The Heartbeat of America

My car was damaged again in a slow-speed collision in the grocery store parking lot about a week ago. It was completely the other guy's fault, so his insurance is paying for it. I dropped off my car to get fixed this morning and got a gold Chevy Malibu (hott).

There is something deeply satisfying about cruising down I-5 in a big, ridiculous American rental car. Maybe it's because the car's about twice the size of the Civic. Or maybe it's because these cars always seem to have really bass-y stereos.

Enroute to my errand, I heard the new Arctic Monkeys. Then some Black Eyed Peas song with a surf guitar sample; this song would be my 3 a.m., dancing on the coffee table anthem were I still at the U. I capped it off with Fighter by X-Tina -- it made me want to pull the 'bu over and shadowbox. Or something.

Today: 60 minute walk or bike
Tomorrow: 60 treadmill run

Monday afternoon hot dish

I have it on good authority that Soul Asylum was shooting some sort of video/promo shots at Scooterville in Southeast Minneapolis. (I can't remember, but I think the scooter dealership is in the same building where my buddy Mark ran the defunct local music magazine Lost Cause. At any rate, it's by the Minnesota Daily offices.) The guys -- Pirner, Murphy, Tommy Stinson and Michael Bland -- were setting up in the store recently. They talked about scooters with one of the salesmen when one of the band members mentioned that none of them drive, and "neither does Paul" aka Paul Westerberg. That's it. Take that, Chris Riemenschneider. I scooped you from 1,500 miles away.

Today: 60 minute power walk

My grocery store blares Wilson Phillips when no one's paying attention. Or, whaddya lookin' at?

I just got back from the grocery store near my house. I needed bananas, Eggos and milk for my 5:30 a.m. pre-run gorging.
I was the only customer there, and, as I picked through the dismal banana selection, I sang along a little with Wilson Phillips' "Hold On," which was playing at full volume over the PA. It was awesome. Plus, it made me think of the video where the girls are sitting on a mountain top, and they all have haircuts like Melrose Place characters.
On the four-block walk home, I stopped to pick up a rental information sheet at an apartment/condo/miscellaneous living quarters. When I looked up there were three high school aged indie rock kids standing in a nearby entry way, staring at me. I needed to walk by them to get home, and it was really awkward, so I blurted, "Hey! How ya guys doing tonight!" They mumbled, in unison, "Uh, pretty good." And I was on my way.

Today: walk
Tomorrow: 5-mile tempo run in Olympia

I do not disagree with this song selection. Plus, why China's going to be edgy and ready to fight real soon.

From 5ives.com (see the link at right):

Five songs I sometimes listen to on repeat for 20 minutes

“North to Nothing” / The Wrens
“Most People are DJs” / The Hold Steady
“Only Shallow” / My Bloody Valentine
“7/4 (Shoreline)” / Broken Social Scene
“See That Girl” / Kirsty MacColl

The bold tracks *are* songs that I've been known to listen to on repeat. I haven't heard the other three songs, so, yeah, you know, I guess it's possible I would like to listen to those on repeat, too.

I read the new Foreign Policy magazine while I walked tonight, including an interesting cover story on "The Return of the Patriarchy." The subtitle is "And Conservatives Will Inherit the Earth." Here's why:

"The greatly expanded childless segment of contemporary society, whose members are drawn disportionately from the feminist and counterculture movements of the 1960s and 70s, will leave no genetic legacy. Nor will their emotional or psychological influence on the next generation compare with that of their parents.

...

This dynamic helps explain, for example, the gradual drift of American culture away from secular individualism and toward religious fundamentalism. Among states that voted for President George W. Bush in 2004, fertility rates are 12 percent higher than in states that voted for Sen. John Kerry. It may also help explain the increasing popular resistance among rank-and-file Europeans to such crown jewels of secular liberalism as the European Union."

Good stuff. But the side bar on China, whose citizens began choosing boys over girls thanks to the advent ultrasound machine a few decades ago, is fascinating.

"Thanks in large part to the introduction of the ultrasound machine, Mother Nature's usual preference for 105 males to 100 females has grown to around 120 male births for every 100 female births in China. The imbalance is even higher in some locales --136 males to 100 females on the island of Hainan ..."

