Bagging the 15K & New Comic Wednesday (Belated)

After some thought, I've decided to bag the Falls Road 15K next Sunday for a few reasons. To wit:

1. We haven't registered yet. So, not running the race won't cost us anything. Not the most important reason, but saving $60 on a race we don't want to run is non-trivial.
2. Both our training plans call for long runs greater than 9.3 miles (15K) next Sunday. A.'s plan calls for 10 miles, while I will try to drag myself 11 miles. So, we'd have had to run a good distance farther than the actual race.
3. No course map had been posted to the race's Active.com website. That meant that we had no idea what the course would be ahead of time. Not the end of the world, but if you're trying to plan to run an additional mile or more after the race, you need to know where the finish line is.
4. Our experience with these sorts of events is that they're typically not well organized beyond registration. The course may or may not be clearly marked and accurately measured. There will be water stations, but no way of knowing where (at what distance) on the course. While the fast runners will be at the front, no doubt, so will a bunch of slow joggers and walkers. Without clear instructions to pull their head out and get in the back of the pack, they'll block the other runners behind them.

Does that mean the race will be a miserable disaster? Definitely not. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun. But it's just not for us. With just three weeks until the half marathon, neither of us wants to waste a Sunday morning running a race that's too short and too disorganized to benefit our training.

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 Obviously, today is not New Comic Wednesday. But yesterday was busy and I basically forgot to post, so there you go. Before getting to what I plan on purchasing this weekend, let me very quickly recap what I picked up last Saturday.

 

Manhattan Projects #6 - "Star City"

Image Comics

I haven't read this yet (probably tonight), but I was disappointed that this book got pushed back throughout August. As a result, they didn't release a MP book in August, so it feels like forever since I read it. I'm going to have to skim back through issue #5 to refresh my memory. But the book is outstanding, and I'm hoping the delays don't recur for #7 in October.

 

Batman #0

DC Comics

Like all the other "zero issues" coming out this month, this book puts a new spin on the origins of Batman. But what I most like is that you get to see bits and pieces of how other characters from the other Bat-books came to be. I very much liked that you were seeing the Bat-universe in its earlier stages; like the real universe maybe a half billion years after the Big Bang. I also really like the taste you get of the Red Hood Gang, given where the overall story is going in the book.**

 

Green Lantern #0

DC Comics

This zero issue got rave reviews all around, and I was intrigued by the first Arab American Lantern. The story is crisp; it moves along really well and I reached the end before I knew it. I'll have to go back and re-read it, no doubt. Simon Baz's character is going to be very interesting; I like that Green Lanterns aren't perfect when they're chosen and have to "grow into" the role, often the hard way. I'll definitely be picking up Green Lantern #13.

 

Star Wars: Blood Ties #1

Dark Horse Comics

This five-part series came out back in 2010, but I'm on a Star Wars comic collecting stint now, and found this at my local shop for $1.00. It's a good start to the series, and I'd say Boba Fett is one of my top Star Wars characters (I'm an Obi Wan man, myself). I'll be keeping my eyes open for the other four issues of this, of course, along with other series. I'm using this to get pumped for the Brian Wood Star Wars book coming out in January.

 

So this week, Alliance Comics is having their anniversary sale, and with A. gone all day Saturday at a rehearsal, I plan on going down and checking out what they've got. But I have two must-haves as well:

 

1. Walking Dead #102
2. Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison, Part 5 of 5

In addition, I'll rifle through their back issues a little more and see if I can turn up any other Star Wars books (at $1.00 each, it's not a huge hit to swoop in and get a bunch). If the price is right, I'd like to pick up Batman: Knightfall or Arkham Asylum or The Dark Knight Returns graphic novels.

 

 

 

**My sleeper prediction for the new story arc is that The Joker used to be the leader of the Red Hood Gang. He and Batman face off during some robbery at a chemical plant, the Red Hood leader gets knocked into a vat of chemicals by Batman, thus creating The Joker. You heard it here first.

