Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Clearwater 2009
Check out this picture taken by my friend (and great coach) Janda Ricci-Munn. This is the bike portion of the Clearwater 70.3 Championship.....notice anything wrong with this?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Are You Kidding?
After a great session of Krav Maga last night, I sat down to watch some T.V. and saw this commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsqJju3ePJU.
Check it out and tell me if you had the same reaction I did? Without any disrespect to the clinical severity of depression, how can a drug like this get approved by the FDA. With the bulk of the commerical being a (forced) disclosure of all the serious adverse events, it makes you wonder if the FDA has turned into an advertising approval rather than a drug approving agency. Also, where is the responsibiliy of the Pharmaceutical companies?
Check it out and tell me if you had the same reaction I did? Without any disrespect to the clinical severity of depression, how can a drug like this get approved by the FDA. With the bulk of the commerical being a (forced) disclosure of all the serious adverse events, it makes you wonder if the FDA has turned into an advertising approval rather than a drug approving agency. Also, where is the responsibiliy of the Pharmaceutical companies?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Perhaps Not all Distruptive Innovations are Good
Perhaps the last thing folks need to read is another rant on FINA's decision to ban, as they are called, high-tech suits. There are lots of well constructed and thoughtful arguments both for and against the ban ranging from the lack-of-access point of view for age groupers to more philosophical views that believe the sport of swimming will be (or, has been) forever changed.
During a conversation with my partner (and co-founder) of SwimSense, we sort of stumbled onto an idea that I have not heard folks talk about - at least explicitly. The idea is that the rate of change that was introduced by the tech suits was a key underlying component to the ban on these suits. Here is a brief summary of events that have occurred in under two years:
Just from the brief list of bullets above, it is easy to see that Speedo was at the forefront of an innovation that rocked the competitive world of swimming. It's impact was literally dizzying to FINA, who, just months before the outright ban (and after approving the 202 suits) stated, "Fina wishes to recall the main and core principle is that swimming is a sport essentially based on the physical performance of the athlete...".
A lesson to be learned from the high-tech revolution is that there are markets that struggle to absorb disruptive innovations. Athletics, in particular, are built on performances that are dramatic and rare. Innovations that tear down past records at a rate that is similar to what competitive swimming experienced will be met by extreme resistance from those that seek to protect what they know and have come to expect. As an aside, this lesson reminds me of a key theory of evolution which essentially states that natural selection favors gradual changes rather than those that are sudden and abrupt (although fans of the punctuated equilibrium would surely disagree). Perhaps a better biological analogy would be to compare the Speed LZR to a genetic mutation that is rejected by the population very quickly. More generally speaking, markets that have strong regulatory bodies, like competitive swimming, have a means to "smooth" out innovation curves in favor of reducing abrupt changes. As a result, innovators need to minimally forecast how the market will react to the breakthrough innovation and throttle the impact of product delivery to stay within the market's inherent capacity for change. In the case of Speedo, delivering a less functional suit (i.e. one that did not increase the performance as dramatically as the LZR did) may have allowed for a more gradual change and avoided an outright ban.
Bottom line is that I do not agree with FINA's decision and I absolutely do not agree with many of the arguments that have been put forth to justify their decision. However, we have taken notice of how the swimming community reacts to truly disruptive innovations...noted.
References:
During a conversation with my partner (and co-founder) of SwimSense, we sort of stumbled onto an idea that I have not heard folks talk about - at least explicitly. The idea is that the rate of change that was introduced by the tech suits was a key underlying component to the ban on these suits. Here is a brief summary of events that have occurred in under two years:
- February 2008 - Speedo introduces the LZR Racer
- August 2008 - Summer Olympics sees 25 World records fall (of which 23 were wearing the LZR)
- December 2008 - 17 new world records fell
- 2008 - In total, 105 world records are broken (79 wearing the Speedo LZR)
- May 2009 - FINA reviews and approves 202 suits, rejects 10, and allows 136 to be modified to meet the Dubai Charter
- July 2009 - FINA bans all high-tech suits and releases specific guidelines (e.g. size, material, body coverage) for suits going forward
Just from the brief list of bullets above, it is easy to see that Speedo was at the forefront of an innovation that rocked the competitive world of swimming. It's impact was literally dizzying to FINA, who, just months before the outright ban (and after approving the 202 suits) stated, "Fina wishes to recall the main and core principle is that swimming is a sport essentially based on the physical performance of the athlete...".
