400 Beers

2011 - The Finale

2011-12-30T12:26:00.001-05:00

Woke up a shade later than I had wanted to, but since I'd be working from home today and didn't have to log until ~8:00, I had some time to play around with; a fact I hadn't thought of right away.

My original plan was 5 or so this morning, then cap the year off tomorrow. When I reached the Goat Farm, though, I said to myself "Self. Look, you REALLY don't have to home for about an hour. Suppose something comes up tomorrow and you can't reach your goal; you're gonna kick yourself, aren't you??? Let's finish this NOW!!!"

Onward I went, Reflecto-Vest dim in the unlit woods, Team Tania blinkie flashing away with no one around to see it. I left home in the dark but things were lightening up nicely by the time I reached my turnaround. In fact, the sun was up above the trees when I rolled back into the Development; the Vest & Blinkie said to onlookers: "Yeah, I've been out a while. Sorry if I look like a dork"

‎... And THAT, Ladies and Gentlemen, is 621 Miles = 1,000Km for 2011

Goal = REACHED!!!

ETA: Y'know, when it's really cold, but clear & dry, I kinda like wearing shorter sox with long pants ... feeling the breeze whipping around my ankles gives me this little extra Hardcore Vibe

Splashing Towards the Finish Line

2011-12-27T19:15:00.001-05:00

If it's Tuesday night, it MUST be raining!!!

No CCD for D'Kid today, but I took my run at night-time just the same. Of the past few Tuesdays, tonight was CERTAINLY the rainiest. Steady showers, 12 knot winds gusting to 30; I was pretty damp by the stoplight.

Coming up on 1-Mile marker, I had done a fairly good job of hop-skip-jumping the small streams, rivers and lakes that had collected at the roadside. Then, I mis-read a dark spot in the headlight glare and hit one in the deep end. If I had a little more foot-speed, I MAY have avoided the back-splash, but no ... I was now taking on water. I said to myself "Self. You can't un-soak a sock" and I purposely nailed another one, and another after that. Then a couple for the Port side, just to even things out. If my ears hadn't already been filled with water, I'm sure the SQUISH-SQUISH-SQUISH would have been quite profound.

I was treated to a couple of pretty good downpours along that may or may not have brought whitecaps upon the street; I couldn't tell out there in the dark.

Finishing up the Final Mile, I had lost all desire or need to stay on the high ground, and totally expected to get splashed by the passing cars. In fact, I even INVITED the FedEx truck to have a go at me, pausing in the Sweet Spot of a puddle for a perfect drenching. He flashed his beams and let me go ... what a Dude!!!

ETA: 12K to go for 1,000 Km on the Year; a little more UMPH!!! in the Spring and I'd have made it by now

Festival of Lights - Part Two

2011-12-22T21:30:00.002-05:00

A couple of days ago, I went out for my [now regular] Tuesday Night CCD Run.

THIS WEEK I remembered to make the RIGHT coming out of the Development to get the Holiday Light Tour of the adjacent neighborhoods. I'm glad I wore the Reflecto-Vest, as I kinda forgot that there's about 600 yards of deep dark bridging the gap between our streets and my destination. Even in the black, though, I could tell that there was some Baking going on; I picked up a definite whiff of peanut butter & slightly burnt brown sugar.

The first part of the first loop is all townhouses, so people are pretty conservative-slash-considerate with their displays; except for one pair who pooled resources and went for the Full "Price is Right" with synchronized strings surrounding doors, windows, garages and so on.

However, I still hadn't seen anything like the "WalMart took a Dump on their Yard" extravaganza D'Wife had observed last week. There was one house that flanked itself with inflatable Santa's [12' to Starboard and 16' to Port]; another that looped ONE 50-foot string of multi-colored rainbow lights down the middle of their ONE tree .... from 200 yards away, it looked like Gay Lightning [NTTAWWT].

Midway thru Mile Two, however, I saw it ... Actually, EVERYONE could see it ... FROM SPACE!!! Words ... just can't ... pix, to come. After that [and once my retinas re-set] ... it was just another jog in the dark.

Tonight, I brought D'Kid along with me so she could get pix of the "I Can See My House From Space" extravaganza ... as well as we could do with our SONY Cyber-Shot, we couldn't quite capture the retina-wrenching glory of this display .... Oh, did I mention that there's music too??? The whole way home, my foot-strikes were to "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." I guess there are FAR WORSE Earworms to get, if need be.

Festival of Lights - Part One

2011-12-06T12:39:00.002-05:00

First night time run of the 2011-12 Xmas Light Season.

I've done a morning run or two since Thanksgiving, which is when folks traditionally fire up the Yuletide decorations, but ITTET not many people are leaving them on all night long. So, I figured that hitting the road at 7PM would be PRIME viewing time!

For whatever reason [the seven concussions maybe] I don't remember taking this route last year ... frankly, I was disappointed.

I expected that the houses "back there" would have been lit up a lot more severely; being set further off the road, a lot more wattage would seem necessary to say "HEY!!! LOOK AT ME!!!" but no ... they were - for the most part - rather tame, conservative and quite nice.

Only ONE house went for Full "Game Show" but just missed, since the dozens of strings of multicolored lights, which highlighted every edge, bend or random architectural detail of the home, failed the "Price Is Right" Test my not blinking in sequence ... they didn't even blink AT ALL!!! Why Bother, people???

The only other house of note had so many illuminated deer, angels, snowmen and polar bears on the lawn that it looked like a Harry Potter Patronus Convention.

Anticipating some more rainy weather, I wore a L/S poly shirt which finally paid off when the wind kicked up and the drizzle ramped up in my final mile; until that point, I was pretty overdressed [with the addition of the Reflecto-Vest] and kinda toasty. I got damped enough to feel kinda badass coming back into the Development.

Y’know what, though? I really gotta get a headlamp

I thought I knew my way around back there between developments pretty well, even in the dark. A car was approaching, so I drifted myself a little closer to the edge of the road. There are no curbs or sidewalks out that way; the street gives way to an uneven boundary of gravel before the folk's lawns start. It was a rainy night, as I said, so I had to hop over a sandbar that had shoaled up in the stream along the shoulder. I kinda shorted it and stepped about a foot from the end of the "island."

There was a surprising CRACK! and I skidded a little bit [didn't fall, though]

It was a deer carcass ... I'd landed on her rear leg.

I really, REALLY gotta get a headlamp.

Well, THAT Didn't Last Long

2011-12-05T13:26:00.004-05:00

December 1, 2011

Dear Member:

Bally Total Fitness® has made the decision to focus our portfolio of fitness centers in certain key markets. As a result, we will be transitioning ownership of a number of our clubs, including your home club, to Fitness International, LLC, an affiliate of LA Fitness International, LLC ("LA Fitness").

LA Fitness will take over the clubs it is acquiring and assume your membership agreement effective December 1, 2011. As a result your payments will be collected by LA Fitness going forward using the same account as did BallySM. You can find more details on our website and at www.lafitness.com.

It has been our pleasure to serve you, and we thank you for your loyalty to Bally Total Fitness through the years. We wish you continued success in pursuing and achieving your fitness goals.

Yours in Health,

Bally Total Fitness

***

Granted, all of my running and cycling is done en plien air, until just a month ago when I renewed my long-lapsed Bally membership at the low-low price of $99 a year.

When a friend of mine told me about the buyout of Bally locations by LA Fitness, I got on the phone to my "home" club and was reassured that my Bally membership would be grandfathered in to a LA membership and only the signs on the club would change

Unfortnately THIS is my "home" club:
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Gym-Closure-Leaves-Members-Workers-Out-in-the-Cold--134943983.html

Now, I'll get my $99 back from my company's Fitness Reimbursement and I'll be out nothing, but if I have to upgrade to an LA Fitness ... I have to wait one calendar year to re-submit

All I wanted was access to the pool, so D'Kid & I could swim on Sundays

Oh well ... outside is very nice, can be quite challenging, AND it's free

It's a shame, because I had some really great times at Bally's ... Lots of good stories

"Trackside"

"Not in the Plan"

"How to Count from A to Z"

"Spring Training"

"Jump Little Bunny"

Return of the Gym Rat?

2011-11-05T15:24:00.002-04:00

D’Wife and I agreed that it was time to renew my Bally’s membership. Training alone outside is all good from a Zen standpoint, but sometimes you need to get out [in?] where the people are, for a change of scenery [or lack thereof]. Plus, there’s always that chance you might get into a little friendly competition out of the blue, just for fun..

And to be honest; I sorta missed chasing the Ponytails.

Since I’d get comp’d back for it from work, it was just a matter of having some extra cash on hand to put on the table. With a sudden surplus thanks to some Birthday Money from The Moms, I just happened to have an extra Hundred I didn’t know what to do with.

The plan was for me to hang out at home to meet up with one of D’Wife’s friends from the Bank, who we hadn’t seen in ages, then skip on over to Voorhees to re-up.

I had my gear all packed up for a run, a ride, a swim, whatever might present itself, but I was REALLY looking forward to getting into the pool. Sometimes, a dude just needs some chlorinated weightlessness to recharge the surfy-ness; know what I mean? Probably not, sorry.

The pool was already hopping when I completed my renewal. Two people to a lane, all dudes, too. Not the way I’d planned on making my “comeback” To tell the truth, I was a little bit uncomfortable about this. I can swim fine when I’m out in the waves and only have to stroke-stroke-stroke while kicking to catch a wave, then glide in. The idea of continuing for 25 yards at a time always brought a bit of anxiety with it.

To kill some time, to give the fish some time to thin out, I started out like I usually did: on the track.

“We all lost one helluva guy in Joe two years ago. I had the idea of doing a 40 mile bike ride on what would’ve been his 40th birthday on Nov 4th. While we all knew him from running, I wasn’t gonna run 40 miles lol. So however you see fit to honor our friend so be it. You wanna run 4.0 miles, a 40k, ride 40 miles or swim 40 laps, I think he would be proud in whatever we choose individually. It also doesn’t have to be on that Friday if it’s not convenient for you, it could be over that weekend. Whatever works for you. VTFU!”

Oh No … I HAD forgotten. I would do 40 laps on the 12 lap/mile Track at Bally's in honor of Joe "Voodoo" Truini's 40th Birthday.

Kept my pace nice and even at 42 seconds per lap [8:24 pace] until some kid came by - understand this, the place was practically empty so having company was both welcome and sort of an annoyance. I mean, he certainly could have run on his own, once I was on the other side of the track. But, no. He ran with me for a lap & a half or so, then he gave me this look ... not once, but twice ... and took off. I countered and followed him, right on his shoulder. I couldn't believe it, but the little punk pulled me through 3 laps at 37sec per [7:24] before he blew himself up. I eased back, stopped checking my splits and completed my 40 circuits for Voo'sDay.

Mostly out of habit, once my run was done I hopped on the Bike. The Bally's LifeCycle bikes limit you to 30 minutes at a time. And, no matter how fast or slow you pedal, after ½ and hour, it's always the same distance. The calories and wattage change depending on your cadence and resistance, but the mileage never does. Odd.

UFO Expert: I've been coming to this circle for about five years, and measuring it. The diameter and the circumference are constantly changing, but the radius stays the same. Which brings me to the number 5. There are five letters in the word Blaine. Now, if you mix up the letters in the word Blaine, mix 'em around, eventually, you'll come up with Nebali. Nebali. The name of a planet in a galaxy way, way, way... way far away. And another thing. Once you go into that circle, the weather never changes. It is always 67 degrees with a 40% chance of rain.

I turned my iPod on and cruised for 10 miles [there's some weird km/minute x some factor math going on in there, if I remember correctly].

The whole point of GOING to Bally's and renewing the Membership was to get in the Pool, right??? Well, it was kinda crowded when I got there so I killed some time on the Track and doing the Bike. But I REALLY wanted to get in [and come home with that chlorine smell in my hair] so after a quick change I flip-flopped over. Timidly, asked the only dude who had a lane to himself, if I could share. He was very welcoming and once he had pushed off from the wall, I dropped in. I made some adjustments to the goggles that have been sitting in the bottom of my back pack since forever, hoping to get a good seal. As it so happened, the foamy gaskets around the lenses were pretty beat and there was no way to get a good watertight seal on them. Things being what they were, though, I tried my best. Let me just say, I STILL swim like a brick. I did 8 trips down and back JUST in time for the Pool Attendant to say “9:30 sir, pool is closing now”

Thank goodness. 400 yards in 18 minutes; just about the same time as my first EVER triathlon!!! If I'm gonna keep this up, gotta get new goggles. And practice. A lot. I even thought “Swim Coach” for a minute there, but there’s no way I’d find one that would let me get away with the crap I’d pull on my running coaches.

Add it all up, and I did a Reverse Indoor Sprint Triathlon, in about an hour and a half. Darn that Fatty for putting the idea in my head!!!

With a 10K on Sunday, that may or may NOT have been the best judgment. But we’ll see.

Third Quarter YTD 2011 Results

2011-10-01T12:37:00.000-04:00

Running: 454 Miles – A little bit behind pace for 620M = 1000Km. As it stands right now, I need to Average 56 miles or so for October, November and December to make it; figuring that as 4 miles every other day, I can see success within reach. I just missed 50 miles per month in each month of Q3 – one more run on that last day would have gotten it. I just need to stay focused and not get too gappy.

My "easy" training pace continues to drop. I’ve been living in the 8:30 neighborhood, and occasionally go sub-8:20 without much effort [must just be a matter of catching the stoplights at the right time]

Cycling: 269 Miles – 191 of that in Q3; with nearly 72 in July alone. Of course, we dropped 46½ on one day with Bike MS

2011 Bike MS City to Shore

2011-09-26T22:02:00.001-04:00

We left Hammonton at 10:15 with a goal time to arrive in Ocean City by 3:30 and total cycling time [discounting rest-stop time] of 4 hours. We crossed the second bridge at 3:24PM and stopped the clock at 3:58 of pedaling

Through no fault of anyone’s, just total busy-ness and odd schedules, we didn’t get out Team Evesham jerseys in time for the ride. D’Wife didn’t want to wear her Lockheed one, but felt kind of funny wearing a Team Tania one, since that team is no more. I was OK with my Dogfish one, but it was decided we’d honor the Red & Black together.

The highlight of the day came as we were pedaling down Leipzig Ave in Egg Harbor towards the AC Expressway Bridge. We’d been trading places back & forth with an older dude from Stacey’s new team, Team Force Majeure. While we were chatting about Team Tania and not paying too much attention, I suddenly realized that D’Wife had a 50-75 yard gap on me. The dude tapped my shoulder and said: “Every now and then, she just lights it up, doesn’t she?”

Yes. Yes, she does.

Runners and "Secret" Spots

2011-09-12T12:21:00.001-04:00

[not THOSE “secret spots” ya perv!!!]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Maybe it's just a surfy thing, and I apologize for that.

YouTube Killed the Secret Spot

Now that we appear to be in the middle of another Running Boom, we can see more people enjoying this sport than ever before; or at least since the 70s or so.

People we'd never seen before are running around our neighborhoods, parks, bike paths, etc. Granted, these public places belong to everyone, and certainly should be shared. That's what they're for. Plus, it's good sportsmanship and camaraderie, to trot along and perhaps strike up a conversation with a stranger with whom you know you have at least one thing in common.

More and more, though, D'Kid or I will see someone running and say "Hey! They're running on MY Road!!!" Which brings me [as a surfer] back around to the concept of "The Secret Spot" ... do you have a place which is - as far as you know - JUST YOURS???

Is there a hill that you claim as just your own? A climb that you do battle with, one on one, on a regular basis? Maybe, to your knowledge, you were the first to runner conquer it?

Perhaps there's a stretch of road that passes by a secluded pond, far away from the busy-ness of the developments, which offers a tiny place of Zen, where you can escape the troubles of the day?

I mean, all surfers know the story of Jeff Clark, who surfed Maverick's alone for 15 years ... not because he was the only one who knew it was there, but because no one else thought it could be done.

I read an article in Runner's World or something years ago, about some dude who had a mountain in his backyard in VT or NH or ME or someplace, and he'd run up & back down every morning, for years.

But, I guess that's different from the "Secret Spot" thing I'm thinking about.

“I think it's silly to think that you have a space that somehow only you are entitled to. I will absolutely share any run or hike that I think others might appreciate. I roll my eyes a little bit whenever anyone mentions keeping a place a secret so that other people can't enjoy it, whether it concerns running, surfing or anything else.” – Cool Foot Luke

Yes, Localism blows in any form; that's what keeps me off some pretty decent trails down here in Wharton State Forest, because I never know when some drunk and/or high dirt-bikers or quads are gonna flex their Piney muscles and run me down.

The expression "Dad! Someone's running on your road!!!" is more a reaction to seeing another runner outside of the developments. The race results said there's maybe a half a dozen runners in my town who did Broad Street this year, but I'm always surprised to see anyone else training down here in Farm Country. Doing anything outdoors that doesn't involve alcohol, gasoline or gunpowder [or any combination thereof] is not well regarded. Self-propelled recreation [running or cycling], for its own sake or for the betterment of one's self ... Well, that's certainly suspect.

I've done my best to recruit those joggers I've met [their term, not mine] through school, church or on my cool-down walks through the neighborhood. I've always invited them along and shared my routes, "Go over 30, past the cemetery, make a right to go around and back; that's about three miles"

Never seen anyone else out there ...

See You In September

2011-08-31T18:56:00.001-04:00

And THAT, Ladies and Gentlemen, should be the LAST Sunset Run of this Summer's Vacation Running Experiment ... Unless, of course, I see a sea of lighters on the Spectrum floor inviting me out for an encore; I’m NOT above that. I’m still a little behind pace for my 1000Km on the year, but only by a run or two.

So … How did it go???

Firstly, I learned a LOT about flexibility: Just when you think you have a plan for the day, something changes things out of the blue; someone wants to go play elsewhere for the day [miles plus up!] or a friend goes over [run/ride drops out] or a severe weather event mixes things up [miles go down, but not necessarily out].

Secondly, I stretched a LOT less; I guess I would be pretty awake, warm & loose at training time, so I wouldn't need as much pre-run prep work. This evidenced itself in less hammy issues than I've had in a while ... we'll see how this approach maintains itself when we're back back on the Pre-Dawn Patrol.

Thirdly, I focused a LOT on fueling; both the timing thereof AND what I ate. Lunch was usually a turkey sandwich with provolone and a TON of lettuce, with a schmeer of Ken's Lite Ranch dressing to help laminate everything together. A couple of days I added our own home grown tomatoes; delicious, certainly, but upon reflection THAT was a touch too much acid in the ol' tummy.

All in all, I ran less than I would have had I been able to keep my Pre-Dawn schedule for the Summer, but more than nothing at all, or just 4s & 5s on the weekend. I also got some bike rides in with D’Kid, including a tremendously sucky but totally awesome thunderstorm ride that was highlighted by pedaling the last ½ mile in a hailstorm.

Plus … we saved about $2,400 by skipping Summer Camp for this year, and God Knows we needed to.

I Propose a New Acronym

2011-08-15T08:07:00.001-04:00

We all know that DFL [Dead Fuckin Last] is better than DNF [Did Not Finish] which is better than DNS [Did Not Start]

Those are all well and good, and the logic follows well, mathematically ... I mean they always list number of Finishers, number of Starters and number Registered; which follow in increasing numbers so ...

However ...

I propose a new acronym ... DEF = Donated Entry Fee

Sometimes you sign up for a race and [through no fault of anyone's; maybe an over-riding priority pops up] you just can't get to The Line. You’ve paid your way in, thus making a donation to whichever fund or charity the race was for.

Of course, if you TOTALLY wuss out and/or roll over because it's raining or something, DNS still works.

GRANTED: if you register for a race that gets capped and you DON'T run, you're kinda kicking someone else out; but if you CAN transfer your bib ... like I did at Broad Street in '10 … thus keeping Karma intact

Maybe that's another acronym ... SMB&KMOA = Sold My Bib and Kicked my Own Ass

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - AWARDS

2011-07-19T08:17:00.002-04:00

David Serious-Runner Dye: 1st Place Overall [Total Time - 1:36:38], Fastest Individual Split [Leg Three - 23:15]

Randy Marthins: 2nd Place Overall [1:45:06]

Andrew Murdock: 3rd Place [1:47:40]; "Stop & Smell the Roses" Award for his wonderful Pix

Mike Mcaleese: 4th Place [1:57:00]; "Tick Tock" Award for Most Consistent Splits [30, 30, 27, 30]

Matthew F. Hammond: 5th Place [2:10:06]; "Mr Flexible" Award for for adjusting his schedule to make time for the event

Rebecca Burdin Lasky: Ist Woman [2:12:19]; "Early Bird" Award for starting on Friday

Jarn Leah [aka Jenn]: 2nd Woman [2:13:06]; "Lantern Rouge" REMEMBER: Last one in gets the Coldest Beer!!!

Jennifer Gilmore Fields: "Overachiever" Award for running MORE than 20K and doing them all at once

Also

By Virtue of her TOTALLY kicking ass on her first attempt at Badwater Ultramarathon, Meredith Murphy is hereby awarded Number 65 for this and ALL Screaming Tortise events, in Perpetuum [or whatever endurance sports drink she prefers]

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - FINAL LEG!!!

2011-07-17T17:12:00.002-04:00

FINAL LEG!!! – 3:45PM

We had to make one final adjustment before the Last Frame: D’Kid’s best friend wanted to come up for the afternoon. So, 11AM Mass was shelved and she was dropped off by her Mom around 11:30. They hung out upstairs while I got D’Wife ready for work. After she was out the door, I gathered up my list and coupons for the weekly grocery shopping trip. Runners are, if nothing else, creatures of habit and like to stay tied to their schedules.

As I suspected, and upon review in the booth, my Third Leg that I ran this morning was a shade long [3/10ths, actually] so I adjusted my turn-around accordingly. Did I say “Shade?” Yeah, thankfully, most of this route is woodsy, because the temperature was very close to 90° when I left the house. There was a time when I had a rule about such things; even if I STILL did, today was a day to break it.

I totally surprised myself by making the first mile in 8:20 and to the bottom of The Pit in just under 13:00. I suppose the rush of having this almost behind me, helped to pick up the pace. Climbing back up that rise again, I could feel the quads starting to go. I had to quote Jens Voigt: "Shut up, legs" The humidity was down from this morning and even though I’d been hydrating all day, my throat was still feeling dry. Naturally, with it being the middle of the afternoon, and the hottest part of the day, no one had a sprinkler or hose running for me.

I was shooting for 28:00 on this final leg, for no other reason than to stay under 10:00 per mile. When I made my way back to the light at The Pike in 22-something, with only 6/10ths to go: "We got this" Except, I was running straight into the sun, with not a tree to duck under now, and the full blazing heat coming off the street which had been slowly cooking all day. Pretty miserable, but I took courage from Meredith’s journey through Badwater, and told myself, “As bad as this might feel; she suffered through much worse and for far further than just a mile.”

I clicked the final Split in 27:20 to bring my total to 1:45:06; 8:28 pace for the 12.4 miles.

Done. Twice in a row now that I’ve done ALL FOUR Legs of La Tortuga’s challenge.

It was time to relax in the Clubhouse with a Brooklyn Summer Ale; and a pair of 11 year-old girls trashing the upstairs.

Brooklyn Summer Ale is a modern rendition of the "Light Dinner Ales" brewed in England throughout the 1800's right up until the 1940's. They were also called "luncheon ales" or even "family ales", because they were refreshing and flavorful without being too heavy. We brew our Brooklyn Summer Ale from premium English barley malt, which gives this light-bodied golden beer a fresh bready flavor. German and American hops lend a light, crisp bitterness and a citrus/floral aroma resulting in a beer with a very sunny disposition.

It’s a little more golden than a hefeweizen, and not as cloudy,because it’s actually a Blonde Ale; not what I usually go for when the temps are in the high 80s, but you know what??? It works!!! There’s a thin white head to it, which is a plus, because who wants sticky lips on a hot Summer day??? There’s not a lot of buzz here, which is good for an afternoon sipper. I picked up a refreshing citrus flavor, with lemongrass and a suggestion of melon … Imagine a cool fruity summer salad in a glass; like what you might have at Tea at a Cape May Bed & Breakfast.

Definitely a LawnMower Beer candidate.

I’ll keep you posted.

Final Results and AWARDS >>>

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - Third Leg

2011-07-17T09:26:00.003-04:00

Third Leg – 6:00AM

Okay, 6:30 is CLOSE ENOUGH to 6AM for me in this application.

Another brilliant morning and another moonset!!! I wanted to do something different than yesterday, so I took a route out the where some roosters I know might be up, just to say “Hi!” to them. I wasn’t 100% sure if their little barnyard was before or after the point where the 1½ mile turnaround would be, but I figured that I could calculate it later and adjust accordingly.

