I have a race on Sunday. Sort of. It’s not really a “race”, but more like a date with destiny, or a rematch of wills, a test of grit and speed, or forty+minutes of pain, or simply that I will be running a self-imposed 10K on the track.
I have run a Track 10K on two previous occasions that were both were tremendously disappointing. The first time was in August of 2020, when I blew out my right hamstring again somewhere during mile two, and then again in March of 2021, when sadly my legs never received the memo that they were required to move that day. However, since I'm always up for a dose of agony and anguish on a Sunday morning, I suggested this mid-summer "Speed Project" to my coach as a goal to chew on after Ironman St. George in an effort to hone my speed, and/or try to find it again. Thankfully, during a progression of daunting treadmill workouts the last couple months I knocked some dust off somewhere and believe I might've found it.
Nevertheless, I have no idea how to run track 10K properly. It's a tricky distance, but I want to do it because running twenty-five laps around a track at a burning pace, (not quite raging, not quite a simmer), is something I have never been able to do, and I want to try to do it.
That’s it. No glitz, no glamor, I just want a shot to live a little on the third Sunday in July.
Finishing up my last track workout before Sunday's 10K.
In much more amazing news, my friend, teammate, pro triathlete, and fellow Coach at Biscay Coaching, Alyssa Godesky is NOW the outright owner of the Fastest Known Time for the 48 Peaks of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Moments after Alyssa earned her FKT. Photo credit: Run The Whites IG account.
She completed the epic feat of ascending and descending 48 peaks at over 4,000ft. in 3 days 8 hours and 56 minutes, over three hours quicker than the previous title holder, a man. Absolutely incredible. I just hope she has been able to snag some sleep the last few days…
I also wanted to include a scrubbed-up photo of Alyssa, so this is a nice shot I grabbed just before she raced Ironman Wisconsin in 2019.
Alyssa took on this challenge as a way to fundraise for a remarkable cause, Summits In Solidarity, that you can DONATE to HERE:
SoCal Summertime fun.
Finally, during Marion’s brief mid-project break, I took him to his first Dodger’s game last Sunday. It was a fun game on a hot day, and although the “Boys In Blue” were the main attraction, Marion also received a mountain of high-fives from a wide spectrum of fans throughout the day.
I think his shirt explains the attention.
I imagine that it’s pretty nuts to have played a role in a worldwide phenomenon like Stranger Things. Marion and his VFX team worked countless hours since last August to deliver the show to the standard the Duffer Brothers, Netflix, and the fans demanded, but since Marion is not very aware of pop culture, he is not on any social platforms except for LinkedIn (if we can count that?) he was unaware of the mania surrounding Stranger Things Season 4 until he saw on our local news channel that Metallica covered a scene that he worked on, and well, then it finally hit him.
The past eleven months have been very intense. Marion has worked countless 7-day work weeks, a feat he has done on numerous projects in the past, (TV shows and movies that have gone nowhere, that barely anyone saw), but to know that the thousands of VFX shots he devoted his time to are being devoured by millions of people daily is simply unreal, yet it’s very real indeed.
We just found out a few minutes ago that Strangers Things was nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie, and Marion is on the ticket. This is his fourth Emmy nomination for three different projects in five years: 2x for Lost in Space, 1x for WandaVision, 1x for Stranger Things. Unfortunately, we've only been allowed to attend *one* of the ceremonies due to COVID, (hence the header photo above, I wanted to see if my old dress still fit), I hope as fully vaccinated citizens we can go again in person this year. Regardless, I am very proud of him, and grateful that although his career is demanding, he absolutely loves it.
I hope you all have a wonderful week, and please send me some fast vibes on Sunday.:)
The song and video choice this week is very on the nose with this week's post. Enjoy.:)