SBR Utopia ~~~~ Permanently OPEN!! (Page 22)

Not a bad way to go! 

What's going on?

I agree with Bryan that I'd happily eat a bit higher race fee if they'd test age groupers.

What I didn't see on that thread was discussion of penalties.  I think if someone accepts a KQ, they should have to sign an agreement that if they end up with a positive doping result anytime in the future, they pay X amount of $$ to a fund set aside for making those tests happen.

Basically, charge everyone a little bit.  Charge a LOT to those who are actually caught.  Money talks more than temporarily banning someone from racing, IMO.

While money talks, I think they have to also make the results very public. Shame works pretty damn well (if it's a confirmed positive test and made public in addition to a ban/fine).

There are enough people in this sport that have more money than scruples, but take away their bragging rights as well and you might have something that will start to clean things up.

Matt

I agree on both fronts, but the truth is that people cheating in the AG ranks already have skewed perception of the world and their need to dope is proof positive of that fact.  I would pay a little extra to try and keep the races as fair as possible and I know that it has little impact on me as an individual since I'm not at the pointy end of the field, but if there is something we can do as a collective to keep catch certain individuals and go a step further and ban them for certain periods of time like in the pro ranks, I'm all for it.  That said, I think for a large number of people willing to dope this doesn't serve as a detterent, but rather it simply forces them to be wiser and smarter about how they plan to cheat.

So I got on the trainer this morning for a ride and kind a noticed that my left elbow pad seemed lower than my right one.  I figured it was in my head (things are not always as they seem at 4am!) and just ignored it....till the thing broke out from under me.  Turns out one of the bolts sheared right off, so now the allen wrench connection is separate from the threaded part of the bolt....and it's still threaded into my aero bars!  WTF?

No idea how to get it out....or if I just need a whole new cockpit.  And to make matters worse, I decided to try to take the other bolt out so I could remove the whole assembly, and the metal was so soft that turning the allen wrench in there basically rounded the connection out, so it is stuck in there too!

I wish there was a good way to protect my bike from my sweat....it is obviously worse than a typical person's sweat as this doesn't seem like a normal thing to happen (nor does going through cables in a span of six months...). 

I did finish the ride up on the horns -- it was unpleasant....my power suffered, my L/R balance is less balanced.  Hopefully the bike shop can take care of it for me reasonably quickly.

While I agree as well, the people in this group don't represent the vast majority of triathlon participants.  70% of them couldn't care less what the FOP is doing, because they are solid MOP/BOP.  Most of their biggest gripes have to do with already high race entry fees, so raising them even a tiny bit more to help keep AG racing clean isn't high on their agenda.

The reality is most of this sport is just for fun.  It's not like pro sports, collegiate sports, or Olympic sports where everyone participating is there to compete.  Most are there just to complete.  I imagine if AG drug testing will ever take off, it may have to be largely funded by the FOP racers.  Meaning that you pay extra to be eligible for AG awards, Kona slots, etc...and with that extra fee comes random testing.  You buy into it, or you forfeit any chances at awards...but you also duck testing.

What's up with cockpits around here?  Rusty drops a pad.  Your bolt shears.  I've actually broken both of my aero bars in the last two months after slamming over potholes (the roads here are horrific - downright dangerous - after this past winter).  Replaced the first one with a spare lying around the LBS (luck), but said luck has run out and I have to get a new cockpit now...

Wish I could suggest a fix.  Maybe have the LBS drill it out, but I'm not sure if it's sheared off in a carbon or aluminum section (?).

Matt

From what I hear (no way to know without testing), doping is not happening just at the pointy end.  TONS of stories, perhaps all apocryphal, of MOP/BOP old dudes on T (and not for health reasons - for moving up a bit in the pack, as told).

Again, can't say whether that's true, but I hear it a LOT (and from docs who say no to the request when inappropriate - although there are clearly enough docs who just say, "Meh, no problem - here's your script").

Cheaters don't exist only at the pointy end of the spear, and I'd like to see them outed at any level.  I agree most folks in tri are in it for the experience (I'd argue even many/most of the FOP folks - not many are putting bread on the table in the AG ranks), but cheaters don't make it better for anyone.  

Yes, we could all just ignore them and compare ourselves to ourselves, but that's not how most people are built, IMO.  The whole sport suffers with cheaters, I think - even the non-podium folks (I know it bugs me - regardless of where I place).

