Interview with Jurgen Zack

Zack talks about his plan to get his Ironman running at Hawaii into top gear and scientifically dealing with issues of weight, nutrition, and body type to belie the Dave Scott jokes about being him being too chunky to win Ironman.

Bloke in France

Crashes and fevers...James' PEZ report from France chronicles the woes of being a young pro cyclist. Hang in there, James!

Get Your Tri-Geek On

The Tri-Geek Kahuna's excitement about racing Wildflower is refreshing.

Lance Armstrong, Auto Racer?

Four wheels are better than two?

Former NFL Running Back Is a Marathoner

Since he retired from professional football, Roger Craig, 44, has taken on distance running as his new passion. I actually saw Roger when I snuck into the VIP room for the Chicago Marathon's post-race party last October. Some doofus was asking him how many yards he rushed for in his career and he was looking like he'd rather be back out on the marathon course than fielding that kind of question.

"All my teammates and peers, they always say, 'Roger why are you running so many miles? Why are you doing this?' They just don't get it. Running is a passion for me. I love to run. If I can't run, man, I swear, I'd probably go crazy. Running, it helps me. It cleanses me, it cures me, it gets my endorphins kicking in for the day."

Stormin' Normann Invades Wildflower

This weekend Normann Stadler is favored to win his first pro triathlon on U.S. soil: the Wildflower long course in Monterey County, California.

Portuguese Gym-Goers Urged to Drink Beer

Fliers outlining the health benefits of drinking up to two bottles of beer per day will be handed out to patrons arriving at gyms in Lisbon and Oporto. This sounds almost as silly as promoting low-carb U.S. beers with pictures of beautiful athletic women in workout gear.

Is It In You?

Here's that 60-second Chris Legh Gatorade commercial, narrated in dramatic fashion by Keith Jackson.

Gordo's World: A Nice Place to Visit But...

Gordo set out to swim 75,000 yards in a week. The article itself is hard to read, but there is a gratuitous pic of Coach Caplan, whoever she is.

Life-Saving Numbers

Healthy living goes far beyond just measuring your speed or max heart rate. If you haven't had your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar measured recently, now is the time. I'm actually doing all that this morning.

Arizona Schools: Just Say No to Doritos and Coke

Missouri schools and I are going to have trouble unless they emulate what Arizona has done before my kids get there. You go, Grand Canyon State...

Transatlantic Swim Attempt Thwarted

And we really thought Opera's CEO was going to make it from Norway to the U.S.!

Epic Diet

Dan Empfield has waged war on his last 15 pounds of fat.

"What I've discovered, conversely, is that middle-aged people like me aren't quite the slaves to our weaknesses that we were when we were younger. The gap between our good intentions and our execution has narrowed. We own ourselves. When we make decisions about whether to fall in love, complete a project, keep to a budget or a schedule, or eat appropriately, we find we have the tools to see the decision through, though we may have lacked these tools when we were younger."

Climbing Scotland's Munros

There are 284 Scottish peaks higher than 3,000 feet. Outside's writer bagged a few.

Diary: Running Through Kenya

This week former Running Times editor Scott Douglas is chronicling for Slate the time he is spending in Iten, Kenya, the farming town that is the center of the country's running culture.

"Westerners who immerse themselves in Iten's running culture don't learn new methods of physical preparation—every elite international runner pretty much knows how to train. What they do absorb is Kenyans' monomaniacal dedication."

Thanks to Anonymous Economist for the link.

What's on President Bush's iPod?

No, not the Dixie Chicks. Turns out the Prez listens to country and classic rock artists to get him through his bike workouts.

"What we're talking about is a lot of great artists from the 60's and 70's and more modern artists who sound like great artists from the 60's and 70's. ... This is basically boomer rock 'n' roll and more recent music out of Nashville made for boomers. It's safe, it's reliable, it's loving. What I mean to say is, it's feel-good music. The Sex Pistols it's not."

God save the Queen!

PT on the Flight Deck

Navy sailor Maggie DeLany runs circles around her flight deck.

Tour de Georgia Wrap Up

Discovery Channel helped Tom Danielson defend his four-second lead over Levi Leipheimer on Sunday. It was the 27-year-old American's biggest stage race win in his career.

Holla at Hollywood: The Transatlantic Litmus Test

Lingus
Originally uploaded by jjactive.

How do our motion picture studios know when a movie they've been working on is ready for release? After sitting through four of the worst movies made since Water World during two recent transatlantic flights--Ocean's Twelve, Spanglish, Lemony Snicket, and some bomb with Nic Cage--I have developed a new litmus test.

Gather all the key players--the writers, director, producers, editors, and actors--put them in a cramped middle seat in coach next to a screaming Gaelic baby on an Aer Lingus Airbus A330, and force them to watch their "creation" while flying nonstop from LAX to Dublin. If the flick helps them pass two hours without giving them the urge to suffocate themselves with the motion sickness bag or dive out of the plane without a parachute, then it's ready for release. Simple.

