Chain Tagging

I was tagged by Anne to reveal five random facts about myself. This is the 21st century version of those old chain letters, right? I'm fearful that something horrible will happen to me or my family if I don't comply.

So in the interest of self-preservation, here are five random things about me you didn't already know:

1) I wore Forrest Gump-style leg braces when I was a little kid, because my legs were severely inwardly rotated. I'm pretty much OK now, but to this day I still can't touch the backs of my heels together.

2) The first music I ever bought with my own money was "Synchronicity" by the Police on cassette tape.

3) I think I have a crush on Anne-Sophie Mutter, but I'll probably never act on it.

4) At first I found Elmo completely annoying, but now I can't imagine Sesame Street without him.

5) My favorite Christmas CDs are Go Tell It On the Mountain by the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Bluegrass and White Snow by Patty Loveless. A Charlie Brown Christmas is a close third.

OK, there's my list. Now go and check out these blogs I like. I don't know if they'll play along with the tagging game, but they're all worth a few minutes of your net surfing time:

1) Rob the Runner - a Washington trail ultrarunner and marathoner who is recovering from an injury and already has a busy 2006 race calendar.

2) The Thinking Runner - who is, along with me, one of a dying breed: a passionate fan and student of the sport of running. He has an awesome video library of classic track races.

3) Oldman - a triathlete in Florida who also happens to be a cancer survivor.

4) Kim - a 30-something mom, aspiring marathoner, and fellow Californian who tries to balance her training with the rest of her hectic life. Can anyone relate to that?

5) Stronger - a young Colorado triathlete who writes beautifully and has already overcome more than her share of difficulty in life. Reading her candid writings, there have been times when I've wanted to reach through the computer and give her a hug.

Go give them a visit. Tell them I sent you.

And thanks for letting me play.

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Time Passages

I've written before about "the loop", a 13-mile route through Steinbeck Country that is our running group's Tuesday morning staple. My friend Mike has ben running it consistently for over 15 years, and I've been running it for almost 10 years. Our latest Monterey Herald article looks at how some things around Mike have changed in that period of time, while others haven't. Link to the article here.

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Santa's Fly-In

Since I declared marathon training officially on, I figured I had better drag my tail out and try a long run this weekend.

I started my 20-miler in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and here are some of the areas I ran past or through: Carmel Beach, Carmel Mission, the Pebble Beach golf links on Stillwater Cove, mansions and cypress forests along 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, and about 4 miles of the most beautiful rocky coastline anywhere in America.

It was a crystal-clear morning, temps in the high 40s on their way to the 70s by the afternoon. For whatever reason, I spent a lot of time thinking about the snowstorm on the East Coast, and the frigid temperatures across the rest of the country.

I know Thanksgiving has passed, but, I mean...I just couldn't have ordered it any better than the day we were blessed with today.

The run was pretty much what I expected: comfortable through about 13-14, then I worked too hard to keep a steady pace during miles 15 and 16, and struggled dearly through the last 3 miles. But it was 20 miles, and I'll take it.

Later in the morning we attended Santa's Fly-In at the old Carmel Valley Airstrip. The field is in disrepair and has been closed to aircraft for a few years now, but every year the Community Center arranges for Santa to fly into the airport in a helicopter, with a Christmas parade through Carmel Valley Village afterward.

It's totally small-town America, and totally charming. Families turn out in droves, and somehow it feels like Christmas despite the 70-degree temps.

I drove a truck in the parade, and my son rode in the back, waving to his classmates. My daughters watched with their mom from the road and collected pocketfuls of candy.

So, to recap: a solid long run, memorable family time, and a sunny December day in California. It really doesn't get much better than that.

Marathon season is on. Christmas season is on. God bless us every one.

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Return of the Unbalancing Force

Planned workout for this morning: 8 miles, with 4x 1-mile speed intervals.
Actual workout this morning: 4 miles easy, no intervals.

