused on 70.3 racing lately, so I was looking forward to a shorter race day.
Based on last year's results and some back of the napkin math with my expected splits, I realized that a AG podium spot might be in the cards... so that was in the back of my mind as I prepped my gear on Friday night. Other than that, my pre-race goals were to break 2:15 overall and get under 40 minutes for the run, both of which would be lifetime bests for me.

Regardless, my plan as always is to take what the day gives me and make the best of it. Doesn't always happen, but that's the plan anyways!



Pre-race: Typical stuff... 5am wake-up, coffee, english muffin, drive to race start, ride to transition area, get my gear ready. The usual drill.


Swim: The swim was in the Camp Del Mar boat basin at Camp Pendleton. At Oh-Eight-Hundred on the dot, they played the National Anthem... Very cool moment. The announcer was great, very enthusiastic and was getting everyone pumped up!
I was in Wave #4, Civilian Men 35-39, green caps, and went off at 8:20. Lined up front and center. It was my first time using my blueseventy Element googles in a open water swim (I usually use the Aqua Sphere Seal Masks), breaking the cardinal rule of trying something new in a race. But they worked great. Clear, good visibility, no leaking. Excellent goggles. Overall, the swim was uneventful, got into a good rhythm pretty quick and didn't have any issues with crowding or sighting. A nice change as I usually find myself going off course at least once every race. Glanced at my watch as I exited the water, 21:10, a Oly swim PR for me. My wife yelled at me that I was 2nd in my wave out of the water... I passed a guy carrying a green cap during the the long run in the sand to T1. So, I was leading my AG at this point. Cool! A nice touch was a Marine with a hose to rinse sand off the athlete's feet. My official swim time was 24:07, which I think included the run to transition.

Bike: Pretty quick transition, then off on the bike. Was riding a set of Blackwell 100's, these are very nice wheels... I felt strong as I exited Camp Del Mar and headed out on the course. I've ridden this route many, many times in training. Its mostly rolling with one minor climb. Just as I went over the 5 Fwy bridge, I was passed by a guy in red tri suit from my wave... he went by me like I was standing still. Ouch. No issues up the first and only climb on the course, stayed in the big ring and just stood up and cranked it out over the top. All the turns were very well marked by lots of cones and had Marines yelling encouragement. They really do a great job! My plan was to ride pretty hard all the turn-around and back to the Stuart Mesa descent, then relax and refresh for the last couple miles into T2. Stuck to the plan, and was not passed by anyone else until about 1/2 mile from transition... by a guy with an 'M' on his calf. Not in my AG, so I should still be in 2nd in my wave at this point. Rolled into T2, 1:04 and change based on my bike computer. About 4 minutes better than my best case scenario so I am pumped!! Official bike split, 1:09:33, which I believe included T1 and T2.

Run: total race time is around 1:33 at this point... need to run under 42 to get under 2:15. I'd better hustle!! Once out on the run course, the cloud cover has cleared and its hot... I dump water on my head every chance I get. There are no mile markers, so I just try to focus on keeping the pace high and keying off the guys in front of me. About a 1/4 mile from the end of the first loop, a guy with C-37 on his calf flies by me. I try to hang with him for about 100 yards, but the pace is too hot and I fall off... Hit the first loop in just under 20 minutes... ok, I'm on pace to break 40. Now its very hot out, so I get lots of water and gatorade from the aid stations. Catch the red tri suit guy about 1/2 mile from the finish... back in second and hold that all the way to the finish.

Final time of 2:12:40, run split 39 flat.

I'm stoked! Hang around to see the official results posted... 2nd in my AG, 6th Overall. My first top 10 ever! It was very cool to hear my name announced during the awards ceremony.

Lots of high fives all around... one of my friends takes the overall Military win as well. All in all a great day. The Marines do a great job in putting on a well-organized, top notch event.

Things seem to be rolling once again.

I had a bit of a scare last week with some hip/groin muscle 'tweak' thing going on, the result of a inadvertant misstep on the track. But it seems to be better and this week turned out great with some excellent training and even better, an unexpectedly good race result. All of this is an indication to me that I'm doing something right. Whether that 'something' is on purpose or merely accidental, I honestly don't know... but I'll accept it gladly.

Before I get on to the race report, let me take a moment to touch on last week's training.

• 6 runs. 50.3 miles. 5 hrs, 55 minutes including a race on Saturday. New volume high for the year.

On to the race report.

If you aren't familiar with this event, the Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon is a race put on by the Camp Pendleton Marines. San Diego has a lot of options for great half-marathon races, including La Jolla, Carlsbad, AFC, and San Dieguito. Heartbreak Ridge stands out as both the hilliest course and the only one that is 90% off-road. It's also the smallest with only about 800 competitors. If you like the half-marathon distance, this is a great race to put on the calendar as it provides a challenge that is a nice change of pace from the 'typical' road course. The out and back route meanders through the foothills. No buildings, no cars... just a nice trail run through the wilderness. With aid stations every mile! The only downside is that there is no spectator access on most of the course... but there are plentiful words of encouragement coming from the Marines working the aid stations.
On Saturday, my day began with typical race morning stuff to get ready for the 8:00 am start. This is a 'training' race, my primary focus is Long Beach in a month. So, the plan is to simply run a conservative race... I've heard that this is not a PR course. Here's the mile-by-mile report.

• mile 1 - 5:58. Typical quick start... settle into a spot somewhere in the top 20.
  
• mile 2 - 6:45. Move from the pavement onto the dirt path... and head up. And up.
  
• mile 3 - 6:50. Very steep climb, but its short... appropriately there is a aid station and an ambulance waiting at the top. I briefly consider climbing inside. My HR must have been 250 at this point... ouch.
  
• mile 4 - 6:08. Short downhill, then flat. Catch a few people on this stretch.
  
• mile 5 - 6:16. Rolling terrain. Feeling pretty good.
  
• mile 6 - 6:14. Very slight descent. I count runners ahead of me coming back from the turn-around. I'm in 10th. Time to the turn-around is 41:56.
  
• mile 7 - 6:22. False flat stings a bit... but still feeling ok.
  
• mile 8 - 6:29. Finally a little descent to catch a bit of breath!
  
• mile 9 - 6:56. More climbing. I see 2 guys in the distance that I seem to be gaining ground on.
  
• mile 10 - 6:42. Flat than another climb. Move past one guy on the climb.
  
• mile 11 - 6:41. Final climb than downhill.
  
• mile 12 - 6:08. All downhill, do my best to let gravity do the work. Catch another runner just before the #13 mile marker.
  
• mile 13.1 - 6:59. Back on pavement again... just try to hold it together for the final stretch.

My first AG win... and the time is a PR for me.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the result. The increased mileage combined with the speedwork seems to be working out. My recovery seems to be fine... I was a little stiff after the race, but had a comfortable 1 hour run on Sunday with very little residual soreness. That, to me, is an indication that I ran within my ability and didn't negatively impact my ability to continue with my current training cycle.

