Good news! I ran my 10K last week Thursday up in Gaylord, and I ran REALLY well. The course ran through a nature preserve (that was donated to the county by the guy that invented the McD's fish fillet sandwich). The surface was mostly soft dirt (almost like sand), it mainly ran through woods, and it was cool and cloudy for most of the run. There were a couple of hills though. The course was a 5K loop, and one particular section toward the end of the course (in miles 3 & 6) that was about 1/4 mile of uphill running. My goal was to run it in 50:00, but with the hill I was VERY happy with my final time of 51:37 (about an 8:20 mile pace).
This weekend my long run is 14 miles. This marathon training is starting to get real. Every 2 weeks the long run increases by about 2 miles, so in another month I'll be doing a 20 mile long run. Anybody know a legal way to make your joints & ligaments 10 years younger?
Due to the long weekend, I got to catch up on some Tigers baseball. They had fallen behind Cleveland for the division lead, but that changed quickly. Detroit celebrated the announcing of 6 Tiger All Stars (and possibly a 7th!) by beating Cleveland 3 out of four in their series & taking a 3.5 game lead.
Not crazy about what the Pistons are doing. Reportedly they're signing the Italian League MVP Luigi Datome as a backup SF, which is fine, except I think it means they can't pursue Jeff Teague unless they amnesty Charlie V. This means Brandon Knight is probably the Pistons' starting PG for the 2013-'14 season. Unless he's figured out how to throw an entry pass, this is NOT good.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Running & NBA FA
I'm going to indulge myself a little & talk about my own stuff for a minute before getting into NBA free agency.
I ran 12 miles on Saturday. Actually, I estimated it at 12 miles but it was probably more like 12.2 (that 0.2 makes a huge difference!). My goal was to maintain a 9:00 mile pace, which I was able to due (basically. mostly. sorta.) through the first 9 miles, and then I slowed down quite a bit. I bought some goo and a water bottle belt to help get me through it. I probably looked like a giant geek, but I wasn't drying up on the pavement like a worm. Anyway, it was a nice run. I saw a couple animals that could have been beavers or possibly muskrats (I think muskrats), and the river was HIGH (I did a little recon to make sure the road wasn't still flooded).
I took Sunday & Monday off to let my body recover a bit, and then I ran 4 miles this morning. I'm running a 10k on Thursday & I'd like to complete it in 50:00, so I tried averaging 8:00 pace for my run today. After getting the first half-mile done in 4:20, I picked it up & finished in 32:27, pretty close to my goal. I think getting 2 more miles done at that speed is doable, which would put me right at 50:00.
So the draft is over, and the Pistons came out with mixed reviews. I wasn't happy with the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pick (at least not over Burke), but I thought the 2 second-round picks were pretty good. Btw, did anyone else think #1 overall pick Anthony Bennett looked a little like Biz Markie?
With the head coach hired & the draft over, there is one more off-season domino to fall: free agency. I'd hoped for better with the head coach, and I'm lukewarm on the draft. Since Joe Dumars' recent record in free agent decisions isn't spectacular (namely with Charlie V & Ben Gordon, plus overspending to re-sign Tay & Jerebko), I'm rather nervous.
At the moment Dumars is in LA to meet with various free agents on the market, and he's already met with several (links per PistonPowered.com). Josh Smith was the first meeting (which indicates a Jim Schwartz-like move, except no offer extended, no bottle of wine, and probably no bromance), shortly followed by Andre Iguodala. OJ Mayo followed, then Tyreke Evans (who got a too-big offer from New Orleans that he should accept), and Jarrett Jack. They've expressed interest in Kevin Martin and backup big man Brandan Wright (among others), but as far as I know haven't met with them yet.
Whew.
One of the cheaper SF's that was available no longer is. Martell Webster re-signed with Washington, which disappoints me. He's a REALLY good three point shooter and defends the position well. So far the Pistons have only talked to a couple SF's - Iguodala & Josh Smith (who's really a PF that THINKS he's a SF). I guess Martin is a SF too, although he's kind of both SG & SF. Jack is a PG and the rest are SG's (which isn't REALLY a need).
