Sandy Scott, Author at Sandy Scott

A Cycling Retrospective

May 2, 2014 By Sandy Scott 3 Comments

CYCYCLING RETROSPECTIVE

This month celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the day my significant other, Rose Marie Ray, arrived at my house with two bikes attached to the rear of her SUV. When I opened the door, she announced that we were going on a bike ride and would enjoy a picnic along the way. With 121,000 miles of cycling logged since that life-changing day, I have a couple of observations with a couple of points of advice to cyclists.

Two things surprised me about cycling: 1) Big people make great cyclists and 2) Older cyclists can not only keep up with younger cyclists, but can often become much stronger cyclists than those young enough to be their children and grand children.

I came from the world of running and I competed at a body weight of 143 pounds at 6 feet tall. If you didn’t look like me in the world of distance running (5K and up), you were simply not in contention. Conversely, in the world of cycling, often larger/muscular types can be seen on the podium – especially in amateur competition where events are not multi-day over challenging terrain. As a matter of fact, this past racing season I tried an experiment and competed about 10 pounds heavier than the weight I had competed at in the past and had my fastest season!

In most aerobic type sports, the younger guys are levels above the older participants. Not so in cycling in that due to the mechanical advantage of the bicycle, it becomes possible for much older riders to stay with and often exceed the abilities of younger riders. I personally turned top time of the day from the 70-74 age group with competitors as young as 50 in three state and one national championship event. I can tell you that it adds to the fun!

If you want to improve as a cyclist, my biggest recommendation is to vary what you do. I often see riders doing the same thing every day and they never seem to improve, but in fact seem to slowly march backwards. The body adapts to the same workout and hence it has no reason to improve to meet challenges that are non-existent.

More is not necessarily better. I was once just a couple of weeks short of completing two consecutive calendar years without missing a single day of training on the bicycle. I was averaging over 350 miles a week and did quite well competitively on the schedule. As I experimented however, I discovered that I actually did better with less mileage. I alluded to having my fastest year last year – I had cranked my mileage down to 250 “intelligent” miles per week. Contrary to what some believe, improvements are not made during your workout, but during your rest time when the body adapts to the training and builds more resources to deal with future training onslaughts! I want to stress the point that just because you are aging, do not assume that you cannot improve and improve by a considerable amount. In my 74th year of life in my 10th year of cycling, I was still improving!

The biggest bang for your training buck is interval training, however, the proper time to use that technique is when peaking for an important competitive event.

Every cyclist interested in competing and or actually improving as a cyclist should practice periodization. In periodization, the year is broken down into stages. Lets assume that one has just completed a season of racing. That is the time to do recovery riding where the body and mind are given a chance to recover. In the case of the body, that recovery is physical, and in the case of the mind, it will encourage enthusiasm instead of mental burnout.

After a recovery period, which will vary depending upon one’s planned racing schedule, the base/strength building phase commences where the body is built up in preparation for the final phase of training which is the all-important, challenging, peaking phase. In that final phase, training should more resemble racing with regular interval training as part of the regimen.

Finally, racing begins and racing will bring one to an even better peak of performance. There simply is no better preparation for racing than racing! Typically, it is unwise to try to maintain that peak for more than 2 months, and it is also quite unwise to go through more than two peaking periods over a 12-month period.

I believe in the KISS method of training and racing. Many get hung up with the restrictions imposed on them by their coaches and their power meters. I’ve never owned one (either one). I’ve seen racers get so distracted as to what their power meters are telling them, that it negatively affects their racing ability. I used to have my heart rate displayed on my computer during races, but after being psyched out a couple of times by numbers such as 190 reflecting back at me, I now use it simply for statistical information post race!

I train enough that I know what I can expect out of my body. Based on the conditions, the course, the wind, etc., I have a reasonable knowledge of what I can expect out of myself in regards to an average pace in a race. I often am trying to break records and I know exactly what pace I have to attain to do so. On my computer, my screen shows my speed, but more importantly, it shows my average speed. I do whatever it takes to hold or exceed that planned average speed – I don’t give a whit what the power meter might be telling me – I want to win the race and perhaps set a record, not please some coach who emailed me my plans and told me what power I should sustain.

If you race, be sure to have an adequate warm up. I often warm up for an hour and a half for a 5-kilometer time trial!

Buy the best equipment you can afford and that includes not only the bike, but also the ancillary equipment such as helmets, clothing, shoes, tires, gloves, etc. Buy the proper size bike and have it expertly fitted.

Keep your bike maintained. Keep it lubed, learn how to recognize parts that need replacement such as chains, tires, cogs, cleats, etc., and ideally, learn how to do those minor repairs yourself.

Regularly inspect your bike – this is especially important in the era of carbon fiber. We had a local fatality when a rider’s front fork failed leading to a fatal crash. Had that fork been carefully inspected after the last, or prior to the ride, I suspect that a minute crack might well have been detected. It’s dangerous enough out there without riding on dangerous equipment.

Finally, riding in groups is quite a satisfying, fun venture. Don’t be the person who never shuts their mouth with constant chatter – you will wear people out who are trying to enjoy a modicum of serenity. Pay attention to what you are doing in that if you do something stupid, it might put someone else in the hospital.

Don’t be a constant wheel sucker. If you cannot do an occasional “pull” find a slower group to ride with.

