Sunday, October 29, 2006
Championship Weekend
So my left toenail is gone. Totally gone. Like, the dead one popped off and now I have nothing but flesh there. It's all very creepy for me and I don't really like to look at it or think about it. I only hope the nail will start growing back so I can at least know that my toe won't be bare forever.
Anyways, with all the championship races going on, it was easy for people to miss two important(?) events going on in Tucson last Saturday. While Dragons was representing at both the West Coast Conference championships and the Pacific 10 Conference championships, in the greater Tucson area, many runners took shots at either the Oracle Run 10k or the Run Down Crime 5k.
I had considered both of these races about a month out. I liked the idea of running a 10k but by the time this week rolled around, I knew my training would leave me vulnerable to being beat by last year's overall runner-up, Paula Morrison. I got this thing about unnecessarily losing to girls so I gave secondary considerations to the Run Down Crime 5k.
I thought the Run Down 5k would be cool because then I'd have shirt to wear when I'm not in my 8k for 88 Crime shirt. However, when I found out that it was to benefit the Tucson Police Foundation, I had to pull any support I might ever have for this race. Not being a fan of cops (especially the TPD), I felt it was morally wrong for me to support this race in any way. It would be like Joseph McCarthy running the 1958 Berlin Marathon or Rosa Parks competing in the Spring Cross Country Classic to Keep Segregation.
For those of you wondering, I do support the 88-Crime program. I also, generally, support police departments. My issue is that there are too many cops on the streets and not enough good cops. We need more detectives, not more cops. Cops didn't bring in the Baseline Killer in a year. They didn't do a great job and caught him in the act. An investigation caught him. Cops give speeding tickets. Why do I need more cops on the steets?
So, with that clear, I feel the need to mention Bill Cuculic who won the Oracle 10k. Bill was about 20 seconds behind me in the 8k last February and so, for me, it was nice to see a familiar name at the top of those results. Yeah, I know absolutely nothing else about him (though he seemed like a good guy when I spoke to him) but I'm still happy for him.
As for me, running is holding pretty standard. I don't have any totals for you but last week was nothing impressive. No runs over an hour, no WOG sessions. I had a rough test on Friday that kinda kept my focus elsewhere.
Tonight I did some mile cutdowns on the ODC and was pleased to break my 6:17 from last Tuesday with a final 6:13 that felt like I was holding a lot back.
I'll consider my week starting tomorrow and, in it, I should be in the 40-50 range with at least one WOG session, one run over an hour, and another hard workout-type effort (maybe Train will let me join him on Tumamoc some day).
I wrote Greg an email asking his thoughts on the upcoming TMC half-marathon and Saguaro Physicians 5k Run and Walk. I helped Greg work this race last year and I thought it'd be good for me to get in a race before the Turkey Trot (the Beer Mile don't count). Unfortunately, I think our Dragons vs Legends rivalry is beginning to surface as he has not written me back.
Oracle 10k Summary -- Run Down Crime 5k results -- Dragon Mike Salkowski is 2nd in Grand Prix
Anyways, with all the championship races going on, it was easy for people to miss two important(?) events going on in Tucson last Saturday. While Dragons was representing at both the West Coast Conference championships and the Pacific 10 Conference championships, in the greater Tucson area, many runners took shots at either the Oracle Run 10k or the Run Down Crime 5k.
I had considered both of these races about a month out. I liked the idea of running a 10k but by the time this week rolled around, I knew my training would leave me vulnerable to being beat by last year's overall runner-up, Paula Morrison. I got this thing about unnecessarily losing to girls so I gave secondary considerations to the Run Down Crime 5k.
I thought the Run Down 5k would be cool because then I'd have shirt to wear when I'm not in my 8k for 88 Crime shirt. However, when I found out that it was to benefit the Tucson Police Foundation, I had to pull any support I might ever have for this race. Not being a fan of cops (especially the TPD), I felt it was morally wrong for me to support this race in any way. It would be like Joseph McCarthy running the 1958 Berlin Marathon or Rosa Parks competing in the Spring Cross Country Classic to Keep Segregation.
For those of you wondering, I do support the 88-Crime program. I also, generally, support police departments. My issue is that there are too many cops on the streets and not enough good cops. We need more detectives, not more cops. Cops didn't bring in the Baseline Killer in a year. They didn't do a great job and caught him in the act. An investigation caught him. Cops give speeding tickets. Why do I need more cops on the steets?
So, with that clear, I feel the need to mention Bill Cuculic who won the Oracle 10k. Bill was about 20 seconds behind me in the 8k last February and so, for me, it was nice to see a familiar name at the top of those results. Yeah, I know absolutely nothing else about him (though he seemed like a good guy when I spoke to him) but I'm still happy for him.
As for me, running is holding pretty standard. I don't have any totals for you but last week was nothing impressive. No runs over an hour, no WOG sessions. I had a rough test on Friday that kinda kept my focus elsewhere.
Tonight I did some mile cutdowns on the ODC and was pleased to break my 6:17 from last Tuesday with a final 6:13 that felt like I was holding a lot back.
I'll consider my week starting tomorrow and, in it, I should be in the 40-50 range with at least one WOG session, one run over an hour, and another hard workout-type effort (maybe Train will let me join him on Tumamoc some day).
I wrote Greg an email asking his thoughts on the upcoming TMC half-marathon and Saguaro Physicians 5k Run and Walk. I helped Greg work this race last year and I thought it'd be good for me to get in a race before the Turkey Trot (the Beer Mile don't count). Unfortunately, I think our Dragons vs Legends rivalry is beginning to surface as he has not written me back.
Oracle 10k Summary -- Run Down Crime 5k results -- Dragon Mike Salkowski is 2nd in Grand Prix
