Preakness Weekend

Running: I ran about 5 miles on Saturday around the neighborhood. Typical Saturday run where my legs did not feel that great. it was definitely the most humid day of the year.

On Sunday it had been raining, so running on the C & O Canal was out of the question. Rather than run around the neighborhood, I decided to shake things up and run to the Elementary school and back and then did my 3 mile route in the neighborhood. It was a hillier run than usual, but I felt pretty good. It was about 13.6 miles and I did it in about 2:05 hours.

I plan to run 10ks on the treadmill Tuesday and Thursday. I plan to run most of these at 7.4 mph. Monday I will work on the rowing machine. Aaron has a soccer game on Wednesday. Friday is a rest day. Saturday I have my 10k. I think 48 minute is reasonable and will be a pr.

Rant: I watched the Preakness on Saturday. I tried to use the girl angle with Rachel Alexandra to get Alex interested in it, but she still was not really into it. The race itself was entertaining with Rachel Alexandra holding onto to beat Mine that Bird. Mine that Bird was very impressive and certainly proved that the Kentucky Derby was no fluke. The Belmont looks like there is only two viable options. It could be a nice race if both go, but could also be a nothing race if RA or MTB don't run or are too worn out to be on top of their game.

The state of Maryland is battling to keep the Preakness in the state and due to gross mismanagement by both the state and owners of Pimilco and Laurel, the entire racing industry is barely hanging on. I used to enjoy going to the track, but have not been in years. The tracks are a depressing site.

The latest disaster was the decision to not allow people in the infield to bring alcohol as a result of rowdy behavior. From what i understand the fans have gotten out of hand. They could have hired additional security and thrown people out that were out of control. Instead they banned people from bringing in alcohol and about 30,000 less people attended. They thought that by having a ZZ Top concert in the infield that it would make up for the alcohol ban. I doubt ZZ Top is very popular with the under 30 crowd. Hopefully they will admit their mistake and change it back next year.

Movie Review: I watched The Reader last night. It was the first movie in a long time that both my wife and I liked. It was about a German lawyer that had an affair with an older women when he was 15 in 1958. The women disappears and several years later is arrested for Nazi war crimes from World War II. Kate Winslet won the best actress Oscar for this movie. I give it an A.

My wife and I actually had a nice Saturday night after the kids went to sleep.