Finally, I invite you to click on the button entitled, “Sandy’s Blog Archive” on the main page of this site for many cycling related articles I have written over the years. Alternatively, you can click on the below link to go directly to the archive from this piece:

https://growingbolder.com/30669/blog

If you are a competitor, you might also be interested in the Time Trial edition of “Florida Racing” magazine. I have written a couple of articles in that issue, one of which deals with the techniques for racing a time trial. It can be found at:

http://www.floridaracingmagazine.com/may-1-2011.html

For more detailed information about some of the concepts I briefly touched on, Rosie and I co-authored a book entitled, “From Broken Neck to Broken Records, a Masters Cyclist’s Guide to Winning.” It can be purchased on Amazon.com or directly at:

www.brokennecktobrokenrecords.com

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – Part 6

April 28, 2014 By Sandy Scott 2 Comments

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – Part 6

This segment of my series is going to be a bit of a show-and-tell based on a trip I took to a large 260 plus acre working ranch in Lakeland, Florida – they call themselves Safari Wilderness Ranch. Various exotic species roam the grounds in areas pretty much replicating their native habitat. This will basically be some photographic highlights of the trip with a few factoids thrown in.

One of the more fascinating encounters for me was with a group of water buffalos – a species indigenous to Asia. Here is a group of them lazing about in the water:

One of them seemed rather intrigued with the photographer (me) and came charging out of the water with his tongue hanging out:

Here are a couple of up close and personal shots of one of them:

Probably one of the less exotic animals on the ranch was the very familiar llama – a species native to South America. Here are some portraits of the two I encountered. The first shot would lend itself to a creative caption – the one I used when I posted it on one of the photographic forums that I post on was: “Hey pal, can you spare some hay for a llama down on its luck?”

Of course what would a ranch be without horses, a bull and a cute baby goat? The horses are Austrian Haflingers, and the picture depicts the whole family – the father, the baby and the mother can be barely seen behind the father as she grazes.

Here is one trotting along:

This is the resident bull with his pal the cattle egret:

And as promised the cute baby goat:

One of the more intriguing animals to me was the Barbary Sheep. They are indigenous to the Rocky Mountains in Northern Africa. They are a member of the goat-antelope family. This guy seemed to be engaged in serious thought as he made eye contact with me:

Usually, I engage in a quite a bit of bird photography and I didn’t come up empty handed in that regard. Here is a very fascinating bird, which I had never encountered in the past. It’s an Abdim’s Stork indigenous to Eastern Africa:

The next two head shots are of an ostrich and a South American Rhea respectively. The ostrich does not seem to be in a great mood!

And finally a portrait of a resident black swan:

I encountered a rather fascinating African Cow – a Watusi Cow. Their horns can reach as long as 8 feet in length and are used for defense and cooling by virtue of blood-vesseled honeycombs contained within. The base of their horns is the largest of any species of horned animals:

Speaking of horns, the Swamp Deer, or Barasingha (indigenous to the Indian sub-continent) has some rather unique horns, which in the stage of development shown are rather stubby and fuzzy looking:

Here is a rather close up shot of one:

And probably the most fascinating horns of the horned animals I encountered, are those of the Greater Kudu. The Kudu is a species of antelope indigenous to Eastern and Southern Africa. They have a unique, white chevron running between their eyes:

Quite a few Water Bucks reside on the premises. They are a member of the antelope family and are native to sub-Saharan Africa. Here are two engaged in a jousting contest:

This is a portrait of a young, male Water Buck:

And this is a portrait of a female Water Buck:

A very fascinating creature is the Lemur, which is indigenous to Madagascar. Here are a couple of shots of these interesting animals. I had the joy of feeding one of them:

This guy’s glare belies his sweetness:

Another interesting encounter was with a Warthog, which is native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is so named due to 4 wart-like protrusions on the top of its head. It has two sets of tusks – the top ones are rather prominent, but they are not the sharp ones. The smaller, lower ones are razor sharp and are sharpened every time the Warthog opens and closes his mouth by virtue of the rubbing of the bottom tusks with the top ones honing the bottom ones to its razor sharpness.

The Black Buck, native to the Indian sub-continent is a rather fascinating creature. The males and females look totally different and seem to be of different species. They are considered a near-threatened species in that they are hunted for their horns and man is impinging upon their native environment. This shot depicts a family with the female in front followed by her offspring and then the male bringing up the rear:

Of course a tour of a ranch with African animals would not be complete without the obligatory Zebra shot. I liked the repeating pattern formed by these two grazing zebras.

Finally, there is a resident Giant Tortoise who seemed to want to make good eye contact with me:

I hope you have enjoyed this brief trip through this amazing ranch.

Sandy Scott
Pedalmasher@gmail

A Tribute To Craig

April 24, 2014 By Sandy Scott 6 Comments

I posted this piece on the Growing Bolder website some years ago, but as I thought about my friend today, I wanted those who might not have read the original piece to know about this incredible, one-of-a-kind, amazing being.

