Many "recreational" athletes push themselves harder than olympic competitors. Their bottleneck is talent and they attempt to overcome this with drive and determination often against others with similar attributes. Many sink into unhealthy habits in an attempt to just hang on to a weekend group ride or to qualify for Boston.
I was shocked to learn that many weekend warrior friends have sophisticated doping regimes just to stay competitive on group rides. I'm not sure there is an answer.
"Many "recreational" athletes push themselves harder than olympic competitors. Their bottleneck is talent and they attempt to overcome this with drive and determination"
I would re-label talent as "genetics". [0] There is a genetic profile of people who have the advantages of speed and endurance over mere mortals. [1] Then there is the rest of us. With respect to "drive and determination" I agree. Taking into account age (youth is another measure of fitness), no amount of training, preparation, conditioning or pharmaceuticals make up for this genetic deficit.
Beyond the doping, some Strava.com users take insane risks chasing "King of the Mountain" awards on segments. If they don't have the legs to win on climbs they ride the descents in a reckless manner, risking crashes and car collisions. And this is purely for bragging rights.
As someone who has KOM'd a ~10 minute descent in a heavily-trafficked area of the French Alps (adjacent to Alpe d'Huez), I'll say the experience of doing so was sobering. I hadn't set out with an explicit intent to beat the record, but I love descending and was just having a phenomenal time of it. When I uploaded the ride and learned that I'd gotten the fastest time, something sort of clicked that maybe I didn't need to push things so hard and so fast. Surely some component of doing that was skill, but another unknown component was recklessness.
I thought I was a great descender until I rode with a group of retired pro. They're not just following amazingly fast lines (they know most of the Alps like old friends) - their first-class handling skills allow them to do things that'd get me killed. Things like crossing the centre line into a blind turn on a busy road, bunny-hopping a fallen log at >90 kph, cornering whilst unseated on the top tube. Stuff no amateur should even consider. When they are in trouble (e.g. that blind corner had an oncoming car) they get out of it faster and more precisely and intuitively than I could ever hope to.
It might seem reasonable when you consider they spend kilohours riding, moreover in the company of other world-class athletes, but it's astonishing and terrifying to watch.
Of course, most of them also have war stories to tell, and all of them have shattered ribs, clavicles, vertebrae, pelvic bones at some point in their career. Because beyond the envelope there's nothing but injury and pain and occasionally and very tragically, death.
The very best bicycle descender of my personal acquaintance is a former Moto GP competitor. He has lightning reflexes and an amazing feel for the dynamics of any two-wheeled machine. I'm glad to say he shares his knowledge and occasionally runs
free cornering workshops. My ability to read a corner has been greatly enhanced by his teaching, I think he saves lives.
I had kids on my high school football team taking roids just to make varsity. Meanwhile on my team at the D1 level there were guys who barely lifted weights and looked like greek gods.
The same thing can be seen programming as well. Some people struggle for months to do basic things while others take to it like fish to water.
People don't like talking about how much genetics impacts things because it ruins the "you can be anything you want to be" BS
Hahaha, made my day! I know it's true, but it never stops making me laugh. I bounce between preferring "cat-6" and "cat-nothing" to refer to those guys.
The bigger problem is likely not solvable, I mean if you want to dope to win a race that isn't actually a race, we probably can't make you right. And to be clear, those people do have problems, they werent loved enough or something. Larry Bird described it best in his book, you can practice, you can select the shot perfectly, you can square up perfectly, and then you can release the ball perfectly, that's all you can do. The ball either goes in to the hoop or it doesn't and he sounded remarkably at peace with it all, which is shocking for how competitive he was conceived to be. Maybe that's easier when you've won everything like he had. I've raced bikes and it's very fun, at times very stressful, but mostly fun, when you're getting paid I understand the motivations are different but I find it hilarious when folks cheat to win nothing, it's like that cringe stuff that is sort of funny because it's so sad.
they should just take up mountain biking instead, cause then you're still biking really hard, but winning isn't totally about who's a bigger genetic freak, and chance and technique have a much larger role in your performance.
I found mountain biking to be less about "I'm going to ride this trail faster than you" and more about "I'm going to ride this trail 'better' than you."
By better I mean with more finesse: a good challenge for example would be riding a tough trail without ever putting a foot down.
Mountain biking also adds an interesting element less present in road cycling, the need for traction control.
Pulling off a tough mountain biking climb involves controlling traction, over loose crumbly soil or roots and rocks. If you try to just mash it the rear wheel will only spin out and you'll blow the climb.
It's not necessarily the guy with monster quads who will be the best at mountain bike climbing, but the guy who can feel where his rear wheel is at all times, and how much traction it has.
Considering many Olympic runners run 100+ mile weeks I disagree. I have also run on a division 1 cross country team as a walk-on and I saw friends push themselves to the point of passing out across the finish line. That being said weekend warriors often do push themselves very hard.
