The early morning sports forums were alive with comments about the results of the Boston Marathon. Robert Cheruiyot won his fourth Boston Marathon. Cheruiyot ran away from the pack to finish in a blistering 2 hours, 7 minutes, 46 seconds. Now normally I glance at the first few reader's comments, and quickly turn away. But today, to my surprise, I saw an intelligent remark. And it hit home: the reader's comment was that the winner's time, while not as fast as a speeding bullet, was faster than most of us ride our bicycles.
Most of us? Let's see: 26.2 miles divided by 2 hours, 7 minutes, 46 seconds (we will round to 2.13 hours) equals 12.3 miles per hour. My Garmin Training Center log has enough data to let me know that at this time of year I am "one of them". I can make all sorts of excuses: I'm riding the mountain bike, I still have the studded winter tires mounted, I am out of shape, but I would hear his sneakers pounding the pavement throughout my ride. Yesterday I rode my bike twenty miles, along the flat New Hampshire coastline, at the same pace as Robert Cheruiyot ran the hills of Boston.
Many riders waved and yelled encouraging words as they passed me by. Years ago, during a ten K run, I swore to myself that I would finish ahead of at least one Spandex clad runner. As I was passed by a woman pushing a stroller of triplets, I realized that I had set my goal too high! This year I yell my greetings, but whisper to myself, "See you in September". The goal is to keep riding, training, eating right, watching my weight, and still be on the road come September.
Some Marathon tears and cheers:
Anyone who grew up in the fifties and sixties has to marvel at the organized life of today's kids. I can't help but wonder if any of the kids today get to have the fun that we did.
The creature, called Swamp Thing, was originally conceived as Alec Holland mutating into a vegetable-like creature, a "muck-encrusted mockery of a man". However, under writer Alan Moore, Swamp Thing was reinvented as an elemental entity created upon the death of Alec Holland, with Holland's memory and personality intact. He is described as "a plant that thought it was Alec Holland, a plant that was trying its level best to be Alec Holland."
Alan Moore's Swamp Thing had a profound effect on mainstream comic books, being the first horror comic to approach the genre from a literary point of view since the EC horror comics of the 1950's, and broadened the scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots.
Waldo County, situated in mid-coast Maine along scenic Penobscot Bay, has genuine New England character evidenced by working port towns and quaint rural villages. Visitors are awed by the area's unspoiled beauty. From striking coastal views to sweeping mountain vistas, dramatic natural settings abound. In addition great care has been taken to preserve and refurbish numerous historic landmarks, homes and buildings. Consequently, the Maine of yesteryear is still found here.
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