When You Wake Up Feeling Old

It was odd. I've been using the same password at work for the last six months to log on to my work computer, but as soon as I sat in front of the computer today, I knew I had forgotten it. I recalled how it began but the numbers that comprised it just went away. I tried various combinations. I tried letting my fingers remember the key strokes. I tried listing the possible combinations. I even took a break and bought a cup of yogurt with granola and strawberries hoping that food will help me remember. The yogurt was delicious but it didn't help. I finally gave up and called our IT guy who was able to give me the password.

The sad thing was that I was nowhere close to the number. I was using three digits when it was actually four. What happened? It's a little scary, actually. Did I get bonked on the head? Was a section of my memory erased? Maybe I'm just getting old.

San Diego RNR Marathon Splits

When I posted my race report on last weekend's marathon, I neglected to include my splits. Here they are. Looking at them now they don't seem so bad. Apart from the last three miles, I maintained a strong pace. I wasn't slower than 11 minutes per mile. Note that I missed the split for the first mile, so the splits for mile 1 and 2 are an average. Most likely I ran mile 2 faster than the first.

Race Report: 06.01.2008 - San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon

Chip Time: 3:58:08
Pace: 9:05/mile
10K: 53:21
Half: 1:52:28
30K: 3:02:49

On my seventh marathon I learned that you should not disrespect the distance. I thought I had this marathon thing figured out and can go do it with ease. It was not the case. This marathon hurt. My experience, though, helped get me through it but I wound up running it eight minutes slower than last year's personal best. The marathon doesn't really get any easier. Afterwards I was hurting like it was my first race. Still, I did finish under four hours again, so it wasn't all bad.

A couple of things undid me last Sunday. First I didn't maintain my training the last couple of weeks. I ran twice in the last two weeks. As a result my legs and I felt sluggish the entire race. I also started off too fast and at mile 8 I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain the pace. I was already feeling tired by then. But I kept the pace longer than I expected, but perhaps if I only slowed down a little I might have staved off the cramping that occurred beginning at mile 18.

Mile 18 was the wall for me. Looking back at my splits I maintained a decent pace through mile 21 and then quickly faded. The cramping was tough. It started with my left calf, followed by the right, followed by the muscle just above my right knee. By the finish even my groin was cramping. It was awful. I imagined I looked like Igor as I dragged my legs in the last few miles.

The weather was also a factor. Even with the early morning cloud cover, the temperature wasn't cool. By mile 14 the haze burned off and the sun just sapped my energy. Last year I finished the race without the sun peaking through the clouds. I had to pour water over my head several times to keep cool.

So, no PR, but I doubted I would do it anyway. Still I was hoping for a time closer to it, but I'll take the sub four as a consolation prize.

On the upside, my pictures are up and they're not bad. Perhaps one of my better races picture-wise. Maybe it's the sunshine. At least it did some good after all.


Finished!



Somewhere in the middle


Crossing the finish line.

Other photos can be seen here.

1 Day Until San Diego

I'm still at home. I haven't packed, I haven't showered, but I have eaten a nice bowl of oatmeal to ensure regularity tomorrow. I'll hopefully jump in the shower in a few minutes, throw some clothes in a bag and drive off to San Diego.

The BioBlitz last night was fun if only for the fact that I got to be out in nature in the dark of night. It was almost too quiet at Topanga State Park. I guess I'm too accustomed to city life. As for the bugs, we didn't really catch anything too interesting. Mostly moths, but we did catch some interesting crickets, a katydid, and a wind scorpion. We also saw a huge frog as we we were walking. Two hours in I began to worry that I've been on my feet for too long, but I think I should be rested enough for tomorrow's race. I slept about eight hours last night, which is a lot for me.

I haven't given the race a lot of thought. No special race plan apart from what I've done before. I'm just going to keep an eye on my pace and see how I feel. I'll attempt to keep to an 8:30 pace, which will get me to around 3:43 if successful. This race can really go any way tomorrow and I'm not really confident about which way it will go. It could be good, it could be bad. If it goes bad, I'll just try to enjoy it as much as I can.

