Librarians Do it in Lake Placid

No, not that! After our eleventh trip to the Lake Placid, NY area in the past 9 years I decided to do some research on the area.

Early in the 19th C the Elba Iron Steel company used Mill Pond for their water supply. Around the time of the War of 1812, thanks to government contracts providing work, about 300 people lived in the area. Later the pond was used as a power supply and shipping logs to the Ausable River.

In the mid 19th century there was political turmoil in India and many people immigrated to the United States, including Hinduist Faramar Placid. Somehow he found his way to the Adirondack region, fell in love with the peacefulness of the land and settled there. Faramar's last name came to be known as a word meaning peace and the city of Lake Placid was named in his honor.

Librarian Melvil Dewey (creator of the Dewey Decimal System) and his wife founded the Lake Placid Club in the 1890's. The Deweys used advice from hotelkeeper Paul Smith (college of same name) in selecting the site of the club. A guide and boats went through seven portages, then a 20 mile wagon ride to get through the dense woods. The club grew to 2,000 members and Lake Sterns was renamed Lake Placid in 1927. (the village of Lake Placid was incorporated in 1900).Dewey kept the club open through the winter in 1905, which aided the development of winter sports in the area. As a side note, Lake Placid Florida was named in honor of Melvil, after he died there in 1931.

By 1921 the area had a ski jump, speed skating venue and ski association. Charles Jewtraw, a speed skater from Lake Placid, went on to win a gold medal at the very first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924. Dr. Godfrey Dewey, Melvil's son, along with other prominent people from the area, were able to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Lake Placid had the best winter sports facilities in the nation and the 1932 winter Olympics were held there, forever putting Lake Placid on the map. This is a photo of the 1932 Olympic Stadium. 306 athletes participated in the games (32 women, 274 men).


Reading through some books on the region, it was amazing how utterly wild the area was so late into the 19th and early 20th century.

Hefty Trash Bags

Top Ten Reasons to Wear a Trash Bag to a Race

10. Nobody can see that you brought your lucky bunny doll to the race.
9. Having a bad race? Pick up cans and bottles along the road and earn your entry fee back.
8. Allows you to make all your “pre race adjustments”.
7. If you faint from nerves you can easily be stored and carried home later.
6. Gives your running buddies another reason to make fun of you.
5. The bag can be saved for your Halloween costume (Darth Vader?).
4. A contractor size bag can fit two people. Great for making out before the race.
3. Disgusting-but true-find a quiet grassy spot, kneel down, and you can pee and nobody would know. (I did NOT do this!)
2. If it is hot you can drop those 5 pounds you’re trying to lose just before the race.
1. Get to dress as 2 brownies with your wife. Who doesn’t love brownies?

Thanks to MW for some of these suggestions!

Lake Placid Results

Sal's had great results at the Lake Placid Half-marathon held on June 12. Mike W. led the way with a 1:39:07, 5/79 in age group, 74/1410 overall! Pete L won his age group with a 1:47:03, 169/1410 overall.
My hamstring held up (Yeah) and after running 8:03 pace through 8 miles, I crawled in with a 1:52:12, 15/79 age group, 239 overall place.

Jan struggled the last few miles in the humid day, and ran a 2:13:12, 24/101 in age group. Sarah L., in her second 1/2 marathon, ran a 2:13:18. Lou, pacing Joanne (is that legal?), ran a 2:31:43, and despite crossing the line together, Joanne was timed on second behind Lou. It was Joanne's first half-marathon!

Amanda M. completed our group of eight with a 2:46:07 finishing time. 1171/1410 overall.

A Horse is a Horse...Of Course

If only I could run like Mr. Ed! I love watching him slide into home plate.

Recently I've had a hankering for eating oats and a strong desire to canter in the farm fields near our home. It must be a reaction from the Horseman's Liniment my equestrian daughter recommended I use on my sore hamstring.



All you do is massage the liniment into your sore muscles four times a day, use ice after working out and heat later. I am combining this treatment with KT Tape while limiting my running to about 30 minutes a day in a desperate attempt to be able to complete the Lake Placid half-marathon race on June 12 (5 days away).

If you have any other cures for hamstring injuries please let me know.

Triathlon Don'ts

If only I had my video camera. While working at the Pittsford Triathlon Sunday I had the honor of seeing events I had never before witnessed.

1. This triathlon is a 300 yard pool swim. Competitors start every 15 seconds and swim in lanes, going under the lane markers to continue. It is a short distance in a safe environment, perfect for newbies and those uncomfortable with the water. It's also nice for more experienced triathletes who prefer a sprint triathlon.
I was assigned to sit there and make sure everything went smoothly with the volunteers and swimmers. An easy assignment as the lifeguards in charge had been doing this for years. Around 250 swimmers began the race. One man, in his twenties, obviously was new to the idea of swimming and did the doggy paddle and water bobbed in the shallow sections, taking about 14 minutes to finish. It was exhausting just watching him.
After more than an hour the last competitors lined up. A gentleman, probably 60 or so, had on his wire rimmed glasses, no swim cap, no goggles. He began swimming with the elementary backstroke...slowly. He swam into the pool wall. Later, much later, he switched to the sidestroke...slowly. It took him 22 minutes to complete the swim. That is almost 4 minutes per 50 yards. The average finish time was 6-8 minutes.
These two swimmers were not my favorites of the day. That honor goes to another 60+ year old man whose excited wife took photos of him in the warmup area. Okay, fine, lots of people did that. Then she kissed him right before his start like she wasn't going to see him again (it's a pool, you can watch the entire time!). At the end of every 50 yards she took his photo again as he stopped and rested. Twice she kissed him at the end of the 50 (I'm not making this up). He finished in 18+ minutes. That's a long time to be in the pool for 300 yards. Maybe if his wife hadn't got him so excited with the kisses he would have finished sooner?

