@HeavyHalfMoonBlade - you have no idea the depths of my insanity... Training test is complete. Saturday was a very long day. Got up at midnight, showered, drank down 16 oz of Tailwind Recovery Mix (protein, carbs and electrolytes), packed and left my house just before 1am. Then a 4-hour drive to Pennsylvania. I snacked on some pretzel nuggets and pistachios. The roads got hillier and windier the closer I got to my destination which made me nervous as to if the course would be as flat as advertised. One near miss with a deer in the road and the speed limit seemed a bit high for all the blind curves, but otherwise pretty decent drive - I got a lot of singing done. 😗 Got my car parked, grabbed my race bib, and applied Body Glide to arms, thighs and feet to avoid chaffing. I took extra care with with the feet as I managed to pick up a blister on one big toe two days before the race - this has never happened on a shorter training run. I was able to clip the edge of the blister to keep fluid from building up but left the outer layer mostly intact to protect the raw skin underneath. I then wrapped the toe with RockTape for additional protection. Very nervous about this: I had never taped before and didn't know if it might cause additional problems like friction points. I sometimes leave races with blisters or other problems but never went into a race with a fresh wound. Drank down 16 oz Tailwind Endurance Fuel (carbs and electrolytes) and then got onto the bus for the ride to the start line. Carrying two 16 oz bottles for the race. Temperature was 66 degrees with 93% humidity at the start time of 7am. By the time I finished the race, the temperature had risen to 80 degrees, but the humidity had dropped down to the mid 60% range. Rough conditions for a long run. The sun was out but I would say that at least 70% of the course had trees to provide shade. The course was flat as it was along a river - only 1,000 feet of elevation gain for the entire 50K. The trail was almost entirely crushed gravel and very well maintained. There were a few areas that had been washed out due to Spring storms but they had been back-filled and leveled. Aid stations about every 10 km to re-fill my water bottles. I also carried packets of Tailwind Endurance to keep my energy up and replenish electrolytes. I was sweating - a lot!! At one point I stopped briefly to empty a shoe that had acquired some gravel and noticed that my socks were pretty wet. This is not usually a problem and was a surprise considering how dry the trail was - very few puddles to avoid. My socks are about half merino wool and half nylon with a little spandex thrown in and generally stay dry. But I think a combination of the high humidity and heavier than usual sweat volume overwhelmed them. Fortunately, I carried an extra pair with me and changed them out at a later stop. The scenery was fantastic. The river was flowing high and had some interesting areas of rapids. There were many large, chunky rock formations (usually on the left side of the trail). There must have been a dozen waterfalls both large and small. There was one area where the trail passed between two rock formations. A higher waterfall splashed down and turned to mist while the sun filtered through the trees to set the mist of fire. It was quite spectacular. Would have made an amazing picture if I had toted my phone with me. There was very little stagnant water, so not many bugs. It wasn't until later in the race (when the sun was more prevalent) that some biting flies were out. I got chomped a few times. 😠 Not much in the way of wildlife - they all knew better than to be out in this weather - except for a few snakes on the trail sunning themselves. As for the running itself, I did pretty well considering the conditions. I ran the entire first 10 km while it was a bit cooler and then transitioned to my run/walk strategy for the rest of the race. At about the 30 km mark I started doing a bit more walking than I'd hoped. The temperature kept rising and there was less shade. I finished with an overall pace of 11:49 per mile which was a bit slower than I had been hoping for. So I missed my target of a sub 6-hour finish by 16 minutes. But I placed well. Finished 13th out of 92 finishers (plus 11 people that did not finish, and 12 that were wise enough not to start). My fresh blister got no worse (Yay RockTape!!) and no new blisters or chaffing (Yay Body Glide). Another 32 ounces of Recovery Mix to wash down pizza at the finish line then I was on my way home. Got back just a few minutes after 6pm. Was showered and in bed by 8pm. So up for about 20 hours total. What went well: Hydration was on point Didn't need to eat. The Tailwind Endurance Fuel had plenty of calories to go along with the electrolyte replacement No chaffing, blisters, or injuries Good recovery, very little residual soreness What went badly: Went out too fast to beat the heat?? Maybe would have been better at a slower pace and I might have avoided the drop off later in the race. Could have used one more Tailwind packet The big race is now only 25 days out. 4x the duration and I'm hoping 3x the distance covered. Start walking a portion of each mile from the start and gauge speed based on heat and humidity.

What if Rand (or someone with him) had bale-fired Semirhage after her attack to recover his hand?

