Exclusive Interview with Ratchet & Clank Director Kevin Munroe

7 Things To Know About THE MEDDLER

Here's my latest article for Sassy Mama in LA. "The Meddler" is a wonderful surprise of a movie, and it's coming just in time for Mother's Day.



7 Things To Know About THE MEDDLER

Must Be The Shoes!

There was an episode of the HBO prison series "Oz" in which a trio of inmates forced another inmate to publicly give up his shoes. That shoeless inmate later complained to a higher up as to what happened, and in retaliation those thugs forced him to play the most brutal version round of one-on-one basketball which leaves him severely battered and bruised. During the game, the arrogantly victorious Kenny Wangler (played by J.D. Williams) says, "Must be the shoes!"

That phrase was playing in my head during my 8 mile recovery run with Team to End AIDS this weekend. I say that because I just bought a new pair of running shoes at my local "A Runer's Circle" store on La Brea Avenue, a pair of red Brooks Transcend shoes to be exact, and they made all the difference on this run.

Coach JC assured us that there would be no hills for us to run up this time, and that included the one everyone now refers to as "cardiac hill" which, if you have ever run up it, is a perfectly appropriate name.

Going on this run made me fully realize what kept me from running all the way to the finish line last week on the 20 mile run. Because my most current pair of running shoes were in my car when I got carjacked on New Year's Day, I was forced to wear a pair of running shoes that have long since padded their prime. As a result, my knees came out of it feeling like they had taken more punishment than legally necessary.

But with this new pair of shoes, I found myself feeling a level of cushioning I haven't felt in quite some time. The person who sold them to me this past week told me that the moral of the story is not to wait a year to replace your shoes a year later. That's true, but to his credit he didn't know what I had been carjacked on New Year's Day.

I had felt some aches and pains in my knees, but these new shoes kept me from falling apart on this run as a result. Nothing stopped me from running out of fuel, and I kept up with my fellow pace group runners for a change which honestly meant so much to me as I usually find myself trailing behind everyone else to where I wonder what brought me back for another season.

Whereas I was usually one of the last T2EA runners to cross the finish line, this time I succeeded in keeping up with everybody all the way to the end. That made this run especially fulfilling as I've hit "the wall" more often than not this training season. But this time I didn't fall behind to where I was running by my lonesome. Some may say it's the result of keeping up with those maintenance runs, but I have to say it must be the shoes.

It's so easy to forget what a comfortable pair of shoes can feel like. I don't just mean running shoes; I mean any kind of shoes. As adults we get used to feeling uncomfortable about a lot of things to where we accept a level of discomfort as being part of life. Life is hard and life is pain, and many of us put up with those facts far more than we should. The pain some of us feel in our legs and feet force us to develop a tolerance which feels necessary but soon blinds us to the fact that we don't have to feel that uncomfortable on a regular basis.

I keep getting reminded of this whenever I get new shoes, and I keep telling myself that I won't quickly forget the importance of having a pair with a lot of cushioning. Perhaps writing about it will keep me more alert in the future.

So the next time you feel like you are experiencing more pain than usual, keep in mind that it must be the shoes.


FUNDRAISING UPDATE: Thanks to my great friend Ed Mahoney, we have reached the fundraising goal of $1,100 for AIDS Project Los Angeles. But even though we raised the necessary amount, it doesn't mean our work is over. You can still donate if you would like, and a mere $5 or $10 dollar donation can still go a long way.

Something Wickedly Long Comes This Way

This new year has not gotten off to the best start for me. To make a long story short, I arrived back in Los Angeles to find myself locked out of my apartment and later carjacked. Despite that, I did make it to Griffith Park for the annual Scott Boliver run where us Team to End AIDS runners honored our late marathon coach who left us way too soon. 

Having dealt with the worst New Year's Eve/Day ever, I came to that run winded as I had gone through a wealth of emotions a couple of days before, and an 8 mile run became a 4 and a half mile run a result. Coach Dene ended up driving me to the finish line as even she saw how exhausted I was. Still, I enjoyed a breakfast at Home Restaurant with my fellow marathon veterans even though I fell asleep a couple of times at the table.

However, I was in better shape for this week's 20 mile run, our longest yet in this training session. Granted, this past week had me doing only one maintenance run as one of my legs felt a little off, but I was not about to back off from it as a result.

