Best Running Song for October - Tame Impala - Elephant

That is one fat bass track right there. And sometimes, my friends, that's all you need.

This one is called "Elephant" by a band named Tame Impala. It's got a nice, funky 60's feel to it.

Here's a live version. It's the full concert, so enjoy it all or head straight to 17:15 for "Elephant."



And here they are at Coachella. Head to 20:30 for "Elephant."



This song just has a nice pace to it. I'd say it's about right for a marathon or half marathon. Get out there and run it.

Rock that Run!

Past Best Running Songs: September: Daft Punk / "Get Lucky" August: Pogo / "SquareBob SpongeMix" July: Fitz and the Tantrums / "Out of My League" June: Atlas Genius / "Trojans" May: The Mowgli's / "San Francisco" April: Spacehog / "In the Meantime" March: Youngblood Hawke / "We Come Running" February: Yolanda Be Cool / "We No Speak Americano" January: The Naked and Famous / "Young Blood" December: Of Monsters and Men / "Little Talks" November: The Black Keys / "Little Black Submarines" October: Cold War Kids / "Hospital Beds" September: Bloc Party / "Octopus" August: Matt and Kim / "Let's Go" July: Gemini / "Blue" June: Joe Jackson / "Got the Time" May: Tiesto vs. Diplo / "C'mon!" April: Grouplove / "Tongue Tied" March: Foxy Shazam / "I Like It" February: Foster the People / "Don't Stop" January: Hot Hot Heat / "Bandages" December: Camp Lo / "Luchini aka This Is It" November: Wolfmother / "Joker and the Thief" October: Phoenix / "1901" September: Matt and Kim / "Daylight" August: Collie Buddz / "Holiday" July: Pretenders / "Tattooed Love Boys" June: The Wombats / "Moving to New York" May: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros / "40 Day Dream" April: Foxy Shazam / "Unstoppable" March: Pharrell / "Fun Fun Fun" February: Puff Daddy / "Come With Me" January: We Are Scientists / "The Great Escape" December: Cee Lo Green / "F**k You" November: Tokyo Police Club / "Breakneck Speed" October: Two Door Cinema Club / "Something Good Can Work" September: Stone Temple Pilots / "Cinnamon" August: Louis XIV / "Guilt by Association" July: Devo / "Fresh" June: Saliva / "Your Disease" May: Metric / "Gold Guns Girls" April: OK Go / "This Too Shall Pass" March: The Hours / "Ali In The Jungle" February: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs / "El Matador" January: White Rabbits / "Percussion Gun" December: Deftones / "Knife Prty" November: The Kooks / "Always Where I Need To Be" October: At the Drive In / "One Armed Scissor" September: Silversun Pickups / "Lazy Eye" August: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros / "Johnny Appleseed" July: Deathray / "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" June: Raconteurs / "Salute Your Solution" May: Tea Party / "Save Me" April: Bloc Party / "Like Eating Glass" Ever: The English Beat / "I Confess"

McDonald Forest Trail 15k and 5k - Results and Race Review

Yes, I hauled my injured ribs over to McDonald Forest and ran the thing.

If you just need results, here they are.

As to the results, let me just say, I don't know how anyone could run this very hilly and tough course in a 5:54 pace, so nice job, Chris Reed. Mr. Reed also won this race the last time I ran it, in 2011, so he appears to know how to run hills.

And on to the review!

I had run the McDonald Forest Trail 15k once before, so I knew what to expect. Although a big change for this year's race was that Corvallis has just been completely dry pretty much right through October. So it would be a trail run, but it wouldn't be a muddy trail run. Which was probably good because of the sore ribs and all. So what happens about five minutes before the race starts? Yep, a light rain began to fall. Just enough to wet down all the fallen leaves and make it nice and slippery!

So at a reasonable hour of 10:00am, about 250 of us took off into the rain, and while the Mac 15 starts out first thing going uphill, it's only for a few hundred yards, then the course flattens out and is either flat or downhill for pretty much the first three miles. Which is strange because it allows you to go out pretty fast. And that's nice, but you have to be wary of leaving it all right there in the first three miles. Once the hills start in mile four, you need to have something in the tank.

