Lost Runners of the Foothills

Once again a UCLA football game forced our Team to redeploy. We met at a nearby park and ran from there. Joining us were the Korean-American Running Team, the Pasadena Pacers, Run With Us running store team and every other harrier group that usually assembles at the Rose Bowl early Saturday mornings. Our normal routes had been taken away. We were compelled to improvise. Runners scattered into the hills and trails above the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, passing each other like commuters on a busy street.

Here is a quick shirt breakdown:

Team in Training - green and purple lettering on white, Cool Dry fabric.

Pasadena Pacers - red cotton with a running shoe logo.

KART - day-glo lime green.

Run With Us - a shirt that says, "Run With Us."

Participants in the Santa Barbara Half-Marathon ran nine miles. Phoenix Rock 'N' Roll Marathon (me) ran 12. And the Honolulu Marathoners, 14.

Thanks to an early start, we had an early finish.

And away we went to our weekends.

Bonelli 10K

Pleasant rolling hills around a duck-filled lake. That pretty much describes the terrain of the Bonelli Scenic 10K. This 6.2 mile race was a San Gabriel Valley Team in Training "road" event. In fact, were it not for Team in Training, this inaugural race would've been seriously underpopulated. As it was, the low numbers made for an enjoyable dash around Puddingstone Lake.

Of the three 10Ks I've run, this was my best time. A pleasing surprise since I merely wanted to finish my first race since April's accident.

Afterwards we went out to a local IHOP. But they had given away the table we reserved. So we went to Red Robin instead.

Fine carbs were had by all.

Chemo Buddhas

Last night, several Teammates and I dropped in on the pediatric cancer ward at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. We visited the kids with leukemia and lymphoma. Their floor featured brightly painted walls with murals and fun modular designs; nurses dressed in colorful smocks; face masks in boxes outside some of the rooms.

The kids ranged in age from infants to teens. Some children were sad, others beamed huge smiles, others ignored us, eyes flicking to "Sponge Bob" on the television. Many of the kids had that bloated chemo-Buddha look. Sometimes wisps of hair still curled off the back of their young bald heads. A seventeen-year old girl with a retainer wore a kerchief even in bed. She missed her friends. All had family visiting. We dropped off coloring books and Rice Krispie treats and stayed when welcome and split when not.

I was glad to leave.

These cancers are a terrible burden on the whole family. But money from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has gone to develop drugs like Gleevac that help arrest the disease.

Sometimes I only think about my running injuries and goals, forgetting that I'm raising money to fight blood cancers.

I won't forget this visit.

Ten Miles

Up into the hills. Most of my teammates ran 11 or 12 miles. I did ten. Felt fine; no unusual pains or aches.

Fundraising is a different matter. I'm burned out from back-to-back seasons, plus I've hit up everybody I know. I need a really good idea to raise a lot of money legally.

Ideas? Anyone? Bueller?

The Hills Are Alive

with the sound of labored breathing. Hill training began last night as the San Gabriel Valley Team ran a deceptive rise near the Rose Bowl. A gradual grade lulls the runner into feeling too much has been made about strenuous hill repeats. But then you round a curve and the grade rises sharply. The last forty yards have your heart trip-hammering.

Then you walk down to the bottom and start again.

No pain in my foot. Plus I think strength training is paying off as I still had gas at the end.

More animation writing jobs looming all about. Also, I rewrote a section of horror novel "Apple Dan" as a short story and sent it out to fiction contests at Zoetrope, Storyglossia, and the Black Warrior Review. Each offer a cash prize and publication.

And one of them is mine!

Also, Coach Jimmy Freeman finished running 100 miles last Sunday in 26 hours. Amazing what will, determination, tough training, and being 29 will do for you.

100 Miles

run over mountains in less than 24 hours. Such is the goal of Jimmy Freeman, Team in Training coach and unofficial spokesman for Peete's Coffee. Jimmy is out today in the Angeles National Forest competing in the Angeles Crest 100. If he can stay on track, he'll finish around 5:00 AM somewhere north of the Rose Bowl.

