Post Marathon Week 2

After taking Monday off (scheduled for a 4-miler), I continued with the regularly scheduled week. The new, advanced program only allows for one day off per week. While this shouldn't be a big problem, I don't want to push myself into an injury just yet.

Tuesday: 6 x 400m repeats at 5k pace with 3 minutes of walking/jogging between. These riverfront repeats were sandwiched between 1 mile jogs to and from the waterfront.

Wednesday: 4 easy miles.

Thursday: 3 x 1 mile repeats at 10k pace with 3 minutes of walking/jogging between. 1 mile warm-up and cool-down.

Friday: officially sanctioned rest day.

Saturday: Tempo run. 10 minute warm-up, 15 minutes at marathon pace, 10 minute cool-down.

75-90 minute easy run scheduled for tomorrow.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

I woke early today (9:45am early, that is) to witness the beginning of the NYC marathon. Using the online tracker, I was able to track all of my friend(s) progress throughout the race. Right around 2:30pm today, I was alerted of EP's finish. Congratulations to EP upon finishing the race. I really can't think of a better place to finish a marathon. I'm shooting for the 2009 NYC marathon myself. I watched Paula Radcliffe fly to her second straight victory this morning and was rather inspired by her insane performance. Upon watching her enter and finish in Central Park, I vowed to run the race myself next year.

Yesterday's was a tempo run that consisted of 10 minutes of jogging, followed by 10 minutes at marathon pace, then 10 more minutes of jogging. Tempo runs are fun. I jogged over to Louisville's Central Park, then turned it up a notch as I toured St. James Court, the park, and the surrounding streets. Old Louisville is pretty charming this time of year, aside from the crime.

Today's run was an easy run. Still, after having just watched Ms. Radcliffe's performance, I felt more like running. I was told to run for 60-75 minutes. I covered 8. 3 miles in exactly an hour, a pace that was a bit quicker than "easy" for me. My goal, for my next marathon, is to maintain that pace throughout. It may be a pipedream, but all of this speedwork should help.

Repeats

After taking yesterday off (I was supposed to run 3 "easy" miles), I decided opted to go through with today's scheduled repeats. While Tuesday's repeats were 4 x 400m at 5k pace, today's were 3 x 1 mile at marathon pace. I really am not quite sure about those paces, but used my own subjective, exertion level scale.

For completing my first marathon, I've decided to reward myself with some sort of device to replace my Nike Plus. My training will definitely benefit from the feedback and motivation. I had been considering a GPS/heart rate watch from Timex, but I've now settled on the Forerunner 305 from Garmin. It's rather large for a wrist watch, but can double as a bike computer and is apparently quite accurate.

Tomorrow is a rest day, but I may run a few "easy" miles or hop on the bike.

Back On The Horse

So, I've decided to continue this blog. You're welcome, dear reader(s).

After taking it rather easy during 0 week (immediately following the marathon), I've hit the road again with the goal of running another marathon in the spring. Additionally, I'm determined to finish in under 3:20. This is an ambitious goal. And it will be extra hard for a person who is carrying around many extra pounds of fat. However, it'll keep me motivated.

0 week was surprisingly painless. There was tightness and soreness on Monday and Tuesday. Stairs were a struggle. By Thursday, I felt fine. I am fairly insensitive to aches and pains, so there was likely some low-level pain that I was ignoring. Still, by Friday, I was anxious to tie on the old jogging shoes to see how my legs held up. A light, 2-miler proved invigorating and rather painless.

The weekend saw a couple more light runs: 3 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. Nothing strenuous. No pain at all. This Hal Higdon guy sure seems to know what he's talking about.

I've now entered HH's Post-Marathon Recovery Guide Week 1. Having moved myself into the "Advanced" bracket, I will now be introducing speed work, including tempo runs and repeats. Thanks to Google maps, I have been able to mark off a nice 400m track right along the river. After a 1.1 mile warm-up jog from home to the river, I can stretch, run the repeats, then warm-down on the 1.1 mile jog back.

I may be jumping the gun a bit with the advanced training, but I've identified a real need for goal setting and would be rather bored with another similar 18 week program. The introduction of speedwork will make the whole routine more exciting and, hopefully, satiate any competitive drive I might develop.

In any case, today's run included the 1.1 warm-up jog, then 4 x 400m repeats along the river, each book ending a 3-5 minute slow jog or walk. A couple of young skateboarders and a police officer (parked in his car and intermittently napping and eating) watched me as I ran, then walked, then ran, then walked. I had not realized that my self-classification as an advanced runner would bring with it my first fans, but I was delighted to have them. I'm pretty sure the skateboarders snapped some iphone video footage of me and I will undoubtedly show up on youtube as "fat, running douche bag with orange-tinted sunglasses who runs in circles, narrowly missing a jig-lift crane. twice." Stay tuned for that.

I'm hoping to schedule a race for the end of week 4 of the post marathon program. And will definitely try to do a turkey trot like thing on Thanksgiving morning (in order to grant myself license to gorge later in the day - while watching "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" for the thirtieth time in 2 days and listening to Guaraldi's holiday record - and not feel bad about it).

Just Another Long Run

First off, my condolences to EP and family who lost a matriarch this past week. Having experienced a similar loss 10 years ago, I can say with a great deal of certainty that, although a person may be corporeally inaccessible, her influence and wisdom tend to exhibit an incalculably long half life.

Yesterday's long run covered roughly 26 miles, 385 yards, which qualified as my longest run ever. The pre-run dinner I described in my past post proved to be mildly disastrous. Lesson to any reader who may be considering a marathon: avoid the turkey sausage on the eve of a marathon. There are times in which it is appropriate to experiment with wild fowl forcemeat. The night before a marathon is not of these times.

Following is a synopsis of the race day:

1. 6:15: Awoke, drank two large glasses of water and prepared a bowl of oatmeal


2. 6:25: Waited near the bathroom for nature to run its course


3. 6:35: Waited longer (see 2) before eating oatmeal


4. 6:50: Upon waiting an inordinate amount of time, I decided to scrap the oatmeal and head out to find some coffee. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And these times were "McDonald's Desperate"


5. 7:05: Ordered pancakes, orange juice and black coffee at McDonald's. Enjoyed the pancakes alongside a rag tag bunch of hobos, bindlestiffs and ragamuffins (comrades of whom would make an appearance later in the day)


6. 7:20: No movement on the natural front. Panic was starting to set in. Departed McDonald's to head to race site


7. 7:35: Arrived at race site, Louisville's Water Tower on the Ohio River. Folks were wildly negotiating adjacent fields to illegally park and avoid having to walk any distance at all. Apparently, as a force of habit, they were seeking the prime spot at the Walmart parking lot. Ironically, each of these lazy fucks was about to run/walk either 13.1 or 26.2 miles. Have I mentioned that I harbor less-than-pleasant feelings about the mental and physical habits of people in these parts (even those who are active enough to participate in a foot race)?


8. 7:40: Avoided the mess of illegal parkers and found a parking spot at Cox park (pronounced, inexplicably as COCKSIZ park) about 1/2 mile from the race site


9. 7:50: Arrived at starting line. Still waiting for some movement (see 2)


10. 8:10: Someone fires a gun. People start running. I follow


11. 8:15: First accessible bathroom (at Cocksiz Park) becomes visible. At this point, I feel a significant pressure change within my abdomen. Terrible gears start to turn. An intestinal doomsday machine has been irreversibly engaged. Forces beyond my comprehension are set into action. I make a bee line to the bathroom and enter the last stall on the right, thinking (like the parking situation earlier) that no one will think to approach the remotest spot. Bizarrely, I was wrong


12. 8:20: (Discontinue reading if you are uncomfortable with the human I/O process or thermodynamics) Ever heard of a water hammer? Before I met my wife, who once worked with nuke-uh-lur power plant cooling systems, I had not. Actually, the more general term is fluid hammer. In short, a fluid hammer is a pressure surge that occurs when moving fluid experiences a sudden change in momentum, like when a dam breaks. I become physically acquainted with the phenomenon while huddling in the last stall on the right. Unfortunately, so did a constant parade of fellow runners. Since the stall was missing a lock, no fewer than 5 men became acquainted with the concept of the fluid hammer. I lost ~ 5 minutes in that bathroom. Things were getting off to a great start
13. 8:25: After that lesson in thermodynamics, I got back out on the course and continued on, feeling somewhat relieved. At that point, I was stuck in a large crowd of walkers and slow runners. I focused my energy on passing the herd.
14. 8:55: As I slowly put the walkers and slow runner behind me, my attention was again shifted to my gut, where more dark machinations were taking place. Since I was very familiar with much of the course, I determined that the river front park, right around mile 6, would offer a bank of public restrooms. I set my sights on mile 6 and kept on keeping.
15. 9:05: As I arrived at the river front park, I veered off course to the bank of restrooms. Unfortunately these were all locked. In front of them, though, was a cache of porto-o-lets, or port-o-johns, or plexi-johns or plastic shitters that had been freshly installed to serve the participants in the Hunger Walk (an event to take place downtown later in the day). While I was disappointed to be forced to enter a johnny-house, I was somewhat delighted to find that I was the first to enjoy its amenities since its installation. I ratcheted up the volume on my ipod and tuned out the other details of my visit. However, I began to hear the distinct sounds of voices coming from just behind me. I paused the iPod and heard male voices that seemed to be coming from inside the crap-o-let septic tank, or worse, inside my own septic tank. Upon closer examination, I determined that the voices were in fact narrating the goings on inside the johnny cabin. After several unpleasant minutes, I emerged to find 3 tramps staning just outside, about 4 yards away. They were laughingly uproariously. As I ran past, they implored me to discontinue my run. Clearly, they were concerned with my well-being, but I was not to be deterred.
16. 10:05: From the debacle at the riverfront to the half-way point, I passed 0 more toilets, so I was forced to endure the wrath of the turkey sauasage. Although the pain was waning, it was still clear that the evil had not yet worked its way out. I knew that I would soon be passing through Chikasaw Park and that the grounds hosted a fine, early 20th century carriage house that had been converted into a bathroom. Fortunately, no other runners knew about this landmark. And more surprisingly, it seemed bereft of Okies and nogoodniks. It was at this place where I finally exorcised the demons.
    
