It's been a busy couple of weeks, but I wanted to recap my first triathlon-- the Nautica NYC Triathlon. 

So let's start out with my expectations coming in.

I taught myself to swim this year--at least to swim with any kind of regular stroke. Before that, you could bet on me not to drown and be an awesome water treader/doggie paddler, but that's about it.  That being said, I still wasn't very confident in my freestyle, so I decided to do a breaststroke.

I figured about 38 minutes for the swim, and wound up doing it in 20:56. 

Thank you Hudson River current.

Seriously, the current is insane.  As soon as I got into the water, I had to hold on to the barge to make sure I didn't float down river too early.  You could go down on your back making snow angels and probably be there in about 30 minutes. 

What was really annoying, though, was that it took so long from when I got there to when I actually got in the water.  It's nearly two hours of just standing around, getting in lines, etc.  I suppose there's not much you can do about the whole thing, but it does require a lot of patience. 

That leads me to Tips #1 and #2.  Some people try to save time by bringing all their stuff the day before to lay next to your bike.  This would be a great idea, except that this year, it rained.  So if you do bring stuff... seal it all up or cover it.  The guy next to me on the swim line returned to soggy running shoes. 

Second tip is to bring your own black marker.  You need to have your number on your arm and your leg, but the lines for getting marked were way long.  Save time by bringing your own, asking the person next to you to mark you, and then throw the marker out.

When I first got in the water, it was a bit crazy.  People were climbing over me to swim, and I was definitely getting kicked.  Fight through it and get over to the side as much as possible. It's every swimmer for himself for the first 100 yards or so.  It threw me off and I had real trouble getting my stroke going.

Once we got seperation, I mentally regrouped and settled down.  I tried to be as deliberate as possible about my strokes--and once I did that, I started moving fine.  One thing about doing the breaststroke in a wetsuit is that I was actually too bouyant.  My legs and feet kept popping out of the water and so I was having a bit of trouble keeping them down.  Next year, I'll try to get a shorter suit if I use the same stroke.

I may very well use the same stroke, because, to be honest--this isn't about swimming.  How much better could I get?  Could I shave 5 minutes off my time?  Even if I did, it wouldn't nearly compare to how much time I could shave off biking and running with improvements there, so why sweat it that much?

First transition went pretty well.... 6:21.  I was wearing swim shorts under my wetsuit, so all I needed to do was throw on a shirt.  I put on mesh shorts over the swim shorts just b/c I didn't want to be all Spandexy looking.  Low cut socks and my sneakers, which I had opened up the laces of nice and wide earlier finished it off.  Last thing you want to do is kick off your shoes in the beginning and waste 30 seconds picking out a knot or something.

The actual biking wasn't so hot.  It was very hilly and I had the absolutely worst bike in the race--no question.  I mean, I didn't even have racing handlebars.  It was pretty sad.  Guys with teardrop helmets and those solid back wheels were humming by me.  On the downhills, I just didn't have the gears to maintain my speeds.  I got up to about 32 MPH on the downhills, but I had to slow down to 25 before I could actually continue pedaling for real. 

That's what makes me want to do it so badly again next year, because I know I can improve so much on my bike time with a better bike.  I finished in 1:26, but there's no way I can't shave at least 10 minutes off my time--and in this race, ten minutes brings you up 20% in the rankings.

Second transition was quick... 2:13, because it's really just getting off the bike.  This is where I made a pee stop during the race, though.  I think it would be hard to go the whole race without it given how much water and stuff you're told to drink beforehand--despite the fact that I went in some bushes right before the swim.  TMI?  Sorry... there was like one portapotty for every 1000 swimmers.  Everyone was doing it. 

The run was great.  I'm a good no energy runner, and it's only a little over 6 miles.  So, no matter what I had left, I'm just good at willing my legs to maintain a certain stride at a certain pace, despite the hills around the park.  I even sprinted at the end with whatever I had left!  My run time was 49:43 and my overall finish was 2:45:40, which was just below the median for my group.  I might be able to go down to about 47 min, but that's probably where I'd top off.  I don't think I could do much better than 7:30 min miles.

The race was great fun--definitely doing it again.  Triathlons are great because you never get bored of any individual activity--so you don't really have enough time to listen to your own head doubting your ability to finish. 

With about a minute better on the swim, 12 min improvement on the bike, and 2 min off the run, I'll be trying for 2:30 next year.  Can't wait!

Link: ESPN.com - MLB - McAdam: The Big Question.

