I Aen't Dead!

Returning to the Rundown after a long season away. Things have been unsettled in the PurpleState of late, and I've had neither the time nor the energy for maintaining this. Apologies and Moving On.

The fall racing season culminated with a disappointing marathon performance at Freedom's Run (motto: Freedom Ain't Free!) in Harper's Ferry. The race itself was loverly, well supported and quite scenic. I was aiming to finally crack into the 3h30 territory which is the absolute worst I can do and still hope to qualify for Kona eventually, but it turns out Antietam is hilly. That's the short version -- I have a longer race report that I may post at a later date. Final score: 3h51. First half was bang on 1h45, but I couldn't keep up the pace through the hills.

Building up to the marathon, however, was a different story entirely. I had several very good weekends of races in August and September. I set a new 10k PR, at 43m03s, a very respectable (for me) 6:56/mile. Highlight of that race was outkicking the "top chick" -- the first place female -- in the last 100 meters. My final "B" race before the marathon was a weekend where I did two 1/2 marathons back to back -- Saturday / Sunday. Those also went well, 1h42 for the first, 1h37 for the second. 7:28 pace for the faster 1/2 marathon, which I would find an acceptable pace for a full marathon. But first things first.

Really, part of my disappointment at Freedom's Run was that I felt ready to run faster than that. It wasn't meant to be, which is fine. I had a good training season, I built a lot of fitness, and laid down the groundwork for next year.

Two big races on the horizon: 3rd crack at the Nation's Marathon in DC in March, and IronMan Coeur D'Alene in June. I hadn't planned on doing C'dA this year, but when I checked in October and there were still slots open, I thought what the heck, lets get this party started.

To get the party started I've committed to losing another 10 pounds. I'm hovering around 160 now, and I want to get that down to 150, so I can push to 145 for racing. I have given up milk and cheese until after C'dA -- so, no pizza, and no nachos, two of my four main food groups (peanut butter and bread being the other two). Three weeks into that, and as much as it sucks, I am going to be a lot happier running at 150 than I am now. Easier on my knees, and faster vs. Pizza? AND I get to go back to eating pizza when I hang it up, eventually? Sold.

On the personal front, life has been busy, what with teaching a graduate class at the alma mater, preparing for conferences, and starting the 2011 job hunt. The book has been going very slowly, and that is something that has to change in the spring. Although I would like to blame Sid Meier's Civilization 5 for that, honestly I just ran out of steam. M is grinding through a fairly unpleasant semester of Grad School, but enjoying the internship where she works with kindergarten kids who barely speak english -- really in her wheelhouse there.

The Diplomacy Invitational is getting closer, and looking like it will be small but with a lot of really epic talent there. Should make for some good games, which is really the point of the exercise.

Finally, let me say that I have been frustrated by the coverage of the recent elections -- which played out almost exactly how everyone predicted they were going to play out for the last six months. Sure, there were some surprises, but really? Really? We didn't expect this? Of course we did. (We being the American People, a group that the Republicans seem to point to with an odd sense of who that group includes, or rather doesn't include.) Yes, any party with a majority is going to advance its agenda, yes, that is going to alienate people, and yes, there will be a shift in the next election cycle where that alienation is played out. I mean, this isn't rocket wizzardry here people. "Compromise" is the new buzzword, but as we (again with the we) ought to know by now, getting things done is the second job for most politicians in the US -- getting re-elected is the first.

I suppose I am surprised that folks believed that Obama's election was a "pro-democratic" thing. From where I sit, it was more about the dynamic excitement of the first African American president which energized voters who, sadly, are otherwise largely unconcerned with issues of policy. Which is to say, they want things to work and don't much care who is in charge as long as things ARE working. As el jeffe said, "if unemployment were at 5% instead of 9.5, we'd have had a different result." Or words to that effect.

So, back to the only getting stuff done that republicans and democrats can agree on. Centrism is usually, I think, a good thing. Hence the handle, I suppose.