A few random thoughts...

• Glad I got my therapeutic massage yesterday -- as my massage therapist cautioned I am a little sore today.  With 9 days to go I have plenty of time to recover.  That's why I schedule the massage for yesterday.
• This weekend is the California International Marathon.  Rachel and Jana are both running it and of course I wish them both the best!
• My weekend will be considerably more relaxing: Dana and I are going to Kauai.  Lots of pictures will ensue, I'm sure.

A few race plan thoughts:

• There are three big danger zones for our group on the Honolulu marathon:

1. The start.  The adrenaline is pumping, the massive crowd is buzzing, the mayor/governor are out there waving at us, there are fireworks (the race starts in the pre-dawn darkness) and it's REALLY easy to get caught up in the surge and go out way too fast.  Rule #4: Know your place!  Keep it nice and easy, especially for the first several miles.  As John Simonds once said "Your first 5 miles will determine your last 5 miles."
2. Diamond Head.  It's tempting to charge up Diamond Head on the way out, but remember...there are still 18 miles to go.  Don't leave your race on that hill.  It's deceptively long on the way out (and deceptively short on the way back).  Conserve your energy, get up the hill nice and easy and then we can begin the middle phase of the race ... Kahala to Hawaii Kai.
3. Kapiolani Park.  On the way back you've passed mile 25 and you see Kapiolani Park.  You can hear the band and the crowd in the distance.  Now you're really smelling the barn!  You make that left turn into the park and start loping towards the finish.  But....that finish line is still a full kilometer away!  Keep it frosty, stay within yourself just a little bit longer, past the fountain until we get down near the Aquarium.  At that point....go get it!  We're home!

• Nutrition: It's important that we don't just drink water on the race but we'll also need to take carbs and electrolytes.  That may mean Shot Blocks, Gu, Gel, pretzels or whatever you've been training with.  Remember Rule #3 though, it's critical!
• Enjoy the race!  Remember none of us are getting paid to be out there.  Run, have fun, enjoy the company of your training group, appreciate the spectacle of it all, wave at the fans, thank the water station crew, SMILE, and above all.... FINISH WITH STYLE! ("Jazz hands!" -Jill)

-B-

Honolulu is now just 10 days away and I'm anxious to get it going! 

• Last night did some easy intervals and our group felt like a rodeo bull, straining at the paddock to be let out.  I had to keep reminding them to SLOW DOWN!  :)
• Today I'm going for a therapeutic massage to see if it can relieve some minor back and knee soreness I've been experiencing.  I'm wary of getting a massage this close to the race, but my massage therapist assures me that this is early enough that I should be fine.
• Tomorrow morning I'm planning to do another easy run - maybe 3 miles which I'll probably repeat on Tuesday morning.  Thursday morning will be my last run before marathon - an extremely easy 3 miler just to keep the legs loose.
• I'll be spending this weekend on Kauai with Dana, just relaxing and trying to let my legs recover.
• Bought a new pair of 817s yesterday.  Normally it's my habit to wear my one-dots (newest shoes) for race day, but I want to make sure and get enough miles on these so that they aren't too new.

For the benefit of our group....a review of the rules:

1. No falling!
2. No get smooshed. (Don't get hit by a car)
3. Never do anything for the first time on race day!  No new shoes, no new food, no new sunscreen, no new drinks, no new clothes, no new nothin'!  Johanna...are you listening?! :)  At Honolulu Marathon they're going to offer us Amino Value (not Amino Vital) at some or all of the aid stations.  If you've never run with it, DON'T TAKE IT.  You don't want to find out at mile 17 that it makes you nauseous.
4. Know your place.  If you're approaching Nu'uanu and the guy to your left is a Kenyan...then you've probably gone out too fast!  Pace well, especially at the start, be aware of who is around you.  If you're on the heels of people you have no business being on the heels of then you probably need to rethink your pace.  Now if you're passing Dillingham Fountain (1K to go) and the guy to your left is a Kenyan, by all means...go for it!  :)

Questions and Acknowledgements:

• JS: Yes, I feel ready!  :)
• JW: No, I have not decided what I'm going to wear.
• AM and EG: Thanks for the kind words and encouragement!
• JB: Watch out for "drunk dryers". :-)  Maybe you should consider wearing your bike helmet to protect the noggin?