A lesson to be learned from the high-tech revolution is that there are markets that struggle to absorb disruptive innovations. Athletics, in particular, are built on performances that are dramatic and rare. Innovations that tear down past records at a rate that is similar to what competitive swimming experienced will be met by extreme resistance from those that seek to protect what they know and have come to expect. As an aside, this lesson reminds me of a key theory of evolution which essentially states that natural selection favors gradual changes rather than those that are sudden and abrupt (although fans of the punctuated equilibrium would surely disagree). Perhaps a better biological analogy would be to compare the Speed LZR to a genetic mutation that is rejected by the population very quickly. More generally speaking, markets that have strong regulatory bodies, like competitive swimming, have a means to "smooth" out innovation curves in favor of reducing abrupt changes. As a result, innovators need to minimally forecast how the market will react to the breakthrough innovation and throttle the impact of product delivery to stay within the market's inherent capacity for change. In the case of Speedo, delivering a less functional suit (i.e. one that did not increase the performance as dramatically as the LZR did) may have allowed for a more gradual change and avoided an outright ban.
Bottom line is that I do not agree with FINA's decision and I absolutely do not agree with many of the arguments that have been put forth to justify their decision. However, we have taken notice of how the swimming community reacts to truly disruptive innovations...noted.
References:
- "Fina cracks down on hi-tech suits". BBC Sport. 2009-03-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/7944084.stm.
- LZR Racer, Wikipedia. September 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZR_Racer
- "Fast Times", WSJ. August 14, 2008, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121865005500237497.html
- FINA Opts to Ban All High-Tech Swimsuits, Reach for the Wall. July 2009, http://reachforthewall.com/2009/07/24/suit-story/?hpid=artslot
- FINA Posts Final Approved Swimwear List for 2009, Swimming World Magazine, May 2009, http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21182.asp?q=FINA%20Posts%20Final%20Approved%20Swimwear%20List%20for%202009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Race Update
I know I said no more blogs, but there's a lot to say and 140 character limit just won't cut it. First, race update...
This season got off to an incredibly slow start with 100% of my focus being on SwimSense. However, I have been able to lay down a few decent blocks of training and have finally kicked off the season with two local races: Niantic Sprint Triathlon and the Litchfield Hills Olympic Tri.
Niantic
I finished this race in 2nd place overall and 1st in my age group. The swim was pretty rough from the start - lot's of choppy water and a solid kick to the face quickly got me back into the race zone. I exited the water in 5th place (I would eventually drop to 7th based on some "older" guys squeezing in) and hit transition. The rest of the race was pretty unremarkable....generally I felt strong and controlled throughout. Heading into the run in third place, I was able to pick off the second place fellow by mile 1 but was unable to real in the young and very talented John Babcock (who, I learned later, is being coached by Janda Ricci-Munn).
Litchfield Hills
(sorry, this recap is a bit longer) I was supposed to be in NH this past weekend competing in the Timberman 70.3. However, a few weeks ago, I threw a stone into the woods (would love to say it was HUGE....but it wasn't, and love to say I threw it several hundred yards....but I didn't) and felt a sharp a pain inside my shoulder. After several weeks of no swimming and not getting any better, I went to see my doc. Yup, strained rotator cuff and another sign of no longer being 20 yrs. old and able to engage in strenuous tasks like throwing stones.
With the option presented, I decided to go for a trigger point injection of cortisone. Within three days, I went from not being able to lift my arm (at all) to doing a 600 yard (trial) swim with NO pain. Even with the injury well on its way to being completely healed, I decided to bail on the 70.3 and go for a local Olympic race. This means I am officially not going to the 70.3 Worlds this year (more on that later).
So, Litchfield Hills (and I emphasize the Hills part).... 2nd place overall and 1st in my age group. Just can't seem to find the big "W" in this sport! The race kicked off with the warmest 78 degree swim I have ever experienced. Per the race director's own words, they somehow found some 78 degree water somewhere in the lake. Perhaps, but it was not on the swim course! In a full body wetsuit, I felt like I was about to combust about half way through the (very long) mile course. Even so, I came out of the water in 3rd place and proceeded up the 1/4 mile hill to transition.
About 3 miles into the bike, I found myself leading the race. A great feeling that was quickly changed when the eventual winner of the race, Thomas McWalters, passed me like I was riding on two flats. He was able to put 5 minutes on me by the time the bike ended..to his credit and my clear lack of performance on the bike. Rolling into T2 in 3rd place, I knew I had to bang out a strong 10k to win the race. I immediately went to work on the young Karl Schilling (great kid with lots of potential) and passed him between mile 1 and 2. Holding it steady for the next few miles, I turned the dial all the way up at mile 4. While I was able to take just over a minute back from the leader, it proved to be not enough. I simply gave up too much on the bike.
So far this year, I am happy with the performances (have not been beaten yet in the 35-39 yr. old category) but I am still searching for the top spot.