I ran another good First Mile then made the right that took me past Bingo Bob’s and into “The Pit.” I often thought that every Runner needs to have ONE route [or part of a route] called “The Pit,” a little drop-off, where you can pick up some speed, but that you’ll have to climb your way out of later. Steeper and more dramatic would be better, but Waterford, as lumpy as it is, doesn’t have quite that topography, so I kinda made the best of what I have to work with.

I made my rendezvous with my feathered buddies in about 13 minutes; still running sub-9:00 minutes per mile but drifting upwards. Hopefully I won’t be into the 10s later today. Adding it all up so far I’m at 1:21 for 9.3 miles ... Extrapolating from there, I'd be under 1:30 for 10, so THAT'S something to be happy with!!!

One more then we're done!!!

On to the FINAL LEG!!! >>>

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - Intermission

2011-07-16T15:40:00.003-04:00

Harry Potter Versus Star Wars: The Final Judgment

The final Harry Potter movie opens up this week, and all week long people have been saying "goodbye" to the franchise. Lots of crying in your butterbeer and all that.

A lot of the fans lamenting the end of Harry Potter are people much younger than I am, people who grew up with the both the books and the films and, for whom, Harry Potter is pretty much the dominant fictional story of their lifetime. You can goof all you want on dipshits at Middlebury forming their own Quidditch team and running around with brooms tucked between their thighs and negating all future use of their genitals, but they love Harry Potter and they probably know that they won't come across another set of books or films in their lifetime that will affect them or stir their imaginations in quite the same way.

I know this to be true, because I'm fucking old now. And when you're old, that sense of wonder and awe isn't easy to get back. I'm a child of the Star Wars generation, which means the first three movies in the series (Yes, I know they're chronologically the LAST three, and fuck you very much to George Lucas for not only raping my wallet and my childhood but also for forcing me into a semantic corner) are the dominant fictional story of MY lifetime. I could live another two hundred years and the sad truth of it is that I will NEVER ever again have a moviegoing experience like I had when I saw those movies (the first Indiana Jones movie also gets roped in there, because it was just as good and came along at pretty much the same time). I'm too old and jaded to recapture that kind of awe anymore. I'm not young enough to BELIEVE what I see on screen is real. I'm not young enough to have another story like that feel brand new to me, like nothing I've ever seen before.

That's how I felt watching Star Wars, and that's how people a decade or two younger than me likely feel about Harry Potter. I envy them, really. I read all seven Potter books and they were AWESOME. You read those books and you spend days and weeks and months at a time picturing yourself as a wizard and doing all kinds of crazy wizard shit and having all kinds of wild bareback wizard sex. (Wizards can make diseased sperm DISAPPEAR). That's all you can really ask from a story: that it gets deep into your brain and creates a whole new place for you to reside in. I loved most everything about those books. And if I were younger, I bet I'd have loved them even more.

The movies are something of a different animal. I've seen the first seven movies (my favorite was the fifth, which is weird for me because that was my least favorite book in the series), and the movies, for me, were really just two-hour reminders of the shit I read in the books. Oh, right! Luna Lovegood's dad totally sells out Harry, Ron and Hermione! I had completely forgotten that shit. Thanks, movie-length visual recap!

But that's because, again, I'm old. Because I'm old, I brought all my prejudices into those movies (They won't be as good as the books, Chris Columbus was the shitheel hack who made Stepmom and Bicentennial Man, etc.). If you were twelve or thirteen when the first Potter movie came out, you probably didn't care about any of that. You didn't care that Stepmom was among the more aggressively shitty movies of all time. All you cared about was HOLY SHIT! IT'S THE HARRY POTTER MOVIE! That pure youthful joy was still there. It hadn't been ruined for you yet by reading horrible baseball columns about pure youthful joy. So the movies were gonna be better for you. And as you get older, very little else will manage to stack up, if anything.

If you're my age, you know this is true because you saw the Star Wars prequels, which were fucking terrible and God I wish someone would take a shit in George Lucas's beard. But even if those movies had been any good (and there are people out there who, God help them, do think that), they probably wouldn't have lived up to their billing anyway because I was expecting that wondrous feeling to return without realizing I had already outgrown my ability to feel it. Nothing will be able to rival those original three Star Wars movies for me, but that's more due to circumstances of my age than the quality of the movie itself. It's why I worship all the old John Landis movies, and why anyone who tells me American Pie is better than The Blues Brothers will get a fucking shiv in their mouth.

So that's why I like the original Star Wars trilogy more than any of the Harry Potter movies. But maybe you feel different. Maybe you're 20 years old and The Empire Strikes Back looks dated to you. Maybe we need to have a completely pointless and unsolvable argument as to which series is superior overall. It's July and there ain't shit else going on, so FUCK IT WE'LL DO IT LIVE. I'mma try and strip away my generational prejudices best I can and hash this out objectively, like a proper nerdy nerd snarky blogger-type. Spoilers ahead if you were a deprived child.

BOOKS: The two series differ in that one is spawned originally from books and the other from film. Obviously, the Potter books are in a class of their own. I haven't read any of the Star Wars books. There are a shitload of them. They even wrote one about the band from Jedi, which seems aggressively pointless. Also, it's annoying when someone who has read all the Star Wars books corrects you on shit. "Actually, Boba Fett didn't die when he fell into the pit…" Yeah well, as far as I'm concerned, he did. And it was shitty. ADVANTAGE: POTTER.

MOVIES: The original three Star Wars are great. The prequels blow. Whereas the Potter movies are reliably entertaining, but are a constant reminder that the books were better. The Potter movies are also really well acted, whereas the Star Wars movies went out of their way to make even talented actors sound like idiots. So it really depends on if you prize consistency over inconsistency but with better moments. ADVANTAGE: STAR WARS

VILLAINS: My favorite Potter villain was Snape, except that he ultimately WASN'T a villain. You could say the same about Darth Vader, except that Darth Vader didn't have some grand, lifelong mission that explains away all the horrible shit he did. (He killed younglings. YOUNGLINGS, DAMMIT.) I also hated the shit out of Draco Malfoy. If I saw Tom Felton on the street, I'd want to punch him in the fucking face. Voldemort himself wasn't as menacing or as cool as Darth Vader. The fact that he had no nose kept me thinking that he'd been a victim of some plastic surgery gone horribly awry. And the Star Wars lineup of villains in the original films is pretty fucking awesome: Vader, the Emperor, Jabba, Grand Moff Tarkin, Greedo, the sand people (THASS RAYCESS!) and on and on. The villains get lamer in the prequels (Look out! It's the flying alien Jew!), but I still say ADVANTAGE: STAR WARS.

MENTORS: Fucking Obi Wan. Pussies out against Vader and then lies to Luke's face about his Dad. From a certain point of view, you're a dipshit. Yoda also fits into this category, but Yoda also has faults, mostly the backwards talk. "Around the survivors, a perimeter create." Yeah no, that's horrible. Dumbledore wins. ADVANTAGE: POTTER.

MAIN PROTAGONIST: Star Wars has two in Anakin and Luke. Both, in their respective trilogies, are huge gashes. Luke gets a little better as we get to Jedi, but he still needs Vader's help to keep help the Emperor from shocking his ass to death at the end. "FATHER! PLEEEEEASE!" Can't you do anything for yourself, kid? Maybe you deserve to have your insides boiled and bled out of your main orifices. Harry ain't afraid to kill Voldemort on his own, and he's powerful enough to do it. ADVANTAGE: POTTER.

BOY SIDEKICK: Weasley vs. Solo. Solo wins, even if I do spend hours at a time wishing I had been taken in by the Weasley family. I don't think adopting a fully-grown 34-year-old American man would be all that awkward. Oh, the hijinks those Weasley twins and I would get into. WHO PUT THIS PORTABLE SWAMP IN THE GIRLS' TOILET?! ADVANTAGE: STAR WARS.

GIRL SIDEKICK: Hermione vs. Leia. I didn't approve of Leia being so ungrateful the second Han and Luke came to rescue her. "Some rescue." Hey missy, you're lucky you even got that. Five minutes ago, you were getting a needle probe up your vagina. Now you're in a giant garbage chute with the walls closing in. Quit yer crying. ADVANTAGE: POTTER.

MASTURBATORY MATERIAL: There's a little bit of naked Emma Watson in the seventh Potter movie, but the series is otherwise fairly chaste. There's the typical teenage horniness, but nothing on the level of Slave Leia (even if Star Wars never gave you much beyond that). Potter, however, is indirectly responsible for young Lindsay Lohan as sexy Hermione, and my penis is eternally grateful. ADVANTAGE: STAR WARS.

ENDING: The Elder Wand shit at the end of Deathly Hallows still confuses me. And the fact that the search for the Deathly Hallows was piled onto the ongoing search for the Horcruxes gave me a headache. One treasure hunt per ending, please. But at least you get that cathartic coda at the end with Harry and Ron and Hermione all grown up with kids and what not. It was a much better denouement than the fucking Yub Nub song the Ewoks sang at the end of Jedi, and the worst part is that Lucas went back and fucked with that ending and made it like a universal 4th of July parade instead of just ending with the shot of Vader's body burning in the pyre. WATCH IT BURN! EVIL MAKES GOOD KINDLING! ADVANTAGE: NO IDEA.

WEAPONRY: Even actors in Potter movies have gone on the record as saying you look pretty fucking stupid with a wand in your hand. I don't know why wands became the go-to object for casting spells. Why not a magic sword, or a magic set of brass knuckles with little spikes on the ridge of each knuckle? Light sabers win. An elegant weapon. Not as clumsy as a blaster. Those goddamn blasters. So clumsy. ADVANTAGE: STAR WARS.

NAMES: Both have all sorts of cool names for their characters, but look at the full list of Potter names. You can't compete with that shit. Joscelind Wadcock? I'm naming my dog Joscelind Wadcock. ADVANTAGE: POTTER.

FANBOYS: There used to be a time when Star Wars fanboys could escape scrutiny solely because Star Trek fanboys were even weirder. But that protection ended right about here.

The fact that Harry Potter hasn't been around as long also means that its fanboys haven't had as much time to grow up and to mutate into even stranger creatures, people somehow even more disconnected from reality. That's gonna come someday. Should be fun. ADVANTAGE: POTTER.

OVERALL: This might be a more difficult argument if the prequels didn't exist, but the fact of the matter is that JK Rowling told her story in seven parts and never really fucked it up, whereas George Lucas told his story in six parts and galactically fucked up half of it, then went back and CGI'd the GOOD half and kind of ruined that as well. Star Wars was a milestone of my youth, but yeah, I can't go against Potter. WINNER: POTTER.

Have fun at the last Potter movie this weekend, gang. Enjoy it. You won't come across the likes of it again in your lifetime. I'm pretty sure Twilight is proof of that.

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - Second Leg

2011-07-16T13:50:00.004-04:00

Second Leg – NOON

Once my Heart Rate came down after finishing the First Leg, once I was rehydrated and no longer thirsty, once I was able to THINK about eating something I poured myself a nice bowl of Rice Krispies, dropped half a dozen slice of fresh peach, and splashed it with some cool milk. I was gonna start re-fueling for the Second Leg as soon as I could. I didn’t want it to be 10 o’clock without eating anything and then say to myself “CRAP!!! What can I eat NOW that will settle enough in two hours to NOT bother my tummy”

Yeah, was thinking like a Real Runner.

Go figure.

****

D’Girls were late out of bed. Once up though, the morning was a flurry of phone tags to get the day’s schedule planned, coordinated, approved, revised, re-approved, etc. It was decided that we would see “Harry Potter” in 3D at 4:30 in Voorhees, meeting Warren & Samantha at Warren’s sister’s house here in Atco. Afterwards, we’d go back there for dinner. D’Wife had ONE errand to do sometime between now and then, but that wouldn’t take long. I kept out of her way, all the time watching the clock.

At 11:55AM, I quickly threw on my running gear and before she had a moment to counter-argue I stated “I’m going for another three miles, I’ll be back in half an hour or so”

I was taking the Second Leg by force. Now I was committed to not blowing up.

I kinda zoned out for a second and ran the same route I did this morning and in the same direction [I kinda wanted to mix it up a bit]. Brighter and 15° warmer than it was for the first leg. Surprisingly little activity for Noon on a Saturday; there was a softball game getting started over by D'Kid's school, but not much else going on.

[sorry that I couldn’t bring more detail, but that’s the way it goes sometimes]

I lost about a minute and a half on this Leg, which wasn’t really that bad considering I’d already dropped 5K. Adding the two together gave me a 52:40 10K on the day, as well, a whole MINUTE inside my time at Cooper-Norcross Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge 10K back in ‘09.

PLUS, D’Wife wasn’t even close to leaving on her errands yet.

Win.

INTERMISSION

On to the Third Leg >>>

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - First Leg

2011-07-16T09:58:00.005-04:00

First Leg – 6:00AM

This thing started out like a Caucus Race from the starting gun. Firstly, Becca decided that 6AM on Saturday Morning was just not early enough and put in her first leg after dinner on Friday. At about the same time, but before I opened my Uinta Crooked Line Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner, D’Wife informed me that we MIGHT be going Downnashore to meet up with our friend Warren and his daughter. I was filled with options:

Do all four 5Ks on Sunday, using the same formula. Of course, that would mean a Sunday Midnight 5K, then going straight to bed for work the next day

Do the First Leg Saturday Midnight, then 6-12-6 on Sunday, giving myself the night off

Start at 6AM Saturday just the same, and get the runs in whenever possible during the next two days

I said to myself: “Hey!!! Self!!! We’re the Race Director and Commissioner, we can change the rules for ourself or anyone who needs them changed, right??? Do it!!”

While she was checking on the plan for the Beach, “Harry Potter” was thrown into the mix … a Mid-afternoon show, followed by dinner at her friend / Warren’s sister, Holly’s house. That pretty much reduced my Options to #3 alone, since there’d be no way to get myself out the door after any kind of Summertime Family Feast.

Bottom Line: Four 5Ks in Two days ... where and when was TBD [the 6 hour part, for ME anyway, was out the window]

****

I woke up at my usual time of 5:25. I brushed & dressed, but naaa’d the bib idea, for now anyway.

“Let’s do this”

I had a bunch of 5K routes/courses to choose from, but went with the one I’ve been running most often lately, the one I’d run to set my highly non-official v2.0 5K PR of 23:36. I didn’t necessarily plan of going for a PR at anytime during the event, but if I was going to, it would surely be on this first leg

The moon was still up, hanging just above the trees in the back yard. She was taking on a pinkish cast as she settled into bed on this cool and clear morning. The cicadas weren’t buzzing yet; it was only a matter of time, though. Oddly, there were a lot of crows up and cackling. I hoped my little adventure wouldn’t lead me to becoming their morning snack by the side of the road at any point in the next 36 hours or so.

I left house behind and shuffled away towards the beautifully rosy and golden sunrise.

After crossing the Pike and reaching the First Mile mark in a few ticks short of 8 minutes, it took some work to hold back at the first turn, to force myself to adhere to the plan and not to wander off. The temptation to go longer to explore some routes that I haven't done at this time of day in many weeks was strong in this one. Seeing I was moving at a good pace, that made the decision easier, and I found a good pace to groove on as I passed Chocolate Pretzel Heaven, hugging the overgrowth by the side of the NJ Transit tracks chasing my own shadow up the street with the sun behind my right shoulder.

I had to sort of stutter-step around a fairly big puddle at the Halfway turnaround. Sure, I’d usually splash through here, but I’d need my shoes completely dried out in a few hours for the Second Leg, and I couldn’t necessarily count on that.

Cruising back towards Mariel’s school, there were a couple of sprinklers on; I took advantage, getting a nice schpritzing to the singlet. As is my tradition / superstition, I stopped at the Blessed Mother for a quick Hail Mary, then on my way for the Final Mile of the First Leg.

I was doubly fortunate to have the sprinklers running at Domino’s as well. I treated myself to a quick head-dip, before having to wait for the light [AND the obligatory “look pissed”]

The six-tenths of a mile from the light to home, is always so desolate and depressing, due to the trash and assorted roadkill that litter my running way. This morning though, I spied a flattened out snake in the shoulder. I have mixed feelings about snakes; I don’t mind them when I KNOW they’re there, like if someone offers me one to handle in a very rock n’ roll way, but when they appear out of nowhere … I’m not fond of that kind of surprise. Just the same, I had to feel sad to see any of God’s creatures plowed over like that.

I tucked into the development and chugged up over the final rise as the 24th minute came to an end; stopping the clock at 25-and-a-half [“stopping the clock” being a misnomer: I don’t actually use the buttons anymore, but just take mental note of the approximate time when I leave the driveway]
Not a bad pace for first thing in the morning and something I could probably match pretty closely for the remaining Three Legs, earning myself the coveted “Tick Tock” Award for Most Consistent Splits [or Most Accurate Pace-Setting … I’m not sure how I wanna phrase that]

On to the Second Leg >>>

2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay - Prologue

2011-07-15T21:15:00.006-04:00

So, being bored one evening a few months back; perhaps suffering from a twinge of post-race letdown, I reached out to my Black Friday 20K Solo Relay co-conspirator and suggested a date for another “Run Like an Idiot” 20K. As luck would have it, the date we chose coincided with this year’s Midnight Madness, which was just a tad out of financial reach, slush-fund-wise, at $65 for 8.4 miles … no longer the value it was when we started in 2008.

Jenn’s boyfriend suggested something along the lines of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, because of the four legs.

1st Leg, 6AM = Famine: Breakfast time and we're hungry
2nd Leg, Noon = War: We're kicking ass and there is blood in the water
3rd Leg, 6PM = Pestilence: Sundown and the Summertime Evening bugs are coming out
Final Leg, Midnight = Death: No explanation needed

That made sense, but when I think of The Four Horsemen, I think only of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard, with James J. Dillon as their manager. I took the liberty of adding “Mid-“ to “Apocalyptic” for the event name since it was gonna go down between the “Judgment Day” that knucklehead had predicted and the Final Apocalypse on October 21st.

With the name settled upon rather quickly as “2011 Mid-Apocalyptic 4-Horsemen 20K Solo Relay,” it was time to begin recruiting. Between Kick, Slowtwitch, random Facebook and IRL friends, and fans of “Postcards From The Curb” I sent out about 100 invites, of which 9 responded with a firm “Yes”

Custom bibs were made up and distributed. With all of my Race Director duties completed and fulfilled, I settled down with a new find: Uinta Crooked Line Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner

[I’ve dated so many girls who looked like her]

Tilted Smile breaks away from the crowd. Big in alcohol, yet approachable and versatile. Confidently balanced with Saaz hops and 100% Pilsen malt. Crisp and delightfully carbonated. Explore pairing with grilled meats and seafood.

Nine percent ABV is a bit much on a race night, but I ate well and figured that I pre-hydrated myself well enough to handle the whole 22 oz. bottle. It was a nice pale golden color with a couple of fingers worth of snowy white head. It had a light malty, citrusy, lemongrass flavor that would be PERFECT to clear the dust & sweat from a noggin after giving the lawn a good cutting … at the $9.99 price and being only available in bomber bottles [nicely cork-finished however], it’s ineligible for consideration as a LawnMower Beer Championship contender.

Then, of course, the Pre-Race Jitters started; then were quickly squelched by this lovely pint [or two] ... but hey, that's cool

On to the First Leg >>>

4 on the 4th-Independence Day Coffee Run

2011-07-04T11:48:00.003-04:00

Facebook friend and “Postcards from the Curb” fan Thomas Constantine invited me to a little event he put together up in his town of Amsterdam, NY.

4 on the 4th-Independence Day Coffee Run
Time: Monday, July 4 · 8:00am - 10:00am
Location: Burger King, Rt 30, Amsterdam, NY

4-6-8 mile loops from Burger King
Slow pace
All welcome
Walkers and joggers
Holiday coffee after
Run with us or on ur own
Post ur freedom run here

I got up a little bit before 8 o’clock. I did my best to move out without waking D’Wife. D’Kid’s door was shut [to keep a marauding boy-cat out overnight] so she wasn’t awakened by my movements on this holiday morning. I did a little bit of Punk Yoga to warm up, and loosen the port-side hammy that’s always been a worry of mine [but not an actual PROBLEM, lately]

The sun was TRYING to break through the haze, but that was just warming the wet ground and streets to create MORE haze; haze that was just a couple of dew points away from becoming full-blown fog!!! Not much of breeze of any kind was to be found, and there was the slightest scent of pine smoke from the small forest fires that have been popping up this past week [all quickly dealt thing, thank God, suggesting that they’ve been controlled burns]

Without a real plan of where to go when I left the house, I selected a route for this comp that only CROSSED Atco Ave., not run down it, because I wasn't sure exactly when the Boro's parade would be, and I'd hate to cruise through the festivities, especially without anything Patriotic on. In fact, I was wearing shoes from a Japanese company, whose name is an acronym of the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano, which translates to "Healthy Soul in a Healthy Body.” My running shorts were from a company who originally made boots for the Germans in WWII, and eventually bought their way into Olympic prominence with shady back-room cash deals as the era of amateurism came to an end. Even my Old Navy [or as we say at home “Old Shanyblay”] singlet with “Honolulu” across it COULD BE a reference to a sovereign Pacific kingdom that’s been illegally occupied [allegedly] for a hundred years or so.

I made the first mile mark in 8:15; quite quick for me, even more so considering D'Wife & I rode very nearly 20 miles on Saturday. I was fortunate that traffic was sparse and I was able to jump the light without losing much time crossing The Pike. Believe it or not, I was still debating on which path I would take this morning; I have a LOT of options and many decision points along the way. I guess all these little variables keep my runs from being boring, as I can change them up on the fly. Since this WAS semi-official, and kind of on the clock, I picked a familiar course that I’ve measured as being 4 miles exactly … well not TOO far over anyway; maybe a tenth or two???

I crossed a very empty Atco Avenue. It occurred to me at this point that in my WHOLE life, I’d marched in a Fourth of July Parade maybe twice, three time tops. This was would have been when I was in the Boy Scouts, in Haddonfield. I DO remember decorating my bike with red/white/and blue streams in Connecticut, but we just rode them around the neighborhood for the day. I didn’t even join my Little League team [Bliss Market] as I remember. I can certainly recall walking down King’s Highway to music and clapping while in the Scouts, however vaguely … I’m sure I enjoyed the applause.

Mile Two was uneventful: saw a couple of cyclists who agreed the morning was disgusting, but congratulated themselves and me on or determination / dedication by saying "Hey, we're out here, right?" I enjoyed the cool shade of The Green Room, where trees that were toppled by the tornado almost a year ago still lean, broken and splintered, without the landowner’s apparent care to what will become of them. I’m sure the woodland creatures who have made new homes beneath the exposed roots and hanging boughs aren’t complaining. There were a couple kids fishing in the pond, wearing baggy shorts, over-sized skate shoes and flat-brimmed trucker hats cocked just slightly off-center.

Sixteen and a half, AT the Half. I guess I missed that “Slow pace” part in the invitation???

Turning around, I ground up the rise back to the little light at Jackson Road. D’Wife always comments when we’re on our bike rides and have to wait here, “How many Tattoo Shops does Atco need?” … I don’t really think it’s reflection on the town as much as it is a reflection of the folks who pass THROUGH our town. Jackson Road is the only way to or from Atco Raceway. Sometimes, maybe, someone just decides “I need a little more ink; I have a spot that needs filling” I could be wrong

Crossing the NJ Transit tracks again, I passed a couple of families loading up their vans for the day. Proudly sporting their Phillies gear, wondered what they had planned for the day as Phillies-Marlins wasn’t until 6PM. I guess it’s never too early to tail gate??? Perhaps they were on their way down the Shore, perhaps [God willing] to torment some Mets fans while away for the day.

I reached the Assumption School track at the end of Mile Three. Half a dozen walkers were there, doing the SMART thing on this muggfest: Going round and round and taking it easy while getting at least some miles in. One of them [an aging guidette or perhaps a cougar-in-training, I couldn’t tell through my fogged and sweat-glazed specs] had to do things her own way and be the ONLY person doing her laps clockwise]

I must've picked up some time on the drop from our Church to Domino's, [admiring the crop of grapes growing on the chainlink fence adjacent to the Police Station] because I sure didn't FEEL like I strung FOUR 8:something-teens together. That last half mile is always such a drag too. Running on the traffic-facing side, it always seems desolate; there’s always so much gravel, cars-trash and roadkill to step around, and not the slightest bit of shade on the approach home, not matter WHAT time of day. Then there are the JYDs who always come out to say “Good FUCKING Morning!!! ASSHOLE!!!” Yeah, it’s a pretty soul-sucking way to end even the best run.

I got it done in a damn satisfactory 32:50. And no ... not ONE, single, sprinkler was on!!!

Open Letter to my Morning Run

2011-06-26T20:53:00.001-04:00

Dear Dawn;

Starting tomorrow, we won’t be running together for a while. My schedule’s gonna take a bit of a shift for the Summer and although I’ll still be getting up at the same time as always, the unfortunate truth is that I won’t have enough time in the morning for even a short meet-up with you.

