Afoot at the Finish Line

Here's me hoofing it home at the frozen Phoenix Marathon back in January.

Over the last several miles, the course passes through a neighborhood that deftly blends desert scrub with industrial wasteland. You can rest your weary eyes on a huge power plant, highway bridges, and sharp plants. Very few people cheer in these parts. However, fewer distractions allow more time to focus on physical and metal discomfort.

Fortunately, Ironman Kate Martini ran me in the last 6.2 miles. She didn't tolerate loafing and knocked five minutes off my finish time by pulling me along in her wake.

Note the cap turned youthfully backwards. I did that around mile 25 and can't remember why. (It's not as if I were racing so fast my hat was about to flutter off.) In any case, no one should be held responsible for their actions in the last stages of a marathon.

Within reason, of course.

Pinky and The Brain and F5s

Ten years ago, I wrote a Pinky and the Brain episode called Brain Storm. Our intrepid mice decide to conquer the world via tornado power. To this end, Brain builds a clunky robotic device called a Verkimer Suit. Inside the suit, Pinky and the Brain allow a cyclone funnel to pass over them, hijacking the storm from within.

Last night, I caught Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel. In addition to pursuing puffy clouds all over Tornado Alley, these chasers added an IMAX cameraman in his own vehicle known as a T.I.V., or Tornado Intercept Vehicle. Weighing 14,000 pounds, this mini-tank is designed to be overrun by a twister so the cameraman may obtain 70mm footage of tornado innards.

Watch a video here.

I should've copyrighted the Verkimer Suit.

Marathon on PBS

Next week Nova airs a show about ten novice runners, trained for nine months to complete the 2007 Boston Marathon. For most marathoners, Boston is a destination, something earned, reached only through a qualifying race. (For my age group, that's a 3 hour 45 minute marathon. Am I anywhere near that? BWAHAHAHAHAH.) In any case, a most odd — and hilly — selection for untried runners.

I'll be watching with a sympathetic heart next Tuesday, Oct. 30. Training for a marathon, let alone running one, is a test on many levels. Go rookies!

"Clear and Smoky"

The above paradox appears courtesy of Weather Underground. Yesterday was particularly unclear and smoky. The Santa Clarita fires made our local mountains appear to be harboring a volcano. Ash fell on cars and the sun gleemed a brilliant red.

Today, fire conditions were such that the local high school cross country team moved into my health club en masse, grabbing all the ellipticals and tredmills. I guess outdoor practice was cancelled. I wonder what happened to their gym?

Lessons Learned

As my IT heals and I'm running again, what nuggets did I glean from this last marathon training cycle?

1. Don't Skip Stretching.
As miles piled up in spring, I fell out of the habit of fully stretching after runs. A torn calf muscle resulted.

2. Accept What You Have
When I resumed running after eight weeks, my mind recalled a faster pace than my post-injury body could provide. This led to unrealistic long runs, that eventually burned me out.

3. Pick A Plan, Any Training Plan
There's all kinds of ways to tackle marathons and I tried every one. With 12 weeks to prepare for Chicago, I juggled the FIRST plan with old Team in Training routines. Choose one and commit.

4. Lift Weights
After tearing my calf muscle, I stopped lifting weights and never resumed. I felt the lack of strength on my long runs. Coupled with bad pacing and summer heat, this led to several miserable outings. Weight training really pays off beyond mile 20. (And strengthens the IT band.)

5. Don't Practice Quitting
Often I adopt an all-or-nothing attitude. Thus, if I miss a goal, I quit rather than modify my run. A few times I knew I couldn't maintain a certain pace. So I cut the run short, thus acquiring the habit of quitting. This ties in with No. 2 and No. 6 below.

6. Build Your Mental Muscles
Visualizations, mantras, counting steps and other mental tricks help you triumph over negativity and the "can'ts." But they should be integrated throughout the training cycle.

Now on to the next marathon and brand new errors.

Jimmy Dean Freeman Qualifies for Western States

Jimmy Dean Freeman, coach, distance runner, racounteur, holds up an inspirational sign addressed to himself. I'd do stranger things if I just ran 50.9 miles in 8 hours 9 minutes and 39 seconds. (That's a marathon, followed by another marathon.) Those results qualify Jimmy to run twice that far over tough, inaccesible terrain in the 2008 Western States 100.

Last month, his attempted qualification for Western States resulted in failure. Running the Angeles Crest 100, he was forced to drop out because of injury. Disappointed, Jimmy Dean persevered and yesterday, up in San Francisco, achieved his goal. As Confucius once said:

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

He also said that anyone who bought him a shot and a beer was wise, but that's another saying.

Giving Back

During autumn, when pigskins fill the air, it's important to remember that not every professional football player is in the game for himself.