My Nice Biopsy Plus Walking Update

Tendinitis, low red blood count and now a biopsy on some moles the skin doc found today. One lay near the tip of my nose. Now I have a dorky nose bandage. Enough! Stop! No more medical procedures! (Though I'll take all of them in the vast scheme of things.)

Walked 44 minutes today without any soreness. Next week, I'll walk 48 3x, which should finally put me past three miles on each walk. Three miles was always the starting point from which I resumed training after every injury. Now I'm glad to reach it after almost a month of starts and stops. Ah, sure and 'tis a new day.

Paulsen's Loose

Voice actor and bon vivant, Rob Paulsen darts behind the Orange Curtain to Anaheim Comic-Con, April 16 - 18 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Ask him to do his real voice. He has trouble with that.
h/t: Rob Paulsen on Facebook.

Run Down Blood Count

Literally. Blood tests from a physical came back showing my red blood cell count lower than the economy, making me borderline anemic. I held a cross up to my wife and she was cool, so that rules out home vampirism. Until my next doctor appointment, I'm taking iron supplements and dining on eclectic chow that should up the level a tad.

Meanwhile, I've fallen into a pattern of walking 3x a week and swimming 2x. Maybe the low red count might be why I'm so gassed after swimming. Being out-of-shape could be a bigger factor. So far, I'm swimming 1300 meters each session. That takes around 48 minutes with warm-up and cool-down. I wear these short swim fins for half the workout to concentrate on form. But mostly I splash a length, stop and pant, then splash back, pant, et cetra. I want to take a lesson, but I'm so pathetic, the instructor might try and hold me under with a long pole. Hopefully, I'll work my way up to 400 meters without stopping, then see what the world of professional instruction looks like.

Link to Ski Mask of Chthulu

You decide.

Link to TNT Spring Team Photos

Coach Kiley's marathon tribute.

Link to LA Marathon Race Report

Emil details his bum luck at yesterday's marathon.

LA Marathon Notes

Team in Training assistant coach Elizabeth Thomen ran 5:00:13, just missing a sub-5 hour marathon. (I volunteered to get better by 2011 and run her in the last three miles.) Ernesto slogged in around 7 hours, hanging out with an injured rookie marathoner. Former TNT coach Kate Freeman zipped home in 3 hours and 23 minutes, finishing her first marathon in almost a year. Emil, "Race Machine" Cheng hobbled in at 5 hours and 18 minutes. Many others ran and walked today. Kiley Akers coached. Congrats to all!

Marathon News: Courage, Ernesto!

Struggling along between miles 15 and 18, way under pace with the toughest stretch ahead. (Physically and psychologically.) Send him a visualization of a cold beer, beckoning him across the finish line with a trollop's smile.

Practical Advice

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles find fun with weapons.

h/t: Viral Footage

Devil's Gate

Walked through the reservoir today for the first time since Sept. 2008, when I ran the trails on my way to eventual knee surgery. Winter rains washed out so much vegetation, it looked like a dried river bottom. Not so dry though, as there was still low-lying water around to keep the cracked mud company. Knee held up well. No soreness. In keeping with recommended injury prevention - which I never bothered with before - I'm only adding ten percent additional walking per week. (I should reach marathon distance sometime in the early 22nd century.) Meanwhile my swimming has many of the elements of a polka: wild twirling followed by breathless collapse. This isn't proper form, but I believe not-drowning to be the foundation of any successful water exercise program.

Link to Jimmy Freeman Running Interview

My former TNT coach, Jimmy Dean Freeman, clocks some face time on the news talking his passions: running and eating.
h/t: Jimmy Dean Freeman via Facebook