Plus he's making a documentary out of the whole thing called "Above the Clouds."

My best to him on this quest.

Eight Miles is Enough

At least for today as I ran eight miles with the Team. Afterwards we had a barbecue and played various picnic games ala the balloon toss. Quite fun and very different from drinking all night then going bowling.

I'm up for another foreign job. This time a Korean company will send me a story board and I will have to craft a tale out of the artwork. It's so backwards and freaky that I'm intrigued. At least enough to attempt one. I must elevate my feet.

No 5k for Me

This time by choice. Not feeling up to the 5K this Sunday, so I'm taking a break.

Rewriting proceeds on "Apple Dan." I want to send it out to a couple of contests early next week. Prize money is Okay, but I'd love to get something published this year.

Back to work.

TNT Hot Six Miles

Because of a UCLA football game our team moved from the Rose Bowl to a park in nearby La Cañada. Many TNTers had trouble finding parking. As a result, we didn't start running until almost 8:00 AM. Mr. Sun was well risen and the temperature was sultry. We ran on loose dirt over horse trails. Very little shade.

I went 6 miles and felt fine.

Next week is our first training run: a 5K out in Studio City.

I may try and run the whole thing without stopping, just to note my time.

On the brink of 3,000 visits to "Write Enough."

Thanks to all who stop by.

No Monsters or Water Need Apply

My wife asked me about the new direction of my foreign writing gig. I explained that the largest investors wanted to switch the show from a comedy to an action-adventure. Our young protagonists would now be placed in more peril. Target audience for this show is kids 8 - 11 (I think).

But problems have arisen.

The show is computer-generated animation — CGI. The production crew have informed the writing staff that, due to budgetary considerations, they would not generate new characters. In other words the "peril" now required in scripts cannot come from new villains, monsters, people or animals. Also, since water is difficult and time-consuming to render, we've been asked to avoid aquatic scenes. So no storms or floods or drowning in large buckets.

I have attempted one script with geological hazards (not including water or lava), and another with home-made traps. No word back on either.

Of course there is always illness, disease, accidents. However the station that will air the episodes here in the U.S. has expressed discomfort in the past when such elements were introduced — even in broad jest.

No flirting, hand-holding, or longing looks.

The above U.S. station also doesn't approve of sarcasm or name-calling which they consider "inappropriate."

Our choices narrow.

Forced to please a variety of masters, unable to drum up new peril, we may end up scripting dense psychological episodes. Think "Gaslight" for kids. Or "The Seventh Seal." If we're not careful, we could end up with the bleakest children's show ever aired.

Outside Scandinavia.

Weighting

Three days a week I hit the gym and build up my legs. Coach "Mel," in her physical therapist capacity, designed me a workout that incorporates balance, weight lifting, and regular old sweaty exercises. After a few weeks, I want the right leg to equal the left and both to be powerful pistons of muscle and tendon.

Instant gratification. It's why I get injured.

Writing has been much like living in a dryer — there are moments when everything tumbles. My foreign gig decided to redirect the show down a new avenue. In the middle of a production run this is like deciding to repaint your car while speeding down the highway. But onward we go.

The Nick job boils with political intrigue on a level several tiers above me. But the fallout filters down. I've got a rewrite due for them next week.

My agent is sending the outline for my young adult horror novel, "The Whompago," to a publisher. We'll see if they are interested.

For me, the only thing worse than overwork is underwork.

Four Miles

Ran the above distance with the team on Saturday. That's the longest I've gone since March. Felt Okay.

Blogspot has an interesting approach to trouble shooting. Their "Help" section has a list of common problems. Anything outside that and you're referred to a Google group in the same boat as you.

In other words, they won't solve the problem, but they'll send you to a support group.

Kind of like the court system after a DUI.

Something less vague would be helpful.

