"Mission: Impossible" and "Ocean's 11"

 

Last night, MeTV aired the pilot episode of "Mission: Impossible" - and believe it or not, I've never seen it before. Like most pilots, it had some rough edges compared to the series that followed, even in the first season. On the other hand, in the case of "Mission: Impossible," those rough edges actually worked well, in that the mission did not go off as expected, requiring instead a degree of improvisation not usually seen in later episodes.

Indications of obsessive-compulsiveness about running?

A few weeks ago, I was invited to go debate another professor at his home institution in a city that's less than an hour and a half flight away. (All expenses were covered, and there was a small honorarium.) Because it was relatively close, I was able to arrange a flight schedule that departed my home city in the late morning, arrive in the mid-afternoon, take part in the debate and then the post-debate dinner, and fly home that night.

Oh, and the destination city is one that I have not yet gone running in....

Well, that is not an opportunity to pass up! Since I was scheduled to arrive more than 90 minutes before the debate, I asked the student organizer who was handling the arrangements if it would be possible for me to sneak in a quick run. He was quite helpful and even noted that the building had a shower that I could use to clean up.

And so I ended up carrying a bigger tote bag than I otherwise would have needed for a day trip, since I had to carry a suit, formal shoes, etc. instead of just wearing that stuff on the flight.

The destination city was less temperate than the Pacific Northwest; the polar vortex was still letting its presence be known, so the outside temperature was 29 F, and there were clumps of snow still on the sidewalks. A few patches covered the entire sidewalk and were icy/slippery, demanding extra attention to footwork; other spots were dry and snow-free. And then there was the puddles of ice-water, one of which my right foot plopped right into. Saucony Kinvaras are pretty awesome shoes, but they are also very thin. Yeah, that's not good.

In the end, I managed to get in 3 miles at a good pace, showered and dressed up, debated, had a nice dinner, and made it back home at a decent hour.

ABC's "Once Upon a Time": who will be next to die?

"Once Upon a Time" doesn't rack up a body count the way "24" does, but it certainly hasn't been shy about killing off characters, including semi-main ones. It sounds like the deaths won't stop, per this interview with the creators/producers:

Weird foot injuries that don't affect running

I seem to have tweaked my foot during last week's bowling session, which is a big "d'oh" in that it's not even like I got injured while running. It's not a noticeable pain unless I happen to bend my right foot sharply, in which case I feel discomfort in the top of the ankle joint where the foot meets the lower leg.

The weird thing is that this hasn't affected my running at all, and in fact, since that bowling session, I've run 32 miles, including a really good tempo run (indeed, faster than tempo pace) and a hard set of 1/2 mile repetitions. Maybe I should get weird, minor injuries while bowling more frequently?

159!

I am not a good bowler, but the one day that I really needed a strike on a particular frame, I got it. It was the day that the chain bowling alley was offering a "lucky strike" pass good for free bowling from Labor Day through Halloween. All you had to do was wait to get one of the three colored pins in the hopper to show up in the front spot and then bowl a strike. That one frame with the colored pin in the right spot was one of only two strikes that I bowled in two games that day.

Well, armed with free games, I headed over to the bowling alley in my spare (ha ha) time a few times, bowling four games in a row in an effort to improve my technique and accuracy. I've had a longtime goal of bowling 150+, but my high was around 125-130, with an average just over 100.

Today being Halloween, and with my dad and brother visiting, and the kids having the day off from school, we headed out on the last day of my lucky strike card. I took one lane with four games, and the four of them took the lane next to me with two games each. My first game was lame, 87. Second one was not bad, 125. Third was okay, 111, though disappointing because I had 70 through the first five frames before falling apart.

The fourth game started off pretty badly, as you can see, with 19 through the first three frames (i.e., sub-100 pace). But wow, those last 7 frames! I've never had anything close to a streak like that. I think I've had two strikes in a row before, but not 7 strikes or spares in a row. That is a cool 140 points over 7 frames, which over 10 frames would be an unthinkable (for me) 200!

Over on the next lane, my family members were only about halfway through their second game, so I had time to bowl one or two more games, if I wanted to go back to the front desk, but I figured I'd had enough, and it was better to end on a PR than to sink back to my usual mediocrity.