17. 10:15: With my stomach feeling better and a pocketful of gels and Sharkies, I marched on towards the finish and focused on replenishing any energy spent through metabolism or exorcism.
18. 10:45: At about the 19 mile check point, I was approached by a young man who was bounding along at a good clip. We began to chat a bit and matched pace for about 3 miles. After about a mile of running together, it occurred to me that this young man's name could only be Chris. Upon parting ways at mile 23, I extended my hand and said something like "good to meet you Chris and good luck with the final 3 miles, I'm going to go ahead to see if I can find a finish line somewhere." To which he responded, with a puzzled look, how did you know my name was "Chris?" And it was a good question. I think the evil that had taken hold of me earlier in the morning left me with a bit of clairvoyance.
    
19. 11:20: At the 23 mile check point, I decided to pick up the pace a bit. I knew I wasn't going to come anywhere close to my goal of 3:20, but knew I had something left in the tank (thanks to 2 gels and a pouch of sharkies).
    
20. 11:35: As I approached the 25 mile checkpoint, the course grew lonely. There was an older man (probably in his 50s) about 30 yards ahead, but I was unable to catch him at first. Still, I dug in and accellerated a bit. The man at the final fluid station handed me a water and a cup of sports drink. I attempted to slow to deposit the cup and bottle in a garbage bags, but my legs sort of swayed uncontrollably and I nearly lost my footing. The man near the garbage bag instructed me to focus on getting to the finish line. I heeded his advice.
21. 11:40: I began passing a few more folks in the final half mile. A young woman smiled and waved and wished me luck, to which I responded "Same, um, uh...to luck to you too," which makes little sense , but hopefully expressed my enthusiasm for her potential finish.
    
22. 11:44: As the finish line drew near, I fought the dull pain in my quadriceps and bounded down the slight incline towards the finishing chute. Upon passing the line, a man appeared asking for the microchip strapped onto my ankle. As I bent down to detach it, he yelped, imploring me to stand and allow him to do it. As I nearly buckled upon standing back up, I realized that his advice was sensible.
    

So, that was about it. An eventful morning. I milled about after the race for a bit. I cheered on the Chris fellow, ate a banana, drank some water, Heed (the official energy drink of the race, which tastes like water filtered through vanilla cake icing)and Jackson's Organic coffee, then began the long walk to my car. While my legs were a bit burny and sore, the walk was a good stretching opportunity.

The rest of the day was pleasant and involved a brunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe (biscuits and gravy and grits) and a 3 hour nap.

Today (the day after) has been fine as well. I'm struggling a bit with stairs, getting in and out of chairs. However, each pain response is accompanied by a tinge of pride for having run 26.2 miles.

I've already started to plan out my 0-week plan, my 4-week recovery plan and my next marathon. Mentally, I'm ready to go. On Saturday, 25 April 2009, I plan to run the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon in under 3 hours and 20 minutes. It's an ambitious goal, but I plan to take advantage of hill work, tempo workouts, fartleks, interval training and, hopefully, some white magic.

The Final Countdown

9 hours until the marathon. At this point, I'm really hoping to just finish the race as all that is left now is the dotting of i's and crossing of t's. Hopefully, my training will prove sufficient to get me through the entire race. I'll know soon enough.

I enjoyed a large dinner consisting of angel hair pasta with sauteed squash and roasted sweet potatoes. Hopefully I won't regret that tomorrow morning.

My breakfast plans are not yet confirmed, but will likely involve some toast, maybe a granola bar, a handful of Crispix? Not really sure how I'll eat as I am sure my stomach will be a bit nervous (being unaccustomed to being awake at 6:30am).

I'll be bringing along several gels, some energy gummies and some Jelly Belly Sport Beans to be downed 30 minutes or so before the race.

So, this is it. I'll check back in if I survive the race.

Change of Course

The 2008 Louisville Marathon has officially changed course. I have no idea why, but I'm guessing it has something to do with an inability to acquire permits to shut down Third St. No big deal. The new course is the old course. Aside from not passing through Iroqouis Park, this route is better:



PS: No run today. 2 miles tomorrow. I just polished off 1/3 of a thing of candy beans. I'm beginning to think that the beans were a bad idea.

Drama Queens

The title of this post refers to baseball's favorite team: The Boston Red Sox. The Sox of this millenia seem to have a way of backing themselves into a corner during the ALCS. This year is no exception. I had held out some hope that Daisuke would get them back on track. Not so much. I gave up on the game by the third inning.

Imagine my surprise when, after having given up on the 2008 Red Sox, I got into my car to hear the radio announce that the game was tied 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth. I spent the next 20 minutes or so driving around, eating candy beans and waiting for the 10th, so the B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria could go back-to-back and end the season for Boston. Strangely, J.D. Drew managed to end the game in regulation with a line drive that scored Kevin Youkilis. There is hope again in Boston. And if the past two championships are any indication, this is exactly where The Sox like to be (backed up against a wall in the ALCS).

3 miles at the crisp gloaming this eve. 2 more miles on Saturday, then 26.2 on Sunday. I had been worrying that the heat would be a problem on race day. Fortunately, autumn temperatures have finally descended upon us. In fact, I enjoyed my first campfire (campless) of the season this night.

Sox In Trouble

Top of the sixth inning in game 4 of the ALCS. Rays are up 9-1 and will likely continue to pile on the runs. Apparently, starting pitching counts. Statistically, Tim Wakefield is a reliable pitcher, however, he doesn't seem to perform well on national television. Perhaps that's an understatement. Wakefield was awful tonight. He started off strong with a strikeout, but then proceeded to issue a walk, then back-to-back home runs. The trend continued.

So, unless the Red Sox have another miraculous, '04-like or '07-like ALCS run in them, Tampa Bay will continue on to The World Series. This Rays team is stunningly good.

Today's run was a quick 4.4-miler. It occurred to me, while running, that the disappearance of my motivation corresponded with the failure of the Nike Plus. It's hard to overstate the awesomeness of Nike Plus. I miss it terribly. Unfortunately, I won't get it back until I spring for a new iPod. I've tried everything with the current iPod, but it just won't communicate with the sensor.

Pasta with freshly roasted green chile, sauteed eggplant and zucchini for dinner. I'm going to focus on carbohydrates and vegetables for the rest of the week. Hopefully, I'll get my glycogen levels to where they need to be in time for the race.

The Real Taper Begins

Today's run covered 11 miles, the last run of a significant distance before the race. With an average temperature of 85 degrees, conditions were not ideal for today's run. Having overindulged a bit at yesterday's wedding did not help matters. However, I managed to compete the run in a fairly respectable amount of time. The Riverwalk was abuzz with revelers, which made the run a bit more fun.

I'm beginning to think that an 18 week conditioning program is too long. I feel as if my condition peaked a few weeks ago. At least, my motivation peaked a few weeks ago. At this point, I'm really itching to run the marathon. Perhaps I should have scheduled a half marathon to get the competitive juices flowing. Those wiser than I have apparently had luck with that strategy. Or is it a tactic?

A 20 lb. box of Hatch green chiles showed up this weekend. 15 lbs. of them have been roasted, packaged and are queuing up before the freezer. Once they cool, they'll be placed in the freezer to be called upon throughout the year. There are few edible things that don't benefit from the addition of the Hatch green chile. Although it's late (1am), the house (and likely the entire building) is filled with the glorious, autumnal scent of roasted, caramelized chile skin. I think I'm going to have to go whip something up. Something carb-y. I believe it's time that I start introducing more solid carbs into the diet.

Slacking Off a Week Before a Marathon

Thursday's run was uneventful. 4 miles. Easy.

Today's run was supposed to be a 3-miler. However, due to a day-long wedding of a friend, I missed my opportunity to run. I did, however, make up for it by drinking beer and overeating, which is, more or less, the same as running 3 miles. Not long ago, 3 miles would have seemed somewhat daunting. Now, I could go skip and jump 3 miles without breaking a sweat (that's not to say I wouldn't break anything - an ankle or a leg could easily be snapped by bounding about recklessly).

The marathon is about 173 hours away. I really need to plan out my in-flight meals for the occasion. If there's one area in which I've really fallen behind so far, it's energy and water intake while running. I learned, in my last long run before the race, that neglecting these needs can be a real deal breaker. My plan, as of now, is to bring along 4 or 5 gu products to eat/slurp/drink during the second half of the run. There will be water and sports drink stations along the course, but I don't think there will be gu kiosks.

This should be a map I charted (using mapmyrun.com) of the almost official race course:

4.44 Miles and a Touch of Fall

The rains came yesterday at about the time that another autumn heat wave was supposed to arrive and elevate the air temperature to the mid 80's. Fortunately, the rain won the race and kept the temperature down in the mid-to-low 70's. So, I took advantage of the pleasant (although still too warm) temperature and ran 4.44 miles this afternoon. I followed a route that starts on the street outside of my building and heads straight for the river. The following Louisville Landmarks can be enjoyed while running this quick route:

• University of Louisville Hospital and The J.G. Brown Cancer Center - eyesores architecturally, but valuable institutionally


• Louisville Slugger Field - home of The Fighting, Flying, Louisville River Bats of AAA Baseball. Farm team of the always bad Cincinnati Reds. Nice park that harkens back to the days when masons built ballparks. The team was actually really good this year. Probably could have given their AAAA bretheren a run for their money


• Riverfront Park and The Great Lawn - Louisville's attempt to reclaim the downtown waterfront from the utter lack of good judgment exhibited by city planners who decided to adorn the river with an ugly interstate (I64). The attempt was actually quite successful. People use the park. Just this afternoon, I saw a couple of groups of kids playing ultimate frisbee and a gentleman manning upwards of 12 fishing poles.


• The Belle of Louisville and Spirit of Jefferson Steamboats - The Belle has been a city-owned treasure for years now. Originally christened The Idlewild, she used to offer ferry service between Memphis, TN and West Memphis, AR, presumably to provide passage for satanic, ritual murderers escaping the holy backwaters of West Memphis. She came to Louisville in 1931 and offered service between downtown and Fontaine Ferry Park, an old amusement park in Portland. Now, in her golden years, The Belle hosts dinner cruises and daily calliope concerts. The Spirit of Jefferson also hosts lunch and dinner cruises and was put in place to address Louisville's unquenchable thirst for steamboat revelry.