In this blog he explains that gemmology is getting ever more scientific with all the new equipment available, that allows a more in depth analysis of a gem material.

These are big expensive pieces of equipment that are housed in the larger gem labs and universities and are proving very helpful in the identification of new synthetics and treatments.

It used to be a matter of course that when you entered the jewellery trade you enrolled in two courses to gain qualifications. The first was The Retail Jewellers Diploma (R.J.Dip. now The Professional Jewellers Diploma, P.J.Dip.) to gain knowledge about all the various aspects of the retail jewellers role. The second was enrolling on the Diploma course in gemmology from the Gemmological Association of Great Britain and Ireland, to gain an excellent understanding of gemmology and ultimately the F.G.A. I have spoken to many colleagues in recent years that are either too focused on sales or don't see the point in studying gemmology "because it's all done in labs now" rather than using some skills in store.

Erics next point is to say that the new gemmologist's job is to explain gems, synthetics, treatments and of course the beauty of these pieces to the trade and public. I spend hours every day explaining what a Tourmaline is, how angles and percentages affect the light performance of a Diamond, what is the difference between Akoya cultured pearls and Natural Pearls, what does heat treated mean, and so on. But I am able to do this with confidence because of the training I have had. So Eric is right, but this is only part of the new gemmologist's role.

We need to have more gemmologist's in or close to retail in order to protect the trade and public alike. Unfortunately there are many rogue traders in the world that don't tell the truth either intentionally or through ignorance. All jewellery professionals need a basic training using the most useful equipment a good pair of eyes and a loupe or eyeglass. This was something reinforced by Edward Johnson of GIA London where I attended a course in January. My view is it's easier to stumble into trouble with your eyes closed!

You also need to train your eyes. After coming back from a weeks Diamond Grading, I noticed colour or lack of it in everything. When a tap was running, I could easily detect the slight differences in the water coming out, just the same as Diamonds in the normal colour range. Something that made me think of doing this blog this mornig was this. My wife tells me off for putting spread on the toast on the kitchen worktop intead of on a plate. If she had an eye as trained as mine I would never get away with it. When you spread toast on a worktop it stays relativly flat, if you spread it on a plate it takes on the curvature of the plate. Yes, I know it's very sad that I notice these things, but it helps me to be a good gemmologist! Get looking!

Looking at all kinds of news stories over the course of the week, you can't help but feel there's a lot of hostility in the world. As a highly-opinionated budding journalist, I like to think I'm adding to that.

Sarkozy upsets the Irish
London upsets the tourists
Pattinson upsets the balance of the English cricket team

The most amusing news for me this week was the EU’s understanding and diplomatic response to Ireland’s snubbing of the Lisbon Treaty. Ireland’s general public said ‘no’ in a referendum on June 12, and this week Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France and kind-of-President-of-the-EU-until-the-end-of-the-year, basically told them to try again and get it right this time.

Strangely, the response to his response hasn’t been that positive. The Irish are very proud of their referenda – any potential change to the Irish constitution must go to a public vote – and having sent a serious message to the EU and helped Poland and other member states to throw a spanner in the works they don’t really fancy the ignominy of being treated like an unruly child. After all, the power is theirs. If they keep saying no, the Lisbon Treaty can’t go ahead. Simple as.

Sarkozy has recently tried to explain his position, arguing that the EU needs to operate and can’t wait on the Irish forever because, “We will need to know a little in advance under which legal system, Nice or Lisbon, we will be making these decisions” (the wonderful irony there, of course, being that the Irish rejected the Nice Treaty as well). But the Irish have made a decision. It wasn’t a maybe. It was a no.

The bigger question for me is whether they should have had a referendum in the first place. The basis of Western democracy is that we have the power to elect people to make decisions for us, and then complain when they do. An attractive loophole is that if a massive issue arises, we can vote directly on it (theoretically). But for a referendum to make any sense, the issue can’t just be sufficiently important, but sufficiently simple as well.

The (brilliant) comedian Marcus Brigstocke put it well in his Planet Corduroy tour: “Yes, ask us questions we couldn’t possibly know the answer to. Please ask me something, I am utterly unqualified….I can tell you what the dividing line will be between the ‘Yes’ and the ‘No’ camps: it will be whether or not you had a shitty French exchange when you were a teenager.”

And he’s completely right. My bet is that very few Irish voters know the ins and outs of the monolithic slab of paper that is the Lisbon Treaty. They’re effectively voting on whether they like the EU or not. Now that’s OK if you’re voting on whether or not to join the EU or even the Euro (even if you can’t know the in-depth economic details, it’s a sufficiently big decision for the public to have a right to vote on it), but not in this case, perhaps.

The Sunday Telegraph has revealed that London is an expensive city for a tourist. The world continues to spin on its axis.

This cannot come as a surprise to anyone who has ever tried to do the tourism thing in London. “Two tickets to the London Eye, please.” “Certainly, sir. That’ll be £390.”

Sorry, that’s a gross exaggeration. As if anyone working for the London tourist trade would be as deferential and polite as to call you ‘sir’.

Anyway, the study calculated that for a family of four to take an open-top bus tour and visit the city’s top nine tourist attractions (including the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Tutankhamun live in person at the O2) would cost, in total, £550. If you’re looking for a comparison, Rome would cost only £216 for an equivalent day out, New York £376 and Paris – including the Eiffel Tower, Disneyland and the Louvre – £386. Riots not included.

You could argue, reasonably, that you’re paying for better attractions. Dublin may cost less than a third of the price on the same axis, but the tourist spots include Trinity College Library and the birthplace of George Bernard Shaw. Without any disrespect to Dublin, that’s not quite on the same scale as what London has to offer.

But this is not to excuse its extortionate prices. Madame Tussaud’s costs £27 in Hong Kong and £50 in Berlin, but £85 in London. There’s no excuse for that kind of overpricing. Maybe it’s hard when they’re stopping you walking in the street to take photographs and constantly asking the way to the Houses of Parliament, but you’ve got to treat tourists with a little respect.

In my extremely biased view, London could learn a thing or two from Cardiff. Not only does it have free prescriptions and free hospital parking (hurrah for the Welsh Assembly), but free museums as well. London claims its museums are free, but only when they feel like it – one-off exhibitions cost a bomb.

Of course, not everything in London costs money, and seeing the city’s undiscovered delights is definitely the way forward. It also might persuade tourism bosses to drop their prices at little. And for me at least, while Westminster Abbey’s great and everything, few experiences can top a walk through Hyde Park with a 99 and having a healthy political debate with a complete stranger at Speaker’s Corner.

Not that I stole the ice cream, obviously. I did have to pay for that, I suppose.

