No training today. However, yesterday I had a good session at the track, running 5 k at as fast as I thought I could handle. I completed 5 k in 27 minutes and with my warm up and cool down I completed 11 k and felt like that was enough for one day.

I'm happy with the faster time, but I know I've been faster. It doesn't really matter in the end though, does it? I mean I just want to finish the marathon, right? Right...but I would like to have improved on my time just a little. I can't help wanting to lower my times, it's part of the fun for me. I know it's possible and it's motivating me to some extent.

Next week I'm hoping to drop in on some of the running clinics at a local independent running store. Every Tuesday night they have a drop in clinic for $2. The first clinic is intervals (this is when you run fast for a certain distance then have rest period - a slower pace - before picking up the pace again). I've been doing a little of this each week, but I think the group environment might be fun. My only concern is having to train hard after work and simply not having the energy to do so. We'll see.

On Wednesday I went to see Krazy! The Delirious World Of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

I wandered into the first room drawn in by the sketches from the Wrong Trousers. I love Wallace and Gromit and all of Nick Park's work. The depth of expression he achieves with what seems such simplicity is remarkable. The room was also playing excerpts from early animation that was accompanied by sketches, notes etc. There was one fabulous NFB piece called Black Hula. You can watch an excerpt on You Tube. It's very worth it.

I kept wandering and went in amongst the anime being projected on angled walls that led into small screening areas. I spent quite a bit of time in the anime and manga (japanese comic books) section before realizing I had started at the "end" of the exhibit. By then I was about half way through so I carried on. I took a break in the middle in a room that had shelves loaded with books to browse through. The rest of the exhibit was the printed comics that again were everything from early (Krazy Kat to Lynda Barry) to contemporary. The Lynda Barry collages were definitely a highlight. Here I had just finished One Hundred Demons and there in the exhibit are some of her collages from the books and prints that she's painted/drawn. It was fabulous. Her collages are beautiful full of fabric, paper, glitter and tiny flowers. They are wonderful to see in three dimensions.

The exhibit was actually too much for me to take in. I would have preferred to see half, go for lunch and then go back and see the rest. I'm use to spending a couple of hours at one of the Vancouver Art Gallery's exhibits, but because so much of the work in this show was text, I wanted to spend more time reading. Maybe if I had started at the beginning and not the end I would have had more time to read. Oh well. It was engaging and cleverly displayed, each area giving you something new. It's closing this Saturday so I won't get a chance to go back, but I am glad I did see the show.