Thursday, April 14, 2011
Upcoming trip
On Saturday I fly to Boston, where I will meet P__ (her first visit there). We are staying in a hotel at Copley Square. That is close to the happenings surrounding the Boston Marathon. I hope P__'s being there, and some tourist activities, will keep my teeth from itching the way they do when a race is coming.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
DOJ/FTC -- really?
Danny Sokol (at antitrustprofs blog) posted a link to this WSJ article on squabbling between the DOJ and the FTC. This is an old story, but there are some twists to which I had not been privy. First, there are some ad hominem remarks that this reporter dug up by Commissioner Rosch. Second, although he may be taken out of context, I don't normally expect to see Commissioner Kovacic speaking loosely about these kinds of matters.
The author reprises the old saw that how your deal comes out depends on where it is reviewed. Maybe so, maybe not -- but his reference to the Whole Foods litigation is a wrong example. I sent the author this e-mail:
"Dear Mr. Catan:
There is a mistaken suggestion in the quoted paragraph below:
"One example: The FTC lost its initial effort to get a preliminary injunction from a federal court to halt Whole Foods Market Inc.'s purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc. But it was able to continue to challenge the deal in its own courts anyway, eventually forcing the company to settle. If the Justice Department had been reviewing the deal, that court loss would likely have ended the matter. Whole Foods declined to comment, as did the two agencies."
Although you are correct that the FTC was able to continue with its administrative process after losing at the preliminary injunction stage in district court, the FTC did appeal its federal court loss to the court of appeals, which reversed the lower court. DOJ could have, and likely would have, done the same thing. With the reversal DOJ could have proceeded with a suit seeking a permanent injunction, which might have brought about the same settlement that the FTC was able to negotiate. DOJ and FTC might well have approached Whole Foods differently, and the agencies' different procedures can bring about different results in some cases, but Whole Foods is not the right example.
Thanks for this interesting article."
I've long believed the FTC should review all mergers. The agency has the institutional competence to do so and is more politically insulated (and mergers are political footballs). Merger policy potentially has more diplomatic ramifications than does conduct enforcement, and the continuity the FTC provides allows for better cross-border cooperation on that front. And merger review is the sort of first-order regulation for which an independent agency (like the FTC) is particularly well suited. Interestingly, the complaints by entities like the Chamber of Commerce about the unpredictability of review don't recognize that review can become much more predictable -- and, if recent years are an indication, more predictably interventionist -- by consolidating all matters in one agency, if you pick the FTC.
The author reprises the old saw that how your deal comes out depends on where it is reviewed. Maybe so, maybe not -- but his reference to the Whole Foods litigation is a wrong example. I sent the author this e-mail:
"Dear Mr. Catan:
There is a mistaken suggestion in the quoted paragraph below:
"One example: The FTC lost its initial effort to get a preliminary injunction from a federal court to halt Whole Foods Market Inc.'s purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc. But it was able to continue to challenge the deal in its own courts anyway, eventually forcing the company to settle. If the Justice Department had been reviewing the deal, that court loss would likely have ended the matter. Whole Foods declined to comment, as did the two agencies."
Although you are correct that the FTC was able to continue with its administrative process after losing at the preliminary injunction stage in district court, the FTC did appeal its federal court loss to the court of appeals, which reversed the lower court. DOJ could have, and likely would have, done the same thing. With the reversal DOJ could have proceeded with a suit seeking a permanent injunction, which might have brought about the same settlement that the FTC was able to negotiate. DOJ and FTC might well have approached Whole Foods differently, and the agencies' different procedures can bring about different results in some cases, but Whole Foods is not the right example.
Thanks for this interesting article."
I've long believed the FTC should review all mergers. The agency has the institutional competence to do so and is more politically insulated (and mergers are political footballs). Merger policy potentially has more diplomatic ramifications than does conduct enforcement, and the continuity the FTC provides allows for better cross-border cooperation on that front. And merger review is the sort of first-order regulation for which an independent agency (like the FTC) is particularly well suited. Interestingly, the complaints by entities like the Chamber of Commerce about the unpredictability of review don't recognize that review can become much more predictable -- and, if recent years are an indication, more predictably interventionist -- by consolidating all matters in one agency, if you pick the FTC.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Fitness Electronics and Me
Two quick notes (both of which are, at root, pathetically self-congratulatory):
(1) On Saturday I followed in the footsteps of Paula Radcliffe, running a 15k "race" on a treadmill. In theory, I like the idea -- you train at your race pace without the annoyance of constantly checking a Garmin (which I do not own), and without having to worry about whether you're running too fast or too slow until you hit the next mile marker. So I set the incline at 1%, set the pace at 7:53, and ran the fastest 9.3 miles of my life. But . . . And it hurts me to admit this, Paula . . . Running on a treadmill for nine-plus miles is, well, kind of, umm, boring. I was listening to an audiobook, which helped some, but by the end of the run I had cataloged every roll of wrapping paper in our basement storage room. I had also categorized each extra blanket or quilt by color, fabric type, and family-of-origin, and created a mental list of the cassette tapes I thought were still in my circa-1992 Case Logic storage case (I was badly wrong on that last). Seriously, it was b-o-r-i-n-g boring.
