Category: Sports

Running in Kenya

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There’s a Sports Illustrated article this past week about running in Kenya profiling Alberto Salazar.

As big as we are, we have fewer people to draw on. In Kenya there are probably a million schoolboys 10 to 17 years old who run 10 to 12 miles a day. . . The average Kenyan 18-year-old has run 15,000 to 18,000 more miles in his life than the average American–and a lot of that’s at altitude. They’re motivated because running is a way out. Plus they don’t have a lot of other sports for kids to be drawn into. Numbers are what this is all about. In Kenya there are maybe 100 runners who have hit 2:11 in the marathon–and in the U.S. maybe five. . .

With those figures, coaches in Kenya can train their athletes to the outer limits of endurance–up to 150 miles a week–without worrying that their pool of talent will be meaningfully depleted. Even if four out of every five runners break down, the fifth will convert that training into performance…

Interesting that the US has an obesity problem and Kenya is putting out ~1 million people running 10-12 miles a day.  How many US kids do you know who at age 18 has run 15,000-18,000 miles?

Top 10 US soccer players

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Saw a good post over the weekend about the top 10 US players. It was on this blog. I’ve reposted them below

10. Frank Simek, Sheffield Wednesday — Surprise right off the bat, right? Despite a mug that would place him front and center as a villain in an 80s high school movie, the former Arsenal trainee has been a model pro for the Owls. He’s coming off years of 45 and 44 appearances in the rough-and-tumble England League Championship, which says a lot.

9. Carlos Bocanegra, Fulham — A first choice start at Craven Cottage and now wearing the captain’s armband. Can craftily get forward and contribute to the attack on set plays, yet far too often exposed defensively. Still, come a long way since moving to England in 2004 and has now racked up over 100 appearances.

8. Taylor Twellman, NE Revolution — Take away his miserable showing in the US shirt, the “face” from New England is as steady a goalscorer as you’ll find in MLS. Factor in that the Revs are continually among the top teams in the league and his 92 goals in 169 appearances and it’s impossible to deny him. (Perhaps he can even help the Revs win their first trophy — ever — in tonight’s US Open Cup final.)

 7. Michael Bradley, SC Heerenveen — From fringe, glorified practice player with the MetroStars to starter in the Dutch Eredivisie all inside of four seasons. Not bad for a guy that just turned 20.

6. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy — Obviously a lightning rod for any American soccer fan, yet it’s hard to dispute that he’s been the best player in MLS this century. Probably should dock ‘professionalism points’ for quitting Bayer Leverkausen, but that’s frankly become a moot point in my book. It was around three years ago, everyone should be able to move on by now.

5. Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96 — In a lot of ways, the anti-Donovan. He went to Germany in 1999 and instead of sulking, pining for the beach and locking himself in his room to play video games. Instead ‘Dolo took it upon himself to integrate into Der Motherland and learn the culture and language. (Granted he was 20 and had spend two years in college, while Donovan was 17.) 225 Bundesliga appearances and counting, plus the vice-captaincy and Cherundolo is in a lot of ways the model American ex-pat soccer pro.

4. Clint Dempsey, Fulham — Small body of work, but the Deuce has already made quite and impact at Craven Cottage. His goal last year v. Liverpool likely kept Fulham in the top division and so far this year he had a streak of three straight games with a goal. The biggest knock on the man from Nogadoches, Texas is he can absolutely drift and disappear from games. If I did this list in Sept. 2008, he’s the odds-on favorite for the No. 1 slot.

3. Brad Friedel, Blackburn Rovers — Without question the best American export of all time. Despite just 25 sporadic games, he’s the only first American to play for one Europe’s ‘glamor’ clubs in Liverpool (1997-2000). Since his move to Blackburn he’s probably been aside from perhaps Steven Gerrard and maybe Paul Scholes, the most important player to his club. Friedel has started nearly every game for the club and his command of the area got them through some dodgy times. It’s just a shame he retired from International play after the 2002 World Cup. It’s also a shame he speaks with a fake English accent. Then again, no one is perfect.

