Ramblin' Man

Hey now now. It's been nearly a week. I've just been too busy and/or lazy to post anything. But I'm here now.

The good news continues on the running front. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill Wednesday and felt great, and then did another 5 yesterday with similar results. Very encouraging. I'm going to try to do an 8-mile (just like Eminem!) run tomorrow, so wish me luck. Deb's out right now on a 12-miler. The Boston Marathon is a week from Monday, so it's her last long run. Now we just have to hope it's not too warm on the 17th.

Went to a surprise 40th birthday bash for my old buddy Chris last night. I've gotten to that point where I'm starting to get invites to 40th b-day parties. Yikes. It was a big week for birthdays: my brother, my brother-in-law Steve, Briggy, Frank Black (hey, check out the Frank Black podcast. Very cool). Party on, gents.

Whatchamacallit:

• The NHL regular season's winding down and the Leafs have been playing well, but not well enough to make the playoffs. They're seven points out of a playoff spot. They lost two games this week by shootout; they just can't seem to score on those damn things. As exciting as a shootout can be, it's an entirely unsatisfying way to conclude a hockey game. Hockey is a true team sport, and the shootout takes the result of the game out of the teams' control and turns it into a one-on-one battle. Thankfully, the playoffs don't use the shootout.
• The Jays are off to a so-so start. The starters have been good for the most part, as has the offense, but the bullpen has been sieve-like in the team's two losses. Ah, it's early yet. Deb and I are hoping for warm weather when we go to see the Jays play the Sox next Wednesday. April games are always iffy.
• Speaking of the marathon, a new shoe company is offering a $1 million prize to any runner who wins the race wearing its shoes. The only catch is Spira's shoes haven't been offically been approved by the sport's two governing bodies, so if one of the two Kenyans wearing the shoes actually wins the marathon, he may be disqualified. Spira's shoes use springs in the heels and toes, allegedly giving the runner an edge. When I was at the New York Marathon expo last fall, I saw Spira's booth and the guy there tried to get me to try them on, but I passed. Seemed too gimmicky to me.
• From the awesome repository of video goodness that is YouTube: Lawrence Welk does Velvet Underground.