My first heart rate monitor run - I have questions

From June 10th:

I've managed to get by for 36 years of running without knowing my heart rate, but I acquired a monitor with my new Garmin, so I figured I might as well see what all the fuss is about.

When I ordered my Garmin 610 online, I did not spend the extra $50 for the HRM, but they sent me the wrong package. The boxes do look almost the same, with only a heartbeat pulse line to show that the HRM is included - no words. Felt a little sorry for the warehouse that shipped it, but not enough to send it back! Garmin should be more careful with their packaging!

Regular box


Box with HRM included!


Not so easy to tell the difference!

Anyway, I ignored it for months, but finally pulled it out and gave it a try on Sunday as I did a 9 mile "easy" run.

OK, here's the data.


First off, my resting HR is about 60 when I first wake up. I went out to run, stretched a few seconds. My rate was 82 when I started running. The first time I checked, after maybe 10 seconds, the HR was 172!!!! And it stayed there as I trotted to the end of my block at maybe 9:30 pace. Then I stopped for the light and it came down a bit, but went right back over 170 when I started running again. I was going slow and easy, as I always start out, but apparently my heart goes really fast to catch up to my body!

You can see it stayed high for about 3 minutes before it decided that running was a normal activity and dropped down to about 160 and leveled off. Then it stayed in the 160-165 range very steadily while I was running.

The dips after that were when I stopped for water or traffic. I sped up a bit before the 2nd break and HR went up to 170-172 as I ran about 8 minute pace. Otherwise it was about 166 for 8:30 pace.

I decided to do a little test of max HR by charging the last 1/2 mile uphill back to my house. It got up to 185. Then I left the Garmin on while I walked for a few minutes to see how fast the HR would come down. It quickly dropped to 140, and then gradually went down to 120 over a few minutes.

So I have a few questions for you HRM veterans out there.

• Is it normal for the HR to start out so high so fast?
• 166 average for a relatively easy run seems high. What HR do you have for "easy" runs? Granted, I push too hard on my easy days, but still. It was high from the get-go when I was not running hard at all.

I am going to keep wearing it. I have 400 intervals coming up, so should get a good idea of HR Max! How low should I let my pulse get before I start the next interval?

FYI, wearing the strap was not a problem at all. I knew it was there, but it didn't bother me. Seeing the HR on my wrist was pretty nice, but I'm not sure if it will make a big difference in training. It seemed to go up and down with how I felt my effort was anyway. I guess after some time I will be able to tell how tired my body is by seeing if my HR is elevated above normal. One more thing to track. Yay!

Let me know what you think about HRMs.

Back in the Groove

From June 9th

Hello fellow runners,
It has been 2 weeks since my epic 50K adventure, so I thought it was time for an update for you all.

I took 4 days off after the 50K, and caught a little cold in that time, but I had an important run date on Saturday that I didn't want to miss, so I got up early and drove an hour into the mountains to run 13 miles for the Mountain Goat Graduation Run! My legs were not really that sore after the 50K - nothing like marathon pain - and I felt like an "easy" 13 would not be a problem. A sensible person would have skipped it, but I kind of like this goat group and wanted to join in the festivities.

Turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year so far, it would hit 95 later in the day, and we were running in the hot mountains. Part of the course was on the Bulldog course that I raced a few years ago that about killed me in 90+ degree heat. Luckily there was only one nasty hill.
 
And the goats called it a race and would be recording times (for fun) but of course that made me want to "do my best" and push a little harder than I probably should. Whatever. I was feeling pretty darn invincible after that 50K. I can do anything!!!! So off we went.

It was warm (70s). And hilly. But also very fun trail running. We started in two waves, with the 'slower' people leaving 15 minutes ahead of the 'faster' people (we could pick our own group). So I got to see most of the group during the run as I caught up with the slower people. There were also some out and back sections, so we got to see a lot of each other. It was a fun social run.

I wasn't really racing, but I tried to keep up an honest pace. Toward the end I got a bit dehydrated in the heat, and had to walk a bit more than usual on the uphills, but I made it in alive. I think I was 5th place (no results posted). Pace was 9:47 for 12.7 miles. That plus Monday's 31 miles made it my biggest week of the year, in 2 runs!

Then we hung out and ate food from a potluck picnic, and silly awards were handed out as well as diplomas for the newbies. How awesome is this?
 



