Can Anybody Read Elevation Charts?

I'm horrible at deciding if a race is hilly or not based on an elevation chart. I keep looking at the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon chart to decide if it's hilly or not. It's not that I mind running a hilly race, I don't. It's that I want to manage my expectations about what I can hope to achieve at this race. There was this little race that I ran in September called the Philadelphia Distance Run where I set a PR at a pace that I never thought I could keep in 13.1 miles. And I didn't even think it was difficult to do so. Now, I'm so worried that it will be an insane amount of time before I can beat that time... or that I'll kill myself trying. I want to enjoy my races, but also feel good about my time. So, I've been studying elevation charts and comparing.

Let's start with the Philadelphia Distance Run. Looking back on that race, I felt that it was pretty much flat. I would describe it as a flat, easy course, with only a slight upward grade during mile 13. Here is the elevation chart for that one:

Indeed, my memory seems pretty accurate on that one. That big bump down in mile 5 is where we headed down into the riverfront area, and then we headed back up out of it during mile 13. I have no recollection of any of those extra small bumps elsewhere in the course.

Let's look at another one. This is the elevation chart for the Frederick Half Marathon, a race that I consider to be "rolling hills." Again, I had no issue completing this one, and set a PR both times I ran it (ok, the first time it was my first half marathon ever, but still). I do feel like a major hill is missing on this elevation chart, as it seems to mysteriously end at about 12.5 miles, and the largest hill is actually just before the finish line. But, close enough.

So, this is a "hilly" course, but doable. If I were doing Frederick again, I would think I could get *close* to my PR, but probably couldn't set a new one. Not this year, anyway.

Next... behold the elevation chart for the Baltimore Half Marathon:

This one was a hard, TOUGH race. Remember that I also completed it in a year when the temperature was abnormally high, so that didn't do me any favors. Still, I found this one to be pretty difficult, and I think the elevation chart shows it.

The Maryland Half Marathon:

The race for the insane. I didn't run this one, but I know people who did, and I admire them for it. It was a hot, miserable day that started with pouring rain and ended with 80 degree temperatures, and a finish line on a sand horse track. Awful, and this is generally considered one of the more difficult half marathons around. Maybe THE most difficult in Maryland (there's only been one so far, in 2009). That small bump ending at Mile Marker 11? Brutal, apparently. Steep and evil. That's a tough course. I can tell that by the elevation chart.

So, what about my race? Lehigh Half Marathon:

I don't know... I mean, that is a lot of small bumps, which worries me. But, in the end might not be as bad as the Frederick Half... I think I'll just go in with no expectations and see what happens.

Recipe: Classic Roast Chicken with Gravy

I first tried roasting a chicken back in January with the Roast Chicken with Two Lemons recipe. That one was very good, but I liked this one more. It was delicious. An ongoing issue that I have, though, is that when roasting a chicken I have found that my oven will smoke. In January, I thought it was because my oven was dirty after the Monkey Bread nonsense, but we cleaned the oven a few weeks ago, so I knew it wasn't the case this time. I did some research and found that my oven is too hot. I have a convection oven, and I use it on the Convection Roast setting (because otherwise, why even have it?). This makes the temperature of the juices at the bottom of the pan above their smoke point, and they start to smoke. I have to keep the oven temperature cooler on the convection setting in order to keep it from smoking. And, as it turns out, it will still cook in the same amount of time.

More experimenting on roasting a chicken later, as I'm certain that I want to make this one again. It was that good! I served it with stuffing and steamed green beans. Yum!

Recipe: Classic Roast Chicken with Gravy

Photo Credit: Lee Harrelson, Cooking Light

Should Orcas Be in Captivity?

Orcas are beautiful animals. We call them killer whales and they are - they're vicious meat eaters, who fight with Great White Sharks. They travel and migrate, and can be found all over the world (although they're more frequently found in the northeast Pacific, Iceland, Norway and Antarctica). Yet, for some reason, humans have found it necessary and right to keep these creatures in pools the equivalent size of a bathtub (to the whale anyway). Why?