In sport, Padraig Harrington defied the weather to retain the Open, Lewis Hamilton defied his own team to win in Hockenheim and South Africa beat the English cricket team into a bloody pulp.

With questions over Hawk-eye and sportsmanship just on the first day, controversy was at the forefront and no more so than in the shadowy figure of Darren Pattinson. You may well ask who. The Grimsby-born, Australia-raised 29-year-old’s selection ahead of a plethora of proven stars and promising hopefuls can only spell bad news for English cricket.

Not that it’s Pattinson’s fault, of course – he was as stunned as anyone else to be called up for the English national side. And not just because he has a broad Aussie accent. After all, Kevin Pietersen was born and raised in South Africa, not to mention former English greats such as Tony Greig, Allan Lamb, Graeme Hick and Nasser Hussain all hailing from the southern hemisphere. No, the problem with Pattinson’s selection isn’t his nationality – it’s his pedigree.

When Pattinson walked onto the pitch just weeks short of his 30th birthday, he’d played just 11 first-class matches in his career. Yes, 11. Ever. Two years ago he was a roof-tiler. You simply cannot throw such an inexperienced player into a Test Match and expect him to do well.

Much was spoken about England’s decision to go with a five-pronged bowling attack, but it was hardly a sharp one. In fact, it had as much penetration as a spork. What with Andrew Flintoff playing his first Test in 18 months and Monty Panesar extracting little spin from the typical Headingley pitch, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad had a tough enough job without Pattinson chucking down harmless wobblers.

This is not to mention the adverse psychological ramifications of such a random selection. Steve Harmison expressed concern that Pattinson was selected ahead of him. Matthew Hoggard mentioned the possibility of international retirement. How it must feel for the likes of Harmison, Hoggard, Simon Jones, Chris Tremlett and Kabir Ali (6-58 for Worcestershire at the weekend), knowing they’re effectively next in line for a place only for Pattinson to come in from nowhere. It’s not even about Muggins’ Turn; to pick Pattinson on form alone (29 first-class wickets this season at an average of 20.86) is crazy, especially when Harmison has taken 40 at 23.1, and knows a bit about Test cricket.

Pattinson just isn’t good enough for Test cricket – or at least has not been given the time on the county circuit to prove he is. He’s inexperienced. He’s Australian. He can’t bat (a problem, given England’s tail). And at 29, he’s not one for the future. Why pick him?

He also dropped an easy catch. Maybe he’ll fit in after all.

[Monday’s edit: incredibly, the selectors’ idiocy has been surpassed by that of Kevin Pietersen, who, required to bat for at least a day to give England a chance of a draw, hit 4 4 1 4 before getting himself out. 13 from 5 balls. Just what England needed.]

Yesterday, I ran the the San Dieguito Half Marathon as my inaugural race of the 2009 season. This was the 41st edition of the event, making the event one of the longest continually running events in the country. The course is a difficult one... not a flat spot as the athletes make their way through the rolling hills of gorgeous Rancho Santa Fe.

The last and only other time I've run here was three years ago (seems like forever), when I was just getting back into shape. The hilly course kicked my ass on that day, I ran 1:36 and it just about killed me.

Saturday night and early Sunday morning, we got a quite a lot of rain. On the way down to the race, it was still raining... but spots of clear sky were shining through so I was optimistic that once the race started it would clear up. Things weren't looking good as I picked up my race packet and it was still coming down.

But, in typical San Diego fashion... by 7:30 or so, the rain stopped and a beautiful blue sky appeared.

Before the race, I did a quick 15 min jog to get warm and loose, stripped off the warmup gear and lined up about 2 rows behind the front. Then I realized I forgot to wear my HR strap. Oh well... it was too late to run up to my car to get it.

The mile splits tell the story. These are from my Garmin, the actual race mile markers were way off.

5:47 - downhill and fast.
6:07 - mostly flat. Tried to settle into a pace.
6:54 - big ass hill. OUCH. HR is probably 300 at this point.
6:08 - downhill and then rolling. Tried to recover from big ass hill.
6:25 (31:22 for 5) - another hill.
6:31 - ok, another flippin' hill.
6:34 - a small hill and then flat to the turnaround. Tried to count to see what place I'm in, stopped counting at 20.
6:08 - mostly flat.
6:00 - downhill
6:30 (1:03:07 for 10) - up again.
5:52 - down, down, down. Quads are hurting.
6:01 - pretty flat. Just hanging on now.
6:30 - UP. This sucks.
:47 for last.1 (6:12 pace) I got passed by one guy about 300 yds from the finish. Tried to accelerate to bring him back but was toasted.

1:22:17 watch time
25th overall, 6th age-group.

Post race, my quads were pounded from the downhills and I developed a nice blood blister on my left pinky toe. This is pretty unusual for me... but running downhills is tough on the feet, I suppose.

Overall, happy with this. Not a PR, but considering the course, I'll take it.

My stretch goal heading into this race was 1:20, with a 'fallback' plan of 1:22.

The 5/5/5 pacing strategy that Coach Mike laid out for me was 5 miles at 6:10 pace, 5 miles at 6:05, than whatever I had left for 5K.

Despite a prediction of rain, the weather turned out to be ideal. It was in low 50's at the race start and overcast. Somehow the rain cells avoided us and it was dry the entire race, except for a few puddles on the course. I thought about wearing a long-sleeve jersey, but I decided against it and went with my standard tank and a pair of gloves (my hands always get cold). It was the right decision.

After a short 1.5 mile warm up jog, I lined up at the start line and readied myself for the start. Both the marathon and half-marathon start were at the same time... and there were several elite Kenyans in the field. Those guys are tiny!

At 7:30, the gun sent us off.

Mile 1. 6:14.3. Slightly uphill and I felt a bit sluggish. I don't think I warmed up enough.
Mile 2. 5:34.0. Downhill, and too fast. I paid for this quick mile later. I was running next to one of the female Kenyan runners and her pacer. They were chatting casually in another language that I couldn't understand.
Mile 3. 6:24.3. Slight uphill again. The petite Kenyan and her escort stop talking and proceed to drop me like I'm standing still.
Mile 4. 6:06.3. Flat. I settle into my pace (finally!) and feel pretty good.
Mile 5. 5:52.7 (5 miles - 30:11, 6:02 pace) A short downhill. Too quick again, I'm 40 seconds under my pace goal at this point. ARGH, I know I'm cooking myself, but can't seem help it. The hills are making it really hard to regulate my speed.
Mile 6. 6:09.8 (10K - 37:33) Ran this mile with a little group. My 10K split is a PR!
Mile 7. 6:05.8. Very slight downhill. Still ok at this point, but I can feel some fatigue building quickly.
Mile 8. 6:13.2. Really tried to push this mile and still ended up slower than the last.
Mile 9. 6:15.5. Legs won't turn over any faster.
Mile 10. 6:34.7 (10 miles - 1:01:30, 2nd 5 miles - 31:18, 6:16 pace). 6:09 pace through 10, which is pretty close to my goal, but my 2nd 5 is quite a bit slower than my first. Positive split is NOT the strategy! I know I'm toast at this point. But hey, its a 10 mile PR!
Mile 11. 6:35.2. Hanging on. Damage control mode now. Lots of turns on this section of the course... make sure not to slip on the wet pavement.
Mile 12. 6:07.8. Get a slight downhill and somehow manage a decent mile split
Mile 13: 6:45.6. Biggest uphill on the course, man this sucks. Catch two guys on the incline.
Final 0.1. 0:35.8. Finish line in sight... I see my wife and give a little burst to get over the line.

