Today was a stellar day at the gym and I am exhausted. But I now know I can complete the Sprint. I am going to focus on Endurance and strength until the end of January at least. I have my meeting with the "Y" tomorrow, they sent me an agenda and are calling my triathlon idea a "Indoor Mini Sport Event" But I’m still optimistic that I can pull it off.

Exercise
21Km Bike
5Km run
Weights - I changed my program and stopped using the hydraulic aided weight machines It’s a lot harder but I think better in the long run.

Diet
Breakfast
Bran flakes, Skim milk, Coffee
Snack
Power Aid
Lunch
None
Snack
None
Dinner
Huge plate of pasta and a large salad
Snack
More pasta, an orange and popcorn. (Never skip meals if you can help it)

Once, sometimes twice a year, my sons judo club has a tournament. Tonight was just such a night. The club is broken into 2 classes (beginner and intermediate) but for the tournament all the kids show up at the designated time. They are then split up into weight groups (actually by height) which consist of about 4 kids in each group. The matches are carried out within the groups and prizes are handed out for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place. The purpose of the event is to have fun and teach the kids about tournament rules and sportsmanship. For the most part I enjoy myself and my son usually does quite well tonight being no exception, 1st place. (He has been going for 3 years now and has seniority on most of the other children). I did however notice two things that bothered me.
First there was the 4th place boy in my sons group, who has come a long way since he began taking the classes and tried very hard but received no recognition for his efforts. I know everyone can't win. But these are not the Olympics and were dealing with 7 year olds here. I have to wonder how much extra it would have cost the club to provide a 4th place ribbon? I think this would have meant a lot to the boys self esteem. Secondly I could not help but notice how the majority of kids had learned very little in regards to technique. The boy I mentioned lost all his matches the exact same way and almost all the children attempted the same throw over and over again, poorly I might add. I have to wonder if the instructors were/are aware of this?

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
~ John Cotton Dana ~
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
~ William A. Ward ~