Anyway, ESPN's 5-on-5 didn't like Josh Smith's fit for the Pistons & neither do I. Hopefully they're just feeling out the market right now. I wouldn't mind Andre Iguodala at the right price, although it'd be nice to also get Kevin Martin to pair with him. Both players cover the G/F positions, one is a great defender and an ok offensive player, the other is a good offensive player and a bad defensive player. Martin could come off the bench & play with the first unit some, KCP could start and maybe get 20-25 min a night, if he's up for it. They'd still need a PG, but maybe they could sign Jack for the MLE.
The other move I'd like is if they'd make a play for Jeff Teague. Atlanta can opt to match any offer Detroit proposes, but they want to sign Dwight Howard. If they have their money tied up in a big FA, they might end up letting Teague go.
My trust in Joe Dumars this offseason has dwindled at an exponential rate. Can he get this right?
I ran 12 miles on Saturday. Actually, I estimated it at 12 miles but it was probably more like 12.2 (that 0.2 makes a huge difference!). My goal was to maintain a 9:00 mile pace, which I was able to due (basically. mostly. sorta.) through the first 9 miles, and then I slowed down quite a bit. I bought some goo and a water bottle belt to help get me through it. I probably looked like a giant geek, but I wasn't drying up on the pavement like a worm. Anyway, it was a nice run. I saw a couple animals that could have been beavers or possibly muskrats (I think muskrats), and the river was HIGH (I did a little recon to make sure the road wasn't still flooded).
I took Sunday & Monday off to let my body recover a bit, and then I ran 4 miles this morning. I'm running a 10k on Thursday & I'd like to complete it in 50:00, so I tried averaging 8:00 pace for my run today. After getting the first half-mile done in 4:20, I picked it up & finished in 32:27, pretty close to my goal. I think getting 2 more miles done at that speed is doable, which would put me right at 50:00.
So the draft is over, and the Pistons came out with mixed reviews. I wasn't happy with the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pick (at least not over Burke), but I thought the 2 second-round picks were pretty good. Btw, did anyone else think #1 overall pick Anthony Bennett looked a little like Biz Markie?
At the moment Dumars is in LA to meet with various free agents on the market, and he's already met with several (links per PistonPowered.com). Josh Smith was the first meeting (which indicates a Jim Schwartz-like move, except no offer extended, no bottle of wine, and probably no bromance), shortly followed by Andre Iguodala. OJ Mayo followed, then Tyreke Evans (who got a too-big offer from New Orleans that he should accept), and Jarrett Jack. They've expressed interest in Kevin Martin and backup big man Brandan Wright (among others), but as far as I know haven't met with them yet.
Whew.
One of the cheaper SF's that was available no longer is. Martell Webster re-signed with Washington, which disappoints me. He's a REALLY good three point shooter and defends the position well. So far the Pistons have only talked to a couple SF's - Iguodala & Josh Smith (who's really a PF that THINKS he's a SF). I guess Martin is a SF too, although he's kind of both SG & SF. Jack is a PG and the rest are SG's (which isn't REALLY a need).
Anyway, ESPN's 5-on-5 didn't like Josh Smith's fit for the Pistons & neither do I. Hopefully they're just feeling out the market right now. I wouldn't mind Andre Iguodala at the right price, although it'd be nice to also get Kevin Martin to pair with him. Both players cover the G/F positions, one is a great defender and an ok offensive player, the other is a good offensive player and a bad defensive player. Martin could come off the bench & play with the first unit some, KCP could start and maybe get 20-25 min a night, if he's up for it. They'd still need a PG, but maybe they could sign Jack for the MLE.
The other move I'd like is if they'd make a play for Jeff Teague. Atlanta can opt to match any offer Detroit proposes, but they want to sign Dwight Howard. If they have their money tied up in a big FA, they might end up letting Teague go.
My trust in Joe Dumars this offseason has dwindled at an exponential rate. Can he get this right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)