So I went out very slowly and deliberately to test the ribs, but they felt pretty good. After about a half mile, I tried to turn it up a notch and finished the first mile in 8:30. The second mile has some of the best downhill running of the race. Downhill, but not so steep that you've got to brake yourself. I covered the second mile in 8:01.

Then the fun ends. The third mile isn't too bad, with 141 feet of climbing and 83 feet of descent, but it slowed me down to 9:16. And the fourth mile is a teaser. It's bad - 209 feet of climbing, but it's just trying to get you ready for mile five. Mile five goes up 541 feet! Yeah. So those two miles were 10:05 and 12:45 respectively. That fifth mile just eats up your legs. It hard to get back into a decent rhythm after that.



Mile six has quite a bit of climbing - 255 feet - but also quite a bit of downhill - 287 feet. I hit that one at 11:28, proving what I mentioned about mile five taking the starch out of you.

Finally, the downhills start. Mile seven heads down quite a bit and mile eight falls off a cliff, with 492 feet of downhill. It's hard on your feet, knees and ribs! If it were just a touch flatter, you could actually run this mile faster, but you've got to put on the brakes a bit so you don't face-plant. I hit mile seven in 9:20 and mile eight in 7:35.

Finally, mile nine and you think you're there...but no. They throw in a short uphill section in the last half mile just for fun. I was pretty much done at that point and did not exactly attack the hill. Mile nine was in 10:04. And that was it. My Garmin was way off, so I don't have anything for the last three tenths of a mile. My Garmin showed 8.95 miles when I hit the finish line.

And the shirt? Well, you had a choice between bright yellow and lime green. Hmmmmm..... That's not much of a choice. I went for the lime green. Yowza.



It's actually even brighter in real life. It should be good for night visibility...from space. I think the 5k had a white shirt.

And the emblem on the back of the shirt.



This is one of my favorite trail runs in the area. Tough, but not crazy hard. Long, but not stupid long. Late enough in the year for the chance of mud, but not usually freezing cold. It's a good one. I'll be back.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - November 2013 - Thanksgiving Runs and Turkey Trots

You know how you wake up on Thanksgiving morning? You maybe go run a 5k, maybe not. You eat breakfast at a fairly normal time, but you don't stuff yourself, because you're waiting for the big meal later, right? Of course, the big meal is usually at like two o'clock. Or worse, at three. Or four! And you just can't take it. So you break down and sneak a piece of pie out of the fridge. OK, maybe two pieces of pie. And it doesn't totally throw you off your game. It doesn't fill you up or anything. It's just to take the edge off! It's just a little appetizer. A preview of what's to come, if you may.

And so it is with this week's races. A few Turkey Trots in there and even some Christmas stuff, but really just a small preview of the huge slate of races to come a few days later on Thanksgiving Day proper. That schedule will be posted shortly.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18th to NOVEMBER 24th

November 23rd / Red Lizard Stumptown Cross Country 10k and 6k / Fairview, OR

November 23rd / Foster Lake Trail Run 5m / Sweet Home, OR

November 24th / Doppler Trail Run 50k / Port Gamble, WA

November 23rd / Turkey Trot 5k / Bellingham, WA

November 23rd / Turkey Trot 10k and 5k / Orting, WA

November 23rd / Whitson Turkey Trot 5k / White Salmon, WA

November 23rd / Tri Cities Jingle Bell Run 5k / Richland, WA

November 23rd / Seaport Striders Turkey Trot 4m / Clarkston, WA

November 23rd / Catch the Bird 5k / Onalaska, WA

November 24th / EWEB Run to Stay Warm 10k and 5k / Eugene, OR

November 24th / Ugly Sweater Run 5k / Seattle, WA

November 24th / Green Lake Gobble 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

November 24th / FSRC Turkey Trot 5k / Lakewood, WA

November 24th / Turkey Trot 5k / Kirkland, WA

New RaceCenter NW Article - The Off Season

Sort of late on this announcement, but yes, there is a new RaceCenter NW issue out there and yes, I've got a new article in it.

Check out the digital online version right here.

Check out the old school, hard copy version at a Jamba Juice or running store near you.

