Lolo Jones: Winner

Posted on August 20, 2008 by threlkeld

Watching Lolo Jones tumbling over the penultimate hurdle in the 100m hurdle final was the only Olympic moment so far that actually brought me to tears. Sure, there have been some other failures and losses so far, but this was the most spectacular; “the agony of defeat” writ large.

Lolo held up like a trooper in the post-race interview, but lost it right afterwards, sobbing and so terribly alone in a corridor just off the track — a spectacle, which, thanks to NBC’s voyeurism, the entire nation witnessed.

She’s a class act, though, as evidenced by this great video from AP, which shows that she has enough perspective and resilience to avoid equating herself with one really bad race — and is taking it in stride, as it were. Rather than wallow in self pity, to be followed by a downward spiral into post-Olympic maladjustment, you just know she’ll pick herself up, get back to work, and be back for 2012. What a champion.

Go, Lolo!

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How to watch the Olympics live

Posted on August 16, 2008 by threlkeld

I give up on NBC for track and field. So can you!

Here’s how to watch a live stream of Olympic action from Denmark:
http://www.racingsnailclub.com/

There’s also information about how to get the BBC stream and highlight video. One thing (warning? tip?): There’s hardcore porn just one menu item away on the Danish site. 😉 Ah, Europe.

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Track and field coverage has started. Let the outrage begin.

Posted on August 16, 2008 by threlkeld

I just watched eight minutes of the women’s 10,000m final: The first five minutes and the final three minutes. NBC cut out over 20 minutes of the race for commercials and shotput. And now, I’m watching coverage of the men’s racewalking event, to which NBC is devoting more broadcast time. That’s right: racewalking.

What the hell is wrong with NBC? Can even the most dedicated T&F fan name one champion racewalker?

Since I didn’t actually get to see the 10,000m event, I have no idea what happened between minute 6 and minute 30. I couldn’t even tell if runners like Goucher, Kiplagat, Wangui and Smith were still running, or where anyone was in terms of laps by the time they cut back to the race.

This really steams my rice. I’m dreading the marathon coverage; we’ll probably get 10 minutes tops.

Here’s what’s wrong with most coverage of middle and long distance track and field events: The emphasis is always on the finish. Broadcasters don’t understand that the real drama is oftentimes not played out exclusively (if at all) at the end; it happens sometime earlier in the race, often much earlier. It’s bad enough that broadcasters are obsessed with sprint events, willing to show every 10 minute delay due to false starts. But to make things worse, they apply the same sensibility to the longer events, calling them like horse races and failing to present the whole story from a wider perspective.

If anyone knows of a video feed that shows the entire event (and other Olympic running events, for that matter), please comment.

Grr.

Anyway, I’m glad Flanagan won the Bronze. She’s in good (and extremely limited) company with the great Lynn Jennings. And, like Tirunesh Dibaba, she’s only getting faster. Maybe I need to get food poisoning more often.

Filed under: elites, olympics | 4 Comments »

The wisdom of Jack Daniels

Posted on August 13, 2008 by threlkeld

“When my runners are getting ready for an important race, I always tell them: ‘There are runners in the race who are not as good as you, so make sure you beat all of them. There are also runners in the race that may be equal to you, and you can beat all of them because you run a smarter race. And, there may be some runners in the race who are better than you, and you should beat half of them because they run a stupid race.'”

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Radcliffe’s a scrapper

Posted on August 6, 2008 by threlkeld

The world’s fastest woman in the marathon distance has recently dealt with:

  • A stress fracture
  • A toe injury
  • Hip troubles
  • A nasty spider bite

But she’s still going to run.

But can she win?

It’s the Olympics. Anything can happen.

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A man and his dog

Posted on August 1, 2008 by threlkeld

Bernard Lagat is about the only guy in the world who could bring his dog along for track work and not annoy me. Also note that she’s actually faster than her master. And she sticks to her own lane, which makes her smarter than the people I share the Bronxville track with.

Meet Ms. Piggy

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Nice profile of Magdalena Lewy Boulet

Posted on July 30, 2008 by threlkeld

In the East Bay Express.

