Monday, March 10, 2008

Thoughts on the Kansas City 10K

Another crazy post. Before we begin, can anyone make sense of scientology? And, can anything out there make scientology seem "rational?" Keep that in mind.....

I was reminded the other day about how much I love to run. For one of the first times in months, the sun warmed the ground in Kansas City, and a slight breeze made me believe once again that "yes, this isn't hell." What a long winter. I digress....

The trolley trail is located near my home and it makes for a great location to get 4 miles under my belt at a time. Yes, my fat behind still goes 4 miles at a decent pace. So not all is lost in terms of fitness in my world. And, on this particular day, there was nobody on the Trolley trail. The sky was a glorious deep shade of blue, speckled with sparse clouds blown by a wind out of the south. Alone, I settled into my rhythm, navigating around puddles and mud while my mind does what it always does while I run - rambles through incoherent thoughts. A sampling:

"How many steps until the bridge? 1,2,3,4,5,6,6,6,7,8,8,10,12. . .crap.. . . .my son counts better than me...did that guy just stare me down? Yeah he better drive away, but even if he came after me I think I could either take him, or outrun him...I mean I am a runner, and what's for dinner? I wonder if there's a 10K race I could do?...."

Which leads me to this: the point of my blog. You thought it was about running a 10K? Wrong.

I tried googling "Kansas City 10K" in order to figure out if I could possibly train for and finish an easy 10K in the spring or summer. Heck, even just googling that makes me feel more fit. Several results flashed onto my screen, one of which was titled:

Kansas City 10K

Perfect. Click.....and what do I see? Two guys in their twenties, holding a small trophy while shaking hands. One has really long hair, one has short hair but appears to have a small mustache beginning.

My first thought? "Man, those guys must be fast to have won the race....wait a minute....is that ratty, long, unwashed hair? Is that a peach fuzz mustache? Is that....a DRAGON on the wall behind them? It couldn't be....well, yes, it is....dungeons and dragons????????" Incredulous, I looked further.

This link for Kansas City 10K was, well, for a Dungeons and Dragons-esque tournament held right here in beautiful Kansas city....no doubt in the basement of one of the contestant's mother's home, where he resides in piles of unwashed clothing and dirty dishes. The title of the tournament? Kansas City 10K - meaning - 10K in prizes given out. And, I want to be clear, it's not D&D that they're playing, lest I have an incantation cast on me....you know, after their moms fix their dinner and they apply their pimple meds.

Folks, welcome to the world of Dreamblade. I had never heard of this phenomenon. Well, the winner of the Kansas City 10K tournament was So, here's the definition from everyone's favorite source of info, Wikipedia:

Dreamblade is a collectible miniatures game created by Wizards of the Coast that debuted on August 9, 2006, the day before Gen Con Indy. The game is a strategy contest that includes an element of chance which comes into play through various die rolls.
Similar to Magic: The Gathering, each game represents a battle between very powerful individuals, in this case psychics called "Dream Lords." These Dream Lords battle one another across the landscape of humanity's shared unconsciousness by spawning dream creatures out of human emotions, in particular Valor, Fear, Madness, and Passion. Although there are many collectible miniatures games available today, Dreamblade's restricted landscape and spawning rules (among other things) result in many aspects which are more similar to a collectible card game than a traditional miniature game.


I am speechless.

um....................

um....................


SO, I love running......but I will most definitely not be in the Kansas City 10K.

2 comments:

bec said...

hahahaha. ha.

did you know, jeremy? the creator of dungeons and dragons (or d & d, as i shall call it) died this week. annie was very upset.

PeanutBarrel said...

I haven't even read through your entire speech and I already find myself cracking up! I hope that guy didnt stare yo down too bad, and yes- I am sure you could have taken him! I was looking up info to get my butt running another 10k in MO,aside from all the crap I have on my plate and came across you. Thanks writer, you really made my day today. :)