-B-

On my short morning run I greeted and waved at the usual collection of folks walking their dogs, kids walking to school and other folks out for a morning constitutional.  One of those folks was a sweet little old lady who I'd guess to have been in her 70s.  She was cruising along the sidewalk, wearing her track suit, and - much to my delight - looking for something to listen to on her iPod!

Seems silly, I know, but there was just something sort of neat about this little white-haired lady out for a walk around the neighborhood and obviously very comfortable with a state-of-the-art MP3 player.  I wonder what she was listening to.  Classical?  Jazz?  Podcast?  Maybe she was listening to the Rolling Stones!  Or Jay-Z!  Wouldn't it be great if she was actually a big fan of Nickelback?

-B-

Saw a headline this morning that temporarily confused me:  "Gates Foundation, Rotary pledge $200 million to fight polio"

I guess I'm a little TOO American but I didn't realize polio was still much of a problem.  Apparently in a few countries of the world it is.  The good news is that there is an effective immunization -- that's what wiped out polio in the U.S. 30 years ago.  There hasn't been a new case of polio reported here since 1979.

But in India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan polio is apparently still an issue.

I have to admit, though, and I don't mean to downplay the seriousness of polio, but I wonder if this is really the best use of the money.  The World Health Organization says that fewer than 2,000 cases were reported world wide last year.  Considering all of the OTHER health issues facing the human race (cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, malaria, etc) which affects far more people I wonder if the $200 million might have been more effectively applied to a disease that affects a wider swath of people.

Or, as I posed earlier, how about another $200 million towards the effort to build literacy and expand education throughout the world?

-B-

Audio Pet Peeves:  I listen to a lot of podcasts; mostly science, business and technology but also running and triathlon related.  This weekend I noticed two things that I found mildly annoying on them:

1. If there's two people on the podcast, co-hosts for instance, and one of them decides to take a drink of water (or, oddly, eat something) but they neglect to mute their microphone.  I've done enough radio to know that most of these setups have a mute button that you can press to mute your mic if you have to cough or clear your throat or something.  There are few things, on a broadcast or podcast at least, that grate on me quite as much as when one person is speaking and the other loudly gulps down a food or beverage on the air.  Maybe it's a little thing but it's like fingernails on a blackboard to me. 

On one of my podcasts this weekend the co-host seemed to drink an entire bottle of something during the show and we got to listen to every satisfying gulp over the course of the 30 minute show.

2. If it's a call-in program where the person calls in and asks the host for advice...after you've asked your question please let the host answer it.  On an advice cast the caller asked their question and then spent the next minute or so constantly talking over the host while the host tried to answer it.  STOP.  Ask your question, give whatever information you need to, answer any questions the hosts asks you, then ZIP IT and let the host answer.

Quote of the Day
"Hold a true friend with both of your hands."
-Nigerian Proverb-

Football: Spent much of the weekend working on the book and around the house so I got to watch some football and had a couple of comments:

The University of Hawaii played a great game against Boise State on Saturday.  They were fast, physical and aggressive - really a game they should be proud of.

The Philadelphia Eagles came darned close to beating the New England Patriots on Sunday.  The Patriots just made plays when they had to and the Eagles made a few crucial mistakes at the wrong times.  Still, the Eagles should be proud of the effort - they almost did what nobody else has been able to do this year (beat the Patriots) and they did it on the Patriots field.

-B-

Honolulu Marathon is two weeks from Sunday so the bulk of our training is complete.  Turkey Trot yesterday was probably our last run of 10 miles or more; tomorrow we'll do a nice 7 miler.

For my part I'm still doing my training on the side - short runs of 4 miles or less mostly, combined with 2-3 bike rides a week of 6-10 miles or so.  Just trying to keep the motor running, drop any last ounces of fat I can manage to drop and stay fit.  I feel good for Honolulu - I like that there really isn't any pressure on me for this race.