I'm liking this Typepad quickpost thing.   So if you're the A's, who do you deal?  Hudson, Mulder, or Zito?   

Personally, I like Hudson and Mulder better, especially because of one stat I've been paying more close attention to...  ESPN now has pitches per plate appearence... the total amount of pitches thrown per each batter that comes up.  High strikeout pitchers tend to have high numbers in this area, and you get a couple of freaks like Ryan, Johnson and Clemens who are able to ring K's up for 15, 20, 25 years, but if I'm making bets on longevity of young pitchers, I'd bet on someone who doesn't waste a lot of tosses.  Zito's P/PA number is almost a half a pitcher higher than the other two, meaning that over the course of an average game, that could equate to nearly 15-20 pitches extra for the same amount of batters--if he lasts the same amount of batters.  Throw in some inexplicably mediocre recent years and Zito is a tougher bet to me.  Hudson is just a winner, year in and year out, and Mulder is better than Zito if I'm choosing between the lefties.  Its tough to let Hudson go... its tough to let any of them go, but Hudson has the second highest winning pct of out any active pitcher.  If I'm the Mets, I'd sign whoever they give up.  Let the Yankees and Red Sox throw money at Pedro "5 innings 1 run" Martinez.  The Mets need a young arm to hang their hat on and Aaron Heilmann is not the answer, and I don't have a lot of faith in Kris Benson or that other goofball who can't throw strikes.

My kinda player...

By agreeing to a $1.255 million salary Tuesday, closer Heath Bell and the Padres avoided any chance of an arbitration hearing. Salary arbitration can be contentious because the hearing pits club against player, but for Bell it wasn't the anticipated dressing down as much as the dressing up that he wished to avoid. I don't want to go to arbitration because I hear you have to dress up, and I hate dressing up, Bell said before the deal got done. I don't want to wear a coat and tie. My agent wears a coat and tie, and I told him, 'I don't know how you do it. I'd hate to have to wear a coat and tie.'"

Bell, Padres avoid arbitration by agreeing on $1.255 million deal

The Rays have home-field advantage because the AL won the All-Star Game this season. That game was won by Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir and lost by Phillies pitcher Brad Lidge. Evan Longoria drove in the tying run with an eighth-inning hit off former Phillies closer Billy Wagner.

The Baseball Analysts: World Serious Predictions

"If you're a Tigers fan, I'll never stress you out again. If you're not a Tigers fan, you'll never have me as your ace in the hole, convinced I'll blow a lead against your team."

The Bubba Strikes Back Fantasy Baseball League - League Home

I try to make contact and hit the ball the other way. I'm always making the turn at first looking out for even the slightest hesitation or bobble from the outfielder. I run everything out. I take big leads and extra bases. I will tag from third on a shallow fly ball. I slide in shorts, dusting off the blood and dirt.

In the field, I pencil in everyone else first to see what gap I need to fill--outfield, first, third, pitcher, even short if I have to (but I'd rather play short on turf). I won't make extra throws, but when I do rear back, get your glove up, because it will have a little extra on it. I yell "Call it!" as soon as the ball is in the air.

I eat fly balls for breakfast, but could be better at balls on the ground. I'm always positioned right, though.

As a manager, I play everyone. You show you play. I like high OBP at the top of a lineup before my boppers get up. I like teaching people to play new positions and want everyone to know where the ball is going before it comes to them. Run hard...just run your ass off every play. You don't need talent to just run as fast as you can on every play. You will hear me from the dugout whether or not I'm actually coaching the bases.

I've been playing on a few softball teams with ZogSports over the past three years, but this fall I barely got on a team.  Because only a few NYC softball fields have lights, and the three on 52nd/11th are going to be under construction, the Zog fall league had to be extremely small.  Spots for teams sold out in just an hour or two, and I didn't get my Fordham team in under the wire.  Luckily, I managed to squeeze in another team, but still, lots of people got shut out.

Field space is at a premium in NYC... frankly, every kind of space is at a premium, but places to play are few and far between, so when there is a spot, making sure there's as much access as possible should be a priority.  That should include making all fields--soccer, softball, etc, available at night, including the ones in Central Park--particularly the Heckscher fields, which are right by the Columbus Circle entrance.

It shouldn't be a cost issue.  Most of these leagues are corporate sponsored, and so you've got an audience of people who are more than willing to pay for access--especially if it meant not having to hike up to 138th/Riverside or 145th and Lennox to play a night game.