Because of this run's length, we all met at Griffith Park at 6 AM instead of 7. The sun still had yet to rise in the sky so it was blacker than usual. It really helped to have a flashlight on your person as it was a little hard to make out faces right away.

Coach JC strongly reminded us to take it easy on this run, and that was advice I was eager to take heed of. When we started on this especially frigid January morning, I actually found myself not overdoing it and running slower than usual along with everyone else. We all knew this was not that run to burn out on earlier than later, and it felt good to keep up with my fellow pace group runners for a change. That is, for the majority of the run.

There was a point where I went to the bathroom as did others in my group, but they ended up not waiting for me which annoyed me to a certain extent. As a result, I spent the next few miles trying to catch up with everyone, and I eventually did at the stop where the Boliver family was on hand to give us all the peanut and pickle covered Ritz crackers we could ever hope to consume.

Throughout this training period we have done our best to outrun the heat, but this time we were trying to outrun the rain. El Nino has come down on California with a semi-vengeance and I say semi-vengeance because I'm convinced the weatherman will still say it's not enough. All the same, we did outrun the rain.

I was doing fine until I reached mile 17. That was the point where many of us hit "the wall." My will to run, even though I was only 3 miles from the finish line, was going south with the birds, and it was also being decreased by other runners who couldn't do more than walk at a lethargic pace (I couldn't blame them though).

But crossed the finish line I did with my fellow Team to End AIDS coaches JC, Kerry, Dene and Jennifer greeting me with high fives. To that, I could only reply, "Finally!" Even though I have done this marathon training several times before, running 20 miles still feels like quite the struggle.

A special thanks goes out to the Roadkill pace group for bringing us all the food and chocolate milk we could ever hope to find at the end of a run like this. I also have to thank them for not giving us actual roadkill to feast on, and that's even if it had more protein than what we ate.

Like I said, this 20 mile run was a struggle, and I guess I came into it thinking I would handle it better than others because I have been through this training before, but reality can work in truly mysterious ways.

While it would have been best for me to have an ice bath after conquering so many miles, I instead went to my apartment and collapsed on my bed where I slept for more hours than I usually do. Here's hoping I can fit even more cardio exercises into my schedule before Valentine's Day.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I have now raised over $848 towards AIDS Project Los Angeles which puts me at 77% towards my fundraising goal of $1,100. Seriously, even a $5 donation will go a long way in helping those afflicted by this unforgiving disease. Please message me to find out how you can help.

The Mileage Awakens

It’s late at night now, and I am still recovering from this week’s 18 mile run. As soon as I got back to my apartment, I went straight to bed and slept for several hours. By the time I woke up it was already 5 pm and dark outside (thanks a lot daylight savings time). I had to work to do but I was totally unmotivated to do anything other than rest. You all know that I have trained for the Los Angeles Marathon for several years now, but all that experience doesn’t keep me from feeling completely winded after pounding the asphalt, and at times the pavement, through Burbank and Glendale.

For once I got to Griffith Park before any announcements by the coaches were made, and that felt like a tremendous accomplishment considering how I like to sleep in most days. Coach JC told us once again to take it easy on this run and reminded us that this was not about being fast but completing all 18 miles. Knowing the impact that all these miles were going to have on us, he made it clear that if we wanted to do maintenance walks or other cardio exercises instead of runs through next week that would be fine. Having been through this marathon training before, I came into this particular run with an alarming amount of confidence. I’ve ran 18 miles before, but I seem to have forgotten the effect that has had on my body. I treated this run as if it was no big deal, but it sure was.

This run comes just after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” finally arrived in theaters everywhere, so us runners tried to talk about it without spoiling any important plot details. This proved to be even more challenging than the run itself as those of us who had seen the most anticipated movie of 2015 were ever so eager to talk about its most pivotal moments in extensive detail. As for myself, I was curious what people thought about Jar Jar Binks’ sex scene with an ewok as it raised a few eyebrows… Okay, that didn’t happen in “The Force Awakens.” I just wanted to make sure I had your attention.

For the record I did do my two maintenance runs before this 18 miler, so I was certain that I would keep up with my fellow pace group runners throughout this run. For the most part I did, but just like in any LA Marathon I eventually got separated from the rest of the pack and found myself once again experiencing the loneliness of the long distance Kenber. Fortunately I did have a map of the course, one that I did not lose for once, so I wasn’t about to go in the wrong direction. Have I done that in the past? I’ll plead the fifth on that.