A Tribute To Craig

A friend is a rare and wonderful thing. I have had the opportunity to call a very special, incredibly unique man, my friend. Among his many characteristics and amazing accomplishments were the following:

– Entered college with no high school diploma and had PHd’s working under him in laser research while an undergraduate

– Hit a hole-in-one in golf

– Is and adventurer and world traveler

– Is incredibly politically naive

– Has neighborhood kids coming to his house asking his wife if he can come out and play – he usually can and does much to the glee of the kids

– Has an IQ in the upper 5 percentile of Mensa members – He was one of 17 people in the world to pass “Omni” magazine’s open book, year-long IQ test guaranteeing one who passed a minimum IQ of 99.997 percentile, or 5 standard deviations from the norm

– Is a certified deep-sea scuba diver who has dived the finest diving spots in the world

– Is a world class billiard/pool player, and was New Jersey State billiards champion – as a high school dropout, he toured the country hustling pool and among pool hustlers, was known as “The Witch”

– Is a bridge Life Master and was often flown to Las Vegas as a bridge partner by people trying to attain their master status

– Is a licensed skydiver

– Reads quantum mechanics text books and works out complex mathematical equations for relaxation

– Can program in over 10 computer languages and has been a computer hobbyist since the early days of computers – he has written a Gin Rummy program that cheats

– When industry could get his brief attention, he developed a laser guided missile system and an innovative telecommunications system – he also developed the scoreboard system first seen on Monday night football

– Is an avid mountain climber, hiker, camper and spelunker

– Has finished a 26.2 mile marathon race, and has won numerous medals and trophies for his running

– Is a certified Curmudgeon

– Is a certified blue water sailboat skipper

– Can understand and completely explain Einstein’s theory of relativity (perhaps even to you)

– Was house husband and tutor to a wonderful daughter who went on to become a Fellow of the American Society of Actuaries prior to the age of 30

– Can easily solve any lateral thinking puzzle

– Has played and beaten some of the world’s best poker playing professionals at Texas Hold ‘em

– Is an artistic nature photographer with the skills of an accomplished professional

– Can identify by name and explain virtually any species of flora or fauna – tour guides in Glacier National Park came to him for information and requests for lectures from him

– Is an expert Frisbee player and can give you a good game in tennis

– Can correctly complete the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle and has one of the most incredible vocabularies imaginable

– Truly loves his Mother, Wife and daughter, and is a dedicated and loving husband, father and son

– Is an accomplished kayaker & bicyclist

– Is a true Bon Vivant and Raconteur

– Has driven a dog sled across Alaska

– Has won numerous chess tournaments

– Is a Mathematician, Physicist, Chemist, Botanist and a Biologist

– Is a treasured teacher – He taught gifted students in Westfield, NJ donating his time to do so

– Spent part of his youth in an iron lung suffering from polio, and another part travelling the country as a pool hustler

– Amazingly, Craig accomplished all of the above as a high school dropout who had one eye (boyhood BB gun accident), and half of his abdominal muscles missing (ravages of polio).

Craig Anthony Ryan met an untimely end climbing Mount Clements in his beloved Glacier National Park. He fell to his death from the mountain, and I can imagine that when that incredible processor of his realized what had happened, he let out one last defiant shout.

Craig’s death is a profound loss to me – I truly loved him, and a small piece of me is forever gone.

We used to speculate how much we could have accomplished and experienced together if we had met as boys. What I have suddenly realized is that dream was a reality. Although both of us managed to grow the bodies of men, neither of us ever escaped the bounds and joys of boyhood.

There will never again be another person like Craig. He died doing what he loved, and although I sensed that someday Craig would meet his demise this way, It will be very difficult to accept his loss. His exuberance, intelligence, playfulness and zest for life were infectious. The skies will be brighter for me lighted by the sparkle in his playful eyes (or eye).

You can climb for eternity now dear friend; free of this world we have both always had such a difficult time accepting. I love you and will always miss you.

The above was written in about 5 minutes some years ago when I received a telephone call at work from Craig’s wife informing me of his death due to a moutain climbing accident. Craig was my best friend. I posted the above in response to a Growing Bolder question on facebook asking readers to tell who was the coolest person they had ever met. Craig was definitely the most amazing, intelligent, coolest person I have ever met. He was the universal man.

Here are some photos of Craig doing the things he loved:

By the way, that was my butt he was kicking in a mile race circa 1980, and I was a national champion runner!

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 5

April 18, 2014 By Sandy Scott 2 Comments

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 5

I have always been fascinated by flight. I am a retired airline pilot with over 15,000 of flight time and in addition, I have had the joy of flying my body for 12 hours and 40 minutes of free-fall time during my skydiving adventures. Unfortunately, in the latter activity, gravity dictated that my flight was always downward leading to the necessity of saving my life by deploying my parachute.

As a photographic hobbyist, not surprisingly one of my favorite subjects is birds in flight. In addition to my fascination with birds in flight, it is one of the more challenging photographic subjects to capture properly. In this installment of my Adventures in Nature series, I am going to deal with the subject of birds in flight.

One of the more spectacular species are the various raptors. This shot of an osprey with its recently captured breakfast is one of my favorites. Excitingly, it placed 3rd out of 663 entries this very week in a photo contest with the theme, “Show Your Best Wildlife Photos.”

Here is a continuation of the sequence that I shot in which this osprey landed on his adjacent nest and shared his catch with his mate who was sitting on the nest:

And another dramatic shot of the same osprey captured some months prior to the above photos:

And finally one interesting overhead perspective of an osprey flying by with its talons extended:

I love capturing shots from unique perspectives. Here is one that has caused a bit of a stir on the National Geographic website – it’s a shot of a Great Egret flying away not only leaving a wake with each wing, but reflected on the water such that it looks like the jaws of a shark:

As long as the subject is Great Egrets, here are a couple more of that species. The second one is an egret who is a regular visitor to my house. The photo shows is arrival one morning.

