Okay – so this caught my eye.
USADA announced today that Kristi Anderson, of Longmont, Colo., an athlete in the sport of track & field, has accepted a 12-month sanction for an anti-doping rule violation after testing positive for a prohibited substance administered with the support of a medical advisor. Anderson, 51, tested positive for Dehydroepiandrosterone (“DHEA”) as a result of an in-competition urine sample she provided at the Pikes Peak Marathon held in Colorado Springs, Colo. on August 17, 2014.
Ugh. Yeah, it bugs me because …
a.) I know Kristi and I have run with her. In fact, I once set a 10x10k co-ed world record with her (and 8 other folks).
b.) This is a master getting busted for PEDs.
c.) This was at Pikes.
The Boulder DA is going after the guy who canned the Boulder Marathon 2 years in a row.
Interesting take on team scoring of ultra events.
In positive news, the guys in Cork are just killing Saint Patrick’s Hill.
I am not sure I gonna get 12 seconds back on that hill.
Maybe plan cycles of 9 days instead of 7? Admittedly, I don’t plan much anymore. I used to be the guy who would plan workouts out for 3 months ahead of time. I don’t think it got me any more ahead, other than assuring I did do something every few days. By not planning, I have to keep a bit more on the pedal to think of getting at it or I can – particularly when I travel – just fall asleep in to easy running. But generally I don’t have a plan anymore like Tuesdays and Fridays I need to go hard or something like that. The long run, particularly a back to back seems to set up for the weekend more so I will probably sink into that a bit.
KJ has another “ho-hum” moment.
Late afternoon, cooler and windy. Got word that some donks were loose. So that became the priority. Buzzed over there and started the search and got to work. After chasing them down, and getting them back where they belong, I did a jog around the perimeter of their property looking for any fence breaks (there were none, but a gate had been opened). Ran back from there, throwing in a few low six minute mile efforts (that averaged below six, but started under and then went north). 10.4 miles when done.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us know PEDs have infiltrated ultrarunning. Not sure we in ultras can have an honest "conversation" about PEDs in the "sport" without a lot of people getting pissed off, defensive, etc. That is why we as a group of people who all seem to enjoy running will continue to bury our collective heads in the sand and pretend we're surrounded by unicorns and rainbows. But, deep down, most of us have our suspicions--even about certain runners. Keep at it, GZ!
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said, except for the head in the sand piece. The joy of ultrarunning is that unlike a 10k, the positive experience of simply finding a way to finish 100 miles makes me not overly obsess about that someone else may be cheating. I'm sure there are many people out there who cheat. There are many more who don't. I'll let the non-cheating elites fight that battle - there are tons of people who are honest whom I could never beat. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my pedestrian running.
DeleteMy head is not in the sand, but I recognize that I am stuck in the complexity of the topic.
Delete"PEDs are bad and not acceptable - wait unless the person has a TUE." "Take a vitamin supplement of iron orally and that is okay, but get an injection of it and that is bad." "live in a tent that emulates altitude at sea level." And on it goes. While it seems (or seemed) to me that so many rules are clear, the "edge cases" or the gray area - that can often represent the 1% difference that folks are trying to achieve - is very arbitrary and moving.
Add in the complexities of "everyone is doing it," in this case that DHEA is something you can get OTC at Walmart, money and ego, the aging athlete, some countries have robust testing programs while others look to circumvent them, and what we expect of future generations ...
... it is not putting my head in the sand as much it is not knowing how to effectively address the topic.
There is certainly a gray area, but in some sense rules are rules. It is the athletes responsibility to make sure they don't test positive. Of course, for non-elites that is difficult, and I am sure there are many who would test positive without having had an intention of doping (and not making up bs about tainted meat...). Elites obviously have the responsibility to make sure they follow the stated rules, and assuming everyone does it is still a fair game.
DeleteOne positive is that they obviously tested at Pikes, and presumably none of the winners tested positive. That is a good thing.
And good thing you were not tested on Monday ;-) http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cycling/28837430
DeleteI actually felt okay on Monday. The gut was a tad irked, but nothing bad.
DeleteI completely agree - the rules are the rules and if you line up, you are expected to know them.
No doubt that 9 day cycle will get me more fit than the current 19 day cycle I seem to be on.
ReplyDeleteBob - easy to do in these short days of December.
DeleteYep. Get off work, get to the park, and 30 minutes later it's dark. At least we're headed in the right direction since Sunday.
DeleteMerry Christmas.