It turns out that if I’m going to do any training at all, I’ll have to return to my after-work roots; firing up the Sunset Gun and hitting the track for a couple dozen laps [instead of trucking all over the Gayborhood and UPenn]. You know how I’ve always missed those jogs under the sky-blue pink skies around 6 or 7 o’clock back in the evening when I lived in Philly … well now I get to do them all over again, and share them with D’Kid this time around. How awesome will that be??? Sure, I’ll just be running in circles, while she does her Summer Reading on the bleachers, but she’s a great coach and trainer; she ALWAYS makes sure I’m properly fueled and hydrated and has been known to miscount my laps accidently on purpose to ensure a good session.

I wish there was another solution. Getting up even earlier than I already do on workdays was out of the question; 9PM is NOT a reasonable bedtime for a Husband or Dad, just to get a few miles in at like 4:30AM. I DO have my priorities.

Granted, things were not the easiest when we first started hanging out back in the Winter of 2000. Maybe that had something to do with The Big Quit, I dunno??? But after returning to running, the past few years have been great and the whole family appreciates the Endorphin Therapy we’ve been cultivating.

This is NOT a permanent change; only until September, when D’Kid goes back to school. In the meantime, I’ll try to get some Sunrise-ish miles in on the weekends [not promising, though. We’ve got some bike training to do , as well]. Who knows … without the “I gotta stop and get home” derailments that can mess up a good groove, I have the flexibility to go longer or faster training after work than I could before. When we reconvene, I might even be a better runner for it???

To be totally cliché … See you in September

R

National Running Day 2011

2011-06-01T17:57:00.001-04:00

On National Running Day, it bears repeating ... Please consider those who are less fortunate, less mobile ... for those of us who run, walk or ride for Causes such as MS, MDA, ACS, and so on, we see "but for the Grace of God, go I"

Take a moment to offer a prayer to those who really WANTED to Run today ... maybe later today, or tomorrow, or on the weekend; do One More Mile, for one of them

Runnerversary 2011

2011-06-01T11:08:00.000-04:00

As is Customary on my Runnerversary, I have scrubbed the Databases and Running Logs. I have reconciled the results to my OWN satisfaction and am NOW Closing the Book on the 2010-2011 Running Year [June 1, 2010 - May 31, 2011]

Mileage-wise, it was a disappointing year [only 500-something miles run] but factoring about 6 weeks of injury lay-off from the Big POING!!! I guess I did Okay.

The obvious highlight to the year was [without a doubt] the Inaugural Black Friday 20K Solo Relay. Not ONLY did I finally COMPLETE La Tortuga's 4x5x6, but I got some of my new online friends to join in the fun.

My only other bib-wearing event was Broad Street. I didn't do as well as I planned originally, but then again ... let's be honest ... I didn't exactly train my best for it either. I did barely 60% of the mileage I had sketched out in February, and only ONE run longer than 6 miles in the whole training cycle. As Theia put it [quite facetiously, I might add]: "Always a good idea to race on raw ability alone. :)"

We WON’T make that mistake again!!!

I got an email today from a friend of mine addressing my “attitude” towards training and competition and such:

Pete
Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know you're my running hero. You've got about the best relationship with the sport of anyone I know.

Pete’s an accomplished marathoner, and he’s calling ME his hero??? Pretty high praise for this Landlocked Old Surfer Dude.

Well, Pete … I’m planning to continue on kinda the same way as always, so enjoy

Just What DO We Have Here, Anyway???

2011-05-11T10:59:00.004-04:00

One of the joys of the Pre-Dawn Patrol [now simply “Dawn” as the sun is cresting the trees shortly after I set out, so I'm dropping the "Pre-" until Fall] is picking up the scents of the morning, before the gentle environment is too corrupted by cars exhausts and diesel fumes. There is a certain satisfaction in being able to inhale and decipher the subtleties of morning dew, grass clippings from lawns that had been cut yesterday, recently overturned dirt in the neighborhood gardens.

And of course, the flowers coming to life now that Spring is finally settled and we move toward Summer [Spring in New Jersey can last six weeks of six minutes, depending on when the Rain stops and the first Heat Wave arrives]

"Gotta gotta GOTTA get up and run tomorrow morning ... the wisteria bloomed all of a sudden last week, and I STILL haven't gotten in my Pre-Dawn run with it"

Once you put something like that out, you're committed!!!

Last Friday, I woke up a little later than I had wanted to [but still, MUCH earlier than I have been in the week post-Broad Street] therefore I had to short myself to only 3 miles; but I selected a route that had maximum purple-ness. Not a cloud to be seen, a brilliant sunrise, a nice dampness in the air, even some dewy-ness on the lawns around town. I even saw a sprinkler running down the block off-course; I'll make a note of this for later in the summer, when warmy & muggy morning sprinkler dashes will be necessary.

Between the fading of the wisteria and the blooming of the honeysuckle, there are trees that produce a most lovely and fragrant cluster of white flowers. I’ve seen these trees bloom every Spring since I started running; and they often take me back to my v1.0 running “career” in Philly.

However, not ONCE have I ever stopped to find out what kind of tree they were.

As I was on my way out my development this morning, that very thought occurred to me. I said to myself “Self. I think we should REALLY try to find out what those trees are”

I VERY consciously hit the brakes as I approached a stand of them, and did my best Darwin impersonation:

Flowers: Long white bunches, like a lei
Leaves: Oval and offset on opposite sides on a middle stem; sort of like a fern does
Too early in the season to tell if it produces a fruit or a nut, oh, wait … there’s these long bean-y looking things on the ground; probably from last Fall

'Okay, I think I got enough to go on here.'

However, while the Left Side of my Brain was trying to distill these elements into simple, discrete terms for a proper Google search, the Right Side of my Brain took another approach.

Right Brain: Streets in Philadelphia … Spruce? Pine? Cypress? Nope, not an evergreen. Walnut? Chestnut? Nope, not a nut. Cherry? No way. It’s either Poplar or Locust. I’m picking Locust; I don’t think Poplars have flowers.
Left Brain: Good. Glad we got THAT settled ~sigh~

***

Robinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, native to North America and northern Mexico. Commonly known as "locusts", they are deciduous trees and shrubs growing 4-25 m tall. The leaves are pinnate with 7-21 oval leaflets. The flowers are white or pink, in usually pendulous racemes. Many species have thorny shoots, and several have sticky hairs on the shoots.

The genus is named after the royal French gardeners Jean Robin and his son Vespasian Robin, who introduced the plant to Europe in 1601.

The number of species is disputed between different authorities, with as few as four recognized by some authors, while others recognize up to ten species. There are also several natural hybrids.
Some species of Robinia are used as food by larvae of Lepidoptera, including Brown-tail, Buff-tip, The Engrailed and Giant Leopard Moth

Yep, that’s them. I’m not sure which exact species they might be [the top contenders are “Honey Locust” and “Black Locust”] but at least one mystery is solved

***

"You can drag a horticulture, but you can't make her think.” Dorothy Parker

1989 Called ...

2011-05-01T14:15:00.002-04:00

Post-race pick from my FIRST attempt at Broad Street, 1989, taken on the grass inside JFK Stadium

Items of note:

USA Today trucker hat
Fake Porsche sunglasses
Crazy long hair [a mullet actually, but you can't really tell with the hat]
St. Pauli Girl beer [a premium beverage for me at that time]
Freestyle Shark running watch
Acid "washed" cotton sweats
NIKE hi-tops w/Scott Tinley Lace Locks ["Miami Vice" aqua]

Time: 1:19 and change [this was NOT, however, my FIRST 10-miler]

A Pebble Into the Pond - Follow-Up

2011-04-29T13:07:00.001-04:00

Not exactly a "Follow-Up" ... Since "Follow-ing Up" is something I TOTALLY forgot to do.

Backstory: I was trying to get a friend of mine a certain number for his HM this weekend.

***

Randy,

I don’t assign numbers until a couple of days before the race, usually alphabetically, but I can certainly force my system to do something else.

Could you kindly send me a reminder early the week of 4/27? I’ll file your email and will make every effort to remember this, but a nudge would certainly be helpful.

***

I [almost] totally forgot about this, until I happend to use the phrase "pebble in the pond" in a conversation with D'Wife. A lightbulb went off and [at first thinking the race was at THE END of May] I emailed Sue as soon I got a chance. Unfortunately ...

Oh, crap, I see your email said “Early” this week
If I blew, it I apologize

***

Hi Randy,

I assigned the numbers and gave the database to the timer last night at 5 pm. I could make Kevin #643, but it would be completely obvious as there’s a gap between 603 and 643.

Right now Kevin’s registered as #11. Let me know what you’d like to do.

***

I couldn't see the Karmic value in making her jump through hoops for a silly thing like this, so I let it go.

RESULT:

11 Kevin Yetman 41 189/201 M 37/41 M4049 WILMINGTON MA 2:27:29 11:16

Turns out EQ had been training with some ankle difficulties.

First Quarter 2011 Results

2011-03-31T18:55:00.002-04:00

Running: 155.7 Miles - on pace for 620M = 1000Km

My "casual" training pace has dropped all of a sudden to the 8:40-8:30 neighborhood.

"The elements, dear Watson, are coming together"

Cycling: 6.6 on the day after New Years, then another 12½ Bike-Date on Friday afternoon in March ... That's it, sorry

Weight: Down 3½ to 153
BP: Down 15pts [!!!] to 138/78

Does this Make Me a Doper???

2011-02-16T13:45:00.003-05:00

As I stated a few months ago, my Blood Pressure's been up.

I've tried to manage it through exercise alone [which has worked in the past] but have made no headway; only taking it down to 150/80 in December before it rose back to 160/80 at a screening we had at Assumption a couple of weeks ago.

I made an appointment to see the Doc again this morning [without having to be told to by D'Wife to do so (!!!)].

At the office, my BP was down from 160/80 to 150/75; not bad since Mariel woke up throwing up and I got pulled over for speeding in Cherry Hill on the way over [talked my way out of it by saying I was taking her to the Pediatrian’s :-)]

Doc is putting me on this to get me to <140/80: “Amlodipine is called a calcium channel blocker. It works by relaxing blood vessels so blood can flow more easily … It may help to increase your ability to exercise …”

Uh-oh, I’d better check with the Olympic committee on this one [or Lance Armstrong]

"PRECAUTIONS: ... Limit alcoholic beverages"

Um ... Define "limit"

Cabin Fever

2011-02-09T15:48:00.000-05:00

When coming home from Michaels on an errand to pick up some crafty goods for D’Kid a couple of Sundays ago, my car, Max, had - what felt like - an epileptic fit as we backed out of our parking space. My first thought was to put it in Park, then Reverse again to rule out a transmission issue; which it passed. Then once we returned home, I check the oil to make sure it hadn’t leaked/burned out and that I was on the verge of seizing then engine. Again, good results there.

It felt fine to drive even though there was some shuddering & puttering, which at first was startling then merely annoying.

Then the engine light came on.

That Saturday, I took it to our mechanic who ran the diagnostics; something to do with an ignition coil and possibly an injector issue.

I asked if would be okay to drive until Friday [when we BOTH get paid] … his mouth said ‘yes, but not too much’ but his eyes said ‘I wouldn’t’ … especially with 40 miles round trip ever day

So, told my manager that I’d be telecommuting in the rest of the week, if that was okay; which she was fine with.

It just got even better

That Tuesday Bank of America processed a loan payment that we didn’t authorize, which put our account $1300 below zero [see attached]. I had HOPED to get the refund from them by that Friday so I could take the car in, but it STILL hadn’t showed up when we both got paid; essentially putting us back to a single pay week.

Which meant we STILL couldn’t afford to have it fixed.

Which meant I STILL couldn’t get in to work.

So, I wait and work online in the meantime [while calling Bank of America everyday to bug them]

The ONE upside is that I can take a later lunch and go for my run outside, instead of getting up at 5:30AM and jogging around in the dark.

Postcards from the Curb

2011-01-07T11:03:00.001-05:00

There's always been an ongoing debate as to what is the difference between a runner and a jogger.

Some say it's a paceing thing ["anyone slower than me ... is a jogger"] or there's the argument that "the difference between a runner and a jooger is an entry form" [which bugs those of us who run for fun and don't often race] ... a friend of mine, however found this gem on Slowtwitch:

"Joggers bounce up-and-down and stop lights. Runners just stand there looking pissed!"

I thought 'Oh that's GREAT!!! I gotta put that on my wall at work!!!'

I went into Flickr and poked around until I found an image that fit PERFECTLY, then added the text

I thought, 'Hmmm, that's really quite good. I should do another, maybe for someone just starting out'

I found inspirations in the email signature of another friend; slightly modified

I pulled forward one I had made a while ago and added IT to the collection

I was soon actively SEARCHING for quotes to illustrate. Once I'd compiled a dozen or so, I set them up as an album on my Facebook page, and started "tagging" my friends.

Well, word got out, and I recieved the following message on FB [emphasis mine]:

Hi Randy...I'm Bill of the Pineland Striders. "Medford Jeff" shared some of your postcards today on our Yahoo Posting Board. I've been a runner since 1979. Your photos are the finest I've ever seen in my over 30 yrs of running...seriously. They're magnificent. You should market them as posters. I'd love to know the locations of some of those photos...is that possible? One of my favorites are those guys in a bike race (or group ride) riding in a pouring rain.

After checking the viability of such an endeavor with my friend Jill of Lehigh Valley Running Scene, I replied thusly:

Thanks, Bill;

I can’t claim credit for the images, truthfully. I just pull them off Flickr & add the captions [which I find here & there]. The postcard files are not the greatest resolution in the word - only abt 100 pixels/in - so they're not exactly poster material, but PERFECT for printing out at home and putting on the fridge or hanging in the office

MOST of them are under a Creative Commons License, so they're shareable; please, feel free [I haven’t even taken the trouble to “watermark” ‘em or anything]

Thanks again,
Randy

Who knew I’d get so much “mileage” out of these silly things???

2010 Year End Results

2010-12-30T14:05:00.002-05:00

Total Miles Run: 540.1 miles - just missed 900K = 558 Miles
Biggest Running Month: May [72 Miles]
Lowest Non-Injured Running Month: December [26 Miles]

Number of "Offical" Races: 0
Number of Virtual Comps / Time Trails: 3

Total Bike Miles: 248.5
Biggest Bike Month: September [73 miles]

Other than the Big POINK!!! ... A pretty good year.

Looking ahead to 2011, … I have a super secret goal of breaking ALL my v2.0 PRs this year [5K, 10K, 10M, HM] before I turn … well, y’know, THAT Number.

Wish me luck

The Man was a Pro

2010-12-26T13:24:00.000-05:00

Sidewalk clean its full width; plumb straight walls ... Steel shovel, ash handle.

He also taught me how important it is to learn how to shovel "switch" [to use a skateboarding term]

Great job, Dad

Just Bag It!!!

2010-12-12T18:07:00.000-05:00

Rudy: “Methinks it's about time to start stockpiling those bread-bags for some sloppy snowy early morning runs”
OrangeMat: “explain, please”

When it gets cold, wet and snowy, [like it’s gonna be soon, I’m sure] I put bread-bags between my sox and my running shoes to keep my tootsies dry = dry feet are happy feet [once they get wet, they NEVER warm back up]. My mom used to do this when I was a kid in CT. Of course, not only did the bread bags keep my feet dry, it ALSO made them easier to slip out of our boots when they were packed in with snow since the buckles on our old-fashioned galoshes or the laces on our “duck boots” would be glacially impacted with snow and ice. Thankfully, our house back then had something that is a staple in New England architecture which is seldom accommodated in building design down here … A Mud Room.

“A mud room [or mudroom] is a room which is built into some houses to act as a barrier between outdoors and indoors. Especially in regions with wet, muddy winters, a mud room can be a useful addition as it helps to keep the house clean. In addition, the mud room constitutes a clear boundary between indoors and out, which can be a useful reminder for animals and exuberant members of the household

Typically, a mud room has easily cleaned floors made in materials like tile, concrete, or linoleum. In extreme cases, a mud room may even have a drain in the floor to make sluicing the floor very easy. A well designed mud room also has ample hooks and racks for damp, wet clothing, as well as racks or cubbies for shoes. In addition, benches for people to sit on while they remove their shoes are not uncommon. All of these measures are designed to encourage people to remove sodden or dirty layers before entering the house.

Generally, mud rooms are not the primary entrances of homes, since they tend to be informal in nature. A side or backyard door usually leads into the mud room, and family members may be encouraged to use it while guests are welcomed through the front door. Often, the washer and dryer are also tucked into the mud room, for the sake of convenience. A mud room which doubles as a laundry room is handy, since wet baskets of clothing do not need to be carried through the house to outdoor clotheslines, and soiled or wet clothing can be immediately dumped into a washer without being tracked through the house”

In our house in Connecticut, the order was to walk around behind the house via the walkway next to the garage and come in through the back. There we would de-boot, de-hat and un-snow, [hockey sticks and skates were left outside for the time being] before proceeding to the kitchen for our well-deserved hot chocolate [home-made, mind you; we didn’t discover Swiss Miss till we moved down here to NJ]

OrangeMat: “Either I don't run early enough or we just don't get that much sloppy wet and cold stuff up here.... but I'll keep it in mind for if and when we (and I) do!”

There has have been a time or two that the bags were TOTALLY necessary due to icy slush, but truth be told … once the streets are dry, I prefer to run in my shorter ankle sox again. There’s something exhilaratingly Badass about finishing a Pre-Dawn Run bundled and gloved, exhaling clouds of your own creation, sweaty steam coming from your active-fleece sweatshirt; then hiking up your sleeves and taking a cool-down stroll while the frosty street-level wind curls around your ankles.

Of course, I also sleep with my foot sticking out of the blanket, even on the coldest nights, so I MAY be sort of a freak in that respect.

NOTE: Yeah I know ... there ARE solutions that you can BUY, like gaiters for outside and waterproof sox for inside ... but what fun is THAT???

2010 Black Friday 20K Solo Relay - EPILOGUE

2010-11-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

I got this invite as we were ramping up towards “Run Like an Idiot”:

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS 'TIL THE 3rd ANNUAL THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY WEEKEND VIRTUAL FATASS

Start organizing your event now !

Run, Walk, Waddle
Scurry, Scuttle, Scamper or Sprint
Trot, Trample, Trod
Trudge or Shuffle
25 or 50K's
Around the Track, On the Trail or In Traffic
Yer The Boss !!

Event runs from Thurs Nov 25th through Sun the 28th

NEW THIS YEAR
The 50 MILE BADASS FA

Who's in ??

* Reminder - This is a weekend long event. You have 4 days to complete your race and the only competitions are for The Best Race Report and The Best Photos. Details forthcoming depending on interest.

To which I replied “I’m already running a 20K on Friday, I SHOULD be able to find time to do another 5K”

Yeah -NO

20K = Success
25K = DNF

No biggie

2010 Black Friday 20K Solo Relay - FINAL LEG!!!

2010-11-26T23:30:00.003-05:00

Planned Start Time – 11:00PM
REAL Start Time - 9:40PM

“Dammit! I’m getting myself an Energy Drink!!!” I cheered and opened a Victory Prima Pils at 6 o’clock

I’d been at this for 12 hours now, and had been doing everything [mostly] according to plan. Now, much like an expectant Mom, I just wanted it to be done with.

It was now time for dinner, and not wanting to make a WHOLE meal, I whipped up a batch of fresh gravy [we don’t save it] following a recipe I’d seen on Rachel Ray’s new show “A Week in a Day”

Maple-Worcestershire Gravy
4 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock-in-a-box
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup dark amber maple syrup
Lots of coarsely ground black pepper

Add the butter to a medium sauce pot and melt it over medium to medium-high heat. Add the shallots and thyme and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the flour and stir 1 minute. Whisk in the stock, Worcestershire and maple syrup. Season with black pepper, to taste, and reduce the mixture until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 to 12 minutes.

I threw a bunch of leftover turkey in it and stirred around … “Dinner’s ready,” I shouted to D’Kid, “Make what you want.”

Again, I was getting that twitchy feeling; I just wanted to go.

‘This must be what any athlete who performs in “heats” must go through. I guess that makes me an athlete’ I rationalized. Not being of the same caliber of Michael Phelps and having my own Green Room to put on an iPod to chill out and prepare for “the next round,” I put on the TV … again … this time we had “The Sandlot” which D’Kid had never seen before. It was a pleasant diversion.

“One hour and forty minutes” she reminded me at 9:20.
“I dunno if I’m waiting that long” I answered her “Ten o’clock might be good enough.”
“It doesn’t have to be EXACTLY six hours, does it???”

I was tempted to explain the whole 4-5-6 sequence and the spirit of the thing, but …

“No, not really.”

After she had eaten and gotten caught up with her emails and Facebook [around 9:30] D’Wife announced “I gotta get a walk. I had a mind-numbing day, I’m feeling a little stiff and I want to get outside. I’ll be back before you do your next ‘thing’ … Eleven, right?”
“Yeah … I guess”
“Mare, you wanna come with me?” Mom asked, as she bundled up. It had gotten pretty cold since we’d been outside last [it was now below 40°].
“No, thank you” D’Kid answered.
“Okay, fine” and she was out the door.

It was barely five minutes later that I had an idea.

“You know what??? Let’s go NOW! We can catch up to Mom and I can finish my last three miles with both of you”
“Don’t you have to run it???”
I made an Executive Decision as Commissioner “At this point? Not really.”

I quickly asked D’Kid to find my phone and to call her Mom; firstly to tell her that we’d changed our minds and were coming out and to find out approximately where she was. Mare told her to “Wait for us” but that wasn’t happening; we’d have to chase her down.

We got ourselves bundled up as well and headed out to the other development that Mom likes to walk in. We ran the first half mile, but stopped after that, since D’Kid isn’t used to running that far at once, especially on a cold dark night, and pretty much past her bedtime.

When we got to the first “decision point,” I asked, “Straight or left? Which way do you think Mom went?”
“We could call her”
“Good idea, give me the phone”

Yep, we left it home.

So our back-up plan became: walk about a mile and a half, constantly scanning the neighborhood for the flicker of a flashlight, then turn around, perhaps to meet up with D’Wife on the return. We reached our pre-determined turnaround point with a glimpse nor a sound of her [I figured that since it was pretty much silent out there, we’d be able to hear the rustle of leaves or crunch of gravel generated by anyone walking near us within a couple hundred yards or so] We didn’t give up entirely, however. We stopped and looked down each cul-de-sac we passed by, in the hope we’d spot her.

Just as we were descending the last dip out of the development and heading back to our own, D’Kid halted turned around.

“Is that a flashlight?” she asked, pointing behind us.

Sure enough, a single, small flicker danced rhythmically toward us.

“You guys are nuts!!!” she shouted to us with a laugh as we backtracked to rejoin her.

D’Kid gave her mom a hug and we strolled home, chatting about not much at all. We were almost all the way home when she asked me …

“So … when’s your next race???”

Final words in The Epilogue >>>

2010 Black Friday 20K Solo Relay - Third Leg

2010-11-26T19:04:00.003-05:00

Start: 5:00PM

At this point, the challenge had become, “refuel and rehydrate when you can, but not so close to the next leg that your tummy bothers you.”

In other words “How many bagels with peanut butter can you eat today?”

It didn’t seem like we had been back from the Dentist very long before the sun was down and we on our way back up to the High School. The temperature was now 48° … Ten degrees colder than when my day started. This lap would be done in sweatpants, with a short sleeve cotton T-Shirt over a poly longsleeve. The sky was clear; the wind had scrubbed the clouds away and thankfully subsided to a comfortable breeze. As we drove up the street [the High School is a mere mile and a half away] I wondered:

“Are there lights on the track?”

‘No, there aren’t’ as it turns out, merely the ambient light from the orange lights on the parking lot, a few utility lamps around the school and some super-bright lights at the used-track and trailer lot next door. The darkness didn’t seem to deter a half dozen or so OTHER souls who were already looping the track when we arrived.

I – again - set my bottle down at trackside, it almost the same spot as lunchtime. I left the keys with D’Kid, fearful I’d lose them in the dark. I quickly crossed myself and started off again.

It didn’t take long for me to get on another runner’s shoulder. In the dark, I couldn’t picture an age on him, but he had the same “old school” outfit as I was wearing. I gave him a few yards on me, just for politeness and my own security; you never know how a person will react when a stranger decides to run beside him in the dark. I also wasn’t sure if, perhaps, these were an organized Friday Evening Running Club, and I may have been jumping into their gig, unannounced, uninvited and unsponsored … Localism, remember??? It COULD happen on a track, just as easily as on a beach [surfers] or a trail [MTBers].

Eventually, he kicked away from me and finished his run for the evening. That left only myself and a woman I’d seen who I reckoned to be on the other side of the track from me, but travelling at an unknown pace. If she were going faster, she’d pass me eventually; if I were the quicker of us, I’d catch her. However, if we were going the same speed, or very near the same speed, we’d never meet.

Such is life.