As another week began I plotted out my training goals for the next few months. No more ultra or marathon training this year. Nothing more than a half until next Spring. So I would change my focus to speed and see if I could get that elusive sub-20 5K this year. I also want to do a 1-mile race in August and see if I can go sub-6.

My first 5K is July 4th, so I have 4 weeks to get ready. So Thursday I headed to the track for the first of 4 weekly speed workouts. I haven't been to the track all year, and have only done a couple of speed days during marathon training, so I knew I had a long way to go. Plus my body is probably still recovering from that 50K. And I still had post-cold snottiness going on. So I gave myself plenty of excuses and decided on "only" 6x800 at whatever pace I could manage.

Last year I was doing 800 repeats at about 3:05, but I was thinking 3:15 would be fine. Or even 3:30 if that's all I could muster. Just needed to get out there and set a baseline for the "summer of speed". I jogged over to the high school track and took one easy lap to get to a 1.5 mile warmup, and then jumped into #1.

It felt pretty good to run fast again. I didn't feel exceptionally smooth or light or fast, but I wasn't lumbering too badly either. Garmin had me at 6:20 pace after 200, but I knew G is always a little fast on the track. I maintained pretty well and finished strong with a 3:17.

OK, I can live with that. One lap recovery jog and #2 was a little harder, but, 3:18. #3 I was getting tired and managed 3:21.

After 3 I started walking 100 meters and then jogging 300 in the recovery. That helped. The last 3 were 3:20, 3:19 and 3:16, proving I still had a little left in the tank. I called it good and jogged home.

So, given the tired legs and lack of speed training, I'll take that as a good baseline. Next week will be 400s to see if I can get those fast-twitch muscles back in shape. Maybe 10x400 sounds good. See how close I can get to 90 seconds.

My First 50K - An Ultra Virgin gets Lucky

Many months ago, I got talked into signing up for this thing. For a long time I thought I would never do an ultra. It just sounded long and painful to me. Since all of my marathons ended in exhausted suffering, the idea of going further was not too appealing.

But all the crazy ultra-loopsters made it sound so fun and easy. And when three of my favorite loopsters, hell, favorite people in the world invited me to come up and hang with them, and run with them through a beautiful, woodsy trail heaven, well, I just couldn't say no! I signed up, saw that it was 4 weeks after Boston, and decided to just use marathon training and see what I had left.

I would also be meeting up with one of my non-running friends who lived there in Portland, so I committed Friday night to him, and planned to meet up with Mild Sauce and the Matzes on Saturday for a hike. Well, once they knew I was in town, of course they wanted me to join them, since they were already several rounds into happy hour. So, after a burger and a beer with my friend S, we all met up just in time to check out a famous Portland landmark, the Salt and Straw, where people line up down the street for some really good ice cream. It was worth it! Yum!

 
Yes, I wore a hat, in a perhaps pathetic attempt to appear cool, and blend in with the others who were two decades my junior (at least)!

The next morning, S and I got up early, and headed out to Eagle Creek, where a magnificent 12-mile trail awaited us. The plan was to meet up with the others at 9, but they were running late, so S and I, and his friend D, another old guy like us, started the hike early, taking it easy with the hope that they would catch us. Well, they were much later than we thought, so it would be 4 more hours before we met up. But that was OK, because we were enjoying a fantastic hike! Check out these pictures.








It was 6 miles one way to a magnificent waterfall. Mostly gradual uphill. It was really stunning, and such a change from what I am used to in Southern California. One really incredible view after another, and I loved it. And after almost 3 hours we got to see this.



Spot the BP



We took a break and had lunch and waited for the gang, but still nothing, so we started heading back. About a mile down the trail, there they were. And not just Sauce and the Matzes, but several Saucy friends, and loopster AnnieRunsforFun. Well, we had no choice but to turn around and head right back up to the falls. So my hike ended up being about 14 miles. Two days before the race. Madness! By the last three miles, my legs were really feeling heavy, and I was mentally kicking myself. But it was worth it, because seriously, this hike was amazing.













Once we made it back to reality/civilization, we all went out for pizza and beer at Lucky Lab, a hangout for stud athletes like us.

