Monday, September 19, 2011

Entry Three: As I delight in the words of others


Good news, readers.  This blog has been getting some very positive press out there!

The New York Times raves, “This is an automated reply.  Our editors will contact you if your request for a review will be granted.”

A caveman who just thawed from prehistoric ice and started writing for Newsweek posits, “Homemade Running Spectacular is by far the greatest and only Internet site I have ever seen.”

The guy or gal on the street points out that Homemade Running Spectacular has raised new and important questions, such as, “What?”  “Who are you?” and “No thank you. Whatever it is, just no thank you.”

Finally, an actual newspaper that has a devoted and diverse readership of artist-nerds, scientist-dweebs, and geek-jocks is covering the project.  I thought I peaked with the Crimson’s coverage of my Concert for Dogs, but here we go:

“I wanted to approach the pinnacle of my capabilities…”


A Preamble to Training. Dialogue:
Conversation I overheard between two stalagmites in a cave in France
9:15 AM
Harold: So, you know, I was thinking.
Jessica: Yes?
Harold: Maybe would you want to observe those people make drawings with me today?
Jessica: Oh, well, I told Mark I would go watch moving shadows with him.
Harold: Right, of course.  Well, do you think that maybe tomorrow—hey, what was that?
Jessica: What?  What happened?
Harold: I think somebody just spit on me.
Jessica:  No way.
Harold: Yeah, wait, Madeline, was that you—hey, what the heck?  Liquid just fell directly on top of me.
Jessica: That’s crazy!  This cave has really—what’s, like, the opposite of gentrification?
Harold: Someone just poured liquid on my head.
Jessica: I’m sorry, that’s—hey!  What?  I think I just felt something.
Harold: Liquid?  On your head?
Jessica: I think so.
Harold: Let’s get out of here.
Jessica: But I, well, OK, let’s find somewhere more sophisticated.
Harold: Those stalactites are barbaric.
Jessica: Absolutely no self-control.
Harold: They move in here, thinking they own the place.
Jessica: Before you know it, they’re dumping liquid on your head.
Harold: It’s like, get a job.
Jessica: Exactly.  I’m so over this place.
Harold: OK, let’s go.  So long, idiots.


This Week’s Training

Sunday: 18 miles, 2 hours 3 minutes.  Pretty relaxed pace.  At Walden.  Last two miles faster, around 6:00 pace.  Beautiful fall day.

Monday: AM 5 miles, 35 minutes easy.  Got some good daydreaming done.  PM 10.5 miles, 73 minutes, relaxed pace to Jamaica Pond.  And 7xquick strides after the run.

Tuesday: 10x1000 meters at Franklin Park, on grass and gravel, up and down a hill called Bearcage because a zoo used to be here.  A bit beyond my comfort zone, average 3:10 per repetition.

Wednesday: AM 5 miles, 35 minutes on the river.  PM 10.5 miles, 72 minutes.  Twice around Fresh Pond.  Finished with 4x200 meters on grass, then a 200 on the track in 29.5.  Legs felt tired today.  And my lef showdow’s sowe fwom the foo shot yestewday L

Thursday: Did something new today.  Jogged to the train station, took it two stops to Davis, then ran to the Fells forest preserve and did most of my run there.  So, so nice.  14 miles, 1 hour 31 minutes.

Friday: Warmed up to Fresh Pond, then did a 10 mile tempo run starting at 5:30 per mile, getting down to a 5:17 mile at the end.  Average around 5:25.  A good improvement from last week’s tempo run.  16 miles total.  Fall has fallen in Boston, I think.

Saturday: 4.5 miles, 30 minutes, easy, on grass.

96 miles for the week.  18 mile long run.  One 10k-type workout, one marathon-type workout.


Drawing of the week:

“Businesstaur.” By Dan Chenoweth.  2011.  danielsdrawings.blogspot.com




Statistic of the Week: The average male robot thinks about backing up its data on an external hard drive every seven seconds.


Song of the Week: "Corvette Cassette."  Slow Magic.  In which Terrence Malick drives to the beach and jokey joke joke.



Yoko Ono tweet of the Week:
yokoono Yoko Ono

People need shadows to rest in. I would advise you to send a bucket of shadow to a friend.

Book of the Week:
The Art of Fielding. Chad Harbach.
“Best novel since Freedom or something,” –Person who has a general idea of things but won’t really go into details. Very nice to see a writer for n+1 getting some recognition. More to come on this book next week.  From an interview he gave with GQ this month:
Chad Harbach: I think that it is very interesting to write about a team because a team is a group of people who work in very close quarters and have very intense relationships so—in my days of playing sports, I was very rarely on a team that did not have it's own peculiar dynamic, and you wind up having very intense feelings for good and for bad about these people with whom you spend many hours a day. And they might be people that otherwise you would have zero in common with. Instead you're kind of physically touching them three hours a day, you know? So I think that's really rich, and then I'm also just kind of really interested in athletes as artists of a pretty serious variety and people who devote themselves to what they do in a really incredible way.


Over and out.
Chas

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