• Those crazy, giant inflatable white moneys - unfortunately, the aforementioned monkeys have disappeared. They had been stationed just south of Sixth St. and River Road. No one knows why they were there. One popular theory suggest that they are migratory, inflatable monkeys who travel along the Ohio who, upon finding the Falls of The Ohio impassable, decided to dock in downtown Louisville. Another rumor is that they were tragically deflated. In any case, everyone agrees that they are missed and are welcome back at anytime.

4.8 Miles

Tonight's run was supposed to cover 4 miles. Instead, I pushed it to nearly 5 to prove a point:

While running after dark, I typically follow the loop at Seneca Park. The loop contains a paved recreation track that spans about 12 feet in width and covers 1.2 miles. Without fail, there are always several people engaged in recreation who insist on occupying the side of the track on their left in spite of the fact that everyone learns at an early age that one travels to one's right and passes on one's left. These must be the same people who, as drivers, travel in the left-handed lane bereft of intention to pass. There is no gentle way to state this: these people are either mentally defective, inconsiderate or both.

In any case, tonight, there was a quasi speed walker occupying the wrong side of the track. Unfortunately, she was traveling in the same direction I was, so I would have to stop and turn around in order to inform her that she's an idiot. Although I was disinclined to slow down, I realized that, if I switched directions, I could confront the demon head-on. So, after completing my 3rd circuit, I turned around to run my 4th in the opposite direction.

A satisfying game of chicken was almost certain. My pace quickened, as did my pulse. My rough calculations placed the point of confrontation just after the 2nd turn. As I accelerated through the 2nd turn, I saw a figure in the distance (keep in mind that, while the track is illuminated, the lights are spaced far apart). I trained my eyes on the figure, hugged the inside of the track (my right side) and sprinted towards the figure. As the figure drew closer, I noticed that it was a child. A lone child, jogging madly down the track on his right-hand side. A child no older than 12 or 13, jogging alone at night and observing convention by traveling on his right. I was moved to offer a high-five, but realized that it was dark and he was young (where were his parents?) and, given that he was well-trained enough to run on the proper side of the track, I wasn't prepared to test his preparedness with a can of mace. In any case, the game of chicken never materialized. The offending woman finished her power walk before our showdown. I did manage to shoot a disapproving glance in her direction as she sped off (likely in the wrong lane).

I believe I've mentioned this before, but I will reiterate it again here: while running, nothing motivates me more than a healthy dose of injustice or ignorance of commonly accepted rules and conventions. As much as I dislike the offending woman, I must thank her for inspiring me to finish my run strongly. Still, I do hope she gets her comeuppance, or is at least made to see the error of her wicked ways.

More Baseball

2 outs in the bottom 8th in game 4 of ALDS...

The Sox are not going to win this series for one reason: Scot Shields.

Oh, and Francona made a potentially series-changing blunder by leaving Masterson in to face Torii Hunter. He absolutely should have had Papelbon up and ready. I know they've been leaning on him, but if they don't, they have to go back to LA of Anaheim for a game 5. Taking 3 of 3 in a week from LA in Anaheim is not likely. At the very least, he should have had Delcarmen come in after that wild pitch snafu.

In any case, the tide has turned. I'm expecting a game 5 blowout in favor of LA of Anaheim (of Los Angeles).

This game isn't over yet, but I'm not expecting much. The Sox aren't hitting very well at Fenway. Tito won't take out Masterson...


Update: top of the 8th

The Sox just caught a very lucky break: after a leadoff double (off, of all people, Masterson) and a sac bunt, Varitek caught Reggie Willits (who, for the record, is a white guy) going on a mis-executed suicide squeeze. Shortly, thereafter, a groundout got The Sox out of trouble. Onto the bottom of the 9th...


Update: bottom of the 9th
Shields is going to burn through this lineup. They can't touch him. There's not a single killer in this lineup right now. Who wouldn't trade their first-born for Manny right now?

Oh Snap! Jason Bay. That's who you trade for Manny...And then you get Jed Lowrie to single him home.

I should know better - the new Red Sox don't choke.

No run today, but yesterday's 12-miler was just fine. I waited until the early evening in hopes that the temperature would drop. By the half-way point, it had cooled down to the mid 70's, which provided for a pleasant jaunt.

On Baseball

For the second straight year, the National League Divisional Series have been a total snore. Both series were decided within an inning.

The Cubs were hugely disappointing. When faced with the unexplainable, people tend to invent superstition (see: the entire history of mythology). The curse of the goat, while silly, makes as much sense as magic men, immaculate conceptions, magic eyewear and alien homunculi. Many folks on Chicago's north side will be looking to the goat to explain the Cubs collapse. Personally, I'm with them. There is no rational explanation for their collapse. Yes, one can cite incompetent defense, a return to form for Dempster and a general inability to hit. One can also bring up the fact that folks like Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez just don't lose in the post season. Still, The Cubs were playing well as recently as a week ago. I know it's just one series, but why now? Why the most important series of the season? One is inclined to think that there are unseen forces at work. And those forces are likely put into action by a goat.

The Brewers never had much of a chance. As we saw in last year's ALCS, C.C. Sabathia doesn't seem to perform well under pressure. And The Brewers hopes hinge on Sabathia. In fact, the Brewers just pinch hit Sabathia (in place of the always terrible Jeff Suppan - remember his brilliant base-running in the '04 World Series?). You don't pinch hit a pitcher in the post season. Rather, if you are forced to, you likely don't have the depth to advance. I know this series isn't officially over, but The Brewers are totally overmatched. The Phillies are better at just about every position.

The ALDS:

Anyone who actually hopped on the Angels bandwagon was foolish. The Red Sox absolutely own the Angels in postseason play. To best understand the complexion of this series, watch Howie Kendrick the next time he comes to the plate (is Scioscia is brave/dumb enough to play Kendrick again). He's absolutely killing his team. He swung at everything Daisuke and Lester threw at him. Most dramatic we're the breaking balls he was striking out on against Matsuzaka. Most of them would have been passed balls had a lesser catcher been behind the plate. Howie needs to take a game off.

Oh, and how about J.D. Drew? That home run against K-Rod was awesome. I love to see "bad ass" closers get destroyed. That was definitely the final straw. The Angels are not coming back from that. Not with Beckett at Fenway standing in their way.

The Rays/Red Sox ALCS will be the de facto World Series (just like last year). As great as Manny and Lowe are in the post season, I don't think those two can beat the AL pennant winner alone. In any case, I'm looking forward to the ALCS. I really like both teams. I'll give the edge to The Red Sox because of the post season experience thing. Hopefully, the series will be as exciting as last year's ALCS.

More Autumn Heat

The heat is back in the Ohio River valley. For some reason, summer will not go away. Leaves are falling off of trees, but instead of exhibiting a wide range of autumnal colors, they're just going straight to brown and dying. Fall is my favorite season. In my youth, Louisville used to experience fall. Then, I moved away to Boston for awhile, came back and found autumn had moved away.

On a related note, while watching the vice presidential debate the other night, Sarah Palin's comments about global warming really resonated with me (and I'm sure with many other know-nothing, mentally defective wingnuts). To sum it up: no, there is no such phenomenon as global warming. Maybe there has been a slight increase in global temperature, but it's just part of the temperature cycle that jesus and randy christ laid out 2000 years ago (incidentally, our new earth's 2000th bithday!). However, none of this shit: polar ice cap melting, violent weather events, polar bears migrating into arctic population centers and demanding welfare - which the minority loving dems are all too happy to hand out - is a result of human behavior. In short, this isn't our fault. It's god's plan and we don't really understand or know the cause, but that's not going to keep us from fixing it!!?!!

Hey Sarah Palin, I want autumn back! Can you please pray for that? I know it's anathema to f around with the grand plan, but this really sucks. Could you please just talk to him a bit? Think of the children! No more candy apples and jack-o-lanterns! No more pumpkin pies! First, they went and deprived the children of their baby dinosaur playmates (not sure how, whatever climate even took out the dinosaurs must not have affected people. I guess person technology was more advanced back then). Now, he wants to take away the babies' apple cider! We can't let this happen. Pray for us! While you're at it, could you axe for the dinosaurs back? My nephew doesn't get along too well with people. He's allergic to dogs and cats. He needs a companion. His allergist has signed off on a pet pterodactyl, but we can't seem to find one. Help us, Sarah Palin; you're our only hope!

Fortunately, the heat just came today, so yesterday was still pretty pleasant (low 70's). So, yesterday's 10-miler was nice. Today's 12-miler won't be quite so great. Temperature has reached 80 and it's only 1:30pm.

GingerRollerQueen and Others

The GingerRollerQueen is an unstoppable force. Like a bionic combination between a Madame Tussaudsesque Carrot Top and a snow machine, she glides up hills on her inline skates, decimating all things in her way. She skates on the wrong side of the street. She doesn't care what you think, she's going to skate her heart out, because you don't change the world by not skating.

When one runs in Cherokee Park, one will often encounter The GRQ. She flies furiously up hills like her cousin, snowsuit-wearer-even-in-July Guy, who is some sort of uphill skating savant. Both of these characters are driven by some sort of mysterious, unseen force that is both awesome and powerful. Unfortunately, every time GRQ skates past, I throw up a little bit. The first time it happened, I didn't think much of it - a standard blame in on the pre-run 1/2 pound of bacon thing. The second time, I was stricken, more by my excitement at having seen GRQ again. The third time, it occurred to me that her appearance is always accompanied by gastrointestinal distress. Hopefully, the next time she appears, the two of us can have our portrait painted.

10.12 miles through the park today. 65 degrees, clear, sunny, low humidity. In other words, a perfectly glorious day for running (of for encountering magical, mythical monsters, like GRQ).

I also ran into a Yorkie with a person's voice. And not just any person's voice, Gilbert Godfried's voice. Terrifying beast. Had I not swerved to avoid it, it most definitely would have destroyed me, or at least made me vomit.