 

Weekend Running Review

Another weekend has come and gone well before its time, and that means I'm writing this from my desk on a Monday morning. Don't worry, I'm multitasking and writing this while I run a series of reports and chip away at a long term project, so I'm being doubly productive.

Going into the weekend, our plan had been to get up early on either Saturday or Sunday morning and do our respective long runs on the NCR Trail. Because the trail is a popular weekend destination, and because the weather here in Baltimore has been excellent the last week or so, we would have to be up there early (as in, pre-8AM) to avoid parking on the shoulder and walking to the trail versus snagging a space in the lot at the trailhead. Not to mention that the trail gets more congested as the day progresses.

We decided to try for Sunday morning, as we both ran Friday morning and wanted a day between that and the long run. Unfortunately, we were up late Saturday night attending a gala concert for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, so we totally slept through the 7AM alarm on Sunday morning. So, I ended up doing my 9 miler around town instead, as I had other errands to run later in the morning.

My route (map and elevation chart are below) took me from our neighborhood out to Ft. McHenry and back, a route I hadn't run in quite some time. Unfortunately, I ran into some "intestinal distress" about 2 miles into the run, which made for an increasingly uncomfortable/painful run as the miles ticked by. By the time I was coming back from the fort, it was wearing on me for sure, and there are few places to make a pit stop along that route. I foolishly passed up the only McDonald's along the way, and every place else they generally expect you to be a paying customer in order to use the facilities. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any cash or a debit card along, so that option was out of the question.

The other notable development with this run was the beginnings of my fueling strategy. On Saturday morning, we drove up to our nearest REI and stocked up on gels and the like. A. wanted to try the GU Espresso-flavored gels, while I needed to get some shot blocks. We were able to find everything we were looking for and even got a "bulk discount" for buying a dozen different energy items.

We picked up a few of the espresso gels (which A tried and liked a lot), some Power Bars, a half dozen Clif shot block packets, and a tube of recovery drink tablets. I thought I'd try them as a possible alternative to my homemade Gatorade. If they seem to provide better in-running hydration, I may switch. But if not, it's definitely more economical to just mix up my own stuff at home.

But yesterday I just used the shot blocks (tropical punch flavor), and was pleased. Counting yesterday, I have four long runs remaining between now and the half marathon. So, I started yesterday by just eating the minimum recommended (3 blocks). They tasted like fruit snacks (think Gushers or the like), and about 10 minutes after eating them, I felt less tired, particularly in my legs. I think I could have eaten one or even two more and felt better, but I don't want to eat all six and then feel sick. But overall, sticking with three or four blocks midway through the race should be fine. Next week, I'll use the GU tablets and see how that goes.





We're going to try to make it out to the trail this weekend. I'm thinking on Saturday morning, since we may go to the Maryland Renaissance Festival on Sunday, and the last thing I want to do is run 10 miles and then spend another half day on my feet. I want to be able to enjoy my turkey leg, mug of ale and time in ye olde tymes!

2012 Blue Moon Run Race Report

Our local running store, Falls Road Running, runs a series of races throughout the year and the Blue Moon Run is one of those events. Of course, they only hold it every few years, given the rarity of a blue moon. In fact, I think after this one, the next blue moon won't come around until 2015. At any rate, this was my first time running this race. It, like many of the other Falls Road Running races, was pretty informal, although you did have to register. But there were no race bibs, so I'm certain there were numerous people who ran it who didn't pay the affordable $15 registration fee, most of which went to restoring parts of the trail.

The race was a simple out and back route along the North Central Rail Trail and was billed as being six miles total. That was perfect for both A. and me, as we were looking for a six mile long run for that weekend. Since the run was being held at night (under the blue moon, obvi), I really wasn't worried about getting a solid time. I just thought it would be cool running at night.

