Books: Slow AF Run Club

I call myself a "runner," but only in the loosest sense of the word.  My plodding 10-minute/mile pace pales in comparison to the superhuman speed of a Usain Bolt or the incredible endurance of an Eliud Kipchoge.  I've found that most running books are either written by, or geared toward, much faster folks - people who were in track or cross-country growing up. Those people.

Slow AF Run Club is different.  It's a running book for the rest of us, filled to the brim with practical advice for middle- and back-of-the-packers who might have to *gasp* walk large portions of a long race.  The author, Martinus Evans, is not an Olympian or marathon winner.  He's just an ordinary guy who began running mostly to spite his doctor, who told him to "lose weight or die." Evans opted for neither.

Eight marathons later, Evans is spreading the gospel of running to folks who aren't thin and athletic. He addresses things that the slimmer "gazelles" never have to worry about - how to stop your thighs chafing against each other, how to find big and tall running clothes, and how to deal with hecklers and insensitive race organizers.  At bottom, though, this book does preach the same things running books have always told you - it's not how far or how fast you run, but making sure you get off the couch and out the door.

Miscellany: Thoughts from the Disney 2023 Wine & Dine Half Marathon

I've always heard about people running races through the Disney theme parks, but I never had the disposable income or the free time to sign up for one, until this year's "Wine & Dine Half Marathon."

The first thing I learned about the "RunDisney" program was that you have to register way in advance to get a slot since they sell out in minutes - 6 or 7 months ahead of time, nonrefundable. The second thing I learned was that unless you want to wake up at 4 am to drive yourself, you need to stay in a Disney hotel to take advantage of the direct shuttles they have to and from the race.

Even then, RunDisney doesn't miss a chance to nickel and dime you. There is literally merch and advertising everywhere, and much of it from RunDisney's "partners." The expo has a bunch of vendors hawking their wares:

And there's a separate Disney merch store, too, selling some overpriced RunDisney stuff:

Then comes the day of the race. The runners (crowds of many thousands, even for the half-marathon) are grouped into corrals, where yet more advertising takes place. Eat before you come here, because a banana will cost you 4 bucks.

After some waiting, we are off to a staggered start, with fireworks for each "pulse" of runners released from a corral.

The half marathon course takes you first through EPCOT, then to the Disney Hollywood Studios, then back to EPCOT. It's pretty cool running through the new Star Wars area in the wee hours of the morning:

What you might not know is that the vast majority of your time will be on the highways near the theme parks - mostly featureless stretches of open road:

Disney tries to spice these areas up with character meet-and-greets and mile marker placards:

But these canned moments pale in comparison to being able to go "backstage," in parts of the parks most people never get to see (and this is speaking as someone with multiple friends who work for Disney). Seeing the sun rise over the greenhouse in The Land is (almost) worth the hundreds of dollars and hours of sweat it took to get there:

Miscellany: 2022 BMW X1 review - All the Bells and Whistles

A recent dealer repair of the old BMW 328i led to me driving a loaner X1 for a few days. The X1 is BMW's compact crossover, just a smidge smaller than something like a RAV4 or CRV, and cheaper than pretty much everything else BMW makes save for the 2-series.

My X1 came fairly loaded, at least as far as BMWs go.  It was equipped with stuff like a heads-up display, wireless Apple CarPlay, one-touch keyless entry, and a motion-activated rear door.  In other words, all the bells and whistles...but how did it drive?

This model X1 was all wheel drive, though obviously biased to the front wheels. I believe this is the same platform as the MINI Countryman, with a 2.0 liter turbo four-cylinder producing 228 horsepower. While this powertrain was good for 0-60 in a shade over six seconds (about the same time as an 850i with a 5 liter V12(!) from 30 years ago), the steering and handling lack the RWD feel of other BMW SUVs and cars.

Still, you don't buy a vehicle like this to go on the track.  The X1 succeeds in all the boring practical stuff - the seats are relatively roomy, it gets decent gas mileage, and the rear cargo area can fit an entire family's worth of luggage. I would never buy one, but I appreciated having it as a daily driver.

Tech: Across the Obelisk review

My friends and I were big fans of the roguelike deckbuilder Slay the Spire, so it was perhaps inevitable that we'd play Dreamsite Games's homage/clone/ripoff, cheekily titled Across the Obelisk:

It's a tad reductive to describe the game as Slay the Spire meets Darkest Dungeon, but that's really what it is.  You lead a party of four cartoony characters through a multitude of turn-based, RPG-style fights. Positioning is critical (some monster attacks only target the front, back, or rear of the party), as is your deckbuilding prowess.  Overstuff your deck with cards and you'll rarely draw the ones you need, but skimp on adding them and you'll be ill-prepared to handle crippling status effects later in the game.

The (big) advantage for Across the Obelisk is that the game supports online co-op.  My friend and I each controlled two characters, which lead to plenty of entertaining coordinated attacks and death-defying saves.  The netcode was stable and we had no problems hosting and joining games.  

If you don't have anyone to play with, Across the Obelisk is nowhere near as balanced, quirky, or varied as Slay the Spire.  If you do have friends, though, this is easily the best co-op deckbuiling game out there.

Rating: 89/100 (80/100 if playing solo)