Then a relaxing night with Sauce's friends where I may or may not have crushed them in Wii Jeopardy. (OK, I did)

Sunday had two items on the agenda: Brunch and Dinner. But both were Loop Meetups so that made them awesome. Brunch was with LadyRunsALot (Angie) and her husband. It was great to meet her after reading her loop posts for a few years. And her DH was very cool too.

 
Then a little later we road tripped to Estacada, where AnnieRunsForFun hosted all of us for some carbo-loading. More great times eating and chatting. Loop meets are always so comfortable and fun.



So, then there was nothing left but to get some rest, and do a 50K the next day! My legs were quite sore from that darn hike, but what the hell, it was just a fun run with friends right?

So far the weekend in Portland had been dry. We got lucky and had great weather for hiking and al fresco dining. But race morning we awoke to a steady rain, and the forecast was for it to continue for at least 6 hours. We were grumpy.

However, it was really perfect for running. It would keep us cool, and we would be protected by the heavy forest we would be running through. So, lucky on the weather. It just sucked a wee bit waiting for the start.




The scene at the start line.


My plan was to run with my friends, Mild Sauce, Cal Running, and Santiago (K & L). Keep the pace easy, walk the hills as needed, stop at aid stations for food, and hopefully have enough energy to stay with them the whole way. I had my Garmin for record keeping, but I wasn't planning to worry about time. Turned out the forest blocked the signal so much that it was way off the whole time and worthless. It had me at 25.7 miles at the end, over 5 miles off.

OK, I kind of wanted to break 6 hours, but was ready to take whatever the trail gave me. With the rain, I expected a lot of mud (and was not disappointed). I stripped down to shorts and a tank top, with a cap to keep the rain off of me. And then we were off, about 120 of us. Here is the course for your reference.


We started right off with a long uphill. I trotted easily with K & L. Sauce and her friend Will started to pull ahead. I let them go for a while, but soon felt it was too easy and moved up to join them. I suggested we slow down and wait for K & L, but with no luck. They said, "Oh, they will probably catch us at the first aid station." It was still comfortable, but we gradually pulled away from K & L in the first mile, and I would not see them again until the end. So much for that plan.

So we ran. The course was simply amazingly beautiful. The rain was mostly blocked by the trees. The trails were dirt, but mostly not too muddy. They were very well groomed, few rocks or roots in most sections. The trees were huge and the forest was thick. Several times I was moved to say "Welcome to Jurassic Park" in my best Richard Attenborough impression. Felt like another world. Lots of sharp dropoffs next to the trail. Constant twisting and turning and ups and downs made it very fun. Many stream crossings, either with a little wood bridge or without. I was just running and smiling and enjoying the scene. Amazing. At one point I let out a loud whoop of joy as we cruised down a particularly beautiful section. It was bliss. Like this.



Sauce, Will and I ran together for the first 14 miles or so. We talked. We alternated spots. We laughed. We hiked up the steep sections, and let it roll on the downhills. We rarely encountered other runners. At one point we hit a very muddy section that was a steep downhill for 1/2 a mile. Crazy and kind of scary, but we survived. Will flew down that thing, and we would not catch him for 2 miles!

The miles just clicked by. Soon we were at 2 hours, and figured we better have a GU. Before I knew it, it was 3 hours and I had another. Also had some snacks at the aid stations, PBJ, pretzels, more free GU. But I didn't really eat a whole lot. 4 GUs total and lots of gatorade and a few snacks. With the cool weather dehydration was not a problem. My bottles never ran dry.

About midway was a steep uphill hiking section that was muddy and technical. A little break as it were, and then we had some open wide trail for a while. Sauce and I were side by side chatting, and just kind of giddy with how fun this whole thing was. We felt good too. Trail miles just do not beat you up like road miles. The softness of the dirt and the constant adjustments for terrain must keep your legs fresh. I came to look forward to the hiking sections for the uphills. The break would rejuvenate me rather than wear me out like running up a hill in a road race can do.

We got to the aid station at 19.7 miles and found out the distance (over 4 miles more than our Garmins were showing) and did a quick calc and realized sub-6 looked pretty probable! Stopped for a pee in the p-o-p there, and a few bites, chatted with some other runners, drank a few glasses, and then headed on. No rush.