Left Brain was pondering the math of this while Right Brain was following some light in the air above us. It’s not unusual to see helicopters out here; there are commuter flights, traffic spotters, MedEvacs, and Army / Marines flying around all the time. But they don’t usually circle around like this one was. They also don’t have Police and Fire equipment rushing up to where they’re circling around. I didn’t see any accident-like activity on the highway nearby, so when the Firefighters lit some flares in the parking lot area behind the bleachers [and AWAY from where we had parked, I could only assume it was some sort of Emergency Landing / Take-Off practice.

I was at the far end of the field/track the NJ State Police S-76 began its approach, thumping and whirring to its landing spot to my left.

‘I’d better let M know what I think’s going on, when I get back to the car’ I thought to myself.

I was one lap too late to come up with that idea, as I saw a little shadowy figure running onto the track toward me.

As I suspected, she’d been watching the DVD in the car with her headphones on and hadn’t noticed any activity until she saw the helo come down. She couldn’t see across the field in the dark and had no idea what had become of me. The poor little miss was pretty shaken.

The girl I’d been “chasing” was there also, and she had no idea what the hubbub was about either. We all figured that if there had been something very serious, the Police, Firefighters and Helo Crew would be doing something far less casual than the “not much” they were doing at that moment … OR, they would have had the courtesy to chase us away.

“I’ve got another mile to go,” I semi-invited the runnerette.
“No, I think I’m done for the night,” she declined.

“I’ve got two miles done, sweetie” I comforted D’Kid “Would you like me to walk with you for the last four laps”
“Let’s run!” she cheered through what was left of her tears and took off, her UGGs galumphing on the rubberized surface.

We Gallowalked the next 1200 yards together, before she allowed me to run the last lap by myself.

We were into the Home Stretch. This leg felt the best of the day; hit 2 miles in about 16 minutes without much of a push, maybe having someone to “chase” helped, or perhaps the “six-mile warm-up” had something to do with it

Sadly, no one asked about the custom bib. To their credit, it WAS dark and the bib WAS black.

On to the FINAL Leg!!! >>>

2010 Black Friday 20K Solo Relay - Second Leg

2010-11-26T13:43:00.004-05:00

Start: 11:00AM

A little extra challenge was added to my day, as D’Kid had a Dentist Appointment at 12:30. The plan was then to shuffle the schedule a touch and do: 6AM > 11AM > 5PM > 11PM.

HEY!!! I’m “The Commissioner!!!” I can do that!!!

After we got D’Wife off to work at 9:30, we chilled out a little and impatiently watched the clock. I had a bad feeling about this … I knew that once I finished the first leg, I’d want to get to the second ASAP [there’s a dog joke in there someplace, I’m sure].

I resisted as best as I could, killing time in front of the TV. Somehow, while channel surfing, I discovered “Fanboys” on Encore. It had been recommended to me by a Dad dressed as Buzz Lightyear on Halloween, after I told his kid in the Boba Fett costume that “Han shot first!”

D’Kid and I were enjoying it, but at 10:45, it was time to get ready and roll out. We only saw up to the part where Zoe bails the dudes out of jail, so … NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!

The cold was coming in strong and the wind had seriously kicked up; there would be NO bike-pacing today. We switched to Plan B: D’Kid would sit in D’Car with D’Laptop and watch “Alice in Wonderland” while Dad ran 12 laps and change around the Winslow High School track. I had already done my pre-run warm-up routine for Leg One, so there was no need to repeat it, as I had kept myself busy and mobile for the morning.

“Good luck Dad,” D’Kid wished me, “And pace yourself.”

I stepped out of the car and gust nearly took my 20in24 hat off my head. I laid my water bottle and car keys down at a random spot by the side of the track, stepped out of my sweatpants and started off. 11:13AM. Another gust DID take my hat off, but it didn’t fly far, so I grabbed it and put it back on, backwards this time.

That didn’t help, since once I made the turn at the far end of the track, the headwind became a tailwind and flipped it off again. I dropped my hat on the pile and continued, knowing that an ice cream headache was in the works.

As I finished Lap Two, I notice the headlights were still on, so I took a detour back to the parking lot. I turned them off, gave D’Kid another hug, was reminded again to pace myself and got back on the track. My bib rustled in the seemingly near gale-force winds. I tucked my hands in my sleeves, since dumbass me forgot my gloves. My legs were pinking up and warming in the chilly wind, but my toes were going numb.

After Lap Four, The Voice started her crap.

“This is stupid. What’s the point??? You’re SO Undertrained. There’s NO WAY you’re doing all 12 miles today. You’re gonna get sick, you know. Stop now, who’s gonna know? No one else is doing this … Any idea WHY??? Because it’s pointless!!! Idiot.”

I just let her talk and ignored her while I counted the laps, completing one just about every two minutes
“Six done … Six left”
“Seven … and Five”
“Eight laps … two miles … One mile left … Four Laps”
“Three …”
“Two …”
“One …”
“… and DONE!!!”

11:40 … just enough time for us to shower up and head off to the dentist.

Bon Jovi started playing in my head: “Ahhhhh-ah!!! We’re halfway there …!!!”

On to the Third Leg >>>

2010 Black Friday 20K Solo Relay - First Leg

2010-11-26T07:07:00.003-05:00

Start: 6:00AM

Just as The Weather Channel had predicted, it was warm, wet & windy when I woke up at 5:20AM. Shorts, T-shirt and Team Tania socks would work fine. It was pretty dark and foggy, so I put on the Reflecto-Vest and Team Tania blinkie, to be safe and to be seen. I couldn’t count on what traffic there was to be very attentive to the little dude running around on Black Friday, as they would probably be cursing themselves out for getting to WalMart so “late.”

My choice for my first course route was easy; I had to run past our Church, so I could see The Blessed Mother: say a Hail Mary; give extra thanks for my family, friends and relatives; and ask for to watch over me on this silly thing I was doing. I wasn’t racing for time today, so what was a minute or so, right??? [even on days when I have raced this course, on my own, just for fun, I’ve always stopped there, too, so …]

I reached the mile and a half turn in 13 minutes or so. I wasn’t running for time on the day, but I still wanted to keep myself around a 9-minute mile pace, for clock management’s sake. I cruised down the street towards Chocolate Pretzel Heaven, and passed the spot where a few months earlier, the first rumblings of what would become “The Big POING!!!” in my calf came upon me. It was there that Left Brain calculated / recalled that we reached 0.7 miles left to go in THIS LEG, we would have run EXACTLY 500 miles for the year. That’s nothing compared to what some of marathoning friends do, but pretty impressive [I must say] for a dude who runs for - essentially - no reason whatsoever.

I rounded the final turn into the development as the 6:26AM train whistled at the crossing about a mile away. I refrained from throwing any kind of a kick or sprint in at the end; we still had a long day ahead and had only reached the first “virtual water stop”

On to the Second Leg >>>

2010 Black Friday 20K Solo Relay - Prologue

2010-11-25T20:04:00.004-05:00

It’s Virtual Comp time again [where does the time go???]

Last year I did the Mini-Half Ass [25K] also known as "Alice's Restaurant Massacree Virtual 25K" In ’06 there was the 3rd Annual Slowtwitch Turkeyman Virtual Triathlon/Duathlon

This year I "hosted" the "Black Friday 20K Solo Relay" for my FB friends [and anyone else who wanted to jump in].

Also known as "La Tortuga's 4x5x6" or "Run Like an Idiot" ... It’s a virtual / online competition of 4 Runs x 5K each x 6 Hours apart ... Runners may start any time, but I recommended something in the 5-7AM time frame.

HISTORY: My first coach [AKA “ La Tortuga”] would do this while on business travel ... she'd do three miles on the hotel Dreadmill in the morning, 3 more at lunch [preferably outside], ANOTHER 3 before dinner [again, preferably outside] and finish up with a final three at bedtime on the ‘Mill

She presented this to me and we made a game of it … I had YET to get the 4th leg done.

“Run Like An Idiot” comes from the Phish tune “Run Like An Antelope” specifically the line “Run like an antelope; out of control”

I've attempted it a time or two or three but I had YET to get that 4th Leg done

***

I set up an “EVENT” page on Facebook and invited all the runners / triathletes I could think of from to participate; friends from Kick, Slowtwitch, high school, college and church. I sent out maybe five dozen invites; I received two dozen “nopes” another half a dozen “maybes” and bunch of “awaiting replies” and four “yeses” [including myself]

To be fair, some of the “nopes” already had events planned or in other cases, had just run the Philly Marathon the weekend before.

For an extra treat, I made up custom bibs for the people who committed, one for each leg [so they didn’t have to re-use the same one all day] and THEY could pick their own number. I emailed them out as PDFs for the participants to print on their own and wear [or not] as they see fit. I also figured that if it was raining or snowing and our bibs got trashed, we could print another one for the scrapbook!!!

I’m a GENIUS!!!

Two of them picked hockey players:
Jenn - #9 [Maurice Richard]
Rebecca - #66 [Mario Lemieux]
Gina - #10 [she had to be different and pick Larry Bowa]

I chose #37 … I always choose #37 … Even BEFORE I saw “Clerks”

Note: Jenn’s boyfriend asked her “Why not just do a 20K?”
She replied “What fun is that???”
SHE’s a real trooper, since she’s in TOR and they DIDN’T have the day off

***

After having a “Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat” I was DEEP In Pre-Race mode ... reviewing the course[s], managing the gear, checking the talismans, dorking out on The Weather Channel [looked like a little bit of everything: warm in the morning => a little rain in the afternoon => steadily clearing but cooling], fueling & hydrating, of course. Just the same, I allowed myself a “dessert beer” just for fun and … jeez, you GOTTA be thankful, right???

[Krooked Skateboards pint glass]

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin (Pugsley’s Signature Series)
Smashed Pumpkin is a big-bodied beer with a light coppery orange color and pleasing aroma of pumpkin and nutmeg. The OG and final Alc./Vol. provide the structure and body. Pale Ale, Wheat and Light Munich Malts combine with the natural tannin in pumpkin and the delicate spiciness of Willamette and Hallertau Hops to balance the sweetness of the fruit. To fully enjoy all the flavors, this ale is best drunk at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Smashed Pumpkin pairs well with sharp cheeses, nuts, lamb, hearty stews and desserts like flan or pumpkin pie. Chefs find this an excellent beer to cook with in dishes such as braised short ribs.

As you can see, it’s a little thin in the head [much like myself] but that’s not all that important in this style, I don’t think. At 9% ABV, it was a bit stronger than I would have wanted on a race night, especially after the “Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat” we’d just had an hour or two before. The spiciness, caramel and brown sugar hints and the high alcohol where a good warmer on a day which had seen our first snowfall around noon

On to the First Leg >>>

A Pebble Into the Pond

2010-11-19T12:40:00.000-05:00

I’ve been kind of a dick lately to one of my online running pals and Genie called me on it.

“I mean, we all get snarky on occasion (even perfect little me.....SNORT) but as a rule you are way less mean than any of us. I just couldn't figure out why him. I know he’s kinda pathetic, but harmless, and basically good people. Unlike those idiots at The Bad Place. That's why I was surprised you've been so critical of both of them lately.”

Yeah, I came to realize that’s really not my way. So, I made a gesture of good faith that I hoped would restore balance. Something pretty effortless on my part that I figured had no chance of succeeding but, if it should, would mean so much to the recipient.

I tossed a pebble into the pond, to see if it might make a splash, and where the ripples might go.

***

To: Sue Hoxie, Co-Race Director, Addison County Chamber of Commerce; Andrea Solomon, Co-Race Director, Middlebury CollegeRe: Middlebury Maple Run
Sue & Andrea;

Last week a friend of mine, Kevin Yetman, informed our online running club that he had registered for your Middlebury Maple Run Half Marathon on May 1st, 2011. He further let us know that he was the SECOND person to register.

Kevin [who goes by “EQ43” online] is a lifetime bib-holder at the Equinox Marathon, run every September in Fairbanks, AK. He has a particular grudge with a hill on the course called “Ester Dome.” This year, through a LOT of hard work, he conquered his personal nemesis, and had his best race there ever.

Can you guess which number he “owns”???

Kevin is a hardcore marathoner and all-around great guy. It would mean a lot to him [and our online group] if you could see fit to “manually” assign him #43 for YOUR race as well. Seeing as he registered so early, I hope this wouldn’t be too much of a bother. If #43 has already been assigned, rolling him back to #143 or #243, would be an equal treat for him I’m sure.

As he posted: “LOL, that would be funny if it turned out I was bib 43”

If you could make this happen, it would be beyond awesome; if not, we totally understand.

Thank you for your time

Randy Marthins
Atco, NJ

***

Randy,

I don’t assign numbers until a couple of days before the race, usually alphabetically, but I can certainly force my system to do something else.

Could you kindly send me a reminder early the week of 4/27? I’ll file your email and will make every effort to remember this, but a nudge would certainly be helpful.

Hope you’ll be joining us as well!

Thanks, Sue.

Sue Hoxie

***

When I let the Misfits know that I’d succeeded, Genie emailed me back:

“EEEEEE!!! YOU DID IT!!!! This is gonna be so cool! He is going to be sooooo surprised!!
Are you eventually going to tell him you asked for this or just let it remain a coincidence?
One of us can tell him, if you don't want to. I think you deserve credit for it and it would mean a lot to him to see the email you wrote about how hard he works and stuff.”

My coach, Xena’s doing the race too, and will probably be there when he/they get their bibs; I’ll let her know that she can tell him THEN

I figured it was the least I could do … actually the LEAST would be nothing at all, so I stepped it up a little. Balance may have been restored. Namaste.

Speaking of …

Dogfish Head Namaste

Availability: Limited, Draft Only

A Belgian-style White made with dried organic orange slices, fresh cut lemongrass and a bit of coriander. This beer is a great summer quencher.

Namaste was originally brewed at our brewpub in with our friend Leo from Birra del Borgo in Italy as a tribute to our friends at 3 Fonteinen brewery in Belgium, who had devastating production loss (1/3 of their annual production!) at their brewery in 2009. You can read more about the original brewing of this beer here on Sam's blog.

For summer 2010, this beer will be brewed in a larger volume and packaged in bottles (750ml) and draft. It will be available in the great state of Delaware - both at our Milton, DE brewery and at our Rehoboth Beach, DE brewpub. We're shooting for an early June 2010 release.

ABV: 5.0%

If not for the fact it comes in these big bottles and is kinda pricy, this would have been a Serious Contender in the 2010 Lawnmower Beer Championship 3-Way Dance.

It pours a hazy amber with a quickly disappearing but brilliant meringue-ish white head. No wait time like Hoegaarden, so it scores very comparable to Whirlwind. It has a rich, hazy amber color; almost closer to an IPA than to a Wit [means “white, right?]. I like color. Sometimes lawnmower beers are just too light; let me know that I’m holding something substantial as a reward for the work I’ve done [assuming I have actually cut the grass].

DFH Namaste has a neither overpoweringly yeasty nor citrusy aroma; not quite the “bagel with Pledge” but more like lemon marmalade on white toast with just a dab of bananas foster. Great for sipping, as there are lot of flavors going on in there; all sorts of citrus [lemon, orange, grapefruit], spices [coriander and pepper], floral [lemongrass, nasturtium] … in fact it may be TOO busy. Your palate is so busy decoding things that it’s not exactly refreshing.

However…

It’s got a stupid label. WTF is with a skeleton with Aquaman telepathy ripples coming from his hands??? Wait, is that an ape head on there??? And a tail???

Plus…It’s SERIOUSLY pricy = 22 oz. for the price of a six-pack of Whirlwind … that’s HUGE!!! In fact it’s the ONLY place where it falls short of Whirlwind.

You gotta give Sam props … he did something nice for his friend in Belgium, just because it was the right thing to do.

That’s the spirit.

That Sinking Feeling

2010-11-14T15:39:00.002-05:00

With Daylight Savings Time now at an end [are we on Daylight WASTING Time now?] the mornings are slightly brighter than they have been for a while. In fact, the Reflecto-Vest may have been a touch superfluous on my first run of the season in long pants this weekend, but it DID manage to provide a bit of extra comfort when some pretty stiff breezes kicked up. This won’t last long, I know, and soon it will be just as dark and starry when I come home from my Pre-Dawn Patrol as it will be when I take off.

Sunset is dropping earlier now, too. Monday, sunset was at 4:52PM … right around the time that I left work for the day.

The shortening of the days is kicking off people’s concerns about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

“Anyone else a sufferer? Looking back, it's been a factor for about five years now and it gets worse every year. Since realizing that my, uh, issues are seasonal, I've taken steps to mitigate it as much as possible - medication, sunlight exposure, exercise, etc., but it still is a factor about half the time, mostly manifesting as insomnia. It does wonders for my exercise regimen, allowing me to get to the gym very early and get that done, but it certainly takes a toll.”

Personally, I LIKE this cold, dark, cloudy, grey, rainy time of year. It’s not at all because – perhaps – under this easygoing surfer/runner persona lurks a gloomy, murky, angst-ridden soul. Just because I was born on Halloween, doesn’t mean I’m all about Death and Doom. Sure, when I met D’Wife, my wardrobe was pretty monochromatic [black, mostly, but also, “slate” and “charcoal”], but that was a club-land sort of Fashion Requirement / Uniform.

I like this time of year; it energizes me, if anything else, for two simple and semi-selfish reasons:

First of all, the dreary weather presents a wonderful challenge for me as a runner. To get up, before Sunrise, and go out for a few miles when it’s definitely cold, possibly foggy and very likely raining, maybe even snowing, is a true measure of what kind of a Zen-Core Dork I really am. That being said, there are athletes whom I can’t even BEGIN to aspire to, in terms of getting out and performing in ultra-nasty conditions …

Great Lakes Surfers

As documented in the film “Unsalted” [one of my favorite surf movies, BTW] these dudes go out when the air temp is below 20° and the water is just above freezing, usually with a pretty stiff wind, besides. Granted, Jersey surfers are just as hardcore, and we are FINALLY starting to get the recognition we deserve, but whenever I think that the weather is just too nasty for a run, it’s those guys & gals out on Lake Superior of whom I remind myself. Suddenly, things feel pretty sunny in comparison. I often find myself looking at the overnight weather reports and smiling when I see “Chance of Precipitation: 80%”

Soup for breakfast!!!

Or … my second reason for loving this waning time of the year: dark beers.

I’ve said before that I like to vary my “menu” by the season depending on the weather; “Example: Hefeweizens are only served when it’s 80° outside or warmer [preferably after cutting the grass]; stouts & porters are for 30-40° and overcast/rainy days.”

To me, nothing is more satisfying, more rewarding after a sloppy ride through the woods on a foggy afternoon or a drenching trot between football games, than a nice cool [not COLD] dark beer. Not a terribly strong one, mind you … not necessarily one whose name begins with “Old” … just something with enough kick to gently warm you back up, and enough toasty chocolate flavor in there to make you believe that you’re snacking on a post-workout cookie.

These elements blend wonderfully in Edmund Fitzgerald Porter by Great Lakes Brewing Co. There are three ships that are at the top of the Pop Culture regatta by virtue of being immortalized in song: the Titanic, the Minnow, and the Edmund Fitzgerald. In fact, in this week’s Social Studies lesson, D’Kid’s teacher found the video on YouTube and played it for the class on their SmartBoard … I found this rather amazing, since the song is probably older than Mrs. McNulty herself.

This was a most excellent choice for the season’s first dark beer. It is CocaCola-ish in color and capped with a sturdy creamy brown head. It brings the flavor of a chocolate almond biscotti dunked in iced mochaccino. It's not very strong [only 4.7% ABV] so you could easily put a couple away while waiting for your fingers & toes to thaw after a brilliantly inclement adventure.

No, I’m not so concerned about another bout of SAD this year. I’m looking forward to some nice sloppy runs and rides then enjoying some refreshing dark brews afterwards. There is no sinking feeling here, my friends; no storms, no shoals, no anchors, no negativity.

At this juncture, I’m positive-ly buoyant.

“Thar she blows!!!”

2010-11-10T12:05:00.001-05:00

tidal tid·al (tīd'l)
adj.
Resembling the tides; alternately rising and falling.

glacial gla·cial (glā-shəl)
adj
Suggestive of the very slow movement of glaciers

D’Wife decided that it was time for me to get a top-down physical, because it had been so very long since my last one. We’re both of “a certain age” now and neither of us is getting any younger. I think we’re holding up pretty well; better than well, in fact. With all modesty not many folks our age are nearly as “studly” as we are; training up to 60 miles a week on the bike in ALL weather, plus the running I’ve always done on top of that.

We’re fit old fuckers, D’Wife and me.

On St. Jude’s Day [October 28th] I visited our Primary to get the overview.

Height: 5’6”
Weight: 155

Crap!!!

It wasn’t so long ago that I’d finally reached my “absolute minimum” weight per D’Wife’s instructions. Now, it seems, I have put it all back on. Granted fifteen pounds over two years isn’t a lot nor did it come on quickly [in fact, almost imperceptibly], but I’d thought I’d be able to maintain some sort of stability there. To my defense, we have been without a scale since Early Summer, so my ability to monitor this aspect has been hampered. It still sucks to know that after all this time – since beginning “400 Beers” – I am, again, back where I started. Truthfully, I’m up a little from that even; but at least I didn’t rebound up to my high-water point, two years previous to hitting that goal weight and four years past from today [a check-up which brought some irony of its own, as that was my HIGHEST weight, but LOWEST B/P]

Which is where we went next …

Blood pressure: 150/80

FUCK!!!

That’s NOT at ALL what I’d expected!!!

But then, things have been kinda stressful lately, PLUS being hurt and unable to run most of the Summer, may have affected my release mechanisms which would pump it up, so to speak. Historically, there have been some fluctuations over the years, as my Red Cross Blood Donor Card testifies; basically, I ramp up from normal [120/80-ish] to high [140+] and back down again over a cycle of 18 months or so.

My weight looks like it’s on a two-year rhythm.

As it so happened, they collided right about NOW, with devastating results.

Even with changes in diet [no more red meat, and even more green veggies], cycling to offset the lack of running for the cardio and more yoga added to the mix, I just couldn’t get out of the way this rogue wave of “uh-oh”

Blood work followed up with nothing out of the ordinary – sugar’s fine; liver and kidney functions are fine.

Like a friend of mine asked: “How can Mr. Cool, the Zen-Core Dork, possibly have high blood pressure???”

Maybe it was lurking just off the horizon all along, but we just happened to be fortunate enough spot it at this place and time.

“Thar she blows!!!”

In the meantime, I’ll continue on like I have in the past to bring the B/P back down: running on the Pre-Dawn Patrol, getting out on the bike when possible, prayer and meditation to de-stress, finding guilt-free time to do nothing if I feel like it and NOT taking everything so personally.

Basically, circumnavigate back around to 2007 and re-achieve those successes … we can totally do that.

Vaguely Accurate

2010-11-06T16:51:00.003-04:00

Anyone looking at my RunningAhead Training Log would probably say, “Wow, he’s scary consistent” seeing that I almost always run at a 9-minute per mile pace. I’m in “maintenance mode” for the time being, just running for fun – and mental health - while not training for any particular race or time, I’m fairly relaxed with all the time-keeping and subsequent data analysis that some of my friends thrive on.

The truth is … I don't actually use the "Start/Stop" function on my watch these days. I know I should, but lately I’m content to use it to guesstimate how many miles I can get in. I allocate 10 minutes for each mile, running at 8½ to 9 minutes per PLUS another couple for cool-down.

For example, if I have about half an hour between tasks [like waiting for my clothes to go through the washer at the Laundromat, when ours was broken] I’ll say “That’s just enough time for 3 miles”

[I never DID do a run down there, as much fun as that would have been. That part of the Township happens to be sort of sketchy; not dangerous in any way, but I don’t know just how a little runner might have been regarded. I had a bit of an incident once while riding down there; it turns out that no matter how photogenic you think that a junkyard might be, some folks really don’t want you taking pictures of their rusting artifacts, regardless of HOW delightfully whimsical you found that old school bus to be]

Therefore, my “event duration” stats are accurate to … the nearest minute or so, maybe??? Some days I do get lucky and - in a fleeting moment of profound awareness - notice that “I finished my 5 miles in LESS than 45 minutes” How much less??? That can be tricky to define with any certainty.

Left Brain: I think we broke 9 minutes!!! When did we leave?
Right Brain: After we did that toe-touchy thing
L: When was that???
R: After that ankle-grabby thing
L: NO!!! I mean what time???!!!
R: It was the 3rd Quarter; Michigan and Illinois were tied at 38
L: OF DAY!!!
R: Can't help ya
L: I. Hate. You

Season of the Witch

2010-10-31T18:19:00.000-04:00

My “Playlist” for my “Seven-Squared Birthday Celebration Weekend”

DFH Punkin Ale
Rouge Dead Guy Ale
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin
Mission Blonde Ale [super spooky label, mas conquistadore-icity]
Victory Prima Pils
Flying Dog Raging Bitch

When I shared this with my buddy, Dan the Man, he replied: “Dude, I love how you embrace seasonality!!! I tend drink the same things all year round, trying different things when I’m out, but keeping the same ‘stable’ of ‘go-to beers’ at home”

Maybe I’m weird, but I choose my brew by checking the Weather Channel. Example: Hefeweizens are only served when it’s 80° outside or warmer [preferably after cutting the grass]; stouts & porters are for 30-40° and overcast/rainy days.

