Return to the Crime Scene...

Good news: I did my long run yesterday without a single problem - no theft, no broken glass, no running injury, no near-miss loogie -- nothing!

Wanting to learn from my mistakes of last week (see 11 August post below), I went out this time with nothing to attract attention. No bags in the back seat. No wallet, no credit cards. I also parked in a different (better?) spot -- right in front of the security house. However, as you'll see in a minute, I'm not sure that really would have helped much (stay tuned).

LONG RUN NEWS: My mission yesterday was to go out and do a nice 16-mile run at a "comfortable" pace. The running program said I should go out at 8:56 (8min, 56sec) pace, but I wanted to push it a bit, and get into more of what I'd consider a good marathon pace. By the time I was done, I was quite happy to see that I recorded a 8:13 pace! That was surprising, since my goal was to see if I felt good at 8:30. Not sure if I could pull off 8:13 pace for a full 26.2 miles, but maybe. The running program I'm on now has a lot more tempo runs and speed work than the ol Hal Higdon plan had. Five weeks til Sydney....

TRAVEL NEWS: Well, I completed a 4 day business trip this past week WITHOUT credit cards. I know you might be saying "so what", but that's kind of hard to do in this day and age of hotels, meals, customer meetings, etc. I felt a bit LOW when given that surprised, somewhat dismissive look from hotel personnel when I stated that I'd be paying by cash, then not having enough on me for their "standard" deposit. While I was at the Empire hotel in Brunei on Monday, I found that the Prime Minister of Malaysia was also staying there that night! He had to meet with the Sultan (of Brunei) the next day. I would have thought the mighty Sultan would have let the PM stay at one of his palaces, but alas, he was a fellow gues with me at the Empire. I wonder if he had to put down a deposit, too.... {For kicks, you HAVE to check out this hotel's website. The place was unbelievable. Don't believe me? Just take a look at its FITNESS ROOM (complete with bowling alley!) Or, how about its four screen movie theatre? 8 pools. Anyway, it's nice there}. For the week, I was in Brunei, then Kota Kinabalu, then Brunei again. This next week is great because I'll be in KL for a whole 4 days, heading out only at the end of the week.

INTERESTING TRAVEL TIDBIT: I flew on Royal Brunei a number of times this past week. One thing they do that I haven't ever seen anywhere else is that before flight, they stop all operations after everyone is seated, and pray to Allah over the plane's PA for a safe flight. The video monitors also show an arrow indicating the direction to Mecca relative to the plane's present orientation. Thought you might find that "interesting". Small airline, though -- their fleet only consists of ten (10) aircraft!

BIRTHDAY NEWS: Brooke's big Sweet Sixteen birthday is Wednesday, 22 August!! We are excited for her. We will be going to hear the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra that night, followed by dinner (probably at KLCC somewhere). Instead of a big blowout party (like we threw for Ashley last year), we will be taking a trip to Singapore to celebrate Brooke's big day. I have a couple of hotel rooms booked, and we will be using supercool luxury motorcoaches to get from KL to Singapore. Brooke gets to bring a friend, too! Watch for photos to come....

HUMOR NEWS: During my run yesterday, I saw something rather amusing. As I ran by one of the security shacks, I looked inside to see that the guard was walking around wearing nothing but a biege towel around his waist! This guy was about 230 pounds, and not fit at all. My guess is that he just "hosed down" somewhere outside the shack, then was about to get dressed again. There were no other guards on duty. SO, this begs the question -- if some kind of situation arose outside, and he needed to give chase, WOULD HE? I think it would have been hilarious to see a mildly overweight, out-of-shape Malaysian security guard hauling after a crook while clutching his towel for dear life! Nice to know I was well-protected... :-)

CUBS IN FIRST!! Have to end on a great note. For those who care (and those who don't will just have to read on), our Chicago Cubs are in sole possession of first place in the NL central right now, the latest they have been in first since the 2003 season. Yeah, I know -- it's still early and the Cards are charging hard, but it's still nice to be atop the division for once in a long time (AND with Alfonso still on the DL). I've been a Cubs fan for oh, about 30 years now (no joke!), and know all that goes against us. Maybe this year, just maybe we can prevent going 100 full years since the last World Series title (1908).

You've been great. Tip your waitress.

greg