March Madness and Spring Idiocy

Recent Training

(3/9. 50 in 8:45)
3/10. 10 in 101. Tired and really hungry.
3/11. 11 in 100. Starving!
3/12. 12 in 92.5 HRav=151 With 10 in 73.5

Sharp pain developed in the top of my left knee at 10 miles. Also, I have sore metatarsal heads in my left foot, the right heel bruise still hurts and the right achilles tendon is starting to act up. 83 miles in 4 days is not smart. I'm falling apart.

3/13. 4 in 36. Left knee aches and I spent the beautiful day bailing water from my basement.
3/14. 2 in 18.5 Babying left knee. I haven't had knee problems in years. I definitely have to stop running 50 mile hill runs on pavement and then not taking easy days!
3/15. 20 in 164. HRav=130, pk=143. Stiff at the start, some back and hip discomfort at 15, left leg went numb at 18. First the left knee was a little problematic, then the right one - I obviously changed my gait to baby the knee and just pushed the problem around.
3/16. ~20 in ~170. Ran 4 in 32, when left knee told me I had to find a soft surface (thank goodness trail season starts soon!). Went to the Human Race and ran back and forth along the course, cheering people on and running with a few - I think Brent appreciated the company - and checking out the competition, since a few are running Chippewa in 4 weeks. Hoped to see Ramacier either way too fast or way too slow, but no such luck; I'll have to beat him fair and square with my better trail knowledge.

Choose your brackets

I lived in Indiana for seven years, so I either had to learn to like basketball or auto racing (or maybe tractor pulls). When I heard a 4-year-old shouting "What's the 2 man doing in the post!" I knew it would be hard work to get up to speed. Here's what I learned about choosing teams for office pools in the NCAAs:
1) Choose two or three number 1's and write them in all the way to the final four. If you pick only two, then add a number 2 0r 3. The other pick can be up to a number 6.
2) Everyone knows #12 beats #5 more often than expected, so to win a pool, choose one of these and choose another upset - either a #13 or a #11, as these are never chosen.
3) There's always a team from Carolina you've never heard of that does well. Coastal Carolina and Central Carolina State both ruined me.
4) Never bet against the Temple Owls or the Gonzaga Zags in the first round.
5) One conference always outclasses all the others. Usually it's the ACC. This year, I think it'll be the Pac-10.
6) The more you know about college basketball, the less likely you'll win a pool.
7) Always bet against Indiana (I went to Purdue).