final time 1:21:29, 5th AG, 37th Overall

So, I missed my goal..but it still a PR by 3 minutes, and the 10K and 10 mile splits along the way were PR's as well. I'll be honest, it wasn't long ago that 6:06 pace was only a touch slower than my 5K pace, so to think I could hold that for 13.1 miles was a stretch for me mentally. But, I went for it (albeit, slightly too aggressively) and I still ended up with a pretty good result. I'm happy and the fact that the effort came at the tail-end of my biggest volume week ever (running-wise) is encouraging.

Thanks to Coach Mike (that's the two of us in the pic) for his guidance... I owe him a lot!

Like most of the triathlon universe, I spent a good part of this past Saturday glued to my computer screen... watching the world's best long-distance triathletes race in Kona at the Ironman World Championships.

This race inspires me every year. Over the years, there are more memorable moments than I can list - Julie Moss's crawl across the line, Chris Legh's stumble and collapse 50 meters from the line, the Welch/Ingraham double crawl, Dick and Ricky Hoyt, the famous Jon Blais roll,... I could go on and on.

This year was full of drama once again, but this time I didn't have to wait for the edited NBC coverage to take it all in. Thanks to Universal Sports great online coverage, I was able to watch the drama of the race unfold in real-time.

Let's just say, I was hugely inspired by some of the performances this year. Chris Leito in particular put in a hugely courageous effort... riding off the front and hanging on his lead all the way until Mile 21 of the run. Let's just say I was yelling, "Come on, man, you can do it!!" at my computer screen, much to the amusement of my kids. Of course, many kudos to the winners, Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington. Alexander showed a champion's poise and ran a brilliant marathon to overtake Lieto and repeat as champ. And Wellington... well, she is simply on another level right now. Wow.

Also, some big-time props to Ian Mikelson, a fellow age-grouper that I had the pleasure of meeting at Wildflower this year. He uncorked a 9:09, 4th American overall. Sick. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my other Kona peeps... Mr. Fix and Darcy G who both rocked the course with some fantastic performances.

Well done to all and thanks for the inspiration.

It's a shame to see Michael Vaughan has retired. Apart from anything else, he's one of the nicest blokes in cricket: look at that anecdote about his son in the above story. But mainly, of course, he's a fantastic cricketer and captain par excellence.

I do think it's too early for him to retire. He has struggled with form of late, but the greats are able to turn that around. Ricky Ponting confessed he thought Vaughan "might have had a bit more to offer international cricket", and I agree. Think what a vice-captain he'd make to Andrew Strauss.

Also, if the rightly-picked younger players start to stutter then England might need someone with experience, and while the likes of Collingwood, Strauss and - God help us - Pietersen have that experience, they don't have the Test nouse that Vaughan has.

But I don't judge the selectors for dropping Vaughan - of course not. You need to pick on form and current quality, not performances of yesteryear. I wouldn't have picked him for the 16-man squad either (although, having just seen his performance in the Lions warm-up game against Australia, I'm not sure I feel the same about Harmison). It's just a shame that Vaughan took this opportunity to retire because I, like Ponting, really feel he has more to offer. If he'd stuck around on the county circuit for another year or two, he might have picked up a lot more runs and even found himself back in the international set-up - and even if he didn't, he'd still be a major player at his beloved Yorkshire.

So do I think he's lost his bottle and retiring too soon? Yes. He's 34: the 'spending time with the family' excuse doesn't ring true yet, and since he's blaming a loss of form anyway, it's not even relevant. This may seem harsh, but remember I'm a massive Michael Vaughan fan, and let us remember him this way. But ultimately, when the going gets tough the tough get going, and Vaughan has - unfortunately, in the wrong direction.

A quick summary of my race day. It pretty much sucked so I'll skip the usual preamble and get into it.

Swim, 31:04. My worst swim ever in a half-ironman. As normal, I lined up front right and made a beeline for the first buoy. My usual approach is to swim about 50 strokes (roughly 100m) hard then settle to a rhythm. I did that and as I got the buoy and started to dial back the pace, I felt my heart start to race and felt very out of breath. Even though I was breathing every other stroke, I just couldn't get enough air. I pulled up briefly and very quickly realized that if I paused for much more than a few seconds, I was going to get swam over by my entire wave. So I made a 90 degree turn and swam about 20 yards water polo style to get some clear water, where I just rolled over on my back and tried to gather myself. I was breathing like I was running a 100 yard dash and for the first time ever in a race, I started looking around for the lifeguard. After a minute or so, my breathing became more regular and I decided to press on. Every couple hundred yards or so, I would start to get short of breath again and when this happened, I pulled up... took a few deep breaths and continued. The end of the swim didn't come fast enough... I was glad as hell to be getting out of the water. I honestly thought I swam closer to 35 or 40 minutes... maybe I cut a buoy or something. I walked up the ramp and debated with myself whether to pull the plug or not. But, I seemed to be feeling a little better and what the hell, I paid my entry fee, might as well see the bike course. It was a very slow transition... I just calmly got out of my wetsuit and got my bike stuff on. No rush.
Bike - 2:56. After the miserable episode in the water, I just got on the bike and started pedaling easy... about the same effort as a training ride. When I pressed the pace even a little bit, my breathing rate would speed up again so I said F that and just took it easy. I noticed about 20 miles into the ride, my shoulders were getting tired in the aero position, so I was shifting around more than usual. After the race, I noticed that my saddle had tilted down slightly (probably from a bump). Figures. Aside from that, I just tried to ride steady... no big efforts and took every opportunity to let the heart rate drop on the flats and downhills. No problems really going up Nasty Grade, I just rode it in my smallest gear (39x27) and spun.
Run - 2:04. Two freakin' hours, I'm still shaking my head at this. It felt more like four. The wheels fell off completely. Ran the first 3 miles at about 8 min pace. Got to the big hill at mile 4 and my HR and breathing rate went through the roof. It wasn't a feeling of increased exertion, it was more like my body didn't know how to react to any change in effort level. Walked nearly a mile, jogged from mile 5 through Redondo Vista to mile 8. Walked (again!) up the little hill before the descent into the pit. Ran all the way down to the mile 10 turnaround and walked back up. Managed a weak jog/walk from mile 11 to the top of Lynch Hill and then ran the rest of the way home down the hill.
Final result was 5:39. By far my worst half ironman result ever and 32 min slower than last year. 55 min slower than Oceanside just five weeks ago.
I'm at a loss. While training has not been ideal, there was nothing that would have led me to believe that I would fall apart like this. Leading up the race, I was feeling more tired than usual, but I chalked that up to allergies. Now, I am suspecting there is more to it.
Very disappointed in this.

