KRAC Blog

I remember when John and Yoko guest hosted The Mike Douglas Show, although I don't recall this particular episode. From WFMU: "Chuck Berry is famous for not using a touring band and hooking up with different ad hoc local groups everywhere he plays. And sometimes the results are less than inspiring� like the jumped up mess that was heard that day on the set of the Mike Douglas show. Lennon and Berry seem to be singing in different keys and the band sounds like it�s playing another song. Instead of a great rock moment, it�s three and a half minutes of atonal boogie.

But what makes watching the video of this performance so wonderful, and what has led me to watch it over and over again, is Yoko. During some random boogie moments Yoko grabs a nearby microphone and lets loose with some spirited Yoko-style caterwauling. It�s SO wrong that I almost can't believe it�s going to happen again every time I watch the video. A few times Mr. Berry�s eyes almost pop out of his head as his roots rock classic is injected with kooky downtown performance art on national television. One online critic describes the look on Berry�s face �as if somebody just poured an ice-cold beverage down his pants.� It�s that good." There's a link to the clip-- you're going to want to see it. 

I'm impressed as all get out with Lance Armstrong-- I road 30 miles Sunday, probably averaged between 11-12 mph, and was wiped out for the rest of the day and leg weary today. He averaged 28 mph over the month of July, through Alps and every other damn thing-- probably the equivalent of at least a marathon a day, with some ultras and a Boilermaker, and maybe some sprints thrown in. Lance is probably the most amazing endurance athlete in history-- but he got to where he is by dominating a single event in a very esoteric sport. Sportswriters are trying to put Armstrong's accomplishment in perspective, and I have to admit, I don't envy them the task. On the one hand-- wow. On the other hand, the range of skills that bicycle racing tests is a narrow set-- isn't it fair to say that ball sports test more?

Skip Bayless proposes the following list of candidates for Greatest Athlete: "[Michael]Jordan was the greatest basketball player and greatest clutch performer ever -- but he failed miserably at baseball. So if you want the greatest all-around athletes -- combining the widest array of talent and skill at the highest levels -- choose your favorite from this list: Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Mickey Mantle, Jim Brown, Bjorn Borg, Wayne Gretzky, Bo Jackson, John Elway and Deion Sanders."

I say, Borg? How'd he get here? No tennis players on this list, please. I also think that if you are going to have a list like this there ought to be at least one other decathalete besides Thorpe. Bruce Jenner turned into the white Michael Jackson, so not him, but how about Rafer Johnson? I could probably think of others to add to the list (O.J. Simpson anybody?) but at the end of the day I think I would go with Thorpe vs Jim Brown, a tough call. On the one hand you have Thorpe saying to the King of Sweden, "Thanks, King," probably one of the proudest moments in the history of democracy. On the other hand, you have Jim Brown in "The Dirty Dozen"-- a hard act to follow.

We are gung-ho for the Lake Placid half marathon in September. Saturday morning we did nine miles at the bike path. I think we are going to follow a plan where we try to run a little longer during the week, and alternate weekend runs as follows: 7.5 at the Ridge, then long runs at the bike path or river, 7.5 at the Ridge, etc. This Saturday (7/30) we go to the Ridge, and the next long run will be ten miles, then in two more weeks, eleven, and so on, with the Ridge serving as a hill run in between the long runs.

Sometimes I think that "Get Fuzzy" is really just a slacker "Garfield", but superficial resemblances notwithstanding it really is much more hip than that-- and it is usually good for roughly twice as much humor as the rest of the funnies put together. 

"The course is a loop course starting and finishing on a running track at the site of the opening ceremonies for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. The 13.1 mile course follows the Ausable River for the majority of the route. There is a small incline in the first mile and one at the 13 mile mark. The course has been described as fair with challenge."

I know I made fun of the idea, but I was wrong. Let's do it.

15k, brutal heat, hills and months of training, but you'd have to say it was worth it to get this photo. 

I'm never going to look faster. 

