My son Jason sent me a text yesterday to tell me that he’d heard Lance Armstrong had been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and that long-time sponsor, Nike, had cancelled their contract with him. “I know he’s a hero of yours and that it’s probably upsetting for you, so I just wanted to tell you I was sad to find out,” he wrote.
My heroes are simpler people, Jason. You, for example, are one of them. The fact that you read about Armstrong and then took the time to consider my feelings and write what you did is more meaningful to me than all the Tours he won...clean or doped. It speaks to the character of the man you have become and gives me pride to know that we share the same DNA.
As far as Lance is concerned...nothing new. He continues to deny ever using drugs and there is still no hard evidence that he did. There never will be. The whole biking/doping issue has got me thinking though. Maybe it is time to just stop checking cyclists and let them all do whatever they want...since it would appear they do anyway. Lance rode in competition for over ten years and was subjected to some 500 tests during that time. None of them found anything, and yet we’re told by witnesses that he was using performance enhancing drugs the entire time. Others were supposedly using at the same time, and they tested and passed these tests, as well. Some were caught and no one can satisfactorily explain the difference. I don’t know who has won a race cleanly over the previous 15 years, because they keep finding more information that implicates winners and other competitors. Were they all using something? Is there any way to know? Clearly testing wasn’t...and still isn’t...the answer.
I’m a fan and I want to believe in the winner and competitors and think that they’re on a level playing field, but it is becoming impossible to stay one. No amount of testing will ever be able to give me comfort...so why bother testing? If these athletes want to jeopardize their health and use these drugs...and the indication is that they all do...let’s just let them. The playing field will be leveled and I’ll be able to cheer again knowing that everyone had an equal chance. Just a thought.
I completed the Survival Workout and drove the Jeep to Dan’s for a little work on the heater that wasn’t throwing any heat. I had my bike in the back and rode hard on the way home to beat the dark, which by 6:30 p.m. is already making biking unsafe. And I can assure you that I was able to perform that double workout without the aid of performance enhancing drugs, so Nike, if you’ve got some extra dollars to throw around now that you’ve dropped Lance, maybe I’m your man.
Survival Workout: 60 minutes. Bike workout: 68 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 for SW and 120 biking.
Calories burned: 600 on SW and 900 biking.
No comments:
Post a Comment