What goes up...

Wow! Everton and Chelsea 'clash in second game of the season' according to Yahoo, making out we all care about this fateful coincidence that 2 Premier division teams will play each other, but not only that, its the second game of the season!!  It's just, well, amazing.
Or maybe it's just that the sports editor needed to make something out of nothing.
Take yesterday's 'big' cycling news that 'Froome is relieved Wiggins is out of the Tour'. When the actual comment was '..well, I wouldn't say that relieved is the correct word' (or similar), it's just that the reporter wanted it to be the right word, so applied some bent journo rule that they are able to twist even the most inaccurate facts into a meaty headline that attracts the eye.  ..and I expected more from the BBC.

Anyway, I'm winding down today ready for my hol.  We leave at midnight tonight for 9 days near Lake Annecy cycling up (and down) as many mountains as my legs will stand.  I'm assuming my knees will give up first, but we'll see.  Don't know if I'll be updating this journal, but I'll be giving it a go.
I managed a few miles jogging last night in the heat - it was a good 19 degrees which is relatively very hot compared to what has gone on in the last few days, my theory being that I need to acclimatise.

Obviously right.

There's so many space filling 'reports' on the new websites nowadays.  They have top pad out most areas with non-stories which although they might include a headline grabbing snippet, is just that - a snippet that taken out of context can be mean anything.  In particular, the sports sections which are usually filled by footy stories (no shortage of materiel there) struggle to add any meaningful non-footy stories.  F1 reports always include inane comments from drivers/team bosses/commentators with at least one utterance of 'for sure', usually more.  Cricket cuts and pastes from famous-ish bloggers - ex-players etc. who although can write some interesting stuff, always seem to major on the extremes of form for whichever team they are commenting on e.g. 'end of an era'; 'need some decent bowlers' etc when all that has happened is that s few people have made a few mistakes i.e. been quite normal.  Today, I notice that golf has joined the space filling trend with a headline of a comment from Tony Jacklin who '..tips Justin Rose to win more majors'. Thanks for that, I needed an ex-player to idly state the obvious at no risk to his personal stature.  I'm sure I heard that in thy pub as well, isn't it remarkable that two people with no connection stated the same thing.

Managed a good 51 miles early Sunday morning setting off at 7:30.  I pulled my back as I was lifting my bike off it's stand, and didn't really feel right for the whole time.  When I was showering later, I had to kneel to dry my back because I couldn't stand up straight.  Apart from that I'm fine.
I have the big cycling holiday on Thursday (9 days in the Alps) so the bad back had better stay away.

Dead sure.

I've been listening to Last Word for some time now - it's a Radio 4 program which I listen to in the car as a podcast, and I really enjoy what are actually audio obituaries on the recently departed.  Very often they get a selection of people to recount someones achievements and character, not always just the good ones, and even remember the notorious as well as the famous.  If I get chance, I would like to be on this program.  What intrigues me is that I can listen to someone recalling nostalgic anecdotes about e.g. slightly famous person 'x' and feeling quite 'warm' about them.  One such incident this morning was with Bill Pertwee, the ARP warden from Dads Army who came across as a really nice, considerate chap who I would have liked to know, but until this morning I couldn't have given a monkeys about him.  How many more are there like him? ..and if I had not have listened to the program I would never have thought that.

As for my training, did a 4 mile run last night in the rain, I had to really push myself to go out in it but the slightly warmer weather decided me to just do it.

Hanging on in quiet desperation..

I'm hoping that April 19th is a good day to be born on.  The worlds oldest man in history died today, and he was born on that day - the same as me. He lived to the (very) ripe old age of 116 which means I'm not even half way there!! How good is that? Actually probably not that good given that most of my body will have shutdown by then, but who knows?  I wonder which part gives up first?  Will it be the legs? They do the most work don't they (out of the limbs I mean), but having said that, I've had quite a sedentary job for the last 20 years so maybe it will be my fingers from all this typing.
I can live without those for a few years I suppose.  There's obviously gradual changes in all parts of our bodies, but as the 116 year old proved, you can hang on for quite some time.

Sign here kid..

The PPI 'scandal' continues to rumble on.  Even the way the complaints/repayments have been handled has come in for criticism, and LLoyds have admitted they have not acted very well in this respect.  But, the way this has been handled by everyone is, to my mind, poor.  From the first person who signed up for an insurance package that would never have delivered, to the last person to get his/her compensation, the whole issue has been a joke. ..and it's these people who blindly signed up for it in the first place who should take most responsibility for the shambles.  I know, I hear you say, they were pressured into it; the small print was not clear; the details were never spelt out; the tickbox was already ticked etc etc.  Excuses - all of them.
Now, I'm not one to blow my own trumpet (OK, maybe I am), but when I saw this PPI option the first time I simply declined it - even when my bank manager advised for it and asked me to initial the 'non-signature' so he didn't get a roasting from his boss, and this was years before anyone started to question it.  Mind you, its probably the Methodist coming out in me that makes me think that way and I'm always the eternal optimist, so would never think I would lose a job, go off work on long term sick etc.
There's a bigger thing at stake here though, and one that doesn't seem to be being addressed, and that is mis-selling in general.  Its easy to pick up on 'soft' deals such as PPI, but what about things that we pay for but add no value whatsoever? e.g. packaging and marketing in general.  Can we reclaim the cost of the bit of cardboard in a multi-pack of Twix that is only there to keep them looking neat and tidy? ..and what about early CD players that were made to look bigger than needed so we thought it was worth paying an extortionate amount?  I'd better stop before it gets silly.