Quote of the Day: James Joyce

"One by one they were all becoming shades. Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age."
- James Joyce, The Dead

Tour de Georgia Time Trial Photo Gallery

The full gallery is here. The stage winner was Floyd Landis.

Driving in Western Ireland

Sign
Originally uploaded by jjactive.

Ultra-narrow roads, driving on the left, roundabouts, 100 KMH speed limits along cliffs...I probably should have been wearing my bike helmet in the car.

Roadrunner's Diary

What if The Roadrunner kept a diary?

"Tuesday: Up early. Ran (speed work). Trompe l'oeil master class, 10 to noon. Meaning to push beyond highway-disappearing-into-tunnel, tried highway-disappearing-into-ballet-class (after Degas). Results unsettling. Light lunch. Coyote assembling whirlybird device (rotor, dynamite, etc.) in box canyon. Listens to Jimmy Buffett. Ran like hell. Barn swallows over for drinks."

Note to Self: Don't Tick Off Lance

Much as Italian Filippo Simeoni discovered during his failed breakaway attempt in last year's Tour, Greg LeMond now knows that Lance has a long memory and a penchant to hold a grudge.

Thanks to Draggletail for the Page Six link, which kicked our weary, jet-lagged butt back into gear on this site. Inactiveness, you have been deactivated!

JJ: Inactiveness

OK faithful readers, J #2 is heading across the Atlantic for some family time and to practice a little Flemish with the relatives. So, you might not see much fresh content until J #1 returns and works his magic finding the interesting fitness news that keeps you coming back.

While we're "Inactive", we encourage our readership (that includes you Texas, California, Illinois, Ireland, etc.) to post a comment or send us an e-mail letting us know what you like, don't like, would like to see more or less of, etc. Heck, any ideas are cool with us. We promise not to sell your name or e-mail address to anyone, unless they offer us a whole lot of money, then we will probably sell you out. Sorry. Seriously, let us know what's on your mind. Peace.
-Jan

US Half Championship Qualifying

ushalf-trimag
Originally uploaded by jjactive.

Learn how to qualify for the 1/2 Ironman National Championship Triathlon on September 25, 2005 at www.ushalfchampionship.com. If you make it there, you might end up in next year's advertisement (like the guy in the swimcap looking serious).

JJ: Timing is Everything

If you're like me, the place you are in life is due in large part to timing. Relationships (or lack thereof), job opportunities, unique experiences, encounters, and observations, all mold your life based on when they take place, or perhaps when you are open to letting them take place.

Sore legs and a couple blackened toenails had me moving pretty slowly the day after the marathon. Motivation and I broke up when I crossed the finish line after 26.2. The last thing on my mind was training or my next race (triathlon in June). But I arrived home to find my mailbox stuffed with my triathlon "uniform" from Team Javelin. Perfect timing.

-Jan

JJ: Not Even Close

Sometimes you set goals and fall short. Sometimes you fall very short. My 3:23.58 marathon result this morning falls in the latter category. It didn't work out this time, for whatever reason.

I can't feel sorry for myself, though, when I know that the love and support of my friends, family, and God are not performance-based. I remember reading a quote from Kyle Rote Jr., US soccer star from the 1970's, who said that once he realized this, he was no longer afraid to fail. That quote stuck.

Special thanks to Marshall and Matt, "the support crew", who were great in helping me get exactly the nutrition I needed all over the course today. Awesome job. Meant a lot to me. Despite not hitting my goal time, you guys still got me in the top 5% overall and top 12% of my age group. You guys are my boys forever.

To my training partners and friends John, Steve, Sami, and Ryan, thanks for making the training fun and something to look forward to. I am very lucky to have you guys and honestly don't think most people have training partners that they also could go to a bar, a concert, or an art show with. How cool is that?

Respect.
-Jan

JJ: Back to the Homeland

Ireland
Originally uploaded by jjactive.

Due to life, posts on this blog have been sporadic lately. It's about to get even lonelier here. Jan's on his own for a while as I explore Ireland through April 17. Many of my Irish ancestors made their way over to the States during the Great Potato Famine. I'm wondering how deeply their spirits still run through me--and whether I'll feel like I'm home. I think I will.

Until we meet again, I'll be swimming in Guinness, riding on the left side of the road, and running low on euros. Slainte. - John

Ten Tips For Running Boston

A 10-time Boston Marathon veteran offers 10 tips for running that race.

Preparing For Ironman Arizona

I disagree that completing an Ironman is "all in the mind" and I would never call these athletes "weekend warriors," but here's an Arizona Republic article on some age-groupers getting ready for Saturday's race.

Quote of the Day

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16:18

I've been humbled enough times to know that pride precedes the fall. If I were the type of person who made little yellow sticky notes to myself, that would be one.