And then most of the last 12 miles were nearly flat or downhill and I felt so good, I started pushing the pace. Just a little, enough to feel like I was racing. We locked in on another runner at a similar pace and just rolled through the forest. It's hard to get across how the miles just flew by. I felt like I could run all day, like it was a natural state, like breathing. Hard to imagine that I was out there for nearly 6 hours, running almost the whole time. I have never gone over 3 hours before except in marathons, and those were so much more painful at this point. My hams and glutes were getting a little tired, but nothing too bad. No cramps, no huge fatigue. It was crazy. I was very excited by the whole thing. Trail running rocks!

We had one more good hill to hike at about mile 28, but we knew it was downhill from there. Sauce was working a little to stay up with me, but we would stay together no matter what. I was actually holding myself back a little from 20-28, waiting for the bonk. But it never came. For the final 2, we both opened it up and flew the downhills. Such a blast. I was working now, and was happy to finally see the finish area come into view. But I also felt like I could have kept going for another hour or two. Crazy!


5:39:40, a 10:55 average per mile. Seems like I was running 9 minute pace or better while I was running, but I guess the hiking and the aid stations, plus all the little sharp curves and roadblocks do slow you down. I finished 44th of 93 finishers, 2nd in my AG (but no award). And I helped Sauce break her PR! Instead of medals we got pint glasses, which could be immediately filled from the keg.



We got a little muddy.

And then we got to see this fabulous finish!


Free burgers and dogs (regular or vegan) were there for us. We celebrated together. Lucky weather, great course, fabulous company. It all added up to perhaps my best race experience ever!

Later was a celebratory dinner, and the next day was more fun exploring Vancouver and Portland. Also enjoyed many fine restaurants and food carts. Amazingly, I could walk just fine. I even went down 8 flights of stairs with no trouble!

So, I hope my enthusiasm shined through. As of now, I would love to come back and do it again next year. And who knows what trail madness I might end up doing. This roadrunner has seen the light, and it is out on the trails!

Longest Training Run Ever

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Right? Boy, I must be getting stronger then, because today's run was freaking brutal.

OK, let me set this up for you. I committed to a 50K a long time ago, and it is coming up in 2 weeks. I don't really have enough miles under my belt for this. But I did just run a decent marathon, well the first 20 miles anyway, so I guess I'm not too far off. So I took a few weeks off after the marathon, ran a decent double last weekend, and thought I'd do one more long run before the taper.

I've had this idea in my head for a few years to do this run around Palos Verdes. PV is the local big hill. There is a Palos Verdes Drive which goes all the way around the mountain, and it is 21 miles long. It also includes a lot of hills, including one really big one that goes up about 800 feet in 2 miles. The run is gorgeous, with half of it hugging the rugged coastline with amazing views.




It's been on my bucket list for a while, so I figured this was a good time to do it. My plan was to take it easy, walk as needed on the hills, not worry about time, and just get it done. Treat it like an ultra and just get used to running while tired.

Today was supposed to be a little warm, but it was still cloudy as I left home and drove 4 miles to the start. But by mile 1 the sun was out, the clouds burned off, and it got warmer. I didn't get started until 8:20. Should have left at least an hour earlier. Oh well. I carried two water bottles on my belt and brought two GUs. I knew of a few places to get water, but none in the last ten miles, so I was a little concerned.

The first few miles were fine. I started taking Galloway walk breaks in mile 1! Yes, I was serious about not worrying about time. I walked about 20-30 seconds almost every mile. It helped because otherwise I was going too fast. By mile 7 I was already feeling pretty tired. The hills were tough, and I was looking forward to walk breaks. And it was getting hot. But the views were awesome! Went by a few golf courses along the coast, one owned by Donald Trump.

Just before ten miles I made a turn and started up the brutal two mile hill. It was mostly switchbacks. I was still running about half the time, and then walking. It was an endurance test at this point. By the time I hit the top at mile 12 I was done. Put a fork in me. Plus I was almost out of water and didn't know of any more water stops ahead. And nine miles to go! Worrisome!

Here is the Elevation Profile, and the Garmin link if you're interested.


But I knew there was downhill ahead. I managed to run a whole mile down hill without stopping, but took a break once it leveled off. Just as I was really getting worried about water, a gas station appeared, and I got to refill my bottles from the sink. Phew! Took a little break and felt better. But as soon as I started up I had a little more uphill and had to walk most of it. I was just dead, and with 8 miles to go, was thinking about calling for a pickup (if I found someone with a phone). But then I thought, this is a bucket list thing. Just do it, one way or the other. The idea of walking all or most of the last 8 miles didn't sound too bad.