*Funny*
"Understanding the effect of the testosterone overload may be most important in China, the rising Asian superpower. Prompted by expert warnings, the Chinese authorities are already groping for answers. In 2004, President Hu Jintao asked 250 of the country's senior demographers to study whether the country's one-child policy -- which sharply accentuates the preference for males -- should be revised. Beijing expects that it may have as many as 40 million frustrated bachelors by 2020. The regime, always nervous about social control, fears that they might generate social and political instability."

*Frightening*
"The CIA asked (a researcher at BYU) to discuss her dramatic suggestion that "in 2020 it may seem to China that it would be worth it to have a very bloody battle in which a lot of their young men could die in some glorius cause."

Today: 60 minute treadmill adventure
Tomorrow: 60 minute walk

The power of positive thinking. Or, reading really *does* work.

I was tired and pretty hungry. I didn't get out of work early like I had planned to. And I was going to skip my mid-week run, one of only two "work" days in my training schedule.

But I decided to try it anyway. And, again, I surprised myself. I made it all 60 minutes -- six miles.

A few days ago, I read The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer for the first time in several months. I scanned through most of the intro chapters, but really got into all the mental preparedness text. This is my favorite trick, and what I credit with with helping me run tonight:

"One of the things that has become clear to us through working with people training for the marathon is that in order to maintain a positive attitude about training and running, it is necessary to develop a positive attitude about life in general. It is almost impossible to be positive about training while being negative about most other aspects of your life.

To develop this kind of attitude, if you don't have it already, it will be important that you begin using a particular phrase whenever you catch yourself saying or thinking something negative. The phrase is, "...but it doesn't matter." We know how difficult it is, especially early in your marathon training, to avoid saying or thinking things like, "I am really tired today," or "My legs are sore today," or "The weather is really rotten today," and then to use these factors as reasons not to run that day. So, what we want you to do is this. Whenever one of these negative phrases comes into your mind or out of your mouth, we want you to add "but it doesn't matter" to the end of the sentence. Why? Because it really DOESN'T matter unless you believe it does. You can, and will, run anyway. And you will be really glad you did when you are finished."

Indeed.

Tomorrow: 60 minutes on the treadmill

A tightly-scheduled pack mule

I used to run before work. I used to go to Subway for dinner nearly every night at work. I used to get home in time to watch the Daily Show at a decent hour.

Now, I eat a big-ass lunch at home everyday. I pack a dinner -- including two bananas; love those -- to bring to work. I also bring a 32 oz. bottle of water, a travel coffee mug, a bag full of my workout clothes and my green Minnesota side bag. I feel like a damn pack mule.

I walk, cycle or run every night after work, which means the earliest I get home is 11:30. By the time I shower and eat something it's well-past midnight. This has made my weeks fly by, which isn't the worst thing in the world.

Yesterday: 60 minute power walk
Today: 60 minute treadmill run
Tomorrow: 60 minute power walk

New Deal

Happy President's Day! Or what's left of it for people on the West Coast. T minus 29 minutes and counting.

I promised a couple people I'd give a photo tour of my apartment. The photos are kinda blurry because my camera isn't the best. It was awkward because the camera has to be plugged into my laptop to work. So I held the computer with one hand/arm and took photos with the other hand. Without further ado:















Today: 1.5 hour outdoor walk
Tomorrow: 60 minutes on the bike or treadmill

I love you like I love Fresca

If I ever make a rock record it's gonna sound like the Breeders' Title
TK. That is, it's going to have dry sounding drums, amateurish guitar
riffs and the Deal sisters' boozy, angelic harmonies. Huzzah!

I'm still a little dumbfounded after yesterday's relatively easy 12-mile trek through Olympia. I don't know if my eating a ton of food the day before and getting enough sleep helped out, but I'll take the win.

My legs are crazy sore, but I now feel *much* more confident about the rest of the training then I did last weekend.

And I have tomorrow (Monday) off, and that is totally awesome.

Today: nuthin
Tomorrow: 60 minutes of something. Perhaps a walk if the rains holds off.

I ran 12 miles through this city today

It wasn't all that bad, to be honest. My legs and butt are really sore right now. But I made it, averaging a little over 9 minutes a mile. The weather cooperated. The sun was shining and it didn't rain. Yes!

Today: 12-mile run
Tomorrow: day off

Yes! Yes! Yes! Or, Axl 4ever.

