The Shore Thing – Part 1

I have strongly avoided going down the shore this year. Not that I haven’t wanted to enjoy the beach and the ocean with my girls, nor to spend time my two of my best dude friends, Pirate Pete and John the Parrothead. The overwhelming factoring has been my growing disdain and disaffection with Aunt Bonnie [Mrs. Pete].

You’ve heard the expression “Some people are faucets, some people are drains?” Bonnie is the big rubber stopper at the bottom of the ocean; the ultimate suckfest. Not only is her constant yammering annoying, but her incessant need to go over her vacation day schedule and visitor pre-reservations at Casa de Pedro [interesting the way that works: She calls you and tells you when you’re coming down], and the back-stabbing trash-talk, not only of her friends, but of their kids, their families, people they know that she’s met..

It’s called the Bonnie-verse; and I’m stuck in it!

Bonnie met D’Wife when DW trained her as a social worker at Bancroft.

Little did Donna realize the “gravity” of the situation. More than 20 years later, she can’t escape the Bonnie-verse.

Don’t get me wrong … Of my closest friends, Pete and John are super-tight in the Bonnie-verse [well, Pete, duh!]. The problem is:

1) If you have Bonnie-verse friends, you may not socialize without Bonnie present. That means that D’Kid can’t see Leah, John’s daughter without both families dragging the kids to Brigantine … Guess what Bon? They see each other a LOT more than you think!

2) All your friends belong to us; us = Bonnie. Caveat: As long as they live in New Jersey, will travel to The Shore, and will pay homage to the Bonzerillista. My best friends Lisa, Tommy and Jill? Don’t exist, because Bonnie only met them at our wedding. If we mention them Bonnie gets this glazed “who?” look.

3) Once you’re in … you can’t get out. If you marry in, divorce won’t save you; Bonnie keeps in touch with a couple ex’s – she’s just careful about scheduling. Death won’t save you; Bonnie is a miraculous grudge holder. It’s amazing to me what people choose to remember vs. what they can forget.

All that being said, I was somewhat apprehensive about going down there this weekend. I certainly wanted to share the ocean with M’Girls, plus the opportunity to do a long run on the island was a big plus … oh, some unexplored territory!

I plotted my course for Sunday, got everything ready ahead of time [including checking the Mass schedules for St. Thomas (Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning)]

We got there about 1:00, blew off Church for Saturday and came off the beach around 5PM.
As the girls were changing and showering, I attended to the most pressing need … beer for Dad!
I had checking the fridge upon arrival – NASCAR Beer. Plus, D’Wife needed wine.

While in Island Liquors I was able to offer my expertise …

Dude1: We should get some beer for the girls
Dude2: They don’t drink beer
Dude1: If they don’t like it, we’ll drink it [he pulls a 6 of Harpoon Raspberry Hefeweizen]
Me [Mr. Nosy-Body, only because this jerk is in my way]: Oh, she’ll like that!
D1: She will? Is it beer?
RM: Well, it was; until they put all the raspberry shit in it. Girls love this crap! It’s sweet and fruity, and fizzy; it’s just so gay!!! I wouldn't even touch it.

D1 then noticed my Brigantine Triathlon T-shirt [complete luck of 'what was next in the drawer'] and figured me for some hardcore athlete.

D1: Have you tried the Michelob Ultra?
RM: I don't drink NASCAR beer, sorry.

He looked at the little old sun-burnt surfer beer-geek before him and chuckled to himself, “Thanks, boss.”

Philadelphia Brewing Company – Walt Wit; Newbold IPA
Martin’s Liquors, Mt. Laurel, NJ: $10.99 / 6-pack
Canal’s Berlin : $9.99
Island Beverage, Brigantine : $9.35

This may be the first time that I've ever seen beer cheaper Down the Shore than at home.

Part 2 >>>

30 Days

One month until the Philadelphia Distance Run, my second "A" race of the year [Midnight Madness being the first, although far from a race, more of an event].

I'm training better this year than any year I can remember, and enjoying it a lot more than I can recall. Sure, there were times when I left work in the red sky blast furnace of Summer, thinking back to the days when I would alternately dread and relish the prospect of doing 7, 8, or 9 miles. I won't lie ... some evenings I considered doing another 3 or 4 on top of the 3 or 4 I'd already done that morning. Conversely, there were plenty of sprinkler soaked mornings when September 21 seemed so far away, that I thought, "Dude, you should have stayed in bed."

The miles don't run themselves.