Ironman Arizona Could Introduce Residents to Fitness Lifestyle

The race is on Saturday.

Has "Taking it Easy" Become the Hallmark of Modern Running?

Though marathon running is at an all-time high in terms of popularity, the author argues that these events are being sanitized and slowed down by runners who just want to take it easy and avoid pain.

"There has been a precipitous decline in the standards of British elite and club runners since the 1980s. One cause of the decline is that distance running--an activity which involves endurance, struggle and pain--rests at odds with the current popular discourse of the attenuated self: the vulnerable individual who needs to be protected by an overbearing state. The second cause is that running is being choked by charity raising and the anti-competitive ethos that goes with it."

JJ: Strength From Weakness

So maybe I still finished 5-6 minutes behind Resilient Training Partner Steve, who had spent the week chowing deep dish Chicago pizza and downing Bud and the night before the race inhaling multiple adult beverages at a Final Four viewing party, but I was happy with my half-marathon time on Sunday. It felt nice to be running further up in the pack, closer to the Fast People, and I bagged the time I needed for a preferred start at the Chicago Marathon.

Streaming past other runners heading up one of the course's many rolling hills, it hit me that the core, flexibility, and leg weight training program that talented Body Sculptor Katie has been putting me through at the gym is paying off. She has cheerfully exposed all my deficiencies, and I've had the epiphany that my conditioning program had much room for improvement. Let strength grow out of weakness. ... - John

Lance's New Clothing Line

The Nike marketing machine strikes again with 10/2, Lance Armstrong's new performance clothes. He was diagnosed with cancer on 10/2/1996.

Runner goes the distance: 301 miles

Pam Reed, 44-year-old mother of three, ran 301 miles without stopping in 80 hours. Both are believed to be world records.

"This was the coolest running experience I've ever had," she said. "If I don't show excitement, it's because I'm so overwhelmed."

How about tired?

JJ: Making the Most of One's Self

The annual "Coach [John] Wooden Keys to Life Award" was presented this weekend to former NBA great Bobby Jones for his outstanding character and exemplifying the seven points of a creed that Wooden's father gave him when he was 12 years old entitled, "Making the Most of One's Self". The seven points of the creed are:

1. Be True to Yourself
2. Make Each Day Your Masterpiece
3. Help Others
4. Drink Deeply from Good Books
5. Make Friendship a Fine Art
6. Build a Shelter Against a Rainy Day
7. Pray for Guidance and Give Thanks for Your Blessings Every Day

Oui...This Guy Has the Eye of the Tiger

What if Rocky worked in a grocery store in France? Watch this hilarious recreation of his training.

Have Your Goals and Eat Your Spaghetti Too

From Laura "The Productivity Pro", an article about effective goal setting. From improving your race results to getting ahead at work, "the greatest enemy of action is the lack of a plan".

JJ: Who's the Boss?

I have a friend, Ned, who for years has called everyone “Boss.” Says it all the time. “How ya doing, boss? Move over, boss. Want another drink, boss? Who’s the boss, apple sauce?” Last weekend Ned had the celebrity stalker sighting of a lifetime when he bumped into and exchanged hellos with Bruce "the Boss" Springsteen as they each waited in line to pick up tickets at the New York Yankees’ spring training ballpark in Tampa. “Did you say, “hey Boss,” was my obvious question. The phone went silent. “Damn it!”

Next week I’m meeting Ned in Limerick, Ireland, and a few of us are touring the country. So in the spirit of our trip:

There once was a Ned from Nantucket,
Who called everyone "Boss" while leaving his dignity in a bucket,
But when he saw the real deal, a Springsteen named Bruce,
Choked up like a dude with something to lose,
As for not calling him "Boss" or even "apple sauce,"
Well, f--- it.

- John

JJ: Publicly Stating a Goal

On Sunday I'm going to run a sub-1:45 half marathon so I can secure my "preferred" starting position at this year's Chicago Marathon and, hopefully, avoid some of the annual mayhem at the start of that race. After several months of lugging my 185 lbs. around the park, chasing Activeness's Jan and a couple of other speedsters during our Sunday long runs, I'm confident that I can maintain an 8:00-minute per mile pace for the 13.1 miles. Heck, that's the pace those guys run when they slow down to tie their shoes. ... I've seen them move faster than that while reading the Sunday paper and wolfing down bowls of oatmeal and sipping their Starbucks. But I digress: The point is that when race day comes along, it's good to have had fast training partners who have let you sit on their wheel. - John

Train Like a Triathlete

Every once in a while, Runners World acknowledges that triathlon exists.

Floyd Landis's Bike

Neither Floyd Landis nor his Phonak BMC bike are ever going to win any beauty contests.

Wear Sunscreen!

Here's some advice on avoiding skin cancer during triathlon training.