(2) After partially tearing my Achilles tendon in January 2010 playing basketball, I finally had to come to terms with the whole "I run forty miles per week so I can eat anything I want" self-delusion. Having not seen the thin side of 200 (or, if I'm being honest, of 210) since around the time that my role model Bill Clinton was making his last runs from 1600 Pennsylvania to the local McDonalds, I decided to give the whole "eat less" part of "eat less, exercise more" a try. It worked remarkably well; I'm down to 186, a number I haven't seen since my senior year of high school. And I owe at least some of my success to a fancy-schmancy body fat monitor scale -- no matter how fit I thought I was, it kept telling me inconvenient truths about my body composition. And it was really cool over the past six months to watch as my "metabolic age" fell from my late 30s. Christmas was the best; according to the scale, I went into the holiday with a metabolic age of 18 (and without the acne. Double bonus!). But for a few weeks now, the scale has been reporting a metabolic age of 13. I'm proud, of course. But am I alone in not wanting to go back quite that far?
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Shamrock Shuffling
Spring was merely a phase change between 40, rainy and windy last night and 75 and sunny this morning. I headed downtown with some trepidation to join 40,000 people for the race that kicks off the official training season (also the day they turn on the drinking faucets in the park).
Couldn't find a cab but actually got a lift from strangers heading to the race. Turns out race was better organized than I expected. I was in the C corral which was the back of the fast runners with corrals going all the way to H. I worked my up to the front of the C corral. Very orderly start, took about 5 minutes to make i to the start but I was at full pace within 100 yards. The staggered start meant that everyone was much more spread out than the marathon for virtually the whole race. Was sub-8 for the first 2 miles and gave back a little time the rest of the way to finish in a satisfying 41:30.
Its by no means a PR but the best I have done at 8K since late 2006. Heat wasn't too bad but i used most of the water to douse my head and arms. Only real glitch was hitting a pot hole at 2 plus miles which broke my stride and my iPod which went flying and took me a few moments to recover my wind (but not the broken IPod).
Next week Lakefront 10 and a goal to stay under 1:30 for the race.
Couldn't find a cab but actually got a lift from strangers heading to the race. Turns out race was better organized than I expected. I was in the C corral which was the back of the fast runners with corrals going all the way to H. I worked my up to the front of the C corral. Very orderly start, took about 5 minutes to make i to the start but I was at full pace within 100 yards. The staggered start meant that everyone was much more spread out than the marathon for virtually the whole race. Was sub-8 for the first 2 miles and gave back a little time the rest of the way to finish in a satisfying 41:30.
Its by no means a PR but the best I have done at 8K since late 2006. Heat wasn't too bad but i used most of the water to douse my head and arms. Only real glitch was hitting a pot hole at 2 plus miles which broke my stride and my iPod which went flying and took me a few moments to recover my wind (but not the broken IPod).
Next week Lakefront 10 and a goal to stay under 1:30 for the race.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Meeting Expectations
I had this e-mail exchange with a friend. Here's the context: he sent around a workout that is supposed to ensure you hit a particular goal time in a 10K -- i.e., if you can complete the 8 week program, hitting the right times, you'll get the corresponding 10K result. The final week's workout is 3 x 2 miles at your goal pace, with a 5' easy jog in between. For what it's worth, I believe it when the crafter says this particular program will certainly do the trick.
My response:
There’s a certain unpleasantness to the realization that it is possible to structure a plan that will ensure a result with near certainty. Once you’ve hit the target workouts prescribing that you will run (hypothetically) a 38’ 10K, is there any pleasure in actually doing so? I’m not a little let down, having been excited about my Cherry Blossom result, to learn that it’s within 30 seconds of what Jack Daniels and Don McMillan would have predicted on the basis of my National Half performance, which is, in turn, nearly exactly what they would have predicted on the basis of my workouts in the previous months.
At the marathon distance, at least for amateurs, the uncontrollable variables (e.g., wind) start to overwhelm the controllable variables, so there’s still the possibility of surprise.
It doesn’t get better for the elites, who may be running to compete rather than for personal bests. Ryan Hall can probably tell you within a minute how fast he will run Boston this year (I think he’s running). He thus knows that if nobody else runs faster than that, he will win, and if somebody else does run faster, he will lose.
D__'s rejoinder:
I'd be perfectly content with the lack of surprise associated with hitting the marathon time that my 10-mile times predict. Even with my 2-minute siesta in [a recent race], my performance suggests that I should be running a 3:02 marathon. If my gut had behaved, my predicted time woulda likely been 2:57 or so.
Who's right?
My response:
There’s a certain unpleasantness to the realization that it is possible to structure a plan that will ensure a result with near certainty. Once you’ve hit the target workouts prescribing that you will run (hypothetically) a 38’ 10K, is there any pleasure in actually doing so? I’m not a little let down, having been excited about my Cherry Blossom result, to learn that it’s within 30 seconds of what Jack Daniels and Don McMillan would have predicted on the basis of my National Half performance, which is, in turn, nearly exactly what they would have predicted on the basis of my workouts in the previous months.