We were not inundated with hills even though we had to run part way up Grandview Avenue, but we did have to watch ourselves more than usual as we ran downhill more often than not. I did my best to run on the asphalt as much as possible, but there were times I was forced to run on concrete which did not do my joints much in the way of favors. During the LA Marathon we spend most of our time running on asphalt, so it’s important that we run on it now so that we can fully prepare for what’s coming up in two months.

Despite the fact that I ran by my lonesome, I found myself running at just the right pace even as the temperature rose from a frigid 49 degrees to a temperature that just had to be unseasonably warm. I had more layers of clothing on than usual, but it was no surprise that I shed some of them way before the halfway point.

I did have a few packs of gel blocks handy in case I needed more of an energy boost, and it didn’t take long for me to need them as I could tell when I was low on fuel. Coach JC told us that this 18 mile run would be the first one in our training that would have us hitting “the wall.” Now hitting the wall means we’ve reached the point where we feel like we can’t go any further and we go into some sort of collapse. Getting up from there and forcing yourself to get to the finish line back can be a mighty challenge, and I’ve been there several times before.

Towards the end I found myself slowing to a crawl, and I knew my fellow pace group members, who had long since left me in their vapor trails, would not be waiting for me back at Griffith Park. Not that I’m holding it against them; I wouldn’t even wait for me. Just as I started running again, I found myself losing speed to where my feet were telling me, “Fuck this!”

But crossed the finish line I did, and the coaches were on hand to greet with applause and endless praise. As you can imagine, I was one sore mother fucker and eager to stretch my legs for all of eternity. What was really bothering me, however, was my back which felt a lot more sore than usual. 

Throughout this run it felt like I was slouching a lot and I kept trying to stay in the present moment so that I could keep my back straight, but my mind always wanders. If anyone knows any good back exercises or stretches, please let me know.

So, I survived another 18 mile run and now have a 10 mile recovery run to look forward to next week. I will be out of town for Christmas but I do plan on continuing my marathon training. In the meantime I got a lot of resting to do. Seriously, I was too tired to even get a bag of ice from Ralphs Supermarket so that I could have an ice bath. I got to the store and even then I was ready to pass out.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: To date I haveraised $697 for AIDS Project Los Angeles, and that puts me at 63% towards mygoal of $1,100. I have also gotten an extension, so now my deadline will be inmid-January. There’s still plenty of time to make a donation, but also lesstime to make one before the end of 2015. Keep in mind, these donations are taxdeductible so you can stick it to the IRS with pleasure. Click here to see howyou can help.

Weiland and Dealing with 16 miles

After a week away in Northern California to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and do a recovery run on a treadmill (don’t worry, I increased the grade on it to 4%), I am now back in Los Angeles to continue my training for the 2016 LA Marathon. I did my best to keep up with my maintenance runs as this week’s run had us going 16 miles through Burbank and Glendale. But once again I was reminded of how all my years of training for the LA Marathon mean only so much as it always feels like I’m starting from scratch.

I had the music of Stone Temple Pilots blasting out of my car speakers as I drove to Griffith Park for the latest Team to End AIDS run. This past week, the band’s lead singer Scott Weiland passed away at the age of 48 which was very sad to learn about. Weiland was a vibrant lead singer who commanded the stage with a highly energetic presence, but his talents were long overshadowed by his battles with substance abuse. Like many, I hoped that he would beat his demons down to a bloody pulp, but there were a few demons left that served to end his existence at far too young an age.

I’m happy to say that I actually kept up with my pace group for the majority of this run to where I was convinced I would cross the finish line with them for a change. But thanks to a stop light which they understandably defied and me “dropping the kids in the pool” a little more than usual, I was once again by myself. While Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” keeps playing through my head during these runs because of all those “turn around” signs the coaches leave out for us, I instead had Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself” flooding my memory banks as I was once again enduring the phenomenon known as the loneliness of the long distance Kenber. Plus, people made great use of the song on “Friends” and the movie “Shrek 2.”

I’m not sure why I went to the bathroom a little more than usual on this run. Maybe it was that tasty chicken cobb salad I had the other night at The Counter. That’s right; I ate something other than a burger there. Lord knows I don’t enough green stuff these days, and I figured all that protein would be of great benefit for this run. Well, maybe I should stay away from salads on the night before the marathon. That’s just a thought.