5 miles tomorrow. 5 miles Saturday. 12 miles Sunday. It's all downhill from here, until the marathon. I was a bit nervous after Monday's disaster, but felt great today.

20 Mile Failure

Okay, so the title of this post might be a bit misleading. I attempted a 20-miler today (after delaying yesterday's 20 miler on account of being in Chicago and opting to ride the bike along the lake instead). However, I only ran 16 miles. Apparently, leaving Chicago after a Bears game (at 1:30am EST) to drive to Louisville doesn't quite suffice as preparation for a 20-miler.

Although it may be the end of September, the temperature in Louisville is in the mid-80's. The customary humidity has been absent though. Unsurprisingly, the lack of humidity seems to affect the amount of water a runner requires. Today's run started off well. I was fast through 12 miles. I had planned what I thought was a sufficient number of water fountain stops along the route. However, at about the 15 mile mark, I started to feel a bit dizzy. This was new. I kept running in hopes that it would go away. However, it became clear that additional symptoms had appeared: sweating had stopped and the mouth was dry. At about 16 miles, I stopped and was forced to relieve myself of my footing. Luckily, I had stopped to sit down in the grass for a spell before I seemed to have perhaps experienced a minor black out. It was a bit scary. After a few minutes, I stood and walked myself to the nearest water fountain.

After a mile of walking, I attempted to run again. Not happening. The legs were like lead and the mouth was too dry. Water didn't seem to be helping. In any case, the remaining 3 mile walk was among the more unpleasant experiences in recent memory.

The whole experience is consistent with dehydration and heat exhaustion. Quite a set back for my final long run before the taper. Hopefully, it was just a result of lack of sleep and lack of water.

In better news, The Bears/Eagles game last night was great. The new spaceship that landed on Soldier Field doesn't completely ruin the experience. Both defenses were solid, especially The Bears in the final minutes of the game. Orton looked confused much of the time, but did manage to play fairly well, throwing a great touchdown pass to Devin Hester and one to TE Olsen on the Bear's first possession. The entire stadium was shocked to see The Bears come out and score quickly.

Chicago is great this time of year: cool and breezy.

On Target

So far, I'm on target this week. 5 miles on Monday, 8 yesterday and 5 more today. Yesterday's run was rather fast (criminally reckless drivers infuriated me to such an extent that I forgot I was running while fantasizing about turning over their cars - apparently the adrenaline kicked in and my legs kept moving. quickly). 8 miles in 58 minutes. I need to find a way to harvest that anger, perhaps refine it into some sort of gummy, fruit flavored block. Runners would buy it. I've seen far stupider, more gimmicky products successfully marketed.

Update: I just took calls from Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens. They inform me that a similar product already exists. But, they'd definitely be interested in a tasty, gummy delivery mechanism.

25 miles to go this week. 5 for Saturday, 20 for Sunday. However, since there's a trip to Chicago scheduled, I may have move the 5 to Friday and the 20 to Saturday morning.

Oh, I feel compelled to mention that Brad Pitt is a poor actor. Always has been. He has never been remotely good. It was funny, in Burn After Reading, when Malkovich punched him squarely in the nose, but, otherwise, he added nothing to the movie. The man lacks any palpable energy or charisma. I think there's a good chance Pitt will go down as his generation's Bogart: revered and loved in his time, but unfathomably dull to later generations. I know it's anathema to question the awesomeness of Casablanca, but accepting the idea that Ingrid Bergman's character could have fallen for the rigid, boring Rick is ridiculous. At least Laszlow is daring, exciting and handsome. Perhaps she was humoring him by pausing before boarding the plane. Or, more likely, she was posturing for us, the audience. Nevertheless, under no circumstances does Ingrid Bergman go for Bogart. It makes no sense. He was preternaturally elderly-acting. Even more absurd is the so-called chemistry between Bogart and Bacall in The Big Sleep. Interesting movie, but Bogart as Philip Marlowe doesn't work. Elliot Gould was a yillion times better. Apparently, Clive Owen will play Marlowe next. Could be good, but he's kind of blank too.

Lonely Horse

I've fallen off the stupid horse again. After skipping my 12-miler on Sunday, I completed a three week circuit of shameless underachievement. However, I'm hopping right back up on that horse this week. I'll have to dig deep to find the motivation, but it's got to be down there somewhere, probably in the general vicinity of the toes.

This week is my final long mileage week before the taper, so it's probably quite important to hit my mileage. 20 miles on Sunday will be the longest run before the marathon. It will also be tread along Chicago's lakefront before a trip to spaceship-Solider Field to watch the Bears attempt to keep up with the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles.

Perhaps a new iPod Nano will supply adequate motivation? I really need that Nike Plus feedback. Not having it is killing me.

Ike, Heat Wave and More Nike Plus Trouble

I must apologize to each and every reader of this blog for my truancy the past two weeks. It's been over 10 days since I last posted. In the blogosphere, 11 days is mathematically equivalent to 6 millenia. Much has happened since the last post:

The economy has collapsed. Americans have ceased to care about hockey moms from Alaska. Hurricane Ike reminded the citizens of south Texas why it was never a good idea to colonize south Texas. Ike also blew through Kentucky, proving to be the most destructive storm. Ever. He was kind enough to drop a tree on my car and the cars of many others and leave 100's of thousands of people without power. Ike reminded Louisvillians that, in spite of our Starbucks stores and our beloved Hard Rock Cafe, our municipal infrastructure hasn't improved much since Precambrian times. With any luck, President Roosevelt will fix all of these problems and save our sorry state.

The running has been coming along. Life-related issues have been interfering a bit though. The last two weeks (before the current week) were the only weeks since May that I have fallen short of my mileage target. I'll hit my target this week though. And next week is my last long run before the great taper. I definitely feel like an 18 week program might be overkill, but there's no harm in slowly building up. I'm looking forward to the marathon, if only for the hope that the weather might be more fall-like in mid-October.

The temperature in Louisville is still in the mid-to-high 80's. We're one day away from the equinox and it's still hot. Not okay. I was hoping that, as a silver lining- consequence of a destructive inland hurricane, folks around here might come around to the realization that climate change might be a consequence of human behavior (e.g., wastefully tossing perfectly good bottles of water at airport security checkpoints). However, I'm pretty sure that my fellow yokels have allocated the destruction to their god's vengeance overhead account. Apparently, their god is mad because California changed its marriage licenses to read "party One" and "party Two" rather than bride and groom. The nerve of those godless west coasters!

Last Sunday's long run through the wind-ravaged south end and downtown of Louisville was quite nice. The temperature briefly dipped into the low 70's. The running path around Iroquois Park was like an Double Dare obstacle course with downed trees. I followed the course of the upcoming marathon and found the first half to be quite nice. There's a 6-8 mile stretch that is pretty gross, so I'll have to really speed it up through there. Hopefully the roads will be closed to prevent rabid, pick-up driving yokels from running me over in their haste to get to church and gain absolution for their sins (apparently they don't count the wind storm as penance).

12 miles scheduled for today. It's a nice, sunny day, but the temperature is too high. I'll have to wait until early evening.

Oh, and the Nike Plus has gone kaput. The port on my iPod has become unresponsive. It's terrible. I am so reliant on that little device. My motivation is nil without that little bit of feedback. I think it's time for a new Nano.

Stupid Nike Plus Armband

Back in July, I purchased a Nike branded armband made especially for my 1st generation iPod Nano. It seemed to work fine, but shortly after buying it, my first Nike plus receiver/sensor combo seemed to stop working reliably. So, I bought a new Nike Plus kit. Problem solved.

Except it wasn't. This past week, the new iPod receiver started behaving badly. In the middle of a workout, it would announce that the workout had been completed. That soothing female voice can be hugely unpleasant when it makes unwanted, premature announcements.

Although I could be missing something obvious, it would seem that the design of the old Nike Plus armband is flawed. The ipod slides into a neoprene sleeve. The receiver rests at the closed end of the sleeve, supporting the weight of the iPod. Apparently, with all of the bouncing around that tends to accompany running, the receiver works itself loose, thereby ending one's workout.

So, a possible solution would be to buy a new armband. Perhaps one of the new 4th generation devices, which appear to offer a great deal of new colors, er, features. Or maybe now is the time to go for a Garmin Forerunner.

5 miles today under overcast skies with temperatures topping out in the low 70s. First taste of fall. Can't wait for more.

Thoughts on Football

No run today. So, instead, I'll share some thoughts on the first full week of college and pro football:

NFL:

1) Three quarters into their season, Jay Cutler looks like one of the two or three best QBs in the NFL. So far, this really feels like a torch-passing season for QBs. Brady's out. Peyton Manning looks uncharacteristically unprepared and confused. Granted, McNabb looks great, but he's always an injury risk (I hope he stays healthy. Inasmuch as any player deserves to win a Superbowl, Don McNabb does). But, there are several emerging young stars who will very likely be the next superstars. Cutler has to be the favorite. Ryan and Flacco looked really solid as well.

2) The Raiders will go 0-16. There is something terribly wrong there. Do they have coaches?

3) The Bills will be the best in the AFC East.

4) The Redskins are a total mess. I wonder how long a sudden-death match between The Skins and Raiders would take? It would likely be as intriguing as a McCain speech.

5) The Bears are actually going to be good if Kyle Orton can continue to not suck.

College:

1) What's going on in Southbend? Do they really think that installing Klaus Kinksi behind center is going to make a difference? How can a team with top 10 recruiting classes manage to be so slow, weak and small? Are these top 10 academic classes?

2) College sports needs more afro'd dudes called Boo.

3) BCS Championship game: USC 35, Oakland Raiders 0

The Red Sox are 1/2 game out of the East. Although I'd like to see The Rays win the division, I don't think it's going to happen.

Two-a-Day

This morning started with a nice 5-miler with an old friend. Since I mostly run solo, it was quite nice to be able to converse while running. The loop we ran was a veritable tripe down memory lane as we passed 3 (and could have gone for 4) of the houses in which I was raised.

Although I was scheduled to run 13 today, my stomach was not exactly cooperating. The 5-miler was enough. So, I decided to postpone the remaining miles until this evening.