Matt

Nice going! Definitely some good work just getting through that.

I may try it again this Sunday when I have a solo recovery ride on the books. Thanks for all the input!

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY?????? What am I, chopped liver????????? Bryan Dunn, phhhhhhhhhht. He is nothing but a washed-up crossfitter.

;^)

Seriously, that is great news, Chris - can't wait to see you there. How soon is reasonable to start the smack talk?

I'm pretty bummed... my calf isn't healing up very fast.  It ached my entire bike ride on Sunday (which I cut short) and Canada is on the 27th this month.  I have a doc appt today - he'll probably want to make sure I don't have a clot going on - but in any case I suspect I'll be limited to swim-only for awhile.  Arg.

Hey there, dang, you can't seem to catch a break!!! I am reallllly glad you are going to the doc though!! If you have to swim until the end of the month you will still do Canada, right? 

This is so true and so frustrating. I find it incredibly difficult to imagine someone getting any satisfaction from finishing a race (no matter what place) knowing they cheated. What the eff is the point? 

Not sure.  I know I can swim.  I'm pretty sure I can finish the bike, but I don't know how I feel about walking an entire marathon.  And even walking feels tight right now.  Although it might be fun to just go demolish the bike course, then hand in my chip and grab some beer

Yeah, that sounds amazing. And I am a runner

I don't think I could muster up the...patience to walk a marathon. 

Soooo, I made my final decision and will be racing the 10000m at USATF Club Nationals this Friday. It's going to be hard and I'm going to be DFL as it's taking some time to get my fitness back. But I figured that I can just show up and do my best, use it as a workout and that should be good enough. Or at least I hope so!

Oh yeah, it's also supposed to be 85 degrees and as a Seattleite and more important, a gal who doesn't run well it the heat I may as well be running through the gates of hell. Maybe they wont notice if I wear rollerblades...

People study psychology for years and still often can't figure that one out.  And we're just talking about drug cheats.  But they're all creating some mental justification that us "regular" folks can't identify with.  See: Kip Litton.  (edit: maybe a bad example... some would call him a comedic genius)

Re: My very random thoughts on doping. I should first start off by saying that I know, train, and race regularly against several folks that have been/are on PEDs. The most (in)famous of course is KM. Kevin races in many of the local races around here, and for the past 8 years we have raced head-to-head in the masters category. Now that I am closer to 50 (and thanks to the Fred's of the world) I don't really mix it up in the masters much anymore unless it is a small race, but for several years KM directly impacted my placing in the masters category. I would be less than honest if I didn't admit that it bothered me just a bit, but I am mostly over it now, as there really doesn't seem to be a realistic solution to the problem, and it seems to be misspent energy prattling on about it.

To me one of the sticky issues is that all sorts of topics get mixed up when we start talking about the use of PEDs. Some people take PEDs specifically because they are so "serious" about the sport that it drives them to disfunction, and they intentionally cheat to gain advantage in races. There is another group of people (that don't get talked about much at all) that take PEDs because they LOOOOOVE to train hard every day (but never race) and PEDs (especially T) allow them to continue to do that as they get older. I know and train with several guys that are open about their T use for this reason. I am honestly cool with that (health risks and side effects are between themselves and their doctors, IMO). These are all great guys, fun to train with, all of them cyclists for some reason, and the only thing they "compete" in are county line sprints in fast group rides. Whatever, more power to them: they make me faster on race day. But they have gotten caught up in the fact that for many, the use of PEDs has become an issue of a person's morals or integrity, whether they are used for competition or not. 

Where I experience the most guys I suspect or know are on PEDs is in the big ol' gray slippery space between those two extremes: what about un-timed but organized centuries? Or timed ones, but not really races (no awards or ceremony, but times posted online after you go home)? Relative to T use at least, it is these older fitness junkies that are serious about training but actually casual about racing ("it's no big deal - they are just cheap medals and plastic trophies after all!") where probably the gnarliest, most intractable issue lies, and make it particularly difficult to clean up. The dysfunctional bunch that knows it is wrong and still do it to win are in the minority, IME. It is the bunch that really think it is no big deal because the results in hobby racing/weekend warrioring don't really matter much that is the most insidious.