Exactly!

I never read the Narnia books, but imagine I should at some point - I enjoyed the first movie. There is a thread on here somewhere where I compared WoT to the Belgariad by David Eddings. There was a lot of stuff there that compared directly to WoT. Then of course the comparisons to Tolkien as well.

Yes - this! While Rand, Mat, and Perrin were awesome they had help. The women were awesome on their own. Great strength!

Too soon for a WoT reboot anyway. Let's play around with other stuff for a while. If other fantasy is successful, it could pave the way for a Randland comeback. 🤷‍♂️

I enjoy running across stuff I forgot during re-reads. There is usually better understanding as well. I also change my mind on on things I liked/didn't like.

Be ready for a wild and enjoyable ride!

Mat was giving Loial a hard time about the 'beautiful' Erith. Rand and Perrin saw that Loial was hurt so they start giving Mat the business about some girl in EF that he used to play kissy-face with. Saying she was ugly as a goat or whatnot.

I'm going to pick a simple one - the Mercedes hood ornament in the museum... Take it out of the story and the series is still fantastic - no big deal. But we lose the connection to our recent past. Very profound for me.

Sure, Rafe had his own agenda, style, and purpose for how he adapted the WoT. Any showrunner, director, producer does. To be honest, I don't think Rafe is that clever. The simpler answer is likely what @bringbackthomsmoustache pointed out. Centuries and more of low tech heating easily explains the dinginess of the ancient tower. The Aes Sedai could easily 'scrub' the walls white with the Power to a gleaming surface. I could accept that, but I also accept that showing the tower's age with some grime speaks to its permanence.

70 miles is a big number; I'm happy with it. But I'm feeling a bit down. Thinking it is more psychological than physical. It was a long run-up to the event and now it is done. A little deflating. Plus I'm wondering how much better I could have done... But I do have another race in October and this one is local with an AM start time so I'm hoping that will improve some of the difficulties with the recent race.

I did survive. Though my brain has been in a bit of a fog since the event - due to the physical exertion and lack of sleep over a 50-hour stretch. Woke up Friday morning at 6am but remained in bed until 9am to stay off my feet. Then I got moving for final prep: mixed up electrolytes, filled coolers with ice, dressed, packed, and headed to the race venue. Was at the park about 1pm. After setting up my base-camp, I tried to rest as much as possible until the 7pm start time. The loop was paved but not entirely smooth. There were a few stumbling hazards to watch out for especially after sunset. There were about 60 of us out there spanning the 6, 12, and 24-hour events. Not too much in the way of wildlife. Did see some bats at twilight and some really big moths - which the bats were probably after. Laps were .411 miles. From the start I alternated running and walking laps. Started taking breaks at the 12-hour mark from 15 to 30 minutes. Ended up calling it at 22 hours with 70 miles - I was not going to make my target of 79. Much more walking than running and at a slower pace towards the end. There was steady rain for about two hours mid-morning on Saturday. The paved trail drained quickly and after a quick change of socks and shoes there were no problems. Feet held up well. Was packed up and on the road about 7:30 pm. I took breaks at rest stops twice to catch some sleep. Made it home around 8am on Sunday, unloaded the car, took a shower and was in bed by 9am. 70 miles was the farthest I have gone in one event. The evening start was definitely a challenge, and not sleeping before driving home was not ideal. Pretty happy with the result but I can see changes needed for next time

Less than three hours to go. Time to toss the dice…

About 2.5 days from race start. I'll get organized and packed tonight after work. Probably up at 4am tomorrow for last minute prep. Then get my wife out of bed at 6am to take me to breakfast. Then on the road for Illinois. Will probably be a 7+ hour drive with a quick stop every two or three hours to stretch and keep the blood flowing. In my younger years it would have been one stop for gas and only about a 6-hour commute. After checking in at my hotel, I'll scout the area for places to buy ice and somewhere for dinner. Stay up later than usual on Thursday that will hopefully translate to sleeping in late on Friday. Friday morning I'll get all my Tailwind mixed up then pack up for the race. Grab ice, fill my coolers, then head to the race site. I won't eat much before the race, just snack throughout the day. Race starts at 7pm local time - which means it will be a little bit cooler early in the race while we're all fresh, but then it will start getting hotter after we've been running/walking for over 12 hours. A little bit different format. We'll see how it goes... On the plus side, it is supposed to be overcast all day. Will provide an update on Sunday or Monday.

I liked Uno for comic relief at first, but the routine with the cursing got too predictable. For me Talmanes was much better, probably because of his interactions with Mat. Most of the comic relief moments involving Mat's interactions with anyone worked for me.

Talmanes