Run to Win

This week last year, I got married. Despite that, the website was pretty busy even after I started to ignore it. The end of this week last year and a good portion of the next week were devoted towards a series that I wrote ahead of time about shoes: how to choose them, and how to maintain them so that they last as long as possible.

• WCSH6 offered finish line videos of the entire Beach to Beacon in 5 minute increments: very cool!
• I explained the difference between RICE and RID and why either method is a good way to treat your injuries. Not that the two methods are all that dissimilar…
• Over in the UK, cross country running was declared a brand of abuse and was equated with bullying. It seems a little ridiculous to myself.
• The first half of my Shoe Maintenance Series went live while I was busy getting ready to be married. I introduced the series, and then offered up a central theme in the tips which is to keep your shoes dry when you are not wearing them. How you keep them dry is important, as well, which is why I continued on the second day by explaining how effective pulling out insoles can be and why you should remove rocks and mud after your run. The next day was the wedding itself, and then on Sunday there was one tip where I explained what to do if your shoes are sopping wet.
• For those following all of the doping scandals and couldn’t keep them straight, I offered up the difference between Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis. The jury is still out on Floyd Landis.
• I began offering this website in 8 new languages after installing Translation Gold.
• Two years ago, at the world championships in Helsinki, Kenenisa Bekele won the 10,000m, Bershawn Jackson won the 400m hurdles, and the United States took the top 4 in the 200 meters final. This year’s world championships will be in Osaka, Japan starting on August 25^th. I also reviewed my casio wristwatch and the book, Run Fast: How to beat your best time every time.

• I continued my series on how to ice sore muscles by explaining how to give yourself an ice massage and how to use an ice bath.
• I spent a little time exploring the cost of racing and how much race registration fees can cost.
• Cramping and gas can be unpleasant when you are running. In fact, running can make gastrointestinal problems worse, so I explored ways to recover.
• I began having some problems with plantar fascitis, and one of the ways that I tried to stretch out my arches and recover was to mow the lawn barefoot. While certainly a very dangerous activity, it did do a good job of stretching out my feet.
• In doping news, Floyd Landis was first accused of doping at the Tour de France. His case still has not been resolved.
• Two years ago this week, and still on the Tour de France topic, Lance Armstrong won his final Tour. I also gave some tips about proper hydration and how to time rest intervals while lifting weights.

It seems that as far as doping labs go, they can never seem to get anything right. It was not too long ago that an 7 year old anonymous blood sample that had no control samples (since the control samples had been previously tested came back negative) seemingly proved Lance Armstrong was a doper. With even more relevance to the issue at hand, the case against Inigo Landaluze was dropped after his blood samples were mishandled.

The French laboratory that handled the test results may have allowed improper access to Landis’ urine samples, [...] According to the report, two technicians who conducted the “A” sample on Landis were involved in tests on the second “B” sample, which is used to confirm the first test. International lab standards do not allow the same technicians to work on both tests to prevent them from attempting to validate their original findings.

(Click here to continue reading…)

Floyd Landis asked the French anti-doping agency to postpone their ruling on whether to suspend him until after he had had a chance to defend himself before the US anti-doping agency this May. In order to get them to agree to postpone the ruling, he will not participate in any French races for the year.

“In this case, and in order to avoid any misunderstanding, I agree to voluntarily not participate in any professional or amateur cycling event in France until December 31, 2007, and in particular the Tour de France 2007.”

Floyd Landis is not giving much up. After having had hip surgery, he probably would not have been able to participate in the Tour de France this year anyway. Now at least he can worry about one thing at a time, and that is defending himself before USADA.

(Source: ESPN.com)

Floyd Landis has been in the news a bit lately after he criticized Dick Pound and then announced that he would wants a second Tour victory to replace his memories of his last race.

Criticizing Dick Pound is nothing new; he has a history of making ill-informed and innappriate comments. What I find interesting is Floyd Landis’ take on what his appeal results in.
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What is the difference between Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong? Floyd Landis recently went from American bicycling’s new hero to just another cheat in the blink of an eye after his Tour de France win a few weeks ago. I have written constantly on this site about Lance Armstrong ever since he won his last Tour de France last year. In it, I stated that his drug woes would not end with his retirement, and I was right.

Floyd Landis has recently been back pedaling for his explanations on why his “A” urine sample had so much testosterone in it. He admits that what he said was a mistake, and that his lawyers should have kept their mouths shut. He was not thinking clearly and did not do much to defend himself because he was still exhausted from the 3 week race. That is all reasonable, but he does still have those two failed urine tests; his “B” sample also came back with too much testosterone. Floyd Landis is determined that he is going to find an explanation for why his test came back positive when he did not take any testosterone during the race and did not cheat. I have my theory, which I will expand upon below.

The question on my mind is, how is Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong any different? Both men need to defend doping charges, both men have been the spot light of the cycling world (if for different lengths of time), and both men have almost no chance of proving that they are innocent to the people that control the paychecks and the race results.
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One day after news broke that an unnamed rider had been caught doping during the Tour de France, it has come out that that rider is Floyd Landis. His first test sample apparently tested positive after stage 17, when he made an amazing come back following his breakdown the day before.

There is no official word yet from Floyd Landis, but his mother weighed in on the allegations.
(Click here to continue reading…)