I did a 7 mile tempo run last night, with 5 actual tempo miles, aiming for a 9:13 pace for those 5 miles. I should say, that's what I intended to do. In actuality, I did about a 6.5 mile tempo run, with 4.38 tempo miles ran at a 9:00 pace (oops). Right in the homestretch, rocking out to Weezer, I realized I couldn't breathe and was in excruciating pain. My right side was just going crazy. I immediately stopped and bent over to catch my breath. That didn't help, so I started walking. I assumed it was just a side stitch, but I can't remember when I've ever had one that painful. I could barely walk, however; even that was amazingly painful. Then I started to worry that it was more than a side stitch, that perhaps my appendix ruptured. Wait--is your appendix on the right side or the left side? I wondered. Of course, after a semester of anatomy and a semester of physiology, I had no clue! (According to the internet, most people have it on their right side, but some have it on their left side. Good to know.) Anyway, I was really freaked out for about 1 minute. But then as I walked and coughed, the pain started to subside. I was even able to run my mile cool-down.
So, shrug. Don't know why that happened. I wasn't going incredibly fast either. I was really working hard to stay at the 9:13 pace during the tempo portion. I didn't even get carried away when "Toxic" came on the iPod. I guess it was just one of those things. I was a little upset that I couldn't finish out the tempo portion; I was really looking forward to that challenge. Oh well. There's always marathon training.
On other notes, "Storm Over Everest" premiered on Frontline on Tuesday night. This was an almost-two-hour documentary about the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster, produced and directed by noted climbing filmmaker David Breashears. I've been discussing the movie with some fellow Everest junkies over on The Adventure Blog, but I thought I'd take up some of my own blog space to discuss my thoughts.
For those of you that don't really know me, I'm like, obsessed with Mt. Everest and especially the 1996 disaster. Ever since reading "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, I've read everything else about Mt. Everest that I can get my hands on, watched all the documentaries and the IMAX movie, the Discovery Channel show...I have just been truly obsessed with it. I have no designs to climb the mountain myself (well, no realistic designs), although I would like to trek to base camp some day. At 17,600 feet, I'm thinking that Base Camp is high enough.
So, in light of my obsession, I was eagerly awaiting Breashears' movie. Perhaps my expectations were a little high, because I felt a little let down at the end. There were parts I really liked, and some that I didn't, and some omissions that really had me questioning the whole project.
Parts I liked:
I really liked the interviews with the climbers. I was pleasantly surprised to see the not-so-usual suspects being interviewed, the lesser-known people who endured the storm. Of course, Beck Weathers was there, but so were Jon Taske, Lou Kasischke and Charlotte Fox. For how much controversy she caused on and off the mountain, I was surprised to see Sandy Hill being interviewed. I also really found the guides' perspectives interesting--Neal Beidleman and Mike Groom.
Parts I didn't like:
Sorry, David, but I thought that the re-created scenes of the storm just didn't do it for me. I appreciate the technical difficulties involved, but eh. I don't think they did much to drive home the predicament that these people were in, and it seemed like a lot of shots were re-used. It seems as though the filmmaker couldn't decide if this was an interview-driven documentary or a total re-enactment. One or the other would've been ok, but the mesh of the two just didn't work for me. One shot I did like, I will admit, was of the wind whipping the tents. I wonder if anyone has ever been blown off a mountain in a tent.
I also would've liked to hear more from Breashears himself, and some of his compatriots from the IMAX expedition, like Ed Viesturs. They played a pivotal role in the rescue and evacuation of Beck and Makalu Gau, and though both have addressed it somewhat in their respective autobiographies, I still would like to hear more.
Glaring omission: Jon Krakauer. Some commentees on The Adventure Blog have hinted about a spat between Krakauer and Breashears, which would explain the omission of Krakauer. But still--this guy wrote the book. Literally. It's 12 years later. I'd really like to hear what he has to say now.
It'd be interesting to know what Abe's thoughts are. He didn't watch most of it, but I think he's interested. Seeing as how this topic is still relatively unknown to him, I'd be curious to know what an unobsessed person thought about it. First we have to get through the season finale of "The Office" and three episodes of "Smallville." Yikes!
Addendum to post: Well, after reading more about "Storm Over Everest" and what David Breashears was hoping to accomplish, I have tempered my thoughts a little. There was a reason that Jon Krakauer was missing--Breashears wanted to focus solely on those who were in the storm. No spat. So, that makes sense. Hence why Ed wasn't in it, either. Ed's cool.
Anyway, it's still a compelling movie, and I'm glad that he made it. Everest will always be an obsession for me, even if I never, ever see it in person.
posted by Lola @ 11:07 AM
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