Wish me luck!

2 Days Until San Diego!

San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon Medal, originally uploaded by savemejebus.

I had hoped to get in two more runs this week before the marathon, but that didn't turn out so well. Going into Sunday's race, my last run was Monday. In the two weeks leading into the race, I've run twice for a total of 14 miles. Not the best way to head into a marathon. I suppose I needed to lay off my feet anyway with my IT band issues. We shall see how it holds up.

If that wasn't enough, I'm also not preparing for this race very well. Tonight, when I should be trying to get plenty of sleep, I'll be traipsing around Topanga State Park counting grasshoppers as part of National Geographic's BioBlitz. It sounded like fun, so I couldn't very well turn it down. Thankfully we'll be done by midnight. My bedtime tends to be 1 or 2am anyway. I plan on sleeping in until 10, and head off for the drive to San Diego.

I had planned to stay two nights in San Diego, but I changed that to one. I'll drive back after the race. I hope I don't regret that decision!

When I get back I'll probably be craving steak, lots of sleep and a good massage.

Goal time: 3:45

5 Days Until San Diego

I finally signed up for the marathon on Sunday. The prices went up yesterday, so I saved a grand total of $9.05. Woo hoo!

Over the weekend I ran twice but erased any benefits by eating and drinking a lot. On Saturday FJ, Rachel, Andy and I ran eight miles, and then yesterday I ran with FJ for another six. While the runs went well, I unfortunately continue to feel a little something that I think might be my IT band. It's not painful but it's irritating, and I wonder how it will hold up over 26.2 miles. Eight and six were fine and doable with it, but I think it will be an issue over a longer distance. I'll take it a little easy this week.

FJ asked me if I was excited, but I think I stopped being "excited" over marathons a couple of races ago. The adrenaline rush still comes when I start, but the days leading up to it aren't as nerve-wracking or anxiety-ridden as they used to be. I've become a little jaded now.

Save the Taco Truck, Save L.A.?

Taco Truck 1 am, originally uploaded by janelbot.

I checked out Zocalo's panel discussion on taco trucks called "Remember the Taco Truck!" at the L.A. Theatre Center last night. It was all last minute since I didn't find out until half an hour before. Thankfully I wasn't too far from the theater. L.A. Weekly food critic, Jonathan Gold, was part of the panel, as well as Chris Rutherford, one of the guys spearheading the online petition to save the taco trucks. Chris and I went to graduate school together and it was great to catch up with him afterwards and reminisce about the film class we took together--a class with only four students that we took turns teaching.

The panel was admittedly one-sided. Everyone there was in favor of taco trucks, although Barry Glassner was a voice of reason. He viewed the current ordinance as preposterous but believes the ordinance is seeking to address legitimate concerns. But everyone agreed that the one hour restriction is preposterous, not to mention the fine and six-month jail time truck operators might face. Hopefully a compromise can be reached, perhaps one that requires a truck not to park within 500 feet of another restaurant.

I think the discussion could have been better moderated as the moderator tended to draw attention to himself rather than keep the dialogue going. It was basically a taco truck love-in. Maybe everyone just loves taco trucks.

After the panel discussion a reception took place in front of the theater where a taco truck, Gorditas Lupita's, was parked and served complimentary food. I had the torta al pastor with a bottle of Jarritos. Ironically, a cop came by near the end of the reception and ordered them to move the truck. It was a beautiful scene as we all stood on the sidewalk with our food and clapped and waved as the truck packed up and drove off.

I don't eat at taco trucks very often, but I have never had a bad experience. The food is always great. I agree with the panelists that the taco truck helps create a street scene that is sorely lacking in LA. There are few places I can think of where people congregate with the various types of people who inhabit LA and the taco truck do just that. Concerns about safety is silly too. I've eaten at taco trucks in neighborhoods I would be scared of walking around in, but under the lights of a parking lot with dozens of people surrounding a taco turck, there is no safer place to be.

A Losing Night

Are You A Loser?, originally uploaded by splorp.

It was an evening of losses last night.

