More Potpourri

We had thunderstorms overnight and woke up to cool temps and cloudy skies this morning.  Following three days of maintenance runs, I did a brisk hike this morning for cross training.  That moves my long run (24 miles) to Saturday morning.  The weather should be cooperative.  The Weather Service is calling for a cool overnight low of 42 degrees and an afternoon high of 70 under sunny skies.  Winds should be light to moderate at 8-13 mph.  So, if I bonk again, I can't blame the weather.  Stay tuned.

I check out the Colorado Springs Gazette website most mornings.  I've spent quite a bit of time in Colorado Springs and I'm considering moving there within a couple of years.  I noticed a brief piece on their website this morning about the disappearance of ultrarunner Micah True while running in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico:  http://www.outtherecolorado.com/201203309667/Running/boulder-ultrarunner-missing-after-going-for-run-at-new-mexico-resort.html 

He's only been missing for 24 hours so there's hope.  True is best known as Caballo Blanco, the gringo who lived among the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico and is featured in Chris McDougall's best-selling Born to Run. 

I saw this piece about the overwhelming odds that a Kenyan will win the 2012 Olympic Marathon gold medal on competitor.com:  http://running.competitor.com/2012/03/news/kenya-poised-to-dominate-olympic-marathon_50025  Short take: Of the top 20 marathons times in 2011, 20 were run by Kenyans including Patrick Makau's world record 2:03:38 at Berlin and Geoffrey Mutai's (even faster) 2:03:02 at Boston.  Mutai's mark is not a world record because of technical factors:  tail wind and elevation loss. 

So, the American men have scant chance to win marathon goal (or any medal) at London.  But, I'm already out on a proverbial limb in predicting a medal for American Shalane Flanagan, winner of the women's Olympic Trials Marathon back in January.

I also recently came upon this:  http://www.trackwomenoforegon.com/
It's a documentary about the University of Oregon women's track program focusing on the 1985 and 2011 squads.  The '85 team won the NCAA championship and the 2011 team was runner-up to Texas A&M.  The documentary, entitled We Grew Wings, will have its world premiere in Eugene, Oregon, at the Olympic Track & Field Trials on June 30.