Firefox to the Rescue

Safari kept crashing every time I tried to upload images. Someone on a support group suggested a Firefox browser. And so I downloaded a nice free one. Lots of cool things including bold and italic controls that add all that HTML code for you.

Forward with Firefox!

And I've added an image just because it was easy to do.

Rebuilding

One more go with Team in Training. The coaches convinced me to at least train until the end of October. They feel they can restore the strength in my leg. An assistant coach, Melissa, works as a physical therapist. She crafted me a workout that builds leg strength, concentrating on the diminished right.

If nothing else, it's good to be with other runners once a week. Several guys, ala Ernesto and CJ, ran with me in Honolulu last year. Now they are mentors and captains for new team members.

Buried under work. I have three scripts in various stages for my foreign gig. Plus I picked up a script for a new Nickelodeon show. And I must rewrite the outline for "Apple Dan," the adult horror novel.

"The Whompago," my young adult horror novel outline is being read by two agents - both taking their sweet time.

Assistant coach Mark headed back to Maryland. A good guy, he doubled as team photographer. I wish him all the best.

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing a company newletter.

August 10: Another Chance

I always say a "thank you" prayer every year on this date. Back in 1972, I was badly injured while serving overseas and could've been killed. A few weeks later, a guy in my outfit died in a jeep accident. His name was Steve. He was a basketball player from Davenport, Iowa.

Steve remains 19 years-old forever. He never got life's ups and downs. He'll never know the middle-age blues as arthritis sets in and hair falls out and nothing seems as easy as it once was. But I'll bet he'd have liked the chance to find out.

Thirty-four years have passed since those August days. I think of the decades I was granted and how much time I've wasted in selfish pursuits and self-destructive behaviour. And I think of the times I rose above myself and did a good act for someone or accomplished a feat I'd always dreamed of — like the marathon last year.

I try not to waste any more days.

Broken Bone Recovery

More paying work than I've had in awhile. Two animated shows, no waiting.

Plus a new agent has agreed to look at one of my book outlines.

I ran again on Saturday. No pain in the foot. I think as part of my injury recovery plan, I'll stop bringing my watch on runs. I notice that clock watching makes me push myself and I'm just not ready for pushing.

So time stays behind. All I'll know is distance.

Who knows? I may actually pay more attention to my body.

Just Swell

My ankle's swollen. I'm taking a week off from running until it's back down to roughly normal size.

Finished my second horror novel outline.

The first outline, "Apple Dan," explores themes of appeasement and personal redemption, while the new outline, "The Whompago," deals with moral indifference and accepting responsibility.

There may not be a very wide market for these books.

But they're sure fun to work on.

Various

Team in Training Winter starts next week. A few teammates from a year ago will be back, giving Honolulu another go. My leg has been sore lately, right around the break. I've backed off running. I was only going out three times a week. Now I think I'll trim that to two until the soreness passes.

I'm almost finished with my second novel outline. I just concentrate on narrative. Chapters must fit on a single, double-spaced page. That forces me to think about "what happens next." Not much room for character growth, but it does help me focus on story.

I've been reading more horror fiction. The book I'm into now has an 80-year-old narrator who reminds you how old he is about every other page. In my own work, I should make a general note not to annoy the reader.

Hot Times

Lots of driving in 100 degree heat. Last Thursday, I headed out to Riverside County to visit my cousin. (About an hour and a half drive.) She has no air conditioning, just a swamp cooler on the roof of her apartment unit. We didn't linger long over family photos. Jump in the car and eat lunch where the air conditioning was mighty.

On Friday, I started to attend Comic-Con in San Diego. Ten years ago, my friend Paul and I drove down there in two hours, did a "Freakazoid panal," and drove back home in about the same time. Due to living in the past, I don't think I was out of Orange County in two hours. I would never arrive in time for the event I was seeking to attend. So that got scrubbed. Saturday morning I met up with TNT alumni for a run. (The coaches perscribed exercises to build up my still-atrophied right leg.) We circled the Rose Bowl at a modest pace and finished drenched in sweat. I felt like I was back in Cambodia.