The weather was perfect and we all managed to finish our runs before the temperature rose up to the mid 70’s. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold, and there was a nice breeze going on which kept things bearable even as we ran up the hill on Grandview. As a result, I got to focus more on my surroundings which were full of leaves and dogs barking at us in excitement as if they were saying that they wanted to run with us. There was one dog who kept barking in a metronome fashion to where we runners started barking back. As Rowlf the Dog said in “The Great Muppet Caper,” it helps to know a second language.

I even got to see a dog chase a squirrel, and that immediately brought the great Pixar movie “Up” to mind as all those talking dogs were always easily distracted by the squirrels they thought they saw.

Among the conversations my fellow pace group runners involved themselves in was how the big twist in David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” was spoiled in a recent film class. Apparently a friend of a friend had to take a scene from a movie and use it to explain certain aspects of filmmaking, and that person ended up showing the scene from “Gone Girl” that spelled out what was really going with a certain character. Now I am not about to spoil that twist for anybody reading this, and that’s even though the threat of doing so might actually make for a good fundraising opportunity, but I felt for those runners who had “Gone Girl” completely ruined for them. Some secrets should not be revealed until it is absolutely necessary, and that person who spoiled the one from that movie should be arrested for revealing that among other things.

Running on this day reminded me of why maintenance runs are so important. I did do mine before this particular run, and it helped to keep me from slouching and crossing my arms in front of my chest, both of which take from me as a runner. I’m always convinced that I am slouching while running, and doing this marathon training is a strong reminder of what I need to watch out for. I’m happy to say that I did great work in keeping my arms moving forward instead of in front of my chest, and now I feel like I am on track to run a good marathon.

Granted, I lost a lot of steam before I crossed the finish line back in Griffith Park, but I crossed it all the same. My pace group members had long since gone home but I didn’t hold that against them because everyone has their life to get back to. I did however get to partake in a couple of cups of chocolate milk, the perfect answer to a runner’s hangover, but I can never drink enough of it. Still, the Bolivers did bring a cake for us runners to share in. Granted, it was for the Honolulu runners as their marathon is coming up next week, but they were kind enough to leave us some leftovers. It didn’t matter if it was still early in the morning; this cake was going to taste fantastic no matter what. Heck, anything tastes great after you have ran many miles!

While I had other work to do after this run, those 16 miles still took me for a loop and left me drained of my energy. Still, I did have enough enthusiasm to drive to a nearby McDonald’s for a Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich and a Dr. Pepper, but the rest of the day left with a large level of justification to do little to nothing. You all know by now that I’ve trained for five LA Marathons before this, so no excuse is needed to justify how I feel.

From now on I plan to increase my cardiovascular activity in the hopes that I might actually finish a run with my pace group, and that’s of the utmost necessity because the LA Marathon will be here before we know it. Once again, I have to thank every single volunteer who took the time to give us water, Gatorade, pretzels and whatever else we needed to survive this especially long run. They never get enough credit, and that’s regardless of whether or not they have the last name of Boliver.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I have raised$625 dollars to date towards my goal of $1,000, and my fundraising deadline isnow getting closer and closer. I implore you all to donate what you can to AIDS Project Los Angeles as they have done so much in this city for those who suffer from this terrible disease. When all is said and done, no one deserves to suffer alone so click here to see how you can help those in need.

The 14 Mile Wipeout

After a recovery run of six miles which had me keeping up with my fellow pace group runners for a change, this week had us running 14 miles. I came into it with my usual confidence that I would complete it with little problem, but I was beset by some issues which came to take away from that confidence which may have been over-inflated unnecessarily.

The night before had me searching for my cell phone as I suddenly realized that I didn’t have it on me. This led me to have a near nervous breakdown as I have never lost any cell phone I’ve ever owned whether it’s a Nokia or an iPhone that is far past its prime. I searched the movie theater where I saw “The Peanuts Movie” as well as the Ralphs Supermarket I went to afterwards where I bought all the energy blocks I knew I would need for this run. After a great deal of self-flagellation which involved slapping myself in the face and yelling in my car at full volume, I found my phone which was lying on a sidewalk where it could have easily been taken. The fact that it wasn’t taken is amazing. Of course, realizing how tragic it was to lose my cell phone made me realize that, like everybody else, I am a slave to technology. It always felt like I avoided being a slave to it, but that was probably just me being in denial.

