"Devastated!"

......To find out that the bike distance in an Ironman triathlon is actually 180.246 kilomtres as opposed to the advertised 180! I noticed this discrepancy when I was riding the computrainer but at the time I just put it down to some glich in the program. So in the early stages of my run today, and while my brain was still getting oxygen, I decided I was going to confirm the distance by doing the math in my head. I knew that the proper Ironman distance was actually 112 miles and I also knew that there are 1.609 kms in a mile so I indeed was able to confirm that it is more than 18o kms, 180.208 to be exact. But wait...that didnt seem to agree with the number I remember from the trainer, so tonite I checked the conversion more exactly, and found out that one mile is actually 1.609344 kms for a total distance of 180.246528 kms. I'm glad I didn't know that at the time because if I tried to do that math in my head while running, my head would probably have exploded.
But you can see why I am just floored by this news. I've been training all this time for 180 only to find out I have to ride almost another 1/4 km!!! It may seem like nothing to you but just to put it into perspective, can you imagine if someone would have told Donovan Bailey his race was suddenly 250 metres longer. Doesn't seem like such a little thing now does it?
Anyway, when I got over the initial shock and faced this reality, I thought I better check the other distances as well to see what other kinds of deceit were hidden there.
And sure enough!!
The swim distance of 2.4 miles converts to 3862.4256 metres instead of the promised 3800! Again, an extra 62 metres! How do they expect me to ever do this I ask??
The run thank god is actually 42.1648128 metres which saves 35 metres.
But what I'm really pissed about is that I'm pretty sure that either one of Teresa and/or Brett must have known this stuff and purposely kept it from me. Dare I say it? Idiots! The both of them!

Anyway...I ran 22.2 kms today as promised ....a distance which can be done by any idiot, blindfolded, carrying one of his children, and running in his sock feet. I didn't do it that way but I could have. It took me exactly 2 hours which is fine. My knee of course reminded me the whole time that this was going to be far enough for the day. I tried to get a doctors appointment but nothing doing til after Xmas. I should have told them I was having chest pain, instead of knee pain eh? It just doesn't pay to be too healthy I guess. Tomorrow I ride again so lets see how that goes. Of course I continue to ice, and massage and stretch and all that other good stuff.

Ok. Just one more thing on distance and this one really, really pisses me off. The next guy that says this to me I'm gonna belt. I was talking to a guy at the pool the other day and he said he was preparing to do the Muskoka Ironman triathlon next summer. I said "you mean the half ironman?" he said "oh yah, yah...the half". Where do you think he gets off calling it an Ironman? Well I'll tell you where he gets it from. The people who are marketing all the biggger races have coined a new phrase. They are saying come do our Ironman 70.3!!!. Bullshit! I'ts half an effin Ironman and that's all there is to it! After all the mantra is
"Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life"
On the contrary if you only went half way and then quit, you would probably not tell anyone about your failure.... ever! By the way, I've done a few halfs in the past and I could do another one tomorrow...in my sock feet!

Hey, does anyone else find it funny that Mary had to look 'idiot' up in the dictionary to see if she was one, when all she really had to do was look in the mirror....or at a family photo for that matter?
And that's it for today friends and family.

Except on important extended family that we sometimes take for granted...
...I dedicate day 89 to my sister in law Elaine who helped raise our children, something for which I will always be grateful.

...and on miles and/or kilometres....

“The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult."---Madame Marie du Deffand

“Anywhere is walking distance, if you've got the time."---Stephen Wright

love
peter