The fear of running run

Nine days ago I ran for the first time in over a month after my right ankle was left tender ‘n sore. This has been sufficient time for injuries to heal in the past. The ankle began to mildly hurt during the run and I could feel it for a few days after and thus I developed FORI — Fear of Re-Injury. It took until today, with the ankle feeling normal again, for me to attempt another 5K.

Good news: the weather was near-perfect, a crisp sunny day with no wind and temperatures round 11ºC. I finished with a much-improved overall pace of 5:05/km, a full eight seconds better than my previous outing.

The not-so-good news: my ankle feels just as it did after the last run. It took a few km before I could feel it and the pain was more discomfort and not sufficient to slow me down. Nor does it especially hurt to walk on it afterward, though I can still feel soreness in what I believe is the tibia. I’m going in to have it checked out by a doctor tomorrow. I may also be asked to pee in a cup, because that’s something they seem to like.

Times:

km time
1 km 4:49
2 km 4:53
3 km 4:59
4 km 5:03
5 km 5:05

The evil that ankles do -or- The first run of the fall

Back on September 12th I didn’t realize my run that day would turn out to be the last for the summer but I was aching by the time I finished and my right ankle was quite sore. I opted to stay off it and give it time to get better.

Fast forward to today, October 14th, one month and two days later. I finally summoned the wherewithal to do a 5K run and see how things go.

The Good: The weather was great, 15ºC, sunny with a light breeze. I felt no discomfort while running apart from some mild cramping as my lungs were forced to actually work.

The Bad: After a spry first km time of 4:47 my times fell off the cliff. Not surprising at all, so I’m not disappointed. My average pace was 5:13/km, 1:28 slower than my fastest 5K. Number of seconds added each km: 11 (!), 8, 5, 2.

The Ugly: Although my ankle did not hurt during the run and does not hurt to walk on now, I can feel it and this concerns me. Four weeks off should have healed it up properly, so my worry is that there may be some kind of hairline fracture in one of the stupid bones down there. I may get it x-rayed. I’m tentatively prepared to do a follow-up run on Sunday but the ankle shall be the judge of that. Please be nice, Mr. Ankle!

Times:

km time
1 km 4:47
2 km 4:58
3 km 5:06
4 km 5:11
5 km 5:13

When lurid book covers work (Fade-Out edition)

Recently I was participating in a discussion on great science fiction novels and I trotted out one of my favorites that I read way back when I was all of 14 years old, Fade-Out, by Patrick Tilley. A slightly expanded/modified version of the novel was later released that I read as an adult and the story still holds up. That edition featured this cover tiny image ahead, I may scan in my copy just so it’s legible):

Black with a glowing orange-red circle that could signify almost anything. Not very arresting as far as images go (and for some reason this particular scan makes the title impossible to see).

However, the original Dell SF (US) cover on the copy I bought in 1978 was this:

A monstrous mechanical spider in front of the Capitol Building with masses fleeing in panic. A classic flying saucer hovering above. A title done in that cheesy chrome look. How could I resist? I couldn’t!

The great part is that the event depicted on this sensationalist cover does not happen in the book. Nothing even close to it happens — though there is a mechanical spider. And it does take place on Earth, as the inclusion of the Capitol Building would suggest. But otherwise, it’s a mashup that deliberately distorts to create a more exciting image — and it worked! If I had encountered the revised cover in 1978 I’d likely have never picked the book up.

On the one hand, this leads me to think that I should judge a book by its cover (cool cover = cool book) and shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (dull cover = dull book). Since the same book had both a dull and cool cover and especially since the cool cover was a load of hooey, my conclusion is: book covers are hooey. Read the first few pages and see if you like what you see instead.

Unclear on the concept, Parts 26 and 27

Two recent photos captured via my phone.

This first photo was taken from the Sapperton SkyTrain station. As you can see there is also a rail line that travels beside the SkyTrain at ground level. As you can also see there is a car carrier whose driver appears to be unclear on the concept of how gates at railway crossings work. This could have been messy with all that coal.

Unfortunately I could not discretely take the next photo so I had to use the phone camera’s zoom function and accidentally engaged out-of-focus mode. This is a woman standing directly beneath a SMOKING IS PROHIBITED sign outside of Wal-Mart. I say no more.

