Man's Best Running Friend

After having watched the Westminster Dog Show on television for the past two days , I revisit my domestic fantasy of having a four-legged companion to trot around with me during my runs. Of the many varieties of herding, sporting, and hunting breeds to choose from, which canine makes the best running partner?

I personally have a few favorites that seem to be game for a few miles around the park, but I also have to consider the fact that we live in an apartment, which may limit my options. Some breeds I've considered have been:

Rhodesian Ridgeback: Handsome dog, athletic, and low shedding. Bred to hunt lions, pretty badass.

Austrailian Cattledog: Smaller and compact, but athletic and bred to herd cattle. Being the Max Max dog is also cool.

Greyhound: the second fastest four legged animal on the planet, next to the cheetah. Athletic, but also very lazy and a bit of a couch potato, kinda like me.

Shiba Inu: Also compact and athletic, described as a "big dog in a small dog's body."

DogBreedinfo.com has a good comprehensive list of traditionally good "jogging dogs," and exploring online has turned up some interesting discussions. The forums on Runner's World and Breeder Retriever have many stories of breeds that, while supposedly bred for hunting or working, end up being lazy bums. I guess like humans, it comes down to the individual doggie.

The best alternative is probably to head to a local shelter and adopt a mutt, not only for the good of the animal, but pure breeds seem to have hip displaysia problems.

Here's a good article on choosing a running dog, as well as keeping it healthy during your runs.

In the end, I'll probably have to be content with my stout grey cat.

Your Weight or Your Fate?

I can't believe I missed this one, but evidently there's a new show on Discovery called Fit to Live. The premise being, are you in good enough shape to save your own ass?

The show's host, Dr. Pamela Peeke, is the author of a book of the same name. Her theory, one with which I agree, is that fitness shouldn't be all show and no go. Conditioning should be practical and functional - can you save yourself from a burning building, pull yourself from a wrecked car, escape a flash flood, or outrun zombies (ok, that last one is mine.)

The show is abit like "Fear Factor" combined with "The Biggest Loser", where reality contestants try to complete fitness challenges that contain a variety of obstacles within a preset time limit.

The show originally aired in January, but rebroadcasts this weekend, February 9th, at 5 pm. I already read how the contestants fared, but I won't give away the ending.

Check out the Discovery show's web site here.

Image from the Simpson's episode, "Survival of the Fattest."

Deadly Diet Cola

Think you're doing your body a favor by chugging a diet soda instead of regular? Think again. According to a recent paper, that Splenda'd soft drink may be as harmful to your metabolic state as fried foods, red meat, and white flour.

Researchers found a correlation between ingestion of diet soda with "metabolic syndrome" - a deadly collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and elevated blood pressure.

In their research, they discovered some pretty shocking percentages. One third of the study group who ate the most fried food increased their risk for metabolic syndrome by 24% compared to the third who ate the least. The risk for those who drank one can of diet soda a day was 34% higher than those who drank none. Given a choice between the fries and the coke, give me the fries any day.

According to one of the researchers, the direct association has not been pinpointed. It could be a chemical in the cola itself, or may have to do with the lifestyle of cola drinkers in general. In either case, it sounds like we're all better off being one of those "non-cola" people.

Check out the article in the Times here.

Rat Tales

Happy Chinese New Year, the year of the Rat. Although not the most appealing of the chinese zodiac signs to Westerners, the rat, like all of the astrological animals, has many positive traits.

According to the wiki, people born in the year of the rat "are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking." They have great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power.

They also, however, have some poor traits. "Behind the smiles and charm, rats can be terribly obstinate and controlling, insisting on having things their way no matter what the cost. These people tend to have immense control of their emotions, which they may use as a tool to manipulate and exploit others, both emotionally and mentally. Rats are masters of mind games and can be very dangerous, calculative and downright cruel if the need arises."

There's a fable told to kids about why the Rat is the first sign in the chinese zodiac and the Cat is not represented at all. Back when big Buddha was organizing the animal signs, he told them all to show up the next morning to get assigned on the calendar. The cat told his buddy, the rat, about this, and the rat said that he would wake him in the morning and they would go together. But the rat never did wake the nap-luvin' cat. So the rat ended up first on the zodiac, and the feline was left out, ending their friendship for eternity and cementing the hostility between cat and rat.