100+ mile weeks are not that hard. It all depends on how fast you run them. There's a world of difference between running them at 8 minutes a mile and 5-6 minutes a mile. I've run multiple months of consecutive 100 mile weeks, but mostly at a gentle pace. I wouldn't call that pushing myself.
I do agree that many Olympic runners have a gruelling training regime though.
I have peaked out at mid 70 and 80 weeks but a portion of that was hard and/ speedwork. You must have lovely biomechanics to not get hurt with that much bulk even at 8 minute pace. Still hard for 99.9%+ of people. But anyways...
The solution may be more doping and genetic engineering.
As cynical as it sounds, people who're motivated like this are not going to just give up overnight on something they've worked incredibly hard for several years, even decades. I've personally experienced some of this...
>As cynical as it sounds, people who're motivated like this are not going to just give up overnight on something they've worked incredibly hard for several years, even decades.
As cynical as it sounds, if they drop dead from a heart attack (or come close), they will (just give up overnight).
The way society is currently set up, this answer doesn't make much sense. Look everywhere you see, competitiveness and drive is encouraged, top athletes are worshiped and paid zounds of money, and the importance of genetics is quickly swept under the rug.
It doesn't really make sense to tell people to be less competitive when pretty much everyone and everything else tells them to be more so.
I understand what you are saying, but we need to remember one thing: it was all recreational! Good God, the man wasn't being chased by killers, he was doing this for fun!
The fact is, I don't care who you are, there are limits imposed on the 50 year old body. There just are. If you want to keep active, that's great, but what ever happened to being reasonable? Why is everyone in such a rush all the time to have more fun faster and harder than anyone else?
Maybe this is an artifact of civilization? Since we are no longer being chased by tigers we need to "fun" ourselves to death. Who knows.
To be fair, the article makes it clear that he never felt like he was "pushing" too hard before the incident. It may be he didn't notice his body talking to him, or maybe it just didn't until it was too late, which sucks. Everyone is different. I can tell you that I'm over 50 and have definitely noticed the effort and recovery challenges that accompany my age. I'm active and love to run, bike, etc. But it certainly feels different than it did when I was 15. I have to be reasonable about how much I do how fast.
Oh? Perhaps that is an illusion. Competitiveness drives people to pursue unrealistic goals and adopt questionable priorities, often at the cost of personal happiness, satisfaction, and personal health. Their driven to "win" useless victories at the cost of developing corrosive personalities that makes it more difficult for them to be enjoy life, build valuable friendships, and find meaningful love (romantic or otherwise). People are driven to hurt themselves by exercising beyond their body's limits. They're driven to waste their lives working for others at work of questionable value while sacrificing their own happiness, personal development, families, and relationships.
There is a value to competitiveness but only if it's kept in check and allowed to operate in service to, rather than in replacement of, goals of self-actualization, self-betterment, happiness, kindness, etc.
It does make sense to tell people to question what society is forcing down their throats. How will society change otherwise?
In surfing, there is essentially no mechanism to compete short of a formal competition, which is actually not that popular. There are small pockets where you can find competitions, but for the vast majority of surfers, there is simply nothing to do but your personal best on every wave. It is quite pleasant compared to other sports. Admittedly, also not as aerobically intensive, so fewer calories burned.
Sure but most people don't live near a surfable break. And even for those of us who do there just isn't enough space. Imagine the chaos if all the hard-core cyclists in Silicon Valley tried to go surfing in Santa Cruz every weekend.
I think the point wasn't to suggest that everyone become surfers, just that people taking part in other activities might have something to learn from how surfers approach their activity.
The point is that competition in surfing is difficult to impose on the hobby, so it develops differently. But you can intentionally take the same approach to other "sports" and hobbies. Just have fun, push yourself when you want to, figure out what you can do, and enjoy it. That applies to running, swimming, bicycling, weight lifting, and so on as much as it does to surfing. Resist the temptation to make everything a contest (even, ugh, yoga), it doesn't have to be.
A little friendly competition is a great motivator in sports that can be easily quantified like running, swimming, bicycling, and weight lifting. For me it really helps in staying fit. When you see your friends posting their workout times and speeds on social media it gives some positive peer pressure to get off the couch. Most of us here have sedentary jobs that are literally killing us so we need to get moving for more than just enjoyment.
I would modify your word "friendly" to instead be "playful". Competition can be healthy, beneficial, and fun, but usually only when it's playful. Consider the difference between a couple kids playing baseball for their own amusement on the one hand and a bunch of stressed out, angry, yelling parents at a little league game. There are extremes to competition and often the point where you try to win at all costs is where things break down and the negatives have the potential to overwhelm the positives.
