Robomarafill!

Okay. I have to share this link I got from a Running Ahead thread:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20035862-1.html

Robomarafull! 5 pint-sized biped robots go head to head over 42.2km. Who will win? Who will outlast in this 4-day sufferfest?

Now, this is some technological wizardry I can get behind. Check out their form – stunning. Amazing how far we’ve come with robotics. Can you imagine being the guy who has to sit there with a controller for all 423 laps? That’s endurance. Dude.

Here’s my favourite line in the article: “No doubt human marathons will one day become a quaint thing of the past.” You can see what he means if you click on the live feed. In fact, click on this Ustream link and then on Robovie-pc and you’ll get a view of the race from a robot’s point of view – robocam, I guess. Human marathons are always so boring to watch, but this – this is riveting (there’s a robot pun in there if you look hard enough).

No doubt, though, it will devolve into just one more thing to gamble on, one more sporting event to fix. If only we had the discipline of robots... sigh.

So today I pushed my easy run close to 16k. Temperatures had risen to above zero and there was rain. So much for sunny running ecstasies – today it was wet tights meet cold wind – need I detail the kind of discomfort that ensued? There were a few uncomfortable moments as blood and warmth returned, but it’s all good now – thanks for asking.

The overall pace was good, just above 4:20/k with lots of 4:15s, and all of it felt very easy. I had some coughing fits once I was done, but no biggie. I’m looking to do some threshold work tomorrow. I’m going to hold off running a hard workout with the group – the usual Saturday routine – and just do my own thing. I should be ready to rejoin Cliff’s Antiques on Wednesday. That will be a true test of fitness.

But it’ll be nothing compared to Robomarafill!