So we headed out to Hunt Valley, MD, which is about a 25 minute drive from our apartment in Baltimore City, parked and got on the shuttles taking runners to the trailhead, as the parking lot there was too small. I thought there'd be maybe a few hundred runners doing the race. I was wrong. I heard a final tally of over 700 runners! On a trail about 7-8 feet wide. And on an out and back route, which meant two-way traffic. But we got our glow sticks and waited for word from organizers about where and how to line up.

As I said, Falls Road Running events tend to be informal, and much of the time that's fine, as a.) you're running in the daylight and b.) the course can handle the number of runners. Neither was true this time, unfortunately. Nobody made any announcements, although at one point I did see someone with a bullhorn saying something, but it was so garbled nobody paid any attention. People just started lining up on the trail at some point, so we did too. Then suddenly, the pack lurched forward and we went with it, thinking the race had begun. It had...but with walkers up front blocking the trail, traffic backed up quickly.

Much of the first half of the race was stopping and starting and darting around joggers and walkers walking two or even three abreast blocking the trail. Much of the time, I just ran in the grass/bushes on the side to get around them, hoping I wouldn't step on a log or a rock or a turtle. A. and I ran together at the beginning, but I moved ahead after a few moments. But she reported the same frustrations as I had. By the time we turned around, runners were better spaced out, but I still dodged and passed people on my way back who by that time were walking. And I am by no means a speedy runner.

My run overall was good, but tough. After the first two miles, I was able to find some people to draft to pace me a bit so I could find a comfortable level of effort, and that carried me to the turnaround. Unfortunately, the turnaround was not really at 3 miles, but more like 3.5 miles. Which made a six mile run a seven mile run. Not a huge deal if you're already hitting 7 miles or more regularly, but we weren't at that point, so the miles coming back were rougher. Plus it was frustrating because with the darkness, there was no way to gauge where you were on the trail or identify many landmarks. Lighted mile markers (Just a stick with a number and some glow sticks) would have been a great addition.

Making it more burdensome was the humidity. While the temperatures cooled significantly out in the country, the humidity did us in. By the time the race began, temps were well into the 70s, which was an improvement considering that temps in downtown Baltimore that day had risen above 90. But the quick cool down caused fog/mist to form and that humidity got trapped beneath the trees on the trail. It made the trail much more humid than it otherwise would have been, although seeing the moonlight come through the trees and refract off the mist hovering above the tall grass was really cool; like something out of a ghost story. I was soaked through, as if I had been running through the rain, by the time I got to the finish.

Because of the dodging and weaving, and the extra mile (literally!) that I went, my time was north of an hour. But again, I knew going in that running at night with 700 other runners would not yield a PR, and I was fine with that. But the lack of organization at the trailhead created a lot of problems, I felt. Surely someone had to raise a concern about putting 700 people on that trail at the same time without any organization by speed or ability? Capping the race at 500 runners, and organizing them into several waves (fastest to walkers) might have at least made the congestion less acute. And at night, the lack of communication and organization is amplified. Remember, out on the trail, there are no lights at all, so it's pitch black save for the moonlight and glow sticks. You can't assume people will know where to go or what to do; you need to tell them. Apparently, somewhere afterward there was Gatorade, bananas, an granola bars, but we had no way to know that because there were no (lighted) signs or people telling runners about it. So we got on the shuttle thirsty and hungry, only to find some runners get on with snacks. Frustrating.

So, overall, the idea of running on a trail at night is better than the reality. We likely won't do that race again, although with proper planning and communication, it could be a very cool and unique event. As it stands, it was a near free for all with an improperly measured course and little organization beyond the shuttle buses (which ran relatively smoothly!).

End of Crazy Two Weeks

Ed.: I totally forgot about the Blue Moon Run back on the 31st. Mainly because we left town the next morning for a wedding in DC. I'll make my next post a race report. Promise.

