Bicycle Crash Density

Who knew?  Such a term.  I would have called it “Place where things go wrong”.

I was browsing the city’s web site and stumbled upon their ‘Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan’ from June.  This plan essentially outlines how they are going to take over the world via bike paths and sidewalks.  It’s lofty in its goals, of which much will unfortunately likely never be realized (primarily given the last time I went to a city planning meeting a council member flat out stated that “bikes shouldn’t be allowed on the road and that they were a danger to [her] SUV” – yes – that’s nearly a verbatim quote).

At any rate… I found this nifty little diagram:

Now, some expensive consultants likely put this together as well as the plan addressing how to fix many of these issues.  Of course, anyone who bikes or runs around Alexandria could easily have picked out the hot spots (generally categorized by a location where cars and cyclists willfully ignore stoplights/signs and thus tango together).  For example - you’ll note all of the locations with more than one incident are near intersections.  Some of those intersections HIGHLY sketchy, especially for cyclists or runners.

Speaking of runners…here’s the pedestrian crashola chart:

This is where the data becomes more interesting in my mind – especially as you see very clear trends between the two maps.  The same places were bike accidents happen – pedestrian accidents happen.

At any rate, I just thought it was an interesting diagram/map.  And I do have to give credit to the City of Alexandria.  They have a guy who’s job it is to run these projects and interface with the cycling community, and he’s pretty cool and down to earth.  They also run a fairly active listserv and cycling input group including having city folks on the discussion.  Plus, they repaved my path. :)

And…it appears they are out there doing something the last few days starting up some more cycling pathways stuff a bit further down the trail. So woot!

The 2009 Schedule…revealed

Given it’s late January now, and I’m past all the New Year and Inauguration stuffola, it’s time to get on with the new year.  Training has resumed back to a normal workload with plenty of harder double-workouts about half the days each week.

So what’s in store?  Well, first up is about three months of super-secret training.  Ok, so it’s not so secret.  But since my first race is about three months since my last, it’ll be like a secret.  Like Veep Cheney hidden away at an undisclosed location (remember him?).

Anyway…we begin the year with a little time-trial test.  Also known as:

• National Half Marathon - March 21st, 2009: This will serve as a good benchmark for my running.  A loose goal is 1:19 (but that’s not a hard goal).  We’ve (the coach and I) shifted what was an initial focus on that race to a focus instead on the race following it.  Btw, I never bothered to figure out how fast a sub-1:20 half-marathon is…umm, turns out 6:06 per mile.  Yikes!  It seemed like a good idea at the time anyway…
• Escape from Ft. Desoto Triathlon – April 11th, 2009: The Girl is racing this, and after very little convincing on her part – I'll be racing it as well.  This will be my first sprint-tri since my very first triathlon back in July 2007.  This will be a blast of a race on a flat, fast course.  And I’ll be in the first swim wave – so things will certainly be interesting from the gun…
• Boston Marathon – April 20th, 2009: Straightforward enough, it’s the Boston Marathon.  My goal is to have fun and not set a PR.  There will be no sub-3 here, that’s for sure!  But re-qual for Boston would be handy (yes, I know I don’t actually need it since my November time works for two years worth of qualifying, but I need at least something to aim for – otherwise I might stop mid-race at an iHop and have breakfast or something).
• Kinetic Sprint Tri – May 10, 2009: A second sprint tri – who knew?  This is mostly a tune-up race more than anything else.  I haven’t looked at results yet from previous years to see how this might shake out.
• Reston 2-mile swim – May 24, 2009: This was the coach’s idea.  I’m using it as a brick workout, I’m sure he’ll have some crazy-ass day planned when the time comes.  Registration opened up this last weekend and is likely already closed – so if you haven’t registered yet…go quick!
• Health Net Olympic Triathlon (Connecticut) – June 13, 2009: I needed an oly distance race on a specific weekend as part of the ramp to the 70.3  This was the only one anywhere on this coast on that weekend (seriously, I looked at hundreds of races!).  However, rumor is that there might be an age-group race associated with the ITU world cup race here in DC in the May/June timeframe, so I might switch to that (if anyone has deets on the date of this event, I’d greatly appreciate them!)
• Rhode Island Ironman 70.3 – July 12, 2009: I’m quite simply looking to kick ass at this race.  Kick ass is defined as a podium finish, or achieving the time goal below.  Last year I had an incredible race at a 4:46 finish time.  But I also had serious issues on the run with throwing up and walking, resulting in a less than ideal run time.  I think I could easily shave off nearly 15 minutes on my run assuming I actually…run the run.  Let alone what I’ll shave off on the bike (I think 5-10 minutes there is possible).  I don’t expect a much faster swim, maybe a minute or two.  Oh, in case it wasn’t clear: Clearwater is the goal.
• Ironman Canada – August 30th, 2009: Last year’s first Ironman was a success as a whole.  But the run fell apart like a wet paper towel following bad bike nutrition.  This year it’s all about a very solid but tempered bike (and nutrition!), followed by a good run time.  Assuming I can do both of those (oh, and not drown in the swim), I’ll be on my way to my goal of Kona.  Though the cookies at some of the aide stations could prove tempting enough to stop…
• Nation’s Triathlon (Olympic) – September 13th, 2009: Last year I came in 3rd out of more than 200 folks in my AG.  So that was a massive success!  I missed the elite qualification cutoff by a few seconds – which is actually fine by me.  This year will be a bit trickier with IMC being juts two weeks prior…so I’ll play it by ear.
• The TBD Races…
  • Kona – Ironman World Championships – October 10th, 2009: Simple enough – either I qualify…or I don’t.
  • Clearwater – Ironman 70.3 World Championships – Nov 14, 2009: Straight forward enough again…
  • Anything after the above will be TBD depending on Kona and Clearwater…so we’ll see.
  • The fall running races.  Obviously there won’t be many fall running races if I get into Clearwater or Kona.  Save perhaps for another turkey trot…

So there ya go – my 2009 racing schedule.  It could change of course, but since I’m registered for most of the races, that seems rather unlikely.  Should be a fun year!

The State of my State: 2008 Review Edition

It’s that time of year again – a recap of last year.  While most folks took care of this prerequisite post earlier this month…I meanwhile…was a slacker.

I’ve finally gotten my training records all sorted out.  As you may recall, I have a number of different logs that I use to track.  Well, after weeks of procrastination I got my master one all updated and have what I think are fairly accurate numbers.  They would be low if anything (if I missed something). 

From the pretty charts, you can see where a knee injury in late 2007 carried over to February of 2008, thus limiting my ability to train. 

Also keep in mind that cycling miles are sorta a non-valid number because 2/3rds of my bike workouts are on trainers, where the mileage is a variable function.  Hours are more valid.

Similar to last year, I’ll run through a recap of the year in as quick as manner possible.

So let’s start with the training numbers:

Cycling: 241.75 hours, 4,036.46 miles

You’ll note a significant cycling drop-off starting in September post Ironman Canada.  That’s where I shifted to running being the major focus for the fall running season.  Of course, I was still cycling three times a week.  Well, except in December - travelling so much in then threw my cycling out the window.

Running: 170.66 hours, 1,380.09 miles

Running was impacted the most by my injury early last year.  But by March I was back in full gear.  I was able to dramatically increase my running endurance, but also increase some speed as well.  A typical  week for me is generally three runs:

1. Tuesday Track (8-15 miles)
2. Thursday ~10 miler ascending tempo run
3. Saturday Long run (20 miler)

These get mixed up a bit once my really long rides kick in (because then the long run shifts to Tuesday to avoid back to back long sessions), but generally I only have three runs a week.