Here's a link to some leaked songs off the Gunners' new record, which Axl and a cast of thousands has been working on since 1994/95. "IRS" is a rad song. The chorus makes me think of Axl when he would grab the mic stand with both hands and just stalk the stage. Back and forth. Screaming, singing, whatever. And putting his foot up on a floor monitor and letting it go. Plus, the guitar solo is impossibly awesome and sounds a lot like something Slash would do. It's probably played by that guy who wears the KFC bucket on his head. (Note: this is a not a joke or code for anything. See? Yeah, I don't get it either.)

There is virtually no way this record will live up to the stories behind it. And there's almost no way it can live up to any of GNR's past efforts. (Appetite for Destruction is *the* perfect rock record, by the way.) But it better be damn good. And the songs better have some swagger.

I keep trying to get people to call me Sunny D cuz I got the good stuff that kids go for

What's the deal with Z-listers getting arrested at LAX? Is it the surest path back to relevance, or the last stop on the way to Rehabton?

Anywho, I was up and at 'em early today. And by that I mean I got up, showered and ate breakfast before 10:30 a.m. I'm trying to be tired enough to fall asleep at 9 or 10 tonight so I can be well rested for the 12-miler tomorrow morning. I'm also trying to abide by the three meals a day edict issued at last week's run. Well, three meals on Fridays and Saturdays anyway.

I'm preparing for a rather cold run tomorrow, too. The low is supposed to be in the high teens in Oly. It's about 20 degrees lower than normal, so, although it's nothing by MN standards, it's damn cold to everyone here. I plan to purchase gloves and a hat today for the run.

Other things I plan to do today:
-go to the post office
-sort through my newspapers
-work on my tax return
-eat a large lunch and a modest-sized dinner(supper?)

One last thing: I had my cholesterol checked last week because of everything with my Dad and his heart attack and high cholesterol. (This is more for my family, who've been asking me about this.)

Results:

Cholesterol: 134 Normal: less than 200
Triglycerides: 41 Normal: 20-190
HDL (good fat):41 Normal: 35-90
LDL (bad fat): 85 Normal: less than 130

My doctor also drew a smiley face next to those results. So there.

Today: 60+ minute walk
Tomorrow: 12-mile run in Olympia

Clean for Gene

I've been getting a lot of reading done since my conversion to my work's fitness center. I plop down on a stationary bike, or prop my magazine up on the treadmill, and get to business. Two birds with one stone.

Yesterday I read about Deutschland's new leader, Angela Merkel, and the challenges she faces. (Although, Germany's consumer confidence and economy is turning around, so sayeth The Economist!)

Today I read a wonderful essay on Minnesota Senator, poet and insurgent anti-Vietnam War presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy in The Atlantic. Mark Steyn remembers McCarthy, who hailed from a little town not too far from where I grew up, as a funny guy who unwittingly tore apart his party.

"If you strike at the king, you have to kill him. And, amazingly, Eugene McCarthy did. On March 12, 1968, the not exactly barnstorming senator got 42.4 percent of Democratic votes in the New Hampshire primary and denied the sitting president even a majority of his party's own supporters: Lyndon Johnson secured just 49.5 percent. Within three weeks, he was gone: the president announced he would not seek re-election and effectively ended his political career."

"His colleague George McGovern hailed him for "a wit equal to Shaws's," though, like most political wit, it shrivels on citation. McGovern commends the riposte McCarthy made to Congressman Hill of Colorado, who in a debate on agricultural subsides had brought up "some French girl" who'd been burnt at the stake. The gentleman from Minnesota replied, "I don't think Joan of Arc went to her death in defense of flexible farm price supports!"

"Shortly after the 1968 campaign, his wife, Abigail, left him, though, as devout Catholics, they never divorced. And so it was with his party: they left the man but without ever being quite able to divorce themselves from the McCarthyite spirit of '68. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young and Clean for Gene was very heaven."

RIP Gene-o

Today: 60 minutes on the bike
Tomorrow: outdoor walk

A little overhaul never hurt anyone

I've made some changes to the blog, as you might have noticed. The name has been slightly changed -- no more "'06" because it didn't really matter what year it is. Plus, I don't plan to have a running project in '07.

I've also added a pop-up countdown clock on the sidebar. Now you can see how many seconds I am away from the marathon. Neat, huh?

Also included: more links, a small Oprah shrine and one Sonic Youth-inspired sidebar header.

On an unrelated note, the mid-day CNN host just said, "Willie's getting all 'Brokeback Mountain' on us," regarding Nelson's new song that, you know, says there's some gay cowboys and he's OK with that.

