Cooling the laser...

I'm taking a break and waiting for the Ar laser to cool. It may be having problems; the laser power keeps dropping. It might be overheating, or the tube could just be nearing the end of its lifetime. If the laser dies, our experiment is shot. It doesn't help that the instrument-repair technician just retired, and I don't think they're replacing him due to budgetary reasons.

Road racing

Well, it looks like I'll be running in a road race this weekend. The Englert Theatre in downtown IC is holding a fundraiser 5k/8k this Saturday, and I'll probably run in it. Running the race will be fun, a good workout, and will help take my mind off of other concerns right now. I'll have to be up insanely early though; the gun is at 8:00 am and so I should be there, stretching, and generally getting ready by 7:30.

There's the decision of 5k (3.1 miles) vs. 8k (~5 miles). There's no question of finishing at least decently strong in the 5k; I think I'm comfortable running at that distance. That's about as long as a decent typical run for me is, now, and I've raced that distance countless times cross-country. On the other hand, the 5k is weird in that it's inherently a fast race. (on the track, there was the famous '76 Olympic race where the great American runner Steve Prefontaine bragged that he would run the last mile sub-4:00. He did so, but so did the 3 medalists who beat him). You feel the pressure to take the first mile out hard and then run the risk of dying in mile 3. Right now I know I'm not in the greatest shape so if I take the first mile at 6:15 or so there's no way I'm holding that pace. Which would be bad.

At 5 miles, I'd be worried a little about endurance. There's the fact that I don't know if I've run this distance in a while (ie, since last summer?). On the other hand, I'd be running it as an endurance event and not as a time trial thing. So I'd be satisfied with any finish near or at 40:00 (8 minute pace). The 8k is a little more novel; I've competed in it once (Hamilton Hangover '00). The other time I tried running the Hangover they cut the course to some weird distance between 2 and 3 miles due to snowy/icy conditions. Saturday's weather is forecast to be warmish and humid, but that may not be so much of an issue at 8:00 am.

There's then the question of the course. I'm familiar with the route of the 5k course but not of the 8k. In both races, there will be this terrible hill near the end coming up from the Iowa River, towards the physics building (ascending past the Iowa Memorial Union). I've never run this hill, but walking up it I think it's as formidable as the hill by the physics building in Princeton. And that one... just knocks the life out of you, at least for me.

You know what, maybe I should just run the 8k. I'd be doing it more for fun, wouldn't be feeling as pressured to race for time (or set a PR), and would get to see some parts of town I haven't been too. Screw the distance and the hill: heck, it's only 5 miles.

I should go to bed, get up and run lightly tomorrow and stretch, if at least to get rid of Ultimate soreness. I think the only way I won't run the race is if I either oversleep or the ankle I banged up tonight in a collision gets really sore, which it shouldn't.