Our trivia team lost another hard fought battle at Casey's. Last week we were firmly in the lead but wagered badly on the final question we got right and landed in second. Last night was closer. We were tied for third but only five points behind the first place team. We were sure we had learned our lesson last week, but once again we wagered conservatively on the final question, which we again correctly answered. We still wouldn't have won had we bet the maximum 20 points, but we would have been in second. Instead we finished in a tie for third and lost the tiebreaker, so we didn't get a prize.

I'm more beat up about the loss last week because we should have won that. We were kicking ass last week. Last night was a satisfying defeat because most of the answers didn't come easy but we thought the questions out, and more often than not, we got it right. We earned those points. I screwed up on a question about tennis: "Who defeated Boris Becker in the 1988 and 1990 Wimbledon championship but lost to Becker in 1989?" My first instinct was "Stefan Edberg" but then I started doubting myself and wrote down "Mats Wilander." Aaarghh. Whatever. It was another strong showing, though, and I'm sure it's just a matter of time until we win the evening outright.

After trivia I was on a mission to get fried chicken from Bon Chon in Koreatown. Franklin Avenue wrote about it and as a fan of fried food I had to try it. I think I circled for half an hour and could not find parking. My bladder was just about full, so I decided to save the chicken for another night.

At home I settled in to watch "American Idol" on DVR. My pick, David Archuleta, lost in a landslide to David Cook. My DVR actually cut out just as Ryan was saying, "The winner is David..." Had I not already looked up who won, I would have been pissed. The finale itself was actually very satisfying. Cook may have won, but Michael Johns stole the show. He was great, especially his duet with Carly Smithson on "The Letter." He should have been the American Idol. Of all the contestants I think I'm more likely to buy a Michael Johns album.

To cap it off, I watched "Top Chef." I wasn't so much bummed that Dale was eliminated as I was that Lisa survived yet another round. What a sucky way to end an evening.

05.20.2008 - AI Review

David Cook

1) "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - Why take such a rousing song and take away the rouse? He was being given an opportunity to blow the roof and instead takes away the best thing about the song and turns it into a mopey and, at times, screechy version.

2) "Dream Big" - He sang this well, but the song itself is awful. It sounded like something from the '80's. It's the kind of song you expect to hear in some 1980s movie about a group of misfit high schoolers who enter an academic decathlon even though most of them are illiterate. They perservere, however, and in the days leading up to the competition they study their nuts off. "Dream Big" would play over the montage as the kids study all over the place--at the library, a basketball court, at a grocery store, at a carwash, at the toilet. I can see it. Will they pass? What makes the song worse is that it tries to hide its treacle in a bouncy pop melody, but there's no hiding the cheesy lyrics. It's schlock.

3) "The World I Know" - Every rock star knows you don't end on a whimper, but whimper David Cook does here. He takes an already downbeat song and slows it down to a crawl. He sounds good, as usual, but it makes me fear based on his song choices that he'll be a vaguely Christian empowerment rocker. I tremble at the idea.

David Archuleta

1) "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" - His best performance of the night, and perhaps the whole competition. He threw himself into the performance and I actually got goosebumps. The best moment, surprisingly, is when he struggles for a note because he's just singing from the gut. If anything it gives me hope that he'll move beyond the robotic element of his performing style.

2) "In This Moment" - Like Cook's song its message is pure cheese, but it embraces the cheese. Lesson: embrace the cheese. The song fit the Archuleta model for the season and he sang it well, but it's easily the most dismissible of his performances.

3) "Imagine" - The second time of anything is never as good. I was hoping he would add more to the song, but I think I was more riveted the first time he sang this. Like his other performances tonight, he was on point though.

Archuleta takes the evening, and he would be my choice to win. However, I think the winner will be David Cook.

Piazza, [L.A.] Catcher Retires

Mike Piazza is retiring from baseball, which is enough to make me feel old, but couple that with the fact that he played 16 seasons and it makes me realize exactly how old I am. I remember when he started playing! Can it really be that long ago?

So long, Piazza, Dodger catcher. I guess we'll never know if you are straight or if you are gay.