Races coming up.... Tentativley, Firmman 70.3 and Hammerfest.
Next post: my take on Fina's decision to ban wetsuits from competition. This one's been brewing for a while.
This season got off to an incredibly slow start with 100% of my focus being on SwimSense. However, I have been able to lay down a few decent blocks of training and have finally kicked off the season with two local races: Niantic Sprint Triathlon and the Litchfield Hills Olympic Tri.
Niantic
I finished this race in 2nd place overall and 1st in my age group. The swim was pretty rough from the start - lot's of choppy water and a solid kick to the face quickly got me back into the race zone. I exited the water in 5th place (I would eventually drop to 7th based on some "older" guys squeezing in) and hit transition. The rest of the race was pretty unremarkable....generally I felt strong and controlled throughout. Heading into the run in third place, I was able to pick off the second place fellow by mile 1 but was unable to real in the young and very talented John Babcock (who, I learned later, is being coached by Janda Ricci-Munn).
Litchfield Hills
(sorry, this recap is a bit longer) I was supposed to be in NH this past weekend competing in the Timberman 70.3. However, a few weeks ago, I threw a stone into the woods (would love to say it was HUGE....but it wasn't, and love to say I threw it several hundred yards....but I didn't) and felt a sharp a pain inside my shoulder. After several weeks of no swimming and not getting any better, I went to see my doc. Yup, strained rotator cuff and another sign of no longer being 20 yrs. old and able to engage in strenuous tasks like throwing stones.
With the option presented, I decided to go for a trigger point injection of cortisone. Within three days, I went from not being able to lift my arm (at all) to doing a 600 yard (trial) swim with NO pain. Even with the injury well on its way to being completely healed, I decided to bail on the 70.3 and go for a local Olympic race. This means I am officially not going to the 70.3 Worlds this year (more on that later).
So, Litchfield Hills (and I emphasize the Hills part).... 2nd place overall and 1st in my age group. Just can't seem to find the big "W" in this sport! The race kicked off with the warmest 78 degree swim I have ever experienced. Per the race director's own words, they somehow found some 78 degree water somewhere in the lake. Perhaps, but it was not on the swim course! In a full body wetsuit, I felt like I was about to combust about half way through the (very long) mile course. Even so, I came out of the water in 3rd place and proceeded up the 1/4 mile hill to transition.
About 3 miles into the bike, I found myself leading the race. A great feeling that was quickly changed when the eventual winner of the race, Thomas McWalters, passed me like I was riding on two flats. He was able to put 5 minutes on me by the time the bike ended..to his credit and my clear lack of performance on the bike. Rolling into T2 in 3rd place, I knew I had to bang out a strong 10k to win the race. I immediately went to work on the young Karl Schilling (great kid with lots of potential) and passed him between mile 1 and 2. Holding it steady for the next few miles, I turned the dial all the way up at mile 4. While I was able to take just over a minute back from the leader, it proved to be not enough. I simply gave up too much on the bike.
So far this year, I am happy with the performances (have not been beaten yet in the 35-39 yr. old category) but I am still searching for the top spot.
Races coming up.... Tentativley, Firmman 70.3 and Hammerfest.
Next post: my take on Fina's decision to ban wetsuits from competition. This one's been brewing for a while.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
No More Blogging...
I am now a fan of micro-blogging....less time, more thoughts. See you on Twitter.
My Twitter page: http://twitter.com/swimsense
My Twitter page: http://twitter.com/swimsense
Monday, June 22, 2009
Racing Taking a Back Seat (but not for long )
I missed my third scheduled race of the season this past weekend (Pat Griskus) but the end of missing these races is near. Getting back into racing form has been a bit slower than I expected due to limited training in the early spring and recent competing priorities. One of those competing priorities (that I am happy to have my racing take a back seat to) are my kids and their desire to participate in the sport. Rather than doing Mooseman, we went to the Super Kids Tri in RI.
Super Kids Triathlon
Both Maddie and Luke made the decision in late 2008 to race this tri and the Timberman kids tri (although I understand this has recently been cancelled). The results: they had a great time, Maddie (7 yrs old) won her age group (7-8) and Luke (5 yrs. old) came in 4th in his age group (5-6). Here are some pics from the event:
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Business Method Patents - Round Two?
It looks like the Supreme Court is going to go another round on the validity of Business Method Patents. Stay tuned as a decision that is in line with the Bilski case (recent case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington) could radically change I.P units across corporate America.
What are your thoughts....do business method patents stifle or promote innovation?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/business/02bizcourt.html?_r=1&nl=tech&emc=techa1
What are your thoughts....do business method patents stifle or promote innovation?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/business/02bizcourt.html?_r=1&nl=tech&emc=techa1
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