Revenge Wears No Wristwatch

Hey hey, my my. I'm in a good mood. My beloved Maple Leafs snapped an eight-game losing streak tonight, beating the Florida Panthers 4-1. It's been an ugly month for the Leafs, who have seen several players felled by injuries and have generally been playing like crap. Now I just hope they don't lose tomorrow night.

Yesterday, I joined my brother-in-law Steve to catch the Lowell Lock Monsters game with the Leafs' farm club, the Toronto Marlies. It was a good game, with the Monsters coming from behind to knock off the Marlies behind former UNH star Steve Saviano's two goals and an assist. So even though I was rooting for the Marlies to win, it was nice to see a Wildcat do well. It was a 4 p.m. game and the place was full of families with little kids. Steve's got season tickets and this year he moved from behind the penalty box to a section over; unfortunately for us yesterday, it was right in the section where they put a bunch of kids who were there for a birthday party. They all had those annoying Thunder Stix inflatable noisemakers popularized by the Anaheim Angels a few years back when they won the World Series. Holy crap, are those things loud. My ears are still ringing. Gotta love minor league sports.

So over the last four years, I've run five marathons and have espoused a training regimen that focuses on long runs and trying to stay healthy. In three of those marathons, I've finished in 4:10; only once did I break four hours and that was the Maine Marathon in '02 when I made it in 3:59. As I prepare for the Vermont City Marathon in May, I've decided to take a different approach this time around and get a little more serious about improving my time in the hopes of finishing in 3:50. While certain factors such as the weather are out of my control, I'm going to follow the Pfitzinger 18-week/55 miles or less per week training schedule. I picked up Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas and it just so happens that this week is exactly 18 weeks from the marathon, so I'm starting immediately. I already have a base built up so it won't be too much of a jolt to begin right away. It's going to be difficult to fit 7- and 9-mile runs in during the week, but I'm going to do my best to stick with it. A big difference is the emphasis on speed work and different tempos for different runs; I've never done that before. Wish me luck.

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da:

• Yet another thing that makes me feel old: Baby Jessica (y'know, the baby who fell down a well in Texas back in '87) is now married. I'm sure some of you young whippersnappers out there are saying, "Who the hell's Baby Jessica?" You probably also didn't remember that last week was the 20th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. I was a freshman in college then. Positively frightening.
• Having kids makes you more sensitive to stories like this, but this case out of Brazil where some guys rescued a two-month-old baby girl who had been put in a plastic bag and dumped in a lake is just sickening. The baby's mother, a 27-year-old woman, was arrested and told police she gave the baby to some homeless people because she couldn't take care of her. Smooth move, dumbass.
• This guy's ready at a moment's notice to do a shot. It's important to be prepared for important social situations.