On Saturday evening, my wife threw a party for her blogger friends. Even in the foothills, temperatures remained over 100. The only cool room in the house was downstairs. So that's where the party lived.

In fact, that's where I live until this heat wave passes.

More book news soon.

Security Guard of the Gods

Hiked up into the foothills this morning. It's been so hot and humid lately I wanted to get an early start. I actually climbed high enough to get rained on: a brief splatter of fat drops. On my way back down, I saw a rainbow. Rounding a switchback, I saw two more, all flowing out of the same huge cloud. As the gold, yellow, and green of the first rainbow faded, I saw a violet band at the bottom.


I was reminded of Norse mythology and the Bifrost Bridge. Made of rainbow, the bridge connected Midgard, the realm of Man, with Asgard, the realm of the gods. Since evil giants could use Bifrost to attack Asgard, the bridge was guarded by Heimdall, the watchman of the gods. I image Heimdall with a large key ring and a half-pint of bourbon in his lunch box. He often calls in sick, particularly on payday weekends.

In any case, quite a colorful sight in the hills above the Jet Propulsion Labs.

Booked Up

Writing up a blizzard. Had to finish a script for my paying gig. Then got notes back from my agent on a Young Adult book outline. She wanted younger protagonists, some peripheral roles expanded, and a set piece scene dropped. Other than that, she loved everything about it. I said I'd take a look at the story with these notes in mind.

I didn't. Stories aren't like Lego toys. You can't snap in a new piece without disrupting the whole. I may need to find another way to market this outline.

Running proceeds slowly. My right leg and ankle are gradually strengthening. No distances longer than three miles. Come August, I'll add a 4 and 5 mile loop. For now, I'm content to inch along.

Time and Photoshop

Back On My Feet

Today's almost three months since I rolled my foot during a 5K. That was the last time I ran until this afternoon. Logged three miles around the Rose Bowl. (Broiling in the late afternoon.) I'd run for a minute, then walk for two. No pain.

My orthopedist said I'm 95 percent healed. In six months, I'll be 99 percent. But that last little bit of new bone filling in will take almost a year.

Despite cross-training the last six weeks, there's soreness in my calves and quads.

But it's good to begin again.

A Most Happy 4th of July!

A pleasant independence day to one and all.

Run Threshold

Met with TNT teammates yesterday for the last official Summer Team workout. A small cadre plan to continue meeting at the Rose Bowl on Saturdays. They aim to train for the Long Beach half-marathon (13.1 miles) in October. Afterwards, they'll rejoin TNT for the Spring 2007 Team's LA Marathon run.

I walked 4 miles yesterday. Felt fine. I'm ready to run again. This coming Wednesday, I meet with the orthopedist. If he clears me, I'll start running again on Thursday.

But I don't think I'll be training for any distance events soon. My plan was to start again in August with TNT Winter and run the Phoenix Marathon in January. But now I'm not sure. It feels like I should start from scratch. First establish a training base, gradually increasing my weekly mileage. That might take two months.

As of now, I'd rather go too slow than too fast.

It beats not going at all.

Jean MacCurdy as Boss

On the subject of "Animaniacs," it occured to me that Warner Bros. TV animation back then consisted of over a hundred artists, writers, checkers, etc. We were turning out 65 half-hours for the first season of "Animaniacs." At the same time, the division was making "Taz," "Batman," and wrapping up the last "Tiny Toon Adventures."

In the midst of this frenzy, there was only a single executive: Jean MacCurdy.

Jean let the producers run their shows while she ran the division. She trusted them and believed a person with passion for a series might turn out a better product than, say, a committe removed from the creative process.

In time, the WB gobbled up the division. Kids WB spun away from Jean to become its own entity with executives over her. Jean finally stepped down as division president in 2001.

But for a time, there was no place like Warners.