At the marathon distance, at least for amateurs, the uncontrollable variables (e.g., wind) start to overwhelm the controllable variables, so there’s still the possibility of surprise.
It doesn’t get better for the elites, who may be running to compete rather than for personal bests. Ryan Hall can probably tell you within a minute how fast he will run Boston this year (I think he’s running). He thus knows that if nobody else runs faster than that, he will win, and if somebody else does run faster, he will lose.
D__'s rejoinder:
I'd be perfectly content with the lack of surprise associated with hitting the marathon time that my 10-mile times predict. Even with my 2-minute siesta in [a recent race], my performance suggests that I should be running a 3:02 marathon. If my gut had behaved, my predicted time woulda likely been 2:57 or so.
Who's right?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
To Run 22 or Not to Run 22
A consistent theme of most marathon training programs I have seen is the 22-mile long run. I'm rolling into Boston with a longest run of about 18 miles, and it is too late now to change things. I wonder if it's enough.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The Best Race in DC
Today was the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. It's a big race, and a serious race (the purse brings in a dozen or so second-tier Kenyans and Ethiopians). It's a beautiful race. It's flat, it winds along the river and harbor and through avenues of cherry blossoms. The amateur field is also fast; after a 6:02 first mile I was still running in a crowd.
They also run a very nice 5K, starting after the main event. It follows Independence to Memorial Bridge, across to the gates of Arlington Cemetery, and back. P__ ran that, but not before she watched the elite runners finish the 10 mile. I'm a big fan of combining a 5K with a longer race. It makes the day a family event rather than yet another day devoted to the guy or gal who already spends all weekend training by him- or herself.
The elite runners are a sight to behold. Local hard-man Michael Wardian, the six-time winner of the National Marathon and perennial top-three in world ultra championships, was already 30-seconds back when I saw the group go by on an out-and-back, them at mile two, me just past mile one. And I haven't yet mentioned the elite women. They started ten minutes ahead. Standing in the corral watching them preparing to start, I was captivated by several pairs of sinewy legs that reminded me more of the starting corral at the Kentucky Derby than a (human) running event.
The race is extraordinarily well put-on. They have the best race t-shirts of any event I've attended: cotton short-sleeve unless you pay for the technical t-shirt (I'll post later on why cotton makes the best race t-shirt) with a legitimately artistic design that evokes the feel of spring in DC. It's the single best time of year to run in one of the best places to run. Warming up on the walkway around the Washington Monument, seeing the sun rise over the Capitol, fist-bumping nearly everybody I've ever met running in DC -- it's an event that makes me glad to be part of this community.
My first mile was a mistake, but it was downhill, so it's not all my fault. I pulled it together after that, having banked 20 seconds or so, and ended up with fairly even splits for the two halves of the race. I PR'd at the intermediate distances that I bothered to notice, and overall. I am learning to drain the tanks in general: today I hit the redline at about mile seven; felt the blinders coming on around mile nine; a couple of hundred yards from the end wondered, thickly, whether that was what it feels like to pass out while finishing a race (no, I didn't). After cheering D__ across the line (he now owes me a beer!) I slowly jogged the 5K course trying to find P__. I didn't catch her on the course, but it was a good warm-down.
They also run a very nice 5K, starting after the main event. It follows Independence to Memorial Bridge, across to the gates of Arlington Cemetery, and back. P__ ran that, but not before she watched the elite runners finish the 10 mile. I'm a big fan of combining a 5K with a longer race. It makes the day a family event rather than yet another day devoted to the guy or gal who already spends all weekend training by him- or herself.
The elite runners are a sight to behold. Local hard-man Michael Wardian, the six-time winner of the National Marathon and perennial top-three in world ultra championships, was already 30-seconds back when I saw the group go by on an out-and-back, them at mile two, me just past mile one. And I haven't yet mentioned the elite women. They started ten minutes ahead. Standing in the corral watching them preparing to start, I was captivated by several pairs of sinewy legs that reminded me more of the starting corral at the Kentucky Derby than a (human) running event.
The race is extraordinarily well put-on. They have the best race t-shirts of any event I've attended: cotton short-sleeve unless you pay for the technical t-shirt (I'll post later on why cotton makes the best race t-shirt) with a legitimately artistic design that evokes the feel of spring in DC. It's the single best time of year to run in one of the best places to run. Warming up on the walkway around the Washington Monument, seeing the sun rise over the Capitol, fist-bumping nearly everybody I've ever met running in DC -- it's an event that makes me glad to be part of this community.
My first mile was a mistake, but it was downhill, so it's not all my fault. I pulled it together after that, having banked 20 seconds or so, and ended up with fairly even splits for the two halves of the race. I PR'd at the intermediate distances that I bothered to notice, and overall. I am learning to drain the tanks in general: today I hit the redline at about mile seven; felt the blinders coming on around mile nine; a couple of hundred yards from the end wondered, thickly, whether that was what it feels like to pass out while finishing a race (no, I didn't). After cheering D__ across the line (he now owes me a beer!) I slowly jogged the 5K course trying to find P__. I didn't catch her on the course, but it was a good warm-down.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)