I was actually very happy with the article this month: "Hit the Snooze Button: Using the Off-Season as a Time to Rest, Reflect and Refocus." You might think I'd always be happy with my articles, but you'd be wrong. I always try to write a good article, but some just come together better than others. I'm definitely not an easy critic on my own writing - some of my articles are weak. Why? Well...even for a short little 1500-word article, it's a complex process.

First, the topic. My editor, Brook Gardner, comes up with most of the article topics with a little input and adjustment from me. Then I'm on my own. Since I'm almost always writing about running or triathlon, most of the topics are very interesting to me, but once in a great while...meh.

Second, what has already been written about the topic. I want enough out there that I can get a little background, but not so much that everyone has already heard about it and is bored by yet another article on the subject.

Third, and this is a biggie, the people I can round up to interview. This can be tough. Sometimes you can't find anyone that really wants to talk to you. Sometimes you can find them, but they're just not a very good interview (and I'm sure as hell not a professional interviewer, so I'll take some of the blame here).

And then, of course, how much time I leave myself to actually write the article before my deadline. I can be a bit of a procrastinator.

But once in a while, it all comes together and I write something that I'm quite proud of. And this article is one of those.

Hope you enjoy.

Death in the Triathlon

We've talked about this a bit in the past, but ESPN just posted a pretty good article on the subject: Trouble Beneath the Surface by Bonnie Ford.

Yes, people occasionally, rarely, die during triathlons. And yes, it's almost always during the swim leg.

I'm of two minds about this topic. First thought, the numbers of people dying in the triathlon, percentage-wise, are extremely low. We all take risks in our lives every single day, in hundreds of different ways. Racing in a triathlon is a risk. Is it an acceptable risk to you? Only you can answer that. Just like only you can answer if smoking is an acceptable risk, or driving, or flying, or running in a marathon... Everything carries a risk. It's completely up to you whether to accept the risk, or not. Second thought, there has absolutely not been enough done in the sport of triathlon to minimize the risks during the swim leg. It's one thing to accept the risk, but if the organizers can make it safer, why wouldn't they?

And there has been some progress in rule changes in the past year for the swim leg. Wave starts instead of mass starts. Self-seeding at the start. Better course marking. Better rules on cold temperature swimming.

Here in the Northwest, I can't emphasize enough how easy it is to avoid most of this danger: if you're new to the sport or a poor swimmer, do a few indoor swim triathlons to get some experience! They're everywhere these days, and a tri swim in a pool is just a different animal. Calm, structured, warm, and never more than a few feet from life-saving help from the organizers. I've been swimming competitively, either on swim teams or in triathlons, pretty much my entire life and I love swimming in open water - LOVE it. That said, I've been in a couple mass starts at open water swim triathlons where I've wondered, "what am I doing here? These freaking people are insane - they're trying to drown me!"

You know what kind of swimmer you are. And you know what kind of risk-taker you are. Make the correct choices.

Play safe out there.

Last Hill Training Run Before McDonald Forest 15k

And did it go smoothly? No, no it did not.

It started out well enough. I stuck to my favorite hill this week while taking my last big hill training run before the McDonald Forest 15k. So I headed out the front door and ran to Bald Hill, which is only about 1.5 miles away from my home. My plan was to run up the front side of Bald Hill, down the back side, take a quick loop on the bike path, then take the same route but backwards on the way home.



And it was all good through the first half. I went up the hill, back down the back side and headed onto the paved bike path. Little tired going up the hill, but I was happy that my left knee, which had been hurting going downhill lately, was feeling good.

I headed back onto the dirt and gravel path past the old barn and toward the backside of Bald Hill. Even though I had sunglasses on, the late afternoon sun was right in my face and I was having trouble seeing in certain spots. Yeah, that's my excuse...

I never saw the tree root, but my foot found it easily enough. This was not a bumbling, stumbling, comedy fall. I went down like I got shot in the back. Unfortunately, my hands and knees barely got scratched up. Unfortunate because my chest and ribs took the brunt of the fall instead. Wow, that hurt.

But hey, it didn't hurt as bad then as it does today, the day after!

So I shuffled home, holding my side most of the way. And started to hit the Advil hard.

Today, I'm hurting. Deep breathing is not fun. Sudden movements are not fun. Today's planned run has been scratched. I'm just hoping I start feeling better soon. The Mac Forest 15k was going to be the first run Jen and I ran together for years! I don't want to be on the sidelines!

