November Elections

Allow me to introduce myself. I represent The Commute Is Too Damn Long Party. People are driving 4 hours a day and 20 hours a week and some to a 3rd job. Woman can’t afford the time to care for their children, drivin’ while their children eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My main job is to provide an end to road construction, removal of speed cameras, and open lanes of traffic. This is politics as usual. Playin’ the silly game, but that’s not going to happen. The Commute Is Too Damn Long movement, the people I’m here to represent, don’t have the time to drive to work! They’re being laid off right now as I speak! They’re drivin’ breakfast, lunch, and dinner!... Listen! Someone’s horn just honked! Did you hear it? Gotta listen like me. Let’s talk about the issue – people can’t afford the time to sit in traffic! Stop!...The Commute Is Too Damn Long!

Ryan Hall

A day or two ago Ryan Hall made his decision. He’s backing out of running the Chicago Marathon on October 10th (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_globetrotting/2010/09/us-star-hall-withdraws-from-chicago-marathon.html) . It’s certainly not the first time an elite running backed out of an event, but I think in this case the reason is pretty lame.

On September 19^th he had a (relatively) poor performance in a half marathon in Philadelphia; instead of winning or dominating, he finished 14^th. His time there was actually slower than what he normally runs for the first ½ of a full marathon. So his performance that day was disappointing, and I can sympathize with that. Furthermore, Hall says that he’s had a rough couple of months. I can sympathize with that, too.

``I was very excited to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon but my workouts haven't been good. I'm very much a guy that when I show up at the starting line, I believe everything is possible, and I go after things with my whole heart, so if I'm not ready to go, I'm not going to show up and have a performance that doesn't reflect that.''

He had a poor race and his workouts haven’t been good. So he’s not running Chicago. No injuries mentioned. No illness. His workouts haven’t been good.

I’m sorry. Don’t we all have bad workouts? And when one of us frets about it, don’t the rest of us come to the rescue with a steady, confident chorus of “It’s okay.” “We all have bad runs and get weary of the training.” “That’s what the taper is for! When you toe the starting line you’ll be rested and ready to run your best.” “Have faith in your training, you’ve done the work!”

That last one brings in the irony. Here’s a guy that for years has been famous for his deeply religious convictions. His FAITH in God. And here he seems to have lost faith in himself.

Granted his marathon goals differ from the rest of us, but the marathon training process is similar. The hardships are very similar. How many of you will decide on Oct 20^th that, “You know what, my workouts have been poor and I’m not running well, so I’m sure I won’t run well in the Marine Corps Marathon, so I’m not going to try.”

I can tell you that I’ll be at the head of a very long cyber line of runners on this forum ready to chime in with, “What the heck are you talking about? You’ve got to run it! NO QUITTING!”

He says that when he’s shows up at the starting line, he believes everything is possible, and he goes after things with my whole heart. Sounds to me like he believes everything is possible only when he knows that it’s probable. Quitter.

RRCA Club Challenge 10 Miler (2/28/10)

The RRCA (Road Runner Clubs of America) Club Challenge 10 Miler is a hilly and usually frigid race at Howard County Community College geared primarily toward clubs in Maryland and DC. Its format is similar to a cross country meet, where the place of the top runners from each team count toward their team’s score, and the lowest team total wins. On the men’s side, the top 12 runners from each team would count; for the women, 6. There was also a Co-ed category that combined both. Typically, 10 or 11 clubs in the area are represented at this race including, of course, the Frederick Steeplechasers. We are one of the smaller clubs and as a result are pretty much outclassed by the larger clubs from Baltimore, Howard County and Montgomery County. Last year we finished 7th across the boards.

This would be my 3rd crack at this race, and my main goal was to match or beat the PR that I set there last year: 76:48. However, thanks to a bad cold over the last two weeks I wasn’t entirely sure that I was quite healthy enough for that yet. My less stringent goal was then to try and stay under 8 minute miles throughout.

Weather conditions were pretty typical for this race: cloudy, breezy with temps around freezing. I even saw a snowflake or 2 at the beginning. I got in a quick ½ mile warm-up before the masses started herding their way to the start, and then we were on our way!