It occurred to me this morning that the Saturday of the Subaru is one of the few Saturday mornings when I sleep in. After all the years I've run it, it remains one of my favorite events. For a long time this site was one of the first that came up when you Googled the race; now it has it's own site, just in time for some controversy. Derrick Jones, a Rochester runner, admitted that he cheated (and lied about cheating) in the 2001 edition of the race, cutting the course and thereby enabling his team to win the Open Men's team event. There is an lively discussion about it over at the Greater Buffalo Track Club site (I'm stirring the pot a bit). It would be interesting, in a way, to be good enough at this sport to cheat. Obviously I don't-- what would be the point? But this guy, Derrick Jones, is apparently good enough to run a race like the Subaru in twenty minutes on the level. Obviously he cares enough about the sport to put the work in to be good-- why would he dishonor that effort? I ran 39:07 (9:47 pace) in 2001-- I forget what nagging injury was plaguing me that year. Dave ran 29:13 (a snappy 7:18). Nancy ran 34:13(8:33).

Now that the Boilermaker is over, I've decided to try to get into shape. This sounds tempting:

Lake Placid Half Marathon, Saturday September 17, 2005.

It was by far the hottest Boilermaker we ever experienced. Judy was not smiling. Jim, you would have enjoyed these choice moments:

The headline in an article in the Utica version of Artvoice:

"TEN RULES TO RUN BUY"

A sign posted along the route:

"UTICA TEACHERS, YOUR DOING GREAT!"

The morning sky told the whole story-- clear and blue with just a wisp of cloud to emphasize that the sun was going to be remorseless. There weren't going to be any PRs at this Boilermaker, but distaff member Judy Power-Knab doesn't make alibis and attacked the course like it was Normandy Beach. In the end there was 1:39:21-- a scant two minutes off last year's time-- time she could have made up if Joel Giambra hadn't shut the parks down. Look out for her next year. Our Captain finished in a romp, fresh as a daisy, a second behind Judy-- can't wait to see the pictures.

My goal going in was to try to equal or better last year's time, my PR, but the thin sheen of perspiration on my forearms as we waited at the start told me that I would have to adjust my usual strategy (go hard until I can't, then hang on like grim death). This time my plan was to go easy for the first 5k, attack the hills, then try for reverse splits on the back stretch. It might have worked, too, but equipment issues waylaid me: as we crested the golf course hill, I knew I was going to have a blister problem on my good foot. The effect this had on my gait was enough to bring on the problem I've been nursing with my left foot-- I really couldn't attack at the end the way I would have had to for my plan to work. Still, 1:34:01-- not a bad day out.

The other effective strategy development was to split an order of the greens as an appetizer. We shared a second appetizer-- a small pizza, split a bottle of Chianti Classico, and with the hats as an entree were quite pleasantly sated.

You can tell me that you had a better weekend, but I'm not sure I'd believe you.

Utica weather forecast for Sunday: high of 89 degrees, partly sunny with a "very high" UV index.

After training for the marathon the 15K distance is a mere trifle, but man, that sounds hot.

Jim, think of us while you're at your "wedding." Dave, think of us while you're . . . uh, wherever.

In an effort to lively up the quality of the postings which you all are so tired of, I offer this. From A Hamburger Today: "Last Tuesday (June 28), after allowing five runs in the ninth inning against Cleveland, Red Sox pitcher Keith Foulke blamed jeering homefield fans for his failure, referring to them collectively as "Johnny from Burger King."
The comment has offended some folks up Beantown way who see it as a slap in the face to the hardworking, low-paid fans who essentially help pay the substantial salary Mr. Foulke no doubt earns.
It has also inspired some Photoshopped illustrations that play on the incident, as seen at right and here. 

Michael Bérubé on brilliant guitar solos in songs that suck. His list is far too short-- there are a wealth of these. "[M]y examples are all drawn from the 1970s, not because I’m 43 years old (that has nothing to do with anything) but because the 1970s were the great decade of brilliant guitar solos in songs that suck."