This weekend is one of my favorite times of the year in Baltimore. It's Otakon 2008! What's Otakon, you might ask? Well, from what I know, it's a convention devoted to a style of Japanese anime and manga fiction that is held once a year in Baltimore. Basically, thousands and thousands of fans descend upon Baltimore and go to the convention center to meet other afficionados, buy anime stuff and generally go on a two day anime binge. During that time most of them are wearing costumes of their favorite characters that they've made at home and they proceed to wear them as they mill about the Inner Harbor and downtown. While most of these people are teenagers or college students, there are always a few creepy adults wandering around as well in full costume.
Needless to say, it makes for great people watching. Just sitting and watching tourists and office workers who have no clue what's going on walk aroudn with the Otakon people is hilarious. The looks of bewilderment and a little fear is very entertaining. For those of us who live in the city and have experienced this before, it's like a little festival celebrating weird and eccentric people.
Their devotion to anime is supreme, as evidenced by the fact that there were people milling about in full costume this morning when I was out running. Mind you, it was not even 6 AM and they were out and about. By the time I finished my 4 mile fartlek run (more on the actual run below), there were hundreds of them walking about, freaking out the hobos and commuters alike. By the time I got to the office, there was a line snaking around the Baltimore Convention Center of people waiting to get in to the convention. Go to Google Maps and search for the Baltimore Convention Center to see just how big that building is and you'll have an idea of how long this line was.
Thus far the best costume I have seen is somebody (I couldn't tell if it was male or female) who was dressed in black pants, a brown trenchcoat that was buttoned and tied. They were wearing a black fedora and around their head was a pillowcase with the face of a jack-o-lantern drawn on it in magic marker. They were being led around by other costumed people in their party, which makes me think they didn't have the forethought to cut eye holes in the pillowcase. Unreal.
Anyway, I left the anime people in the Inner Harbor and ran into Harbor East and Federal Hill this morning for my first attempt at a fartlek run. I did a 1 mile warm up before alternating between fast and slow paces every quarter mile for miles 2 and 3. I then ran 1.5 miles to cool down. Overall, I was pleased with this, although I think I will begin to do half mile increments to get more out of the fast portions.
The weather was terrific this morning as well, 64 with a breeze and little humidity. Just about perfect for running.
Tomorrow I will do my long run in the morning (early to avoid the Otakon crowds) and then spend the rest of the day preparing for my trip to Shenandoah. I'm going to leave early on Sunday morning to have plenty of time to get there and get my bearings before setting off. Tomorrow I need to go to REI to buy a flint, a Power Bar or two and a small First Aid kit. I am debating the usefulness of buying a trail pillow...I might splurge on one. I also need to go to Wal-Mart and get some dried fruit or other snacks that will give me energy on the trail.
Tonight I'll be packing everything up to make sure I know the best place for everything. I have plenty of room right now, even with the huge dinners I bought at REI a few weeks back that I intend to use as the main source of my energy for the week. I'll be taking only a few pieces of clothing (other than what I'll be wearing on Sunday, of course) to minimize the load.
The best thing is that after I get back to the car on Wednesday, I can drive 10 miles to a campsite and pay $3 for a 15 minute shower before I have to drive back to Baltimore for 3 hours. That will feel wonderful after 4 days on the trail (although in my defense, I don't smell when I sweat, but I would prefer to smell like Nivea for Men body wash, all else being equal).
So, I will post sometime tomorrow afternoon once I get back from my errands to recount my run before leaving on Sunday morning. Still haven't signed up for the Full Moon Run, but I can wlays do that on Friday as it's only $10.
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