Random thoughts on April 1

No April Fool's jokes from me today. Anything I write here today will be true...or true as I know it.

Have you seen this video of Lance Armstrong getting passed in the last second of Ironman Texas 70.3? Apparently there is a bit of controversy over whether passing someone (or just someone famous? Dunno) in the chute like that is bad form. I know nothing about triathlon so am not familiar with the particular courtesies that might be expected. At first I thought it was just the breaks (having been passed in the last seconds of a race many times myself), but when I watched it did look pretty obnoxious. And isn't your place in a triathlon determined by all the legs, so beating someone in the run by one second is probably not going to affect the overall outcome, right?

Speaking of Ironmans (Ironmen?) 70.3, I'm wondering how and when Half Ironmans/men became Ironman 70.3? I don't call a half marathon "Marathon 13.1"...although I realize there are a couple half marathons out there that do use that name. It seems silly to me. Embrace the half, people! I love half marathons, but I fully accept that they take a whole lot less work to do than a full marathon. Probably way less than half the work, really.

On a somber note, you've probably heard the news story about Micah True--Caballo Blanco from Born to Run--being missing. This morning the news came out that his body had been found in the New Mexico wilderness. Very sad.

The Boston Marathon is two weeks and a day from today. The London Marathon is three weeks from today. The Eugene Marathon is four weeks from today. This is a year in which a person could run both the Boston and London Marathons (plus Eugene) without particularly difficult travel logistics. Assuming one could have qualified and gotten into Boston, plus gotten into London through the lottery (or as they call it in London, the ballot). Neither of which I accomplished, of course.

It has been three years since I was last in England, and I don't know when I will go back. If I wait until I get into the London Marathon, it could be a long time.

And on the subject of lotteries (not the mega-million, I didn't even buy a ticket), I am about to sign up for the MacKenzie River Trail Run 50K. If they oversell (which happens every year), the entrants will be chosen by lottery (after a few priority entries). I am nervous enough about the prospect of this that I am okay with the chance I won't get a spot. And if I do...well, I know I can do it.

Today is a rest day from yesterday's 22 miles. I went to the beach this morning (I am at my parents' house) and walked for an hour. The rest of the day I've pretty much been sitting around. With my feet up.



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