September 2004 Archives

Since completing a metric century earlier this year, I have really done a lot of biking. In fact, I've put almost 1,200 miles on my bike this summer. In contrast, I've only put 2,500 miles on my car since January. The pinnacle, thus far, was finishing the 100 miles of the Apple Cider Century on Sunday. I did it with a friend who is a triathlete, and we finished in just over 6.5 hours, averaging over 15 miles per hour. Considering the hills and the wind, this is an awesome pace for me. My typical biking workout is a 17 mile stretch from museum campus down to 71st, along the lake shore bike path. I usually sustain a 17 to 18 mph average for those, and that's on a very flat path. If there is a next time, I'd like to train on some hills, but for now it's time to give my legs some much deserved rest. At least for a few days. Oh yeah, according to my favorite calorie calculator, I burned 4,800 calories!

I did my first Chicago Critical Mass last Friday, and, man that was fun! How often do you get to take over 3 out of 4 lanes on Western Ave. with bikes! It started downtown, and we went through Greektown, Pilsen, and Chinatown. I'm not sure why this was so satisfying, but it was awesome to get the big semis to blow their horns. That got everyone cheering. Surprisingly, most of the drivers were not that upset when they got blocked in by bikes. Then again, we were at the front of the pack. They may have gotten a little more agitated after sitting there for 10 minutes. CCM is always the last Friday of the month, meeting at Daley Plaza. Happy Friday!

I've learned a valuable lesson on running shoes: don't cheap out and wait too long to buy new shoes. A couple weeks ago, I started getting shin splints again. Since I hadn't change intensity or distance, I was a bit perplexed. I took about a week off to heal, but I also realized my running shoes were almost a year old. So I decided to get a new pair. Sure enough, the new shoes felt much better. I would have never thought that I could have felt such a difference in the shoes, but the new ones felt like they had much more cushion. I felt like I was running on a bouncy, almost springy surface, rather than hard concrete. You are supposed to change shoes every 200-500 miles, and I think I was closer to the top end. And the guy at the running store said you should also get new shoes at least every six months. So I'm definitely convinced. While shoes can be expensive (mine are $130), that's worth it if they keep me injury free. And running is still a cheap sport as compared to cycling.

I ran Nike's Run Hit Wonder 5k last night. It was chip timed, so it was pretty accurate, and my time was 27:19 (8:48 pace). This is slower than by Gibbon's 5k. But that wasn't a chip race, and I think my biking has affected my running. I'm still happy with the sub-nine minute pace.

After the race, they gave out food and drinks. And anyone with an ID could get a small (probably 8 oz.) Michelob Ultra beer. However, one 8 oz. beer only whets the appetite. A couple women in our group were able to bat their eyelashes and get some more beer and beer tickets for us all. And by the end of the night, the people serving the beer just started giving it away. There was far more beer than consumers, so we were happy to provide balance. Proving, once again, that good things come to those who wait.

I've been meaning to write about this for a while. I saw The Walking Dude on Michigan Ave. this morning, and it reminded me to post about The Walking Dude: A Dudementary. Whether you call him The Walking Dude, Walking Guy, or 70's Italian Loverman, if you've spent some time on Michigan Ave., you know who this guy is. Check out the movie... it's hilarious!

Last Thursday I saw M83 at The Empty Bottle. What a great show... I learned of M83 from Salon. Then I heard a few more songs from KEXP DJ John Richards. So, I went out and bought Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (after reading the Pitchfork review, of course). And the CD lived up to all the hype. Very soundscape-ish, and electronic, yet warm and full of emotion. But that was the interesting thing about the show. They looked like a typical rock band: drummer, two guitars, and a bassist. Yeah, the lead guitar player also played keyboards, most of which were pre-programmed, but the whole live instrument aspect really made the show kick ass. I was totally expecting one guy with a laptop and a few other components. It's refreshing to see a nice rock-electronic cross over like that. Anyhow, M83 is good stuff. Check 'em out. Their website is pretty kick ass, too. And you can listen to all their songs, once you figure out the user interface.

Ok, I've heard and read a lot about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) lately. Claims range from the source of America's obesity epidemic to a substance of pure evil. What I just learned is that HFCS is not 100% fructose. It's either 42% fructose, 58% glucose (HFCS-42) or 55% fructose, 45% glucose (HFCS-55). And as that article describes, ordinary table sugar (sucrose) is 50% fructose, 50% glucose. So, please, someone explain to me how HFCS is more dangerous or more fattening the table sugar because I'm not seeing the problem. Many of the alleged problems of HFCS seem to revolve around studies measuring the effects of fructose on people. These studies unfortunately look at fructose in isolation, not paired with glucose, which makes them rather useless, in my opinion. If fructose is that bad for ya, then so is normal table sugar and most fruits. Bottom line is HFCS is just a sweetener folks! And it's not much different (chemically) than table sugar. It's certainly closer to table sugar than Equal, Sweet-n-Low, Splenda, or whatever your favorite "sugar substitute" is. It's just used over sugar because it's cheap, even if it is "processed".

I've known the myth behind the modern 26 mile marathon to be the 26 miles between the cities of Marathon and Athens in Greece. Phidippides ran the 26 miles to Athens to warn of an upcoming invasion and ask for help. He then ran back to Marathon, and died of exhaustion upon arrival. This story is apparently wrong. It is an even more impressive run than the 26 miles between Marathon and Athens.... 142 miles between Marathon and Sparta! Twice! And he didn't even have Clif Bars.