Red Dirt Harriers

The rubber bullets are flying and the cars are burning, but in Madrid not Berlin as I anticipated. The German squad was very lackluster and the inspired play of fellows by the name of Sergio Ramos and Torres really defined the game. Regardless, I was excited to watch the game and I am saddened by conclusion to Euro '08 because I don't expect quite the level of play during the Olympics- we shall see. Anyhow, I continue to be irritated by the token coverage in the paper when I know that the tournament drew by far the best viewership of any sporting events this weekend- and yet the fucking sports editor of the Oklahoman continues to refute the capability of soccer to draw US fans and in general question the quality og excitement brought by the sport. I'm sorry but aside from the fact that this game is full of some of the most amazing athletes in any sport, you don't have to have high scoring games to make a sport dramatic and enthralling. I agree that not every game is pur...

I've got to keep this one short and concise- for the big Euro '08 Final is getting started. I got a reprieve this morning and was able to be lazy and not get out the door until after 10:30 while still getting in around 19ish miles. I wasn't sweating much at all, as the heat and humidity were far below normal for this time of the year. I called it at about 2:05. I've got my money on the Germans but I expect an exciting match and judging by the pregame dancing Mozarts and Enrique Iglesias concert, they've pulled out all the stops for this one...

So, in neglecting to press forward with a summer abroad in the US, I unfortunately missed out on a brief return trip to Missoula, Montana and Grand Teton National Park with good friend and current Albuquerque resident, intellectual, and donut king, a one Professor Trevor Gillum. True, the confidential Army funded study that Skolnick and I took part in pretty much completely soured our impression of the UNM HES dept. but Trev extended exceptional graciousness in putting up with our antics for 5 or 6 weeks in his extreme efficiency apartment and man we have some fond memories of last summer. Of course, the summer before that is when I was able to spend a few weeks in Montana and found it to be an amazing place to which I will definitely return. If you are reading this good buddy, I hope you're living it up and making the most of your brief relent from the call of duty in the Duke City. Bobby Dylan would be proud. So in other news, Jordan and I rattled out a decent little 8mile tempo ...

A friend sent me this , proudly brought to you by the good people at The Onion. Managed to roll out of bed for a jog w/ Jack and Jordan. Heal still sore and I was quite lethargic but it was a great morning to meet with those hipsters. Got a nice little bike commute in over to Panera and put down 4 cups of coffee without any response whatsoever. I think I need more sleep. Managed to chat with Mr. Aaron Jagua and as we sat outside his house and admired the newly installed speed bump situated precisely in front of his house, we were serenaded by the screech of breaks and the noise from cars as they hit the bump, regardless of whether they choose to slow or not. I'm going to rant on this one: this is a useless epidemic in Norman and a blight to the already subpar thoroughfares around town. They are putting these things on the very roads that I specifically choose to bike and run over because they are away from heavy traffic but allow for functional transportation around town. I maintia...

This week Jordan and I have started meeting consistently to get some work in. I think the quality of my efforts has been alot higher and the runs go by amazingly quickly. My plantar fasciitis is flaring a bit but I've started attending to it and I think I can staunch the issue. I was sadly unable to take advantage of the Dump the Pump promotion from CART. I had played with the idea of trying to take it up to OKC and hit a bar but it would have taken like 90 minutes and I didn't want to drive myself and I was sort of engrossed in painting the house. Story of my life. McNellie's is sooo tempting but just a little inconvenient. They have pint nights on Mondays and $3 burger nights on Wednesdays- I'm of course going to push for an epic carpool for breadsticking. I can't imagine too many people can bitch and moan about quality beer and burgers (as Pepe's and Himalayas were heavily pooh-poohed). Things are good right now but I really need a bit more income. If you...

5 of the most charming and distinguished participants from the Healthplex 5k . Clearly everyone needed some freaking coffee.

Closed out the running for the week with a long one in the 2:20 range, I'll call it 20. Ran the 17 mile out Cedar Lane to 60th and back on Lindsey. I was really full from a late dinner and sluggish but after a few miles and a pit stop, I felt decent and chugged along, concluding with a couple uptempo miles and a dip in the apartment pool. For brunch afterward, I hit Cafe do Brasil in downtown OKC for a change of pace and then caught the Best of Fest Short Films at the OKCMOA. The selection of films was pretty wide ranging and I'm not sure I liked the 2 Okie productions at all, very reliqious and disturbing. I really want to see Wayne Coyne's Christmas on Mars but have no idea when I'll get a chance again. Also of note is that I got another batch of beer in the fermenter. I'm going to hope for a decent ESB, the rest is up to the powers that be and the yeast. Overall, a good week of training, I'm going to start up a little more 10k pace stuff before long for the p...

Delayed the long run until Monday after one fun but hectic weekend. The temps were great but had to wait out some lightning and flash-flooding. Once I did get out there, it continued to sprinkle throughout which was such a nice change from what I've had to deal with lately on long runs. So the title refers not so much with the presence of rain but that I was succesfully able to pull off the mid stride micteration. That's right folks I was able to purge that 3rd cup of coffee while legging it out and I plan to do it again when I return to the friendly confines of Cedar Lane. I think the above notion, be it disturbing or no, was in a way prompted by this weekend's goings on which included a 5k, half of which I had to solo into a stiff 25mph headwind. Next was the drive with Darren and Skolnick to McNellie's in T-town to consumate the winnings from the Pub Run. A good crew showed up and we burned through $450 in record time. I was unhappy to see a single cent go towards gi...