Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot

Well, this morning was the Kirkwood Annual Turkey Day Trot race offering either a 3 mile or 6 mile option. In a crazier week I probably would have run both (a friend of mine actually did both races this morning running the 3 mile with his brother), but I opted to just focus on the 6 mile race with my marathon rapidly approaching. I went out too fast early at about a 7 minute pace (it didn't feel that fast) and paid for it in the second half of the race. I reached the 2 mile in 14:10 and the 3 mile in 22:20. My overall time was 46:30 which translates into a 7:45 per mile pace but that means I slowed down over 2 minutes in the second 3 miles---definitely not what I am hoping to do in the marathon. However, that was my fastest average pace for that distance since college but still, I could have run faster if I had run even or negative splits. Not a big deal though since this was mostly an excuse to allow me to eat more turkey and dressing this afternoon. However, it does give me confidence going into the marathon knowing I can peel off 8:00 to 8:30 miles without working too hard.

I recently read an article online about a guy describing the 3 perfect runner's high moments of his career and they all happened to be within 1 week after a marathon. Well, normally I have taken off after running a marathon except for my most recent Frankenstein experience. Exactly one week post Frankenstein marathon I ran in the Clayton half and in retrospect I think I was on a runner's high during that race. The half marathon just felt so effortless for the first 10 miles and my pace of about 8 minute miles was much faster than I had run before or expected to run. After the Clayton race I speculated that the marathon may have helped my running economy by increasing my leg turnover etc. and that may have been a part of the explanation but I also think the body may have also released some endorphins that kick in a few days to a week later allowing for potential breakthroughs in athletic performance.

So, the next question, is will it happen again? The other runner I mentioned who pointed this out to me wrote that once he looked back and realized these runner high moments were post marathons he tried to replicate the circumstances but could never re-acquire the runner's high again post marathon which makes me think it may be partially or wholly psychological. Having completed a marathon recently may convince our subconscious that no matter how much the immediate pain of a fast but shorter race is, we can get through it since we just ran a longer marathon leading to breakthrough efforts in shorter raced etc. Time will tell I suppose. I know I have a race scheduled for a week after I return which is either a half marathon or a 4 mile run. I am signed up to do the 4 mile but if the weather is nice I may do the half marathon instead, though I think I would be hard pressed to run any faster than I did in Clayton since my training has mostly been in maintaining fitness for the past 2 months. But isn't that what makes life interesting: showing up, competing and seeing what happens. Enjoy your thanksgiving holiday.

Gas Prices....what happened to the monopoly?

Well, the cost of gas continues to plummet throughout the world as the local St. Louis price has dipped below $1.50 per gallon most everywhere with the lowest local price currently at $1:33 at the local Costco. The days of $4.00 per gallon gas seems a distant memory but it was only a few months ago. About a month ago gas prices were hovering above 2.00 a gallon and I boldly predicted that we would see the price drop to at least $1.20 before it bottoms out. Mom thought I was crazy but I saw the writing was on the wall with the global economic slowdown causing a mass drop in demand which in turn would drop the price substantially.

It is funny because while on a training run a few months ago there was some discussion about how OPEC "controlled" prices and exerted monopoly pricing power with a certain individual arguing there would be a permanent price of something like 3.50-4.00 per gallon range. I disagreed as the OPEC member countries are not the exclusive source of worldwide oil supply and in fact, I argued, the price of oil is based on global supply and demand and historically even OPEC countries have failed to live up to their promises to cut production to boost the price of oil. So, in my view the price of oil surged when huge numbers of consumers in the newly industrialized world came online with new purchasing power they exercised in purchasing cars where previously they walked, took bikes, public transportation etc and suddenly they were competing with Americans and others in the old industrialized world for roughly the same amount of oil supply. Why wouldn't the price shoot up dramatically? Now, those same consumers are cutting back on their purchases as the global credit crisis has forced massive slowdowns in economic activity world wide. Hence, we are seeing low gas prices since the number of purchasers has decreased substantially.

While this is good for consumers it is more problematic for world wide peace and stability. I remember reading some time ago about how the hard liners in Russia were able to come to power when the price of oil dropped from over $50 a barrel to $10 a barrel about 10 years ago. Why? Because oil is a major export source of income for Russia and suddenly the Russians were far less wealthy than before and they elected men like Putin who was able to ride a wave of popularity on the back of a huge oil price spike to over $100 a barrel. Indeed, it has been argued that Russia's meddling in Georgia was in reality a power play to prevent foreign control over pipelines for oil and gas to compete with Moscow's own planes to exert monopoly like control over Europe's energy needs. This power play was predicated on the idea that controlling Europe's access to expensive oil and gas reserves would ensure Russian economic independence and support further control by the Kremlin of key industries through either direct ownership or through cronies of those in power.