Embracing my inner "teenage girlness"

I once posted on Facebook that when people ask if I like country music, I respond I like Taylor Swift's songs, and that people find that a non-responsive answer. (Admittedly, the more she's moved toward pop rock, the more I've liked her albums: Red > Sparks Fly > Fearless. I've got high hopes for 1989.)

One of my Facebook friends commented, "When did you turn into a teenaged girl?"

Ha ha ha ha! Fortunately, I am comfortable in my fortysomethingness, and I'm not embarrassed to write that I really do enjoy listening to Swift's music. However, today I'm ready to embrace my inner teenage girlness fully.

I went for a threshold run this morning, and for entertainment, I was prepared to watch the end of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which I had leftover from yesterday's long run. For some reason, though, my Kindle Fire wouldn't stream in the gym even though it appeared to have connected to the wi-fi. I could have listened to an audiobook on my phone (I'm about 2/3 of the way through Peter F. Hamilton's space opera Judas Unchained) but on a whim I decided to shuffle through the selected songs I loaded on my phone from Red. That turned out not to be quite enough, so I moved to Sparks Fly from there.

Anyway, the resulting threshold run rocked in more ways than one! I had intended on a 2-3-2/2.5 split, meaning 2 easy miles* to start, and then 3 miles at threshold pace, and then 2-2.5 miles back at an easy pace. I ended up feeling so strong that I increased my threshold pace from 7:13 to 7:08 and then to 7:03, and finished 5 miles instead of 3. My 10K PR is around a 7:12 pace, so the last three miles of this run were slightly faster, and yet I didn't feel like I was pressing; I'd categorize the effort level as a 3 on a 1-5 scale.

* My easy miles are around an 8:30 pace.

There is some research to the effect that for non-elite runners, music can boost running performance. I don't usually listen to music when I run, as it's mostly TV on the treadmill, or an audiobook if I'm outside (and I live in a hilly area, so it's hard to track "fast" performance outside), but Taylor Swift really seems to get me to run fast without feeling like it's too hard.

Hmm, guess I need to head out to Target to pick up the deluxe edition of 1989. . . .

Am I cheating on running ... ?

Thanks to one of those unexpected coincidences, I recently came across a used Concept2 Model D indoor ergometer (rowing machine) for sale on Craig's List. If you know anything about Concept2 rowers, they are very hard to find used, because they tend to get snatched up quickly. They are durable, reliable, and awesome!

Rowing is my preferred cross-training exercise. I can swim enough so that I won't drown in a pool, but I don't particularly like it (even though I recognize it's a great no-impact workout). I have my bike set up on a trainer so that I can ride in the garage, but cycling is just okay for me. As I'm optimized as a runner, I don't seem to have the leg strength to drive the bike hard enough to get a good cardio workout. Of course, as a rower, I'm mediocre; the times that dedicated rowers post on Fitocracy are well beyond me. But I like that the cross-training is no-impact and an all-around body workout.

So when I saw the used Concept2, I pounced on it. Some Fitocracy members gave me advice about what to check out in a used rower, and this one tested as close to new. I was so excited that when I paid for it, I actually waved it toward me and said, "Come to Daddy...."

Why do I want a rowing machine of my own when the gym has one? Well, the gym isn't open as late as I would like, and its weekend hours are even stingier. Plus, there are occasions when I can't leave the house (the very rare snow-in; more frequently, Mr. Mom duties) and would like to get in a good workout.

Still, I wouldn't have felt anywhere near as excited about a used treadmill, for which I feel like I'm maybe "cheating" on running.

Yeah, I know it's a silly analogy. But there are very real reasons I much prefer to have my own rowing machine than my own treadmill. I'd use a treadmill a lot more than I plan to use this rower, which means I'd need to do more frequent maintenance of the treadmill. I'd much rather leave the treadmill maintenance to the gym, and deal with the (lower) maintenance requirements of the rower.

In addition, unless I'm stuck at home, or the outside weather is too foul, I can run on the roads or at the track. If I had a treadmill, I could run at home anytime I wanted to, but my cross-training options would be more limited.

The question now is, do I look for a cheaper gym membership just for access to treadmills?