I'm not sure I want my news anchors to say things like, "Getting all (fill in the blank) on us." It would be like Bob Schieffer saying, "Then Bill Frist was all, 'We're going to pass these tax cuts'," but Harry Reid was like, "Ohhhh, you did *not* just say that!" Can't they deliver the news in a way that's not stuffy, but doesn't sound like something a 14-year-old girl would say?

This post is dedicated to my friend Kristina, who I failed to give a D.C. shout out in yesterday's Oprah ramblings.

Commercial radio is really cheesy, but I still like it. They do stupid shit like play songs with "love" in the title around Valentine's Day. And you can count on at least one rock station in every town to play Loverboy's "Working for the Weekend" once a Friday.

Last night, the big alt-rock station out of Seattle snuck in Smashing Pumpkin's "Love" right after their 9 o'clock countdown. It was awesome because: a. It is not an official single b. I've never, ever heard it on the radio c. It felt like a singular act of bravery and independent thinking, which is in short supply at many rock stations.

Tonight, a different rock station was playing hair-metal ballads and such. I heard "Don't Know What You Got" by Cinderella or Skid Row or whoever. The whiskey-voiced female DJ then took a call from a jilted 80s metal chick who requested she play some "love gone bad" rockers, too. Queensryche "I Don't Believe in Love" ensued. I don't think I've ever heard Queensryche on the radio, but this is Seattle, hometown of that high brow, low-interest metal band.

On a non-Valentine's Day note: Sunday afternoon I heard a Whitesnake song followed by a solo Robert Plant tune, which I can't remember the name of, but was interesting and surprisingly good. I thought it was funny because David Coverdale is the poor man's version of Robert Plant. (Coverdale Page, anyone?) I hope the DJ was thinking the same.

Right now: eating Valentines-themed M&Ms
Today: 60-minute power walk
Tomorrow: 60 minute run

Happy Valentine's Day

Who cares about Michelle Kwan and the Olympics? Plus, why Oprah Winfrey is the Oly Run Project's patron saint.

I've been sucking my thumb a little bit since Saturday's crap-tastic run. I'm worried that I'll get injured, that I'm not eating right, etc., etc.

Then I remembered what I'd thought about back in August or September when I decided to run the marathon: if Oprah can do it, I can do it.

She ran the Marine Corps Marathon in beautiful Washington, D.C. (Hi, Liz and Margo!), on Oct. 23, 1994, finishing in 4 hours, 29 minutes and 20 seconds. That's 10 minutes 16 seconds per mile. She lost 83 pounds and took 18 months to train for the big race.

That's a damn good time, I think, for a novice runner. I'm not sure I can hang with Oprah time-wise. A more realistic goal might be to best Vice President Al Gore's 4 hours 54 minutes he ran in the same race in 1997. That's 11 minutes 13 seconds a mile, and likely a lot closer to what I'll run.

So, it might make more sense to anoint the former Veep as my blog's patron saint, but
Oprah is much more inspirational. Plus, she's a winner.

Tonight: 60 minutes walking on the treadmill. Hamstring leg lifts
Tomorrow: 60 minutes, bike or walk, one of the two

I'm starting to get a little nervous. But first, look at my new toy!

So, I finally tried to use the free Fun(!)Cam that Comcast gave me when I signed up for high-speed internet. This photo is the result. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell it works. I promise a virtual tour of my apartment real soon. I wanna show off my multicolor walls.

Yesterday's run sucked. I think it was because I didn't get much sleep the night before. One of those nights where I laid in bed and my mind just ran wild with all sorts of thoughts. (I never had trouble sleeping until last year when I was living in D.C.) Anyway, we ran a five-mile tempo run. What *is* that, you ask? There were two one-mile sections marked off in the five-mile course where we were instructed to run a little bit faster than our normal speed. I did it, but I couldn't quite figure out what a little bit faster than normal was for me without running full bore.

Next Saturday is 12 miles. That's farther than I've ever ran, for those of you keeping score at home. Both my IT Bands hurt now, and I fear that I'm not eating properly for the amount that I'm running. I learned a new IT band stretch, and we got a lecture on eating -- what to eat, when to eat it, etc. -- yesterday, but I'm getting a bit nervous. The rubber has met the road, I think.

Today: no exercise. day off.
Tomorrow: 60 minutes on the bike or power walk.

