Dog Bites Man

My three-week taper to the Colorado Marathon is underway here in Hog Heaven.  After a 90-minute maintenance run on Monday and cross training on Tuesday, I ran a hill workout this morning.  Taper doesn't mean taking it easy; just cutting back gradually.  So, I ran the 6 x .5-mile hill repeats at 5k effort as usual.  I won't run hills again until after the marathon.  Tomorrow is cross training and Friday is a one-hour maintenance run.  I'll follow more cross training on Saturday with a local 5k race on Sunday.  That will be the last speed work before the marathon.  We are getting close!

Here's a dog bites man story if there ever was one: http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/kenyans-wesley-korir-sharon-cherop-win-boston-marathon-041612
Who knew?  The Kenyans win at Boston.

A hot Boston.  120 runners were hospitalized for heat-related problems and more than 2000 required some level of medical aid.  Temps reached into the mid-80s during the race.  See more here:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-boston-marathon-20120417,0,6276666.story?track=rss

I don't care to run a marathon in 80+ degree heat, but how about these hardy souls who just completed the 7-day, 6-stage Marathon des Sables:  a 150 mile jaunt across the Sahara in Morocco.  See here for the sweltering details: http://www.irunfar.com/2012/04/2012-marathon-des-sables-results-and-commentary.html#stage6 

The following is not running-related, but I post it as another sad example of why we (Americans) are not a serious people anymore.  You've perhaps read about the allegations of Secret Service misconduct in Colombia.  Well, it is further alleged that a handful of Army officers were involved. 

But, instead of waiting for the facts to emerge, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, rushed to express his embarrassment.  "I can speak for myself and my fellow chiefs: We're embarrassed by what occurred in Colombia, though we're not sure exactly what it is," Dempsey told NBC News. 

Huh?  I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, I'm embarrassed by it.  He should be embarrassed.  See the full story here: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/17/11241984-top-us-military-officer-we-let-the-boss-down-over-prostitute-scandal?lite