Summer? I think we've missed it.

I see penny-farthings are making a bit of a comeback, you can even buy one new.  I'm, not sure I would want one it always looks like getting on one is a challenge in itself, and like tree climbing once you're up there the difficult bit is getting down.  Still, it would be a good view looking over the hedges and into peoples bedrooms.  Just kidding about the hedges.

It's already well into June and the temperatures are refusing to show any signs of summer.  Out on my bike Friday evening and I really felt cold even with some blood-pumping climbing and came back looking very red.  It was a bit better on Saturday (but not much), and I put my overshoes on this morning for one of my early rides into work.

Fish food.

PC games - I've never been enamoured by them but they always seem to be in the news for some reason or other.  Today's news is a new device that detects feet movements and transfers this info to the game and offers a 'totally immersive experience etc etc'. How interesting.

We decided to get some traditional fish and chips last night for tea.  This is (approximately) an annual event where we go to Cleethorpes, park on the front facing the sea, get some fish and chips and sit there people watching.  Luckily there were quite few people about of all sorts and sizes to give us some conversation topics.  I was taken by the high number of tattoos on show, but I think I always say that.  Previous years have usually been in early Spring - April or thereabouts, so to see some sun was quite a change.  We then went on to Mr McDonalds café for a coffee and fattening ice cream to top off a really unhealthy evening - but it only happens once a year.
When we got home at around 9:30, it was still quite light so with a heavy stomach I decided to go for a run.  This would be the 1st one since Sunday so I was only interested in the village and back.  Well, 3 miles and 3 pit-stops later I arrived home lighter than when I left.

Hot stuff.

Yesterday I read an interesting angle on skin cancer and the prevention of.  It was penned by a triathlete because one of the top pro triathletes had got skin cancer which had provoked some concerns about it and how to prevent it.  This often occurs to me when out in the sun - either running, cycling or just basking.
He made some interesting points about how sun cream was only invented in the 40s, incidence of skin cancer has increased drastically since the 70s, but is not consistent across Europe e.g. those in sunnier climes have not seen the increase of Denmark and the UK, and there's the fact that (in general) people spend less time outdoors as part of their jobs than they did in 'the old days'.  So, where does this leave us?  Suncream manufacturers would love us to use their products, no surprise there, but I don't see many balanced reviews on the subject.  Is it just a seemingly random thing that affects only some people?  Think I'll do a bit of research with Mr Google.

I'm just about over the physical exertions of Sunday - that lactic acid has been hanging around for a while so I'll be trying out my bike tonight as the weather is looking good.  I wonder if recovery time is directly proportional to the effort e.g. does an ironman take twice as long to get over than a half ironman?  Probably not a straight line, but I feel like this half ironman has taken an awful lot longer than a sprint.  There's plenty written about lactate thresholds/recovery etc so I'm not going to pretend I can add anything meaningful to it except the obvious statement that the further you go, the longer it takes to get over it.

Out the box..

'Re-purposing'.  That's an interesting word - or is it a word?  The hyphen is mine, well, not mine exactly, but I used it in the word because I thought it needed it.  If it was missed out it might get a different emphasis on the 'rep' part and be just, well, silly.
It was used by the boss of Tesco to describe what they are doing with store space that needed to be used for something else and to be frank, sounded downright strange when he said it.  I guess it's used at all the planning meetings. They might even have Re-purpose Meetings - that would be a good idea and be greeted by all concerned as good use of English.  I can imagine that the re-language people would also like the concept as would the re-concept marketing department.  It's just another of those stupid business words/phrases that although you know sounds and is absolutely terrible, you end up using it because it actually fits what you are trying to say.
Now, about that blue sky thinking seminar...

Keep abreast of the news.

The news agencies were buzzing a couple of weeks ago when Angela Jolie announced she had had a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer.  To add a rather sad aspect to it, her auntie died a week later for breast cancer, so surely her reasons were justified for what is seen as rather a drastic measure to take, but when you're life is at risk does it take much working out?
But, what amused/disgusted me was the headline at the weekend on Sky News (one of the few apps I have on my iPhone) 'Angela makes her first public appearance since the op'.  Not only did they think it newsworthy, they made it 'Breaking News' as if it was 'news'.  What a bunch of dunces - I wonder how they can sleep at night.

On a more mundane, personal matter, I'm really feeling my legs today after the weekend's exertions! Ouch! 

A good day for the race - the human race.

Well, I'm pleased to say that the triathlon went better than expected.  5 hrs 35 mins in total which I think is around the mid-finishing time so given my grey hair and receding hairline, that's not bad.  I jogged the run, starting slowly and finishing even slower at just under 2 hrs.  I managed to resist walking apart from the water stops and fortunately no severe aches and pains during or after the race.  My expected dodgy knee behaved itself as did my abductor strain although I didn't really put them under any pressure apart from the sheer length of the exercise.  Don't think I've ever done 5 and a half hours exercise in anything, not even in my marathon days, so all in all a good day.
All I need to do now is build up my running training for the next one.