Big Kahuna - September 9th 2007

"Preparedness makes us powerful..." - The Prodigy, The Fat of the Land.

"Pride goes before a fall." - ancient Hebrew proverb.

Big Kahuna was my first official triathlon and marked the end of my first Team In Training season in 2005. In that race, we swam only on the south side of the Santa Cruz pier instead of around it (due to pollution/algae growth) and one of my aerobars came loose and became unusable during the bike ride. I hoped to avoid such problems at this attempt, but as this season has taught me, anything can happen...

My preparation was less than stellar. I managed to avoid boozing during a trip to Ireland and London two weeks before the race date (apologies folks!) and do some running while I was there. However I could not shake a head cold (or maybe allergy symptoms) that returned after my visit to Folsom, my local pool was closed the preceding week and my last bike ride was three weeks before the race...It is also definitely not recommended practice to attend (and stand/dance at) a 4+ hour long concert, about 24 hours before a half ironman. But enough whining - I was lucky to be able to race at all. Three of our five person group were forced to drop out due to illness/injury, some of the folks who raced were fighting cancer and there was even a blind competitor.


Swim: I got into the athlete corral early which allowed me to get a prime spot on the start line (sharing bouy navigation thoughts with Michellie Jones, "the winningest triathlete in history"!). My entry into the water was pretty clean (Santa Cruz beach is a little shallow in spots so avoiding bumping or scraping on that first dive is important - if you pause, someone will charge over you). After I eased off and the Elites cruised by, I felt reasonnably comfortable. The overcast morning helped sighting as did the pier; it's tough to miss. :-) I decided to stick to my own route rather than try to draft with the pack (which, as ever, was not taking a straight line to each buoy...). The tide was coming in but there was little surf so exit to the beach was straightforward.

T1: was okay. Stripping off my wetsuit as soon as I cleared the beach, before the 'suit got a chance to dry, worked out but I might have been quicker, running without my arms full.

Bike: As triathlon distances increase, the bike section becomes progressively more important. It's the longest portion of the event (both in distance and in terms of time spent) and no matter how strong a runner you are, if your legs are done after the bike, then so is your race.

I felt okay for about the first quarter of the bike segment but I was progressively less comfortable as I approached the turnaround (I reached it in about 80 minutes). After I turned for home my legs just gave up; I could no longer stay in the aero position and my shifting and pace maintenance fell apart.

The bike course was made slightly more pleasant by Elite competitor and age group winner, Lesley Paterson, and her roving supporter. We leapfrogged several times before she left me for dead on a(nother) climb. :-)

A dumb nutrition mistake was to put an ice pack in the same container as my energy gels. Congealed sugary lumps do not a gourmet meal make.

T2: was quick. Getting a "first come first served" spot at 5am paid dividends (and made up for needing to re-apply sunscreen...).

Run: If I had been able to maintain my Big Kahuna 2005 pace (which was my first race after breaking my leg - I missed most of run workouts that season) I would have finished about five minutes faster. Even my Wildflower 2007 run split was better and that course is much hillier, was hotter and I was out on the bike course for nearly an hour longer! At Big Kahuna this time, my legs just didn't have enough left, and mentally I was already beating myself up for my self-imposed handicaps. I walked every aid station and much of the course in between, especially on the return leg.

This race served as a stark reminder that neither gear nor experience trump training and preparation, that half ironman triathlon is an entirely different prospect to Olympic distance racing and that the biggest obstacle to overcome is always that person in the mirror. (Common sense might scream all this but arrogance can cloud good judgment).

I need to start weight lifting and making brick workouts a regular part of my bike routine (and I need to have a "bike routine"). Trying caffeinated gels (if I can find a flavor I like) is required research. I should also consider a heart rate monitor and bike speedometer - I don't think I'm good enough at racing based on "how I feel". A more comfortable saddle might be a worthwhile investment too.


Results: overall, age group. My bib number was 676 (even though it's not listed...)

Official photos: start (Michellie and I on right side), all.


PS Apologies if this post is a even more self centered and introspective than normal. When cocky-Luke returns to read this later, I need him to remember how this went down and learn from his mistakes.

PPS In 2005 about 580 people completed Big Kahuna. The 2007 results list 815 finishers. 40% growth in two years ain't bad!

Underworld, Oakenfold. Sept 7th, Warfield.

I saw Paul Oakenfold at 1015 on July 3rd and was reasonably impressed by some of his tunes (I really like some of his recorded material). This time, his set ran for almost 90 minutes and was almost exclusively ambient trance; at least that's my pigeonhole term for the lyric-less, lackluster sounds that nobody danced to. I wasn't enamored either...

Oakenfold was accompanied by visuals from Perfecto. They seem to have one idea - take a woman (big fake boobs optional) and stick a camera on her while she wears a ridiculous outfit and maybe jiggles around a little. Cool. Not.