Opening the Olympia Run Project mailbag

In response to "I drove to Winnipeg and Chicago to see shows on the final tour. About six and half hours to each city. Each way. (I held up a sign at the Winnipeg show that Billy read and responded to.)", Brianna writes: What did your sign say?

Dear Brianna,

Thanks for writing. Please accept this copy of my wildly unsuccessful solo record, "Can I Borrow a Feeling?"

In regards to your question, the sign said, "SP (with the heart logo, of course) please play Drown" and the other side said "Thank You." Drown is their song from the Singles soundtrack. They were closing their shows with that or Mayonaise, which they had done a couple months earlier at the Northrop. I wanted to hear Drown cuz it has a wicked awesome solo and it's really long.

Towards the end of the set, I stood not too far back in the crowd and held my sign up in between songs. It took a few songs, but Billy glanced my way and said "Yes, we're going to play Drown." And the crowd cheered. And I peed myself a little bit.

Best,

Paul

Today: 60-90 minutes outdoor(!) walk
Tomorrow: Five mile "tempo" run with the Oly gang (Watch for the explainer post on what a "tempo" run is)

Remember this guy?

I can't believe how smug Mr. Corgan looks in this photo.(Thanks again, Google images!) I've thought more about the Pumpkins in the last week than I had in the last four or five years.

The well-founded rumor is the SP is back together and recording new music somewhere. My guess is Chicago. It's apparently Billy, Jimmy Chamberlain and some guy who played in Jimmy's band, which I've never heard. No James. No D'Arcy. And no Melissa Auf Der Maur. Hmmm. Sounds like the short-lived Zwan to me.

I'm worried that I really won't like whatever it is BC is cooking up as the next Pumpkins phase. I'm worried that he'll further taint the SP legacy with some James Iha-less incarnation of the band.

Here's why I care: this band was my life from roughly 1995-2000.

-I stood in the July heat with 100,000 other freaks to see them play the Hennepin Avenue block party in '98.
-I slept on the floor of a grocery store in a ticket line to get 12th row seats to the 2000/final American tour show at the Northrop Auditorium.
-I defended MACHINA/The Machines of God record, which, in retrospect, I did on principle. It certainly wasn't because it's great record or anything. A couple great songs, but lots of filler. I've been listening to it in the car this week.
-I drove to Winnipeg and Chicago to see shows on the final tour. About six and half hours to each city. Each way. (I held up a sign at the Winnipeg show that Billy read and responded to.)
-I sat in the City Center in Minneapolis for eight hours to meet SP at an autograph signing for about forty-five seconds. Oddly, it was the first of two meeting with Billy in that month: he gave me a hug after the Minneapolis show.

So, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

P.S. I added a link to BC's MySpace page. It has the full clip of him playing one of his solo songs on Letterman.

Today: did not ride the bike for 60 minutes. Instead, I worked for 12 hours straight.
Tomorrow: long walk, if it's sunny

Yowza!

Anyone seen the cover of the new Vanity Fair? It has a naked Scarlett Johansson on it. (She's the new Winona Ryder, only with more exaggerated features.)

Last night, I did 45 minutes on the bike and then walked for another 20 minutes. The bike seat is really uncomfortable, and I forgot my magazine, so I was just sitting there counting down the minutes.

I also used the leg lift machine. I'm trying to build up my hamstrings. Apparently, when you're running (and biking) a lot your quads get big, but your hamstrings don't. This causes your legs to not work properly, your IT Bands to ache and you to hate yourself.

Today: 60 minute run

Why Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is a preening, self-important politician and not a "maverick."

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-obama07.html

John McCain sent Barack Obama a nasty gram yesterday accusing the freshman senator of playing politics with the Senate ethics reform. Check out the Chicago Sun-Times story for bits and pieces from McCain's letter and Obama's response.

A couple thoughts on this:

1. McCain is full of himself and is threatened by Obama's rapidly rising star. He's likely also threatened that a freshman senator has an approval somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 percent and he doesn't.

2. This is part of McCain's strategy to appease his party to build up support for a presidential bid. Up until this point, Republicans hadn't much attacked Obama or said much about him at all. (Obama has kept a relatively low profile in his first year in the senate, choosing to work on eradicating lead paint in public housing rather than attach himself to sexier issues.) I don't think it's a coincidence that McCain's comments came only a day after RNC chairman Ken Mehlman called Sen. Clinton "angry" and said that would turn off voters. This is all part of the mid-term election and 2008 presidential strategy. That's fine, but let's not pretend McCain is above the fray in all this.