Unfortunately for the wealthy oligarchs in Russia who pursued this military adventure their wealth has taken a double hit: first a good chunk of foreign capital fled the Russian stock market causing an overall 70% decline in the overall price of Russian securities and the unrelated global economic slowdown as already discussed cut the value of the Russian oil holdings substantially. Recent news stories in the papers have focused on how Russia has been awarded the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and construction on the venues has basically come to a halt due to the losses faced by the Russians backing the Games in the value of their stock holdings. So, the Russians are hurting economically which bodes poorly for European stability as their leaders have historically looked abroad for some external force to blame for their sufferings. This could result in further military escapades which is one of the few areas left to them where they can exert some measure of superiority over their neighbors now that the value of their gas holdings is significantly diminished.

I hope Obama is up to the task of dealing with a Russia that is now flirting with despotism since their legislature recently passed a law which would allow Putin to return to the presidency despite his recent departure due to term limits. So, Russia is one of the few areas where I think we should be directing the majority of our attention on the foreign policy front, and I don't see much evidence either the Bush or Obama team are taking the issue seriously enough.

Helping the Parents......

So tonight was the night I spent 3 plus hours helping the parents navigate the internet for their planned trip to Hawaii to ostensibly see Cara and I run the marathon. Good times let me tell you. Dad did not seem to understand that the internet moves at.... well....a pace faster than a glacier and was mystified that options that were available more than half an hour ago would no longer be available now after he kept going back to change/tinker with various flight options. I tried to explain that people book flights and then they are no longer available for him but he refused to believe it. When I asked him what he thought the reason was that such options were no longer available he could offer no other theory about why the options disappeared and the prices changed. Welcome to the internet where things move fast and if you're not careful, you will miss out on all the good stuff. So the flight, car and hotel are now booked for the parents. Thank god that is now over.

The last thing dad said to me, so, this thing you are going to do, are you going to be able to do it?" Subtle dad, very subtle and not a little demeaning (why yes, I often make plans to travel halfway across the planet to embarrass myself) but I took it with the usual chagrin that I shrug off but habitually drives mom off the deep end when directed her way. Oh dad, you mean the marathon race? Why yes, in fact I ran one last month that was quite hilly and more difficult than the relatively flat Honolulu marathon course . So, yes I can "do it" with aplomb.

That being said, I have actually been slacking off somewhat for the past week or so. I haven't run much except for a hilly 7 miler on Saturday. I had intended to go back to the gym after my lifting class tonight to run but was waylayed into the whole internet project etc. Still, my overall fitness level is high and finishing should not be a problem unless I just fly the first 13.1 miles (possible if I am feeling great and the course is as flat I have read) and fall apart in the second half. Never underestimate the rigors of the marathon for she can make a fool out of anyone that does not respect her. FYI I know a guy who can probably run I would guess between 2:40 to 3:00 hours for an open marathon who just completed a full ironman on Sunday (which is a 2.4 mile swim followed by 112 miles on th bike and then a full marathon). He thought it likely he would be able to run something around 3:20-3:40--slow for him and thought at his slowest he could run around 4 hours. His finishing time for the ironman marathon leg was 4:13 and he averaged 9:40 a mile. Now I have not spoken to him yet but I imagine it was a humbling experience for him as well it should be. I don't think I have ever seen him run slower than about a 9 minute mile and his PR for the mile is 4:10. So, respect the distance or you will get your butt handed to you on race day.

My overall goal is just to finish the Honolulu marathon and my time goal is to try and finish under 4 hours but depending on how the first half of the race goes, I may readjust that goal. Some people set time goals that are mentally written in stone for them which only heightens their anxiety level and negatively impacts their performance if they start falling off their pace. I am pretty good at adjusting on the fly during a race if things are going well or really bad. It is an acquired skill for sure but is party due to one's attitude and having set realistice expectations to begin with.

Slackerdom, Netflix and college football

Well, I am officially a slacker today as I skipped running in the race and also the cyclocross bike race too. I just didn't want to get all my stuff together to wear and then have to drive all the way out to Dorsett when I was just out there last night. It is about a 45 minute trip with moderate traffic. The cyclocross races are actually kind of cool to watch and I may try my hand at them at some point in the future. I think I should try them when I don't have a major race coming up in a few weeks and there is no pressure. There is a huge platform you have to carry your bike up with about 8-10 steps up and then ride off the top of and the potential for injury looks high for those without any experience. Basically I just don't want to get injured with the honolulu marathon coming up in three weeks. The weather did improve today and it was probably mid 50's temperature wise during the afternoon when the sun was out, so, in that sense I am sorry I missed the race. I could have done the running race though but kind of felt like running more than 3 hard miles. As of this moment though I haven't done anything today to work out so I am officially a Sunday slacker.