Silhouettes always make for interesting shots. Here is a group of Sandhill Cranes flying by just prior to sunset:

One of the most maddening subjects I have tried to capture in flight is the elusive Kingfisher. They are probably the most skittish birds on the planet and it is extremely difficult to get close to them. One day, I got my dream shot. A Kingfisher suddenly appeared overhead hovering just prior to diving for the prey it had obviously spotted. Quite excited at the prospect of finally capturing one of these creatures in flight, I raised my camera skyward, but as I started shooting, I noticed I was not getting good focus for some reason. I took a few shots, the bird departed and I discovered that my telephoto lens had been set for distant, not close focusing. The result was anything but the tack sharp photos I love, but here is the result:

Everyone loves ducks – here is a fly-by by a couple of Redhead Ducks:

One of my favorite birds is the Great Blue Heron. Here are a couple of shots of them in flight:

This shot, although not terribly good photographically in that it was shot at considerable distance, depicts an interesting nest-building ritual practiced by Great Blue Herons. The male retrieves material for the nest, brings it back to the nest, does a bit of a victory dance for his mate, hands over the material, and she then applies it to the nest. This shot depicts a Great Blue Heron performing the pre hand-over-the-nest-material dance:

A very spectacular bird in flight is the Wood Stork; here is one coming in for a landing:

Wood Storks were once an endangered species and fascinatingly, there is one 10 million year old fossil that is identified as a Wood Stork. Here is what this fascinating bird looks like up close:

A fascinating bird that is quite prevalent in this part of Florida is the Black Skimmer. It skims along the water catching fish with its unique beak – the bottom portion is shorter than the top allowing it to efficiently scoop up small fish. The first shot is a group of them flying around the Gulf of Mexico and the second is an interesting “V” formation of two of them flying together:

Here is a close up look of their unique beak structure:

Speaking of unique bills, here is a shot of a bird with a rather unique bill – the Long-billed Curlew:

Another bird with a unique bill is the White Ibis:

Something that you might not be aware of is that there is no such bird as a seagull. The term “seagull” is a generic term used to describe the rather large family of gulls. As a matter of fact the term is even more of a misnomer when you consider the fact that many birds termed “seagulls” live, feed and nest inland. Here are two shots of gulls – one is a very young gull and the other a mature gull. There are so many species; I am not going to bother to specifically identify these two:

Closely related to gulls are terns – here is a shot of one:

Vultures are rather spectacular in flight – here is a Turkey Vulture that has apparently spotted something of interest on the ground:

Of course many creatures other than birds have been known to fly – an example would be my retired, racing greyhound Kitty (racing name KittyHawk) shown showing off to her housemate at the local dog park:

Finally, a tip for photographers which will assist in your efforts to photograph birds in flight. Many modern lenses are equipped with image stabilization as is my favorite lens for shooting birds in flight, a Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L USM IS lens. In that your shutter speeds are usually quite fast for this type of photography – often 1/2000th of a second, you will find that you more rapidly and readily capture focus on moving objects with the image stabilization feature turned off.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief photographic journey exploring birds in flight.

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

Be a Great Patient!

April 16, 2014 By Sandy Scott 4 Comments

Be a Great Patient

It’s an unfortunate fact that a good portion of the practice of medicine involves art rather than science – if it were not for that fact, this particular blog would not need to be written.

Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon, writer and professor at the Harvard Medical School wrote in a recent essay, “Just as there is an art to being a doctor, there is an art to being a patient. You must choose wisely when to submit and when to assert yourself.” Far too few do the latter.

Probably one of the best examples of the importance of being a good patient is the subject of prostate cancer. Recent studies have shown a very high prevalence of over-treatment in this often very slowly progressing disease. One study revealed that of a group of men who underwent radical a prostatectomy, half had non-aggressive disease, which probably would have not become symptomatic in their life time. Unfortunately, a high percentage of those who underwent these unneeded procedures were relegated to needlessly live with unpleasant side effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

A great example of being an informed, involved patient is Ralph Blum, the co-author of the book on prostate cancer entitled, “The Prostate Snatchers.” Here is how Mr. Blum describes his experience:

“My own experience with urologists has not been a happy one. Twenty years ago, a doctor who wanted nothing but patient compliance, told me that if I did not agree to immediate surgery I would be dead in two years. His recommendation and prognosis were not only wrong, but in my opinion violated the ancient medical precept incorporated in the Hippocratic Oath: “First do no harm.” Fortunately I was not the kind of patient to be easily intimidated.”

Twenty years later, Mr. Blum still has his prostate gland and is not suffering the side effects of needless surgery.

Another illustration of being a good patient is illustrated in a book that I read last year entitled, “Prostate Cancer Breakthroughs, A Step-By-Step Guide to Cutting-Edge Diagnostic Tests and 8 Medically-Proven Treatments.” The book was written by Jay S. Cohen, M.D. who was diagnosed with prostate cancer and resisted his urologist’s recommendation to undergo a radical prostatectomy. He went into intense research mode, ferreted out the latest and greatest developments in the field of prostate cancer, and was able to deal with his cancer sans surgical intervention. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the subject.

Finally on a personal note, I broke my neck towards the end of 2005 – it was a fracture of the C1 cervical vertebrae, the rarest and statistically most fatal of neck fractures. When there was no sign of healing after two months, my board-certified spinal surgeon informed me that if I did not undergo surgery to fuse my C1 to either the occiput (base of the skull) or C2, I was in mortal danger in that even a minor fall could lead to death. He further informed me that the surgery would leave me with a permanent minimum loss of 50% of my neck mobility. As an active person/athlete, I was not about to submit to that prognosis and I went into intense research mode, which ultimately led me to a spinal surgeon that shepherded me through the recovery process without surgery. Here is how I looked in the emergency room the day I broke my neck:

And here is how I looked yesterday when I took this selfie:

I would not have been able to do the necessary work to look like that at the age of 74 with a fused neck!