By today, the craziness of the last two weeks or so will, with any luck, abate somewhat, and allow me to breathe a bit. I've essentially been doing three jobs (mine, and two other guys who have been on vacation or who have left our group) since last week, which doesn't sound all that hard. But I was in the office only two days last week, which meant I was doing five days' worth of work in two. Multiply that by three jobs and you see why the posting has been sporadic. Truth be told, I spend a little time at the office taking a break and writing posts, so that spare time was the first to go when things picked up. It was hectic, to say the least, and I was thrilled when the weekend arrived and we got out of town for a few days.

But, that hasn't really impacted my training, for the most part. We were in DC for a wedding for Labor Day weekend and I was able to get my 7 miler in before the ceremony. It was really humid that weekend, which made the run very tough going, much less the outdoor wedding ceremony later that afternoon. But it was a scenic run down the Rock Creek Park Trail, to the Lincoln Memorial and back again.



Red balloon marks the start and end points



We spent this past weekend at The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, VA. It's an old resort out in the mountains that's all about old-school Southern luxury and it was really nice. We had planned to go canoeing on Saturday, but it was rainy much of the day, which actually worked out better. A. and I both went to the fitness center and did our long runs instead. I generally hate doing long runs on a treadmill, but there really wasn't any other option. The resort is literally off a state road in the mountains of southern Virginia, so there are no sidewalks to speak of. And the trails, while beautiful, are steep and not ideal for a slow 8 mile run. For instance, we hiked to the top of a mountain hill overlooking the resort on Friday evening after we arrived. I'll post our pictures from the hike later, as they're on our desktop at home.

So, the treadmill it was. But I got it done without too much trouble, and am on track to hit a nine miler this weekend. And afterward, we changed and relaxed in the heated indoor pool while it rained and temps dropped into the high 50s outside. Then we hit afternoon tea (free hot or iced tea, sandwiches and sweets!) and then went back to the room and chilled until dinner. So, not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

The weather here in Baltimore has broken, at least for the time being, and temps are barely reaching 80 with reasonable humidity. A. wants to go up to the NCR Trail this weekend to do our long runs, so the weather should be ideal for that. We're done traveling for a bit, which is good because we've spent the past three weekends out of town and I'm ready for a weekend at home, frankly.

Incommunicado

I don't even know if that's how you spell that, but I'll let it stand.

So, it's been what, a week or so since I posted last? Too long and that's more a product of being busy than slacking off. Work has generally been hit and miss, but I've been working steadily on some long term projects that have taken up more time than I thought, and I've gotten a few other items of more urgency added to my plate as well.

Plus, we spent a long weekend in the Midwest with the in-laws, so I really didn't have any opportunity to write anything from Thursday night through Monday. And I failed to pack my motivation to run, so you'll notice a nice four day gap in my training there as well.

Nothing very mind-blowing to report on the running front. I'm still mostly on track with my training for the half marathon and have a 7 miler planned for this Sunday, even though we'll be in DC for a wedding for the weekend. I'll post that route and elevation on Monday after we get back. I'm hoping I won't get off track with this run like I did with my run back in July. I'll be running mostly on Rock Creek Park Trail, so it'll be more difficult to go off the path this time around.

I have made good strides with my cross training, however. I started going to yoga classes at our nearby studio. My wife has gone for more than a year and has really liked it. Plus, she got me a free one-month membership for $15 (they normally want $99 a month!) to try it out, so I thought, why not? I can go to unlimited classes until September 15 and have gone to three thus far. And I have to admit that I really like it. It's pretty difficult for me, mainly because I'm about as flexible as a piece of steel. But also because I've never done (practiced?) yoga before. But, I've stuck to the beginners courses and have improved each time.

The challenge of the stretches and poses, mixed with the focus on relaxation of your mind and body appeal to me, I guess. At this point, of course, I'm just trying to make it through the class without falling over like an oaf, but I think as one practices more, you go beyond trying to physically do it and begin to focus on the mental aspects of yoga. Certainly, your improved strength and flexibility play a part in that as well.