Updates soon.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - November 2013 - Ugly Christmas Sweater Run!

Very small slate of races this week. The amount of Thanksgiving Day races has become so HUGE that it sucks all the races away for weeks on either side of Turkey Day. No one wants to fight the onslaught of what has become the biggest single race day of the year.

That said, there are a couple of fun races on board this week:

-First, we've got what has to be the earliest Jingle Bell Run in the entire country. Spokane's Jingle Bell Run, which takes place nearly two weeks before Thanksgiving!

-Then we have, OF COURSE, the Ugly Sweater Run! Yes, break out those hideous sweaters that Grandma sent you back in college. And wear it proudly.

-Read about that magnificent sweater in the photo right here. Look at those deer!

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 12th to NOVEMBER 17th

November 16th / Grand Ridge Trail Run 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5m / Issaquah, WA

November 16th / Hell of the Northwest Trail Run 25k, 10k and 4m / Blodgett, OR

November 16th / Cause + Event 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

November 16th / Mustache Dache 5k / Seattle, WA

November 16th / Seahawk Turkey Trot Fun Run 5k / Anacortes, WA

November 16th / Redmond Poultry Predictor 4m / Redmond, WA

November 16th / Defender Donut Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

November 16th / Gift for Jacoby 5k / Bonney Lake, WA

November 16th / Snoqualmie Ridge Turkey Trot 5k / Snoqualmie, WA

November 16th / Mustache Dache 5k / Beaverton, OR

November 16th / Ugly Sweater Run 5k / Beaverton, OR

November 16th / Jingle Bell Run 5k / Spokane, WA

Yes, I'm 46 Years Old and I Read Young Adult Novels

Not only that, but some of my favorite novels of the last ten years are young adult novels.

And apparently, I'm not the only one. Here's Jen Doll writing about her young adult novel addiction on Vulture.

Why? Well, first, let me make it very clear: I read Young Adult novels because there are fantastic authors working in that genre. It's that simple. There are other reasons, that I'll get to later, but the main reason is there are wonderful YA books out there. Perhaps we can all thank JK Rowling and Harry Potter for bringing the masses to the Young Adult sections of the bookstore and library. Since the first Harry Potter novel was published back in 1997, authors both new and established have realized that they can sell books in the YA category. And the talent has moved there.

Of course, the other reason I love YA novels is that's where the action is! Sorry adults, but for the most part, you're boring. That decade or so from middle school through college...wow, what incredible years those are. Both good and bad. The emotions and experiences of those years; nothing else can compare to it. Your first kiss, your first love, your first heartbreak, best friends, worst enemies. First experience with death, with sex, with driving, with living on your own. The agony and ecstasy of puberty. Wishing everyone would just leave you alone...and wondering why no one will pay attention to you.

It's no wonder authors love to write about that time. There's so much to be said.

If you're looking for a few good YA books to see if you too appreciate it like I do, or if you already know you love it and just need new recommendations, here are a few I've read recently:

-Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher / I'm actually in the middle of this one right now. Just brutal. The story of a high school girl named Hannah Baker who committed suicide. Hannah tells most of this story herself. It's heartbreaking. This one will make you think back to your own high school years and wonder, "what did I do...and what were the effects of my actions."

-The Fault in Our Stars by John Green / I've written about this one already. One of the most wonderful, life-affirming books about cancer, and ultimately death, you'll ever read. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

-The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky / The story of, yes, a wallflower, and his rough journey through high school. This book is written mostly as letters from the main character, Charlie, to an unknown person and can be a bit hard to get into because of the format. I found the movie, directed by the book's author, to be better - you won't hear me say that often.

-Wonder by R.J. Palacio / You think you had it tough in middle school? You don't know tough. The story of August Pullman, a fifth grader with drastic facial deformities. Sounds a bit like an after-school special, but this one is very well-written, using multiple narrators to show how one person can change many lives.

-Winger by Andrew Smith / Wow. Just wow. This one is extremely funny, but heart breaking as well. Pick this one up first thing.

-The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider / This one did not end the way I wanted it to, but hey, that sometimes happens in life, right? This is the story of Ezra Faulkner and how a horrible car accident turned his high school life upside down...but brought Cassidy Thorpe into it. High school love...is there anything else like it?

