Tomb Raider
In 1996 my second computer or maybe third whirled up the original Tomb Raider on it's bite sized hard drive. It was the same time frame as the Nintendo 64, so polygonal platforming was still in it's larval state. I have great memories of that game. The new game (reboot), released in February 2013, doesn't evoke memories of that past though. You don't raid any tombs per se, but that is because Crystal Dynamics is too busy doing their best Uncharted impression. Which, as it turns out I wanted way more Uncharted, so good job guys. It's an action movie in video game form, with better combat than the series it apes. Quality stuff, my game of the year currently, if you count Far Cry 3 as a 2012 game.
The Passage
On my new audio book odyssey I kicked off The Passage a few weeks ago and wrapped it up late last week. Fantastic wordsmithing from Cronin the whole way through. Making even the mundane bits feel like a part of a living world. I slept on this book for a long time, chalking it up as a vampire story. It is that, but one that it masterfully written and with not much in the way of tired tropes. It instead focuses on interesting characters, their relationships and the trials they face in a changed world. All that and the audio bit is great too.
Advanced 10k Training Team
Last year I trained for the Monument 10k on my own. Just running the YMCA training team schedule as best I could out of my house. Then I hurt my knee (dumb basketball) and was off my legs for a month. By the time I got back on them it was like I hadn't actually trained at all. I finished at 52 minutes and then went on to do the Carytown 10k with minimal training and a 51 minute finish. This year I decided to fully dedicate myself to the event. I was all set to join the YMCA group, when I heard about the advanced training team. Put on by the Richmond Road Runners at $65 a pop for members, it is worth every penny so far.
The team is broken up into goal times starting at sub-55 and down with two coaches to a team. I'm in the 49-47 minute bracket and really enjoy the company when pushing my running limits. Wednesday nights we have track training at Sports Backers Stadium. Intervals of 200m all the way up to 3200m this week. We sprint around the track at break neck speeds (7:10-7:00 pace) and it is great. Saturday mornings we run out of a church on Monument. Different loops each week for 6-7 miles. We start with a warm up mile or two, then run 3-5 miles of tempo (race pace) and cool down with what distance we have left. It is tough stuff.
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