More games also adds to the local economy--it keeps people staying in the city longer, and certainly makes them more likely to go with their team out to a local bar... and for those that don't overindulge at bars, getting out to a sports game for a couple more months into the fall (and earlier in the spring) keeps them healthy and more active. 

What will it take to get more fields lit up at night? 

Let them play!  Let them play!

Need more proof that the inmates run the asylum?

The Mets are having a fan contest to select the song that gets played during the 8th inning of their last season at Shea.

They're being rickrolled.

"To post a misleading link with a subject that promises to be exciting or interesting, e.g. "World of Starcraft in-game footage!" or "Paris Hilton blows Busta Rhymes' dick" but actually turns out to be the video for Rick Astley's debut single, "Never Gonna Give You Up". A variant on the duckroll. Allegedly hilarious."

I subscribe to mentions of the word "Mets" on twitter...  the stream went crazy this morning with the call for rickrolloing.  It has 1500+ diggs at the moment, too!

Check out the TweetScan of this move by the fans to get Rick Ashley's "Never gonna give you up" played at the stadium.

When Tom Glavine joined the Mets, he was a career Atlanta Brave.  The team had been a playoff mainstay for a decade and he had won a championship with them. 

Instead of continuing to help his team, he opted to take a few million a year more on what would have been a $10 million a year offer with the Braves.  Another factor was the Met's option for a 4th year, which gave him a better shot at 300 wins.  Basically, it was a completely selfish decision.

Mets fans knew he didn't really want to be in New York from the start.  So, not surprisingly, when you prove yourself to be selfish and looking out for #1, then your audience is going to have very little tolerance for anything but perfection.  If you're shooting for millions and a personal milestone, you have to deal with the downside as well as the upside.

He had a pretty mediocre Met career, but Glavine's fail came at the end of the 2007 season.  The Mets were on the brink of one of the worst collapses in sports history, but all they had to do was to win a single game down the stretch to force a playoff... and two to get in.  Glavine's last two performances were abysmal.  Against the hapless Washington Nationals on September 25th, with the Mets still up 2 games, he gave up 6 runs in 5 innings, getting outduled by Justin Bergmann.  Fail.

Nuclear fail came on the last day of the season, when the 300 game winner could only record a single out.  He faced nine batters.  Five got hits.  Two were walked, including a plunking of Dontrelle Willis, the opposing pitcher.  Seven scored.  Thirty six of the worst pitchers he had ever thrown in his life--only 17 of them for strikes.

But the worst part about the whole thing was his response after the game.  He said he wasn't "devasted" and that was a word he reserved for life and death situations.  What Glavine didn't get was that many fans feel like it is life and death when they watch a team... it's certainly bigger than just a game to them.  Regardless of what he felt like on the inside, as a $13 million a year entertainer, it shouldn't be too much trouble to feign a little devastation for the fans sake.

In fact, he never showed much emotion at all, and that was the worst part of it.  It wasn't just that he failed... he never really seemed to acknowledge it.

Similarly, when Sarah Lacy got to interview Mark Zuckerberg at the SXSW keynote--conveniently close to the timing of her book about the company--she put herself in the spotlight.  It was a huge opportunity to step up.  A fantastic interview could have meant some great wind at her back for book sales and certainly a nice notch in her journalist belt.  It reminded me of when Kara Swisher had an opportunity to get inside AOL during the late 90's on the way up her great journalistic career.  Sarah Lacy could have been the next Kara Swisher.  Instead, we sat there wishing it was Kara Swisher doing the interview with Mark.

She failed to bring an already uncomfortable young founder out of his shell.  She failed to pick up on what the audience wanted out of the interview.  She patronized and then even seemed to flirt with Zuckerberg during the interview.  I sat there in person... it was like watching a car accident.  Arrington thinks people are being sexist, but girl or guy, flirting is flirting.  If Robert Scoble did the interview and started twirling his hair at the mention that Mark is the youngest billionaire, everyone would have said, "WTF...  Is Scoble flirting?"  It didn't have a place no matter who was interviewing.

Even my friend Ariel, who is most definitely a woman, said it live on Twitter:

I'm not a developer.  I didn't want to hear about the specifics of API's either... but "You don't believe Facebook is really worth 15 billion, do you?"

What kind of question is that?  What's the expected answer?

And, "Beacon, WTF?"

I'd like to just to interviews like that...   Maybe I'll get to interview GW and I'll just say, "Iraq, WTF?"

Eliot Spitzer interview, "Hookers, WTF?"