Just a quick one, then, before it all kicks off and America welcomes its new President.

Here is a generator to predict Barack Obama's inauguration speech. You enter random words where it tells you to, and works out a speech for you. It's great fun, and in places, strangely accurate given you are entering words without knowing where they'll be going.

Here's mine, if you're interested. "Green and famous challenges" aside, it's eerily close to what the real thing could be and also, really quite amusing - especially the final paragraph.

My fellow Americans, today is a happy day. You have shown the world that "hope" is not just another word for "change", and that "change" is not only something we can believe in again, but something we can actually do.

Today we celebrate, but let there be no mistake – America faces green and famous challenges like never before. Our economy is large. Americans can barely afford their mortgages, let alone have enough money left over for tables. Our healthcare system is nasty. If your heart is sick and you don't have insurance, you might as well call a journalist. And America's image overseas is tarnished like a underwear magazine. But doctoring together we can right this ship, and set a course for Hawaii.

Finally, I must thank my lovely family, my black campaign volunteers, but most of all, I want to thank Hillary Clinton for making this historic occasion possible. Of course, I must also thank you, President Bush, for years of messing the American people. Without your white efforts, none of this would have been possible.

Damn, even without having to go very far, getting ready for this race required a very early wakeup call. Since I was catching a ride with my sister-in-law, who was volunteering and had to be at the transition area at 4:30, my alarm went off at the unholy hour of 3am. Ouch. I should have driven myself…not sure what I was thinking... it’s not like I had a long trip. Oceanside Harbor is all of fifteen minutes from my house. Dumb.
I showered and than had a pretty standard brekkie of one strong cup of coffee, two slices of toast and a bowl of cereal. Other last minute prep included a double check of my gear bag, topping off my tires to 110 psi, then out the door at 4:15.

Amazingly, despite the fact that I was at transition at 4:30 and it wasn’t scheduled to open until 4:45, I was not the first person to arrive. There were at least a dozen other bikes in the transition area (and not just the pros who I believe rack their bikes the night before).

Over the next two hours I did the standard pre-race stuff. Set up my gear, got bodymarked, hit the porta potty (twice), did a 15 minute warm up run, chatted with some friends and laid down using my bag as a pillow for about 20 minutes while I listened to my iPod and tried to relax. The time went quickly and before I knew it, it was 6:40…time to get my wetsuit on and get ready for my 7:03 race start.

Swim
The water was not nearly as cold as last year. Once the race got going, I found it quite comfortable actually. I found a rhythm pretty quickly and felt good. The water was nice and calm, but as we neared the mouth of the harbor near the turnaround, the waves were pretty rough. This combined with the rising sun made sighting a bit of a challenge. Once we turned around, a kayaker was yelling at everyone to swim toward the high-rise building on the horizon. This was a big help. Got to the finish with no problems with a time of 28:59. Right on target with what I expected. I swam about a minute faster last year, but I have only been swimming sporadically…so my expectations were very conservative.
There was a long run around the transition area to my bike. I took the time to put on socks, but decided to skip the arm warmers, as it didn’t feel all that cold.

Bike
Once out on the bike, I told myself to race smart. I’ve done very little volume on the bike, and I knew that any pacing mistakes would be disastrous. So, I got into my aero position, sipped on some sports drink and just tried to stay conservative. Plenty of guys flew by me, but I kept the ego in check and let them go. After the first little climb on Stuart Mesa, I started to feel a bit nauseous and by the time I got to the Las Pulgas turnaround…my stomach was in serious distress. I slowed to a stop, pulled over and puked up my entire breakfast (and probably some of the previous night’s dinner as well). Maybe too much ocean water? I’m not sure. I felt a bit better and got going again. My nutrition plan was three gels, one bottle of sports drink (GuH20 + whatever was on the course), and three Thermolyte pills per hour. I had nothing but sports drink before getting sick, so I stuck to my plan and tried to get some calories in my system. The stomach wasn’t having it and I did a nice rolling puke (first time I’ve done that!) at around Mile 25 and again at Mile 40. Despite the puking, my legs felt pretty solid. No issues on the first climb on San Mateo and I spun up the remaining climbs with no real problems. The course was quite a bit windier this year…the descent on Dead Man’s Curve was kind of sketchy, the bike was getting blown around a bit. The headwind coming down Vandergrift was also nastier this year. In 2007, I remember cruising the final 10 miles at 23-24 mph with little effort, this year I was pressing to
maintain 21.
Rolled into T2 with a 2:49 split, about 13 minutes slower than last year. Some of that was due to the wind…and stopping to puke didn’t help either. As I rolled into Hot Corner, I briefly considered calling it a day; knowing that the lack of calories in my system would have dire repercussions on the run. But I figured I paid my 200 clams, I better get my money’s worth! It was time to HTFU.

Run
Quick transition and came out of T2 running on pure adrenaline…managed 6:40’s for the first two miles and hit the four mile marker at 27 even. I saw Andy Potts and Craig Alexander go by me on The Strand…it appeared they had a race going; Alexander was nipping on Pott’s heels. The fans at the finish line were in for a quite a show!
For me, the wheels started to fall off at around Mile 5… I started to cramp and feel pretty faint. I resorted to walking and sipping on Coke and water at every aid station. It helped some and I managed to keep it down and did the ‘jog between aid stations’ routine the remaining nine miles. Run split was 1:43 and finish time was 5:08.
Apparently I looked pretty terrible, because the volunteers escorted me to medical after I crossed the line.
My time was a pretty big drop off from last year (4:45), so I’m somewhat disappointed. But I’m happy that I managed to finish the race in a respectable time despite everything not going as I hoped. I’m still not exactly sure what caused me to have stomach problems…that’s the first time that’s ever happened to me in nearly a dozen 70.3 and IM races.
For now, the wife and I are going on a little vacation for some R&R. When we return, I will probably try to dissect this a bit more and see what lessons I can extract from the experience.

Thanks for reading.

While I've been away from projecting my views about how and why the whole world is going to shit, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has cheekily sabotaged himself with a number of backfiring decisions just to make me look silly for missing them.

His main mistake was inconsistently backing some expense-fiddling ministers and not others, which is why he's less popular than bird/swine/man flu at the moment. Then there was the Joanna Lumley-led Gurkha controversy, and before all this, the Damian McBride emails and some horrific YouTube videos. It's almost as if he's trying to lose the next General Election. Stop it, Gordon. Stop it, I say!