1. I know the course.  This is my 3rd Honolulu Marathon, but really it's my home course.  I've run dozens of races along the course, trained on it for years, early in the race we run right past my old office, heck I used to live in a house just a block off the course.  I know every yard of it by now.
2. I'll have plenty of friends there.  BC's group is probably close to 80 strong and Jill and my sub-group is nearly 20.
3. The Honolulu Marathon really isn't about me.  As group leader I really feel like my goal for Honolulu is about helping the others in my group to finish and enjoy the race.  I've never lost one yet - every member of my group who has started a Honolulu Marathon has finished it and I aim to keep that streak perfect this year.  That means that rather than racing for a personal best, I'll really be focused more on shepherding along my group and running with them to the finish.

I'm looking forward to a good run to close out the 2007 season, then I can start looking forward to and working towards the very full (as you know) 2008 season. 

First up in 2008 is the Great Aloha Run -- more of a speed test really at just 8.15 miles.  Last time I ran it (2006) I PR'd and I fully expect to beat that time in '08.

-B-

I found that out when I finally got to that article in my stack of reading materials today.

-B-

Long overdue blog post here...

As some of you know Dana and I went over to Maui a couple of weeks ago and had a really nice time.  Pictures appear in the photo albums and here are a few random snippets:

• Spices Restaurant in Kihei is great.  The chicken piccata rivals the one at Art's in Honolulu and the steak was HUGE.
• The Grand Wailea is still grand.  What a view!  What architecture!  We wandered over one afternoon, had some (virgin) drinks at the bar then a nice walk on the path along the beach.  Great view of Moloka'i from there too.
• "Dogs know it's not bacon they just don't care!"
• The shortest distance between two points is NOT the road to Hana.
• "Is that Coldplay or Five for Fighting?"
• Marcos in Kahului has a HUGE stack of blueberry pancakes.  But it's yummy.
• Coca-Cola really does taste better in a glass bottle, but it helps to have a bottle opener. 
• BJ's Pizza (yes, we did a lot of eating) in Lahaina is still a mandatory stop for me whenever I go to Maui (which will be a lot more often from now on).
• The road to Hana is a little treacherous as some of our fellow tourists found out.  On the way back we passed a red Jeep Wrangler that had gone off the edge of the road and was sitting at a 45 degree angle, left wheels barely clinging to the road.  It's a miracle the thing didn't tumble down the ravine.  We slowed to see if they needed help but there was no sign of the passengers so I guess somebody else already picked them up to go for help.
• I was mildly disappointed that Willie K (fantastic local musical artist) wasn't playing anywhere on Maui while we were there.  For my next visit I'll check again.
• "I wonder if the OnStar button works." (push)  "Hello, this is OnStar."  "Oh, it does!  Cool."
• Yes, there is a Borders in Kahului. :)  Yes, we did spend money there.
• On Monday we drove up Haleakala - an amazing drive into the clouds.  A bunch of the pics in the album are from that drive.  It was cool and crisp up there but just an amazing view from 10,000+ feet.  I'm considering biking that road next year.  It's only 36 miles, but of course the altitude gain is dramatic.
• The Old Navy store on Maui is full of heavy wool winter coats.  Insert your own joke.

Next neighbor island trip: Kauai on December 1-2.

-B-

This morning I got up at 0500 to do the Turkey Trot. It's a 10 mile run held, appropriately enough, on Thanksgiving.  This run is a little different, though, because it's not a race per se but rather a pacing competition.  Before the run you have to predict your finishing time and you're not allowed to wear a watch, an iPod or any other electronic devices.  The winner is NOT the person who finishes first, but rather the person who finishes the closest to their predicted time.

We've done this run before but this year there was another new twist.  Our coach, Brian Clarke, and Jack Scaff from Honolulu Marathon Clinic set up a challenge between our two teams.  I'm not 100% clear on the rules, actually, but it boiled down to this: each team was going to pick its 25 best pacers and when the run was over the team that had paced the best would win.