I don't think that's actually the point. Don't fret so much about it; that's actually the problem. Just do your thing, and be happy without the need to push your limits so hard that you might break yourself. People often ignore the "healthy" bit from the phrase "a bit of healthy competition". And that includes competing with yourself.
Another answer is to get a coach, who can hopefully step back and see if you're doing more harm than good to yourself, instead of just lone-wolfing it.
I am a way-not-competitive runner. Jogger, really, since 1971. One marathon a year to get me out in the winter, best finish 4:30 (I am 58). No one ever said, "Uh oh, Jim is in this one, I'd better up my game."
But I had ablation at 43. So it is not clear to me that it is about pushing beyond boundaries.
I could not really enjoy activities that way. If I had to do something "just to enjoy experience", I pretty soon lost interest - there was no point in it for me (I mean I could still do it to be with friends, but not for activity itseft).
Be your own man and control your ego. Life is sooo much better when you do something for joy, not because you feel compelled to impress someone else. "Look ma!" is for kids (and now, Presidents apparently).
This hits home several ways. My wife runs an environmental company specializing in water concerns in Atlanta.
"In Atlanta, which spends more on water than any other state, there was a regulatory initiative to prevent stormwater from discharging into wastewater. The move prevented raw sewage from mixing into the streams used for drinking water."
These initiatives are based on Section 404 of the Clean Water Act which has reported to be up for massive cuts from the new administration. Water run off and sewage waste have a direct impact on clean drinking water in Atlanta and the potential weakening of Section 404 will result in dirtier and more expensive water:
The Shield Android TV has just had a price reduction to 179. After trying Chromeboxes, Chromecasts, and vanilla PC's, it's the closest to streaming nirvana - when it works.
The Shield TV runs Kodi as well as any PC. Nvidia's gaming ecosystem runs very well either from the cloud gaming grid or local PC. They deserve credit for taking the platform well beyond what Google could do with it.
However, my worry is that Google will abandon the Android TV OS in favor of Chromecasters and sticks and leave Nvidia to pick up where the Nexus Player has failed. The Android TV OS interface is simple enough, but there are glaring issues that continue to frustrate. Simple things like customizing the launcher are impossible. Also, there are persistent bugs at the OS level like a flakey ethernet driver and unreliable voice commands.
This is similar to what I have found in poker. The tougher the game, the more steps that the opponents take.
What cards do I have (1S), what does my opponent have (2S), what does my opponent think that I have (3S), and what do I think that my opponent thinks that I have (4S). I have found that beyond 4S, the analysis really loses its value even in the toughest games.
Paradoxically, I have found these tools are a detriment to easier games because the game is dominated by 1S and 2S thinkers and a 4S analysis often results in the wrong conclusion.
Ubiquity's EdgeMax is a reliable, stable, and inexpensive router that I have started to roll out all customers. EdgeOS is a fork and port of Vyatta 6.3 (think Junos) and is under constant development with a great beta program. Their devs are active on their corporate forum and are open to suggestions and support.
Some features that I have used and like:
- Solid hardware
- Debian based base OS
- Nice Web Admin for common tasks like port forwarding, FW, routes, etc.
- Stable VPN
- Advanced VLAN configs
- Class-based QoS with shaping
- DHCP snooping
- Port mirroring
My family with two teenagers has recently discovered that board games (specifically Dominion) are the most effective and enjoyable means of communication. We have spent over $250 on expansions and accoutrements. It is worth every penny and more.
If anyone is struggling to connect with your teenagers in a meaningful way, you should really try board games. It sounds funny to say, but board games have improved our relationship within our family more than any other experience we have tried. I would be devastated with family game nights now.
I'm thankful that I stumbled on Will Wheaton's TableTop series on YouTube (http://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/). If you need tips on good games, this is a great place to start.
Try heading to a game night in your community in order to explore different games that are out there.
Some games that go over well with teenagers at the monthly community board game nights that I co-host in my community have included:
Pandemic - A cooperative game where all the players play different riles within the CDC as they try to work together against the game to defeat global disease outbreaks.
Forbidden Desert - Another cooperative game where the players are a crew of adventurers who have crash landed in an ancient city that is being buried by a sandstorm. They have to work together against the game to recover and assemble the necessary parts needed to repair a flying machine and affect their escape before they are buried alive or die of thirst.
The Resistance - A social deduction game where players are members of the Resistance fighting to bring down a common enemy. The only problem is that a few of them are spies sent to sabotage their mission. They spies know who each other are and can more easily work together. It is up to the Resistance to ferret them out before it is too late.
Summoner Wars - A two player strategic card game in which two wizards summon forces to do battle with each other across a map. There is a great mix of factions and the simple ruleset combined with the asymmetric faction powers leads to a lot of interesting emergent properties in the play of the game.
Zombicide - Basically, it is Dead Rising the cooperative board game.