Book review: Ready Player One

Two of the last three novels I’ve read have been first-time efforts. The previous one I’d read was Brian Keene’s The Rising, which I found mediocre and fairly filled with first-time authorisms. Ready Player One has its share of flaws, too, but as a debut I felt it worked much better.

The main character of Wade/Parzival seemed a little too prone to silly actions and emotional speechifying. The most cringe-inducing moments in the book were usually when several characters engaged in dialogue. But as they are mostly teens or near-teens I found this forgivable, even realistic. Having been a teen once (that was enough for me) I can attest to the propensity for silly actions and saying Very Serious Things Stop Laughing At Me, so in RPO it works, for the most part.

The key concept of the OASIS was fleshed out just about right — the technical ins-and-outs of this proto-holodeck are presented with enough detail to make it seem plausible without descending into unnecessary Star Trek-level technobabble.

This is very much a niche book. While a movie version would be more accessible, simply due to the visual experience, the novel’s constant and key references to all things 1980s (or thereabouts) makes the story best-suited for those who grew up in that era. Being a massive nerd is probably essential, too. Since I qualify in both regards I enjoyed the nostalgia trip, even as I stopped to wonder if the occasional detail was right or not.

The ending is a bit pat and as others have said, Wade has a whole lot of coincidental knowledge that turns out to be precisely what he needs. The ability to memorize countless movies, books and games is a stretch, too — you pretty much have to handwave it or the whole story collapses on itself.

The character of Art3mis didn’t quite click for me. Her actions felt more like they were in service to the plot than organic or natural.

Still, there’s no denying the spectacle, the villains are suitably over-the-top and it’s a fast-paced, effortless read. If you’re at all nerdy and know your 80s references, you’ll probably have a good time with Ready Player One.

Steve Jobs, gone at age 56

I couldn’t think of a more poetic headline and besides, those are impossible to deal with when doing a search years later.

Today Steve Jobs died. The Apple site has a simple page to him dedicated here. The statement on it is from current CEO Tim Cook and reads:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

I have a love/hate relationship with Apple. I’ve applied to work for the company. I’ve mocked the iPad for bringing iBooks to Canada with no actual books to purchase. I’ve owned three iPods, two of which sit on the desk where I’m writing this, alongside my iPhone 4. I’ve dismissed the original iMac (the one with the hockey puck mouse). I’ve marveled at the elegant design of the current iMac. But through all of my mockery and admiration I have acknowledged that Apple would not be the company it is today — not even close — without one of the most utterly capable CEOs any tech company has ever seen.

Steve Jobs wasn’t just a visionary — he not only oversaw Apple and the introduction of a slew of incredibly successfully, industry-defining products (iPod, iPhone, iPad, the iTunes music store, the mock turtleneck sweater) but also an entirely different company as well — Pixar. To be so successful with just one company is amazing. To be so successful with two — simultaneously! — is insanely amazing. Unlike a lot of people with vision, Jobs was able to transform his into reality. He was also a terrific speaker and showman. When he reappeared earlier this year to introduce the iPad 2 people ate it up, ignoring how much thinner and frail he looked.

And in the end life was cruel to him. Having survived pancreatic cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009, he took medical leave in January of this year, resigned as CEO in late August and today, just weeks later, is gone, felled by an illness that money and power cannot ward off. He was only 56.

The world has lost a uniquely talented individual. It will be interesting to see where Apple goes in the years to come with Jobs’ guidance. It would not surprise me if it falters, his imprint was so strong. But it’s also likely he planted the seeds to keep the company strong, knowing his time was coming to an end.

Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs.

 

Book review: Majestic

Since it was just recently reprinted ans I missed it back in the day, I read Majestic, Whitley Strieber’s ‘true fiction’ account of the Roswell Incident. It’s partially epistolary in nature, as some chapters are told directly from the memoirs of the (fictitious) character of Will Stone, an ex-CIA officer who was deeply involved in the Roswell crash recovery and subsequent cover-up and who ultimately confesses the secrets of what happened to a reporter for The Bethesda Express (in 1989, the year the novel was originally published). The remaining chapters are told from the first person perspective of the reporter as he recounts the stories he is told and the material he uncovers in his research.

