Retaste 2.4 wperKg or Wildrose?

The water was thick and vibraty in the pool today. You might not think that's a real word, but it has to be, because that's the only way I can describe it. I was feeling slow, as if the water was hanging on to me. The weird thing was that I could feel pressure waves on my arms and body surging past me.

The lane ropes enclosed a pair of lanes. I was in one of them, and there were these two fast girls in the other lane. Every time they went by I could feel their wake, not as a wave or splash, but pressure waves in the water. I've never felt that before. I attribute it to their power and speed. It almost felt like I was swimming into a headwind, and I could feel the little tiny variations in the gusts.

Swam an hour. Lots and lots of dolphin kick drill, with some pull. Trying to focus on stroke mechanics.

Then the bike at home. Still way too cold to be outside. I was in the groove right from the beginning. Easy spin and spin up warmup, legs feeling good.
I decided to try some of the 3 and 2 again, but starting up closer to my top end. Just because I like round numbers I decided to see where I was with 250 watts on my power meter. After 4 I realized I was doing pretty good, and could be going longer than the 3 minutes. So I got a good drink, and settled in to see how long I could put that out.

It went and went. I was steady at 148 bpm pretty well the whole time, breathing hard, sweating really really hard. As in constant rain. That's right at the top end of my aerobic range, and I wasn't sure if my legs or lungs would poop out first. I was determined to stay with it till either I hit the retaste zone, or passed 20 minutes, which would reset my FTP.

Sure enough, I got to 20 minutes, and could have kept going a bit longer. I'm not sure for how much. Yay me, and no retaste! I'll have to redo my workout guides. This is good! It works out to 2.4 watts per Kg based on today's weight.

The real retaste is local politics. The Wildrose true colours are coming out. Here's a link to a Calgary Wildrose candidate in a multicultural riding (but really, they are all multicultural, some just more than others) showing what he really believes. Here's the money quote “I think as a Caucasian I have an advantage,” Ron Leech told a radio station on the weekend. “When different community leaders such as a Sikh leader or a Muslim leader speak, they really speak to their own people in many ways. As a Caucasian, I believe that I can speak to all the community.”  Read more.

This in a community with a very popular Muslim mayor. Leech somehow thinks that Mayor Nenshi is only speaking for the Muslim community, and doesn't speak for all Calgarians? Unbelievable. I am disgusted by this on so many levels I scarcely know where to start to rant. I can't believe anyone running for public office would say anything so stupidly racist in public knowing the microphone was live, but then, Wildrose is full of angry old white men who want to return to the good old days. Quite frankly, Mr. Leech has proven himself to be unfit for any public office at any level. I only hope the voters of Calgary Greenway feel the same as I do and pick someone else.

That isn't the only incident. Oh no. The same link above also discusses the stupidity of Edmonton-South West nominee Allan Hunsperger. Here's his money quote, in a blog posting made last year, talking about “godless” and “wicked” public education, and questioning the Edmonton public school board’s policy of welcoming and accepting gay students. “You will suffer the rest of eternity in the lake of fire, hell, a place of eternal suffering,” Hunsperger wrote, suggesting gays and lesbians have chosen a sexual orientation for which they will suffer in the afterlife. (From the same Herald article.)

This isn't racist, for what small comfort that might offer, but it is homophobic, and bullying, and could be considered child abuse. He thinks it's wrong to do anything about the bullying GLBT students suffer, since it's a "choice", even though they "were born that way". His thinking is so mixed up, but then religion isn't about logic and rational thought.

In both cases party leader Smith defended the comments, saying they were personal beliefs. That tells me she supports the attitudes displayed. Talk about playing to her base. I'm appalled these guys are doing so well in the election, but with crap like this coming out, I hope Albertans are smarter about getting rid of the PC's. Yes, they need to go, no question of that. But to replace them with Wildrose is like, like, well, I don't know. I can't describe how shortsighted it is. The phrase, "cutting your nose off to spite your face" comes to mind, but this is more like cutting your head off to spite your body.

The choices remain pitiful. The Alberta Party is running candidates in less than half the ridings. The Liberals remain hapless and toxic, though Raj Sherman is doing better than expected. I'm not sure what to think of the NDP. Nobody has taken a serious look at the candidates, and no doubt one could find loons there too, but nobody is suggesting the NDP could form the government. Polls are suggesting that voters are returning to the PC's to prevent a Wildrose government. That's sort of like letting the advanced cancer alone while you deal with a gangrenous limb. Hmmm, now that I put it like that, I wonder what that does to my voting decision? Hmmm.

I wish the Chief Electoral officer had the authority to remove candidates on the spot when they say such stupid things as the two examples above. I don't mean slips of the tongue when tired; that could happen to anyone. I don't mean partisan comments, or even those that stretch the truth. That's politics. These were considered statements that even in isolation are beyond the pale, and who knows what else they believe to go along with what they've said in public? I shudder to think.