The first two miles are significantly downhill. Last year I ran that first mile in 7:10, and was chastised by my friend, Crista (who ran with me then as well as for this race), for running her into the ground way too early that race. So we tempered the start a bit, and this time our first mile split was a more rational 7:29. Slower than last year, but I hoped that would help later.

The next few miles were similar to last year, all in the 7:40s and 7:50s. My feeling was gradually returning to my hands and arms, but unfortunately the remnants of my cold were causing me to leave a trail of phlegm behind me that, had I gotten lost, I could followed to find my way back to the starting line.

Mile 6 is a difficult mile – last year it was my slowest – with significant uphills. These hills slowed me down once again: 8:14. Unlike last year, however, I wasn’t able to pick up much speed after that, and for the rest of the race I ran 8:00 to 8:10 minute miles and eventually fell behind Crista, who seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

I kicked fairly well with about a ½ mile to go, and managed to pass a few people, but finished in 79:22, well behind last year’s race. I was the 15th male Steep, so my place didn’t count other than maybe I displaced a runner from another team (our men moved up to 6th place this year). I’m glad I came in under 80, but I walk away from this one with some lingering doubts about where I am and where I can get to as a runner. Am I reaching a plateau? Will I continue improving in the marathon as I have in the past? Or is my age going to start slowing me down? Can I get down to 3:40 on May 2?

Then again, maybe having a cold recently slowed me down or reduced my endurance a little. If so, it’s hard to say by how much. At any rate, I’ve got to get healthy again and continue to train well. I’ll really know where I’m at when I run that marathon!

Lewis Memorial 10-Miler Race Report - 1/23/10

We had great weather Sunday morning for the annual John Lewis Memorial 10 Miler in the hilly outskirts of Frederick, Maryland. Although the temperature was right around freezing, with sunny skies and basically no wind I was quite comfortable at the starting line wearing shorts, a racing singlet, and my brand spankin’ new arm warmers (courtesy of the kind folks at If the Shoe Fits). In fact, as the race wore on, I bet many of the runners realized that they were over-dressed.

This race is very low-key and budget-friendly, being free for Frederick Steeplechaser members and just $5 for anyone else silly enough to run this course. No shirts, no awards (except for person who finishes with a time closest to their predicted time – no watches allowed!), and maybe 40 or 50 runners altogether. Since most were fellow club members, I really enjoyed the chance to see a lot of familiar faces and run amongst friends.

Soon we began and were climbing the first steep hill even before the echoes of the race starter’s “Go!” had reached our ears. Seriously, you run about 30 feet and the have to crane your neck upward to see where you’re going. No messing around with this course, you just dive right in!

The course really divides nicely into 3 sections. The first 3 miles have killer, lumpy hills; from miles 3 to 7 you get a merciful reprieve; and then for the last 3 miles they’re back with a vengeance.

During the first section I ran amid a group of 4 or 5 runners that would repeatedly pass each other, depending on how we each tackled the hills. I would generally lose ground on the uphills and then gain it back on the downhills. By the second section of the course I had settled into a good pace alongside a friend of mine, Terrance, who typically finishes just ahead of me in our age group. I was hoping to simply stay with him as long as possible.

That plan worked great until the hills returned, and then I slowly lost ground to Terrance. Miles 8 and 9 were really tough, and on some of the uphills it was all I could do to just keep moving one foot in front of the other. I was happy when I came across the mile 9 marker – knowing that not only was I getting close to the finish, but also that some decent descent awaited me at the very end. If it weren’t for the 2 or 3 frickin’ mountains in between I’d have been just fine!

Well, I eventually got through those obstacles and flew down the final hill to the finish, with my shoes feeling like they were about ready to explode into pieces like an Incredible Hulk t-shirt from the force of my toes coming out the front! I finished in 82:20, nearly 2 minutes slower than my pre-race prediction, but given the nature of the course I was pretty satisfied anyway. I gave it a good, hard effort and for the most part felt that I ran strong. I enjoyed the weather and the company, and maybe best of all I was not really hampered in the least by my knee! A few weeks ago it was slowing me down significantly at times. I think this race has set me up well for a run at my 76:49 PR at the RRCA Club Challenge 10 (Go Steeps!) at the end of next month.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the post-race spread is fantastic! Club members bring in all sorts of goodies to eat, from baked goods to homemade soup to bagels and fruit. Plus, we had Muscle Milk reps there handing out free samples! Chocolate Malt and Strawberry were both yummy!

