Nadal beats Federer AGAIN

Looks like Roger Federer finally has a rival who can consistently beat him. At the Monte Carlo Masters tournament last week, Rafael Nadal beat Federer in the final to improve his record to 4-1 against him. I personally think Nadal is the world's best clay court player, but he gives Federer trouble even on hard courts. I think Federer vs. Nadal will be a rare matchup off clay, though. Because Nadal is number 2 in the rankings, he will always be in the opposite draw as Federer. That means the only way they could face each other would be in the final. And Nadal is just not consistent enough to make the final at Wimbledon or the US Open. I'd love to see it happen, but it's not likely. Different story on clay, where Nadal is king. I am looking forward to a Federer-Nadal final at Roland Garros.

Last Sunday (probably at the same time Nadal and Federer were playing) I ran a 5 mile race called the Revolutionary Run at the Valley Forge National Historical Park. The goal I had set for myself was 35 minutes, although I hadn't raced 5 miles in almost a year so I didn't know what to expect. Weather was a little chilly, but no rain. I got 65th place out of about 1000 finishers, and my time was 33:18. I was happy with that. My mile splits were 6:48, 6:48 (13:37), 6:41 (20:18), 6:52 (27:10), and 6:06 (33:18). I like that last one. This race was the inaugural one, so there were some problems (which I've seen at lots of other road races). Everyone was lined up at the start, and there was a guy speaking into a megaphone which very few people could hear. Then the start was delayed by about 10 minutes for some reason that was inaudible to me. It took me 10 seconds after the gun to reach the starting line. Somehow I think I passed more people than passed me. Anyway, it was a fun event regardless, and I'm happy with my time. Maybe I'll try a 5k in a few weeks.