"How much shit am I in? I'd say about this much"

But as if to welcome me back with heavily folded arms, Brown has finally done something clever. Hiring Simon Lewis as his chief spin doctor is a very astute move.

The main reason for this, of course, is that the unnaturally rosy-cheeked Lewis is very good at what he does. After the Queen's near-fatally slow response to the death of Princess Diana, Lewis turned Queen Liz's reputatation right around from villain to heroine, effectively giving the monarchy the shot in the arm it needed, instead of the shot in the face for which it seemed destined.

Lewis has also done superbly well at Vodafone and Centrica, and from personal experience I can tell you he gives a half-decent lecture in political communications. If he can just sit Brown down and give him that lecture, the besieged PM is well on his way to sorting it all out. Lewis is the man he needs.

"OK, maybe this much"

Yes, very good etc. etc. But most importantly for Gordon Brown, Simon Lewis' brother is Will Lewis, editor of The Daily Telegraph.

The Telegraph? Haven't they been up to something in the last month or so? Can't quite remember...

Ah yes, that's right. It's been the Telegraph that has exposed the MPs' expenses scandal, regularly attacking the Government with infinitely more gusto than the equally guilty opposition (which is what makes David Cameron's promise to end sleaze so horribly hypocritical) and wisely milking the story and the scapegoats until they're dry, raw and bleeding votes.

"Oh, fine - this much. I am in this much shit"

So why would Brown go to his sworn enemy's brother? Surely he can't be expecting his new spin doctor to persuade the Telegraph to turn the expenses scandal in his favour? No, he can't. But it's much more feasible that Simon Lewis can tell brother Will to tone down the Government-bashing a bit in future - or at least be in the situation where he can influence the story and its prioritisation a bit. So this is some good manoeuvring from Brown. If you can't beat 'em, get their relatives to work for you.

Oh, it's a cynical move - of course it is. But it's an intelligent move, and one that admits weakness, which is not an easy thing to do as Prime Minister. As they say in rehab, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. This, then, could be Brown's first in a 12-step plan to re-election. And as long as the other 11 include curing cancer, bringing world peace and jettisoning Peter Mandelson somewhere from which he can't EVER come back to Cabinet, he might just have a chance of being here in a year's time.

But don't hold your breath.

This summer is my 20-year high school reunion.

I went to Redlands High School in Redlands, CA about 65 miles east of Los Angeles. Unlike a certain Andrea Wachner, I actually enjoyed my high school years. I was active, did pretty well in school and had a great group of friends from sports, through my church youth group and from the other activities I participated in. But after high school, my teammates from the track and cross-country team all went our separate ways... off to various colleges around the country. For whatever reason, we didn't do a good job of keeping in touch after high school and many of us lost track of one another over the years.
Recently, via this really cool website called "Facebook" (you may have heard of it, ha ha), many of us have reconnected. And a teammate of mine and I decided that it would be cool if some of the guys from our cross-country team regrouped for our hometown 5K race, The Run Through Redlands. We didn't get everyone to show up, but the pic above is six of us from the 1987 RHS x-country team... five of us ran together in the '88 and '89 seasons as well. Our coach from those years, Dean Olsen, who has since retired, made the trek from Arizona to join us as well.

It wouldn't be a race if we didn't actually... well you know, race. My senior year, I was the number 1 guy on the cross-country team and my good friend, Eric Smith, was #2. We also were captains on the track team... he was a nationally-ranked 800m runner, I was a miler. Not anywhere near his level on the track, though I could take him at the longer distances. But, rest assured, we used to kill ourselves on the track trying to outdo one another in workouts.

We got to doing some trash talking in the weeks leading up the 5K. I've been doing some solid training in preparation for my triathlon season. He's since become a cross-country and track coach himself and put himself on a program to ensure he would show up fit and ready to run. My 5K PR is 17:40 and based on my track workouts lately, I figured I was in shape to go a little faster than that. Eric ran a 17:06 about three weeks prior to the Run Through Redlands... so it was going to be a race. Twenty years later, the competitive juices were still flowing.

Race morning, a group of us met up for some pics and high-fives, then it was off to the start. We lined up next to one another. The gun went off. Eric set the pace initially, I sat on his shoulder. After the first turn at about the 1/2 mile mark, I tried to move in front and set a faster pace... figuring I could nullify his faster leg speed by setting a hard pace early. Mile 1, 5:38... but despite my efforts, he responded easily to my move and once we were into the second mile he began to pull away. 10 meters. 20 meters. 30 meters. 50 meters. The gap was widening and at about 100 meters, I managed to hold the gap steady and match his pace. Mile 2, 5:56. The course took a series of turns before a long mile-long straight on Olive Drive. Once on Olive, I tried to close the gap... but he was too far gone.

A final left turn to the finish... and I crossed the tape in 18:04. 29 seconds slower than my teammate. 18th place overall, and 3rd place in my AG. Eric placed 12th, 2nd in the AG with a 17:35. At least we both made the podium. Our coach was particularly proud to see a couple of his "kids" still placing well.

After the race, the rest of the team finished and all gather for some more pics and chit-chat. It was great to see the old crew and how they all turned out.

Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to the reunion.

The new frame is now built up. To quote Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice".

I moved the parts over from my old bike (a 2006 QR Tequilo), with a few changes, mostly related to fitting me on the new frame.

Switched from 250mm to 270mm aero bar extensions.
Switched from 172.5 to 175 cranks. I kept the same 53/39 chainring combination.
Switched from 110mm, +5 degree stem to 120mm neutral stem

I took it for a maiden voyage on Sunday and, to be honest, I was surprised at the difference in the ride quality over my Quintana Roo Tequilo. I expected the Cervelo to ride better and have better power transfer, but what I didn't expect was the vast difference in both areas. Simply put, it was night and day. Now I get why people fall all over themselves about the P2C and the Cervelo flagship bike, the P3C (P4 nothwithstanding... its not available yet).

Truthfully, the P3C would not be a good fit for me, due to my long legs/short torso proportions... the head tube on that bike is too short. So, in all honestly, the P2C is probably the best possible bike for me.

A couple notes - This is right at 80 degrees, the front of the saddle is about 1cm behind the bottom bracket and saddle to bar drop is 12 cm. Steeper and lower than the set-up on my QR. More about the fit differences will be forthcoming in another post.

I decided to skip the rear bottle carrier contraption and keep the amount of stuff hanging off the bike to a minimum. We've all seen the bikes in transition with 4 bottles (2 on the frame, 2 in a rear carrier), bento boxes, CO2 canisters, spare tires and various other items hanging on the bike. Not to mention half a dozen gel packets taped to the top tube. I'm going the minimalist route.