Who's next? Who's left?

So Tiger Woods has apparently proven to be as big of a slimeball as any other infamous athlete, politician or celebrity. Another shining star that's fallen so far. He joins rank with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Michael Vick, Bill Clinton, Barry Bonds, Rod Blagojevich, Roger Clemens, Jon Goselin, Brittany Spears, Sammy Sosa... The list goes on and on and on.

It's a shame. Not just in Tiger's case; that this golfer who had such a positive reputation is no longer the positive role model that he was. But that he's just the disgraced celebrity du jour. So many have fallen that now it's the remaining positive role models that are the exception, not the norm. Who's left for our kids to look up to? To be the star that they'd like to emulate?

Well, Peyton Manning's still there. Barack Obama. Derek Jeter, I suppose. Lance Armstrong. Oprah? I wonder, if I read this blog in 5 years will these people still stand tall?

It's a shame that there are so few of the relatively clean ones left. Is it really THAT hard to remain decent once you're in the public eye? Is it that hard to follow the law? Is it that hard to remain faithful? To say no to temptation?

Or maybe it's just that now everything is so easily turned into public knowledge. If it weren't for cell phones and texting, maybe we wouldn't all know about Tiger's indescretions. Everyone would still love him. Maybe my childhood heroes were just as faulty. Maybe Walter Payton wasn't really Sweetness. Who knows?

Whatever the case, our kids will probably be best served if they find their heroes closer to home. Police officers, firefighters, soldiers, aunts, uncles, big brothers or sisters. Parents. We may not hit home runs or score touchdowns, but maybe we can avoid at least some of the ugly mess to which our public idols seem to be prone.

Sure, Tiger, you're only human. We're all only human. Let's not use that as a cop out. Humans have choices. Humans make choices.

I heard a quote today from the movie Solaris that has stuck with me: There are no answers, only choices.

Choose wisely, my friends. Choose wisely.

If Shakespeare Was an Aging Marathoner

Chronic knee problems recently led me to an orthopedic doctor's examining table. As you can see, the resulting diagnosis of a torn meniscus has left me in a quandary...

If Shakespear Was an Aging Marathoner
(Ronlet's Soliloquy)

To cut or not to cut: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The pangs and Ow! Ow!'s of outrageous torsion,
Or to take arms against a knee of troubles,
And by op’rating end them?
To cut: to scope;No more; and by a scope to say we end
The knee-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That joint is heir to, 'tis an inflammation
Of whose pain I'd be rid. To cut, to scope;
To jog: perchance to run: ay, there's the rub;
For in that slice of knife what runs may come
When we have suffered through arthritic toil,
Must give us pause: there's the prospect
To de-fray cartilage by so long knife;
For who would bear the pops and tweaks of mine,
Marathoner's gimp, the sore man's hobbled gait,
The pangs of patellar grate, the knee's decay,
The consequence of off-days and the spurns
Of fellow runners, ahead of me they wait,
When he himself might his knee wellness make
With an incision? Who would fartleks bear,
To grunt and sweat during a weary run,
But that the dread of something after knife,
The undiscover'd country from whose paths
Some runners return, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those aches we have
Than run with others that we know not of?
Thus new science does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of my meniscus
Tho’ sicklied o'er with the tear of running fraught,
And re-built knees of great strength and speed
With this regard their footfalls turn awry;
I choose the lame reaction.

One Costume to Rule Them All...

So Lincoln's off to school with his Lord Sauron costume (from Lord of the Rings) for their costume party today. Unfortunately, I think the school frowns on bringing realistic looking weapons to school, so the medieval mace that we've built and painted will have to stay home. But really, what's Lord Sauron without his bone-crushing mace? Just a guy with a ring.