statistics

at the risk of being morbid, apparently the american heart association says there is 1 in 50,000 chance of having a heart problem during an endurance race. there was a triathlete from austin who died during the dallas marathon on sunday. i didn't know her, but apparently some friends of a friend did, which was how i heard about it. before my parents start freaking out and attempt to make me stop all things endurance (i won't, sorry), the chance of dying in a car accident is 1 in 18,585 or from dying of a fall of any kind is 1 in 20,666 (other odds/chances, maybe not the most scientific reference, but i digress). when i hear about young people, who clearly are trained for the event, it makes me wonder what exactly is (or is not) happening in the human body that goes awry. how can we monitor stuff like that? is it predictable? can we prevent it from happening?

i am starting to plan my next adventure. this weekend, a friend from college (mark) and i are going to explore the northern california coast by bike. we're either going from san francisco north to point reyes or south to santa cruz. if you have any experience taking either of these routes (both are mostly along pch--route 1) and have a preference for which is nicer let me know. there are hostels near the ocean in both places. however, going north would put is in a national park (seashore) and going south would put us in a city (i've heard something about a hottub on a cliff overlooking the ocean). i'm excited about the ocean, but am a little concerned about how cold it might be given the generally cold tempteratures around the country at present. yesterday, i don't know that it go above 35 degrees F in austin! i live in texas for crying out loud!