After a rather mediocre dinner with the family (@ Red Robin, a rather mediocre burger chain in a rather mediocre mall) involving a chicken burger (exactly what it sounds like) and a bottomless basket of steak fries (no thanks, I prefer bottomed baskets of steak fries), I decided to give the running thing another go. So, I set out to run 8. After 5.5 brisk miles, the stomach started acting up again, so I cut it short.

10.5 miles on a bad stomach isn't too terrible. Hopefully, this will go down as my "bad week" and I can regain my running mojo on Tuesday. This coming week will be a long mileage week culminating in a 20-mile long run next Sunday. Hopefully, the stomach will cooperate. Perhaps I should lay off the chicken burgers.

Poor Motivation Week

Since I've started training for this marathon, I've had no motivational problems. Until this week. Really, it was an amazing run: 50-something runs without skipping. Not once was I disinclined to go for a run. Until this week. Not sure what happened, but I just couldn't motivate myself to run my scheduled 5-miler on Wednesday. I planned to make up the miles between Thursday and Friday, but, when Friday came along, I was again unmotivated.

Today started out similarly, with a strong disinclination to run. However, after some coffee and a bowl of Total, I started to feel that old motivation again. I had penciled in an 8 miler, but felt so good while running, that I stretched it out to 11 miles. So, I've made up all but one of my lost miles. Hopefully, I'll be able to make that up tomorrow on my long run.

The temperature has finally dropped a bit. Today was sunny, clear and topped out at about 80 degrees. Beautiful day for a run. The run along the River Walk was pleasant, especially the 1.5 miles or so that meander through Portland Wharf Park, under the canopy of old trees.

Six weeks until the marathon. Three weeks until I start to taper. I feel pretty good and will hopefully clock a much better time than I would have expected when starting this.

Quicker Recovery

I'm pretty sure that I haven't been partaking of the steroids, but my recovery time after long runs has definitely improved significantly. Perhaps this is why we follow structured training programs?

I thought for sure that my legs would be useless the day after running a grueling 18-miler in the last day of August heat. Surprisingly, there was very little soreness today. A bit of tightness on the sides of the the old stems (iliotibial band issue?) was it. I felt as if I could have done another long run today. Wisely, I opted for a nice, meandering bike ride instead.

Very hot again today in Louisville. 20 or so easy miles, but with some hills. I'm very ready for fall. This 90+ degree weather is getting old.

This week is another regression week, peaking with a 13 mile long run on Sunday. It's pretty amazing that 13 miles seems like child's play. I'm looking forward to next week's 20-miler.

This UCLA-Tennessee game is getting good. That UCLA QB must have pounded Wheaties at half time. Totally different player in the 2nd half.

45 degrees

Today's high was 93 degrees. Strangely, the record low for this date in Louisville was 45 degrees in 1946. How is that even possible? What was going on in 1946? While 45 seems a bit cool for the last day of August, I am ready for the autumn chill.

18 miles in the heat was not exactly fun. I was a bit limited with my route today as the Ironman event had claimed several of my regular running lanes. So, I ran to the Seneca park loop (6 miles to get there), completed the loop 5 times (5 x 1.2 miles = 6 miles), then ran back. 18 miles seemed like a long way today. However, my new "fuel belt" (actually a Nike product) came in handy and provided hydration and a place to store my lemon-lime Cliff Bar gummy blocks, which are not terrible. I definitely prefer the gummies to the Gu. I also tried Gu brand Roctane (blueberry/pomegranate), but it, like most Gu, approximated the sensation of eating cake icing, or super sweet vomit. Disgusting. Not. Refreshing. At all.

Although I haven't even completed a marathon, I am now announcing my intention to complete a triathalon in the next 18 months. If only to piss off my mother, who thinks that triathalons are stupid. And she's probably right. Nevertheless, it seems like a fine goal and will be something to look forward to once I'm left goalless after completing the marathon.

Looking forward to not running tomorrow. I've been experiencing some tightness in the hamstrings with all of the mileage I've been logging lately. Nothing too worrisome, but a day off for the old stems will likely do me some good. Maybe a nice, meandering bike ride will be in order.

Not a Police Officer

Today's run was supposed to be an 8-miler, but since I already had a surplus for the week and had 18 miles scheduled for tomorrow, I stopped at ~ 7 miles and decided to walk back home. Home is in downtown Louisville, KY. The walk requires that I pass the site of the former Bojangles restaurant on East Broadway. While we were all sad to see Bojangles close it's greasy doors, the city rejoiced when The Chicken King moved in and started serving its delicious brand of southern keel, beans and cornbread.

Know who loves The Chicken King? Folks do. Know who else loves The Chicken King? Derelicts. Hobos. Bindlestiffs. Ragamuffins. Me. Mental defectives. The chronically intoxicated. A member of that last group (and very likely several of the other aforementioned groups) accosted me on my walk home. He, like many of the less fortunate, apparently has a tendency to directly address people who are wearing headphones and are clearly disengaged from their surroundings. Nevertheless he maintained eye contact and kept speaking. So, I removed my headphones. This did not render his communication at all clearer. Fortunately, he had a lady friend, who appeared to be Wanda Sykes and who was able to translate. I will now provide a transcript for all 0 of the readers of this fine blog.

Cast: Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd (OCB), Wanda Sykes (WS), Me (ML)
Setting: Parking Lot of The Chicken King

OCB: You a police officer!? (vaguely accusatory tone)

WS: He aint' no po-lice officer. Look at him.

OCB: Ain't all white people officers? You never know.

ML: I assure you, I am not a police officer

WS: See! I told you so, Oil Can!

OCB: I'm just tryna get something to eat, gnome sane, I'm just starvin' like Marvin, gnome sane.

ML: I understand. Perhaps you wouldn't be so aware of your hunger pangs if you and that strangely appetizing smell of secret spices and grease from the long-departed Bojangles weren't loitering in the parking lot of The Chicken King.

WS: Damn, I miss Bojangles. You ain't gwyne ta arrest us now, are you?

ML: I might. Oil Can Boyd just deputized me.

OCB: Don't you got a dollar or something? (Uttered while removing a handful of pennies from a frayed pant pocket and dropping all over the sidewalk)

ML: Actually, I was just out running and rarely carry cash. I would gladly give you a dollar if I had it, but I doubt that reassurance goes far towards satisfying your hunger. I am sorry about all of it. I promise not to arrest you, though.

OCB: Don't be sorry. Never be sorry for nuthin'. God bless you. (extending hand)

ML: Okay. I'm not sorry, Oil Can. Can I be sorry that Bojangles closed? (extending hand, attempting a handshake, which goes horribly awry when OCB suddenly initiates one of those new-fangled, three-phase handshakes)

That's pretty much how it occurred. It was the first time I've ever been accused of being a police officer. In Oil Can's defense, most whities are cops.

Game Changer!

I'm a game changer! The kind of game changer who comes up to the plate with the bases loaded and 0 outs in the bottom of the ninth of a one run game. The kind of game changer who only needs to put the ball into play to be effective. The kind of game changer who promptly hits into an unassisted triple play.

Took off yesterday to rest the legs a bit, so I made up for it today with an easy 4-miler. In the rain. Down by the river. Louisville's Riverfront Park is the starting/changing point of this weekend's Ironman event. Apparently, the entrants are to swim in the Ohio River. Hopefully, the course officials will remove the shopping carts, tires, trees and corpses from the banks before the event starts. It's pretty disgusting down there.

26 miles split between tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday's 18-miler will be my longest run yet. Hopefully I won't die in the 94 degree heat. If I do, I can still be a game changer. Just ask Norm Coleman about what a game changer a dead Paul Wellstone was.

Miles Surplus

After a 7.25 mile run yesterday and an 8 mile run today, I've built up a 2.25 mile surplus for the week. I think I'll roll those 2.25 miles into tomorrow's run and turn that 5 miler into a ~ 3 miler. My legs are still rather tight from Sunday's long run. I could use the break.

Since I started this training program, I've run 318.98 miles. Oh, wait, I'm in Kentucky. So, let me restate that: Since I started this training program, I've RAN 318.98 miles. Folks in this part of the country struggle mightily with the past perfect.

18 miles this Sunday. Hopefully it'll be cooler than it was this past Sunday (90+ degrees).

Tim McGraw, Kip Winger and I, Oh My!

With my 17 mile run today, I joined some pretty prestigious company. While I've always felt a certain kinship with Kip, he of the great hair band Winger and Tim McGraw, he of, well, the sappy, condescending, manipulative machine that is modern American country music, today I officially cemented that connection. 17 is not a number to be taken lightly. It has inspired no fewer than two terrible Billboard hits. That trickster age that has lured so many great men (I can only assume Winger and McGraw are among them) into taking the jail bait. As McGraw, in all of his wisdom, points out, "seventeen only comes once in a lifetime." It's a big number. A special number. And I am proud to have reached it today. 9.2 more to go (miles that is, everyone knows women lose all of their luster upon reaching 18).

Today's run followed the first 8.5 miles of the course of the Cherokee Road Runner's Louisville Marathon. Or, at least the route they link to on their web site 2008 Louisville Marathon Course Map. Strangely, this seems to be the course that the Derby Festival Marathon follows, not riverside course that the CRR Louisville Marathon has traditionally followed. Perhaps some has their wires crossed?

Yesterday's 8-miler was a quick and jaunty one along the Riverwalk. I was nearly knocked into the river by a shirtless man on a motorcycle who was negotiating the 6-7 foot wide trails at 35 miles per hour. A fantasy involving a large rock, the man's helmet-less head and a floating corpse propelled me forward and allowed me to finish with a pace of 7:00. I find that over-the-top anger and (imagined) disproportionate responses always increases my pace. But seriously, the guy was a reckless bastard and really could have killed someone and it almost definitely would not have been him. In all likelihood, it would be some gifted, young, inspiring athlete who had overcome some obscure disease acquired during his or her desperate flight from some war-torn country.