In a related development, while I was out at the cyclocross race last night I met up with a woman who was selling a bike travel case and now have myself my very own piece of equipment to tow my bike anywhere in the world either on an airline or through UPS etc. Truly exciting huh? I started looking for them once I had booked my Ironman competition for next October in Florida and finally found one on Craiglist yesterday. The guy selling it called me and said his wife was going to be at the race so I met her there and bought it.

I checked out the New York Times website and read an interesting article about the Netflix service offer to pay 1 million dollars to anyone who can improve their movie recommendation service by at least 10%. Here is a link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/magazine/23Netflix-t.html?scp=2&sq=netflix&st=cse

I remember when they announced this competition and thought it was a cool idea and cheap way for the company to outsource a key component of their R&D for little to no upfront cost with some free publicity. Basically a win-win for everyone and an astute move by the management. Then, I heard nothing about it for probably a year until I was perusing the New York Times today. I was a previous customer of Netflix but dropped it about 4-5 months ago after a month in which I just got too busy with my tivo shows to watch more than 2-3 discs over a 3-4 week period. I realized I could have bought the discs for the price of the monthly subscription so decided to drop it. However, I am still a big fan of the company and continue to think the best thing they had going for them was the software program that would take your viewing habits and movie ratings and then suggest other stuff to rent and this competition was about trying to improve that process. I was amazed at how Netflix could come up with movies I had never heard of to recommend that I ended up liking. Although it was not always successful, it probably approached 70% or so accuracy based on my likes/dislikes, though it may have helped that I reviewed and rated an inordinate amount of movies for them. Anyway, the article was quite lengthy but really fascinating for a movie aficionado like myself as it seems like a handful of movies are so polarizing that they will skew the results of the competition tremendously with people evidencing either a love or hate relationship to particular movies that is quite difficult to predict. This I found fascinating since one of the major movie stumbling blocks is Napolean Dynamite which if the programmers could figure out how to accurately predict, would itself lead them 15% of the way toward the prize. Apparently the programs these guys are developing find it difficult to predict who will love and who will hate this movie which is apparently the two most common reactions to Napolean. Really? Napolean Dynamite not something with a political slant like Rendition or Lions for Lambs? Here is a list of some other movie that the programmers have found difficult to predict: “I Heart Huckabees,” “Lost in Translation,” “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou,” “Kill Bill: Volume 1” and “Sideways.” I haven't seen the Huckabees movie or Fahrenheit 9/11 but I doubt I would like either. The Life aquatic and Sideways were ok but not something I would watch again unless I was seriously bored. I enjoyed Kill Bill and Napolean Dynamite but the list seems odd to me and had me wondering what else was on the list of the 25 most polarizing movies on Netflix as referenced in the story. Any thoughts? I will try and ponder this and may come up with my own list before I go looking to track down the actual results from Netflix.

While at the race last night I was talking to a friend from the triathlon club and she mentioned the OU Texas Tech game and my thoughts immediately ran to Cara's friend Ashley and wondering if she was watching the game with Cara. I find Ashley's blog the best source of info on what my sister is up to on a regular basis and she and her husband both went to Texas Tech and are rapid fans of the Red Raiders having mentioned the team on occasion on her blog. Since both my sisters and I went to Mizzou I suppose you could say we were Mizzou fans if pressed, but I don't think any of us are "rabid" fans and I wonder if any of us actually went to a football game during college. I know I didn't and I think Emily mentioned a similar experience. Cara I don't recall specifically but she may have attended a game while at Florida State but Mizzou I don't know--maybe one or two. Still, it is nice to see our alma mater among the top 10 teams in the nation last season and again this year and I suspect if the football team was this good while we were in Columbia we all would have attended at least some of the games. Unfortunately the Red Raiders had a bad night and OU wound of winning pretty handily though it sounds like Cara, Ashley and their friends had a fun evening anyway per Ashley's latest blog post with a visit to the Cheesecake factory before the end of the game.

Pere Marquette training run

I just returned from a training run with a group from the triathlon club. I took it relatively easy on a 7 plus mile hilly course at Pere Marquette Park in Grafton Illinois. I ran this same course last month for the first time and went out way too fast trying to keep up with runners who were faster than me for the first two miles or so and then died when the course kept ascending. This time I knew what to expect and decided to run my own pace which usually works out better for me anyway. I actually kept pace pretty well with another runner from the group named Ty. He is actually running in the Honolulu marathon next month too so I am curious to see how our times compare since I have run a few shorter races with him and our times are always pretty close. It wouldn't surprise me to see either of us catch the other one in the last mile and have our own dual in the sun to the finish.