Oh- I followed the last swimmer out of the pool so the timing and race crews would know who to look for on the bike. Unfortunately the woman I followed turned out not to be the last person. The 22 minute man went to the locker room and completely changed before heading out for the bike. He wasn't any better on the bike or run either. Slow swim, 8mph on the bike, 14+ minute miles "running". wow.

2. The crew is watching transition, anxiously looking for the last bikers to arrive. Mister lovey-dovey man comes in on his commuter bike with the rack still on. His wife runs after him, ignoring the rule about competitors only in transition. Ignoring the race announcer stating, "racers only in transition". She helps him park his bike, takes his race number off the back of his shirt. He changes his shirt, she pins it on the front. Then he takes off his shorts, standing there in his jockeys, in the middle of transition. He puts on dry shorts. Not running shorts, just regular shorts. His wife takes a few photos, helps him with his running shoes and...kisses him. He's off! The wrong way. He can't find his way out of transition and runs to the wrong side.

Here are some triathlon race tips:

A. When you are getting ready to race a triathlon, look around the transition, start and finish areas. Try to figure out the logistics. When you see a giant inflatable arch that says "Bike Exit" and another one that says "Run Exit", realize that this is where you exit on your bike and the other one is to exit towards the run. Duh.

B. Take the commuter rack off your bike. Take all the extra weight off you can, why carry this stuff around during a race and make the event even harder?

C. This will be controversial in today's world of "just do it". Frickin' train for the event!! Learn to swim, at least a bit. I can handle the doggy paddle guy, just feel bad for all the energy he used and the people he bogged up in the pool. Same with elementary backstroke man, you are not the only person in the lane. I pray these people don't get into an open water event. Practice on the bike. I'm sorry, 8 mph is really slow. Really. It was a decent day, practice first.

D. Don't stand in transition in your underwear, unless you are a young, hot woman or man. No one wants to see that.

D. Racers only in transition. I'm pitifully slow in transition, but Jan has yet to help me change. Maybe that's why I have such troubles?

Race Results

Recent results for Sal's runners and family affiliated with us:

Lilac 10k (warm, humid day)
Jan, Joanne and Lou came across the line together in 1:03:44. Amanda finished in 1:12:17.

Sahlen's Saranac 5k at the soccer stadium on Saturday, May 30. Jan won her age group in 26:33, an 8:34 pace. This was about a minute faster than expected and a nice step to her comeback. MM - dnf/bad hamstring - but had two free beers so the night wasn't a total loss.

Buffalo 1/2 marathon (very hot and humid)
Jennifer 1:46:07, 8:07 pace, 12/250 in age group! 54/1777 overall female! very nice.
Lou 1:57:48, 393/1214 males, 18/80 age group. If he only had two healthy legs think what he could do?

Lance - Guilty or Innocent?

How many people in the U.S. have such name recognition that you can just call them by their first name and most will have heard of him/her?

This investigation into whether Lance Armstrong used EPO and other performance enhancing drugs during his pro bike career bothers me. He is retired. What good does it do to drag this all up? What real proof can be found? He passed every drug test throughout his career, whether it was 100x or 500x he was tested, it doesn't matter. If Lance and his trainers knew how to beat the system, as some people attest, then why didn't they share that knowledge with other cyclists on his team (like Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis)? It used to be the French seemed totally against Lance. Now it's the U.S. leading the witch hunt.

George Hincapie, Lance's teammate for more than a dozen years, has never tested positive either. Is George also guilty? Shouldn't the Feds be going after George? Did Hincapie take PED's during his 18 year pro career? According to the experts he must have, right, or else how could he have been at such a high level for so long? In fact he still rides with the best in the world.

Supposedly "everyone" was doing it (taking PED's). I'm not sure I believe that. Yes, drug usage is high in cycling, similar to baseball, football, tennis, wrestling and probably many other sports that don't bother to test. We know that if nothing else, there are PED's you can take that will help you recover faster, thus allowing for more times you can exercise at a high intensity. This is a huge advantage in any sport. But, since several baseball players, such as Manny Ramirez, are known drug users, does that mean all of them are? Is Jeter? Must be, right? How could he possibly be playing at such a high level for so long without PED's?

People say Lance must have taken PED's, he couldn't possibly have won without them against such a high quality of competition, especially since we have tests results that prove they were taking drugs. The Tour, though, isn't just about one rider. You do not win those types of races without a team. You have to build an entire organization dedicated to training and race strategy. Every detail has to be looked after. The Tour de France is not always the same course. Armstrong would train over and over again during preview rides of the course so he knew when to attack. His team worked towards nothing but getting Lance to be the victor. He peaked for the Tour de France, not every rider or every team did this. Lance trained through other races, sometimes performing well, other times not. His focus was France.

People and teams that win over and over again have systems built up that help them succeed. On a very modest level, the Byron-Bergen girls track teams were like this. Once they won one Section V championship, the coaches figured out how to maintain this level of success. Recruiting, training properly, peaking at the right time, staying healthy, same coaches, parent support, school administration support in addition to the talent of the girls, all played a role in winning the title 6 out of 7 years, with the non-winning year a second place by 2 points. Armstrong and his team leaders figured this all out, albeit on a significantly higher level of athleticism. But the basics are still the same.

Truth be told, I don't want Lance to be guilty of taking PED's. I don't want to be disappointed again. I can still watch repeats of some of his stage victories in the Tour and be impressed. I really don't want that to change and it will take more than known users such as Hamilton and Landis coming out and accusing Lance to convince me that he did it.

I want a hero.