Certainly more efficient.  Why waste words?

And let's keep in kind that this is someone who, just a week ago, "asked for the ball" in the big game.  She made a big deal about not getting into TED.  So, she got to step up to the keynote interview at SXSW and she blew it...   hey, you know, it happens, but she's got to own up to it, just the same way she would have owned up to the upside of great book sales, big stories, etc.

Instead, she blamed everyone else but herself.  She blamed the people in the room for possibly preventing any big name people from ever attending again.  Her now famous "screw you all" twitter...  it's Glavine's "this is not devastating" all over again.

She needs to admit that she was poorly prepared for the interview and apologize...   save some face and take some of the hit she's tried unsuccessfully to dodge so far.

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Blogged with Flock

All I know is, when I saw this catch, I thought of one thing: Endy Chavez.

Back in the World Series, the Mets' Endy Chavez made one of the most unbelievable gamesaving catches I've ever seen.  It was the kind of catch that was supposed to be a sign that things were going there way, only it never happend.

When David Tyree made this catch...  squeezing the ball against his helmet and then holding on behind his head as he fell to the crowd, I just thought of Chavez.

This was the catch that meant the Giants were going to score...  I just hoped the Giants were going to be able to follow through on what was clearly a little help from points unknown.

All I know is, the Giants are Super Bowl champs, and Eli Manning led them there.

When I was 11, I watched Scott Norwood miss a field goal.  Coulda.  Shoulda.  Last night, the Patriots had plenty of opportunities.  Coulda.  Shoulda.

Only one thing matters now.

The Giants were the last team standing and the Patriots had a very fine year at 18-1.

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Once the Mets wrap up his contract in the next couple of days, Johan Santana will be pitching for the New York Mets...  in the National League.

Anyone want to take a guess what his numbers are going to be like?  I think it's fair to say that he's a lock for 18 wins and a 2.50 ERA.  In '04, he whiffed 265 batters.  Now, he'll get to face pitchers about 80 more times a year than he does now.  Can we say 300k's? 

The best part is, everyone seems to be in agreement that we got him for a song.  I liked Carlos Gomez, too, but I don't think the guy's ever going to hit .300.  I think the guy will wind up being an Alfonso Soriano type, without as much power...  bat .280, hit 25, steal 35, but whiff 130 times and rarely take a walk.  And the pitchers we sent over?  Meh.... You never know with pitchers.  Plus, Santana's only going to be 29 this season.

The Mets off-season went from a disaster to a huge victory in the blink of an eye, and you gotta hand it to Omar Minaya for getting his guy without giving up too much.

So I'm trying to figure out when Santana's Shea debut is.  I say its Saturday, April 12th, because clearly he starts opening day, but the Mets have two off days in the first 10 games... so they'll use Santana, Martinez, Maine, and Perez, with a day of rest, and probably use Santana again that first Sunday on the road against Atlanta.  It wouldn't make sense to push him back, because they're off that Monday, too, so it would be a week in between starts, and I doubt they're rushing to get El Duque more starts than necessary.

Anyway, nothing is guaranteed, as we saw last year, but with the best rotation in baseball, the Mets now have to be frontrunners for the World Series on day one.

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I got some good coverage on the Sportsvite blog, WreckSports...  apparently word is getting out about my phenom status in dodgeball.

Therefore, I'd like to announce that I am in training for the Beijing '08 Summer Olympics.  Yes, dodgeball is finally an Olympic sport and I've been selected to captain the team. 

Don't believe me?

Check out these videos:

Block, block, block, throw! from ceonyc on Vimeo.

Block and fast catch from ceonyc on Vimeo.

Throw, Dodge, Throw from ceonyc on Vimeo.

Blogged with Flock

Blogged with Flock

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Don Mattingly: The people who want you to vote for him say he was great before he hurt his back. Well let me tell you something: My cousin used to be a math whiz until he fell out of a pickup truck when he was 12 and hit his head on the curb. He couldn't count his fingers after that. Did they let him into MIT anyway? No, they did not. End of parable.

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Joe Sheehan from Baseball Analysts writes this great piece about keeping the ball on the ground.  He notes two things:

"...What was a little surprising to me is how the groundball percentage of every pitch decreases at almost the same rate with increasing height."

And that sinkers have a "...huge advantage... in generating grounders compared to any other pitch. "

Best part about a sinker?  It won't wreck a young arm, because you don't twist your wrist.  Here's how Jake Westbrook does it.

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