Swimming: 128.25 hours, 226.25 miles (398,200 yards)

I swam a bit more this year than last (about four times as much).  You see above the big jumps during the summer months, that’s that result of Saturday long swims (7,000 yards a pop).  And that drop in May is the new coach taking time to work on technique.  Like the cycling, everything drops off in September to focus on running.

Quick Recap:
Overall training numbers were way up this year in many areas:

1. Bike: 4,306m (2008), 1,942 (2007)
2. Swim: 398,200yds (2008), 166,165yds (2007)
3. Run: 1,380m (2008), 1,293m (2007)

Of course, if I had an extra few months of running allowed (no Jan/Feb), we’d be talking a different game there.  But all in all, a solid training year.  So how about the races?

2008 Racing Overview:

I can solidly state that my 2008 racing season went pretty well.  I completed two Oly’s, three half-Irons, one full-iron, one marathon, and a slew of shorter distance running races.  A few random highlights:

• Completing Ironman Canada – Obviously this was the big goal race for me last year, and I completed it :).  Although there was never any doubt in my mind I would complete it (barring an awesome trip to the hospital), it was just a matter of what time I would complete it in.  Overall I did well and finished in 10:49.
• Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 – Despite finishing an Ironman, this race that I did a month prior is actually what I’m most proud of this past year.  While I finished in 4:46 (which I’m quite happy about – a 25 minute PR), it’s knowing that I can slice off a huge chunk of time if I don’t stand, walk and throw-up on the run next year.  That’s what I’m really excited about.
• Nation’s Tri (Oly) – Being only three weeks after Ironman Canada I was a bit concerned how this might go – but I was thrilled to be able to collect some goods and go home with a 3rd place AG finish (out of more than 200 in my AG).  So that was sweet!
• Philly Marathon – The secondary big goal of the year was a Boston Qualifying time.  By mid-summer it became clear that a BQ time wasn’t going to be an issue, but rather instead seeing if sub-3 was possible.  In the end I was thrilled to go sub-2:55, securing not only  a BQ spot, but also guaranteed entry to the New York Marathon.  Woot!

Oh, and I’m happy to report that I really didn’t have any race lowlights.  Sure, I had a few issues during a race like most, but overall there weren’t any DNF’s or complete blow-outs.  I am proud to say that I’ve managed to continue my streak through of throwing up in at least one out of every two tri’s I complete.  It’s pretty awesome.

So all in all I’d say the season went pretty well.  My cycling improved tremendously, as did my running, and my swimming endurance moved up quite a bit – although swimming is still my sore sport. 

Of course, 95% of this is due to the extreme dedication of my coach.  I just simply do what he says day in and day out.  Run slower he says…ok I say.  Swim correctly he says…ok I say.  Bike more he says…ok I say.  He’s taught me it’s not just about volume – but also about specifity and recovery.  It’s not about running as fast as you can day in an day out – or riding as long as you can.  It’s about making every single workout have a specific reason…and count.

So what does next year bring?  Well…you’ll have to wait for Tuesday. :)

The inauguration as seen from the masses

We survived.

Which, is about as much as one hope for when you go fish with a few million of your friends.

We walked a lot.

About 7 or so hours worth of walking, standing, walking, more standing, and more walking.  We took Metro from my nearby stop towards the city and by time we were a few stops away people were attempting to get into the Metro trains via mosh pit tactics.  It was a little crazy.  I just treated it like a mass swim start, it works well that way.

(The commemorative Metro (subway) ticket, from this morning) 

It was amazing to see how many people were wandering around the city – and without cars.

Despite our nifty purple tickets that the Girl scored, we could not get into the purple area.  Somehow they closed it down.  The purple area was located directly in front of the capitol and would have been spectacular…but alas it was not to be.

Given the demise of the purple plan, it was time to put together a new plan.