Gotta go read. Talk to you soon.

Another Day of Hill Training for the McDonald Forest Trail 15k

Taking advantage of another decent October weekend with good weather, we hit the McDonald Forest trails for more hill work. Little bit of a shorter run this week, only 6.5 miles, but got all the elevation I needed in there. Had an easier time navigating the trails this week after stumbling around a bit last week. Not a bunch of dead ends and turn arounds this time, just followed the Upper Dan's Trail to the top of Dimple Hill, then took a quick loop around Lower Dan's Trail at the end just to get the dog some water. Check out the profile:



Nice view of Corvallis from the top of Dimple Hill. Only a couple weeks now until the race. Time to get after it!

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - November 2013

The highlight of this week has got to be the Bellingham Trail Marathon and Half Marathon. Organized by race director Candice Burt, this trail race covers some of my old favorite routes from my days in the 'Ham. And be sure to check out Burt's wonderful blog over here: Wild Defined. She's a fast runner and always provides a good read on her race reviews. Check it out.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 4th to NOVEMBER 11th

November 9th / Red Lizard Stumptown CC Race 8k and 6k / Portland, OR

November 9th / Down and Dirty Wine Run trail 10.5m / Yacolt, WA

November 9th / Kevin's Cup Trail Run 8k / West Linn, OR

November 9th / Canfield Mountain Run 50m, 50k and 25k / Coeur d'Alene, ID

November 10th / Northwest Trail Runs Carkeek Park 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

November 10th / Bellingham Trail Marathon and Half Marathon / Bellingham, WA

November 10th / Autumn Trails Eugene 16m, 10m, 6m and 3.5m / Eugene, OR

November 9th / Walk Wheel Run for Veterans Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Creswell, OR

November 9th / First Call Veteran's Day 50k, Marathon and Half Marathon / Bothell, WA

November 10th / Multnomah Channel Run Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Scappoose, OR

November 9th / Mustache Dache 5k / Corvallis, OR

November 9th / No Hills Harvest 10k and 5k / Rickreall, OR

November 9th / Fowl Fun Run 10k and 5k / Mount Vernon, WA

November 9th / Winter Pineapple Classic 5k / North Bend, WA

November 9th / Race to Feed Our Veterans 5k / Spokane, WA

November 9th / Everyday Superheroes 5k / Bellingham, WA

November 9th / Cheadle Challenge Adventure Run 3.6m / Lebanon, OR

November 9th / Pioneer Road Run 9m and 5k / Phoenix, OR

November 9th / Tater Trot 10k and 5k / Blackfoot, ID

November 9th / National Veteran's Day Run 11k and 5k / Spokane, WA

November 9th / Trees for Tilori 5k / Eugene, OR

November 9th / Run with the Duck 5k / Eugene, OR

November 9th / FCA Superfan 5k / Champoeg Park, OR

November 10th / Veteran's Day 5k / Poulsbo, WA

November 10th / Columbia River Classic 10k / Richland, WA

November 11th / National Veterans Day Run 11k and 5k / Clarkston, WA

Life and Death in the Chicago Marathon

Well, ESPN is rarely the place to go for decent coverage of running events, but once in a while they do surprise you.

They just recently posted a very well done and moving article about the lives of two runners in the 2011 Chicago Marathon. One of those strange twists of fate found Will Caviness and Amber Miller end their race day in the same hospital, but their fates were as different as could possibly be.

A great read. Take a few minutes and check it out.

The Marathon of Their Lives by David Fleming.

Kona Underpants Run 2013! Ironman World Championships!

Yes, it's that moment you've waited all triathlon season for...the Kona Underpants Run of 2013!

And another gallery!

Nothing wrong with showing off your body if you're in good enough shape to make the Ironman World Championships, right?

I know it's hard to believe...well, maybe not...but there's a website just for the Underpants Run. It's right here and it's all for charity, so it's all good.

Be sure to note the many shots of Eugene resident and tri superstar Jesse Thomas. Yeah, he's the guy with the fuzzy hair and the old school $2.99 aviator sunglasses. Go Jesse!

