Hi folks, I went out into the garden the other day and it just so happened that both my eldest son, Nick (42), and my middle son, Duncan (40), were there together and they were talking about their kids (my grandchildren). What happened then was an odd and strangely rare experience, much like the one I had when I first saw my own cells under a microscope. Several years previously, I had a biopsy of a ... Read more
You Are Responsible For Your Own Education On Over Training
Hi folks, From time to time I receive articles from friends about over training. I cannot imagine how Ironman training could lead to too much exercise, can you? My approach to this issue is pretty simple, and here are my rules: If my morning pulse is up by more than 5-10 beats, I may be over trained and should back off simply because more is not necessarily better. A note to people, such as myself, with an ... Read more
Monday Anchor Post: Be Aware Of Your Shoulders And Arms During Triathlon Training
Hi folks, I recently read an article on the Inkling Media blogsite, which proposed that when blogging one should consider including a regular 'anchor post,' just to keep the blogging on track and the readership happy. I thought, "why not give it a try?" so here we are. My anchor is training, stented or not. Today I want to talk briefly about the importance of arm and shoulder position in swimming, biking and ... Read more
What Do Plants Think And Feel?
Hi folks, I was awoken in the middle of the night by a teenager turning on lights, and I just could not get back to sleep. Thinking of teenagers, here is my favorite but unfortunately deceased dog, Trixie. What a lovely dog she was, and I had no doubt about her thinking or feeling lots of things because her expressions of pleasure and pain were not so different from my own and those of the other humans ... Read more
Veterinary Tales From FitOldDog As A Youth: Catching the Barn on Fire!
Hi folks I realized recently that I continue to blog because I enjoy storytelling. Deb's 13-year old son, Nick, will frequently say, "Kevin, tell us a story. Please!!!" Just imagine your most ancient of ancestors sitting around a fire in some part of what is now called Africa, looking at the stars and wondering about it all. No television. No radio. No books. The most popular person at that time might well have ... Read more
Comparisons: Nickel versus Johnny’s, Marathon versus Ironman
Hi folks, Exercise Tip: Allow sufficient recovery time after really long races or workouts. My lovely little dog, Nickel, passed away a few days ago. She lived for 16 good years and had a happy life, dying quietly of old age, wagging her tail for treats up until near the end - may I do as well. Then a few days later I had to deal with another unpleasant transition. I had nipped across the road to enjoy ... Read more
Was Alistair Cooke Creating A Model For Blogging?
Hi folks, Whilst growing up in post-war England during the late 1940s to early 1950s, my impressions of the USA (America is an inappropriate but common abbreviation that I will use here for convenience) were molded by a number of factors, including my mother's vociferous opinion ("problem with them is that they're over sexed, over paid and over here"), Hollywood (we were all in love with American film stars), and ... Read more
Zen and the Art of Body Maintenance Revisited
Hi folks, Training Tip: How to address an injury close to a planned race. In a previous post, I referred to that important book, 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' by Robert Pirsig, which addresses the issue of quality, using motorcycle maintenance as a metaphor. This is how I remember his story, which I read about 30 years ago. Robert Pirsig presents the relationship between two couples, who ... Read more
Recent Comments