3. The language in McCain's letter seems rather stiff and wonkish, kind of a like the invisible hand of a chief of staff played a role. Obama's words, on the other hand, simply sound like many other things he's written, including his 2004 Democratic Convention speech in Boston and his book, Dreams from My Father. I doesn't really matter one way or another, it's just something I noticed.

Yesterday: 60 minutes on the bike
Today: 60 minutes more on the bike
Tomorrow: 60 minute treadmill jaunt

Last night the Gossip saved my life

Several people had asymetrical haircuts. A stray dog ran through the crowd. Kurt Cobain lived about six blocks from the venue in the years before Nevermind.

I saw the Gossip in Olympia last night. They played on the stage of the Capital Theater, but faced backwards. The crowd stood around the riser in the theater's backstage. It was really weird, but pretty great.

This band is phenominal live. Beth Ditto has a thick, bluesy voice, and she seems really likeable onstage. For a person that could understandly be too cool for school, she's friendly and talkative with the audience. (She stood outside after the show and just talked to people. I said "Great show" when I walked by and seemed geniunely thankful.)

The band's new stuff is disco-y, unlike their old stuff, which is dance-y but in a more rock way. It's also light years ahead of their old material -- better crafted, more interesting and much more melodic.

Musically, there's no reason why this band isn't huge, at least by indie rock standards. Their new album hasn't been written up that much, unlike the new Jenny Lewis solo joint. Notice a difference in how Lewis looks and how Beth Ditto looks? That, sadly, likely explains why the Gossip doesn't get as much press. Not that I don't dig Jenny Lewis or anything. I'm just saying.

I went with my friend Cassie.(She teched the photo in this post to make it less hideous and more clear.) We drove by Cobain's old apartment, which is the upstairs of a house across the street from the state lottery building on Pear Street. It's been remodeled, so it looks much nicer than the photos I had seen in books.

We also drove out to The Evergreen State College just to kill some time because we weren't too interested in the opening bands. We kept laughing at the signs on campus. They all directed us to the organic co-op, compost piles and the "experimental theater." It was awesome.

The Seahawks did not play well today. And why the Rolling Stones still matter.

Seattle didn't play well today, but I think Pittsburgh is the better team.

I watched nearly the entire game, but was only transfixed during the Stones half-time show. I watched it on a giant projection TV in a noisy bar in Seattle and had a big dopey grin. (The best Super Bowl show for the money was u2's super crazy awesome 2002 performance where they flashed the names of the people who died on Sept. 11. And played Where the Streets Have No Name. And were totally in their element.)

Both these bands playing in a huge football stadium and on TV for hundreds of millions of people makes perfect sense. They are two bands whose music actually seems to improve the more people are at the show. Both bands are careerist and calculated, but never seem to phone it in.

Mick Jagger is *the* greatest rock frontman ever. His performance today confirms that fact. He is 62 and he still is more nimble and interesting and magnetic then anyone. Plus, his voice is still really strong.

Keith Richards is the coolest rock guitarist.
Charlie Watts is a criminally underrated drummer.
Ronnie Woods' hair is criminally underrated. C'mon, it's like Rod Stewart if he used Just for Men instead of Target-brand peroxide.

But I wouldn't see the Stones live unless someone else paid for it. I'm not paying $150+ to see a band. Unless it's the original Smashing Pumpkins line-up. I would consider that.

I feel so badass right now

I rarely ever type that, but I actually feel that way right now.

6:50 a.m. I get out of bed and walk into the bathroom. I hear the rain hitting the skylight. This does not make me feel good.

7:15 a.m. (Somewhere in between Tacoma and Olympia) I am driving, but I can't see much. It's raining quite hard, and the semis are kicking up some serious water. I keep thinking, "I have to run in this?" and "Why didn't I start an insect collection instead of running this damn marathon?"

8:05 a.m. I've been running for about five minutes. I am soaked to the bone. I'm in Olympia/Tumwater, Wash. I contemplate the possibility that I am not a reasonable person.

Probably 8:50-9 a.m. I am in the zone. I don't slow down at the water stops because I don't want to kill this momentum. I pass a few people who passed me earlier, but I do not feel smug. I know this could quickly fall apart at any minute. My bum knee doesn't hurt, for some reason.

