Ryan Hall on RW.com

I'm not crazy about the direction Runner's World has gone. It seems to have taken the lowest-common denominator approach. Every cover was about Six Tips to Get Great Abs. But its new video channels is awesome. Ryan Hall, the 23-year-old who blew out a 2:08 first marathon in London this spring, is on talking about what makes him tick and what it was like to find himself in the lead pack with legends like Tergat and Gebreselassie. He has an awesome response: It may have been the first time I'd physically been with them, but I'd mentally been there while running through Big Bear," the place in California he grew up and lives. I hope he kicks ass on Saturday at the Time Trials. One quibble: RW doesn't allow embeds, even though that's standard with Brightcove. Lame. Here's the interview: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid717784762/bclid1170502755/bctid823328646

Return of the Pigdog, Indy Edition

Yes, I've neglected the Pigdog. That's going to change.

The Indy Marathon was an ordeal, thanks to not enough training, a mysteriously queasy stomach and temperatures a little warmer than I'd like. But I'm OK with how it went, since I really just needed to get one out of the way after DE. As Gina Kolata pointed out in a recent marathoning story: The key is to not go out too fast. Easier said than done. I went out too fast and paid the price. The ugly numbers by the mile:

1. 7:02
2. 7:05
3. 7:04
4. 7:12
5. 7:02
6. 7:03
7. 7:11
8. 7:13
9. 7:14
10. 7:03
11. 7:23 (this was the mile where things fell apart. There's a surprising hill in a park that took a lot out of me.)
12. 7:36
13. 7:07
14. 7:23
15. 7:15
16:7:12
17:8:38 (ruh-ro)
18:7:41
19:8:34
20:9:17 (survival time + unscheduled rest room visit)
21:8:42
22:8:47
23:9:21
24: 9:16
25:9:59
26:12:58 (couldn't run much more than 30 seconds without cramps seizing my calves)

Finish:3:29, about my sixth best or worst marathon, depending on how you look at it.