Planned workout for last Monday morning: 6 hilly miles through neighborhood.
Actual workout last Monday morning: none.

Planned workout for last Friday morning: 5 miles easy, followed by core work.
Actual workout last Friday: 10 minutes on rowing ergometer, 10 minutes of core work.

I could go further back, but the pattern is already evident. I've been terribly lethargic over the past few weeks, I've reduced or skipped at least two workouts per week, and I haven't done any running of higher intensity for almost a month.

For some reason, when the alarm goes off, I can't get myself out of bed. So 5:00 AM start times turn into 5:40 start times, 8 miles turns into 4, hard workouts turn into easy cruises.

I don't have winter weather to blame, for although it's been cold by our standards (low 30s in the mornings), it's nowhere what anyone would call real winter weather.

I'm really just battling Newton's first law: a body at rest tends to remain at rest.

After my ultramarathon in October, I took several weeks of very little exercising to let my body recover and to free myself mentally from the grind of one workout after another.

Now that I've been trying to train consistently again, I'm still battling the inertial effects of that layoff. I recognized what was happening, but it didn't bother me too much.

But this week I looked at the calendar, and noted there are only 20 weeks until the Big Sur Marathon, my favorite race of the year. That initially seems like a lot, but for me to go from minimal training to top form, that's cutting things pretty close.

So now the missed workouts and shortened runs are bothering me a little bit.

And maybe that's what I need. The second part of Newton's first law is a qualifying statement: unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this case, the unbalancing force is my own motivation. I've always been confident that when the need arises, my willpower can conquer my body's natural instincts to take the easy path.

I care now. The unbalancing force is back. It's time to get serious and overcome my physical inertia. Marathon training is on.

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Space Blanket Snowflakes

I never know what to do with space blankets.

I've always considered those blankets given to marathon finishers worthy of respect, similar to the deference some people have for marathon medals.

Plus, they were developed by NASA, so it just seems pretty cool to walk around for a while in something that astronauts use (I had this astronaut dream as a kid. At least, until I understood there was a lot of flying involved.)

My kids like playing with them, too. After most marathons, I'll bring the blanket home and toss it on the floor for them to use for a fort, or a blanket, or a tablecloth, whatever.

Unfortunately, they take up a lot of space, make a lot of noise, and become unsightly laying around the house for several days in a row. My wife and I reached an agreement that space blankets shall be kept for only one week after a race, then thrown away.

So I was surprised last month when she told me to keep the blanket from my last race, the Big Sur Half-Marathon. She had a plan in mind.

Every December our kids cut out paper snowflakes and we hang them from the ceiling, to create as wintery an atmosphere as possible in central California. This year, I folded the space blanket in half about 6 or 7 times, and cut out a circular shape. The kids then used the circular pieces to cut snowflakes to go alongside the paper ones.

And you know what? The space blanket snowflakes look pretty cool. They reflect bits of light around the room at times, almost like they are sparkling. They make a gentle rustling noise when the heater vents are open, which sounds like a winter's breeze without the chill.

If you look at them closely, you can see parts of the race logo on different flakes, just to remind us that this is definitely a runner's house.

A runner's house with a Christmas tree, cloth snowmen, and pretend snowflakes. For this California boy, that's as ideal as winter can get.

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Christmas is Coming

Actual conversation between me, my 7-year-old son, and my 4-year-old daughter this morning in my bathrom while I was shaving:

Daughter: Christmas is coming! I can't wait.

Me: I know, it will be great!

Son: We need to remember to leave some cookies and milk for Santa.

Daughter: And maybe some Gatorade.

Me: Yes, he has a long night of flying around. Gatorade might help him.

Son: No, it should be milk.

Daughter: We should leave a present for Santa, too! He might not get too many gifts.

Son: Good idea.

Me: I'll bet Santa could use a wrist-mounted GPS system, so he can tell how high he is flying, how far he has gone, and so that he doesn't get lost.