I'll conclude this with a bit from Heather Havrilesky that eloquently skewers Bob Costas's smug, disproportionate response to Usain Bolt's 100m finish

Bolt enjoys joking around with his competitors. One of his shoes was untied when he ran the 100-meter race. His technique is described as sloppy and amateurish. He polished off a bunch of Chicken McNuggets right before the race. He's that kind of a guy. He's 21 years old, for Chrissakes! He became the fastest man on earth by a long shot, breaking his own record, while every other contender huffed and puffed along several feet behind him. How would anyone dare to claim that he owed it to the fans to run even faster, or that he disrespected them by celebrating a little early? What in the world is Costas, space alien from Planet Honky, talking about? Why should Bolt care about class, of all provincial, bourgeois values? What the hell is class, anyway, but some arbitrary code that soulless, high-capitalist professional robots live by?

Heat-Related Illness

According to The American Red Cross, heat-related illnesses (HRI) include (but are not necessarily limited to) heat exhaustion, heat stroke and heat cramps. I'm sure there are more. Is death an illness? What is it called when one overindulges oneself with water and expires? Certainly, heat-related illnesses are not maladies with which one would be wise to trifle.

Today, I trifled with heat exhaustion. Or at least experienced some of the less severe hallmarks of heat-related illnes. For the past 3 weeks, the weather in Louisville has been unseasonably great. The temperature has stayed below 90 and the humidity has been below 30%. However, today's high temperature reached 93. In this heat, I ran 8 miles along the river.

After a long stretch of direct sun, I began to feel a bit dizzy and weak. My head began to hurt a bit. And I began to notice some dryness in the throat. It occurred to me that I was likely experiencing heat-related illness. Was it chronic? Perhaps genetic? Was it a result of irresponsible behavior in the wilder days of my youth? Or was it related to exerting myself in the hot sun? There's certainly no way to find out. My guess is that it's a genetic illness. Likely paternal. I believe my father once experienced a similar heat-related illness while running a half marathon.

As I mentioned before, HRI is a serious matter. And, it turns out, it can be avoided. No one knows how, but it can. The Red Cross has a few suggestions for treatment:

For heat cramps or heat exhaustion: Get the person to a cooler place and have him or her rest in a comfortable position. If the person is fully awake and alert, give a half glass of cool water every 15 minutes. Do not let him or her drink too quickly. Do not give liquids with alcohol or caffeine in them, as they can make conditions worse. Remove or loosen tight clothing and apply cool, wet cloths such as towels or wet sheets. Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number if the person refuses water, vomits or loses consciousness.

For heat stroke: Heat stroke is a life-threatening situation! Help is needed fast. Call 9-1-1 or your local EMS number. Move the person to a cooler place. Quickly cool the body. Wrap wet sheets around the body and fan it. If you have ice packs or cold packs, wrap them in a cloth and place them on each of the victim's wrists and ankles, in the armpits and on the neck to cool the large blood vessels. (Do not use rubbing alcohol because it closes the skin's pores and prevents heat loss.) Watch for signals of breathing problems and make sure the airway is clear. Keep the person lying down.

Oh, and the run went well once I treated my HRI by applying (conservatively) water at my namesake park.

44 Runs

According to my training log, today was my 44th run since I turned 30 (June 14th). Furthermore, according to the same log, I've met my scheduled weekly mileage each week since. This whole goal-setting thing seems to be working out alright. Over 240 miles logged since the beginning of June. About 350 left.

This Hal Higdon training program is really quite good. Each long run seems to be the perfect distance, never too much. Again, I would heartily recommend Hal Higdon to anyone looking for a marathon training program.

This being a regression week, I was scheduled to run 5 miles today, but accidentally ran 7 instead. I felt good the whole time, so hopefully there will be no ill effects. Pace was under 7:30. Yesterday's run was 4 miles at a pace under 7:30.

Since I've been back in Louisville, my pace has quickened significantly (I've re-calibrated the Nike Plus several times to make sure). I'm not sure which factors are contributing to the speed, but my guess is that it has something to do with moderating antioxidant intake. While on Cape Cod, I drank wine nightly. Since I've been back in Louisville, I've barely touched the stuff. As beautiful as the tip of Cape Cod is, running in Louisville really is better. The parks are just amazing.

On Monday, I took the road bike out on the Louisville Riverwalk from downtown to Shawnee Park and out Southwestern/Algonquin Parkway a few miles. Although the trail isn't terribly well maintained in places, the Riverwalk is pretty good. A stretch of a mile or two through the woods along the Ohio River was cool, fast and fun. Great ride. Shawnee Park has a great deal of potential. One can almost see Olmstead's vision over a hundred years later.

You Don't Miss Your Water...

...until your well runs dry. Or until you're well into your 14th mile of a 15 mile run. I planned my route such that there would be plenty of water stops, however, I failed to account for the final 2.5 miles in the hot sun. I managed to finish, but drank about 3 liters of water as soon as I got home.

At the halfway point today, I decided to consume a PowerBar brand Vanilla gel packet. The calories were appreciated, but the experience was something other than pleasant. I'm having trouble thinking of anything less refreshing than a mouthful of cake icing during a long run, but this is exactly what the Vanilla goo tasted and felt like. Avoid the vanilla. The coffee stuff is much better.

Managed to complete 15 miles at a 7:45 pace (including water breaks).

Yesterday's activities included an early morning 7-miler and a 30 mile bike ride out along the Ohio River in eastern Jefferson County and Oldham County.

On Friday, my off day, I took the new road bike out to test the commute to IUS in New Albany. Not a terrible commute, but not particularly pleasant. Eastern Boulevard is not the most bike friendly street. Nor is the 2nd Street Bridge. However, it only takes about 35 minutes from my door to campus, so biking is a viable option.

Boolean Dissonance

It seems that among the most perplexing puzzles to humans are those that involve a single variable with only two possible values. Yes versus no. On versus off. Right versus left. Seems simple. It is. But, unfortunately, it seems that we humans struggle mightily with boolean logic. However, one can take comfort in the fact that given only two options and a large enough sample, the values will be distributed roughly equally. That is, if one asks a sufficiently large group of people a random, obscure question (e.g., do oxen prefer one piece bathing suits?), one will find that the number of yes responses is pretty close to the number of no responses.

Applying this to running, it would seem that, given that there are only two sides to a road, runners will distribute themselves fairly evenly along the two sides. It is well known that, in the absence of sidewalks, pedestrians are supposed to travel in the roadway against traffic. That is, runners should run in the direction of oncoming traffic such that they can see the oncoming vehicles and oncoming drivers can see them. This is basic. Makes perfect sense.

However, in an informal survey conducted over the past week while running throughout Cherokee and Seneca Parks in Louisville, KY, I've found that runners following the rules only comprise about 30% of pedestrians. An overwhelming majority tend to travel with traffic, endangering themselves and others.

Furthermore, Cherokee Park contains a paved loop that is divided into two lanes, one for vehicles (one way) and the other for recreational use. That is, there is a one-way road for cars and a sidewalk for pedestrians (and bikers if they're inclined). Since this recreational lane is closed to vehicle traffic, the standard sidewalk rules apply. One should stay to one's right except when passing. Given that 70% of runners travel the wrong way in traffic, one would think that they would continue to travel the wrong way in recreational lanes (except, in this case, the wrong way would be the right way). However, this is not the case. Instead, the ratio reverses. In both cases, roughly 70% of pedestrians consistently make the wrong choice. How is this possible? This simple problem defies simple explanation.

So, in summary, here are the simple rules of the road:

* In the absence of a pedestrian only lane (sidewalk), pedestrians should travel against traffic such that they can see oncoming traffic and oncoming drivers can see them

* In the presence of a pedestrian only lane (sidewalk), pedestrians should travel to their right, except when passing.

I'm sure Malcolm Gladwell or Steven Levitt would have a novel explanation for this phenomenon, but it's beyond me. If anyone is reading this and finds that they're a pedestrian who consistently makes the wrong choices, please enlighten me.

7.2 miles today.

Vulnerable Roadway Users

While running through downtown Louisville this afternoon (during rush hour), I noted several disturbing instances of reckless driving. I saw two drivers disregard red lights and speed through intersections. I saw a woman with a cellphone in one hand and a cigarette in the other turn right on red (with a "no right on red" sign present) - presumably steering with her knees - without bothering to look for pedestrians in the crosswalk (if she had, she would have noticed me).

Had any of these reckless drivers been observed by police officers, they would have been pulled over and cited for these traffic violations. Had a police officer observed any of these reckless drivers committing the same offense and killing a pedestrian or biker while in the process, they would have received only the same citation. As the law is currently written, there is no additional penalty for killing a vulnerable roadway user with a car. If the driver is intoxicated, then he or she is a murderer. If he or she is not intoxicated, then he or she is merely a corpse-making reckless driver who has to pay a small fine.

As a person who uses the state of Kentucky's roadways, often without the encumbrance of a hulking hunk of metal, I feel it is important that the state provide protection for roadway users who do not operate automobiles.

Oregon has already passed a bill protecting vulnerable roadway users (House Bill 3314). Michigan has two proposed bills before congress.

For more info on biking safety in Louisville, check out Bicycling For Louisville, a local bicycle advocacy group.

Oh, and I managed to survive today's 4-miler, in spite of the recklessness of the aforementioned drivers.

Updated 08/06/08 - Boston's Bike Lanes Nearly Set for Riders. Glad to see Boston is moving in the right direction.

Eating and Running

I've enjoyed eating for over 30 years. I've enjoyed running for the better part of 10 years (off and on). I guess one could call these passions. Or at least hobbies. Still, in 10 years of simultaneously engaging in both, I have never found it necessary to mix the two. It never occurred to me that one might need to eat while running, or run while eating. That is until I became noticeably hungry about 9 miles into today's 14-miler. I'm not a person who often experiences physiological hunger. I often crave certain foodstuffs and do eat routinely, but I've rarely known the sensation of raw hunger. I knew it today after completing a particularly long hill in the 90 degree sun.

Fortunately, I was less than a mile from my sister's house. Upon arriving there, I was greeted by a naked 2-year-old bearing a large Tupperware container of what appeared to be Froot Loops [sic]. Actually, come to think of it, they were not loops, though they were certainly composed of Froot [sic]. I was not offered any Froot by the naked toddler. I did, however, help myself to a Kashi TLC granola bar. I don't remember how it tasted as I ate it in about 3 bites. In hindsight, I realized that this is really a 7-8 bite bar. But, I needed calories. And quick. After being told about 200 times by a naked toddler "I go with you", I continued on my way (unaccompanied), finishing the final 5 miles of the run.