I listened to the guys standing next to me bitch about how crap Oakenfold was until about 10:30pm. Then Underworld arrived. They brought something they call "Rez" and lights...that strobed.

Having never seen Underworld live before, what immediately struck me is that Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are old, white dorks. This is not uncommon for electronica artists but dorks or not, Underworld kicked ass and performed for two hours not including any encores (which I didn't stick around for because of this).

PS I still don't understand what all the fuss is about "Born Slippy".

Project Sylpheed - Xbox 360

I've been enamored with space based flight combat games since I chased womp rats in my T-16 back home. (X-Wing on the PC is an old favorite). Project Sylpheed is unapologetic arcade style action. Missions end promptly with a (often arbitrary) timeout or when primary objective(s) are achieved/failed, whichever comes first.

Playability is a big factor; all cut-scenes can be skipped (yet still watched later as "Extras") and loading times are minimal. Mission briefings are simple, cleanly presented, yet informative affairs. The multi-layer missions are sometimes frustrating but can be skipped after three consecutive failures (which is such an obvious feature but one so often omitted - I'm undecided whether it's a design flaw that the feature exists at all or whether it's a carefully considered addition - I like it either way). A definite gripe is that secondary objectives are never obvious. They're invariably related to destroying *all* the bad guys but it would be helpful if the radio chatter was a little more explicit about them. Also the option to stick it out and attempt to complete them, after primary concerns are dealt with, would be welcome.

Combat and controls are solid except that one cannot automatically lock on (only) primary objective targets.

The roleplaying element is surprisingly addictive; developing and equipping different weapons and mixing combinations to try to find the perfect mashup is an interesting diversion between levels.

Sylpheed's storyline cherry picks the cheesiest moments from from Top Gun, Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, adds a Square Enix coated veneer and is illustrated with pretty movies.

A varied soundtrack ranging from Orbital-esque beats to Square Enix midi-orchestral beaps, sometimes enhances sometime distracts.

[Spoiler] The final mission is sofa-king-wee-todd-ed (repeat aloud) and a disappointment but doesn't prevent this project delivering a high velocity payload of melodramatic space based action.

PS I haven't played it in high def yet. I might update this after I do...

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay Area races

I'm often asked about Alcatraz-based events. This post will serve as a list that I might even try to maintain. Feel free to point out any races you think are missing.

Some of the links are to the 2007 sites...in no particular order...here goes...

Swims:

• Alcatraz 100 "Swim of the Centurions" Swim
• Bridge to Bridge Swim
• SERC Alcatraz Invitational Swim (sells out early)
• Sharkfest (sells out early)
• Swim Around the Rock

Triathlons:

• Escape from Alcatraz (qualify or lottery only)
• Escape from the Rock

Aquathlons:

• Alcatraz Challenge (sells out early)

Organizers:

• Envirosports
• South End Rowing Club
• Tri-California
• Water World Swim

Wasting time...with Xbox Live demos

There are (at least) two demos currently available on Xbox Live for games that will ship this "US holiday season" where the primary mechanic is temporal manipulation.

• Stranglehold (demo)

Midway's origins are rooted in old-skool arcade games and this demo feels like you just fed a fistful of change into your console - the action is incessant, almost exhausting.

Some sources compare Stranglehold to Max Payne 2 and the primary game mechanic is almost identical - slow time and dive headlong into the violence, guns blazing. It's a tool that worked well for Remedy but Midway Chicago took it and added a large portion of environmental interaction; directed by Mr. John Woo the player can vault over, jump on, slide along or simply blast apart almost every part of every scene.

While designed as single player, the game is surprisingly fun to play as a group. Thoose not holding the controller seem compelled to point out objects that are yet to be shot to pieces and once a few of the special moves aka "Tequila Bombs", are unlocked, the groans/cheers as bullets-eye-view shots miss/strike hapless targets, soon follow.

It might not change your life but Sergeant Tequila promises some over-the-top fun.



• Timeshift (demo)
  
  Welcome to City 17 Haze Timeshift! Our bland NPCs are compelled to vocalize all their ridiculous internal monologue!
  
  Timeshift looks reasonable but it suffers from barely legible text on standard definition TV. This is a a relatively common problem for Xbox 360 games however most titles avoid the issue on the frickin' HUD...Also friendly NPCs don't seem to cast shadows, giving them that extra edge on believability.
  
  As already mentioned, the main gameplay mechanic is to pause or slow time. If you don't do this, you die, often instantly. Frequent checkpoints offset the resultant irritation but don't cure it.
  
  Timeshift checks the requisite boxes on the (modern) FPS list; crate, barrel, physics, machine-gun/rifle, shotgun, sniper-rifle and grenade are all present. Unfortunately simply showing up, is not enough.
  
  At one point an enemy NPC cried "Why don't you just give up?". Based on this demo I have.

If you want to play with time, play Stranglehold.