For HIM racing (and probably IM as well), I'm set up with 2 bottles and a small saddle bag with a flat repair kit and maybe a bento box with a GU flask and salt tablets. That's it.

I've always disliked the standard front-mount aero bottles that you see on many triathlon bikes. They tend to rattle on rough pavement and when they are full tend to splash fluid all over the place. And if you have to set the bike down (for a flat repair for example) the open top designs allow all your fluid to spill out. And refilling on the go is a hassle as well. So, instead of a aero front bottle, I rigged up a standard bottle holder with a Specialized Rib Cage and eight (8) zip ties. A simple and cheap alternative. Now, instead of taking on a bottle at an aid station and pouring the contents into my front aero bottle, I can simply slide it into my standard cage. No fumbling around.

And for the downtube, I choose the Profile Design Razor Bottle & Cage. Between the two bottles, I have 40 oz of fluid capacity... more than enough for a half-Ironman or even a full Ironman event due to the abundance of aid stations on the course. And I've eliminated the need for a rear bottle carrier, which helps to cut some weight and any risk of losing my nutrition due to a bottle launch.

Check it out

top view

front view (how's that for aero?)

top view with bottle removed to reveal zip ties. I used a bit of electrical tape on the extensions under the front set of zip ties to prevent them from slipping.

bottom view, zip tie detail. After taking the snapshot, I realized I put the zip ties over the shifter cables. It didn't cause any problems... but I'll fix this to make the setup a bit tidier.

I tested this set up during a 40 mile ride on Saturday. It was rock solid on some very rough sections and drinking while in the aero bars was easy to manage as well. The only thing I had to watch out for was making sure the valve was completely closed before replacing the bottle in the cage, or it would leak.

Other than that, it's a great setup. Very easy to install, lightweight, cheap and as, if not more, aerodynamic than any other setup out there. It's all good.

British politics has been very interesting this week. Even with a Cold War possibly starting thanks to the antics of Russia and Georgia, there's plenty happening at home to get the political pulse racing, or at least beating.

You may be wondering why I am steadfastly not writing about the Russia/Georgia situation, and the simple reason is that I don't know enough about the situation to comment without revealing my ignorance (please, no "that's never stopped you before" comments). Even after analysing the situation my conclusions are along the lines of "Naughty Ruskis" and "Silly Georgians", and that's the kind of political comment that helps nobody (Simon Heffer, take note).

But what I do have on offer for you is a hat-trick of opinions on British political stories this week, with some American election-spotting on the side for good measure.

Never say I don't spoil you.

Tories vs. Fatties
Let's talk about sex, baby
History lessons go back to black
The female of the species
Every little helps

Put down the pie, fatty, and listen up. If you are overweight or obese, you have nobody to blame but yourself. Not Bernard Matthews, not Colonel Sanders – it's YOUR fault you break the scales. Yours. Now get out of my sight and make a salad, chubbles.

This, as every reporter will tell you, is the gist of the Conservative Party's caring new approach to public health, outlined by the shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley last Wednesday. His speech to the think tank Reform, entitled No Excuses, No Nannying, attacked people’s failure to take responsibility for their self-inflicted health problems, claiming, "Tell people that biology and the environment cause obesity and they are offered the one thing we have to avoid: an excuse." Basically, the Tories are telling the overweight they have only themselves to blame.

What Lansley said is actually a little more complex than that. He unveiled proposals to fight obesity that include role models promoting healthy lifestyles, a clampdown on food advertising and asking the food industry to reduce portion sizes. Blimey, hold on to your seat – them's some radical ideas.

Not so much an unveiling as a shy reminder, then. The Tories haven't suggested anything new here, and it's not hard to see why the Government's health secretary Alan Johnson condemned them, saying, "Andrew Lansley is proposing to do nothing that isn't being done already and saying nothing that hasn't been said before." Still, the LibDems probably got carried away in saying the Tories just want to blame people for their obesity because they haven't got any ideas on how to tackle it. That's silly talk. Besides, the Tories are right: people should take responsibility for their weight and stop blaming external influences.

It is true that we live in an irresponsible compensation culture where nothing is anybody's fault (except paedophiles, who don't get to defend themselves). "Don't blame me – I'm only a monster because society made me that way." "It's not my fault I had a bad upbringing." "Jesus told me to rob that bank." We are constantly led to believe that we are all guided by social or even astrological forces beyond our control, that if you were born on the wrong side of the tracks then dealing crack to abusive teenage mothers is understandable and therefore permissible, and that anyone who actually blames someone for doing something wrong is a fascist – or in this scenario, a fattist.

Fat people cannot help being fat, we are told. But here’s the thing: most of them can. If there is a genuine medical reason for an individual’s obesity (e.g. glandular problems, physical disability etc.) and they literally have no option but to pile

on the pounds, then it's entirely reasonable to say, "They can't help it." But that's not the general argument; instead, we are made to believe that obesity isn't a lifestyle choice but an unfortunate affliction targeting the weak. There's just so much advertising for junk food, you see. And it tastes so nice. Oh, these poor, poor sufferers of the overeating disease. Does lack of willpower count as a vitamin deficiency?

Forgive me for being aggressive, but obesity is not caused by availability. Just because you can buy a tasty but sickeningly unhealthy burger for a couple of quid doesn’t mean you are contractually obliged to, in the same way that you can buy gallons of cider with loose change but you don’t have to drink it all in one go and become an alcoholic. It is a question of having some self-control. You can be flabby and still have a backbone.

The Tories' plans don't recommend anything new or useful, and should be disregarded for being largely pointless. But at least they don't protect gutless gluttons, who need to take the blame for their mistakes. It may not be easy for chronic overeaters, but at the end of the day, humble pie is still pie.

MPs are appealing to the Government to provide sex education as early as the beginning of primary school, meaning pupils would learn about the birds and the bees from the age of four.

It's easy to strip a complex suggestion down into headline-hitting hysteria – look, I did it just there and I'm not even a national broadsheet newspaper – but this plan is still concerning. The sexualisation of young children is becoming ever-worrying, and teaching them about relationships before they can even spell 'relationships' is a dodgy prospect. How sexual will this sex education be at that age? We don't know. It may just be a case of "Have you noticed how you like Mary in a different way to how you like John?" (or not, as the case may be), but until that is made clear, we have reason to be suspicious. Call me old-fashioned, but a) kids should arguably learn about relationships and sex from their parents or guardians rather than their teachers and b) they should definitely be able to tie their own shoelaces by that time.

Let it be stricken from the record that at the age of 21 I am really bad at tying my shoelaces.

There is also, I feel, insufficient evidence to suggest sex education at such an early will cut down on the unwanted teenage pregnancies that are plaguing Britain and precipitating such reactionary legislation. Hitting the problem early is always a good thing, but I can't see explanations of relationships to an infant preventing him from making a mistake many years later. One fear is that girls are beginning to have periods without knowing properly what to expect, but again, it's very unusual for that bodily change to occur before the age of 9 or 10, say, which would be a reasonable time for sex education to begin.