Let us NOT forget the Gold Standard of Beer Reviews:

Paulaner Oktoberfest: I have to say it but this IS Oktoberfest. Hints of orange, hazelnut and nutmeg caress the palate and it's deep red amber color seduces the eye. If you close your eyes you can almost see Mad Ludwig's castle. After just a couple, you'll want to go kill a wild boar, do a polka, bang a fat chick or some Bavarian shit like that!!!

That being said, I did NOT dive full head-long into a binge … I have priorities.

You’ve no doubt heard about golfers who “Shoot Their Age” … Generally an older guy who’s good enough at 67 to SHOOT a 67; or a dude of 89 who not only can still play golf at 89 [like my GrandPop did] but can break 90, as well.

Well, I can’t exactly run 49 miles nor 49K, even. Taking my BIKE out for 49K [roughly, 30 miles] might have been doable, but a TREMENDOUS stretch, as our 45 miles for MS150 was my longest ride of the year. With D’Wife working a half-day on Halloween, a FOURpointNINE mile run was the acceptable celebration.

That the Weather Channel said it was 49° at 6:49AM was just gravy [yeah, I let myself sleep in] I was fortunate enough to finish in less than 49 minutes [yeah, I actually tried to slow down to an overall 10:00 pace, but – God Bless – I was just too fast, LOL. Not like the time I got lost in the fog and busted into 8:30-ville]

Pine(y) Power

2010-10-23T15:21:00.001-04:00

Piney is a derogatory term that refers to native inhabitants of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The Pine Barrens have sandy, acidic soil considered unsuitable for traditional farming by early settlers, who called the land "barren". The area is forested mainly with pitch pine and scrub oak. Many areas are swampy with cedar forests that grow along brownish-red, fresh water called "cedar water". The red color is actually created by the high level of iron-ore in the soil.

Living conditions in the "Barrens" were considered inhospitable, and those that lived there were considered to be the dregs of society, fugitives, poachers, moonshiners, runaway slaves or deserting soldiers. Often poor, Pineys were forced to make a living in any way possible. They collected and sold sphagnum moss or pine cones, hunted, fished, and lived off of the land. Some of the pineys included notorious bandits known as the Pine Robbers.

Pineys often fostered stories of how terrible the Pine Barrens are or how violent they were in order to discourage outsiders and law enforcement from entering the Barrens. The Jersey Devil stories often had this effect.

Today, pineys tend to wear the label as a badge of honor, much like the term "redneck" has become in the Appalachian Mountains and the Southern United States.

***

Ran watchless, and didn't notice EXACTLY what time I left the house, nor when I came back in; so I'm TOTALLY guessing on my time [5 miles in about 45 minutes]. It "felt" about my usual casual 9-minute per mile pace.

A gorgeous warm October afternoon ... Do you know, fallen and dried pine needles have a VERY different aroma when they've been warmed up by the splintered sunlight of the woods than they do under the cold Pre-Dawn stars, clouds and fog.

In the daytime they have a cozy scent, like freshly baked bread; very comforting and protective. At night-time they have a more cleansing aspect; not necessarily medicinal [like witch-hazel, for example, which is kinda close] but a sort of purifying way ... like the pine goes into your nose and your lungs to clear the troubles out of your soul.

Oh, yeah ... I got beaned in the noggin again - not by an acorn, but a pinecone this time ... couldja tell???

First Flight In

2010-10-08T11:20:00.003-04:00

Airline Flight City of Origin Time Gate Status
US Airways 1466 SAN FRANCISCO 6:05 AM B9 ON TIME

US Airways 258 PHOENIX 6:07 AM C27 622 AM

US Airways 1446 LOS ANGELES 6:11 AM A10 609 AM

US Airways 154 SAN DIEGO 6:12 AM C23 611 AM

US Airways 70 SEATTLE 6:12 AM B7 609 AM

US Airways 3345 PITTSBURGH 6:35 AM B10 ON TIME

My morning runs are generally done in relative silence.

What sounds there are, carry for quite a distance and with amazing clarity. There is a NJ Transit commuter train that comes by at 5:15AM which serves as my secondary wake-up call [the first being the subtle beeping of the Timex IronMan watch on my wrist at 5:00] as I can hear it from my bedroom, one mile away.

Once up, stretched, and out, it’s a pretty void landscape, soundwise. No one is up and moving outside in the development yet [come Winter, though, I’m sure many cars will be rumbling quietly as the idle at curbside in their warm-up mode]. For the most part, the only sounds I detect starting out are my own breathing and crunchy footsteps as I trot across the roadside gravel ... very, VERY Zen.

About fifty yards from The Pike, I can sometimes hear the clicking of the timing mechanism of the stoplight. Do I ever adjust my pace [read: sprint] to beat the light? Nah, NOT on the way out since it is pretty likely that I’ll be able to cross against the light due to a lack of traffic or at least jump the gap between cars; well, trucks actually, because most of the drivers I come across at that time are contractors on their way to their work-sites* or delivery people [lots of bakery trucks!!!]

If I take the route past D’Kid’s School, I’ll take a moment about the One Mile mark to say a “Hail Mary” at the Blessed Mother, and chat if need be. “Talk to Mom” is how I refer to it with my other Zen Catholic friends

More often than not, when I run on THIS side of Waterford Twp. [the “Fun” Side; where I race trains and get chased by peacocks] on especially cloudy mornings, when the wind is just right, I am aware of a low whooshing sound high above as I make my way on that last mile home. I will look up and see, in the high mist, a bright spot … sometimes The Moon, stationary and smiling at me behind her cloudy veil; but more often something moving along at a quick clip.

A glow becomes a beam; the beam pulls forward its source; the source morphs from a semi-geometric shape of lights to a fully realized object with highlights and shadows … An airplane … most likely “First Flight In’

I always feel badly for these folk; just ARRIVING in PHL long before dawn [I reckon there’s only about ten minutes of flying time left once you’re over my head, and it’s pretty dark “right now”] ... I’m doing the math backwards: When did they depart? Three hours ago, maybe??? So they had to be at the airport when? Five hours ago??? So they left home when? Seven hours ago??? I had just gone to bed, when they left the house to come to Philly.

That must suck

And yet, someone might be look out of their window as they make their approach turn to Philly and see a couple of blinking lights [my Team Tania blinkies], moving slowly past a NJ Transit train track in the dark, maybe in the rain, and think – or even say quietly to themselves ...

“That must suck”

*I’ve got a funny story about that someplace

2010 LawnMower Beer Championship - DNS

2010-10-01T14:55:00.000-04:00

There are some events which hinge on very specific circumstances for them to take place. You have to have the perfect combination of weather, timing and competitors for it to go off. These include, but are not limited to, the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational, most popularly known as “The Eddie” in memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea; or the newly christened “The Jay at Maverick’s Big Wave Invitational ” at Mavericks in memory of Jay Moriarity. The stipulations for the match to held are simple: within a certain window of time, if and when the conditions get HUGE ENOUGH, the pre-selected competitors have 48 hours to get their butts in the water and compete.

Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen.

So it was with the 2010 LawnMower Beer Championship. With the heat and drought we had over this Summer, the grass never really got high enough to pull a massive all-morning “Sweatin’ Like Nixon” horticultural/agricultural/landscapational event. Now that we're into Fall ... I'm calling it a DNS = Did Not Start.

For it’s worth, the line-up probably would have been:

Victory Whirlwind Wit [Defending Champion]
Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen
Southern Tier Hop Sun

I've been enjoying this all Summer, but never took the opportunity to put them side-by-side-by-side

My apologies, but stay tuned for 2011

Four Miles - Easy

2010-09-30T11:48:00.002-04:00

INT. MODEST SUBURBAN HOME, KITCHEN – EARLY MORNING [7:30AM-ish]

RUDY is dressed and ready for work. He is busy making the family’s lunches in a short assembly-line fashion, i.e., bread-bread-bread, cheese-cheese-cheese, lunchmeat-lunchmeat-lunchmeat, wrap-wrap-wrap, bag-bag-bag, and so on.

D’KID is also dressed, but hardly ready for school. Her hair is a serious mess, resembling wildly grown shrubbery than a hairstyle. She sits at the kitchen table, deftly “schemer”-ing her toasted bagel with cream cheese.

D’WIFE enters, yawning. She comes up behind RUDY and hugs him.

D’WIFE
Did you run this morning?

RUDY
Yep

D’WIFE
How far?

RUDY
Westerby’s Farm. Just four miles. Easy

D’KID
Good job, dad

[REPEAT Scene as necessary, sometimes replacing “Westerby’s Farm” with “Atco Ave”]

****

That’s been my morning routing lately: Four Miles – Easy … sounds kinda boring, huh?

On paper, it is. My training log looks like a gappy blue picket fence of perfectly level slats. Even the pacing is just about the same day after day[mostly because I round my times off significantly]

Every run however is different, just as every wave is different. There are the changes in weather, naturally; but I mean more that just that.

Some days, as I’m stretching, I’ll have in my mind that I’m going to do one route, but when I get to the decision point, I’ll change my mind and do the other [or just forget where I was going HA!] Other days, I’ll stick with my plan and, almost as a reward, I’ll see or hear something I hadn’t noticed before.

There are internal, subconscious variations as well. My mind will wander in ways I hadn’t foreseen. The internal radio station [Noggin 101FM] might play one song at mile one on Monday, and another on Wednesday; even though the playlist on the iPod as I was doing my pre-run Punk-Yoga was exactly the same.

They say that Ben Hogan wasn’t allowed to play the same golf course two days in a row, because he was so consistent that his ball would land in the divot he’d struck the day before. I’m all for consistency, but it’s not like I’ll be putting my foot down in my own shoe-prints anytime soon.

2010 MS150 City to Shore - Epilogue

2010-09-26T10:37:00.002-04:00

The first 10 miles or so were fairly shady and comfortable, but it got pretty warm down to the 2nd rest stop. Along the marsh was cooler, as there was more of a breeze. The last rest stop wasn’t at the park/field like last year, but at a school that looked pretty new, which was nice. We had a crosswind from the left on the first bridge and a headwind on the 2nd. D’Wife was pretty well bonked by the time we rolled into OC; but we finished around 3:20 – at least an hour earlier than last year.

Oh! We saw Capt. Stacey & SafetyMan at the first stop, which was SO AWESOME!!! And at the tent, of course.

We caught the 6PM Bus back to Hammonton; we were the last ones on & had to STAND the whole way. We got to our house about 7:30, showered, changed, I got the bikes put away & we picked up D’Kid. I FINALLY got my post-ride beer [Flying Dog Dogtoberfest] at about 9:30 LOL

Then I remembered something Donna asked me sometime after we'd finished and were walking the Boardwalk.

"How much beer did you drink last night [Friday]?"
"Only two," I replied "One with dinner, then another around 10; to calm down & get to sleep"
"You are SO good," she complimented, "That Greg Norman Shiraz went down too smooth"
''Smooth-LY'' I said under my breath, correcting her grammar as I am known to do.

I didn't think anything of it until I was pouring my beer. You see, she had been low on her Shiraz and I figured I'd pick up a bottle Friday night, since I didn't know where we'd be Saturday post-race or when we'd get or if we'd have time to hit Canal's on they final leg back to the house.

Turns out, she'd drunk all but a glass and a half of the bottle on Race Night.

Basically, she rode 45 miles on a hangover!!!

Yeah, it was stupid on her part, but I HAVE TO give her props for doing the ride, finishing strong and not even mentioning it ... that's Hard Core

I TOTALLY forgive whatever bitchy-ness she may have given me on the road [which was substantial, mostly stemming from camera issues, sorry to say]

All in all, it was a great ride, for a good cause and we looked AWESOME at the finish in Ocean City

****

Team Tania fielded 422 riders this year [down from last year’s 465] and raised more than a quarter of a million dollars to fight MS; but still feel just short of Captain Stacey’s goal of $275K.

In an email the week of the ride she said “This will be our last year riding as Team Tania.”

She had her reasons and they make sense: “Because staying the same in a changing world is like moving backwards. If we don't do something more, something different, we will lose our effectiveness” PLUS She’s moving to more responsibility in the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter.

However there is ONE part of her email that worries me: “If I have my say, some of you will step right up to the plate and form your own MS cycling teams. You've got great ideas, energy and passion. You have been waiting for just this opportunity to create your own way. And hopefully you'll take what you've witnessed as the best of Team Tania with you, including some of your teammates. “

Yeah, the Midnight Madness girls have already named me Captain of Team “We don’t have a name yet, but we’re sure Randy will come up with something awesome … and make us some nice jerseys, too!!!”

Stay tuned

Autumnal Equinox

2010-09-19T16:50:00.000-04:00

In my own personal internal calendar, Fall begins at about 4PM on Distance Run Sunday* ... I usually celebrate by pouring a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.

That being said, the last BEACH day of the year wil be Saturday when D'Wife & I roll into Ocean City, NJ after pedalling 4 dozen miles or so ... did I ever mention how the ride ends??? Yeah we gotta ride 40-something miles or so across the reasonably bumpy Jersey marshlands then, just for fun ... up & over this little bridge

Oh, wait ... there's TWO of them

it can be a pretty hairy "Share The Road" Experience

ETA: Thanks EVERYONE for your support to me, D'Wife and the National MS Society ... That is what it's for ... The Twin Bridges are just a metaphor for the struggles that people with MS face All Day EVERYDAY!!! It takes power, determination and [for those of us who are afraid of heights] courage to conquer these two obstacles in the last hour of our day, once a year ... Imagine what people with MS go through ... compared to that? It's a cake-walk ... thanks again to our Sponsors [material and otherwise]

* ReGARDless of what ING and their $$$ says the race is called, to those who have run it and love it, it will ALWAYS be The Distance Run

Why Stop at Twenty??? Or Twenty-Two?? Or ...

2010-08-22T18:09:00.003-04:00

With the rain coming on and off this morning [varying in intensity between sprinkles and downpours], and D'Kid down at her BFFs house for the afternoon, I thought I might be able to get a nice drizzly 20-miler in today.

It was sufficiently cloudy when I left the house [Team Tania jersey in FULL glory] that I didn’t expect it to be long before I was soaking. Yeah well, my weather-reading skills aren’t what they used to be. Although the air was thick & humid, it was still too warm for it to shift over to precipitation. What was worse, at about the 8-mile mark, the sun actually came out, warming the roads and what puddles & dampness were left from earlier in the day. The upside was that the woods were spectacularly lush this afternoon.

It had been a while since I rode this particular route; it’s NOT one of D’Wife’s favorites and there is a considerable bit of climbing [“climbing” being a relative term, down here in Farm Country]. So it was understandable that I didn’t turn where I should have gone left and added a nice 2-mile loop to my journey. When I re-found myself at the intersection where I’d made this mistake [by SHEER Dumb Luck, I must add] … wouldn’t you know, I almost made the same turn AGAIN???

This is where the oddities of my own “special” Zen-Core Dork Brain come in.

“Okay, looks like your 20-miler is gonna come to 22 … but that’s kind of a funky number; it won’t look good on your log … let’s go for 24”

I reached the 24-mile mark about ½-mile out from home.

“Might as well make 25!!!”

I pedaled around an adjacent development.

“You know,” my Zen-Core voice told me “Using 1.5 points per mile, your VRAA score for the ride would be37.5. Why not go to 26 and make it an even 39? Plus, you don’t want to go LESS than 2 hours do you?”

I rolled into the driveway at 4:15 on the dot … EXACTLY 2 hours after I’d left.

I did 100 push-ups to bump my VRAA points to 40 on the day.

It rained at about 5:30; a massive downpour that would have probably taken me off my wheels had it come by while I was on the road … Fortunately, I was already into a pint of RiverHorse Hop Hazard and could enjoy the cool grey storminess outside from the safety of my kitchen.

[My buddy Satch added "You could have down another 0.2 and said you rode a marathon" ... If I'd thought of it, I probably WOULD have]

Fifteen Books

2010-08-14T22:29:00.000-04:00

From Facebook

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

1. Moby Dick – Herman Melville
2. Count of Monte Cristo – Alexander Dumas
3. War of the Worlds – HG Wells
4. Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
5. Catch-22 – Robert Heller
6. Cat's Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
7. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S Thompson
8. The Iliad - Homer
9. The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
10. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
11. Dracula – Bram Stoker
12. The Razor's Edge – Somerset Maugham
13. Stuart Little – EB White
14. The Story of Ferdinand – Munro Leaf
15. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe – Douglas Adams

Along Came a Spider

2010-08-11T09:22:00.002-04:00

As if the heat & humidity we’ve been suffering with aren't bad enough, I stepped off the porch yesterday morning and got a face-full of just-begun spider web ... NO amount of bug spray is gonna fix THAT!!!

ugh!!!!

I did my best to brush the sticky silk off my nose & mouth, and ears even, but the thought that perhaps I had a little hitchhiker in my hair kinda took me off my game, running the 4 mile loop in about 37 minutes [I know, you'd think the arachnophobically-induced adrenalin-rush would make me go a little faster, right??? Nope!!!]

Of course, there were no sprinklers running that I might rinse her off and cool down just a bit ... when I got in the post-run shower [fully dressed in my running gear, like I usually do when it’s nearly 80° with 80% humidity and I’m Sweating like Nixon and it’s not even 7AM yet] I didn't see any crawly friend in the tub, so all that worrying was for nothing.

I can't tell you how many times I've come back from early morning trail runs/rides wearing a spider-silk mask/hairnet. The "nice" thing is pulling a "leaf" out of your hair in the shower and watching it unfold and crawl away. Funny, my reaction was usually, "Oh, Hi there!!!"

While one of my friends once commented that she’d “try to save the little dude or dudette from drowning,” I would not get carried away, here ... I mean I would gladly assist her to an open window if that's where she's headed [most adult spiders are girls, the dudes don't make it long] but I'm not going to "Extraordinary Measures" if she's going down the drain, either.

By bedtime, Little Miss Creepy Crawlie had a new construction up ... AWAY from the porch steps, but firmly fixed to the railing. She's a smart girl; any moth-like buggies flying toward the porch light would prolly end up as dinner ... Spidery Strategery!!!

I'm so glad she wasn't home when I walked thru her house; she's about 2' long a 3/4" wide all cuddled up in the center of her silvery net [6cm x 2cm for those metrically inclined]

My grandmom used to tell me that if you kill a spider, it will bring rain. As much as we need it, I wouldn’t want to CRUNCH this little girl.

As luck would have it, we DID get a shower last night at about 2:30AM; but with the nightmare our little web-weaver induced in me, I bailed on my run this morning to make up for the sleep I missed.

When I got up to start my day, I took a peek to see if she'd survived the rainstorm.

The web was there, but she was not home.

Again, all that worrying was for nothing.

Voo Would Go

2010-07-24T10:12:00.002-04:00

Our little running community lost a dear friend, one year ago today.

I never met Voo IRL, but I really enjoyed having him around. He & I trained at just about the same pace [except he ran a LOT further than me] and we had the same running philosophy - or lack thereof.

RandMart:
I run as best as I can every day and try to do better than the day before. If I do - great; if not - no big deal.Is this wrong?

Voodoojunkie:
Yes. But it's about the same thing I do.

We always wanted to do a race together ... for ONE reason only ... can you imagine the race pic??? The Caveman and The Surfer!!! Giant, dark, dreadlocked Joe and little, vanilla, rabbit-haired Randy

One day shortly after his passing, I woke up to a nasty, rainy hurricane-ishly downpouring morning. I had 8 miles on my Distance Run training schedule. Normally, I'd just wait until the rain calmed a bit before I went, but I feared a) it wouldn't calm and b) when it did, it would be too late to get D'Girls ready for a cookout we were going to in PA

Three words kept echoing in my head "Voo would go" You see, surfers have an expression "Eddie would go" that means HTFU and do it.

So I left the house at 6AM in a continuous and torrential downpour; I was soaked at 1/4 mile.

Later that day, D'Wife was talking to one of our church friends, who told her, "I saw Randy running in the rain this morning ... The street was pretty flooded, but he didn't seem to mind. I think he was actually smiling ... He's nuts, you know?"

Voo was with me that morning, and we were having a blast. In fact he's with me ANY TIME things get challenging or dicey.

Voo The Fuck Up

Midnight Madness 2010 - Epilogue

2010-07-23T12:15:00.002-04:00

Randy
Subject: Midnight Madness Results are up

http://20in24.com/media_center/documents/10%20phila%20midnight%20madness%20res.pdf

Look at Aggie breaking into the top 100!!!

My best on that course is about 64 minutes, so maybe we make it close next year, huh, Miss A???

Aggie
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

Ha ha ha

Look at that... They made a mistake on my age...

Well, Randy, like good wine I am only expecting to be better next year... Is 64 minutes your time biking the 8 miles or running? Haha, I promised some trash talking...

Randy
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

Yeah that number looks way high … Makes me wonder if they even count laps correctly

64 minutes was JUST running, a long time ago. Last year I ran the course [starting late, as we all know], THEN biked it in about 2 hours for BOTH!!!

Aggie
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

Well, if it is said in [...] then it must be true... I want hard facts and a head-to-head competition...

And Jen knows that I would rather puke from heat exhaustion than let you beat me :-)

Randy
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

I am a small, [relatively] hairless mammal with a high metabolism = heat doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I kinda like it. I used to live in Florida way back when, so I’m okay with humidity, too. Hey Jen, how long was my A/C out for???

Sadly, I lack a real killer instinct … I’m a little too surfy for hardcore competitions; so you just run ahead and be my pace bunny, how’s that??? If I slip up and happen to drop the hammer with 400 yards to go = Ooops!!! my bad

JenO
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

LMAO - do I need to separate you two?? I am already looking forward to the grudge match next year!!

Randy
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

“She started it!!!” LOL

No need for a “Grudge Match” per se … Aggie already beat “me” in May; I would sure HOPE she wouldn’t lose to a little old man like myself … We’ll have to come up with something in the interim, just to make sure she’s on top of her game

Aggie
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

Ha ha, I'm not too concerned. I am working on my aerodynamics (I noted Randy's advantage of being hairless) and am not at all buying his lack of killer instinct.

I will approach it like other competitions in the past, with dedication and unyielding training discipline. If that fails, I'll also be prepared to kick an ankle of any "small, [relatively] hairless mammal" who tries to "drop the hammer with 400 yards to go " Ha ha ha, kidding, of course...

Randy, I'm always up for a challenge!!! Make me an offer I can't refuse. Maybe the Philly 1/2 marathon in September?

Randy
Re: Midnight Madness Results are up

Unyielding discipline … nope, that’s NOT me … I totally yield and have no discipline = I just run whenever I can, as far as I have time for

“Maybe the Philly 1/2 marathon in September?” D’Wife and I will be focused on bike training for MS150 which happens the weekend after The Distance Run

As JenO knows, a tough part of scheduling races for me is that D’Wife works Sundays; if I can find someone to take care of Mariel [our 10 year-old] for the day, or half a day, the Ben Franklin Bridge 10K or Philly Half in November might work?

No rush to fill up the calendar just yet

Apparently you finished before me last year, too [subtract my 10-minute late start and we’d have finished together-ish] …

http://www.pretzelcitysports.com/userfiles/file/09%2020%20in%2024%20midnight%20res.pdf

Did we not meet then? I’m sure I would’ve remembered you!!!

****

THIS is the part of racing that I love … and that I miss most. It’s not the training, which is just an extension of my morning Zen-finding workout; it’s not the pre-race prep rituals, which are curious manifestations of my rampant OCD and unbridled superstitions; nor is it the medals [the “shiny things” as my friend Genie calls them].

I love talking the smack … It’s a combination of friendly competition + subconscious self-motivation + a little bit a creative writing practice, which bring a lot of fun to the journey of training and anticipation of a big race.

Doe and I had some EPIC conversations that I’m sure anyone who was on the distro would have been rolling in their offices in laughter while reading. And guess what? We usually performed better than we expected of ourselves; let the best runner win [the Head-to-Head Series on the road is tied with his win against me at Broad Street 10M last year while I took the 10K from him in 2008; his 10M time is only about 5 minutes ahead of my v2.0 PR]

So when are Aggie & I gonna actually "throw down???" I’m not sure, but a year is FAR too long to wait … October maybe???

http://www.acmarathon.org/

There’s a brew pub down in AC that I’ve always wanted to visit, and it’s only a little ways from the finish line …

“Tun Tavern, conveniently located directly across the street from the Atlantic City convention center, started as Philadelphia’s first brew house in 1685 built by Samuel Carpenter. After relocating to the East Coast’s little city of sin, they have established themselves as one of the premier brewers in this area providing diners and drinkers alike with over 10 brews brewed on the premises

“Beer connoisseurs and drunks alike can enjoy everything from their specialty Tunfest Lager, a “rich malty amber brewed strong to celebrate the seasons harvest”, or the Crimson Ale, a highly drinkable and tasty brew with a hint of dark malt to add some flavor, as well as a brandywine style bev with “sweet malty-ness followed by generous hoppy-ness, aptly named the Freedom Ale, ‘cause ain’t no way an American brewery’s not gonna have the word freedom on the menu somewhere."