I was looking for famous athletes born in the year of the Rat, but it seems most of the celebrity rodents are of the thespian/political bent:

Alan Alda, Kenneth Branagh, Marlon Brando, George HW Bush, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Dennis Hopper, Jeremy Irons, Gene Kelly, Richard Nixon, Sean Penn, William Shakespeare, George Washington

Getting Strong Now

The home town is celebrating big time after last night's game, so I don't feel the need add my two raving cents about Big Blue. I will, however, post my favorite commercial from the game.

I'm such a sucker for Bill Conti's work, particularly the somber piano opening:

< Clydesdale Training - Budweiser

iTunes users voted the song #9 on the top 10 "Powersong" list. The others are:

1. Eye of the Tiger
2. Pump It
3. Here It Goes Again
4. Lose Yourself
5. 'Till I Collapse
6. SexyBack
7. Stronger
8. Remember The Name
9. Gonna Fly Now
10. Move Along

Interestingly, I also fall into the "Clydesdale" class of athletes a.k.a stocky runners. A Clydesdale runner is a male 200 lbs and over. Women over 145 lbs are referred to as "Athenas" or "Fillys". Both sound a hell of a lot better than "fat."

NFL - Not For Long

For most of the country, this weekend is all about the pigskin. And for those who put their guts on the line this Sunday and carry off the Lombardi, there's plenty of glory. But what happens after the roars fade, the locker rooms clear, and a player hangs up the cleats? Unfortunately, the story is often one of sorrow rather than sunsets.

It has been said that playing in a full regular NFL season is the equivalent of being in high-speed head-on automobile collision once a week for 16 weeks. Years later, the injuries suffered on the field wreak havoc on the older players. In an article in Men's Journal last year, the magazine profiled not only some of the broken men who's playing days have long ended, but also the horrendous treatment they have received by the NFL Players Association.

I remember when I was a teenager hearing stories about how players like Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, and Deacon Jones needed help from their wives to get out of bed in the morning. This was a time when the players were smaller, slower, and less powerful. The article outlines some of the drastic differences in today's professional football athlete:

Twenty years ago, when linemen weighed 280, it was common for them to play on into their 30s. Now offensive tackles average 320, and a typical career lasts three and a half seasons, or just half a season more than the minimum to qualify for a pension. Nor does playing longer secure one's finances during old age. Full pension payouts start at 55, which is around the time the average former player dies, two decades sooner than non-players.

It's a sad and infuriating story, and the NFLPA doesn't come off looking like the organization it should. The individual stories of players are particularly brutal, especially one of Brian DeMarco, a former monster on the field - 6'7", 320 pounds who could bench 500 and squat 900:

DeMarco is half-sitting and half-lying on a couch in a house kept dim during the day. Even lamp light can crease his eyes and trigger the cluster migraines that send him back to bed in the middle of the afternoon. Since May, when he stopped taking pain meds cold turkey, he has lived in the kind of crackling, bone-on-bone agony that might best be called electric. Ask him where it hurts and he lets out a breath: "Man, ask me where it doesn't; that's quicker."

Something to keep in mind when your kids start taking up sports.

Read the full Men's Journal article here.

This...Is....Dharma!

Watching the Lost finale recap last night, I realized which wardrobe set the costume designers raided to get Jack's beard.

Tonight, we dine....on MANGOES!

The Lost season opener starts tonight at 8pm. Workout like Leonidas here.

Five Boro Bike Tour 2008: Registration Opens

It seems very early, but I received an email from the Bike New York folks letting me know that registration for the Five Boro Bike Tour is currently open. In years past, I remember registering in March or April for the May ride, but perhaps it's become so popular that they're starting the process earlier in the year.

The route itself looks unchanged from previous years, which is a good thing, as it seems that they've finally figured out a path that minimizes the bottlenecks I experienced when I first rode the tour 3-4 years ago. That was a ride that saw at least two endos and one guy getting CPR, fun for the whole family!

Registration fees cost $43 if you sign up before March 28th, and $55 afterwards. The Tour rides out on Sunday, May 4th

Register for the Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour here.

White Reign

After a disappointing Slopestyle performance due to a broken board literally seconds before starting his run, the slope ninja came back with a vengeance in the half pipe this weekend. The wind and weather were vicious, causing riders to slip and slide all over the place. Shaun, however, was undeterred.

After throwing down a winning second run of 93, complete with the requisite twin 1080's, Mr. White went for broke on his gimme third run and stuck the first ever X Games competition 1260, and scored an astounding 96.66

Missed the run? So did I (damn you Tivo.) But thank the maker for Youtube:

Check out this cool slideshow of some more superpipe highlights here.