When the Killer Whale Tilikum killed Sea World trainer Dawn Brancheau in February, one of my co-workers knew I'd have an opinion and came over to ask what I thought. My simple answer is, no, Killer Whales (and Dolphins for that matter) should not be in captivity. His argument was that the only reason that anyone cared about Killer Whales is because they're easily seen in places like Sea World, and so shouldn't some be held there?

So, I mulled it over. Gave it some thought. My answer is still no.

Sea World is a business. They are defending keeping Orcas in captivity by saying that they are educational, but what exactly are we learning? Orcas do not do tricks for human entertainment when they are in the wild. They do not interact with humans in the wild. These shows are entertainment, not education. Sea World will continue to defend them because nearly 70% of the revenue from Sea World is generated by the Orca shows. So - no Killer Whales, no Sea World.

Let's look at Humpback and Blue Whales. They're not found in captivity, they're too large. Yet, somehow, life goes on for them. We know they exist, we care about them, we want to see the species continue. So, really, is it necessary to have Orcas in captivity in order to "care" about them? Isn't this why we have Animal Planet and National Geographic? Isn't this why we have whale watching expeditions? I mean, Discovery Channel has a whole week devoted to sharks, and there is a lot of hype surrounding the Great White, and yet there aren't really Great White Sharks in captivity (there have been 5 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, all only held for a short period of time). I'm not buying that you need to have a few Orcas in captivity to torture them and teach them tricks in order to learn about them.

Some facts (courtesy of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society):

• Wild Orcas have lifespans of 35 years for males and 50 years for females. Most Orcas in captivity do not live past age 30.
• 136 Orcas have been captured from the wild, and 123 of them are now dead. Their average life span in captivity has been 4.5 years.
• Orcas born in captivity live to be an average of 8.5 years old before they die.
• Orcas can and do dive to 60 meters.
• The maximum depth of Shamu Stadium is 10.7 meters. This is one of the largest Orca pools in the world.
• Orcas have highly developed brains, and live in the wild in social groups and closely-knit pods.
• Four captive Orcas live completely alone.

Let's just stop this. Please avoid Sea World. Don't give them your money. There is no reason to be keeping these animals in captivity.

For more information on other marine mammal injustices, please see the Oscar Nominated Documentary, The Cove.

Source:

Captive Orcas: Dying to Entertain You, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Photo Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevesphotos100/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

All Time Favorite Commercials

When I saw the Kia Sorrento commercial in the superbowl, I knew that I'd found a new favorite commercial. So, I thought I'd share my 10 favorite of all time... all though I might be forgetting some. They kind of are all "cute," I suppose. That's just me. Oh, and sorry there are so many disney ones. I'm biased.

1. Kia Sorrento 2010 (Kia)
2. Mister Barky Von Schnauser (Petsmart)
3. Energizer Bunny (Energizer)
4. The Sun (Jimmy Dean)
5. Discovery.com Meteor (Discovery Channel)
6. Gimme Back That Filet O Fish (McDonald's)
7. Beauty & The Beast (Lilo & Stitch)
8. Car Movers (Mentos)
9. 50th Anniversary (Disney)
10. Year of a Million Dreams (Disney)

The Risks of Diving

As part of my ongoing Dive training, I regularly read up on Scuba Diving accidents and incidents. The website Scubaboard has a forum devoted to talking about and researching these accidents. Is this morbid? Not really. Most of the time, it's used as a reminder of what can happen diving, and how this is a serious sport which has some very serious risks involved.

Last week, I came across the information about EG, who died on the Galapagos Aggressor II on February 12. One of her fellow divers recounted the incident on his blog (read it here). He went into great detail. His wife is Kimberly, and the deceased buddy is Denise. The divemaster on the dive was named Patricio.