We overheard some folks saying they were letting people in on the opposite side of the mall, so we made a big ole loop around the Capitol (around the secured area) and attempted to get in there.  But alas, the line at the blue gate was enormous (thousands of people) and with only 20 minutes until noon (the time of the swearing in), we decided to head down the mall and find a spot near a jumbotron.

Here’s the re-enactment diagram overlaid on a satellite image taken today about 40 minutes prior to the start of the inauguration.  The start is actually after hours upon hours of transit and waiting in a massive line (tens of thousands of people long filling a tunnel under the city).

As we were wandering down the mall (towards the left above) in a semi given-up state, the silver area randomly opened up like a gushing river, and we got swept into it.  Which…worked out quite well!  I was really worried that we’d be stuck somewhere without any view or TV, especially after all the long morning.  But it worked out…and that’s what counts.

So, here’s some photos I captured today.

Note the folks up in the tree…

At the end of the day, no matter where you were on the mall – it was amazing.  To look back or forward and see millions of people, all standing to watch one man make history is astounding – regardless of which side of the aisle you are on.

Oh, one cool little food note.  You may have heard about the inaugural lunch they have.  They published the menu – and all the recipes here!  Sweet!

How to make fresh gnocchi, among other things

Way back when I posted the how to make fresh pasta post, Xena asked about how to make fresh Gnocchi.

“Can we get a gnocchi post? I *still* can't get that right.”

Ask, and you shall receive.

Today after my 90 minute trainer ride I decided to put together a batch of gnocchi.  Except, while I was sitting there eating a quick meal I got distracted by a few cooking magazines.  By time I was done reading I decided I’d also make some fresh bread, fresh pesto and throw together some peanut butter as well.

Making gnocchi does take some time, both for the non-active parts (baking the potatoes), and then the active parts (making the gnocchi).  It’s easy cooking, it just takes some patience.

First up – grab yourself about 2 or so pounds of Russet Potatoes.  Stab some holes in them, and put throw them on a baking sheet.

Toss them into the oven at 350*F for about 75-90 minutes.  Or until they feel soft enough that you think you could scoop out their insides with a spoon.

Once done, take them out of the oven and let them cool slightly.  Generally I ignore this step and burn my hands a bunch of times.  Don’t let them cool fully though – otherwise a few steps later is tough.

Go ahead and scoop out the insides.

From there we employ a special utility – called a potato ricer.  This  contraption takes your potato pulp and pushes it out into little strands and essentially makes it a much lighter substance.

 

From there, you end up with a bowl ol’ pile of potato strands.

After that, make a well in the potatoes. Then dump in half a cup of flour.  Then 3 egg yolks, and then another half a cup of flour.  Also toss in a tablespoon of salt.  If you forget to put in the first half a cup of flour below the eggs (like I did), no worries, just toss it in on top.

Then go ahead and chop it into the mixture.  You could probably use a spatula for this.  I used a dough scrapper, which is handy for a number of other things.

 

From there, roll it into a big ball, using flour as required to make it non-sticky.

Then roll it out into a big long snake about .5” wide, and then slice and dice it into smaller pieces.

Now you can use the back of a fork to make those nifty groves, or you can use a spiffy gnocchi paddle.  Or you can not bother with little groves.

Now you just repeat until you’ve filled up a baking sheet or two.  If you don’t plan to cook them right away, freeze them on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a Ziploc bag.

So…time to cook.

First, salted boiling water.  Then a side non-stock pan with a little bit of olive oil in it.

Now, toss the gnocchi in semi-small batches into the water, and then once they float, transfer them over to the pan.  You can get a pretty good rhythm going and double-team them.

The goal of the nonstick pan is to add a light textured crust to the outside that’s golden brown (this is the secret to really really good gnocchi).

From there, you mix it up with whatever you want.  I decided to make some fresh pesto using a few cheap basil plants I found at Whole Foods (it was overall cheaper than just buying it).

 

Here’s the recipe I use.

And once it’s all done, you can put it together and make it look fancy.