They give us these wooden tongue depresser sticks and you have to write your predicted time on them and then carry them with you to the finish.  I am tempted to write "2 Hours, 9 minutes" but at the last moment decide to write "2 Hours 11 minutes" instead.  I just intend to cruise it and don't want to have to press.  There's a little added pressure because I've been picked as one of the 25 pacers from our group and I don't want to let Brian down -- I know how much he'd like to win this competition.

So we line up for the start, and it's a PERFECT Hawaii day.  Clear, not too hot, blue skies.  BOOM goes the gun and we're off.  Trying to keep it frosty on the pace at the start and we cruise around the park nice and easy.  Up and over Diamond Head we're still trying to dial in on our pace.  Vern, Kathy, Kelly, Karen, Alan, Cathy (yes, the other one) and Christine are with us and we're chatting and feeling great as we come down the far side of Diamond Head and into Triangle Park. 

Around through Kahala, Sarah joins us and we chuckle about how she was right and I was wrong about the mile markers on the half-marathon.  Yes, I need to listen to her more often.

So, on through Kahala and up Diamond Head Road and Vern starts to worry that we're too fast.  We back off the pace slightly and decide to keep it cool back up the hill on Diamond Head and not press, like I usually do, coming down the hill on the other side.  Down into the park, Vern is still concerned that we're a bit fast - I honestly am not sure at that point.  We could be fast but we've been dogging it for the last mile or so and I worry that we might be slowing down TOO much.

Still, we cruise through the park to the finish line.  "2:08:35" the guy calls out as I cross.  Drat.  Too fast.  My prediction is off by 2 minutes and 25 seconds.  Over the course of 10 miles it's not bad, but in the context of our competition...  Some of the runners were off by mere seconds, one lady (not in the competition) hit her prediction dead on.

So we sit anxiously through the awards ceremony, waiting to hear if we've won or lost.  As the results are tabulated all I'm hearing is "It's close."  This is a tough competition in part because you can't really tell how the other team did.  Remember: it's not who finishes first, it's who finishes the closest to their predicted time.  You don't know what they predicted for their times!

Finally the time has come to announce the winners.  Both teams are summoned to the stage and I walk up there with my team.  As we walk up I see Brian hand the clipboard with the results to Jack who is emceeing the event.  He turns to walk away after handing off the clipboard with this sort of disappointed look on his face so we think surely we've lost.  Oh, no.

We're on one side of the stage and Honolulu Marathon Clinic's group is on the other side.  Jack reads the results.  "And now, to present the winner's banner to Brian Clarke's group..."  WHAT!?!  WE WON!  What a great feeling!  High fives all around, we gratefully accept the winner's banner and present the second-place banner to the HMC folks.  They ran great and it was a tough competition but it felt great to bring the victory home for Brian.  Hopefully we can duplicate the effort next year.

Ceremonies concluded I headed for the car, changed shirts, took off my running shoes and started up the car.  My iPod started blaring out "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.  Yeah.  :)

Comments:

* The water at the aid stations and the finish was awful.  Tasted like it had come out of a brand new hose -- had that awful rubber flavor to it.
* Karen baked a couple of pies that she shared with us at the finish.  I had a slice of the apple and it was DELICIOUS!
* It was great to see Cappi come out to run this morning.  She tells me I'm inspiring her to get back into running; though I haven't managed to talk her into a marathon yet.  :)

-B-

Listening to a podcast today the host was talking about a poll conducted of experts about what would make the biggest difference in the developing world - what one thing would really make a significant improvement in their lives.

I have to admit that the first thing that came to mind for me was clean water.  Water is so fundamental to life and you can only imagine how many diseases would be prevented or slowed if they just had ample clean water.

But then I thought about it a little more fundamentally and I changed my answer: Education.  Educated people tend to solve their OWN problems. 

A populace who has ample clean water will have fewer diseases, yes.  Longer life expectancy, yes.  Perhaps better food,  But what else do they have just from cleaner water?

An educated populace, however, can figure out how to clean their own water.  And grow more crops.  And develop a more sustainable economy.  And take better care of themselves.  And resolve problems non-violently.  With education comes literacy and communication. Education can bring so much more to people in the developing world than any one other thing such as water or medicine.

