Christmas with the Quicks
I grew up expecting Christmas to be especially good and being disappointed, then expecting it to be awful as an adult and making that self-fulfilling. No expectations this year... and all is well. Still not crowned king of the island of misfit toys, but I think it's only a matter of time. And I found that, after everyone's eaten as much dinner as they can hold, three dozen cookies is exactly enough for 4 people!
Year in review
I may hit 1200 miles yet by year's end, as opposed to 2000 last year and 3000 the year before that. I only had one race and it was a 6K I didn't really train for or push through. It looked like running was over for me. This was the year of trying to climb peaks in Minnesota and I've got it out of my system; there was one other person trying it and I pushed him to do all of the ones that can be done without camping - he's experienced, equipped and seems to enjoy it (not me!), so I leave him to it, as I try to go back to running.
Lots of odd things happened in the cyberworld of blogdom. My favorite search leading to this blog: "1700's n1pples." [I had to alter that last word to cut down on unwanted traffic]. The strangest thing that happened online: apparently I proposed marriage to someone looking at getting booted out of the country (she didn't take it seriously and her visa's extended).
This blog's hit 1000 posts (this is officially number 1000!), and 150000 views and I've been referred to as "well-known" and "influential." The blog even made it onto the Ultrarunner Podcast - but not for running.
Face project
Using high tech gadgetry and my background in population genetics and engineering, I've been working on finding the most attractive face possible (and yes, it invites questions of taste). Here's where the project stands at the moment:
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| Dolls look like dolls for a reason, apparently. |
I started running 50-60 miles per week again, beginning in November. I hit a glitch in training early, but have got past it and things are going reasonably well. I expect in the spring I'll be able to run a marathon in 3:30 (aiming for sub-5 at the Chippewa 50K), which is not exactly impressive, unless you remember that I couldn't run 20 feet without gasping for air in August.
We're in the first week of bad winter weather (sub 15F, -10C) in Minnesota. We usually have 8 bad weeks, sometimes we get 12 and there's only 18 weeks until I'm supposed to race, so there's no way to not run in bad weather. I'm already switching days for workouts to get them in and it's meant putting hard ones back-to-back; that's led to some minor aches. I'm watching the asthma, the heel bursitis, the piriformis strain, some knee inflammation... and I'm keeping far enough away from "red-lining" that I'm not getting too sore to train.
I might still be a runner. Just not a very fast one any more.
11 comments:
I follow your blog a fair amount and I don't leave comments very often, however, I do today because its such great news to hear your back logging miles and feeling relatively well. Its great news Steve.
Whoo hoo!!!
And here I thought you were the King already. Sheesh!
I wish you a healthy conistent 2013.
Michael
christmas with the quicks: someone needs to make a movie with that title
face project: someone give that girl a cookie. or 3 dozen.
great to hear you talking optimistically about running!
i have enjoyed this year on your blog. you are well known and influential to me :)
All the best to you in 2013, Steve! I am happy to hear your training is going well, and I hope you have some great races this year. Good luck!
Glad to hear the running is on track for now, after a difficult year! Are you running on roads at this time of year, or do you have some runner-friendly trails in the Twin Cities?
@Wildknits: you should've heard the contest for weirdness at Xmas. No one's naming ME king!
@PPC: It's the doll-like appearance that's odd to me (especially the large eyes). The neck's too thin, but otherwise doesn't look too thin to me - just has high cheekbones. "Christmas with the Quicks" sounds too much like "Christmas with the Kranks" starring (I think) Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis.
@Robyn: I'm running on plowed pedestrian paths where I have courses measured accurately and allow me to track just what pace I'm running. No trails for me until maybe March!
So happy to hear your running is consistent and (mostly) injury free.
Christmas cookies are the reason for the season.
The big eyes freak me out as do the pouty lips. Exactly whose tastes are you using to gauge attractiveness? Just wondering.
Congrats on all the posts and all the blog hits. I've certainly come to enjoy reading your blog.
@Diana: I'm using a very small poll sample of those attracted to adult caucasian women. There's an adjustment phenomenon; the eyes and lips ARE weird, as they're unusually cartoonish, but as the judges (all men) spend time choosing among faces, they go further and further toward babyfaced and/or feminized. Not until after a long series of choices do they see just how far from average they stray. It's interesting psychologically.
Women choosing men's faces swing back and forth among opposite extremes.
Steve...keep grinding, the effort will pay off.
I saw your ramp-up on DailyMile. Great job getting out there! Definitely inspirational.
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