Miraculously, the granola bar worked wonders. No cramps. No stomach distress. Just a noticeable increase in energy. I finished the run with a pace well under 8:00 (excluding the pit stop, which is cheating, I know).

So, for all the many readers out there who are wondering if it is okay to mix running and eating: It is! You probably won't die. You likely won't develop cramps. You will feel better and stronger (assuming you eat the right things. Don't eat a knife or a bomb or even Froot Loops). In fact, if you're running a significant distance, your body will almost definitely require some solid fuel while running.

My next adventure in running and eating will likely involve the goo, or the gel or whatever that not-solid-not-liquid energy source is called. That and Twizzlers. I think the 2-year-old would approve of the Twizzlers.

Seven Mile Morning

Today was my first run of the summer in Louisville, KY. The weather is quite a bit less pleasant than that of outer Cape Cod. However, there was a spring in my step that had been missing for nearly a month. The heat may have been a factor, but it may have had something to do with not having had any wine the day before.

Louisville is really a pretty good running town. Granted, an apparent majority of the drivers are reckless, oblivious, ignorant and possess an outright disdain towards runners and bikers (who do these non-drivers think they are? streets are for rotund Republicans in SUVs!). Nevertheless, the parks are beautiful.

Cherokee Park, one of the jewels in Louisville's crown of Olmstead Parks, was designed by none other than F.L. Olmstead - yes, he of New York's Central Park fame. Boasting a 2.4 mile paved loop divided into two lanes, one for one-way vehicular use and one for recreational use only, Cherokee is a great place to train. Hills, flats, trails, creeks, bubblers, the park has a little bit of everything. It's been over 10 years since I've taken advantage of them, but there used to be a nice network of single track trails within the park as well. As soon as my 29er ships in, I'll take it out to see how things stand.

This morning's 7 miles melted away briskly down Broadway, past Cave Hill Cemetery along Cherokee Parkway and a portion of the 2.4 mile loop. I felt like the run was pretty fast, but was amazed to find Nike Plus reporting a pace of 7:26 for the run. The mileage matches up with google maps and the timing checks out with my watch, so I guess I ran pretty fast. Definitely a personal best for a 7-miler.

Looking forward to tomorrow's 14-miler.

Long Commute

Yesterday's commute started in Provincetown and involved a boat to Boston, a bus to South Station, a subway train to Cambridge (for lunch), a commuter train to Providence, a cab to Providence's T.F. Green Airport, a nice, new Embraer jet to Charlotte, then an old crusty, rickety, winged rickshaw from Charlotte to Louisville. Before it all started, there was a 4-miler. Oh, and after I got back at 1am, after a 4 hour delay in Charlotte, there was a quick bike ride around the apartment. So, I pretty much covered the spectrum of intermodal transportation yesterday. Did I miss anything?

As far as airports go, Charlotte's Douglass International is pretty good. However, all of the businesses within close promptly at 10pm. Southerners may seem nice, but you don't want to get caught loitering around one of their airport storefronts in the minutes directly proceeding closing time. They become jackals. It's scary. The word saccharine comes to mind.

In any case, there's a wine bar in the airport that showcases wines from North Carolina's Yadkin Valley. One can do a white or red tasting flight, enjoy a glass or purchase wine to take home. They're generous enough to provide to go cups upon closing time as well. I can't say I've had much in the way of North Carolina wines. I did a red flight and found most of the wines to be tepid and bland. Not sure why one would want to grow Sangiovese in North Carolina, but, if you're thinking of it, I'd strongly advise against it. Call Welch's. Ask them for a jug of grape juice instead. The flavor profiles will be identical.

Strangely, the only red wine I found at all palatable was a 2005 Pinot Noir ($20 from Shelton Vineyards). Unlike the other varietals I sampled, it actually tasted of the grape from which it was made. There was the requisite berry flavor, but with pretty strong earthy undertones. Not too much body. Tasteful oak treament. Good acidity. Naturally, this was the wine that the woman behind the bar was discouraging. People apparently don't like it. Not enough fruit, they lament. Maybe because it doesn't taste like Welch's. I thought it was an impressive showing from a wine region most people (including myself) have never heard of.

Oh, and, as I mentioned several paragraphs ago, I did get in a 4-miler around 6 yesterday morning. My last run in Provincetown was punctuated by a chillingly pleasant last swim in Provincetown harbor. There is no better way to stretch after a run than floating around in a cool harbor.

7 miles Wednesday night as well. Pretty uneventful run. Dusk running is nice in the summer if one can avoid mosquitoes and myopic motorists.

Four Mile Tuesdays

My Tuesday runs have been bumped up from three miles to four miles. And it's about time. I know one is supposed to take it easy after a long run, but sometimes three mile runs don't even seem like they're worth the effort. Four miles, now that's something. 33% better than a three mile run.

Tuesday's four-miler was a nice, relaxed run along Bradford St. and out (almost) to Herring Cove Beach. I may have meandered a bit, clocking in at just over 8:00 per mile. I'm getting better now at taking it easy and not pushing the pace too much. For some reason, I feel a need to always keep my pace under 8:00. This is clearly an arbitrary cut off point. I'd still need to shave 45 seconds off of my pace to qualify for Boston, and there's no way that's happening. How on earth do so many people qualify for Boston? And how is it that, when I lived there, I'd see slobs running it? Is this qualification standard new? Averaging 7:15 for 26.2 miles seems insane. If this marathon bug catches, maybe in 2010?

A seven-miler is scheduled for this evening. And another 4-miler for early tomorrow morning before taking the boat back to the mainland. 36 miles total this week, which is up 10 miles from last week. Sunday's 14-miler could be my longest run ever. At least longest since I've been keeping track of mileage. That's a long way. I'm pretty sure that it's about half-way to the moon. I'll pack lightly.

Too Many Antioxidants

It is rumored that red wine is very high in antioxidants, which, I think, are the small creatures in one's blood that determine how devastating a Jedi one promises to be. It is also rumored that these antioxidants act as reducing agents, traveling through the body removing free radicals (like Abbie Hoffman during his free-wheeling, coke dealing years) from one's cells. These antioxidants can prevent destructive reactions within our bodies, thereby precluding all kinds of inflammatory responses. Or perhaps I have this all wrong. I'm getting this all from the label of a delicious, new, pomegranate-flavored rum for children. In any case, antioxidants are supposed to be good for you. Especially if you're engaging in regular exercise.

So, it is sometimes suggested, perhaps counter-intuitively, that red wine (high in antioxidants), taken in moderation, can be beneficial to those training for a marathon. Recently, I've been testing this theory. Specifically, I'm systematically determining whether performance scales linearly with increased consumption of red wine. If one glass, consumed the night before a long run, can only help the runner, certainly, a Rehoboam, or even a Nebuchadnezzar of plonk will render the runner unstoppable. Ever the scientists, I decided to consume no fewer than 1.5 bottles (750mL) of wine (and no more than 2.5 bottles) over the course of yesterday afternoon and evening. By the way, if one is on the lookout for a great, inexpensive, summery wine, The wines from Castaño of Yecla (in Spain) offer a great deal of value. Their basic red and rosé, both made from 100% Monastrell (or Mourvedre or Mataro) are both delicious, berry treats that retail for well under $10.

Although this morning saw me dragging a bit, after a few liters of water, I set out to cover 10 miles of road by foot. The run started out well (in spite of some heavy traffic on 6A, or Shore Road, in Truro). Even after the turnaround point (where I usually lose some steam), my energy level was high. I could feel the free radicals being squashed inside my cells. However, about half way through the 9th mile, I hit a bit of a wall. This may have had something to do with having worn cotton socks, which gnawed at the arch of my right foot. Still, I can't help but think I may have experienced an overload of antioxidants. Perhaps, if all one's radicals are captive, one develops kinks in one's electron transport chain? I don't know. I'm not really a scientist. Drained, I continued on and finished 10.5 miles, with an average pace of 7:47. Not terrible, but it could have been much better.

I guess I should provide some control data, but I don't really have any. My last run of similar distance was actually a bit slower, so I think it's safe to conclude that performance does scale proportionally to red wine consumption.

So, to all of you marathoners and would-be marathoners out there: start drinking red wine. As much as you possibly can. Maybe even during your runs. Apparently, Carlos Sastre was gulping Champagne throughout the last leg of his successful campaign to win the Tour de France today. If he can win a grueling, 3+ week bicycle race while quaffing Champers (which doesn't offer much in the way of antioxidants, even if the cepages does include Pinot Noir), certainly you can finish a marathon with a bottle of inexpensive Spanish red.

This Week in Running

This week has been fairly routine. There has been some soreness in the right foot, mainly in the arch and ankle areas. Hopefully that will dissipate. I've been slowly breaking in a new pair of shoes (Nike Air Structure Triax 10+ - not nearly long enough for a shoe name, but it will suffice), but fear that they're a bit on the small side.

So far this week: 3mi on Tuesday, 5mi on Wed., 3mi Thursday and 15 over the weekend.

The east coast has been getting hit pretty hard with thunderstorms, which is fine by me, as they make for pretty good running. If one can avoid the lightning, the rain will keep one's body temperature down. Furthermore, these storms have kept the outside temperature in check. There's nothing quite like a quick run, then a quick dip in the harbor or ocean afterwards. The thunderstorms promise to continue for the next 4-5 days, so there will be plenty more opportunities to run in the rain.

Oh, and a road bike has been acquired: Lemond's l'Alpe d'Huez. I know Lemond might have tarnished his legacy in years past by questioning Lance Armstrong's, um, training habits, but he's not quite on the level with the McNamees and Kirk Radomskis of the world. Lemond's probably right. Given recent advances in blood testing, the slew of positive tests seems to indicate that no elite cyclist is above using a little blood booster. In any case, his company apparently brands a decent bike. I hope so. I've read good things about it.

