1. LAYING PLANS: Lines 21-26

21

If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. 

22

If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. 

23

If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. 

If his forces are united, separate them. 

24

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. 

25

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand. 

26

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. 

The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose. 

1. LAYING PLANS: Lines 15-20

15

The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: let such a one be dismissed! 

16

While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules. 

17

According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans. 

18

All warfare is based on deception. 

19

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. 

20

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. 

1. LAYING PLANS: Lines 12-14

12

Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise: 

13

(1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? 

(2) Which of the two generals has most ability? 

(3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? 

(4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? 

(5) Which army is stronger? 

(6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? 

(7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment? 

14

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

1. LAYING PLANS: Line 5-11

5,6

The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. 

7

HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. 

8

EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death. 

9

The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. 

10

By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure. 

11

These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

1. LAYING PLANS: Line 1-4

1

Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. 

2

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. 

3

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. 

4

These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

Boarstone

TrainerRoad

2 Hour Spin, Easy, Feeling good afterwards. Protein shake, and watching nutrition. Taking the next two weeks hard while trying to balance not burning out…

A first-rate mind

“The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.”

— A. A. Milne

Avoidance

“A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.”

— Albert Einstein

High Bar

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”

— Alexander Pope

Not there yet...

“An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.”

— Aldous Huxley

Do Good

“When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.”

— Abraham Lincoln

Keep on swimming

4am alarm came and went, but it didn’t stop me from catching a swim before work. Quick 1000yds. Let’s see if I can spin tonight too.

Routine

4AM Spin…..‘nough said

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Follow me on

Sleep

When you don’t get enough of it, no one likes you… Before I go back to work, i’m taking the whole holiday to get some rest…

Alexander Dumas

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you”

— The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

500

Because sometimes you just need to spend a day with family. Spam museum, Piggy Blues, traditional oyster stew, and playing the card game 500. Consciously taking a day during the holidays with family.

Baseline - Ouch

2012 Hawaii 70.3

My buddy came down to pace me for a baseline indoor Tri at about 30% of the race. Looking back at our last 70.3 together in Hawaii, we pulled our splits to have some goals to shoot for. Ideally if we could cut 30 minutes off our time and be under 6 hours, we’d be happy.

I felt it quick into the swim, but we averaged around 1:25 over 500. I’m good with that. Build some endurance, and we’re there.

After a slow transition, the bike hurt after half way through. Heart felt good, but legs started to get sluggish. So much so that the run slowed me down.

We’ve got a baseline, and talked strategy to keep us going over the first month to sediment our new regimen. After about a day, I’ve plotted out most of the workouts, and now we just have to execute.

Pushing Past

Today again with the workout too easy, I shot past my marks. I believe I’ll have to do another ramp test to get a more accurate FTP. In the meantime, I’m also noticing that my signal drops cyclically. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to upgrade to power, and could rely on the virtual power calculations, but this is a little annoying. The nice part is that the game of trying to keep within the numbers distracts from the workout. An hour and a half went by quick!

FTP Too Low

Ok, I got confirmation that I must have the virtual trainer setting off, which made my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) too low because todays spin was waaay too easy. I don’t think I’ll even be sore at all after an hour ride. I might have to do another ramp up test and then launch into the fun I have planned. I’ve plotted out all my trainer-road created workouts into TrainingPeaks, so that I can simply load them to my Garmin. I also plotted out the goals by week, ATP, and by training season. Getting excited!

Baseline FTP

Wow, I knew I was out of shape, but seriously!?

131 FTP

Thank you to Matt B. for the trainerroad month to get me started again.

It took some testing to get my set-up working between all the apps that talk to one another. I am using Cable to connect my ANT+ sensors and turn into a Bluetooth signal that TrainerRoad calculates an estimated Power Wattage. I noticed this would drop rhythmically right before the intensity would step up. I’m wondering how much that affects the overall number. Sooo much cheaper than a $1000 power pedal set up. It’s a tool as long as I stick with it, I’ll get a good sense of where I’m at. Let’s see how much I can do in the next week.