The story starts out fairly grounded (ho ho) but as it moves beyond the initial discovery of the crashed disk it gets progressively weirder, with Strieber projecting the behaviors of the ‘visitors’ from his book Communion onto the aliens. Said visitors go on to seriously screw around with the minds and bodies of several people, some of them actual historical figures. The government stuff is handled believably, with everyone up to the president appropriately freaked by the potential an alien invasion could have — and the orders to both shoot first and cover up the whole thing not only works perfectly for conspiracy theorists, it’s plausible as something the government would probably do in such a situation.

My biggest disappointment with the story is probably in regards to the details of what is found. There are several scenes with scientists and military men gathered to discuss findings and propose strategies but the emphasis is clearly on the military side of things, leaving a lot of potentially interesting bits on the alien technology only hinted at.

Still, this is a short and breezy read. For those looking for a (fictional) take on Roswell, it may be worth checking out. Just be prepared for more emphasis on trippy happenings and less on government shenanigans as you get further in

R.E.M. calls it quits

This story on R.E.M.’s official website announces that the band is amicably splitting up after 30 years together. So it turns out Bill Berry quitting did break the band up, as he had feared it might, it just took 14 years longer than expected!

As I said on Quarter to Three’s forum, this makes me sad but it’s not too surprising. They seemed to be drifting since before Bill Berry left the band in 1997.

They did their ‘rock’ album in 1994 with Monster, a deliberate change-up from their previous sound but the follow-up to that album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi felt at times like an awkward blend of the two previous albums, Automatic for the People and Monster, suggesting the band was unable to settle on a direction.

Once Berry left they got more experimental and production-heavy, with dense arrangements that were pretty much the antithesis of their IRS records. There was some good stuff in there but some of it felt labored or worse, was forgetful. The latter albums also felt (to me, anyway) as if an individual band member drove each one — Accelerate was Buck’s album, Around the Sun was Mills’, Up was Stipe’s, there was a sense that the group no longer shared a vision, they just worked agreeably together.

I quite liked Accelerate, their self-described attempt to stay relevant. In all the years since 1986 it’s the album that most recalls my favorite, Lifes Rich Pageant. In retrospect it was a penultimate last hurrah.

Still, 30+ years is a hell of a run.

And I’ll admit, I’d pick up a Mike Mills solo album.

Annual birthday post, 2011 edition

Today is my birthday.

The good: celebrating it with a loving partner, getting a nice present and eating a couple of apple fritters.

The bad: getting older.

The bad is also part of the good, as the alternative is a lot worse.

Silent running

Distance: 11.08 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: slight
Calories burned: 774
Average pace: 5:19/km
Total distance to date: 1053 km

I have discovered of late that the longer I go between runs the harder it is, as if I lose my conditioning faster by not running as frequently. On the plus side I have also noticed that I recover quicker than before in terms of soreness/achiness and the like.

And so with four days off since my last run I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty and it wasn’t. In terms of discomfort it was probably the worst run I’ve had in quite awhile — and yet I still managed to beat my previous run by three seconds on average, probably due to the lower temperature and running Burnaby Lake clockwise, which slopes more downwardly. And despite the lower temperature I still felt hot and sweaty. A rare light breeze came up but only long enough to be a tease. It felt like a portent of changing weather.

Along the way I felt a nagging pain in my right shin but has subsided dramatically over the course of 24 hours, leading me to cautiously believe that it was sore and not hurt. I also had a weird phantom twinge of pain flare up during the first half of the run in my left upper thigh. It came out of nowhere and left the same way. I think it may have been responsible for the absolutely huge drop between my first and second km — 8 seconds, which may be some kind of record. By the end of the run I had my stamina back and was starting to feel a bit better but overall it was a dismal affair.

I knew things were not going to go well when I could not select a playlist at the start of the run. Apparently my iPod did not sync properly so I had to run for 60 minutes with only the sound of my own wheezing to serenade me. I did not prefer this to music.

Here is hoping the next run is an all around more pleasant experience.

Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):

km Sep 12 Sep 7 Sep 2 Aug 31 Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 15 Aug 11 Aug 8
1 km 4:49 4:52 4:52 4:51 4:51 4:50 4:55 4:54 5:04
2 km 4:57 4:56 4:57 4:53 4:55 4:54 4:57 4:55 5:05
3 km 5:02 4:59 5:00 4:57 4:58 4:57 4:58 4:58 5:07
4 km 5:05 5:02 5:02 4:58 5:01 5:00 5:02 5:00 5:09
5 km 5:07 5:06 5:03 4:59 5:05 5:01 5:05 5:02 5:11
6 km 5:09 5:08 5:04 5:01 5:08 5:03 5:06 5:03 5:12
7 km 5:12 5:11 5:06 5:03 5:10 5:05 5:08 5:04 5:14
8 km 5:14 5:13 5:07 5:05 5:12 5:07 5:09 5:06 5:16
9 km 5:16 5:16 5:08 5:06 5:14 5:09 5:11 5:08 5:16
10 km 5:17 5:18 5:09 5:08 5:16 5:11 5:13 5:08 5:17
11 km 5:19 5:20 5:10 5:10 5:18 5:12 5:14 — 5:17
12 km — 5:22 5:10 5:11 — — — — —

The weirdly warm early September run

Distance: 12.73 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 890
Average pace: 5:21/km
Total distance to date: 1042 km

It seems summer was shifted forward one month. After a tepid and cloudy July, August was pretty nice and September so far has been spectacular, with temperatures well above normal for this time of year. That’s the good news. The less-good-news is the run at Burnaby Lake was very warm (25ºC when I started), very humid and generally uncomfortable until the final few km when the lateness of the hour meant it finally started to cool a little.

I decided to run counter-clockwise (the usual way) and after having done the previous two runs clockwise I can now say with certainty that clockwise is easier. The south side of the lake has a low but steady uphill slope which serves as a braking mechanism in the latter part of the run. Going in the other direction, the north side of the lake has one much steeper but shorter climb and nothing else noteworthy, being mostly flat. I suspect my sluggish pace would have had a few seconds lopped off it had I run clockwise.

And sluggish it was. Despite starting with a typical 4:52/km I immediately gained four seconds on the next km and added three or four seconds for every km after until the 5 km mark, dooming my overall time (at 5 km my pace was a lowly 5:06/km). I plodded on and on the plus side my shins did not feel nearly as tender as on the previous run and I’m only experiencing some minor soreness now. I also managed my longest run once again, adding 400 m for a total distance of 12.73 km, so that was pretty good. The number of slugs was down, too.

I also had a train running alongside me on the north side of the trail for the first time. Weird that it hasn’t happened before. The clacking of the wheels on the track is oddly soothing. I also jogged by a horsey near the end of the run. Yes, a horsey. And apparently there is a law forbidding men from having horses now because every one I see has a woman attached to it.

Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):

km Sep 7 Sep 2 Aug 31 Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 15 Aug 11 Aug 8 Aug 4
1 km 4:52 4:52 4:51 4:51 4:50 4:55 4:54 5:04 4:51
2 km 4:56 4:57 4:53 4:55 4:54 4:57 4:55 5:05 4:54
3 km 4:59 5:00 4:57 4:58 4:57 4:58 4:58 5:07 4:59
4 km 5:02 5:02 4:58 5:01 5:00 5:02 5:00 5:09 5:04
5 km 5:06 5:03 4:59 5:05 5:01 5:05 5:02 5:11 5:07
6 km 5:08 5:04 5:01 5:08 5:03 5:06 5:03 5:12 5:09
7 km 5:11 5:06 5:03 5:10 5:05 5:08 5:04 5:14 5:11
8 km 5:13 5:07 5:05 5:12 5:07 5:09 5:06 5:16 5:13
9 km 5:16 5:08 5:06 5:14 5:09 5:11 5:08 5:16 5:14
10 km 5:18 5:09 5:08 5:16 5:11 5:13 5:08 5:17 5:15
11 km 5:20 5:10 5:10 5:18 5:12 5:14 — 5:17 5:16
12 km 5:21 5:10 5:11 — — — — — —