Pedal and Pull, no Stride.

Took the plunge (yah) on aqua running, gave it a go Fri. Tough to keep my cadence anywhere near 90. May give it a go again, see if I can figure out the art. I'm not changing my stripes yet, still a "runner."

Mario

Felt really good, really normal, so was cocky when heading out for a run attempt Sat.
No luck (cue sound of air leaking out of balloon). Right knee there again after 10-15mins and progressing toward bad as ever, well, bad as Jan. 6 when it threw the monumental you're-gonna-gimpwalk-3 miles-home tantrum.

Feeling benefits of the deep muscle therapy, just not in the knee. Yet. I hope. Scheduled to get a gait analysis in conjunction with my next therapy/chiro appointment.

Managing to thrash myself nicely on the bike and in the water. Rode the trainer last Wed., Fri., Sat. and finished outdoors Sun. with a nice 3hr hilly ride in crisp sunny 40F weather Sun.

Tue./Thur. 6-7a swim sessions are getting tougher. Gotta push the envelope. I go harder and faster in these sessions than solo. Nice thing about swimming is you can feel absolutely shattered at the end of a workout but recover much faster than with a similar run, with biking being in the middle ground there recoverywise.

American Levi Leipheimer (5'7", 140, age 34) won the recent Tour of California, the biggest pro cycling race in the U.S. He finished 3rd in the 2007 Tour de France, 31 secs behind the TdF winner and fellow Discovery Channel team rider Alberto Contador (5'9", 140, age 25). Discovery thereafter got out of the cycling sponsor biz.

Making like Dan Snyder, team Astana, (sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital) signed little Levi and Alberto, and a slew of other top pros. Astana looks to be the strongest team on the circuit, at least on paper. But... earlier this month Tour dF organizers recently announced they are banning Astana, apparently deeming their complete change in team makeup and management insufficient corrective action after recent doping issues with prior team riders.

Levi fans have initiated a petition to the Amaury Sport Organization under the name Let Levi Ride, requesting Levi be allowed to race due to his distance from the cited doping incidents. Perhaps Levi's win in Cali will add some oomph.

(Daily Peloton)

At nearly 41, Mario Cipollini has returned to the pro tour. The Italian fashion horse and long time sprint champ was signed to the American owned Rock Racing team and rode in the Tour of California last week.

Shout out to Wayne in Fla.
Ever notice how some of the best people sometimes get hammered with bad breaks? Well, if the Karma Police are out there, listen up, you've got a rogue element attempting to administer some very misguided punishment. Hang in there W! They'll come around and you'll be back in action soon.