 2. DaMarcus Beasley, Glasgow Rangers — Let’s throw out the lost season at Manchester City. Beasley, first at PSV and now at Rangers, is the best American in the UEFA Champions League — by a mile. He’s already scored six goals in the competition, which just might be six more than the rest of our country combined. He’s also the only American to reach the competition’s semifinals. When his head’s screwed on straight, the Beaz is probably the most technically sound Yank around. Again, the only knock is he moved to Rangers, but they are a moderately large club and are continually in the Champions League. (Commentor Fan’s Attic points out Jovan Kirovski scored for Borussia Dortmund in the mid 90s in the Champions League, though it’s unclear if he played enough games to garner a winner’s medal.)

 1. Tim Howard, Everton — Voted by the PFA into the 2004 Best XI of the Premier League as a keeper, probably the highest non-MLS award ever for an American player. He won an FA Cup that season, too. Of course, this list isn’t about the past. What pushed Howard to the top of the list was how he transformed Everton from a middle of the pack team to a solid Top Four contender when he moved to Merseyside ahead of the 2006/07 season. Yes, he’s prone to the occasional blunder but still has the chance to be the most decorated American player over the next decade, as he’s only 28. Earlier this season Everton locked him up until the 2012/13 season. Can’t see any other American getting that kind of level of commitment.

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Seems like a pretty good list to me. Anyone else disagree?

Putting myself through pain: part 2

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I ran The Nation’s Triathlon this weekend.  A fun event for those watching and a painful, but rewarding event for those like me who are dumb

We started on the waterfront in Georgetown at 7am on Saturday. The fire boats in the Potomac were spraying water all over at the beginning. I’ve never seem them before – i must say i think they look pretty cool.  The water was really warm (75 degrees) and not that disgusting.  It felt just like a regular lake.

Just so you know how far it is. I entered right by that “Swim Exit” sign and swam to the bridge (in the distance) and back. Yeah, that’s right. To the bridge and back. Also notice how everyone else had a wet suit which makes it easier to swim. That would have been nice, but i like to think of it as cheating (only b/c i don’t have one).

Continue reading “Putting myself through pain: part 2” →

This would explain why i sleep so much

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Ever since i started my triathlon training, i’ve been going to bed earlier and earlier. I thought it was because i’m just getting old (turning 30 in 2 weeks), but today the NY Times has informed me that it is because i’m now an “endurance athlete” and these athletes require much more sleep than regular people. There’s a scientific reason for this….

One possibility, Dr. Chediak said, is that cytokines — hormones that signal the immune system — are making these athletes sleep so much.

Exercise, Dr. Chediak said, prompts muscles to release two cytokines, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, that make people drowsy and prolong the time they remain sleeping. In fact, those cytokines also are released when people have a cold or infection, which is why people sleep so much when they are ill.

It turns out that the single most important factor for increasing the release of those two cytokines is increasing the duration and intensity of exercise, Dr. Chediak said. And, he noted, that’s what is happening when endurance athletes train. “A sprint will not get you as great an effect,” he said.

Go ahead and read the entire article HERE  if you’re interested.

Klosterman on Bonds

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Some people have asked me what i think about Bonds breaking the record.  In general i’m against it but i do recognize it as impressive.  I think Klosterman said it best (article here) over a year ago when he was close to breaking Babe’s record….

At some point in the immediate to near future, someone is going to throw Barry Bonds a strike when he should be seeing a ball, and he will rake it with extreme prejudice. His propulsive, compact swing will rock the sphere toward the roof of the troposphere; it will fall to earth roughly 440 feet from where Bonds is standing, and he will react as if he is: (a) unimpressed or (b) vaguely annoyed.

He will then jog 360 feet, and some people will cheer, and some people will have mixed feelings, and some people will have mixed feelings while they cheer. And that is because this particular raking will be the 715th home run of Bonds’ career, meaning he will have surpassed the home run production of George Herman “Babe” Ruth.

This is a problem.

It is not a problem the way global warming is a problem, nor is it a problem the way throat cancer is a problem. But it’s a problem for anyone who considers sports to be a meaningful prism through which to understand life and culture. It’s a problem for future historians, which means it’s a problem for us right now. The problem is this: It’s an achievement of disenchantment. And that applies to pretty much everyone involved, including you.

The reason we keep statistics — and the reason we care about statistical milestones — is that we assume some sort of emotional experience will accompany their creation and obliteration. These moments are supposed to embody ideas that transcend the notion of grown men playing children’s games; these moments are supposed to be a positive amalgamation of awe, evolution, inspiration, admiration and the macrobiotic potential of man. But the recent success of Bonds contains only two of those qualities, and maybe only the first.