Rampage - A dextexerity board game that is largely influenced by the classic video game. You flick discs to move your Kaiju monster. You drop your large wooden monster on buildings to destroy them. You blow on buildings to shoot people out of each floor of skyscrapers or a football stadium. You flick wooden cars off the heads of your monster's pawn to simulate throwing them at buildings or other monsters for even more destruction.
Escape From The Aliens In Outer Space - A hidden movement game where haklf of you are scientists and the other half are mutants on a derelict space station. The scientists have to try to sneak to one of a number of airlocks that may or may not be functioning before being caught and eaten by the mutants. The trick is that you don't know which players are scientists or which are aliens and all your movement is secretly plotted on your own blueprint of the space station. Some spaces are safe zones. Others require drawing event cards. If you are lucky, no sound is detected. If you're slightly less lucky, a sound is heard somewhere else in the space station and you get to announce it; maybe your there and maybe your not (hopefully it throws off the mutants in pursuit). If your really unlucky, you make a sound at your coordinates, but hopefully you can bluff it so that the aliens think you aren't actually there. Teenagers LOVE this game and you can play with up to eight players at once. Its fun to watch a large group of teenagers play this together as you can watch it change their concept of what a board game is before your eyes.
Pitchcar / Roadzters - Wooden (or plastic, respectively) track dexterity racing games where your car is represented by a wooden disc (or plastic ball, respectively) that you flick around the course. The first to finish a prescribed number of laps wins. These games a lots of fun and always draw a crowd of spectators.
Small World - A "dudes on a map" light war game like Risk, but way more fun. Each faction is a random pairing of a trait like "seafaring" or "flying" with a race like "giants" or "skeletons". You do your best to control as much of the board as you can for as long as possible. When you can no longer hold out, you put your current faction in decline where ispt still earns points, but not as much and pick a new pairing that you think will help you hold the most ground.
Telestations - Combine Pictionary with Telephone and you get this game that's really,more of a gaming activity. Each player gets a random clue that they have to illustrate and then pass to the left. The next person guesses apwhat the drawing is and writes it as the next clue before passing to the left. At which point the next person illustrates the most recent clue. Wash, rinse, repeat. I've seen the clue "Bar of Soap" morph into "War of the Worlds." This is another that pre-teens and teenagers love and is only made better by people who are terrible at drawing (so most of us).
Dixit - Kind of like Apples to Apples, Dixit is a game where players hold a hand of surreal paintings. One you turn, you choose a card and make up a short story or say a phrase or word that you associate with it. Then all the other players choose amcard from their hands that they think matches your spoken clue. You all place the cards face down in the play area and then mix them up before turning them over. Then each player (other than you) votes on which one they think is the card you put down. If all the players or none of the players choose your card, you earn zero points; you clue was either too obvious or too obscure. Otherwise all the players and you score three points if they chose your card and every other player whose card was also chosen scores one point.
Neuroshima Hex 2.0 - Mad Max meets the Terminator, the abstract tactical puzzle game. Take one of a group of assymetric postapocalyptic gangs represented by a stack of hex tiles and try to figure out how to destroy the other faction bases using a combination of skill, luck, and timing, before they destroy yours.
Kill Doctor Luck, the Deluxe Edition - Think of this game as Clue's evil prequel. You're all stuck in a mansion with Doctor Lucky, an old coot that you all hate for some reason or another. You want him dead and you want to be the one that does it. The trouble is that he a slippery sun of a gun and it is incredibly hard to pull off the deadly deed without getting caught so you have to find a way to get him alone and out of direct eyesight so that you can try to kill him with whatever is on hand from "a killing joke" to "bad cream" to "a tight hat" and more normal fare like "a dagger", "a candlestick," and a "gun." Kids like this because they think it is subversive; they feel like they are getting away with something. If you like this one, make sure to check out Save Doctor Lucky, a prequel game where you have to make sure that Doctor Lucky survives the syncing Titanic so that you can kill him later.
These should get you started. In general a lot of the kids that come to our monthly board game nights like either direct confrontation games like Risk Legacy, Summoner Wars, Neuroshima Hex, and Small World where they can try out one upping each other in playful ways or the like cooperation games like Pandemic, Ghost Stories, Forbidden Desert, Shadows Over Camelot, and Zombicide; the harder the better. Kids love the challenge, but don't feel on they are on hook for any one decision as they can get input from the other players.
A new category of laws needs to be enumerated: "Laws that only apply to Congress".
This is the reverse of the "Laws that do not apply to Congress" [0]
[0]
Whistleblower Protections; Subpoenas for Health and Safety Probes; Keeping Workplace Records; Prosecution for Retaliating Against Employees; Posting Notices of Workers’ Rights; Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation Training
I was shocked to learn that many weekend warrior friends have sophisticated doping regimes just to stay competitive on group rides. I'm not sure there is an answer.