I've done better.

I ran the TC 1-Mile again today. 7:50 was my chip time. The only thing I can blame somebody else for is that they pushed the race back 3 weeks into the middle of May from late April. On the other hand, the only reason that's a problem is that I'm now entering the last month of training for Grandma's Marathon on June 16th, so my training is focused on distance, not speed. I think I'm in better shape than I have been. I could have squeezed a little more out of those quarter miles and at least beaten last year's 7:39. I was winded at the end, but I recovered pretty quickly. I ran this the first time in 2006. I got 8:40. I remember being extremely winded at the end of that one. 8:05 in 2007; 8:41 in 2009... I'm pretty sure those were all gun times. In 2010, they started showing both gun and chip times, so my chip time then was 8:09. Last year, I think I paid more attention to my breathing and kept myself in the hard-breathing range. This year, I was a little afraid of doing that. I focused on shaving a few seconds off each quarter mile split. It work, sorta. Maybe if I can do both, next time. Next race: the Manitou 15K in White Bear Lake on June 2nd. I'm going to try for 9 minute miles all the way around. I mean nine even. Goal time: 1:23:40. Then we'll see what happens at Grandma's.

Fambly pix

Well, Hey Howdy Y'all!

Haven't been here for a while!

I thought I'd post my Holiday pics here.

Yes, that's the dog under those clothes. I call this picture "Merry Christmas!"

Yay! Loot!

Christmas at Mom's; 700 miles south.

That's Mom, my brother-in-law, the older girl and my brother. I forgot to open the flash and the picture came out yellow and grainy, but, if you don't blow it up, it's kinda pretty.

'Liina got on my nephew's bull.

No! Wait! I forgot I'm an old geezer! He's my great nephew!

My sister's rooster. He's probably got a name, but I didn't catch it.

67°F out New Year's Eve. Then we drove back home to 18°F. Couple inches of snow on the driveway with ice underneath. Or about 19° and -8°C, respectively. I think I did my math right this time.

Since Blogger decided to wipe out my old template

and all my links (which I we seriously considering redoing from the ground up anyway), I decided to change to this one, which I find rather pleasant.

Chomski and Forced Sharing

I read these two articles in close proximity. It makes an interesting juxtaposition: Noam Chomsky, Closet Capitalist and Beware of Forced Kindness A Lethal Destroyer of Your Happiness.

I don't know how I screwed up that Chomsky link, but it's fixed now. By the way, I should say that I agree with Chomsky about as much as I agree with the Hoover Institute - Chomsky's better about American foreign policy than they are.

Running talk

I ran Grandma's Marathon last Saturday. Here's how that went:

I got that image from here.

The last two long runs on my training program for the Afton 50K are both 26-milers. I actually ran 25.88 two weeks before the Marathon and, of course, the Marathon is 26.2. I trust them to measure that right. I did about the same time...well, no...by the chip, I was considerably faster - even though there's a lot more wandering around on your feet before any race than there is before any training run.

Interesting factors: I mowed the lawn the night before the race. Probably not recommended. It was under 50 degrees (F - 10 degrees C) for most of the race and windy as hell. Mostly a tail wind, but when the strong gusts hit your sweaty back, it's quite a chill. Nasty day to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt - and all wet besides. I didn't stick around the Finish Area any longer than it took to fill up on free food.

They had the white "Hypothermia Danger" flags out. The fast runners liked it. The cold and the tail-wind, I mean. They might have liked the flags, too, I suppose. I doubt that anyone asked. (I know I didn't.)

Anyway, I took Sunday and Monday off, except for trimming my hedge, which was quite a bit overgrown. It made me sweat, but it didn't seem like terribly hard work.

Today I ran 8.35 miles or so. Since I the 50K is a trail run, I ran beside the paths, roads and sidewalks as much as I could. I avoided places where the cant was too steep and deep puddles. We had a thunderstorm today. And, actually, another tornado touched down a few miles north of where I work.

The run went pretty well: 87 minutes, and I felt strong enough to kick up to an 8-minute mile pace for the last 3/4 of a mile. I was feeling like freakin' Superman, actually. I wanted to go faster, but I've injured myself that way, so I didn't.

Edit: Oh, hey! I just looked at my training log on Map My Run. I did the 25.88 run in 5:23. That's almost a full 11 minutes slower than I did at Grandma's.

Adele's Rolling in the Deep is the best song ever!

Pick your link from here.

She's a genius! The song may be equaled, but it can't be beat.

OMG! She's going to be at First Ave on May 26th! I'm going to have to find out what they're charging!

Edit: Ah Crap! It's sold out already.