Someone said the Pere Marquette trails encompasses about 3,000 vertical feet of rise which sounds daunting but I had hoped to get up early and run it once before the group arrived for a total of 14 miles. Alas, I turned off the alarm and got up late so I had to settle for one loop of 7 plus miles. Still, that is 7 more miles than most people ran today.

After the run the group headed over to Fast Eddies in Alton Illinois for super cheap food and drinks. The club was paying for the meal so I had a couple of brats and some shrimp. Free food is always nice and the conversations were good too. Everyone in the group is wishing they were going to Hawaii to run the marathon, and while I look forward to the trip I am still bummed I will be missing the 64/40 highway races on December 14th. There is a road race for runners that morning on the newly rebuilt highway section on a portion of the highway as well as a bike time trial on the Sunday before the highway reopens to traffic Monday. Still, the project is not finished and I am hopeful another similar race will be scheduled when the second half of the project is nearing completion.

There is a cyclocross race this evening at Creve Couer park and I have tentative plans to go watch. I secretly harbor thoughts of racing but the weather is quite cold---I think I saw a 27 degrees flashing on a bank sign on the way out to the run this morning so the idea of biking in this weather is not compelling--it is colder biking since you are traveling at a faster pace plus it is right by the lake which enhances the wind chill. Plus, Jason (club president) mentioned that the weather was suppose to turn warm and reach the 60's by tomorrow when a second cyclocross race is scheduled so I will probably wait and run the race tomorrow morning before riding in the bike race. Or not. I haven't decided whether it is ok to race with my mountain bike. Stay tuned.

The Greatest Movie Entrance Ever......

So recently I read that Hollywood is planning to remake a cherished movie from my childhood: The Last Dragon. It is perhaps the greatest popcorn/action flick I saw as a child though there are several strong candidates that come to mind. So, of course Hollywood is planning on "reimagining" the flick. Anyway, Samuel L. Jackson is going to be playing one of the central characters known as "Sho'Nuff" in the remake. I don't think the original can be improved upon though I am curious to see how the writers and director will try. I really wonder if the powers that be that run studios nowadays are young enough to remember the originals and hope to revisit their youth through remaking the stuff they saw and loved as kids.

It was very much a movie of its time and place with a woman who in the flick was trying to mimic Cyndi Lauper with outrageous outfits and the Brooklyn accent as well as an aspiring music career. Modern audiences (anyone under 25 probably has no idea who Cyndi Lauper even is) won't know what to make of it though perhaps they will cast someone as a Lindsey Lohan wannabe that can relate to the current generation.
Here is a link to a youtube video featuring the infamous ShoNuff character that Samuel Jackson is hoping to reprise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--N1Q8D6dqE
If I ever have to go to a Hollyween party again I think I will go as ShoNuff although going as Bruce Leroy might be easier to pull off from a costume point of view.

Training Goals

Well, many triathletes are now in what they call their off season and in fact I attended a seminar on Monday evening at the local REI on off season training for triathletes. I understand the need to take a break from an athletic endeavor and I will not be competing in any triathlons for at least a few months but I think the concept of "off season" is a bit overblown. Too many people take it as an excuse to stop working out and sit in front of the TV and gain weight. Some people stop working out completely for a month or more. No thanks, I will continue training for running races and may even dabble in some mountain biking or cyclocross races etc.
In terms of my own goals, I have already signed up for a half Ironman (HIM) race in mid July in Wisconsin as well as a full ironman race in Florida in late October. What that basically means is that I have about 7 months to get my swimming ability up to the point that I can swim freestyle for 1.2 miles and then a few months later double that distance to 2.4 miles. Normal triathlon people in my club are too kind to say anything but I am sure they think I am crazy. If they didn't before, if they saw me swim they certainly would call my goals crazy. I have really been slacking on the swim portion of my triathlon having not done anything in the pool since my last race in mid September. However, yesterday I resolved to start a new swim training plan since I will never make my HIM and full ironman goals unless I get in gear: everytime I am at the gym I go in the pool no matter what. Now, I may not make it very far or fast but I will be swimming. So yesterday I swam 200 meters and again this morning I swam 250 meters while at the gym. These are really miniscule distances but everyone starts somewhere and for me this is where the journey begins.
Realistically I should be looking for a swim coach or group program to help me with my lack of swimming ability but I have resisted the urge so far since I want to get back to where I was after completing a few lessons at the local YMCA. I will try and keep the blog updated on a more regular basis from now on.