As it stands, I sweat more in yoga class than I do while running (unless it's exceptionally hot out when I'm running, which is rare)! In fact, the only time I've sweat more was when I played squash in prep school and college. I went to a class last night and was dripping, literally, by like 20 minutes in. I weighed myself before and after class and found that I lost 3 pounds in 75 minutes! And this was not a "hot yoga" class! But, I drank a liter of water afterwards and felt really fine. Fine enough to head out for an easy run this morning.

I'm going to try to go twice per week until my month trial expires. After that, I plan on going at least once per week to the community classes they offer. The community classes are taught by the same instructors, but they're much cheaper. So, a monthly membership is $99, which is pretty high. We already spend $70 per month on the gym (that's for each of us...they don't have a family membership option, to my chagrin). Spending another $200 a month is a lot to ask, even though we both very much enjoy yoga. If you pay per class, it's $16. The community classes, however, are a cool $6 (cash only), which is much more reasonable. We can each go once per week and spend about $50 a month, which is a bargain.

Ideally, I'd like to go twice per week, but the community class schedule doesn't really fit my schedule wherein I could attend two classes per week, and I can find other things to use that ~$25 per month on anyway. So, I'm going to look into getting some sort of DVD program.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll give it a few more weeks before I make any final pronouncements about yoga's ability to relax my muscles and mind and improve my flexibility, although I have felt great after all three classes. Even after the first class, which was painful and made me sore the next day, I felt good and slept like a baby.

New Comic Wednesday: Batman and Picard and Zombies

First, running: I had meant to get up and get my 3 miler in this morning, but I guess I turned my alarm off without realizing it, because when I awoke, it felt later than 6AM. And indeed, it was 7:10, which meant no run this morning. But, I may head out for an ultra-rare evening run to make up for the lapse. Or I may go to the gym and do it there, as further punishment for oversleeping.

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It's not often I actually get to the comic book store on Wednesday to snap up that week's latest new offerings. Usually, I hit Alliance Comics once every other Saturday or Sunday to pick up whatever new issues off my subscription list are waiting for me. I have to do this for a number of reasons:

1. While close by, driving from the apartment to Federal Hill on a Saturday afternoon is annoying. Parking is a pain and you're dodging hung over college kids stumbling out of doors for the first time at 1PM. Like I said, annoying.
2. If I went to the store every week, I'd be broke. I inevitably see something I want and risk impulse buying far too many issues.
3. A corollary to #2: spending that much money on comics would almost certainly incur spousal wrath. As most married men know or soon learn, a happy wife means a happy life. Words to live by. 

But this week was different. I had meant to go this past Saturday, but it just didn't happen. The logistics of my Saturday were such that I would not have been able to go to Alliance without doing serious backtracking or going out of my way. Despite driving an Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, I hate backtracking and avoid it whenever possible. Moreover, while I had one new issue come out last week (8/8), I thought I had two coming today, so waiting made more sense anyway.  So, today at lunch I walked down to Alliance and picked up some reading for the rest of the week.

Batman #12

Source: DC Comics

I am unclear if this is the final entry in the Court of the Owls arc, or if it's the one-off between CoO and the Issue #0 installment that's supposed to come in September/October. As you can see from the cover, it doesn't say Court of Owls, but I had seen somewhere that this was supposed to be the wrap up for the story. I'm guessing this will be a stand alone issue with a little bit at the beginning about the Court and then a small lead in at the end with the new Joker story arc coming in October/November, which I can't wait to read.

Walking Dead #101

Source: Image Comics

It feels like it's been months since Walking Dead #100 came out, and I guess that makes sense. They really pushed hard to get to issue #100 right before CCI back in early July, which probably exhausted everyone. Then they actually went to CCI and did panels, autographings, interviews, etc. And even still, issue #100 came out the second week of July (I think), and it's only been a month. It just FEELS longer after two months of getting a TWD book every three weeks or so.

I typically re-read the previous issue of all the books I get before diving in to the newest issue, just to refresh my memory and get my narrative momentum up. I'll definitely do tat with TWD #100 and #101, too.