But then was more downhill and I was able to run for a few miles. However, I noticed one of my bottles was gone! It must have fallen off soon after I refilled it, and no way was I going back. So I only had one bottle for the last 7 miles. I rationed it.

Mile 16 I hit the bottom of the hill and had 5 to go. Had to walk. A lot. I was hot and it felt like mile 24 of a marathon. I alternated in some trotting when I could. I saw a bus stop bench, and stopped and had a seat. It was too tempting. But only for 30 seconds or so. Then I saw a Little League field and decided to go off course to get more water. No fountains, so I just went up to some parents and begged for water. They were more than happy to refill my bottle. And then fill it again after I drank the whole thing. Now I felt like I could finish the last 4 with one full bottle.

The next two were a little uphill and I had to walk a lot, but the last two were almost all down, and I managed to run most of it. Made it back to my car in 3 and a half hours. Average of 10 minute pace. About 20-30 minutes more than I predicted. Felt like I just ran a marathon. But I did it! So there was some pride there. I weighed myself before and after, and lost 5 pounds! And this was after a CLIF bar and lots of water.

Signs that you're in for a tough day:

• You keep seeing roads like Crest Drive, and Alta Vista Ave, and Mountaintop Lane, and What the Eff drive (OK, maybe I hallucinated the last one)
• You see more reptiles than mammals next to the road
• You pass a road bike going up a hill, briefly
• You lose half your water supply
• You tell someone you're running 21 miles, and they say "Today?" (referring to the heat)
• A 2% grade uphill is enough to crush your soul
• You have to take a walk break on a long downhill
• You see more birds below you than above you

I was pretty downbeat during miles 12-20. Ready to throw in the towel for the 50K. Considered the run a failure. But now after 6 hours of recovery, I don't feel nearly so bad! I guess I will get through the 50K one way or the other. Should make for a good story anyway. At least I will be with friends.

Splits: 9:09, 8:46, 8:19, 8:33, 8:21, 8:27, 8:25, 9:05, 10:02, 9:48
          11:08, 11:22, 8:03, 12:56, 8:35, 8:03, 15:25, 9:05, 14:42, 10:54, 9:36

It's the Summer of (Trail) Love

Feels like Summer anyway, what with 90+ degree temps last week.

Previous summers I have focused on triathlons, or speedy short races like 5Ks. This year is the year I focus on the trails. Because one is never to old to learn new things.

My first trail race was 2 1/2 years ago - a nasty hilly 10K turkey trot with lots of climbing that reduced me to walking. Since then, I've done a ridiculously hard 30K at Bulldog that nearly killed me, and then enjoyed the heck out of the Double Dipsea last year. But in all that time I never really trained much on trails. Just a little on some local trails which are pretty tame.

Then a few months ago I jumped in with both feet and joined a club, the Santa Monica Mountain Goats, and they have weekly trail runs in the mountains that are basically all brutally hilly, but really fun. So most Saturdays I now get up at 6 and make the 30 minute drive to meet up with 20-40 other crazy types and run some hills. I love it.

So my race schedule this summer has a lot of dirt on it. Once I got past Boston (or as Kynan calls it, a nice pre-ultra tempo run, which it basically was; 20 mile tempo at 7:59 pace, followed by 6.2 miles of ultra training at 10:43 pace) I shifted to ultra training. No speed work planned until June. Just long slow miles.

I have my first ultra coming up in 3 weeks, a 50K trail run in Portland. I was seduced by the chance to run for 5 or 6 hours with loop luminaries Mild Sauce, the Flying Matzes, and Lady Runs A Lot, and we convinced a few others to join in too, AnnieRunsforFun and JuanitaGF. Not all are doing the 50K, but there are shorter races too, so it will be a loop party! And there's a beer garden and free food. Nice way to spend Memorial Day.
 
Once I recover from that nonsense, I have 5 weeks to be ready for my second running of the Double Dipsea! Yes I am coming back to do it again, because it is just such a great race. Plus the Sauce and the Matzes will be there, along with John Wayne and Mr. Bacon! Can't wait for that one.

