Some days I think that in fitness, I’m getting wrong everything I advise people in security.

I’ve been an athlete all my life – including some stints competing at a reasonably high (amateur) level. Like the time I went to nationals for my martial art. Cool, eh? Other than the part about getting my butt whipped by a 16-year-old. It seems cutting weight in a sport where knockouts aren’t the goal isn’t necessarily a good thing (me strong… me slow… puny teenager stand still so Hulk can kick in head, pleeze?).

But running a startup and having kids seriously crimps my workout style. No more 20 hours of training a week, with entire weekends spent climbing or skiing some mountain. Here are a few of the ways in which I’m an idiot:

  • I’m addicted to the toys. I currently use the Rolex of heart rate monitors (the Polar RS800CX). This thing connects to up to 4 external sensors at once to track my heart rate, position, and (I think) the fungus level of my little toe. Does it make me faster? Er… nope. So I’m spending for capabilities far beyond my needs. But damn, I really want that watch that counts my swimming laps. I bet I’d really use that one every day. I promise – now can I buy it?
  • I’m a binge/purge sort of athlete. Rather than hitting a steady state of training and sticking with it, I’m on and off my program like a child actor at rehab. Oh, I always have great excuses like kids and travel, but as much time as I dedicate to working out, I tend to blow it with a bad month here or there. In other words some days I feel like I flit around worse than a horny butterfly with a narcissism problem.
  • I get hurt. A lot. Then instead of fixing the root cause I freak out that I’m getting out of shape, jump back in at full speed, and get hurt again. I suppose I’m consistent (I have been on this cycle since I was a kid). On the upside, I get my money’s worth from insurance.
  • I have delusions of grandeur. If some dude passes me on the bike I take it personally. Which is inconvenient, since most folks pass me on the bike. Or the run. Or… whatever. So I try to keep up, ignoring the fact that I train in places that attract professional athletes. Yeah, that doesn’t last too long.

What really sucks is that as easy as it is to identify these problems, and much as I do (sometimes) work on them, I still make the same mistakes over and over. Okay, age has mellowed me a bit, but I’d quit my job and work out 8 hours a day in a heartbeat…

… which I can measure with extreme accuracy thanks to my watch. And heck, after blowing out my knee by hour 6 I can go start work again.

This is depressing. I think I’ll go sign up for a race…

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Remember, for every comment selected, Securosis makes a $25 donation to Hackers for Charity. This week’s best comment goes to Michael, in response to Incomplete Thought: HoneyClouds and the Confusion Control.

We will not be able to tell if the effectiveness of these Proteus tactics actually works, although I would welcome it. I do actually believe these tactics will work against certain people / bots. I am a big believer in time, the longer time it takes the more a person / bot is prone to give up and move onto the next target. I think we should concentrate less on hardening the network till the point of no intrusions and focus on detection. This doesn’t mean we can abandon good ol defense, the point will come one day when (if it hasn’t) that attacks ARE happening, now what are we doing to detect and stop it.

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