Daughter: (blank stare)

Son: Umm...no, Dad.

Me: He probably would like one, though.

Son: Whatever we give him, we should leave it in its original box. That way if he doesn't want it, he can just leave it at some other kid's house later on.

Daughter: Good idea. (To her brother) Want to watch Dora now?

Son: Sure. Bye, Dad.

Daughter: Bye, Dad.

So I probably won't be getting a GPS. On the plus side, I did a 90-minute trail run this morning without any real soreness from my nagging injuries. And it ws 32 degrees outside, making this the first day of hat-wearing in these parts. The days are finally getting colder.

And Christmas is coming. I can't wait.

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Candy Land Makeover?

It was pure coincidence that shortly after I wrote the Candy Land piece below, we bought a Dora the Explorer Christmas video for our kids.

Imagine my surprise, then, when one of the first previews on the DVD was for a Candy Land video, coming soon to a Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and every other mass-marketing outlet near you.

Actually, I wasn't surprised so much by the fact that there is a movie version in the works(I guess that was inevitable), but that there have been substantive changes to the Candy Land game we purchased just a few years ago. I Googled the Candy Land home page, and confirmed that indeed the characters have been modified.

For example, Queen Frostine on our board game has been demoted to Princess Frostine on the website. Our Princess Lolly is now identified simply as Lolly.

Well, what the heck happened in Candy Land to cause the stripping of these regal titles? Sometimes when a new CEO takes over a troubled company, there is a downsizing that results in widespread layoffs, pay cuts, and demotions - is that what happened here?

Was there a coup in Candy Land that somehow went unreported in the midst of another flare-up in our global war on terror? Because in our household, those are equally noteworthy developments. At the very least, it should warrant its own 60 Minutes piece.

If there was a takeover, the new Candy Master must also be somewhat sexist to demote the highest ranking female characters. Thankfully he didn't change Gramma Nutt into just Mother Nutt.

Most shockingly, Plumpy, the charatcer closest to the start, is nowhere to be seen. In his place now stands something called Mama Gingertree, who "gives you a great big welcome to your adventure." Huh? Where'd Plumpy go?

Now, there may be several explanations for this, but I'm afraid it's a case of political correctness run amok.

Have people become so sensitive that we can't have a character named "Plumpy" anymore? If so, is the opposite also true - would it be offensive to have a character named "Skinny"? What about sarcastic nicknames, like big guys named Tiny or scrawny guys nicknamed Muscles? Are any nicknames acceptable any more?

(Purely random tangent: One of my favorite relay team names at the Big Sur Marathon is the Fat White Kenyans. Now these guys could be accused of offending three groups of people simultaneously - but I don't think it has ever been taken that way.)

Not only that, but they kept the obese gumdrop character named Jolly. Now...isn't that the more offensive stereotype to perpetuate: the jolly fat man?

I thought it was great to have Plumpy at the start of the game. In addition to my whole "similar spacing as the marathon" concept, it's good for kids to have a few negative role models, also. The story on the game box says that all Plumpy does is eat candy - well, isn't that a good example for kids of what happens if you eat too much and don't exercise?

I mean, the game is called CANDY LAND!! Shouldn't there be some indication of what happens if you just sit around on your butt stuffing your face instead of going out on your great adventure?

OK, that's enough. I mean...it's a children's game. Maybe I'm reading too much into this. I swear I get too attached to my ideas and writing for my own good. I guess I've rambled enough about Candy Land for now.

Well, except one more thing. On the website, there's a FAQ page with an e-mail address for customer service. I wrote them and asked two questions: 1) Why did Queen Frostine and Princess Lolly get demoted, and 2) What the heck happened to Plumpy? I'll post the answers if I get any.

And for anyone who didn't think anyone could write 2,000 words about Candy Land...just know that I'm quite an unusual breed. The next post will be about running, I promise.

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