“There’s nothing like a local place to makes you feel special, so if you reside within one hour of Atlantic City, stop in and sign up for their VIP Program which gives you the opportunity to take advantage of sweet deals and preferred seating, although keg stands are still against the rules… so it’s a good thing you brought your beer bong.”

(Article courtesy of Change Up Magazine)

Local Warming (Rewind)

2010-07-09T10:46:00.005-04:00

Our air conditioner is fixed after almost a week without. A switch failed, that’s all [only $200 and it’s going on our gas bill since D’Wife called the utility company, instead of the H/C guy we used a couple weeks ago]. Thank goodness the whole condenser coil didn’t need to be replaced, as the first guy feared might happen

So, how did we survive a week which saw a Heat Index here in Atco, NJ of 107° at noon Tuesday??? [Baker, CA (in Death Valley, USA) was only 106°; Winslow, AZ had a Heat Index of merely 100°]

Hot weather + A/C-less houses don’t bother me; I tolerate heat well. One of the benefits of being a small, hairless mammal, I s’pose.

Plus, I had a bit of insight on how to help D’Family deal with it that I learned from my kid-hood.

[Please forgive the following bit of self-plagiarism]

We never had A/C when I was a kid … neither in Connecticut, nor when we first moved to New Jersey. We had an “open the front screen door, open the back screen door, open all the windows, and hope for the best” summer cooling policy. There was one big grey metal window fan we brought South with us; along with its air circulation responsibilities, it also served as a “how far will you put your finger through the hole in the screen?” benchmark.

Put your stuff away, make your bed first thing in the morning, keep the dishes out of the sink, and clean the countertops, Mom said, and we’d have comfortable summer.

She added an important corollary: “A tidy house is a cool house”

Sure; that makes sense. Who needs a lot of clutter when you’re hanging out with your friends? We should keep everything [snacks, sodas and juices] available and within easy reach.

Then, Mom took it a step further, in her own nutty-as-squirrel-shit way, to explain the thermodynamics behind the wisdom of keeping a clean house, especially during the Summer.

“Heat” she revealed to us, “Is reflective. It bounces off flat surfaces. This is okay, when you have one big flat plane, like at the beach. It comes down from the sun in a straight line and Bang-zoom! it bounces right away. Further inland, when you have clouds or haze, it bounces back again, which sucks. But, when you’re inside, and you have GI Joes and Hot Wheels and model airplane parts and books and crap all lying around, that is quite a collection of tiny flat surfaces. The Heat can bing and bang around all day, rattling around in little nooks and crannies, trying and failing to escape, thus warming up the whole damn house.”

Substitute the word “heat” for “radar” and it sounds like my Mom discovered the nugget behind Stealth technology, i.e., y’all should minimize reflective surfaces.

However, the drive to put things away, as tidily as possible; referencing and cross-referencing (on note cards or just committing to memory), must certainly been a contributing factor to kick-start my OCD.

That’s partly sensible

***

Oh yeah ... The beer[s] of choice during this unfortunate episode? Victory Whirlwind Wit; Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen and Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat

Could this be the line-up for the next Lawnmower Beer Championship 3-Way Dance???

Stay tuned ...

I Miss The Gayborhood.

2010-07-03T10:22:00.001-04:00

It was 20 years ago this weekend that I moved back to Jersey, after living in Philly for nearly a decade.

"There’s something funny and joyful about a place where people don’t pretend that the real world is anything all that important, where cleverness, artistry and merriment is applauded. It’s not that you can’t join the club if you’re not gay; you can’t join the club if you’re not funny."

I guess I made the cut somehow.

Apparently, though, a lot has changed since I lived there

"... it has been branded 'Midtown Village,' an official name that snuffs out the area’s unofficial nature. There’s a new wine bar and a new cocktail bar; there are two upscale Mexican restaurants. None of them is distinctively gay, or straight. The block caters to foodies and drinkers of all stripes. On my last Saturday night there, transvestites were nowhere amidst straight men with striped shirts on couple dates with women in black stilettos. But the biggest blow? Last week, a store around the corner, P.H.A.G. (sound it out), announced it is closing. Philadelphia Home Art Garden store will move its operations online."

~sigh~

It's the "cleverness, artistry and merriment" that I miss the most ... there's not much of that down here in Farm Country. These are NOT the most ... how do I say it? ... Appreciative ... people in the world when it comes to things "creative."

Maybe THAT has something to do with why I don't draw anymore ... there's no audience for it??? I certainly never thought that my work was very good from a technical / skill standpoint, but it WAS entertaining, if nothing else.

First Half Results

2010-07-01T11:21:00.000-04:00

Run: 324.0 Miles; 46:19:09
Bike: 85.5 Miles; 9:44:00

Okay, not too bad, although June itself was THE SUCK!!!

Wait … Let me re-phrase. The last two WEEKS of June, were THE SUCK. I was cruising along nicely with my 2nd biggest week of the year [23½ miles] and a new v2.0 5K PR [23:36] and was on pace to pop a 3rd 70+ mile month in a row

Well, we all know what happened next

WAH!!!

Darkness on the Edge of the Pine Barrens

2010-06-25T09:44:00.005-04:00

From CourierPostOnline.com

Severe thunderstorms pounded South Jersey with heavy rain and high winds on Thursday afternoon, causing power outages that lasted into the night.

Almost 90,000 customers in the region lacked electricity at 8 p.m., with the most extensive outages in Camden County. Power was not expected to be restored to everyone until some time today, a utility representative said.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but Camden County's emergency-dispatch system reported more than 1,000 calls due to the storm. Winds as strong as 60 mph took a toll on trees throughout the area, snapping branches and even trunks, according to the National Weather Service. The falling limbs snapped electrical wires, causing power failures.

In Sicklerville, one gust picked up a neighbor's trampoline and hurled it into Gerald Loschiavo's backyard pool around 3:30 p.m.

"The rain was phenomenal and the wind picked up so much," said Loschiavo, a Red Fox Trail resident. The trampoline sailed more than 20 feet in the air. "My neighbor said, ‘If you really wanted to use it, you could have asked,'" Loschiavo said.

The Weather Service reported winds of about 60 mph in Voorhees and Blackwood around 3:45 p.m. A gust around 3:50 p.m. damaged the roof of Bagelicious, a Delsea Drive restaurant in the Westville Grove section of Deptford. And in Shamong, a tree fell on a car at 4:10 p.m.

Authorities also said a motorist was pulled from a vehicle that went into a stream near High Street and Tomlin Station Road in Mullica Hill around 4:45 p.m. The man was treated for an injury, but additional details were not immediately available.

PSE&G reported 19,000 customers were without power at 8 p.m. in the utility's southern division, which includes the tri-county area. "The vast majority of them appear to be in Camden County," said utility spokeswoman Karen Johnson.

She said Camden, Voorhees and Deptford were among hard-hit areas.

"All customers may not be restored until sometime (today)," she said.

Atlantic City Electric reported about 36,000 customers lacked power in Camden County around 10 p.m. Outages at the same time affected about 9,200 customers in Gloucester County, almost 9,000 in Atlantic County and 1,600 in Burlington County.

The storm struck after high heat created an "unstable" air mass across the region, said Lee Roberts, a Weather Service meteorologist in Westampton.

Thursday's high temperature was 97 degrees at 1:50 p.m., near the record of 99 degrees set in 1923. But the thermometer fell to 79 degrees by 6 p.m.

Today's high is expected to be about 89 degrees.

****

Our back steps blew off & broke, that’s all; but some people in the ‘hood lost sections of fence. One neighbor’s deck furniture ended up in another’s pool.

[Jaybird's deck, not far from my house]

WTF? It snows for a day and a half => nothing; 20 minute thunderstorm => blackout

D'Wife was funny; the first thing she said when she walked in was "Well, I still have my Ruby Slippers; so fuck you Dorothy!"

All in all, not too bad … I made the best of it

Five Stages Of ... Running Injuries???

2010-06-23T12:18:00.004-04:00

Denial and Isolation.
At first, we tend to deny the [injury] has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts. This stage may last a few moments, or longer.

“That did NOT just happen. No WAY!!!”
“I’ll be fine, just leave me alone for a bit.”

Anger.
The person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt , or at the world, for letting it happen. He may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. FUCK!!! Fucking idiot. This is your OWN fucking fault!!! You didn’t fucking stretch properly; what the fuck did you change??? Why the fuck did you do THAT???!!!”

Bargaining.
Now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, “Okay … I’ll take a couple of days off and say some extra prayers if you fix this up, okay?”

Depression.
The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath.

“What a beautiful sunrise – sigh – would have been nice to run today. Oh well.”

Acceptance.
This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the [injury].

“I can focus on bike riding in the meantime; maybe some extra yoga & skateboarding?”

***

So that’s where I am now, one week Post-POING!!! … Sure, I have Midnight Madness 3 in three weeks and might be walking a bit of it; but I’m cool with that. I guess it’s just my turn this year.

My Zen is strong

School's Out

2010-06-18T15:48:00.002-04:00

I know, most people would go with the Alice Cooper classic, OR "Hot for Teacher" but I prefer this number by "Little Stevie Vai"

Well, THIS is New

2010-06-16T18:58:00.003-04:00

Little bit of backstory from my RunningAHEAD log:

6/12/2010
OUCH!!! Endured some odd Achillesational [Achillenear???] discomfort to starboard today ... could be residual acheyness from the wicked "wake me up from a deep sleep" charleyhorse the other night [that I KNOW Shar wished upon me, :-P]; combined with my Time Trial effort on Tuesday and bad cycling form all week ... ow well, this too shall pass

6/14/2010
The charley-horse to starboard isn't so much of a limp-inducing muscle ache anymore ... now it just feels like I got whacked in the back of the leg with a hockey stick or a pedal or something ... should be good to go tomorrow AM

***

Time of day: 5:30PM
Activity: Run
Workout Type: Silly

Yes ... that says 5:30 PM ... like After Work!!! I overslept this morning and didn't get my run in, as I had planned since the whole Soleus thing seems [seemed?] to have righted itself. The Commuter Gods smiled upon me and got me home in time to change quickly and go for 3 miles, before I had to pick D'Kid up from her BFFs. What is the expression? "Someone who wants to do something will find a way; Someone who doesn't will find an excuse"

I should have either not wanted to, or found an excuse.

My inability to take time off, came up and shoved me with that "hockey slash" ache coming back all of a sudden [the first mile and a half plus change, were fine] I walked a couple hundred yards then started to jog it home ... cruising along nicely, and only about half mile out, I had not just finished saying "All in all, a good run" when I felt a vicious TOING!!! to starboard ... yeah, my day was done, and I hobbled in. Next up??? No clue .... This is new to me ... In 28 years I've never suffered a running injury, while actually running. I've had things go CRUNCH!!! that forced me to take some time off, but that didn't happen "on the road"

Let's see how this plays out

Race A Train? Sure! Why Not!

2010-06-08T10:13:00.001-04:00

I woke up very VERY late this morning [5:39AM to be exact]. There was no WAY I was gonna miss another bright, dry and cool morning, as I had yesterday. I got out of bed as stealthily as I could, but I happened to wake up D'Wife in spite of my best efforts.

"Are you going to run?" she asked. Before I could reply, she added "Have a good one."

With that thought in my head and a smile, I eased through my punk-yoga stretching routine and slipped out the back door [I've been using the slider to not wake her up by going out the front door, which is sort of below our bedroom].

It was almost exactly 6AM when I tucked my cross necklace around behind my back [it rattles around less that way] and started off

I did some math and decided today was only going to be three miles; but for FUN it was to be a FAST three miles … well moderately fast. My primary goal was NOT to get stuck on the other side of the RR tracks when the NJ Transit train came by at 6:24; my secondary goal was to already be home by then.

I made the first daily checkpoints in good time – stoplight at 5 minutes; Blessed Mother at 9 minutes. I didn’t stop to say my “Hail Mary” today, but did a “rolling” one to save time. For success, I thought should make it to the mile-and-a-half marker at 12:30 or so [even when I’m using my watch, I’m still kinda sketchy about pacing myself to the clock]. I rolled up the crossing at the ballfield and made the right-hand turn at 6:12:something.

“Halfway out, halfway back” I said to myself.

As much as I wanted to hammer this stretch [it always feels so inviting to just drop the hammer here, for some reason] I held to my pace. The birds in the overgrowth in the chainlink protecting the tracks were my little cheering section.

“GoRandyGoRandyGoRandy!”

I reached the turn onto the big street home at the 16-minute mark. This is where my Left Side of My Brain – who’d been semi-conscious this morning keeping the time-checks, such as they were; versus totally unaware like on most mornings, when Right Side takes over and just runs around looking at all the pretty clouds and all - woke up and started “Math-ing”

“Sixteen minutes done, and you usually get from the light back home in 5 [well, to get TO the light, if you know what I mean] so that’s 21, giving you 3 minutes to get from here to there for 24 or 4 minutes for 25, which makes more sense, unless you can get back home from the light in less than 5, but it's a little less than a whole mile, so …”

And so on …

I was fortunate enough to arrive at the intersection just as the light turned green for me and I was able to get across without breaking stride, just as it was. The last few hundred yards were an exercise if both maintaining my effort and trying NOT to look like a slow old man for the Public School kids waiting for the bus.

I set my arms in motion to muscle a few seconds off the clock … 6:24 was the time I looking to come in, but I wasn’t sure what the rounding would work out to [I had started the timer on my watch, but forgot when seconds-wise]. Figuring I’d be on the late side to 24 minutes I chugged up the little rise to the end of my street, took the corner like a champ and sprinted as best as I could for the driveway. I reached over and hit the “STOP” button as soon as I passed the mailbox.

Totally out of breath – and happily so – I made several little counterclockwise turns across the street in front of my house, before strolling up the to the porch, kicking off my shoes and grabbing my beverage and iPod. Just before I put the buds in my ears, I heard the horn of the NJ Transit train I was “racing”

“First of all; you’re late” I whispered to the locomotive and its commuter cars, almost a mile away, “Second of all …

“I would have beaten you, anyway!!!”

****

The Details [for people who are into that sort of thing]

Time: 6:00 AM
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 23:36
Pace: 7:37 minutes / mile

Yeah, that's a new v2.0 5K PR!!!

Runnerversary 2010

2010-06-01T12:43:00.003-04:00

I’ve told this story before, so y’all know how it goes:

It was on this day, [which was also a Tuesday, as luck would have it] that I woke up around 6AM and went for a little jog with some of the "dads" in my neighborhood. 28 years later, thousands of miles, dozens of pairs of running shoes and a few triathlons & half-marathons later, I'm still at it.

This year I did something a little different. Not only did I perform my ritual run at dawn [ritual in that I do it pretty much every day, NOT that I do it only once a year], but I also emailed two of the “kids” whose dads dared me to join them on that muggy morning.

One replied: “Hey....that is great! And so classic....imagine the headbands and wristbands you guys were sporting...”

“HA!!!” I countered “I think the ‘Dads’ may have been wearing elastic terry-cloth wristbands & headbands, but I would have been sporting something a little more punk rock; a cut up concert T-shirt, perhaps??? ... This was BEFORE the Union Jack muscle shirts & shorts Def Leppard made popular”

Yeah, I definitely had my own “style” back then

Note: It wasn't until 1985 that I entered my first race - a Summer Sunset Series five-miler on Kelly Drive.

ETA: 626.8 miles from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010 ... about 2/3 of 2008-09

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-22T10:49:00.000-04:00

“Gravity is a Harsh Mistress” – The Tick

Today is Earth Day 2010 ... On this date, FORTY years ago; I celebrated the FIRST Earth Day by colliding with Our Planet, breaking my arm and earning my VERY FIRST trip to the Emergency Room!!! There would be many more, as documented here

I don’t remember the exact details of the crash, only that it involved a Schwinn StingRay, a steep hill, a temptingly cambered curb and an Evel Knievel mindset.

Dix Road in Wethersfield rose up to meet Ridge Avenue at what seemed then to be a tremendous height. From end of this street [in fact, from the end of all the streets in the neighborhood I lived in up there] one could look across the “valley” created by the Connecticut River and see quite a ways away.

When I hit the curb at speed and launched myself into the air, I truly felt like I was flying; even though, in reality, my rear tire couldn’t have been more than a foot off the ground.

I guess I was too busy admiring the view to remember what I had seen on ABC's Wide World of Sports so many times. That being: “If you don’t keep your front wheel straight, you’re gonna get acquainted with the ground real fast”

Sure enough, my front wheel struck the sidewalk at an angle, wrenched the handlebars violently to the left and I departed over the chrome, as I was bucked forward onto some poor retirees lawn.

I didn’t hear or feel a “Snap!” [as I would with my collarbone, when I fell off the monkeybars later that Summer], but a persistent ache, accompanied by bruising and swelling that inspired my Mom to take me up to the Hospital.

I think it was then that I fell in love with my first nurse.

March Comes In Like ...???

2010-03-01T10:22:00.002-05:00

Chevy Chase:
Last week we made the comment that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Now here to reply is our chief meteorologist, John Belushi, with a seasonal report.

John Belushi:
Thank you Chevy. Well, another winter is almost over and March true to form has come in like a lion, and hopefully will go out like a lamb. At least that's how March works here in the United States.

But did you know that March behaves differently in other countries? In Norway, for example, March comes in like a polar bear and goes out like a walrus. Or, take the case of Honduras where March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a salt marsh harvest mouse.

Let's compare this to the Maldive Islands where March comes in like a wildebeest and goes out like an ant. A tiny, little ant about this big.

[holds thumb and index fingers a small distance apart]

Unlike the Malay Peninsula where March comes in like a worm-eating fernbird and goes out like a worm-eating fernbird. In fact, their whole year is like a worm-eating fernbird.

Or consider the Republic of South Africa where March comes in like a lion and goes out like a different lion. Like one has a mane, and one doesn't have a mane. Or in certain parts of South America where March swims in like a sea otter, and then it slithers out like a giant anaconda.

There you can buy land real cheap, you know.

And there's a country where March hops in like a kangaroo, and stays a kangaroo for a while, and then it becomes a slightly smaller kangaroo. Then, then, then for a couple of days it's sort of a cross between a, a frilled lizard and a common house cat.

[Chevy Chase tries to interrupt him]

Wait wait wait wait. Then it changes back into a smaller kangaroo, and then it goes out like a, like a wild dingo. Now, now, and it's not Australia! Now, now, you'd think it would be Australia, but it's not!!!

[Chevy Chase tries to interrupt him]

Now look, pal! I know a country where March comes in like an emu and goes out like a tapir. And they don't even know what it means!!! All right? Now listen, there are nine different countries, where March comes in like a frog, and goes out like a golden retriever. But that - that's not the weird part!!! No, no, the weird part is, is the frog. The frog- The weird part is -

[has seizure and falls off chair]

Someone's Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

2010-02-24T14:05:00.003-05:00

Day 3 of Broad Street training and I'm still on Plan [meaning, I haven't over-run my Program ... yet ] Two days in a row*??? How long has it been since I've done that??? This is from the guy who was once asked by Coach Xena: "How long has it been since you took a day off?" ... And I couldn't remember

Not that my Mojo has left, as some of my friends have been struggling with, it’s just been the way things have been going lately, from a scheduling or meteorological standpoint. [Bad timing or bad weather]

As I was cruising around, my thoughts turned to my cousin, who took Silver in her Age Group at the University City 5K. She has no plans to defend her title in Philly, but I happened to wonder where her result there would put her in her NEXT race, judging by last year’s results at her racing debut in Hartford.

Subject: No medal in 2010 I'm afraid

5th O'Hartford 5K
Hartford, CT, March 15, 2009

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 – 44
1st Place - WEST HARTFORD, CT 23:03
2nd Place - COLCHESTER, CT 23:12
3rd Place - WEST HARTFORD, CT 23:13

Although a 28:00 could bring you in around the Top 20 for your Age Group … That’s pretty sweet – and doable, if you haven’t lost too much fitness over the Winter. Sub-25:00 gets you near the Top 10

Coach R

After I checked her time from last year, curiosity got the better of me. Doe has no plans for running Broad Street this year [or anything else it seems, which makes me sad], so it fell to my nearest male competitor. I checked Disco Bob’s 2009 time.

He only beat me by 3 minutes last year, just barely cracking 90 minutes … He slyly let me know that 2010 will be his 15th Broad Street in a row … being ever diligent, I checked back a couple years … He’s been LOSING 3 minutes every year, while I’ve been 3 minutes quicker for each 10M I’ve done!!!

Yeah, there’s blood in the water.

* Day 1 was a “Rest Day” … You know, to keep ALL the Mondays consistent

I :heart: my Coach

"Once more into the breach ..."

2010-02-22T12:23:00.001-05:00

Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead!

Whoa … That’s a bit harsh!!!

I only mean to say that … when I said I wouldn’t be racing in 2010, it was mostly due to D’Wife’s job, since she works on Sunday – prime racing day – we most likely wouldn’t have anyone to watch D’Kid while dad trotted around Philly or Jersey or PA or wherever. Just for shits & giggles though, my Coach and I whipped up a 10-week Training Program for Broad Street, with the caveat “Whether I’ll actually register and run it is a whole other story LOL”

Well, two developments came together over the weekend

1] D’Wife approved of my Race Day Plan / Conspiracy, should she not be able to take the day off: Her BF works at Blue Cross and plans to Volunteer that day; if D’Wife can’t get the day off, Cathy will take D’Kid with her to whatever task she’ll be doing, whether is water stationing or something at the finish line

B] My brother’s sister-in-law [my sister-in-law’s sister?] told us yesterday at my nephew’s baptism party that SHE is doing it, too.

With those two pieces of the puzzle now in place …

Registration Confirmation for:

2010 Blue Cross Broad Street Run

Dear rudy,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2010 Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.broadstreetrun.com

God help us all …

Know Your Rights

2010-02-20T13:44:00.002-05:00

"You have the right to Free Speech ... As long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it"

You are all on notice - one more issue with any of you and your ability to post in the PRT [Post Race Tent forum on Kickrunners.com] will be removed. Further issues, and your accounts will be closed completely.

I no longer care who started it; which side you're on; whether you feel justified in your disdain for each other or not - I simply am tired of it. Period.

Your subscription service doesn't give you the right to abuse this site or slice hairs to cause shit - period. If you don't like that - you can demonstrate your dissatisfaction with my decision by leaving the site.

I've informed Grizzly and Sierra of the steps required to remove your permissions from the PRT - and they both have the ability to place your accounts in moderation.

If you would like a refund on the balance of your subscriptions, then simply email me your PayPal account information and I will be happy to refund you that balance.

If any post; veiled or not - comes across the wrong way to any moderator whatsoever, your access to the PRT will be closed immediately. If you then violate any other rule - based on the moderators opinion in any other forum, your accounts will be closed.

Rich

Lock me out of PRT Rich, see if I care ... as long as I can VRAA.

Bringing Heat on a Frosty Morning

2010-01-15T12:49:00.002-05:00

I woke up late this morning and decided to cut the 5-miler I’ve been doing lately to a 4-miler. I give myself roughly 10 minutes per mile, for morning rush sake, making sure to be home [or close to it] by 6:15AM to cool down and come back in the house by 6:30 and start my day [read” “feed my fake fish and play Mafia Wars”].

As I approached the mile and a half mark, a voice whispered to me underneath the nice cap my friend La Tortuga had knitted.

'Look at your watch”

12:30-ish and that included a brief stop for a “Hail Mary” at the statue of the Blessed Mother in front of our church right at one mile.

“Hey” the voice said almost seductively “You’re running late anyway. Why don’t you make a right here at the railroad crossing, cut it short another mile, to just three and … um … while you’re at it … put the hammer down? Let’s see what we can do”

I careful trotted up and over RR crossing and leaned right. I apologized to my friends – the ducks, geese and chickens at the farm down by the lake that I usually pass in the mornings – that I wouldn’t be seeing them today.

I cruised in and out of pockets of orange where the sparse streetlights lit the road, onto brighter surroundings as I approached “The “Main Drag,” such as it is [clockwise from my left: a candy store, a sports/fishing gear shop, a tattoo shop, Atco Ave, a crafts/sewing shop, mini-Library, Firehouse, a dance school, a carpet store, and a liquor store; on the other side of the railroad tracks: an auto supply shop and a body shop across the street from that]

At 2 miles, I was at about 16 minutes. Another 8½ [my usual pace] would bring me in around 24:30; not bad at all, going under 25 would sure be nice. I put “Downtown” behind me and threw a little more coal on the fire. I wasn’t straining, not breathing hard in the cold, frosty stillness; the wheels were turning over just fine [maybe a little confused, is all]

I was in a groove, for sure.