Okay. Called an audible. I added a shorter race before the Pinetum event to gauge my fitness. I'll be running a 50K on June 21st - the Ghost Town Trail Challenge. I plan to try out my race strategy for the 24-hour event and see how it holds up over 31 miles. I'll run for 3/4 of each mile and then walk 1/4. I can usually stay under 12 minutes per mile using this method. I want to see if I can hold that pace for the entire 50K. If it goes well, I'll be able to break 6 hours for the entire distance. I know I won't be able to do it for the entire 24 hours three weeks later, but if I can build up enough of a cushion in the first half of that race I might be able to hold on for that 79 mile target as I slow down...

Outta my way too, LOL. Probably about a 7-hour drive for me. 51 days to go...

I started running ultramarathons in 2023. These are footraces longer than the standard marathon of 26.2 miles. Typical distances are 50K, 50 mile, 100K, and 100 mile. They are often run on rugged trails versus marathons that typically run on the road. Though living in the flatlands of NE Ohio my training is predominately on the pavement. I've tried several trail races but found that paved loops are more my speed. I've had a few runs over 50 miles with my best finish at 100K last summer. For my next race, I'm running for 24-hours (hopefully) in Dixon, IL. Dream goal is 100 miles, but I'd be very happy with 79 miles - which would be a triple marathon. The event is the Pinetum Mind Games Endurance Event. So why am I posting this on Dragonmount? As part of the registration process, I was asked for an interesting 'fact' about myself. I mentioned that WoT was my favorite book series. Don't know if the race director is a fan but this is what she posted on the event's Facebook page: They do this for all the participants. I guess so that we can get to know each other a little bit before we spend a lot of time going in circles together. Pinetum is a small event and I appreciate the effort the RD puts into making all feel welcome. Wish me luck!

Now - how long until we hear about a go/no go on S4?

You don't have to like the narrative decision. It's okay. But leave it at that. Death of a character is often used to rally others in both print, TV, and film. The chips are down and the protagonists are about to lose. A character dies (even a main character) and the rest rally to win whatever is happening. Old as time...

And yet you did so...?

That will bring us right back to the books where the damage/infection/entanglement was too complex for even Nynaeve to heal...

Those Hardy boys got knocked-out/concussed more than NFL players...

Amazon does have money...

I'm not familiar with the relationship between Sony and Amazon. Are they subsidizing WoT and not seeing the return they expected? Do they have another show they want to promote in its place? Something else...?

Hmm, I wonder why the change especially with the more positive reviews this season.

If I recall correctly, they greenlit seasons 2 and 3 before the preceding season dropped.

I can accept this explanation - if, as you say, it is made explicit at some point. It would be just like the DO.

The only reasonable explanation so far...

I think some of us are analyzing this so much because the battles were our favorite parts of the books. It is what got me through the slog of Faile's Shaido arc, Elayne's throne chasing, Aes Sedai Tower/Salidar machinations, and Perrin's brooding (all the matters is Faile!). I knew there was another fight coming - Jordan did that so well. As I said previously, I thought this scene was very well done regarding the One Power fight - though I still don't understand the Black Sisters walking away without killing the defeated Sisters. For my money, they have nailed the One Power between the tower battle and Rand taking out Turak and his entourage - S3 might be the turning point for this specific area. Though I still worry about melee fighting. With the exception of 'The Blood Snow' there is still a lot to be desired for the mundane weapons - from their appearance to how (un)skillfully they are wielded. But I did like that little blip of Perrin in the trailer though I never pictured him in plate armor.

The Aes Sedai were trained and weeded out so that those who attained the ring would not pause or falter when surprised/attacked - but would react appropriately on the instant. That said - I agree with you. They train for perfection but are only human. The slow start and shock are both reasonable.

LOL. Since when do they care about that? And plenty of good guys and gals died in the books - though most of them made it to the Last Battle.

I think that the CGI used for the magic battle was very good. What I can't understand is the end of the battle. Whether the Black should have won the battle given the numbers is debatable. But they are the Black. They had defeated the most powerful women in the Tower and they were all laying on the ground defeated and helpless. Finish them off quickly with a quick slice of the power? Nah, let's retreat to the docks so we can fight them again another day. Retreat was prudent after the battle but at least clean up the low hanging fruit that will only take a millisecond to destroy.

I liked the trailer overall. The one power battle in the White Tower looked good to me. But as has been pointed out, the archers against trollocs didn't make much sense. Three or four hundred pound beasts with forward momentum being thrown back by arrows... That aside the scene didn't look great. Perrin swinging whatever looked cool. Aiel spears - 🤮 Costuming looked good.

Thank you. I should have inferred that...

I'm sorry, but what do you mean by 'sticky end'?

Yes. The length of the spearheads looks right, but does not look like a steel weapon from this shot.

Looks more like a ninjato than a katana. Very blunt, thick, and plastic looking - as you said. Perhaps a trainer so they can whack each without leaving more than bruises. But those are usually wood to keep the weight down.