That black stuff – that’s a reduced balsamic vinegar sauce. Essentially I take a big bottle of balsamic vinegar and reduce it down to a thick syrup.  It’s quite good…on basically anything.  I also usually toss some parmesan cheese on it too, but I forgot to while taking photos.

Oh, remember the bread I got distracted by?  From this month’s Gourmet magazine.  The recipe isn’t posted yet there – but it’s called “Crusty Cornstalk Rolls”, when it does appear likely in the next few weeks. It’s super-easy to make and looks sorta pretty.

 

So there ya go…dinner.

Oh wait…peanut butter…right – here ya go.  Just used the BlendTec blender to spin it all together.

Chilly meet Chili

Upon returning back to this continent, my coach decided the best way to get me back into the rhythm was to not tell me what’s going to happen next.  Sorta like “You can’t run from the pain if you don’t know it’s coming”.

So Monday through Thursday were all normal ‘one a day’ workouts – and I received the workouts about 12 hours in advance of doing them.  Run, Swim, Bike, Run.

Actually, Tuesday brought forth a gazillion pages of new swim workout drills from the coach.  I laid them all out on my floor before heading to the pool.

At the pool I think I spent more time trying to decipher everything than actually swimming.  But it’s all good, in the end I’ll go faster.

It was funny, Wednesday morning after eating breakfast I noticed the sun was shining through the windows just in perfect way – illuminating only the trainer.  As if to say ‘Umm..it’s time.'

Last night was a bit cold though – low 20’s plus a nasty wind chill.  Apparently it’s colder here than in Africa.  Someone needs to fix that…ASAP!  But since it was a nice easy Z2 run with friends, it went by fairly quickly.

Speaking of running…I sent my Forerunner 305 back on Monday.  It meet an ugly death in Dubai, but Garmin was awesome on the phone Monday.  No arguing or whacky troubleshooting steps, I explained all the steps I had taken thus far and the person (from this continent) happily e-mailed me everything I needed.  She didn’t even have my wait on the phone.

Oh…back to training…

But the one-a-day workout honeymoon had to end sooner or later.  Apparently it was sooner.  I got the schedule last night, showing doubles again starting today.  A continuous (where I don’t stop) 3,000 yard swim and an hour on the trainer was on the menu.  There was also a 500 yard time trail (TT) tossed in there at the end for fun.  I wasn’t too far off my last TT in mid-December though, which wasn’t bad considering how little I’ve swam since then.

And then later today I did my trainer ride.  Wattages are off from what they were a month ago, but that’s also to be expected given I’ve only biked twice in the last 30 days.  But they were up a fair bit from Wednesday, so I’m getting back into the groove.

Of course, taunting the cold last night only resulted in it getting colder this morning.

I actually measure the ‘Damn it’s cold’ factor by how much the river out my window freezes.  I don’t overlook the Potomac, but rather a tributary that feeds into it.  It’s about 50 yards wide, and varies in depth from a foot to 15-20 feet on average.  Anyway…it was sorta frozen yesterday.  But today.  It’s very frozen.  Regrettably I forgot to take a picture and now it’s dark out.

Oh, Chili…right.

After reading about Sarah’s chili back a week or so ago, I was determined to make some when I returned home.  And given it’s the coldest day this winter thus far, it seemed appropriate.

I was initially going to follow her recipe, but after thinking about it – I’ve got a million cookbooks, so I might as well use one of them for once.

(Just some of the random bookshelves around my house with cookbooks)

Eventually I decided on a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and laid out all the ingredients.

Mmm…Chili!

Oh…but way more exciting is that The Girl scored some seriously sweet tickets for Tuesday (that’s ya know…the Presidential thing).  Woohoo!

Off to bed, I’ve got a long run tomorrow morning.  The temperature at the start is supposed to be about 5*F.  And that’s not even accounting for windchill.  Yikes!