Anyway, I arrived at the Team to End AIDS meeting spot at Griffith Park just in time to hear Coach JC talk about how there’s still a stigma to admitting you are HIV positive. This past week saw Charlie Sheen admit to the world that he is HIV positive, and with that admission brought a strong realization of just how misinformed people are about this. By now it should be plainly obvious that being HIV positive does not equate to a death sentence. People are still able to live active and healthy lives even if they have been diagnosed as such. Coach JC became emotional as he told us how flabbergasted he is at just how many people around him don’t seem to have a clue about what being HIV positive really means.

This week’s route took us all over Burbank to where the map looked even more convoluted than the plot to the first “Mission: Impossible” movie. Heck, last week’s run was like that as we couldn’t figure out if we needed to take a right or left on Sonora.

Believe it or not, I actually managed to keep up with my pace group for the most part, but that inevitably changed towards the end. Because of my lack of sleep, my energy started to evaporate on the last few miles. I consumed more energy blocks than I usually do, and it got to where my heart was pounding as if John Bonham was doing his “Moby Dick” drum solo on it. This morning started off with a chill in the air which quickly made me put on my black Nike jacket, but with the sun already high up in the sky I knew it was not going to stay cold long so I left it on the bench before proceeding to the starting line.

It’s a good thing I left my jacket behind because the summer weather we thought had finally left us came back with a vengeance. The temperature went up to at least 80 degrees, and while I really could use the extra vitamin D, the heat really got to me more than usual. Thankfully the Bolivers were on hand to give us all the supplies we needed to cross the finish line. I’m not just talking about those peanut butter and pickle covered Ritz crackers they always have on hand; I’m talking about that cooler of ice cubes they had because I shoved as many of them as I could into my water bottles. Once again the colder my water bottles were, the more infinitely refreshing the liquids inside of them were. As a result, I found myself drinking more water than usual and consumed a couple of salt packets to help absorb it. I could feel the salt on my skin as I made my way to the finish line, so I knew I needed to keep consuming it even it was a bit disgusting.

Also, I couldn’t help but peruse the various yard and garage sales that were taking place throughout Burbank. I would spend less than a minute at each one because there was only so much time I could spend looking at the DVDs, VHS tapes and stuffed animals that were on display.

When it came to the last few miles, I had finally fallen way behind my fellow pace group runners but was still determined to cross the finish line back at Griffith Park. However, this did not keep me from stopping at one last garage sale where I found an Eeyore plush doll. Now anyone who knows me best understands just how big a fan of Eeyore, and I have gone a mission to rescue as many as I can. Plus, it was only a dollar.

I’m going to call this one Boliver Eeyore. The name seems more than appropriate.

Somewhere around mile 12, my pace group leader Walter drove up to me in his car and asked if I was okay and if I needed a ride back. I told him I was fine and thanked him for checking up on me. In retrospect, I think I should have let him drive me back as I was pretty much winded at that point and was practically crawling my way to the finish line. I guess it’s just that instinct I have inside of me to not quit anything. I need to remember that sometimes it’s okay to not finish a run.

Fortunately, the coaches were still around when I FINALLY crossed the finish line back in Griffith Park. Coach JC got a picture of me and my new Eeyore and gave me a certificate congratulating me on completing this 14 mile run which was the equivalent of a half-marathon. I thanked him and the others for waiting for me, and they calmly reminded me that it was their job to do so. Point taken.

The rest of the day had me resting and recovering from this run as it took a bigger toll on me than I expected it to. There was work I needed to do, but I was just too winded to do much of anything except lay in bed. It didn’t matter that I have trained for the LA Marathon five times before; my body still reminds me when I’ve pushed myself a little further than usual.

I still need to get those maintenance runs in during the week and increase my cardio activity as well. That belly on my body is far too big, and Thanksgiving has yet to take place. Pray for me!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: Currently I haveraised $605 towards my fundraising goal of $1,100 for AIDS Project Los Angeles.My deadline is coming up in December and any amount you can donate will go along way in helping those afflicted by this terrible disease. I encourage youout there to donate $14 to my efforts this week, or basically $1 for each mileI ran. Click here to find out how you can help.