Filed under: elites, inspiration, olympics | 2 Comments »

Omens in the road

Posted on July 12, 2008 by threlkeld

A squashed Boston Red Sox cap appeared at the foot of our street the other day. Each time I’ve passed by it, I’ve thought of Joan Benoit finishing the 1979 Boston Marathon wearing that cap (and again at the trials in April).

[minor chord crescendo]

An omen of some sort, perhaps?

There’s also a squashed possum about 20 feet further down the hill.

[minor chord crescendo]

Omen?

Probably not. Just a squashed cap and some roadkill.

Now, if the possum were actually wearing the baseball cap — well, I’d have to spend some time pondering the possible omens there.

Filed under: elites, everyday life, westchester | 1 Comment »

Total news blackout

Posted on June 28, 2008 by threlkeld

Between the Euro 2008 and Olympic Track and Field Trials, I have had to avoid all news sources lately. That’s because I can’t watch any of this stuff while it’s actually on.

The football’s been on in the middle of the afternoon, which has necessitated waiting a few hours to make it the evening’s entertainment. The T&F coverage started last night at midnight, fer cryin’ out loud.

Little treasures await me in our Tivo box, but in the meantime I can’t go to LetsRun.com, or open my NYTimes “track and field” article alert emails, or turn on the news until my other, sleepier half rises to greet the morning and its pre-recorded sports coverage. I am dying to know what happened in the women’s 10,000m, for example. But I must be a patient grasshopper.

So, for now, I’ll content myself this morning with planning a trip to Oregon next year. I want to race the Newport Marathon* in 2009, but use that as a centerpiece to a giant loop tour of the state.

I am happiest while planning something elaborate. Since I’ve planned my marathon training for Steamtown down to the last detail, I’ve been bereft in the planning department lately. At last…something new to plan.

*How can you not want to run a race that provides fresh raw oysters at the aid stations?

Filed under: eating, elites, olympics, racing, travel | 1 Comment »

"Mr. Ski Gloves" and other mysteries…solved!

Posted on June 21, 2008 by threlkeld

I posted about a person I see just about every day, walking in the hottest of weather wearing Michelin Man ski gloves*: At random points in his perambulations, he drops to the pavement and does pushups. I guess the gloves are to protect his hands. Still seems like overkill, though.

The forecast for tomorrow’s half marathon in Connecticut is for 70 degrees and around 80% humidity. I suppose it could be worse (and it has been in past years, or so I’ve read). Fortunately, much of the course is reported to be shaded, so I’ll just focus on getting the water down my throat rather than the front of my shirt and taking it easy on the hills.

I will be one of 274 women in the 40-49 age group running (perhaps more, if there are race day registrations) tomorrow. I recognize one name from the NYRR races — someone who always beats me by just a minute or two. I want to try to reverse that trend tomorrow (although by her recent race times, it looks like she’s impervious to heat).

We’re promised a post-race “beach party,” which I hope means ice cream and beer (don’t ask me why I make that association). Way before noon! Sometimes, when you get over the whole taxes, home repairs, needing to hold down a job thing, being an adult is a lot of fun. Anyway, I’m hoping this “party” will make up for the fact that I need to get up at 4:30AM tomorrow morning to drive an hour and engage in strenuous exercise in high humidity.

Before I go, I want to praise Tivo. Because of Tivo we’ve been able to watch every single match in the Euro 2008 Football cup, at our leisure, in the evening. And we have about 30 “track and field” broadcasts scheduled to record in the coming weeks, Olympic trials from Eugene and otherwise. Heaven. Sheer heaven.

Also, since I’ve been making very little progress with weight (or, rather, butt) loss lately, despite running 90 miles a week and dropping my caloric intake to around 1500 a day, I decided to give the whole “your body will go into starvation mode and hold onto fat like it’s going out of style” theory some credence. For the past week or so, I’ve been experimenting with eating more (and more frequently). And rapidly losing fat. Who knew?

*Originally reported as “mittens.” I see now that they are in fact gloves.

Filed under: eating, elites, everyday life, meets, racing | 1 Comment »

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