As I made the turn to head back home I made an important observation and a possible strategic error: I had a stoplight between me and the finish. If I got caught on the wrong side of a red light and [now on the other side of 6AM where the traffic starts to pick up] my “time trial” could be screwed.

‘Oh well, ‘ I thought, ‘best not think about that, just yet.’

One thing about running in the dark; it’s hard to pace yourself. I generally keep pace by the Team Tania blinky on my back: if it’s not moving = too slow; bouncing all over = too fast. I put it in a firm but even rhythm as I rushed to the Pike.

Green turned to amber, which turned to red shortly thereafter. Then, back to green.

Twenty yards or so from Dominos, it went amber. I slowed as it went red. Fortunately, there were only five cars waiting [two westbound and three eastbound], and none coming that I couldn’t beat across the street.

I nodded for them to go, crossed and began my final approach; a gentle decline, past some townhouses, a vacant field and a junkyard.

The Public School kids were already waiting for their bus as I returned to our development.

‘Okay, make it look good’ I advised myself. With a surprise, I reached for another gear and I found a … um, what’s it called … when you run REAL fast at the end … Oh yeah!!! A “Kick!!!” That's it!!! I had a Kick!!!

I barreled over the rise at the top of my street and back down to the end of my driveway.

DONE!!!

I stopped my watch.

23:48

Now, I WAS breathing hard. Puffy clouds of exertion floated around my head; a sweaty mist rose from my fleece sweatshirt. I unzipped my collars [yeah, BOTH of them], rolled up my sleeves and took off my hat. I scratched my head partially from amazement but most mostly because, as soft as the wool was, it was still kind of itchy. The sweaty shag on my noggin froze instantly into icy punk-rock spikes.

“Dude” I said to myself, “You haven’t changed a bit. You’ve still got it”

RunningAHEAD

2010-01-02T16:03:00.001-05:00

Okay ... All I did was ride Donna's bike around the block a couple of times, after I fortified her tire to remedy this persistent flatting problem she's been having [Slime is fine, and will get you home; but I’m hoping that a silicone + nylon liner helps her even more]

The point is ... Yes! I HAVE set up a RunningAHEAD Training Log in Facebook ... That MUST be some sign of the Apocalypse, shouldn't it??? Maybe I'm accelerating the whole "Hell Freezing Over" thing and perhaps the Eagles could win a Super Bowl. Whatever it takes!!!

So far I ‘m only using the “Lite” version that comes bundled into Facebook. If things should change – such as the unlikely event that I might actually race this year and perhaps train seriously for such an event – that will suit my needs. It’s probably even more than I need since somehow it calculates my VO2 Max [how? I have no clue!!! I though you could only do that at a Sports Medicine facility]

My friends might also give me some grief as it announces my pace for my workouts. RunningAHEAD is kind enough to publish that I “5 miles at 8:36 mile pace” for all to see. I’m sure someone’s gonna say “But Rand! That route is 5 point TWO miles … you’re even quicker than that!!!”

Nah, that’s okay … If I can run about 5 miles in about 40-45 minutes? I’m fine with that. Y’all can leave the details and decimal points for race day … whenever that will be. In the meantime, I’ll keep jogging around at dawn, or earlier, or whenever I can, trying to do just a little better than the day before.

Deep Time

2009-12-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

Deep time is the concept of geologic time first recognized in the 11th century by the Persian geologist and polymath, Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 973–1037, and the Chinese naturalist and polymath Shen Kuo (1031–1095). In Europe, the modern scientific concept was developed in the 1700s by Scottish geologist James Hutton (1726–1797).

An understanding of geologic history and the concomitant history of life requires a comprehension of time which initially may be more than disconcerting. As mathematician John Playfair, one of Hutton's friends and colleagues in the Scottish Enlightenment, later remarked upon seeing the strata of the angular unconformity at Siccar Point with Hutton and James Hall in June 1788, "the mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time."

With the addition of a couple new Friends on Facebook, I now have a continuous string of acquaintances that runs from when I was about 5 and had recently moved to Connecticut, to the present. I have “curated” people from elementary school up there, to Middle and High School here in Jersey, my brief stay in College, Art School, bar life in Philly and most of my employment history.

Granted there are still some gaps, mostly in my memory or accounting of my timeline, but it still quite a stretch. Plus, I now finally have people that can corroborate some of my “tall tales”

The furthest down the line, I found after the oddest turn. I friended someone from Art School on Facebook and was looking at her friends list [in search of an ex-girlfriend, of course], when I saw a name I never thought I’d find. His first name is the same as mine and he had a very unusual last name, making for a unique combination. Yet, this person lived in California and my Art School friend was from Jenkintown then and now lived out by Allentown.

Two questions came to mind:
1) Is this the same person I knew from my kidhood?
2) How could they POSSIBLY know each other?

The first answer came pretty easily. I asked this person “Did you used to live in Connecticut? Did your Dad work at such-and-such? Did your parents play Bridge by any chance?”

Sure enough!!! Yes, yes and yes. Not only that but his mom and MY mom have the same first name as we do [a pair of Randy’s + a pair of Nancy’s]

Then we pieced Part Two together.

Apparently, his family moved to West Chester about the same time we moved here. As luck would have it, my friend Terri lived down the street from him. Fate took its course; she and I met in Art School.

Then there was ... well. I would say “Missing Link” as she’s not really a link to anything. Although, I did begin doing triathlons in the off chance I’d run into her some time.

Karen Smyers (born September 1, 1961 in Corry, Pennsylvania) is a triathlete from the United States, who won the inaugural women's triathlon at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata (1995). She grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in an athletic family of seven children and one cousin that lived with them. She joined her older siblings on the town swim team at age eight.

Known for being an Ironman World Champion, Karen is also known for overcoming her setbacks.
- A bike accident leaving her with a broken collarbone.
- A collision with an 18-wheeler truck leaving her with broken ribs and multiple lung contusions.
- An accident with a storm window that severed her hamstring
- She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and survived
- Suffering a miscarriage and still being able to compete in the world championships three weeks later

I sent her a friend request on a whim, thinking that no “Legend” would possibly have the time or the interest in a BOPer like me. I was moderately shocked when she accepted. I was now in the company of Scott Tinley, Chris McCormack, Greg Welch [another vertically-challenged retired triathlete LOL], Simon Lessing, Carol Montgomery ...

"I asked myself, 'Self? How did I get here?'”

Yep ... THAT Danny Bonaduce

2009-12-10T18:54:00.002-05:00

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but I am trying as hard as I can to catch up. To be honest with you, this isn't even a personal response. I mean, I am typing it and everything, but then I am going to cut and paste it (a skill I have recently learned) and send it to a couple hundred people. I'm sorry if I've missed any important questions or requests, but I'd rather get back to you this way than have you think I've forgotten about you. After all, I do work for you.

Thanks for listening to my show.

Your friend,

Danny Bonaduce

You see, I was just ON his show. Okay, just for a couple of seconds, anyway.

With the passing of Ken Ober [MTV’s “Remote Control”], Danny was talking about “famous last words. The first one to come to mind [naturally] was “Either this wallpaper goes, or I do” – Oscar Wilde.

Guess which one Danny says? BUT he can’t remember who said it.

I dialed.

The helper monkey [actually, a Gibbon in this case] picked up.

“Danny Bonaduce Show”
“Let Danny know it was Oscar Wilde, who said that”
“Hold on”

Hold on? I heard Danny talking on my phone mid-sentence.

“… Usually when I quote an Oscar, I can’t remember which one said it. Randy, go!”
“It was Oscar Wilde who said the ‘wallpaper’ thing”
“You know Oscar Wilde better than I do? Good man!!! Every read anything but Wilde?”
“’The Importance of Being Earnest’”
“Well done, man"

… and I was out.

Yeah, I was kinda taken by surprise and didn’t have my “A material” ... plus I might have been a little start-struck. Danny’s ALWAYS been a role-model to me:

5’6”? Check
Fake bass player? Check

… and so on.

'Roid Rage???

2009-12-03T13:13:00.001-05:00

There were a couple of domestic management mishaps around the house last week that were met with an unusual reaction, especially coming from me.

Never mind what they were exactly, but each would have normally sent me into a howling rage. You see, I’ve always had massive anger management issues. In fact, it was my temper, adrenalized might and unwillingness to back down from a fight, which prompted my best friend in high school to take up martial arts – his dad was tired of this little skatepunk going ape-shit on his kid and giving him a pretty good beating before he ran out of gas; usually over nothing significant.

Ken learned well, and has done alright for himself in the years since.

Anyway …

So, instead of blowing my stack, flying off the handle, yelling, screaming, blaming and carrying on; I calmly said, “Well there’s nothing I can do about it right now. I’ll take care of it in the morning.”

What prompted this change in behavior???

I’d like to say that running has brought me a new, passive and reflective attitude, with less worries and strife; but that’s not it … at least I don’t think so.

It’s hormones … specifically, the LACK of hormones.

It occurred to me that we hadn’t had red meat in the house for about a month. I made a roast beef at the beginning of November, but that was the last time I could recall having anything beefy in quite some time.

If someone had told me “No red meat for a month” I would have naturally resisted. “You can’t tell ME what to eat and what NOT to!!!” Since the change was voluntary and apparently subconscious, I have no one to argue with.

I really don’t feel like arguing anyway.

I’m saying that I’m giving up cow for good either … just cutting way, WAY back. Besides, I would REALLY like to make this:

Beef and Barley Stew with Stout – from Culinary Competitor

There are few things that take the edge off a cold winter training session like returning home to a bowl of hot beef stew with stout. This stew's primary carbohydrate sources are the yams and pearled barley. Yams are particularly high in vitamin C, and have respectable amounts of potassium and vitamin B6.

Stew beef is generally taken from less desirable cuts of meat--which here is a good thing. "Less desirable" cuts are often leaner, which in the case of a slow-cooked meal is a non-issue as the meat will be plenty tender and full of flavor. It is very important for athletes to maintain iron levels, especially during the winter months when training miles can be pretty big, and the occasional serving of red meat is a great way to do so.

I love to cook a double batch of this beef stew on a Friday night (then I can drink a few of the stouts that go into making it in the process....), and round up the boys after a big day on Saturday to eat all the leftovers. My stout of choice for this stew is North Coast Brewery's Old Rasputin. Only sold in 4-packs (it is questionable as to whether any human being could even consume 6 Rasputins...), this beer redefines stout as most of us know it. If you can get your hands on some Old Rasputins--you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ lb lean stew beef, trimmed and cut into one inch cubes
1 large yam, cubed
1 medium celery root, peeled and cubed
½ cup pearled barley
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T fresh ginger, minced
8 cups beef broth
12 oz stout beer
2 T flour
2 T olive oil
¼ t cinnamon
¼ t allspice
1/8 t cumin
salt and pepper

Instructions:
Makes 4 servings.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the cubed beef to the olive oil to brown and season with salt and pepper. Cook for eight to ten minutes, until browned on all sides, and remove with a slotted spoon, reserving juices. Set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, celery root, and ginger to the pot over a medium-low flame and cook for eight to ten minutes. Add the flour and stir to form a pasty consistency. Add the stout, bring to a low simmer, and cook for about eight minutes until reduced to about 1/3 the original volume. Add the cinnamon, allspice, and cumin; stirring to combine. Add the beef broth and barley, then return the browned beef to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Simmer covered for about one hour, then add the cubed yams and cook just until soft, about fifteen minutes.

****

Yeah, I could pass on the abstinence for a day [plus however long the leftovers (leftovers???) would last]

Alice's Restaurant Massacree Virtual 25K - Results

2009-11-30T13:27:00.002-05:00

"I’m looking at 48 hours and change, if I go out first thing Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings.

“I have a couple of five-mile routes I can use, plus a six-miler/10K and a pair of fours as well, just to keep it fun and not too repetitive. [All distances are appropriately approximate <wink>]”

That was The Plan, anyway.

D’Wife got her schedule changed so she would start early on Thanksgiving [7:30AM] to get out at 3:00, so getting out and back on Thursday morning was off, right from the get-go.

I took D’Kid out for a 45-minute bike ride around 2PM instead then finished making “a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat.”

Friday, D’Wife had her regular shift, so getting some miles in before she and D’Kid got up wasn’t going to be a problem. The sun was on its way up when I left the house at 6:45; it was odd not needing to wear a reflecto-vest or blinkie light on a morning run. I figured I had just enough time to do 5 miles before D'Girls started stirring. As usual, I didn’t decide which route I’d take when I left the house; I’d make that call further down the road – literally. After taking the climb past the cemetery, I trotted out to the end of the road. I was on the right-hand side already, so I turned right [yeah, that’s the kind of decision making I’m known for; I’ve also flipped a coin or done “evens-odds: even we go right / odd we go left.”

I’ve been running this particular route on Saturday afternoons lately, so I was kinda surprised by how many people had chickens in their yards, judging by the morning crowing of the roosters in that section of town.

I made an adjustment to my route on the section between the 3½- and 4-mile mark; there is a rise here as the road climbs past a swamp. There are guardrails on either side, but the left-hand is oddly cambered and has been giving me trouble, so I ran on the right. Unfortunately, this is the side with more road-kill [2 possums, a raccoon and a deer, to be exact]

I reached the top in time to see my friend pull into his driveway. I stopped for a minute or two to chat with Bingo Bob, who had just returned from WalMart. He didn’t say what deals he got, if any. I suspected he went just to point and laugh, that’s the kind of guy he is.

I finished my first five miles and got back in the house just before D’Wife came down for breakfast.

D’Wife went out with her friends Friday night, so in order to let her sleep in, I planned to do my next run in the afternoon, while she and D’Kid went shoe-shopping. I guessed they’d be out for about an hour and a half, giving me time to do 7 or 8 miles and still be have time to get us all ready for 4:30 Mass; leaving only 3½ or so to do Sunday, before she had to leave for work.

Very doable.

However …

When D’Kid’s friend from across the street invited her over for the afternoon, that left D’Wife without a shopping-buddy. Women can NOT shop alone, especially for shoes, for some reason.

I was conscripted to assist.

Actually, I didn’t mind all that much; it’s been a while since I’d been invited along, and it was kinda fun. The girl has Mad Coupon Skillz, too!!! It was amazing!!! They had to make up NEW codes just to accommodate her!!! Two pairs of Clarks for $127.

Unfortunately, that trip put me in a serious time pinch to get the 25K finished.My options were:

1] Get up super-early on Sunday – like 4:30AM – and do 10½ miles before D’Wife had to get up for work = not freaking likely

2a] Get up at reasonable hour – 5:30 – do 5 miles or so and hope to find / make time in the afternoon to do the other five

2b] Get up at reasonable hour, do 5 miles, ignore the deadline and do the other 5 before work on Monday. I’d be dead last and probably DQ’d but I wouldn’t DNF.

"How do you DNF a Virtual Comp?"
"You DON'T Finish it!!! DUH!!!"
"It's Virtual, Dumbass!!! Make something up!!! You're a pretty good writer; I'm sure you could make it sound convincing."
"YOU ... have NO sense of Honor. PLUS ... I've got this friend - Voo - checking my moves from The Other Side. I can't let him down in such a way."

Like Bruce Lee said: "To experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that is very hard to do."

Either of the “5:30” options would be fine, and neither would put undue stress on either of D’Girls. Just me.

I woke up in normal fashion [without an alarm, even], long before dawn. The stars were bright and clear in the 31° air. Frost was all around, and my breath left a trail of tiny clouds behind me as I ran out to the lakes and farm country. In the interest of time, I did only 5½, turning around at the 2¾ mark, with the blessing of an owl “Whooo Who-Who-ing” somewhere in the woods. As cold as it was, there wasn’t any ice on the lakes yet, perhaps because the water was still pretty warm. The beauty of running in the pre-dawn cold, is that feeling of accomplishment you get when you’re finished and you notice that there’s steam coming off of you, as you cool down beneath the streetlights.

I now had only 5 more miles to do sometime after D’Kid’s Choir performance at 11:30 Mass, lunch, grocery shopping and starting dinner around 5:00 [yes, we went as a family at 5:30 Saturday, but Mariel still had Choir at 11:30; one can never spend too much time in church].

The afternoon had warmed up nicely by the time we were finished at ShopRite. Mariel was fully on board with the plan for the rest of the afternoon, as I had outlined on the ride home. If any of her neighborhood friends were around to play with, she’d hang out with them for about an hour while I went out on my own; if not, she would ride her bike beside me as I ran either pretty much the same out and back I had done in the morning, or – if she was too fussy about riding 5 miles – to her school track a mile from home, where I would do laps for 3 miles then jog back.

At about 3:15, she rolled out, and I followed. I didn’t have to prompt her to slow down or to speed up, even though this was truly only the second time she’d bike-paced me. I neglected to start my watch, as this was for fun and not time, but I suspect we got to my first checkpoint, in about my usual time.

I directed her to turn left when we got to the street her school was on, as I wanted to show her part of my morning routine.

“Dad, this feels like I’m riding to school” she said, which led us to chat about why I had joined PTA [to get some bike racks at Assumption] and what a shame it was that I wasn’t able to pull it off.

When we got to the Church I told her to follow me to the statue of the Blessed Mother that stands in front of the entrance.

“Every morning that I run this route,” I explained, “I stop and say at least one Hail Mary; more if needed.”

I stopped, crossed myself and before I could begin …

“I’m done, let’s go” my partner said.
“You pray fast!!!”
“Well, I started early” she admitted.

I gave her the choice of which path to take [down the street past her school, or the bike path which also functions as her school track, which was her choice] and we made our way past the public school, the township ball field and across the railroad tracks. It’s a gentle slope for the next ¾ mile down to the lakes, rising back up to the farms around the bend. Mariel stopped to look at the sheep and cows as I continued on for another 200 yards or so.

I had just reached my turnaround spot when a little voice called from behind …

“Dad!!! Stop!!! I have a flat tire!!!”

She had gotten a flat just two weeks ago, and was sensitive about getting another. She showed me were she thought the hole was, but I assured her that was exactly where I’d pulled the sliver of glass out.

“It’s time for us to head back anyway. I’ll keep an eye on it”

It wasn’t long before I noticed that her rear tire was, in fact, going soft. I had the foresight to replace her inner-tube with a self-sealing one, so it wouldn’t go completely flat; still, it was a little sketchy, and difficult to pedal up a steepish rise.

She had just managed to get to the stoplight when it changed to red.

“Really???!!! Now you change???!!!” she admonished the signal. “I hate you, stoplight.”

We laughed and teased the signal for it's rudeness, selfishness and general bad behavior.

The rest of the run home was uneventful. The leak stabilized with the tire about half-inflated. She reiterated how she’d like to be able to ride her bike to school someday, and speculated where they might put bike racks if they are ever allowed to. With a quarter mile or so to go, Mariel informed me that she wouldn’t be racing me home, but I was free to sprint if I felt like it, once we were back in our development.

We got back to our house just as the sun dropped behind the treetops of the woods behind our house.

We stopped to talk with a neighbor then went in.

“You go get yourself a shower, right now, Mister!!!”
“Yes, ma’am. ... And thank you.”
“That was fun, Daddy. We should do that again next Sunday.”
“We’ll see, Punkin. We’ll see."

Total elapsed time: 57 hours or so
Total running time: 2 hours, maybe?

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Weekend Holiday Fat Ass

2009-11-23T10:46:00.004-05:00

Posted in Kick:

Thanksgiving Virtual, Anyone?

OK who's up for the 2nd Annual KICKrunners Thanksgiving Weekend Holiday Virtual?

Last year's event featured the option of running a 25 (Holiday Half Ass) or 50K (The Full Fattie) event of your own design or choosing. Your run can be done any time over the long (Thurs - Sun) holiday weekend. Timing instructions to be posted at a later date.

Any & Everyone is welcome to participate ... it need not be a trail run or an extreme event and it doesn’t even have to be Thanksgiving in your country!!! Also note, you can take all weekend to complete your distance if you like - your run does not have to be done all at once.

Results will be posted by finish time. Last year we had interesting and fun competitions for Best Race Report and Best Photos. Winners were determined by forum voting. We can do that again if y'all want to!!!

More details if there is enough interest. Reply here if you would like to play or have any questions!

***

Have I mentioned how much I love Virtual Comps? Once or twice? Well, let me reiterate and pardon the plagiarism [sponsored by Sleepy’s, by the way ;-)]

I like virtual comps for a bunch of reasons:

You can engage with people across the country, without travelling.
You don’t have to deal with pre- or post-race logistics.
You can run, ride or whatever, when it suits YOU.
They’re free!!!

I think I can find a way to get 15 miles done in 4 days. Knowing me, I’ll plan to run 10K-10K-5K but I’ll do something like 7 on the first day, then 4 the next, then 6 and fuck it all up!!! LOL

The rules are a little whacky, though; much different from the TurkeyMan Duathlon I did in ’06, in that transition times in this one ARE included <WAH!!!>

***

Run or walk 25 or 50k any time during the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend - Thursday through Sunday. That means you have 96 Hours to complete your race!!!

However ...

For result reporting, your start time is the time you 1st start running and your finish time is when you have run the full 25 or 50k. You can have breaks if you want but your Official Time will be the time between Start and Finish and includes the breaks if you have taken any. See examples below -

Example 1 - You start at 5.00 AM and you run till 9.00 AM and complete 35k. You are cold and hungry so you go home, take a shower, eat and watch the parade for couple hours. At 1.00 PM you continue your run. You run the remaining 15k and finish at 3.00 PM. Start Time = 5am / Finish Time = 3 PM. You have taken a total of 10 hours to run 50k, that is your result.

Example 2 - Your mother-in-law is coming to visit. You decide you want to spend as much time as possible with her so You start running immediately after breakfast (4:00 am) and run as fast as you can for 50K. You finish running at 8:00 AM. Your total time is 4 hours, that is your result. MIL is just getting up. It will be a loooong time ‘til the pies are served so you get some pancakes, bacon ‘n’ eggs and homefries fired up. Yum.

Example 3 - Gun went off at 9:00 AM Thursday for the Turkey Trot in yer hometown. It was a 5 miler and you aced it in 31:15 for a First in yer AG award ! You were so happy that, after a few beers and a 6 pack of tofu pups to celebrate, you ran all the way home which was 3 miles from the Finish Line! You spent the rest of the day waiting on your In-laws and their whiny kids and were exhausted so you took Friday off from running (wimp). Saturday you hit the trails at the crack of dawn. 12.5 miles of torturous single track in the snow took you 3.5 hours ! On Sunday you realize you signed up for the 50K not the 25 so now you've got to get your Fat Ass back out there for 10.5 more miles before midnight ! You go to your favorite park at noon and run around the golf course 6 times doing 7 minit miles and finish in 1:13:30 (man, you faaaast for a fat asss today). At 1:13:30 PM on Sunday you have finally completed all 50K. Your time issssssssssss .... 76:13:30 (3days, 4hrs and 13.5 minits), that is your result. Yer not the last ass in the barn but pretty darn close. Have another drumstick to celebrate then get busy writing up your RR for us.

Report the following details about your event:

1. The name of your event (if its not an official event then make one up) and the distance (50K or 25K)
2. Your time in [HH:MM] format..... DONT MAKE ME HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT!!!
3. A "Race Report" including a description of the course, weather conditions, company, outfit, playlist or anything else you want to share about your run.
4. Include pictures for the photo contes!!!

***

That all being said … I’m looking at 48 hours and change, if I go out first thing Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings.

I have a couple of five-mile routes I can use, plus a six-miler/10K and a pair of fours as well, just to keep it fun and not too repetitive. [All distances are appropriately approximate <wink>]

License to Ride

2009-11-20T10:34:00.001-05:00

Nurse Kelly asked me: “What do you think about having to register your bike in Philly? I can't imagine having to have a license to ride.”

When I was a kid, both in Connecticut and in Haddonfield, it was always “suggested” during Safety Week that we register our bicycles with our local PD. It was free, and the idea was that with our bikes registered, if one was stolen and recovered [somehow] we could prove that it was ours and it would be returned. It was actually kinda cute; we received little metal license plate that we hung from our banana seats, give use an ever more biker-gangish appearance … put some baseball cards in the spokes and vroom-vroom!!! Hide your daughters!!!

Naturally, the first reaction is “Oh, The City wants to make money from the cyclists” Since cyclists don’t use parking facilities or pay gasoline tax, there isn’t much of a revenue stream directly from the riders [paying outrageous taxes on a 6-pack of take-out PBR to the LCB, notwithstanding]

Philly is trying SO HARD to become a major bike-friendly city. They just opened East-West bike lanes in Center City. This could be ½ a step backwards as [quoted from here]

1) [Licensing] creates yet another barrier to cycling in a system which has been historically built to exclude cyclists, and
2) It is completely unnecessary, due to the fact that cyclists can (and are) routinely pulled over and cited by the police for vehicle code violations already. You don’t need a license to get a ticket for running a stoplight. And you still have to pay the fine regardless of whether you’re on four wheels or two.