What’s the take away? Be your own medical advocate. Do your own research – something that is so easily accomplished on the Internet. Look into support groups for whatever medical issue you might be dealing with. Empower yourself to say “NO.” to your physician. Unfortunately, the medical profession has attained a position of reverence in our society. A friend of mine recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, balked at my recommendation for a second opinion stating that he was afraid his physician would react negatively to his seeking a second opinion. Any physician worth his medical degree should encourage multiple opinions regarding important, potentially life changing medical procedures.

Remember, in the end it is YOU, not your physician, who will live with the consequences of your medical decisions. Become a great patient!

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

The Key Word When it Comes to Exercise is “MODERATION”

April 8, 2014 By Sandy Scott 1 Comment

The Key Word When it Comes to Exercise is “MODERATION”

Last summer I published a blog entitled, “Do We Pay A Medical Price to Be Elite Athletes.” If you have not read it and are interested in doing so, it can be found at the following link:

http://growingbolder.com/blogs/sports/do-we-pay-a-medical-price-to-be-880463.html

The more I become aware of once great athletes who now have medical issues and, based on recent studies, I think I need to expand my thesis to everyone who works out regularly.

One would think for example, that the training and the ability to complete an Ironman Triathlon which is composed of s 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bicycle ride and topped off with a marathon run (26.2) miles, would guarantee the person capable of such super human training and racing feats to be all but immune from heart issues.

Alas, I think it is just the opposite. I personally know 4 Ironman finishers (two of whom were winners in their age group), who are walking around with electronics implanted in the chest to either support heart function or save their lives in case of heart malfunction.

A recent long-term study completed this very week on the subject of longevity/health versus training volume found this about running: There were three groups. Group one did no aerobic training, group two ran approximately 3 hours a week and finally group three ran 8 or more hours a week. Not surprisingly, the inactive group had the highest mortality rate and was the least healthy, but not surprising to me, group two, the group that ran moderately was healthier and lived longer than the runners who took things to an extreme.

Other studies are proving that longer, harder workouts do more damage than good to your body, and possibly your heart.

The European Heart Journal published a German study that looked at runners. Researchers compared the hearts of 108 marathoners to several non-runners. After monitoring the subjects for three years the researchers scanned their hearts.
The marathon runners showed significantly more plaque build-up than the non-runners. Several runners also had tissue scarring. These runners had damaged their heart by straining the heart muscle and too much scar tissue in the heart can lead to congestive heart failure and death! Unfortunately, many think that they are accomplishing the opposite through their excessive training.

Another study published by the Medical Journal of Australia confirmed it. For this study the researchers did blood tests before and after runners finished a race. They found that 32 percent of the runners had high levels of cardiac troponin—which doctors consider a marker for heart disorders. The more troponin in the blood, the more heart damage. Canadian researchers found the same thing: Long distance runners had elevated troponin.

Interestingly, when someone goes to the emergency room for a potential cardiac event, the blood profiles displayed by someone who has suffered a mild heart attack are similar to the profiles displayed by long distance runners.

More and more research now is coming out against distance running. The famous Dr. Cooper of Aerobics Clinic fame in Dallas and the author of the best selling book, “Aerobics,” came out against running years ago – he favors vigorous walking to inhibit the formation of dangerous free radicals in the body, which are potentially quite damaging. Exercise causes oxidative stress and DNA damage. Oxidative stress is when cells aren’t getting enough oxygen. And lack of oxygen creates free radicals. Free radicals wreak havoc on your body—causing things from advanced aging to cancer. As I mentioned in my original piece on the subject, many of the excellent, very active athletes I personally know are suffering from prostate cancer and unfortunately, two of my once very athletic friends have died from the disease.

So what are you to do? Research suggests that short sessions of interval training are an effective training medium and protective of the heart.

One of the workouts confirmed as effective by researchers at the American College of Sports Medicine is as follows: Sprint as far and as fast as you can until your heart is pumping and you’re out of breath. Then walk until your heart rate returns to normal. Then sprint again. Then rest. You only need to do this for about 10-12 minutes.

Studies confirm this recommendation. Researchers presented a study at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting showing how just two weeks of interval training improved aerobic capacity as much as six to eight weeks of endurance training.

Another study compared endurance and interval training and once again interval training proved to be better for the heart. And after just eight weeks of interval training, those subjects were able to perform better and showed less signs of stress to their bodies.

On a personal note, as someone who gave up competitive cycling recently and hence the required 3 ½ to 5 ½ hours a day of training required to maintain a national level of competiveness, I can’t remember feeling better in many years. I now mix moderate amounts of cycling with runs of about 25 minutes in duration along with weight training. My body weight has increased (muscular weight), and I look and feel better than I have in years.

For those of you who engage in excessive amounts of aerobic training, whether it be to maintain a competitive edge, or incorrectly thinking that you are enhancing your health, just know that you might ultimately pay the price for that training – and sometimes it is not a small price! If health and longevity are your goals, then the key is word is “MODERATION.”

As an aside, although I am probably more known as a cyclist, I do have some running history. This is a photo of me winning the national cross country title some years ago:

Sandy Scott
Pedalmasher@gmail.com

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 4

April 7, 2014 By Sandy Scott 2 Comments

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 4 (See the bottom of this post for more from this series)

In part 4 of my photographic journey through nature, I am going to deal with the fascinating world of smaller creatures/subjects utilizing close-up or macro photography. Specifically, I am going to discuss some of the interesting subjects that I have found right in my own yard in Seminole, Florida.

