Sitting in the dark with monsters

What I did in the cold



When we had two straight days below zero, Carl and Allan ran a 100 miler in Hawaii and Julie actually went north and did the snowshoe marathon. Me? I went to the movies. I figured, if people without air conditioning go to theaters in the summer to cool off, then, because I have oil heat, I should save money by turning the thermostat to 45 and watch horror flicks.



"Cloverfield." Like the Blair Witch films, the marketing was planned before the script was written. Like Blair Witch, the shaky cam was used throughout. Like Blair Witch, it's mercifully short. Like Blair Witch, it's awful. Not dull, though, which makes it better than Blair Witch.



"Saw 4." The fourth of any horror series is usually good for a laugh. For example, the fourth Jaws had the shark take revenge personally. The fourth Howling involved marsupials. In this case, those involved knew what the audience wanted and delivered it. The first film was surprisingly good, if sadistic, gory, sick and implausible. The fourth is not.



"Teeth." This is hard to find (I cheated and didn't see it in a theater), but entertaining. The plot is reminiscent of trash films from the 70's, especially Ms. 45 (aka Angel of Vengeance) and the porno film Chatterbox (which I will not confirm whether or not I've seen). It's much bloodier than I expected, but definitely worthwhile.



"27 Dresses." Scared me half to death.

Recent Training

I pack no provisions for my long journey - entering emptiness under the midnight moon. - Kuang-Wen (ca. 1200 AD)

1/14. 8 in 78. Really cold, really slow, really tired.
1/15. 11 in 99 HRav=137, pk=180(=max). Included 3x 1200m at 6 1/2 min./mile - 400m easy.
1/16. 11 in 100.5
1/17. 10 in 85.5 indoors at Metrodome. Digestive trouble. Tired. Need a day off.
1/18. 0 (-20 windchill)
1/19. 0 (-30 windchill)
1/20. 4 in 35.5 (-20 windchill)
1/21. 30 in 4:50, indoors at Bielenberg Sport Center. Spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the whitest place on earth - an indoor soccer field in Woodbury. The plan was to run 35 slowly, at low heart rate. Ran slow, but it was harder than it should've been. Did a few miles with Bob H. (we retold the same stories we told the last time we met a year ago) and Don D. (who wanted advice on running fast and warned me Allan would push me to be slower). I ran here almost exactly a year ago to the day, doing 40.5 miles in 6 hours, with less discomfort; the difference I think was that I had done more long runs and faster overall training because the weather was better all winter last year. This time, 210 laps was enough: the kids playing were getting on my nerves, the 5 hour barrier everyone hits hit harder than usual and I could see the snow piling up and I wanted to get home before rush hour traffic. Excuses, excuses. I could've done the extra 5 miles without any trouble, I just didn't. It'll take a while to get my mind right for training. Last year, I was focused and hungry and I planned my long runs meticulously; now it's just another 30 miler (ho hum).