I just don't think this legislation would solve any problems, and I do believe it might taint the innocence of millions of young children. Colour me sceptical.

But for every absurd educational reform there's a decent one (that's probably not an official statistic), and it's definitely good news that the slave trade and the British empire are to become compulsory subjects in History lessons.

Pupils between the ages of 11 and 14 – meaning pre-GCSE students, forced in nearly all schools to take History for three years – will be taught about the likes of William Wilberforce and Olaudah Equiano and their roles in the abolition of the British slave trade (and to think, they could just watch Amazing Grace or read this blog and follow the Wikipedia links). The fall of the empire will also be dissected and the progression of civil rights for African-Americans most likely thrown into the mix as well.

It's an encouraging development for three reasons. Most obviously and most importantly, it will teach children about a massive part of Britain's history hitherto ignored by school syllabus-makers. Secondly, it shows a willingness to admit and discuss the embarrassing faults of our ancestors, rather than pretending they didn't happen and focusing instead on national triumphs such as Waterloo, the Battle of Britain and the removal of Margaret Thatcher from power. Finally and most thrillingly of all, it will end the domination of Germany, the world wars and the Holocaust over History lesson timetables.

My only concern is the idea that schoolchildren will learn about the slave trade "to help them understand modern-day issues such as immigration." Given the disgusting popularity of people having right-wing leanings these days, I wouldn't be too surprised if 'helping children to understand immigration' means 'helping children to understand that immigrants are all mass-murdering rapists'.

Still, that's just my cynicism kicking into overdrive. It's about time British kids knew the truth about slavery, before they start thinking that Sepp Blatter and Cristiano Ronaldo know what they're talking about.

John McCain may be an idiot, but he knows American politics. He's covered up his own inadequacies by focusing on Obama's supposed inexperience, he's guaranteed himself favourable press coverage by allowing plenty of exposure for most of his career and he

purposefully upset the Democratic hoedown by infiltrating their Denver conference with high-profile Republican speakers. And now, amid claims he's too old and doesn't appeal to the more simple-minded female voters as much as Barack 'Nice Smile' Obama, he has chosen a woman, Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, for his running mate and potential Vice-President. Shrewd.

It is, of course, reductive and even insulting to suggest McCain will receive more of the female vote than he would otherwise just by having a female running mate. But that's how it works. A level of 'one of us' affects every voter to an extent – black or white, rich or poor, male or female. Having a Hispanic running mate would secure McCain the Hispanic vote. Having a ginger running mate would secure the ginger vote. And having a female running mate is likely to secure him more of the female vote. Sorry.

Palin may also win McCain the Youth vote (she's 44), the Proud Mothers Unite vote (5 children, one with Down's Syndrome) and the Anti-Abortion vote (5 children, one with Down's Syndrome), although admittedly McCain already had that one sewn up. We also shouldn't underestimate the popular vote from Stupid Men Who Don't Care About Politics But Know A Pretty Face When They See One ('masturbatory voters', as they are known): Palin looks incredible for a woman who's given birth to five children and certainly generates more interest in the pants department than Hillary Clinton.

Palin was not as much of a no-brainer choice as she may seem though. McCain's most stringent and resounding criticism of Barack Obama is that he is inexperienced and not ready to govern America. Unsurprisingly given that he's 72 himself, McCain is playing the experience card very highly. Then he goes and chooses a running mate who has been in office for less than two years. Clearly the idea is to inject some youth and excitement into, well, the Republican party, and diversity and shoring up your own weaknesses is a major part of picking a running mate – hence why Obama chose Joe Biden, a famously experienced politician into his sixth term in the Senate. Picking Sarah Palin is at best a risky move and at worse blatant hypocrisy, but it is, of course, difficult for Obama to pick up on because any attack on her pedigree indirectly leads to doubts over his own.

It is always controversial to 'take the man, not the ball' and focus on a person rather than their politics. It is doubly controversial when that person is a woman, because you are accused of rampant sexism. But in American politics is hard to consider it any other way, because even when you are picking a future Vice-President you are picking personality rather than policy. The running mate is a means to an end; someone to help you to get into the hot seat, not share it with you when you're there. John McCain himself has repeatedly said the vice-presidency amounts to little more than "attending funerals and checking on the health of the President", so we probably shouldn't believe him too readily when he says he wants to work closely with her in the White House. She's his ticket there; not his bedfellow.

And it might just work. Palin will attract some of the disenchanted Hillary supporters from the Democratic camp, who don't need much persuading – many are of the 'Hillary 12' crowd, keen for Obama to lose the election so Mrs Clinton can take over after winning the next one. The idea of wanting your party to lose is, I think, inexplicable, but there you go. Palin's appointment is also helping the Republican party to provide a more united front than the Democrats are doing at the moment, thanks to Clinton & Co (though they have triggered one of the best acronyms in recent political history: Party Unity My Ass).

The sad truth is that John McCain is probably going to win this election. Seeing how he and Sarah Palin cope will be interesting. Personally, I'd have preferred Michael Palin. Now THAT would be a story.

Victory for pedants everywhere.

Wolfmother - Wolfmother [2005]

We enter the Top 20 with one of the greatest, most inventive albums of all time.

On the surface, of course, Wolfmother's Wolfmother (ah, what a title - so succinct, so brilliant) is a subdued affair weighted with intelligence, but beneath the shy exterior there's a roaring beast. Song after song redefines music itself, while the raw tenderness at the album's heart is so powerful it makes me cry.

Woman could be the song The Beatles never wrote: a wistful, longing ode to a love gone by. "Woman," croons Andrew Stockdale. "Woman. She's a woman. Do you know what I mean? You'd better listen - listen to me. Woman." Poetry.

The sound of Wolfmother (there's that wonderful evocative title again!) is heavily and cleverly layered, unsurprising given the involvement of producer Dave Sardy. The mercurial genius has weaved his magic on many a band, always challenging them to do more and re-invent themselves with every release. It's a commitment that has seen him produce classic albums with such ever-innovative bands as Slayer, Oasis and Jet.

From start to finish, Wolfmother is complex and challenging. A subtly beautiful album deserving of its status as a modern classic.

... what? If you're not going to take this inclusion seriously, I'm not going to take the review seriously.

All I'll say in seriousness about Wolfmother's self-titled debut is that it's a great collection of simple loud rock songs. There's no pricking about - just ace tunes with huge guitar solos that should be played at full volume. The greatest compliment I can give is that it reminds me of Led Zeppelin; I must have listened to White Unicorn about 85 times.

So fuck cool - I like it. Although apparently Thom Yorke's a fan. Does that make it cool?