The first creature I am going to discuss is a red-headed brown anole lizard that is a resident on a light fixture located on the front of my garage. He is there every day and watches everything that goes on. Here is a close-up shot of him:

Red-headed Brown Anole Lizard

The eyes of these lizards are quite tiny, but one day I decided to see if I could get so close on a shot of one of them that I could literally see my own reflection in the eye of the lizard. Here is the result – I call it “Lizard Mirror.” You can see me in my cut-off white t-shirt reflected in the eye:

Lizard eye mirror – that’s me taking his picture reflected in his eye.

Another thing that I enjoy photographing is a wasp nest that is was built under the eaves of the roof of my house. Access requires me to balance at the top of a ladder while getting my lens within inches of the nest. The inhabitants of the nest seem to be quite tolerant of my presence. During the initial building of the nest, only the queen was present, but lately she has seemingly recruited numerous workers. Here is a shot from this past weekend – there was lots of activity and the progress of the eggs in the various chambers of the nest can be seen in their different stages of development:

In that the shot was made with a rather narrow depth of field, you will note that there is one wasp at the top of the photo making some serious eye contact with me. Here is a close-up of that wasp:

Another fascinating creature that shows up regularly on my front porch at night is a Cuban Tree Frog. I was informed that the species is invasive and was encouraged to kill the frog. Killing creatures is not my thing so I let him enjoy whatever he does in peace. Here he is smiling for me. Again, to get this shot, I had to balance on the top of a ladder while holding an LED light and my camera:

Smiling Cuban Tree Frog

The frog’s eyes are so fascinating; I decided to go for a close-up of just one of the eyes:

With any macro photography there is the obligatory shot of a butterfly. I particularly enjoyed the result of this shot in that it was shot with a telephoto lens at 400mm hand held, but still had rather pleasing results:

Here is another telephoto shot of a butterfly just as it lifts off from a flower:

The following shot is one that I thought I would not be able to make. It is of a tiny carpenter ant crawling around on my back porch. He was moving as I shot it, and again, I was more than pleased to get a result like this under the circumstances:

The local flies always make interesting if not challenging subjects in that they are constantly on the move and quite tiny. Here are two examples. The first one is called a Condylostylus and I haven’t bothered to I.D. the second guy:

The next pair of creatures I found above my garage door. I had no idea what there were until I did a bit of research. Again, the shot required the obligatory ladder and balancing act. They turned out to be Wheel Bugs and they are a great help to gardeners in that they consume many of the pests that feed on the garden. They get their name from the wheel-like protrusion on the top of their backs. I’m not sure what these guys were up to, but they certainly paid no attention to me:

There is another creature that lives in a little spot in one of my planters – it is our resident rabbit. Here is a close-up of his eye:

Finally, a tour of macro photography would not be complete with at least one flower close-up, but I will post two. The first is a Vinca, which is a very small flower. I had just tested the sprinkler system and I noted that the droplets of water on the petals of the flower looked like a potential Kodak moment and I took the shot:

The last shot depicts the buds in the center of a Poinsettia plant that we have in our front yard. The buds remind me of the larger man-eating plant in the “Little Shop of Horrors.” If you look at an on-line photo of the plant from the movie, you will see the resemblance:

I hope you have enjoyed this brief tour of my yard through the medium of a macro lens!

Keep reading! Check out:

Part 1: Osprey Adventures

Part 2: Playing With Pelicans

Part 3: Pet Portraits

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

3 Supplements That Everyone Should Take

April 3, 2014 By Sandy Scott 8 Comments

3 Supplements That Everyone Should Take

The subject of nutritional supplementation can be quite controversial if not confusing. The supplement that is the darling of the nutritional experts one day is the one shown to be ineffective or perhaps even harmful the next.

We are each an experiment of one and hence we each have the responsibility of finding what works best for us individually. During my career as an airline pilot, I was required to take two FAA physical exams a year and in my early years I was additionally required to take an annual company physical. It did not take much of a serious health issue to ground a pilot certainly temporarily, but perhaps even permanently. To avoid any issues, in my mid-twenties I embarked on a program of exercise and sensible nutrition/supplementation. I have continued to study the literature and hone my list of supplements over the years, and at the end of this piece I will reveal my personal list of supplements. I take each for a specific reason, but for the purpose of this piece, I will not go into the details of each. I reached my 74th birthday a couple of days ago, and I feel like a million dollars. My program has certainly worked for me. Here is a selfie I took the morning of my birthday just prior to heading out on a run:

For the purpose of this piece, I intend to not go into great detail, but I hope that some of what you read will inspire you to do a bit deeper investigation for yourself and hone your list supplements, or if you have none, start one. There are three supplements however, that I believe that everyone should be taking on a daily basis, and they are 1) L-arginine-Complete 2) A Multi-vitamin and 3) Zyflamend.

L-arginine Complete

I cannot say enough about this product. If you search my blog archives by clicking on the “Sandy’s Blog Archives” button on the main page of my blog, you will find an article that I wrote on this product entitled, “The Magic Health & Performance Elixir.” Dr. Julius Ignarro won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1998 for his research that revealed the importance of Nitric Oxide to the enhancement of heart health. He discovered that by taking 5 grams of L-arginine coupled with a gram of L-citrulline daily, it worked as a preventative for heart disease and even demonstrated the ability to reverse the disease. The catalyst for me beginning to use this supplement over three years ago was my primary care physician who recommended it to his patients and actually was able to get some of them off of their blood pressure meds through the use of it. I won’t go into any more detail in that I discuss the subject in-depth in my blog on the subject. I highly recommend reading Dr. Ignarro’s book, “NO More Heart Disease…” The letters “NO” represents not only the word “no,” but it is the chemical formula for Nitric Oxide. L-arginine Complete is a product produced by Fenix Nutrition – it complies with the precise findings of Dr. Ignarro. The product can be found at the following link:

http://www.fenixnutrition.com/L-Arginine-Complete_ep_49.html

For 15% off this wonderful product, click on the above link and enter promo code SandyScott at checkout. Understand that I don’t enrich myself a single dime when you use the promo code – I am just so passionate about the product that I asked the manufacturer too offer this discount to my readers.