As soon as I was in, I located Kimberly and we gave each other the "OK" sign. I cleared my mask and rearranged my hood which was causing water to leak into my mask. Patricio and others were +/- 20 feet below and moving away. I am usually slower than most to equalize on early dives, so Kimberly and I were behind most of the group from the start but were descending much quicker than my usual in order to stay with the group being lead by Patricio. I do not know where E.G. was at that time. I was focused on descending safely and keeping close to my buddy, Kimberly.

On the descent, Patricio was always lower and further out from the island than Kimberly and me. I was surprised when Patricio led us past 90 feet due to Jamie's previous instruction. At some point I remember struggling greatly against the current. My best estimate is that it was around the 3-5 minute mark based my computer's information. I was near hyper-ventilating and had to consciously slow myself down. I could see from Kimberly's body language that she was struggling as well. At about the nine minute mark, Patricio was closer to the island and was signaling to us to grab hold of the sloping bottom and hand over hand move up against the current. Kimberly and I were struggling against the current and neither of us had gotten comfortable in the water yet.
Kimberly said that during the time she was struggling, at the 3-7 minute mark, was the last time she saw E.G. who had been just behind her, toward deeper water. Neither of us remember seeing E.G. or Denise grabbing onto the sloping bottom. It is Kimberly's recollection that Denise was in front of her and me, while E.G. was behind Kimberly.
When Kimberly and I got control by hanging onto the rocks and moderating our breathing (about 10-15 minute mark based upon my dive computer), I started looking around to see where everyone else was. I didn't see E.G. Kimberly and I were well under 2000 psi of air at this point, which is a lot of air to have used so quickly.

Read the full account if you are interested, it is quite a scary tale.

What really gets me about this story is how similar it seems to the experience that Todd and I had in Kona at Never Never Land. Neither of us panicked, although we were both stressed. We did, however, end up in a current that we were not prepared for, and we were separated.

In the end, EG was found much later, four hours after descending. She was on the bottom in 168 feet of water, with no mask, regulator out of her mouth and 2000 PSI left in her tank. No one will really know what exactly happened, but one can speculate that she panicked for some reason (missing mask is a sign of panic). She might even have panicked because she lost her mask. The current was strong, and she was not prepared.

It's difficult to say what might have helped EG to survive this. The original author seems to point towards the divemaster not giving a specific enough briefing or not paying enough attention, or something else at fault with the Aggressor. I tend to disagree. Some ideas of mine:

• EG hadn't dove in about 10 months (as stated here by Keith). While most organizations recommend only taking a scuba refresher course after 12 months of not diving, I would figure that you'd want to do a few dives in a much shorter period of time if you are going to somewhere as advanced as the Galapagos (Bonaire or somewhere more calm would be a much different story).
• Denise (EG's buddy), stated here that EG was using a brand new Dive computer, and had to ask someone else on the boat for assistance in figuring out how to use it. With new equipment, you should always know how to use it before you get into open water with it. They come with instruction manuals, and you can dive in a local pool to test it out. I can't imagine going to the Galapagos with a new dive computer not knowing how to use it. Talk about unprepared.
• Denise also stated that EG was trailing behind her, that she was uncomfortable with this, and talked to EG about it. EG still continued to trail behind. I have to admit, Todd and I have spoken about this after Kona, and we have an agreement that we will hold hands or lock arms in a strong current. At a minimum, we would be side by side.
• Panic is a horrible thing. Even at 168 feet, it is reasonable to think that EG should not have died, as long as she had air in her tank. She had plenty of air. She might have gotten narc'd or pushed down in a down current, but who knows. It is so important to not panic, and that is something that you can get from experience and from preparing better for your dives.

I'm not sure that 50 dives is enough to be prepared for the Galapagos, but that also depends a lot on where you've been diving for those 50 dives. If they were all in Bonaire and Little Cayman (as my first 50 dives were), then probably not. However, if they were in the Atlantic or Pacific or more advanced dives, then maybe.