Which goes to prove that anything can happen in Hollywood, even good things.

Animaniacs DVD Interview

Yesterday, Sherri Stoner, Peter Hastings, Paul Rugg and I were interviewed for the second "Animaniacs" DVD. The release date is sometime around Christmas. Our moderator was "The Brain" himself, Maurice LaMarche. We had a lot of laughs recalling the writing of the show fourteen years ago.

I've written many things since then, but I only really appreciate "Animaniacs" now.

Much of life is like that.

Walk to Elmer Once Again

Walked four miles today. I parked in a lot off Windsor St. in Pasadena and moved down an asphalt path that paralleled JPL. I could see down to the parking lot where a little bus shuttled workers from the facility to their cars. Crossing an A-frame bridge, I veered off onto a dirt trail and followed it up to the Elmer Smith bridge. A slap on the sign, then back down.

That's the first time since my 16-mile run in March that I've made it up to Elmer.

A little change was needed from gym-swim-gym.

But I'm not complaining.

Crutches are still fresh in my memory.

Unbaked TNT Alaska

Teammate Natalie reported tough going up in the Land of the Midnight Sun. 'twas not an easy marathon. Rain, heavy at times, a rocky trail, TNTers from other teams dropping out due to injury and fatigue, stones in her shoes, and a moose in the road.

But Natalie persevered.

She IS a marathoner.

TNT Alaska Marathon

Bravo to Summer Team's Alaska runners/walkers. Initial reports from Anchorage place all my teammates safely across the finish line. Coach Kate, on the right in purple in the post below, ran a 3:38:57 marathon, an average of 8 minutes and 21 seconds per mile.

A most successful Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon.

Just printed out 133 pages of outline notes and chapter drafts from a second horror novel. This one, "The Whompago," has been referenced in previous posts. I should put a link here but I'm really in a hurry.

Post-Injury Miles 3

Aqua Ran this morning before TNT practice. Outside the pool, I bumped into Summer Team remnants, waiting to embark on a light, post-marathon run. I joined them and walked 3 miles. That's the furthest I've ambled since before the accident.

The break area felt tender and the right ankle was sore, but overall I was pleased. My last two miles were on par with what I might've walked pre-injury. I'm not yet ready for running, but progress is steady. Naturally, since I did so well, I thought I could've done more. But that's how I get injured.

Cyndi from Summer Team took a host of fine San Diego photos. Here's one she snapped pre-marathon of Summer Team coaches, Katie and Kate. They'll also be coaching Winter Team running events which include the Phoenix Marathon in January. I'm hoping that will be my next marathon.

Charmed at the Health Club

I joined that dandy little health club I mentioned a few posts back. There's nothing like showing up at 1:00 PM and getting your pick of machines. Flat screen TVs show ESPN, CNN, and reruns of "Charmed." Lots of pouty, cute girl witch looks. But it's exerting a strange fascination on me. I grow irritable around 1:00 PM on days when I'm not at the health club. And somehow, turning on "Charmed" at home wouldn't be the same.

More on this.

In addition, I joined the Rose Bowl Aquatic Club. Usually around 12:45 - 1:00 PM is the best time to go aqua run. My head is lathered up with sun block. Sometimes there are "swimming moms" hectoring their children. One woman harangued her two daughers non-stop for over 40 minutes, berating them for bad diving form, encouraging them to do "one more" after four or five "last one and we'll go." What fascinated me was she never paused to inhale. With lung capacity like that, she should be doing deep ocean salvage minus the dive suit.

But I gradually grow stronger in the water.

There's nothing like being tanned, fit, and unemployed.

It's the Hollywood way.

Anchorage Away

Good luck to Summer TNTers, off to Alaska this weekend for the Anchorage Marathon and half marathon.

My sister attempted Anchorage two years ago. She signed up with Team in Training to walk the event. But she had to bail in the middle due to an old leg injury flaring up. Some pals met her in Alaska and they partied for a few days.

So there was that.