The Massive #3



Source: Dark Horse Comics

 The story concept for The Massive is compelling (check out the review of issue #1 from CBR for a run-down), and I really liked the art throughout most of the first two issues. But it has been plodding along a bit, with so many flashbacks interrupting the present-day action, the story has advanced very little. I'm hoping that changes in #3, which has gotten good reviews.

Star Trek 100-Page Spectacular Summer 2012



Source: IDW

 And a relatively last-minute purchase. I grew up watching Star Trek: TNG and caught wind of this book yesterday while perusing CBR in the evening. I have not really gotten in to the Star Trek comics, mainly because they tend to focus on the original series, or the recent re-make of the original series movies. And while there is a Star Trek: TNG/Dr. Who crossover book out there, I'm not a Dr. Who fan and the book has gotten only middling reviews. I'm waiting for Jonathan Hickman's new Star Wars comic coming in January and would consider something similar with a TNG book if one ever emerged.

Anyway, this is actually two stories in one: a TNG story and a Voyager story. I was never THAT in to Voyager (I'd rank them as TNG, Enterprise, DS9, Original Series, Voyager) but will always take a Star Trek story involving the Borg. I have high hopes for this and may look in to other IDW Star Trek books if this is really good.

Everyone is Running Downhill Except Me

So, turns out that the men's Olympic marathon was on Sunday and not Saturday...who knew? In the back of my mind, I thought Saturday was not the right day, but I plowed ahead anyway. And within maybe an hour I realized I was wrong, but really didn't feel like logging in to Blogger and changing the post, etc. So, my bad. Somehow I doubt it made much of a difference.

But, for those who didn't blindly follow my post and not visit any other Olympics-related website the entire weekend, Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich won the gold medal, claiming that country's first gold in the marathon in 2:08:01. Silver and bronze were claimed by Kenyans Abel Kirui (2:08:27) and Wilson Kipsang (2:09:37).


However, American Meb Keflezighi came in fourth after being as far back as 19th around the halfway point in the race. That's a fantastic finish for Meb, who is 37 and was the silver medalist in Athens in 2004. He covered 26 miles, 385 yards in 2:11:06. Here's an article on Runner's World about his race. These were his final Olympics, and I'm happy to see he went out on such a positive note.

Anyway, this weekend saw some wonderful weather here (for August, of course), and I completed my 5.5 miler under a cloudless sky in high 70s temperatures and low humidity. The sun was intense and it was definitely toasty in the sunlight versus the shade, but compared to some runs earlier in the summer, it was nice. I ran around the harbor and down into Federal Hill/Locust Point before turning around and coming back up into Mt. Vernon.



As you can see from the elevation chart above, the route has some decent elevation changes and the final mile or so is all uphill as you climb from sea level at the harbor up into Mt. Vernon. But I swear every time I ran uphill, I passed several other runners going downhill. But then when I was running downhill, I never once saw anyone else running uphill in the opposite direction. More than once I was trudging uphill only to be passed by another runner cruising downhill at warp speed. They ran almost effortlessly as I seemed to drag myself up the side of a mountain. Yet I never got the reward of feeling (mistakenly) athletically superior to those poor saps heading uphill as I glided, as if on two little clouds instead of shoes, downhill. "Well, everyone's a freaking Olympic marathoner when running downhill," I kept thinking to myself. Yet that didn't take away the indignity.

OK, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but still, when you run up a hill, you want SOME form of instant reward. "This will pay off in October" only does so much to take away the burn of the lactic acid in one's legs, you know. At some point, one needs to see someone else suffering a little to take away that sting. Yet on Sunday, it seemed I was stuck in some sort of runner's punishment where I run uphill and a.) it always feels awful and b.) never run downhill and feel satisfied that someone else is suffering too, which makes the next uphill feel more awful.

But, them's the breaks, I suppose. And really, it will all be worth it come October. Right?