Multi-vitamin

All of the nutritional pundits – even those who tend to discourage supplementation seem to agree on the taking of one supplement – a multi-vitamin. One caveat however, is that I believe one should take a gender specific multi-vitamin. For example, many men’s vitamins do not contain iron. The bottom line is that multi-vitamins can bring most people more in line with nutritional guidelines, and since guidelines for women and men differ somewhat, a gender-specific multivitamin makes sense. As an aside, I purchase my vitamins from the on-line purveyor of supplements, Puritan’s Pride, and they have an excellent men’s multi-vitamin.

Zyflamend

I first learned of Zyflamend when I read the excellent book, “The Definitive Guide to Prostate Cancer…” by Dr. Aaron Katz who among the prestigious positions he has held in the medical community was the Director of Holistic Urology at Colombia University Medical School. Dr. Katz, although he is also a surgeon, favors a holistic approach to the prevention and oftentimes treatment of prostate cancer. He recommends two supplements, Zyflamend and Prostate 5LX, another supplement that I utilize for the enhancement of prostate health.

Inflammation in the body is the cause of many of our ills. For example, take the subject of cholesterol. There are two more important aspects of cholesterol and its potential detrimental effect on the body then just how high your cholesterol number might be. Research has revealed that more importantly than the amount of cholesterol you have and the readings of your so-called good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol is the size of the cholesterol particles. Small particles tend to cluster together and cause blockages, whereas large sized (fluffy) cholesterol particles do not tend to cause issues within the arteries.

There are a couple of blood tests that can determine your cholesterol particle size and hence the likelihood of suffering a cardiac event caused by high cholesterol. They are the VPP or Vertical Auto Profile test and the LPP or Lipoprotein Particle Profile test.

There is another factor however, and that is where Zyflamend comes into play. Cholesterol tends to adhere to arterial walls in places that there is inflammation. Zyflamend fights inflammation throughout the body – not just in arterial walls. Personal trainers often recommend the product to their clients as an aid in post workout recovery.

Further research revealed that Zyflamend is the number one taken supplement in the world! I purchase mine on Amazon.com – you can read many interesting reviews of the product posted by users on the Amazon site.

As promised earlier, here is the list of supplements that I take every day:

Vitamin C – 1 gram
Vitamin D 2000 IU
Vitamin E – 400 I.U.
Beta Carotene – 15 mg
Multiple Vitamin – Puritan Pride Ultra Man 50 Plus
Calcium – 600mg with 100 I.U. of vitamin D
Omega 3 – 1 gram
L-Lysine – 500 mg
Saw Palmetto – 450 mg
CO Q-10 – 200 mg
Garlic – 500 mg
L-Arginine 5 grams
Aspirin 81 mg
Selenium 100 mcg
Broccoli Sprouts Extract
Turmeric 400 mg
Zyflamend
Prostate 5LX

I hope this has been a useful guideline for your nutritional supplementation and if nothing else, a catalyst for doing more research.

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 3

March 31, 2014 By Sandy Scott 1 Comment

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 3 (See the bottom of this post for more from this series)

During my photographic forays through nature, I often come upon photogenic domestic animals and I always take the opportunity to capture a photo of them. Part 3 of my series will be devoted to some shots of those encountered pets, however first let me introduce you to my two house pets.

5 1/2 years ago I learned of a retired, racing greyhound that would soon be available for adoption. She had enjoyed a stellar career of winning races on three dog tracks and had recently retired from the Mobile, Alabama track. Her racing name was KittyHawk and she had raced for an usually long amount of time – about 4 ½ years. Her racing record revealed that her MO was to go to the front immediately which prevented her from being jostled by the much larger male dogs as they negotiated the rather tight turns of a 5/16th of a mile dog track, and win by running in first place from wire to wire. When I learned of her impending availability, she was going through transition training in a program called Second Chance at Life. She was in a prison up North living one-on-one with a prisoner who taught her the skills needed to transition from living in a very small kennel to being a domestic pet. In exchange, the dog taught the prisoner unconditional love. I particularly related to “Kitty” in that I was a retired running racer myself.

One day after getting Kitty, who was transported by truck from the prison to my house, we were enjoying a romp in the dog park. A reporter sensing a possible story (the dog and I had similar builds) approached me and asked if she could interview me and photograph Kitty and me. I agreed and the interview was published in the Tampa newspaper in a very cute way – from the perspective of an interview with the dog. If you are interested in reading this cute story, it can be found in my blog archives at the following location:

https://growingbolder.com/blogs/entertainment/my-retired-greyhound-kitty-was-229021.html

Here are two pictures of Kitty. The first shows her in her most frequent endeavor – lazing about the house. The second one taken just a week ago is one that I find rather amusing and I have captioned it, “Lady, does he bite?” It seems Kitty had been exploring the dog park when she suddenly spied me some distance away. She took off like a rocket and the acceleration brought her jowls back revealing her teeth. Here are the two pictures:

Kitty at her usual activity

Lady, does he bite?