Thirdly … do they really expect messengers and messenger poseurs [who are part-time anarchists, anyway] to get in line for their little metal plates?

As for the rules and regulations/fines proposed?

Kenney, meantime, will propose increasing the fines for riding bicycles on the sidewalks. The current fine is $10. Kenney wants it to be $300. He also wants the current $3 fine for wearing headphones while on a bicycle to also increase to $300.

I’m fine with that [pun not intended]. Bikes DON’T belong on sidewalks, unless you’re a 6 year-old and you have training wheels, or you are walking it [into a building or to lock-it up someplace.] Wearing headphones while riding ANYWHERE is stupid, unless you’re out in the Pines all alone on a Saturday morning and you don’t have traffic to be concerned with. When I lived in Philly and rode everywhere I couldn’t walk to, I was always in the street and 100% aware. Much like in my blog post “Riding with Sharks” cabs, delivery trucks, SEPTA buses, tourists, all pose different threats out there and you have to have your head on a swivel at all times; eyes and ears open. That’s not to say I didn’t grab the back of a SEPTA bus on occasion, to get up Market Street quickly, but … I kinda knew what I was doing. Even at MM, I rode my bike in the street to meet up with The Glo-Pokes, then hopped on the bike path to ride along to the finish line. AND I had my helmet and proper lighting [next year, I’ll have my Team Tania blinkies, too!!!]

If they DO put these fines in place, I’d suggest one for “salmoning” too … that is, riding AGAINST traffic. You asked me about this once or twice [why we run facing traffic, but ride with traffic]; and the bottom line is that bicycles are “vehicles” and are subject to the same rules of the road as cars. The physics involved, though, from the difference between getting rear-ended by a car vs. a head-on collision, don’t really matter. It’s STILL gonna hurt like a b!tch.

Especially, if you've taken you front brake off, just to be all cool and hipster-ish.

These things are cyclical [again, pun not intended]. Every now and then the same thing percolates in NYC, Chicago, DC and so on. It usually goes away on its own. In the meantime, follow the Philly story as it unfolds, here:

Philadelphia Bicycle Insurrection

That Hat!!!

2009-11-19T20:07:00.002-05:00

In February, 1999, D'Wife and I travelled to St. Thomas, USVI, with singularity of purpose: to have a great Caribbean vacation and - God willing - to come back with an extra special souvenir.

Aside from packing the charts, vitamins, herbals and thermometers, I packed something very special.

'If this expedition works,' I said to myself, 'Whatever I bring will be my talisman in the Delivery Room.'

You know how superstitious I am; it had to be just right. It had to be something I could keep by me or on me at almost all times ["one never knows the hour" so to speak]

I was in the habit of wearing a baseball cap in my off hours; that would work - being a fair-skinned individual as it is, I'd need one anyway.

Many options were weighted , but I/we settled on this one:

Well designed, Buffett-ish in the seaplane look, plus local to Jersey.

So ... Who wears it better?

Happy 10th Birthday, our little souvenir.

- yeah, same shirt, too!!!

Disclosure Statements

2009-11-12T11:57:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine and I were discussing our plans for a Half Marathon in April, and some other racing shenanigans when she asked me:

“I'm confused....I thought one of the beefs you had with all the obsessive ones was about training vs. just running for the sake of running? Why the sudden interest in racing? I thought you just liked to run for running's sake and didn't worry about times and such? It seems sort of contradictory that as soon as you cut yourself loose from hanging with them, all your talk has been of races and stuff like that, yet while you were there, your big point was ‘I just go out and run 5 miles cuz I wanna.’ ???”

I hadn’t realized that … I guess I’m more goal-focused than I admit, even to myself? I’ll need to examine that.

I think the thing I had with them was that, even though I would pick a race and set up a schedule and all; I often deviated from it, because I was having a good day and couldn’t just stop at 5 or 6 or whatever it said; I was really bad at taking days off too. It wasn’t RACING I had a beef with … Remember, in January I had a schedule of 7 races I planned to do this year, PLUS the MS150; I did two – Broad Street and Midnight Madness [and I didn’t even count MM as a race, just something Beaker and I did last year, and will do again and again, as long as they have it, I’m sure]. It was the people who said “I had a horrible day, and want to forget it ever happened,” because they missed their goal time by 5 or 10 minutes” People who let a clock determine whether they had a good day or not.

As far as LVHM, we’re talking long, long ahead; just to give me a star to sail by, as it were. When it’s all said and done, I probably won’t do any of them anyway; but I see your point. Instead of being content to try to get a Speed Limit sign to say “Your Speed is: 10 MPH” and silly little things like that …

ARGH!!! Introspection gives me a headache!!!

“So maybe you really don't WANT to race and you really DO just want to run however many miles you want to that day, and not take off or take off at will? To me, that sounds like someone who just loves to run. Nothing wrong with that at all. Did you do races before you found a running site to hang on?

“You don't seem to need a race to motivate you to run like some of them do. Again, proof positive is your poor track record adhering to training programs. Even the posts I've read speak more to your joy of running and the things you see, smell, experience than the whole ‘I did this in this amount of time today, boo-yah me’ crap.”

Oh good … I thought I’d uncovered myself as a fraud LOL

I ran for nearly four years [I started June 1, 1982], before I entered my first race. When I lived in Haddonfield I would do 5- and 10Ks at Cooper River Park and couldn’t understand how I was racing at 6-6:30 minute pace, when I was training at only 8 or so … Turned out that my 6-mile loop I was running in about 48 minutes was actually 8 miles LOL

See! I was screwed from the get-go!!!

D’Wife claims I raced every weekend when we met in 1988 … My scrapbook proves otherwise [yeah, I have a scrapbook; two in fact – 4” binders filled with bibs and programs and results booklets (With my name highlighted <wink>)]. Even then though, my training was formless. I never read a book, bought “Runner’s World” and “Triathlete” JUST for the pictures. I had friends at work at Campbell’s that ran, and some people in Philly/The Gayborhood, but I never trained with anyone.

I joined CR back in 2002, when I started working at Lockheed and had reliable Internet access. By that time though, I had quit running [not completely but, jogging 3 miles once or twice a month shouldn’t count as “maintaining a running career”] for about 2 years after one of those “I had a horrible day, and want to forget it ever happened” events at PDR in 2000. Slowly I started to ramp back up; the “Beer” threads on CR are an important archive I think, you can see me coming back to it. I started this blog in 2005, with the intent to burn off the “400 Beers” I had put on. My first coach, Annabelle, got me out on the road, to run with her at Broad Street in 2006. Being slow, [her CR/KR name is LaTortuga] she INSISTED that I train NO FASTER than 9:00/mile.

We finished in 1:38 – 8 10-minute miles and 2 9’s. That was my v2.0 reboot. 2007 PDR was 2:33.

I didn’t race in 2007, but pledged my full support to help D’Wife do City to Shore that year [she did the 50-mile tour, from Hammonton to Ocean City]

Last year, Doe announced he was going to do the 2009 Disney Marathon; I suggested we do the Distance Run [I couldn’t do Broad Street last year, because that was Mariel’s First Communion weekend]. Somehow I found myself on Kick, then 30s, then meeting Beaker& Co at Midnight Madness. I finished the year with a 2:08 PDR [1:36 at 10-miles]

That’s my story … Now go have a beer. You earned it.

“Ahhh....I see. Hmm. An anomaly you are, young Jedi.”

Shut Up and Train!!!

2009-11-05T11:07:00.002-05:00

I had a dream last night I was running a 5K with Lance. I stayed with him for the first mile, in 6:59.52

Those were the days.

Of course, like every other race dream, I got lost and … well, thing kinda went downhill from there. At least in THIS one, I actually started on time!!!

It got me thinking …

Which would be a bigger challenge? Which has a greater chance of success?

a] Getting my average training pace below 8:00 per mile [currently ~8:30]
2] Getting my "Posts per Day" on Kickrunners below 18.00 [currently 18.12]

Getting my training pace down, would involve hills and speed work. Getting my PpD down, would involve staying off Kick [or at least being quieter] for a while.

My friend QuixoticNotions [don’t ask – I don’t know what that means, either] or QN, wondered if there even was a correlation? She’s a speedy little chatterbox, with a 1:40:50 Half marathon PR [and dropping] and a 3:28 BQ in her sights [Boston Marathon Qualifying Time]. Being a Stay-At-Home-Mom, she’s on Kick quite often, except for feeding breaks and training runs; currently maintaining at a rate of 2-dozen posts per day.

The key to success will be for me to “Shut Up and Train!” [as Disco Bob says, so eloquently]

Don’t chat about what you’re going to do, but to “Just …” well … everyone knows the rest. If I have a particularly notable workout, I’ll ping whoever would be most interested via email or FB. I’ll stay out of those non-Karmically-positive places full of mean spirited gossip and idle chit-chat; the ones that are Cesspools of Flame Warfare. Nope, I’ll visit just happy places on Kick, and sparingly at that.

That covers “Shut Up”

The “Train” part should come pretty easily.

“Hills are speedwork in disguise.” Frank Shorter (American Olympic champion)

I’ve got plenty of THOSE handy; there’s a nice one right behind my house.

I’ll take it easy on myself, and not give myself a deadline … consider it an open-ended commitment.

Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted, so to speak.

Dia de Los Muertos

2009-11-01T11:19:00.004-05:00

Phish
October 31, 2009
Festival 8
Indio, California

Set 1: Sample In A Jar, The Divided Sky, Lawn Boy, Kill Devil Falls, Bathtub Gin, The Squirming Coil, Runaway Jim, Possum, Run Like An Antelope

Set 2: Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Shake Your Hips, Casino Boogie, Tumbling Dice, Sweet Virginia, Torn & Frayed, Sweet Black Angel, Loving Cup, Happy, Turd On The Run, Ventilator Blues, I Just Want To See His Face, Let It Loose, All Down The Line, Stop Breaking Down, Shine A Light, Soul Survivor

Set 3: Backwards Down The Number Line, Fluffhead, Story of the Ghost, When The Circus Comes, You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Suzie Greenberg

Notes: Phish played "Exile On Main Street" in its entirety for the second set featuring Sharon Jones, David Guy, Tony Jarvis, David Smith & Saundra Williams. Those musicians also joined the band for the encore

***

I’ve always wanted to celebrate my birthday in Mexico. They know how to do it right, with just the right mix of Catholic reverence and outrageous spookiness. Where else are kids treated to Sugar Skulls and papier-mâché skeleton dolls?

I’ve actually been to Indio. My brother-in-law, Max, used to live in Bermuda Dunes, near Palm Springs. He took us to the most authentico taqueria I’d ever been to; north of the border, that is.

El Mexicali Café, is literally across the tracks from Max’s condo, maybe four miles away. It was here that I my first REAL Mexican beer – Corona doesn’t count. Max was a Bohemia fan, especially with any kind of Mexican food. We sat at a linoleum table, with a handful of locals. It was hard to tell who were family, who were friends, and who were staff; as someone who was sitting at a table digging into a plate of chile rellenos just a moment ago, could just as easily be in the kitchen the next.

As one testimonial says on guestbook: “If you are looking for authentic Mexican food here in the desert, whether you’re a local or in from out of town this is the place.”

Localism

2009-10-28T22:34:00.001-04:00

How to Deal With Localism at Surf Spots [or on ... well, you know]

Unfortunately, localism plagues many of the world's best surf spots. Understanding what it is and why it exists can help you avoid any unnecessary trouble.

Avoid surfing new breaks alone, especially if it is a popular break.
I wandered in, following someone with a dubious reputation. I was in an unfamiliar place, with in familiar characters. Fortunately, I was “sponsored” by someone with more concrete connections. When the former was ostracized, the latter took me under her wing. That bought me some air-cover, as she was “untouchable”

Realize that localism is a result of overcrowding. Therefore, the more crowded a break is, the more tension there is likely to be in the water. Because locals feel at home at the break and feel invaded by unfamiliar faces, they sometimes react in a negative manner to newcomers.
Especially if they have a couple years of history together; you are the FNG until the next FNG comes by

Realize also that surfing is a traveling sport, and nobody is meant to surf only those waves closest to home. You have just as much right to surf a wave at someone else's local break as that person has to surf the waves near your house.
Eventually, you’re going to get invited to a “meet-up” which is cool, because you get to actually see and touch and interact people who were previously 1s and 0s; heaven forbid you can’t make it though; or you miss a connection. Midnight Madness was my “debut” and worked out very well. Thankfully, I made some strong friendships that will carry on past this crisis

Watch the other surfers. If only a few people seem to be taking most of the waves, those people are most likely locals, familiar with the wave.
Simply: Beware Chatterboxes; they will steer the conversation as they see fit

Mark the surfers who seem like troublemakers and egomaniacs. These surfers usually make a lot of noise, bitching about the crowd or pouting about their wave. They usually talk loud to other locals to let non-locals know how "in" they are.

Give these arrogant surfers a little extra space. Don't drop in on their wave or paddle around them for the peak. Wait for them to take a wave, and then move to the peak position.
Plus above, needs no further comment

Be respectful, and concentrate on your surfing.

Remain calm if someone tries to come at you with irrational anger. Apologize if you did something wrong, but don't be a coward. Explain that you are only interested in surfing.
As I said, I gave total respect for those who trained with their calendars, schedules, gadgets and coaches, and so on. I even mocked myself as being a goofball, Zen-Core dork and NEVER tried to change anyone’s mind about how to train, what to strive for, how to challenge oneself … I do what works for me, and would never say to someone “I’m a purist! I run for fun! You’re missing the point!” If you know me, you know that I will duck, dodge, dive and bend, to avoid conflict. I am bamboo.

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” - Bruce Lee

Take your next wave in, and call it a day if the vibe in the water begins to feel overly hostile.
“I’m outta here” Their loss. I will still keep in touch with those closest to me, but not there. That beach is spoiled.

No problem for me. I think I found someplace more deserving my attention

Namaste and Aloha

2009-10-15T11:34:00.002-04:00

(CNN) -- Legendary wrestling figure Captain Lou Albano, perhaps best known for his association with pop singer Cyndi Lauper, died Wednesday, according to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Albano, 76, was "one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," the company said in a statement.

I posted on Facebook “Regardless of the weather tomorrow morning, I am gonna wear a Hawaiian shirt in honor of Capt. Lou Albano”

Yeah, so I ran 4 miles this morning in a Hawaiian shirt. Cold and windy, but no rain; the extra layer was welcome, believe me.

D: "What time did you get up?"
R: "Early"
D: "Did you run?"
R: "Yep"
D: "In that stupid Hawaiian shirt? For your Facebook friends?"
R: "Yep, but I wore my long sleeve skull shirt underneath"
D: "Why?"
R: "Because it was cold and windy"
D: "I mean why did you do the Captain Lou thing?"
R: "Because I said I would"
D: "You're an idiot"

That goes without saying. I’m also someone who gives himself little challenges like that, to keep the fun in running. Plus, if I promise my friends I'm gonna do something silly like that? I damn well go through with it.

I don’t do marathons; I’m long past chasing PRs [well, v1.0 ones, anyway … I have v2.0 ones I could take down a little bit, given the opportunity]. I get up and do my run. No schedule, no plan, no goal race … essentially, for no reason at all, other than “What else am I gonna do at 5:15AM?”

This tags me as somewhat of a freak on the boards. “If you’re not gonna push yourself to do your best - to put on a bib and compete - why even bother to run at all?”

Some things are more subjective than that, I guess. My morning run sets me up for the rest of the day; and if I do my three or four five miles a little quicker than the day before, that’s great. If not? I’m cool with that, too.

Just getting out there and having fun, is what it is for me.

Of late, eople have taken my laid-back training philosophy to mean that I mock them for their schedules and plans and calendars and gadgets and what not.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. I have a great deal of respect for those who use those in their training; I’m just self-actualized enough to know that I lack the discipline to make them function for me. As for the gadgets [Garmins, HRMs, and so on]? The simple truth is that I can’t afford them and really have no use. Of course, I kinda wish I had a treadmill, so I could prove to D’Wife that I DO have some common sense, and I'm not just a silly little surfer, running around outside in the wind, the cold, and the rain.

Perhaps they felt that my lack of “documentation” and “running just for fun” implied that I considered MYSELF elite; that I imagined myself as some sort of running purist? Not at all, really. I’m just a dry-docked surfer who found a sustainable metaphor to going out at dawn for a few waves to clear my head at the start of the day; no judges, no scores, no awards. Just me, the road [such as it is], the dawn and the woodland creatures; together and alone at the same time.

Sure, I have the itch to race, to compete, to prove myself in a way the others can identify with; but I’ll do it why and where the time is right for me. No pressure. Again, if I should do better than last time, that’s great. If not? I’m cool with that, too.

I’m not gonna let my Zen get rattled over it.

Fun with Electronics

2009-10-09T10:10:00.000-04:00

Chilly, chilly, chilly yesterday morning, but so beautiful, with a crystal clear sky and a lopsided smirky moon looking down on me as I trotted past the cemetery for an easy 4 mile loop, my Team Tania blinky flashing away [my newest lucky charm/talisman]

I noticed on my way to work that sometime between my run and my drive in, the local law enforcement had put one of those "Your Speed Is ..." signs on the street I use ...

I wondered:

a) If I'm a large enough target for it to see me? [5'6" and 140lbs? Not a whole lot to work with]

2) If it will accurately record my speed? [Is there a minimum?]

iii) Could I get it to say "10 MPH?" [I could hit a 6:00 pace for a hundred yards or so, if needed]

***

The sign is about 8/10s of a mile out. My plan was to run past, just see if it worked, then continue on my 4-mile loop, before making my "speed run" then finishing up.

I was a little concerned that it only said "Buckle Up" as I approached. About 30 yards away however, it woke up ... "7 MPH" just as my friend Gator Bob had experienced, running past one of those himself.

Yeah, I wasn't gonna wait. I hit the throttle and pushed it up to "8 MPH" then "9 MPH" ... ... "10 MPH" ... As I speeded past I think I saw it "go to 11" for just a brief second.

"Well, that wasn't so tough" I sighed. Back in my mind, I guess, I had imagined I'd come up on the radar sooner [literally!] and would have required a longer sustained sprint.

Oh well.

I continued onward to finish my 4-miles in a gentle sprinkle of warmish rain.

2009 MS150 - City to Shore

2009-10-04T11:22:00.001-04:00

Yeah, sorry about that, but when I got it all written up - with the usual attention to detail that ya'll expect - it came out to be 24 freaking MS Word pages.

If you REALLY wanna read it ... You know where to find me. I'll get it to you.

R

Forget Everything You Think You Know

2009-09-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

While we were getting ready to meet Beaker and Nurse Kelly for lunch after grabbing our Official Team Tania jerseys from Captain Stacey, D’Kid asked, “Dad, can we skateboard today?”

She is a bike rider primarily, as we all know and doesn’t usually skateboard. Even when I’m goofing around in front of the house, she never asks, “Can I try?” I don’t think she’s 100% comfortable on it. For some reason, though, she thought today would be a good day to change that.

After we got home from meeting the crew, she got changed and clicked on the Disney Channel, as is her habit. “No, no, no!” I argued and proceeded to find some college football [Y’know, to see when Michigan would be playing and if they’d be televised]

As luck would have it, the Dew Tour was on NBC. They were playing the Skate Vert portion. We watched for a few rounds. Mariel decided that Pierre-Luc Gagnon [or “PLG”] is way better than Tony Hawk.

At the break, she moved to action. “Okay dad, lets go.”

We got her safety’d up [helmet, knee and elbow pads] scooped up my board, and headed out to the sidewalk.

“Before we do anything,” I told her “Forget everything you think you know about skateboarding. Forget that you’ve ever tried to ride before, okay?” In a moment of enlightenment, I suspected what the cause of her discomfort may have been.

I had her stand with her feet together; then [from behind] I gave her a little shove. She instinctively stepped with her left foot to maintain her balance

“A-HA!!!” I proclaimed “We’ve been teaching you backwards. You’re not Goofy like me, after all!”

Once we got that straightened out, once and for all, it was only a matter of time [and baby-steps] to have her glide with me towing her, then just holding her hand, then unassisted. Once she was comfortable with “steering” we proceeded to teaching her how to kick/push.

Within two hours, we progressed from fear and frustration to “Let’s show Mom!!!” and “You’re an awesome teacher, Dad”

Just like teaching someone to ride a bike, it’s really hard to explain something that is second-nature to you.

But we succeeded.

“A teacher must never impose this student to fit his favourite pattern; a good teacher functions as a pointer, exposing his student's vulnerability (and) causing him to explore both internally and finally integrating himself with his being.” – Bruce Lee

****

In much the same way, I had to “forget everything you think you know about fruit beer” when D’Wife brought home a bottle of Melbourn Brothers Cherry. My experience to date with fruit beer has been mostly light and fizzy [Raspberry Wheats from all over, Harpoon’s Raspberry Hefeweizen, Long Trail BlackBeary Wheat, Magic Hat #9 (apricot)] with the exception of Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic and Coney Island Freaktoberfest – which may or may not have had fruit in it, but is certainly was pink!!! In a word … Girly.

However, when I opened this bottle a rich cherry aroma came up to me. Not fake cherry either, like in Life Savers or Tootsie Pops, but the real deal. Sweet, but mostly sour, this fruit beer isn’t for cheerleaders, it’s not even for quarterbacks; it’s for hockey or rugby players. It’s for someone who doesn’t mind getting a little rough from time to time. I wouldn’t drink it all day, by any means, but it’s a nice treat.

Well worth forgetting what you think you know.

Extended vacation, perhaps, but NOT permanent

2009-09-17T11:45:00.001-04:00

“I tried to register for the Philly Half in Nov. It's sold out. So is the full. Got to reg for the 8K NOW before that sells out.”

Semi-facetiously I replied:

“Really? Cool!!! I get the weekend off and save a few bucks. Plus, I can quit training completely, at least for the Fall; maybe by Spring I might even give up running altogether, like I did before!!!”

“That is the bestest news!!! Thanks, Lori”

I say “semi-“ facetiously, because, as much as I talk a good game about just getting up in the morning and doing my miles, mindlessly and with a plan or goal; without have something to look forward to, I can get pretty complacent. By the same token, I thoroughly enjoy those morning runs, out in the dark, quiet solitude; the moments of Zen I find along the way, like glittering beads among the gravel at the side of the road. After rediscovering the joy [and therapy] that running brings me, the sense of accomplishment to get up before the dawn and “Just …” well, you know how that goes [and I can’t afford to pay NIKE, so I’ll just let you fill in the blank there]

Anyway, I’m not going to let this running thing slip away. Yeah, I’ll probably take the rest of the month off to focus on training for the MS150 City to Shore that I’m doing with D’Wife; but, when I turn the calendar over to October, I’ll have the Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge in my sights.

A rematch with Doe and The King? Perhaps a new rivalry from Disco Bob? [a long-lost friend from college, I recently reconnected with through Facebook] A chance to drop my time from last year? [note, I'm not saying "PR" ... that's runner-speak]

Bring on The Autumn

Tornado Warning

2009-09-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

I'll run in the rain. I'll run in the wind. I'll even run in a thunderstorm [if it starts after I've left the house].

But when I wake up, put on The Weather Channel to check the temperature and decide what length of sleeve I'm going to get soaked in, and see "Tornado Warning?"

That, my friends, is a just little bit outside of my comfort zone.

I apologize if I let anyone down.

In These Tough Economic Times ...

2009-09-03T09:41:00.000-04:00

The Pressure's OFF!!! … Not that I was feeling any, by any means. Training has been pretty good, although the long runs could have been a bit longer. Speed is picking up a little bit, too [ran 25:12 for my middle 3 miles of this past Sunday’s 8]

That being said; ITTET, throwing down the $$$ for the registration, when D’Wife’s just starting to get us caught up on the bills after being out of work all summer, is kinda selfish. Especially this month, with D’Kid’s tuition being added to the mix.

I’m taking PDR off my race calendar, backing down my running to maintenance mode [5 on weekdays and 8 or so on Sundays] and concentrating on bike training for the MS150 City to Shore on October 3. If our schedule works out, we’ll come over to cheerlead on Sept 20, but I won’t be putting on a number. WAH!!!

PS: The Ben Franklin Bridge 10K on Nov 1 and Philly Half on Nov 22 are still a go [“are still go’s???”] just gotta find a place for D'Kid, as D'Wife will be working Sundays at that point.

Aloha

Words of Wisdom

2009-08-09T19:24:00.001-04:00

8 miles this morning in a continuous and torrential downpour. Alone.

D'Wife was talking to one of our church friends just now, who told her, "I saw Rudy running in the rain this morning ... The street was pretty flooded, but he didn't seem to mind. I think he was actually smiling ... He's nuts, you know?"

Nah, I'm hardcore.