The other night I came across a great web site with tons of interesting articles about triathlons. One in particular about swimming by Ian Murray waswill be very useful in the future. (I need to practice more)
It caught my attention right away because of the opening statement

"I didn't learn how to swim until 1997. I was 29 years old."

The piece continues on and talks about defining moments in Ian's swimming journey.

"In every good athlete's past are certain names, specific times or big milestones that mark development."

Some of these "milestones" made so much sense I have adopted them. Like making your body as long as possible in the water, lengthening your stroke as much as possible and using your hips to help corkscrew your kicking motion for extra power. Even though today was the first attempt at applying these new lessons I feel that they will be with me for all my future swims.

"Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight" ~Ian Murray~

Exercise
2000 meter swim
(4 sets of as fast as I could go 500 meters, with 60 seconds of rest in between sets)
Swimming is great for stretching out the leg muscles after the run.
Diet
Breakfast
Toast with homemade Jam, coffee
Snack
None
Lunch
Leftover Thai from last night
Snack
V8
Dinner
Pizza and the rest of the Thai.
Snack
Nacho chips with salsa.
(it sure is hard to reduce food intake with all this exercise, I'm always sooo hungry!)
No weight loss since the 5 pound drop to 210 :(

Today’s workout was the same as Mondays. I am enjoying the slow gradual progress that running brings. I don't get winded until almost 3Km now. It bizarre how quickly your body adapts to stress (good or bad)
The transition from bike to run is far less uncomfortable than it was the first time I tried it.
Exercise
21 km Bike (shaved 2 and 1/2 minutes time off my ride from Monday, Thanks Ross)
5 km run (I need another week before I push my distance, I hate counting laps)
Weights
Diet
Breakfast
Bran flakes, skim milk
Snack
Grapefruit Juice
Poweraid
Lunch
V8
Snack
Orange
Dinner
Spicy Thai vegetables with pork and rice noodles
Snack
Pudding cup and Bran flakes, skim milk, banana.

~Abdul Rahman Khadr~
Abdul was a suspected terrorist who was released from Guantanamo Bay and dropped off in Afghanistan.
"19 terrorists in 6 weeks have been able to command 300 million North Americans to do away with the entirety of their civil liberties that took 700 years to advance from the Magna Carta onward. The terrorists have already won the political and ideological war with one terrorist act. It is mindboggling that we are that weak as a society."
~Rocco Galati~
Mr. Galati is a well-publicized Civil rights lawyer as well as a lawyer for the Canadian Islamic Congress who recently took on Abdul Rahman Khadr as a client. Abdul was a suspected terrorist who was released from Guantanamo Bay and dropped off in Afghanistan. I watched the press conference he (Abdul Rahman Khadr) conducted. He seemed to be upset with the Canadian govt. for not doing more to secure his release and protect his rights as a Canadian Citizen. I believe he wanted a public inquiry into the injustice done to him. He also called for his younger brothers’ release from Gitmo.

Omar, Mr. Khadr's 17-year-old brother, remains locked up in Cuba, where he is a juvenile suspected of killing a U.S. soldier during a fierce battle in Afghanistan last year.

First off I need to comment on Mr. Galati's quote at the top of this post in particular this part

"19 terrorists in 6 weeks have been able to command 300 million North Americans to do away with the entirety of their civil liberties"

This statement is nothing more than an exaggeration of the truth for Mr. Galati's own agenda.
I will admit that some of the civil liberties once enjoyed by North Americans no longer exist to the same extent. But if we are going to preserve our way of life and our values as a free democratic society we must adapt to the threat posed by outside agencies who's only goal seems to destroy what "took 700 years to advance from the Magna Carta onward". As Mr. Galati has so effectively demonstrated in the above quote, it is a weak mind that finds flaws in current solutions and rallies the people around the negative. But societies true leaders make the tough decisions and strive to find solutions to problems.

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson -

I also feel the need to comment on Abdul Rahman Khadr's Canadian Citizenship. In the press conference he told reporters that his family would come to Canada during the Christmas season to raise moneys for educating women in Afghanistan. (His father was a Taliban) He Lived in Afghanistan most of his life by choice and only attended school here on 2 occasions. He attended an al-Qaeda type training camp. His younger brother (who he pleaded for his release) was arrested after a firefight with US marines.
I personally love the fact I am a Canadian. I love the fact that Canadians in general are understanding caring people who for the most part are non-confrontational and more often than not willing to turn the other cheek.
I do not agree with the fact that there are over 700 people being held in Cuba without any legal representation.
I hate the fact that our Government has done a less than stellar job in protecting Canadian Nationals.
But Abdul is a 20 year old man, even at the tender age of 15 I knew right from wrong and what sucked and what did not. I knew if my buddies were shoplifting from stores and I hung around with them I could would be found guilty by association if they were caught. I have very little sympathy for Abdul's plight.
He seems to think Canadian Citizenship is some kind of right this country owes him. "If it serves my purposes and I make poor choices I will be a Canadian for today". I just hope he remembers (but I doubt it) that it was Canada that brought his sorry ass back to "Our home and native land" when he was without hope, food, friends and money.