The second resident of the house is Libby the rescued cat. She was adopted from the local pound when she was just a few weeks old, and at the age of 14 is still quite active and curious about everything. The first picture of Libby depicts her in one of her favorite activities – watching lizards through the window in the entry hallway. I took the shot when I noticed the way the natural light was highlighting her beautiful green eyes. The second was taken just a couple of days ago as she enjoyed the sun on our back patio.

Libby the kitty looking out the window

One day, I was in the local park photographing some mallard ducks in an out-of-the-way portion in the back. When I emerged back on the roadway, I noticed three people walking a dog with something in its mouth. As they got closer, I found it amusing and coincidental that the dog had his own mallard duck:

Dog with duck toy

The owners informed me that the dog insisted on taking his mallard duck on his sometimes rather long walks and simply would not leave home without it. I thought the dog was a Labrador Retriever, but it was in fact the runt of the litter of Great Danes.

On another recent day, I was photographing in the park and I noticed a dog off in the distance watching me intently. I took a picture of the dog from afar with a 400mm lens and then approached the dog and its owners. The owners were visiting from Canada with their dog which they identified as a Labradoodle. Here is his picture:

Curious Labradoodle

The next photo illustrates the phenomenon of “things are not always as they appear”. My neighbor owns two bulldogs, a male and a female. They are perhaps the gentlest dogs on the planet. The below picture of “Trixie” the female, illustrates the above phenomenon:

Looks can be deceiving

We all know how frisky the various terrier breeds are. One day when I was out shooting, I observed this terrier trying very hard to teach its owner how to properly heal. The dog was obviously struggling with its teaching efforts:

Terrier walking its “master”

And finally, I will leave you with a shot of this rather handsome boy that I met in the dog park last week:

Dog portrait

After going to press with the above, I decided to add three more pictures of dogs relegated to the small dog park who obviously wanted to come play with the big guys in the big dog park – here they are:

And the smallest of all:

Keep reading! Check out:

Part 1: Osprey Adventures

Part 2: Playing With Pelicans

Part 4: Using a Macro Lens for Small Creatures

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 2

March 29, 2014 By Sandy Scott 3 Comments

ADVENTURES IN NATURE – part 2 (See the bottom of this post for more from this series)

Among the creatures that I have most enjoyed watching during my nature/photographic forays is the goofy, popular, ubiquitous (at least here in Florida) pelican – especially the Brown Pelican. They are fascinating birds that have been known to soar as high as 10,000 feet on thermals of air. Their pouches can hold an amazing three gallons of water. Some of the 8 species of pelicans found on every continent other than Antarctica have wings spans of up to 10 feet! Here is a portrait of one of these fascinating birds:

They frequently fly around in group formation close to the water as these two are doing:

But they also are often flying solo. The first photo is of a mature Brown Pelican in flight followed by a shot of a young bird:

Pelican fly by

Note the interesting difference in eye and plumage coloration between the mature and the young brown pelican.

They utilize a fascinating fishing technique of diving into the water at high speeds, crashing into the water upside down hence stunning the fish near the surface, and then scooping them up in their pouch. They then drain the up to 3 gallons of water in their pouch, and maneuver their prey so they are in position to swallow headfirst down the hatch. Here is a shot of one just prior to hitting the water:

This maneuver happens so quickly that I was never aware of the technique they used until I stopped the action with my camera. Just prior to hitting the water, they tuck in their heads, rotate to the left and then land upside down. Interestingly, the reason for that left turn is that the bird’s trachea and esophagus are both located on the right side and the left turn technique protects vital parts from being damaged on impact. There is one other physiological feature of the bird that helps protect it during its high speed fishing dives. They have air sacs throughout their bodies that not only help cushion them on impact, but also enhance their buoyancy in the water. Because of these numerous air sacs throughout the body, pelicans are much lighter than they appear.

Interestingly, other species such as the white pelican, use a group fishing technique in which they form a semi-circle and drive the fish towards the shore where their prey is then easily scooped up into their pouches. Here is a photo of a white pelican:

Pelicans have an interesting relationship with seagulls that often perch on their head or other parts of the pelican hoping to steal a free meal. After a fish catch by the pelican, the seagull literally sticks its head into the pelican’s pouch and grabs what they can. I recently watched a half-hour sequence on the Gulf of Mexico of a pelican and a seagull. The seagull rode around on top of the pelican and at one point when a tern tried to move in on the action, the seagull gave chase and then immediately returned to its perch atop the pelican. Fascinatingly, the pelicans don’t seem to mind their fee-loading visitors. Here are the two:

Thanks for the ride!

The 8 species of pelicans are also divided into two sub-groups – ground nesters, and those that nest in trees and rocks. Unlike other species of birds, pelicans protect their eggs by placing the webbing of their feet over the eggs as they sit on the nest. Here is a female pelican sitting on her nest:

The result is one of these cute fluff balls – this guy is 4 weeks old:

I came across this bird and his sibling one morning and watched them for a considerable amount of time. This shot was one of the rare moments when they did not seem to be glued together. Here are a couple of shots to illustrate:

I hope you enjoyed this brief pelican encounter and I will leave you with two more photos. In the first, I am making some serious, close-up eye contact with a young brown pelican and in the second, I was about to duck as this pelican came flying towards me on a recent morning on a local beach:

Keep reading! Check out:

Part 1: Osprey Adventures

Part 3: Pet Portraits

Part 4: Using a Macro Lens for Small Creatures

Sandy Scott
pedalmasher@gmail.com

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