It’s hard to feel good about that. Bonds is a self-absorbed, unlikable person who has an adversarial relationship with the world at large, and he has (almost certainly) used unethical, unnatural means to accomplish feats that actively hurt baseball. His statistical destruction of Ruth is metaphoric, but not in a good way. It’s an indictment of modernity, even for people who don’t give a damn about the past or the present.

Read the rest of the article here 

Triathlon: Mission Accomplished

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As i wrote a month ago, i signed to do my first triathlon which happened this past weekend. Here’s how it went:

The Beginning: “Damn that bouy is far” (Objective: 1 mile swim)

The swim started with a bang and all the other swimmers left me in the dust. First off, we had to swim 100 yards just to get to the starting line! I knew i would need all the energy i had so i was pretty upset about this fact. Also, I was somewhat intimidated by the choppy open water and the madness of all the serious guys. The only advice i got from anyone was, “don’t get too close to the buoy or you’ll get pinched in between it by other swimmers.” Thanks dude. Anyway, the race started and I immediately found myself all alone – in last place! This made matters worse as i tried to catch up and just tired myself out. The 2nd buoy (1/2 mile) seemed to take forever to get to and i will confess that my trusty sidestroke was pulled out more times than i had wanted. But after the 1/2 mile marker, i hit a groove – especially in my breathing. It seemed that i wasn’t exhaling under water and once i realized this i was able to cruise. Nevertheless, i was by far the last guy out of the bay and a good 15 minutes behind every other male and probably 20 minutes behind all the females

Bike Leg: “This shit ain’t no joke” (objective: 27 mile bike)

760700469_347c0ac36b.jpgThe bike started off good. I got a little rest in after the swim and pounded some gatorade. The course was rumored to be “highly technical.” I had no idea what that meant, but i found out quickly at mile 2. At that point, i hit my first hill and my entire right calf cramped (this is understandable considering i had never riden my bike on a hill. I repeat never) Also it seemed that my gears didn’t work. These two happened on mile 2 and I dismounted, walked and stretched. I then got on Commodore Williams and decided to do the rest of course without shifting and using only my left leg. After all, i didn’t want to get a DNF on my first time out. I’m not that guy. Back on the bike, after only a few minutes i realized that my gears weren’t actually broken, i was just already on the lowest gear there is. This was both a great and horrible realization as you can imagine. But i continued on. Left-leg-only riding went well until about mile 15 and then the left leg started cramping. So i decided to use both for a while gingerly. It should also be said that around this point a super-hot woman came out of nowhere and decided to ride in front of me (not drafting, but about 20 yards) for about 8 miles. She was truly an angel (granted, i could have been delirious) and following her got me in the groove. The last 15 miles of the course, i was doing at around 20 mph and by the time i hit the “big hill” i was hauling ass. I climbed that bitch and got back to transition in good shape Continue reading “Triathlon: Mission Accomplished” →

Triathlons: The Beginning

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DSC01072This morning i took out my new bike (named: Commodore Williams) for his debut ride and did 20 miles around Hains Point. It was pretty damn fun. So fun, in fact that i just registered for my first triathlon which will take place on July 7. The distance: 1 mile swim, 27 mile bike, 5 mile run. So to recap, i don’t ever swim, i just rode today for the first time, and i have exactly 1 month to figure out how to do both really well. I find myself identifying more and more with the Hains Point Awakening statue (pic on the left). Whatever, bring it. Thankfully, i have a great adviser and jockstrap (i.e. athletic supporter) in Liz to guide me through it. (Also, did you know that they’re moving The Awakening statue soon? Wtf!)

A man was out jogging in the forest one day when a frog called out to him and said, “If you kiss me I’ll turn into a beautiful princess.” He bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will tell everyone how smart and brave you are and how you are my hero.” The man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I’ll stay with you for a year and do ANYTHING you want.” Again the man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and put it back into his pocket.

Finally the frog asked, “What’s the matter? I’ve told you I’m a beautiful princess, that I’ll stay with you for a year and do anything you want. Why won’t you kiss me?”

The man replied, “Look, I’m a Triathlete. I don’t have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog is cool.”

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