Back to basics, here I am again!

This past weekend was a back to basics for me in the triathlon world. A few weeks ago I entered the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon in Alpine, Texas. Better known as the gateway to the Big Bend Country of Texas or Tommy Lee Jones country(go see the 3 Burials and you will see parts of this area). For this first time triathlon I knew it was going to be a back to the basics when the entry fee was $25.00 for students and $35.00 for the rest of us, no USAT sanction, no photo id, no registering a year before the event, no hassle from some zebra flexing their stripped muscles, etc. Also, the cut off number of entries was limited to 150. So, off to Alpine, about 300 mile south of Ransom Canyon and a great little sprint race with about as challenging 5K run course as you could ask for. With the run first in the lineup it got the ole heart rate up and the legs ready to take the bike on a rolling course with some wind and light rain, for 15 miles. To wrap it up we jumped into a 30 meter(yes 30 meter, not a mis-print) pool and swam 360 meters to finish the event. There were 86 starters and probably the same amount of finishers with the overall winner being one of my good friends, Balls as we call him, Mark Balsinger It is not very often that a 55 year old is the overall winner, with a very fast 1:11. In the 65-69 year old age group I was able to take home the lst place trophy simply because and I was the fastest and only entry in that division, with a 1:35. Marti was doing the Pink Lady thing and was not in attendance. My hat goes off to the race organizers and we look forward to doing this race in 2007.

For all of my readers out there that don't know where the location of Lubbock, Texas is, please take out your USA map, find Amarillo, Texas(in the Panhandle) come due South 125 miles and there is Lubbock. Another way to find it: 600 miles southeast of Denver, Co., 450 miles northwest of San Antonio, Texas, 350 miles west of Dallas, Texas and 350 miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. So, in a nutshell we are in the middle of the South Plains(Llano Estacado) of Texas or as most people who don't live here say, "the middle of nowhere." Now you say, so what is the point and where are you going with this. Well, here I go. Last week it was announced in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal(no we have never had an avalanche in Lubbock)that Lubbock's bid for the George W. Bush library was not accepted and that Lubbock was out of the running for the library. Now to some this was heart breaking, but to others it was good riddance, why would we want to be reminded daily of what a sorry job he has done as President(my prediction is that 30 years from now when he is ranked by his presidential performance he will make James Buchanan(always ranked last) look like
Abe Lincoln(always ranked 1 or 2). But to get to my point, while there was no official statement made as to why the site committee discarded Lubbock it was speculated by the Lubbock Coalition chairman that it was because of the "location" of Lubbock, in the state. Well what baffles me is that prior to spending in excess of $300,000.00 to prepare and present the bid for this facility it seems as though they should have checked our location, using my simple step by step method, before embarking on this expensive dance. To my knowledge Lubbock has always been on the South Plains of Texas, never in Dallas(the likely site of the library),Crawford, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, etc. Fact is I feel most of us are very proud to be located on the great Estacado Plains and wouldn't move Lubbock to Dallas in a New York minute. One last point on this subject, the head of the Coalition committee just so happens to be running for Mayor of Lubbock and guess who's photo was on the front page of the Avalanche Journal when the announcement was made? Since most of my readers are from afar I will also have to write a letter to the editor about my geography analysis of exactly where Lubbock is located.

Some more triathlon news: WTC/USAT/ITU, still not resolved, hopefully April 24, 2006 will see a kiss and makeup, then on with the sport. Just noticed where the Full distance(2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run)Silverman triathlon in Las Vegas will offer a $100m purse to any team that can break 8 hours on the course. Dave Scott has called this the most difficult full distance course in the world.

Serious stuff: In recognition to entering the fourth year of the Iraqi war I noticed that the deaths and bloodshed seem to be getting worse, not better. I thought when our Commander In Chief declared, "Mission Accomplished," some two years ago, we were winning the war and would be home soon. Now, it appears to be much worse than when we got there, Saddam is almost looking like Mary Poppins compared to what is going on now, i.e. headlines, PRAYER & BLOODSHED-The Shittes men flagellate(they take knives to their bald heads and cut themselves causing bleeding down the front of their faces, then they take the same knives to others and kill them) themselves as part of the religious ceremony in Karbala. What I recommend to our Commander and Chief at this time is that when he is reading the good book, normally called the Bible, he go to page 6 of the Book of Genesis and read about the first war and senseless killing in the middle east part of the country. Why a simple farmer decided to slay a simple sheep herder is still not real clear, but it happened and is still happening, just in larger numbers. No matter how many soldiers we send to this part of the world, no matter how many weapons of mass destruction(yes folks we have our own weapons of mass destruction, but that is okay) we send and use, our philosophy of forcing our beliefs and philosophies will NEVER be accepted. Doing missionary work in this manner is kind of like sticking a steel prod into the din of a bunch of West Texas Diamond rattlesnakes or better still try a big gulp of vinegar and see how that blends with your taste buds.

Not so heavy subject matter-now that we have saved the world let's save ourselves with some good eating and exercise. Just noticed a great article by one of my advisors, Dr. Al Sears. He just sent an article about "spuds" and their nutritional detriment to our health. Were you aware that they basically turn to sugar the minute they are digested, now I am talking about the "white Idaho potato spud." Most healthy food experts recommend that we eat foods with a low glycemic index. Well spuds have a very high GI and are considered very detrimental to good healthy eating. First on the good GI list is broccoli,second is milk, third is oranges, etc. Some other bad GI foods are: white bagel, french fries, macaroni & cheese, raisin bran(surprising), etc. Sweet potatoes were not rated but I understand they are considered good(at least that what Marti says).

Have a good week,

greer