So if I had the power to grant one thing to the developing world it would be widespread access to education for people of all backgrounds, men and women, across all economic, geographic and social strata.

-B-

Had my first game in Winter League softball today and drove the first pitch I saw into right-center field for a grand slam home run.  Nice start.  I only saw two more pitches today -- in each of my other two at-bats I hit the first pitch (for singles each time) and ended up 3-3 on the day.

How was my defense you ask?  Ummm...nobody ever asked Babe Ruth how his defense was did they?  Honestly my glove hadn't been used in several weeks and some might say it still hasn't been.  But let's not focus on that, chicks dig the long ball.  :-)

Unfortunately the Kanakas fell short against our rivals today.  We hit the ball well, but they hit it better.  They're a good team.  Hopefully we'll get 'em next time.

-B-

So as many of you know I recently moved to a new townhouse.  In the course of the move, naturally, I threw all my junk in boxes and hauled it over here - often indiscriminately.  Now that it's over here the seemingly never-ending task of actually going through those boxes has yielded some unexpected treasures.  Including a CD of photos that my Mom had sent me some time ago - stuff my Aunt Susan, I think, had scanned from my grandfather's old slides.

I had totally forgotten I had it.  Here are a couple of the less-embarrassing (if you can believe that) samples:

The cute blond in these pictures is my Mom. 

-B-

Got up at 0500 today...o.k., o.k., hit snooze at 0500 (and again at 0509) but finally got up, got dressed and drove into town for one of my very favorite training runs.  This run starts at the Pacific Club, downtown, winds its way past the State Capitol, Iolani Palace, Restaurant Row and then finally out through Waikiki to Diamond Head and back.

When I was training for San Diego earlier this year I would do this run every Thursday evening, often extending it out to about 18 miles by running to the far end of Kahala before turning around.

Today I led a large crew that included Alan, Sarah, Kanoi, Rick, Johanna, Jen's cousin Lana, Vern, Yuni, Cathy, Katie, Kelly, Guy and a couple of others out for the jaunt.  We did well all the way out I felt great and pretty strong the whole way.  I felt a little bad because I wore my South Park jersey today so my crew had to stare at "Oh Man, You Guys Suck!" while they followed me for the last 5 miles.  :-)

Anyhow - we have an easy run Monday night, then the Turkey Trot on Thursday.  I'll throw in an extra run and probably at least one bike ride in there too.

Training continues...dressing for the job I want.

-B-

"LAKEPORT, Calif. - Three young black men break into a white man's home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it's the surviving black man who is charged with murder. "  Yahoo News

This is one of those tragic cases where too many people are losing sight of the fundamentals.  It's a shame the two young men were killed.  But the cause of the shame is not the homeowner with the gun.  The cause of the shame is the three young men (two of whom are now dead) who decided to break into the house and beat the guy's stepson with a baseball bat so badly that he now has brain damage.

Here's a suggestion: If you don't want to be shot to death or charged with murder when your buddies are...don't break into somebody's home at 4AM demanding drugs and beating people with baseball bats.

Crazy idea, I know.

-B-

Quick one -- took the bike out for a morning spin.   Went a little further this time as I'm trying to ride myself back into shape.  Felt pretty good and definitely enjoyed the ride, but I can tell that I am far short of my former riding shape.  I just don't quite have my top gears yet like I used to.

But it's getting better every time.  Next ride should be Friday morning and I'll go a little further still.  Tonight a tempo run with Brian's group at UH.

-B-

Well, not even a week after registering for the Los Angeles Marathon in March, I've gone ahead and registered for the San Diego Marathon on June 1st and the Disneyland Half-Marathon in September (both races I did this year).  Lucky for me the Maui Marathon registration doesn't open until December 1st or I'd have registered for that too.

So where does that put me...8 major events in 2008?

• Los Angeles Marathon
• Haleiwa Metric Century Bike Ride (62 miles)
• San Diego Marathon
• Tinman Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
• Disneyland Half Marathon
• Maui Marathon
• Honolulu Century Bike Ride (100 Miles)
• Honolulu Marathon

Good grief.

-B-