It's Ironman Championship Week in Kona, Hawaii

And the athletes are using their swim practice time to head out to the boat and pick up some Kona Coffee!

from Triathlete.com

More Hill Work on the Trails

Still getting ready for the McDonald Forest Trail 15k. And the wife and I found a new route into McDonald Forest. If you're a Corvallisite (Corvallisian?), just head north on 29th until you run out of road and then park. Pow, there's the Forest.

As you can see from the map above, I wasn't too familiar with the trails in that section, so I've got a few dead ends where I turned around and headed back the way I had just been. I also spent a little bit longer standing and looking at trail signs than I usually do, but it was all good.

Had some good ups and downs for race prep.



Ran into a little bit of mud, but not bad really. And the sun was out and the day was gorgeous, so it was nice to be able to enjoy that at least one more time before the rains really come.

See you on the 27th.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Calendar - November 2013

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of a lot of these new "theme" runs. You know, your colored dye runs, your mud runs, your foam runs, your neon runs, your obstacle runs...and so on and so on.

But this chocolate run thing? Yeah, I can support that. Run a race, get some chocolate.

That works for me.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 28th to NOVEMBER 3rd

November 2nd / Silver Falls Trail Marathon and Half Marathon / Silverton, OR

November 2nd / Happy Girls Sisters Trail Half Marathon and 5k / Sisters, OR

November 2nd / Mud and Chocolate Trail Run 4.5m / Redmond, WA

November 2nd / Muscle Milk Woodsy Trail 10m and 5m / Snohomish, WA

November 2nd / Klickitat Trail Half Marathon and 5k / Klickitat, WA

November 2nd / Lithia Loop Trail Marathon / Ashland, OR

November 3rd / Padden Mudfest Trail Run 6m / Bellingham, WA

November 3rd / Mud and Chocolate Trail Half Marathon / Redmond, WA

November 2nd / Zeitgeist Half Marathon / Boise, ID

November 2nd / In Unity We Run Marathon and Half Marathon / Kent, WA

November 2nd / LC Valley Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / Asotin, WA

November 2nd / Just Cuz Half Marathon and 10k / Pocatello, ID

November 2nd / Splash and Dash Indoor Triathlon Sprint / Sandy, OR

November 2nd / Veteran's Day 10k and 5k / Soap Lake, WA

November 2nd / Chocoholic Frolic 5k / Spokane, WA

November 2nd / Puddle Jump 10k and 5k / Olympia, WA

November 2nd / Step Forward 5k / Seattle, WA

November 2nd / Run for the Health of It 5k / Missoula, MT

November 3rd / Turn Back the Clock 10k and 5k / Lacey, WA

November 3rd / Purple Stride 5k / Seattle, WA

November 3rd / Get Your Rear in Gear 5k / Redmond, WA

November 3rd / Mock the Clock 5k / Seattle, WA

November 3rd / Run for the Hole 5k / Portland, OR

November 3rd / Civil War Rivalry Clash 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

1000 Posts and 5000 Kilometers

Well, we've come to 1000 posts here at the R's. Hard to believe I could say so much about so little, but there you go.

I thought I'd celebrate the occasion by showing off the fact that I finally made it to the "black" level at Nike+.

There was a time, back in the day, when I wanted to get to the black level of Nike+ so bad. You fly through the first few levels, then the green and the blue are a bit of a slog. I thought I'd never get to purple. I finally did, but then purchased a Garmin and...well, so long Nike+. I would be at the purple level forever. Or so I thought. Now, of course, you can buy an iPod and the Nike+ is just there. Nothing to buy, so I figured "why not?" I started using the system again (it's so pretty! look at those colors!) whenever I ran with my iPod, though I'm not nearly so fanatic about it as I was long ago.

Even so! When I hit the black level a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't help but think, "I finally made it, Ma! I'm on the top of the world!" Yes, I was at the very top of the Nike+ mountain. None could best me now.

Wait. What?



Why, those little Nike bastards. They went and added another level after the black level while my back was turned. Unbelievable.

And not a cool level like purple or black. Damn, those are real colors. Something a king would be proud to wear. No, they added the "volt" level. For god's sake, that's not even a color. That's something the Oregon Ducks thought up to sell more t-shirts! Volt? Really?

Damn you, Nike...