The thing with the Galapagos is that it is colder than other places, requiring what is pretty thick wetsuit to most (7mm). This creates a weighting difficulty for those who may not regularly dive in a 7mm. Frankly, diving a 7mm wetsuit is uncomfortable and bulky, but it keeps you warm. I dive with 20 pounds of weight in a 7mm, when I only dive with 8 pounds in my 1mm suit. These two scenarios feel totally different.

In the end, this was a horrible lesson for lots of divers thinking of getting in over their head with a more challenging diving experience. This same thing could have happened to hundreds of other divers, and they all might have surfaced safely, but clearly something different happened here with EG. It is a shame that it happened and my condolences go out to her family. What a tradgedy.

Stats as of 28 February 2010

February 2009
51.3 miles
11 hours, 2 minutes
Avg Pace: 12:55/mile

February 2010
56.7 miles -- 6.4 miles longer than in 2009
12 hours, 9 minutes -- 1:07 longer than in 2009
Avg Pace: 12:51/mile -- 4 seconds faster than in 2009

For the most part, I've kept up with my goals. I have done all of my STS Workouts - and I'm starting week #7 of that tomorrow. I'll have a more specific update after I finish week 8, which will be the end of mesocycle 1.

For running, I was faster than in 2009, but not by much. I need to work on thinking about what my goals should be for this year. I've been talking to Davida about running, and she is encouraging me to increase my mileage. I've purchased Run Less, Run Faster at her recommendation and I'm eager to give it a read to see what I can find out about running less and running faster (both sound good to me!).

This has been a brutal, rough winter for running. It's been hard to get my group out and motivated when quite frankly we can't find anywhere to run. We've been sticking to Loch Raven for weeks now, but there has been a lot of treadmill work, and even the weekday runs that I do from my running store have been forced into a gated community that is essentially running in a circle and not much better than a track. Combine that with snow, wind and ice... It's just been a difficult winter here in Maryland. Since my last 23 miler on the NCR Trail on December 12, we have only had ONE runnable day on the trail (January 30, the weekend before the blizzards). Miserable.

I purchased a new Yoga video, Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners and I'm eager to give it a try. Hopefully this week. Todd starts his first open water scuba class for DiveCon this week, so I'll have a free night to give it a shot.

Sea Things #35: Squat Anemone Shrimp

Sea Things is a regular feature on my blog where I profile a different sea creature. Look for it weekly, or something close to weekly.

Meet the Thor amboinensis, or Squat Anemone Shrimp. This is a very tiny little shrimp that we had never seen before until our trip to Belize in 2008. You see, Belize had just had record-breaking rains a few weeks earlier and as a result, we had terrible conditions and visibility. Where we should normally have seen large pelagics such as tuna, tarpon, jacks, etc, we instead saw nothing. We were lucky to have an excellent divemaster (Marcel), who found some absolutely incredible macro critters. We ended up having a great trip and seeing some amazing things.

The reason why the Squat Anemone Shrimp is so easy to miss is because it's so small. They are 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch long, and hang out around and inside of Anemones. You can see two in the photo above, deep inside of an Anemone in Bonaire.

Suposedly, these shrimp may also be called the "Sexy Anemone Shrimp," but that sounds made up. I've certainly never heard that, but then again, not that many divers really look for creatures like this one. These shrimps are found in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific, and live inside of the anemones. They will sometimes act as cleaner shrimp, but usually feed off of remains of what the anemone has eaten. They aren't a parasite, as the host anemone isn't affected by the shrimp living there. There are several anemone species where the shrimp can be found, such as the stinging anemone (top) or carpet anemone (center and bottom).

The hand signal for this shrimp is the same as for other shrimps (rub thumb and index finger together). These shrimps can usually be found in shallower water (60 feet and above), so look for them there.

Is there a creature that you would like to see featured in Sea Things? If so, shoot me an email and if I can, I'll write about it. Photos on this post are courtesy of Todd Krebs.