Blister in the Sun

Another long weekend comes to a close. We got back around noon from Vermont, where I successfully completed my sixth marathon yesterday. Once again, Mother Nature conspired to give me a warmer-than-usual day that kicked my butt. It wasn't as warm as the NYC Marathon was last November, but the sun was blazing early and by mile 15, I was hurting. The official equation was: Heat + hills = D'oh! Add to that the fact that I was developing some nasty blisters on my toes and I was not a happy camper. But I trudged on, alternating walking with running until I finally came in at 4:22:59. Not what I was hoping for, but considering I didn't have many really warm days to train in, especially in the last month or so, it'll have to do. There were definitely more hills than I expected; and yes, I know Burlington is very hilly, but everything I had read downplayed the hills. That aside, it was a very well-run marathon, we had a great time hanging with our friends Rick and his family, Jon and Kerry (Rick, Jon and Kerry all ran), and Ann and Rick, who just came up to cheer us on. Our hotel was located about five minutes from the downtown, and the girls had fun with Deb while they waited to see me at various points during the race. Today, I feel okay except for my two little toes, which are both severely blistered. So I won't be running for a week or more, but I'll live.

Shamalamadingdong:

• It's nice to hear that blogs can actually make a difference in the world, aside from letting everyone know what your favorite bands are. Not that I have any pretenses about this Internet home page, but it's pretty cool that a guy being oppressed by his government can get the word out. Of course, don't worry: I'll always let you know when I'm being hassled by The Man. Hells, yeah.
• Now that he's been bleepcanned by CBS, David Lee Roth says a Van Halen reunion is inevitable. Well, why wouldn't he? Makes sense to me. Your move, Eddie.
• The Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup finals. Wish I'd put $100 down on them back when I was in Vegas last December. Meanwhile, Carolina's up 3-2 over Buffalo, but I think that series may go seven. And I have no idea who's going to win. All I know is it's been some good hockey.
• The Pearl Jam show last Thursday was fan-freaking-tastic. Although I missed the opening mini-set by Eddie Vedder and My Morning Jacket's opening set, PJ's set was packed some songs they haven't done in years. Including "Leash," which hadn't been played in 12 years...since the last time I saw them at the Garden (I also saw them play it at the first PJ gig I saw in '92). The message-board obsessives proclaimed the show to be one of their best ever. Can't argue. It was pretty great.