A month after that I am returning to the Central CA Loop mansion to run with Medievalist again, and hang with other loopsters. this year we are doing the Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf 10K which is a road race, but a very crowded party-like race that should be lots of fun.

Finally I am capping the summer off on Labor Day with another Loopy trail run - the Climb to the Top of Mt Baldy, which is only 10K, but it is straight up from 6,000 to 10,000 feet! More of a hike I think...But I get to hang with Atom Buddy and Alice. Life is good.

Holy cr@p!


So, running update. After Boston I rested a week, then got sick for a week and another week to get over the cough. So not a whole lot of running. But this last week was good. 7 on Tuesday, 5 on Thursday, and then 10.2 on Saturday with the Mountain Goats on a really nice single track trail. We climbed 1,600 feet in the first 2.5 miles before cruising along the crest and then coming back down. Lots of fun, and I'm starting to get better at doing these technical trails.

Here I am Sat AM heading up the hill.

I followed that up with 13 flat miles on Sunday to practice running on tired legs. Felt surprisingly good and got up to 8:15 pace for a while. But then I turned and hit a nasty headwind for the last 5 miles which really took it out of me. I switched to ultra mode, took a few walk breaks and trotted along closer to 9 minute pace. Still, felt pretty decent for a 23 mile weekend. Next weekend I am going to do my longest training run ever, close to 22 miles. I am going to do a run around Palos Verdes, which has been on my bucket list for a while. I'll let you know how that goes.

Boston - Act 3: After the Race

So I was sitting on the curb at the L in the family meeting area. Hanging with a few loopsters and waiting for more to show. Also waiting for my wife to meet us here. It was crowded and the wind made it darn chilly. If you went past the finish line to the next street, turned right and went two blocks, that's where we were.

Suddenly we hear a loud boom, which seemed out of place. "What the hell was that?" was the general reaction. My first thought was it was some kind of cannon celebration, although that made no sense at that time. Then the second boom. Quizzical looks. Speculation started. A gas leak? In the sewers? A transformer blown? No one knew. It took maybe 5-10 minutes before someone said bomb. Soon, someone was definite; Yes, there were two bombs near the finish line. Some people are hurt.

We still sat there, or stood. Waiting for friends and family. Some came by. We texted a lot, but many didn't go through due to the cell volume. Gradually we heard that there was blood and limbs, and it was bad. We heard a lot of sirens. We were kind of in shock - not knowing what to do. Thankfully we didn't see anything, no smoke, no panicked activity. It was relatively mellow with lots of people standing around trying to get info. Occasionally people would arrive and hug each other. Eventually we realized no one else was coming to the L, and we needed to get out of there.

Erin and I both needed to get back to the boat so we started walking. We knew the subway was closed, but we also knew it was only about a mile and a half or so to walk back, so we started walking. We weren't sure where to go exactly, but we had a general idea, and found a map that got us on track. Of course we were both hurting and moving slow, with every step off of a curb avoided. But with all the stuff going down, we didn't feel like complaining about sore muscles.

The sirens kept coming and going. We walked along Boston Commons and I was trying to get TO on the phone, when suddenly, there he was next to us! A lucky break! And then the three of us walked on back to the boat. But we had no key, as it was with Toms DW, so instead we stopped in at the next door bar that we had inhabited on Friday, and collapsed into a table in the back. There we would refuel, drink beer, and saw our first TV, where we first saw the images that you are all familiar with.

TO was closest to the finish, having finished only a minute or two before the bomb. So we got to hear his account. Otherwise we reacted basically the same as anyone else; What? Why? This is insane. Grief for the victims and their families. Deep sadness and depression. We shared our race details, but it was the opposite of a post-race party. They stole our celebration from us.

Eventually DW and Mrs TO arrived at the bar. They ended up walking over 5 miles to get there. Long hugs. More beer. The loop party was canceled, but at least we had each other. We ended up spending the rest of the night on the boat, reading internet updates since we had no TV.

I'm not going to editorialize about the killers or what this means to the marathon or anything. Plenty of others can do that. I'll just say that I'm not letting them ruin my Boston. I have my memories of the first three days, and I'm keeping them in a separate place from the ones after 2:50.

The next day we said goodbyes and headed to the airport. But first we managed a victorious Boston BP pic, and treated it as a giant F.U. to the bombers.