9:30 a.m. I crest a small hill and can see the running store, my starting point and the 10-mile mark. I am relieved. (It's odd running through a town that you're not familiar with because you don't know where you are or how far you've run.)

9:35-10 a.m. I eat half a bagel and half a banana and drink something that I thought was water but isn't. I consult one of the trainers about IT Band stretches and another problem that I've just noticed. My nipples are bleeding. Eek! (Don't act so surprised; I told you guys in the FAQ that this was a distinct possibility.) He tells me not to worry and recommends a few remedies. (See this post's photo.)

10:05-10:40 a.m. I drive home satified that I completed a 10-mile run without walking and without dying.

Friday ephemera

Here we go. I'm psyched because I'm not at work today and I've got a few things to share.

-Chuck Klosterman is blogging from the D this week! (Odd considering the title of his first book, Fargo Rock City, is a take-off on Kiss' "Detroit Rock City.")


-R.T. Rybak for U.S. Senate? Maybe! I've always thought he had congressional-quality hair.

-David Hasselhoff stars in this bewildering video! Youtube.com is the new Myspace.com. Plus, I think the 'hoff is newly sober.

Today's activities will include, but not be limited to: drinking a large cup of coffee, taking a long walk through my beautiful city, "Swiffering" my hardwood floors, completing and mailing the invitations for Neil's bachelor party and watching Saved By the Bell at 4 p.m. (PST).

Ever seen Joe Montana do the two-step? It's horrifying.

I am extra crispy from this week.

I'm not thinking clearly because I've been thinking too much for the last few days.

My Dad is out of the hospital now. I talked to him tonight. He took the dogs for a short walk, and was watching Dancing with the Stars. He's impressed with the moves of former 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice. And he's on the hunt for an organic de-caffinated coffee. (Regular coffee apparently is verboten after you have a heart attack.) So, if anyone knows of a good brand, please post a comment and let me know.

I'm on my fourth straight day of exercising now. I've been doing 60 minutes on the stationary bike, which, if you've ever done it, you'll know is beyond boring. I brought along the new New Yorker to read tonight. I have been eating a ton of food lately. Almost all good, healthy stuff, I might add. I've never exercised this much in my life. I can't imagine what I'm going to feel/look, for instance, in a month.

Saturday's Olympia excursion will involve a 10-mile run. The longest I've ever run is 10 miles, so it should be interesting. My training buddy is in The D for the Super Bowl, so I'll be on my own this week.

P.S. Super furry Phil indicated six more weeks of winter today in Pennsylvania. Whatever. At least January is behind us.

Stephanie Tanner was a meth head because she got "bored"

'Full House' Sweetheart Talks About Meth Addiction
Child Star Jodie Sweetin Tried Meth Because She Was 'Bored'

Feb. 1, 2006 — - As Stephanie Tanner on the 1990s hit sitcom "Full House," child actress Jodie Sweetin portrayed a young, innocent girl who lived in a happy, healthy supportive home.
"Growing up when I was on the series, I never really watched, even from this day, it's surreal to watch myself on television," said Sweetin. "Growing up in the business you have to grow up very fast -- you do have a different type of childhood, that has its benefits and it has its drawbacks."
When the show ended in 1995, she said she wanted to be a normal kid. She went to high school and college and by age 20 was married to a Los Angeles police officer -- TV older sister Candice Cameron was in the wedding party.
But two years ago, she found herself dangerously addicted to one of the most debilitating drugs, methamphetamine. She said she was unemployed and bored and began simply by experimenting. Soon, she was using meth everyday.
The tabloid press reported a three-day bender as well as an intervention staged by her "Full House" castmates -- including the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, John Stamos and Bob Saget.
Sweetin, 24, never went as far as to blame her life as a child star for her addiction, but said that it was difficult to discover who she truly was after the show ended.
"There is a certain sense of loss when a series ends," she said. "It is kind of hard to figure out who you are when you've lost your job at age 13, when that was basically how you identified yourself."
Sweetin said she checked herself in to the Promises drug rehab facility where she went underwent six weeks of intense treatment. She realized that she "was living a total double life," she said. "I was married to a police officer -- we are going through a divorce right now -- he had no idea."
Sweetin has been clean and sober since March of last year and now wants to get back into acting.
"I want to make movies, TV series, wherever the career takes me," she said. "I really hope this isn't the last people hear of me. In fact, I would like to make this a footnote in my career, not the end."

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