Going With The Flow

I think my head would have exploded

How into cycling was this lady? Like on a local level or national level? It seems weird to me that "everyone" did it. I mean where did they get this stuff? Local grocery store? Did they have stores like GNC back in 70s with PEDs just sitting on shelves?

If it's something that "everyone just did" you'd think it would be something very easy to get. But it seems to me that most PEDS are things that people have to really look for. I wouldn't even have a clue where to start looking.

I'm sure PEDs were rampant back then, but it just blows my mind that so many people got their hands on them so easily. Maybe I'm just naive on how easy they are/were to get?

I think in there are more people who are just below the elite level doing them. There was a guy last year that busted that was traveling around running local 1/2 marathons and road races winning the prize money not getting tested and the only reason he got busted was that a friend found mexican EPO and HGH in his bag on a trip to run a race and he informed the USATF official at the race. It sickens me.

Dave, I think that's the dude that Jake raced in Cali...isn't it Jake?

I'm trying to find out more information about her now...

She said that she traveled to Canada and Mexico for the drugs and it was easy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/sports/runner-christian-hesch-describes-doping-with-epo.html?_r=0

Here is the link to the NY Times article. The thing that pissed me off is how little remorse or guilt this guy feels.

Christian Hesch. Total d-bag. I raced him right before he got caught.

This stuff isn't as hard to get as you think. 10 year old article, but still relevant:

http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/Drug-Test.html

Makes me sick.

Andrea: That makes a bit more sense to me if she was getting the drugs outside US borders. So, I'm guessing she was more into racing than just on a local/regional level?

Dave: Yeah that is the guy that Jake raced against, I think like right before he got busted.

^ditto, riley. where did they get it?

i will never understand how there is any fun/reward/satisfaction in working towards and/or accomplishing a goal if you have to cheat in order to achieve it.

If anyone I know is doping and I find out.... I will just leave it at that. I have no respect for anyone who knowingly dopes. None, don't care why when or how you did it. You are now thief and a criminal. Once a cheater always a cheater. The whole thing just boils my blood.

It does make you sick. I don't see how people can use PEDs and feel good about their accomplishments. Don't they have that nagging feeling deep down that they know they aren't legit? Or do they just supress that, become numb to it? I would think at least at first it would just eat away at you and nag your conscience. Maybe after time they just get used to it, I don't know. Sad.

What sucks the most to me is that when someone rips off an awesome race, it's so hard to know if it was for real or not. And that's so unfair to the person who accomplished it. Like with Mo right now and people accusing him with ZERO evidence. I like that Salazar vehemently defended him, but what can you really do to stop false accusations? Take weekly tests?

The best part of the conversation (that you all would have loved) - one of my other coworkers listening in (with no athletics background) said "They should just let all doping legal". AHHHH.

http://goo.gl/udlf6J

Yeah and have high school kids taking EPO to get scholarships and dying of heart and liver problems at 40 years old. I mean there are guys that played football at my high school who were on the juice and one of them died of a heart attack at 27. Just make it legal. Yeah sounds really smart to me.

i would be terrified of her at the wheeler farm bike race.

Read Tyler Hamilton's book if you ever get the chance (The Secret Race). Who knows how much of the truth he's telling, but its probably the best look inside the head of a pro athlete who is cheating (and denying). These guys just convince themselves it is fair. And the cheating becomes part of the competition - how much can they get away with? It becomes a game/sport itself. The book blew my mind.

Yes, a lot of people fail to realize all the negative health effects that these drugs have...they are dangerous.

Allie - well, she's about 100 lbs overweight now so I don't think she's a huge threat. It's really hard for me to picture her racing 30 years ago but she said the extra weight was "because of the steroids". I don't know. Unfortunately internet didn't exist back then so I can't look her up on athlinks.

I later learned of at least two guys who juiced up back when I was in high school to win state field event titles. I remember thinking that there was no joy in their eyes after they'd won, which I thought was so odd. I guess they knew that they had cheated. When I found out, it made me very sad for them, and a big indignant for their competitors who (hopefully) were competing clean and lost their chance at titles, possible scholarships, etc. Cheating for race prize money, whether everyone is doing it or not, is no different than stealing money out of your friend's wallet.

Still, Andrea, your woman friend must have known how her actions would be perceived, so it's interesting that she would be forthright about her experiences, ala Tyler Hamilton in the book that Jake mentions.

... but he was such an inspiration!... http://goo.gl/Rosj38