Blogging Hiatus

It's been over a week since I've checked in here. I likely would have gone longer had someone not emailed to remind me that I'm supposedly maintaining a weblog. In any case, when I tried to post yesterday, Google informed me that this blog had been removed because it fit the profile of a spamblog. While these posts may be thoughtless, I'm pretty sure they're not technically spam. Then again, I have been promoting Nike and Apple, so perhaps it's a bit of a borderline spamblog. In any case, Google has graciously re-granted my access to this blog, so here's the past week:

I may have lost some mental momentum, which caused some blogging apathy. However, in the past week, I have managed to complete all of my runs. I've acquired a new Nike Plus receiver as the old one crapped out on a long run. It occurred to me this past Sunday (on another long run) that the accelerometer-powered Nike Plus may not be the best tool for the job. If only one could use a GPS-enabled device, then one would have a more objective measure of one's pace, distance, etc. It turns out, I can't even train for a marathon without a satellite. Well, with a little research, I found that such devices exist. Garmin makes them, as do others. They even come in a slightly over-sized wrist- watch-sized package. If anyone wants to buy me one, I'll gladly accept.

Oh, and since I've last posted, I've covered 33 miles.

3 Days + 26 Miles = Insomnia

Yesterday marked the completion of a marathon stretched over 3 days. I know it's nothing like running 26.2 miles in one shot, but it was, for me, a lot of mileage.

The final 1.5 miles of yesterday's 12.5 mile run were the roughest miles yet. I'll take that as a good sign. It was kind of nice (in an unpleasant way) to feel challenged and to be forced to push myself a bit. So far, all of my training runs have been fun and fairly easy. I think those rough last 1.5 miles can only be viewed as progress.

However, I was restless and irritable all day after the run. After spending about an hour floating and stretching in Provincetown harbor, I went to watch the Red Sox play the Orioles at The Squealing Pig. Unfortunately, I found the ambiance offensive and unbearable and was forced to retreat. This is not normal. I typically love The Pig. I think it was that last mile. Couldn't get to sleep either. Resltess legs maybe? Elevated heart beat. I'm assuming this is par for the course.

The good news is that I'm feeling great this morning. I'm pretty sure that 8 hours of sleep is the most valuable training tool available. After finally falling asleep around 2am, I slept deeply until 9:00. Upon getting out of bed, my legs felt refreshed. I even had the urge to go for a quick run. However, I'm strictly prohibited from running on Mondays. Maybe a bike ride.

Speaking of bikes, I'm in the market for a new (used) road bike. Can't decide between a classic steel frame (Bianchi, Masi, Colnago) or a newer composite frame (Aluminum with Carbon). In any case, I think the road bike will come in handy on Mondays during training. If anyone happens to be reading and has any advice, I'd be open to it.

Oh, and another cool technology tool for runners: mapmyrun.com. This web site includes all sorts of tools, training logs, etc. However, for me, the most interesting feature is the mapping tool. It uses the Google Maps API to create and share running/biking/recreational maps. See below for a map of yesterday's run.

Don't Tell HH (Someone Took Off Two Consecutive Days)

Dear Hal Higdon,

Yesterday and the day before  required that I tend to urgent business in Boston, Portsmouth and Portland. Therefore, I was unable to train as you had instructed (6 miles on Wednesday and 3 on Thursday). Instead, I spent Monday in Boston walking miles in the heat and humidity, test riding road bikes (that Cannondale R5 was a pleasant ride - it's quite a rush speeding up and down Commonwealth Ave. between Mass Ave. and The Public Garden, passing cabs and aggresive, Boston drivers on a borrowed bike). Oh, and we had to go to Bukowski's for a $12 morning beer. And to Anna's for Super Carnitas! And to no fewer than two distinct locations of Black Ink (the retail store). Then, we just had to go to Portsmouth, NH, so someone could dye her just shellacked and cured nails with indelible turmeric (courtesy of the Portsmouth Brewery's Curried Mussels, which, like, totally kick arse. Coconut milk, cross-sections of fresh lemongrass and perhaps the lovely nuoc cham-ish combo of fish sauce and lime juice. Best mussel preparation I've had). Oh, and then we were compelled to travel north to Wells, Maine for the night.

And on Thursday we had to go to Portland to spend the morning on The Eastern Promenade, hatching plans to move to Munjoy Hill, one of the charmingest neighborhoods I've been to in quite some time. Coffee at the Hilltop Coffee shop and snacks at the newly opened Rosemont Market and Bakery were followed up with a delicious lunch at Blue Spoon. That neighborhood is hot right now. 

So, HH, you see, I was unable to run these past couple of days. However, I did run 6 miles today (on a scheduled day off no less). Is that wrong? Did I screw up? I was planning on making up the lost mileage by tacking on 2 tomorrow and 1 on Sunday. Is that bad form? 

Thanks for listening, HH.

Headwinds at 30 Knots

5k today. Accounting for the 26 mph headwind on the way back, I ran the second half at about 258 mph. I wonder if we could somehow leverage this wind thing as an alternative energy source? Doubt it. It's much easier to get at fossil fuels buried beneath miles and miles of rock.

Again, I'm going to shill for Nike. Everyone's using Nike Plus right? Their web application, which talks to your ipod via itunes and xml, offers a pretty nifty Flash-based interface for viewing and analyzing one's runs. If you aren't using it, go out and invest $30. The motivational value alone justifies the price tag. The free web site is icing on the cake. If you're one for tinkering, you could fairly easily take the xml files generated as a result of your workouts and use them to create your own charts, graphs, tables and the like. 

Although you can use Nike Plus with any shoes, most new Nike running shoes are equipped with small slots in the midsole for inserting the Nike Plus sensor. I've been wearing the Nike Air Structure Triax 10+, a well-cushioned shoe that Nike decided to upgrade in 2008. If you can find the 2007 on closeout, they're very supportive, neutral shoes that work well for runners with a medium to high arch. 

6 Miles scheduled at 5am Wednesday. Strong winds predicted. Perhaps I'll wear a sail on the way back.

Hal Higdon

I sure hope Hal Higdon is a smart guy. And not a complete quack. There seems to be plenty of evidence that he's alright, including 34 books on running, a long list of contributions to Runner's World (the magazine), a resourceful web site with all kinds of training advice and a book for children. So, it's probably not a terrible idea to take his advice on a training program for a marathon.

Yesterday, I completed week 3 of HH's Intermediate 1 Marathon Training Program, which has one gradually build up to 26.2 miles over the course of 18 weeks. This past week was a regression week, which HH schedules every 3 weeks or so (long run is about 2/3 the the distance of the prior weeks long run). This whole regression thing seems like a good idea. May help stave off injury. So far, so good. Hal instructed to me to run 6 miles yesterday. Although he also instructed me to run long runs at a leisrurely pace, I was unable to do so on this occasion. The in-laws were coming, so I had to rush a bit. Six miles in 46:35 (for those without calculators, or calculator-equipped homunculuses, that's a pace of 7:45).

Monday, on the Intermediate 1 Marathon Training Program has one cross-training. Fortunately, I live about 50 paces from a fine swimming-harbor, so that cross-training might take the form of swimming. Additionally, I live about 2 miles from some great trails that weave through beaches and dunes along the Cape Cod seashore. Either way, Monday's cross-training promises to be a pleasant event.

If one finds oneself on the market for a marathon training program, I would encourage one to go immediately to www.halhigdon.com. Although I can't speak from much experience, his seems to be the most credible and rich online marathon training resource.

Total Reliance on Nike + Apple

It turns out that I can't even tie my shoe without a generous hand from both Nike and Apple (the computer company). I am completely reliant on Nike Plus, the clever little pedometer that talks to one's iPod and tells them how fast and far they're running. Unfortunately, my Nike Plus sensor seems to have gone out early this week. So, I've been running blindly. And it's terrifying.

Today, my 4th straight run without the benefit of Nike Plus, saw me bringing the Nike Plus along anyhow. Sometimes, one remains on crutches even after one's injuries heal. One just does. So, I pretended it was working normally. At the very least, if the pedometer is caput (it utilizes a small battery that must eventually die), the timing function still works so the nice woman who provides status updates over the headphones can tell me how long I've been running and can alert me when I've reached my halfway point.

In any case, after about 30 minutes, my borrowed headphones (mine shorted out earlier this week - great week for equipment failures) refused to stay on my head. So, I took them off and decided to run blindly again. Eventually, I came upon a bountiful farmers' market and was compelled to stop (in doing so, I pressed the menu button, stopping my Nike Plus workout as well). I perused a fine selection of beets, kohlrabi and myriad summer squashes. It was delightful. Even more delightful was my discovery that the Nike and Apple sponsored homunculus in my left shoe had, in fact, been keeping a close accounting of my run. It turns out, I had run exactly 5.03 miles (goal: 5 miles) at a 7:51 pace. I love that little homunculus. I need that little homunculus.

The moral of this post is that, even if one is forced to run without the aide of one's homunculus, a farmers' market or ice cream shop or Scottish village that only materializes every century or so will appear and provide a clear message that ones's daily goal has been reached.

Inaugural Post

The long:

Weblogs just muck up the intertubes. Like low-density lipoproteins, they accumulate inside the tubes, restricting the flow of information, eventually reaching critical mass and choking off access to the dark, mysterious, wonderful heart of the interweb. This is fact. Not disputable.

Why then, would I be so selfish as to cast my flotsam to intermingle with your jetsam in this massive sea of binary detritis? Because I'm selfish, vainglorious, young, and careless. That, and I hope to run a marathon in a few months and would like to keep a strict accounting of my daily routine, such that I'll have a banal, but perhaps useful record of my setbacks, triumphs and general attitude in approaching this personal milestone.

It's easy to hastily set and destroy goals if they're not made public. The fact that this weblog will become public record the moment I hit that orange "Publish Post" button will hopefully serve to hold me accountable for my progress or lack thereof.

So, with that said, the curtain rises unveiling this shiny, new, google-powered personal record of my life for the next 3 or so months.

Oh, and I totally cribbed this idea from one E. Plosky, who has been blogging recently, first to keep a record of his recent cross-country bike trip and, now, his quest to complete the New York City Marathon in November of this year.

The short:

• Justification:




• Motivation


• Memory


• Diagnostics


• Accountability




• Inspiration




• Plosky's Weblog