So, we're good ... I have one point of anxiety ... we're going down to Brigantine this weekend. I am looking forward to a long run around the island. I have a route laid out and everything. I'm looking forward to a repeat of my session two years ago. However, I can NOT and WILL not deal with another disappointment, like the one that followed.

I'm going down there, eager and excited but cautious ...

Programming Change

The regular background music [Bustle in Your Hedgerow - Live at Beachland Ballroom on 2007-06-21] has been temporarily suspended, so that I might bring you David Byrne and Brian Eno's latest collaboration, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" in streaming audio.

David [or his robot] emailed me this morning and said, "It's cool to share"

Good Morning

Today (Monday here in NYC) the rest of the album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is available in three different formats. Small, Large and Extra Large. There is no medium. Just kidding about the sizes - but the three versions part is true, plus there is artwork etc.You can stream the rest of the songs or just go for what's behind the curtain at:http://www.everythingthathappens.com I hope you like the songs....

David B
Midtown

Following the link ...

Brian Eno and I recently finished our first collaboration in about 30 years. The name of the new record is "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today." For the most part, Brian did the music and I wrote some tunes, words and sang. It's familiar but completely new as well. We're pretty excited.

The album is available exclusively from this Web site. You can stream all of the songs for free and purchase it in a variety of digital and physical formats, including a limited edition Deluxe Package designed by Sagmeister Inc. All formats can be downloaded immediately and physical CDs will be shipped in the Fall.

David Byrne
Midtown

PS: If you like what you hear, please share the streaming player on the left of the page with your friends, or embed it on your Web site, blog or profile. Just click Embed/Share and you're good to go.


So here you go, with David's blessings:

An Ending, A Beginning, or a Turnaround?

I stepped on the scale this morning, after shortening my usual 4 mile weekday run to 3 due to timing issues, and was, frankly stunned. The red line indicating my weight was on the left side of the black line marking 140 pounds.

This was the lightest I’ve been since … well, since I started calling myself “fat” and I started doing that in the 150s.

The point of this blog was to document my return to the weight and shape I was back when I was racing “really, really well” and counting on some math and dedication to bring me there. However the math failed me completely [there is NO WAY that I ran 400 more miles than the beer I drank; if anything I owe more to the run column than I did at the beginning].

So, the weight is gone … Am I faster? Faster than I was when I started 400 Beers? Certainly, and improving every day … well, not every day but on the whole, week-by-week. I’ve slipped the 9:00 miles and am now flirting with 8:30s. I’ve come real close to 8:00 on a couple 5K training runs [mostly because I knew that if I got home after D’Kid was up, I’d get my ass kicked. Being tired, sweaty, thirsty, and getting yelled at before my first cup of coffee is not my idea of a good morning]

I know that I’ll never get back to my glory days. I have accepted that. There are Before-Dadhood PRs, and After-Dadhood PRs. Why not? I’m not the same person, after all. 3 miles in 24:24 the other week may not be my PR, but it was my fastest in quite a while, so that’s the mark to beat!

Which brings the question? Have we, in fact, Rebuilt the Monster?

That’s the trouble with self-improvement … knowing when to stop.

Let’s look at the specs:

Size, shape and weight are about the same. Speed is off, but improving. The measurables [heart rate, BP, Advil consumption, Tums-ishness] are about where I expect, since I never paid attention to them anyway, back then. On another plane: I’ve got my mojo, I found my Zen, anger and depression have been replaced by clarity and joy. My often broken heart has been spot-welded and reinforced with concrete and rebar. I’m not training alone anymore, with no goals in sight, but with a bunch of 1s and 0s that I call my friends [those names to the left, there], whom I can’t wait to meet up with on the line.

So, I would say yes. The Monster has been rebuilt, has completed some road trails, and is ready to go.




To go for what?

I have some ideas. After all, this is My Running Career v2.0, nothing is set in stone. In fact it’s less set in stone then when I was younger, and felt compelled to establish PRs at every distance and at every race.

Let me think about it …

Over a beer.

A Fine Breakfast

Grilled Breakfast Pizza:

Pre-made personal-sized pizza crust

Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes or salsa/pico

Cheese [at least 2 kinds]

Toppings [bacon, sausage, ham, onions, peppers, mushrooms, the sky's the limit]

Egg [or two depending on crust size]

Start the grill, oil the grate and place crust right on alone for a couple minutes to warm up and crisp the bottom.

Tomato up the pizza crust

Add cheese and toppings

When cheese is melted and toppings look almost done, crack the egg right on top*. Close lid and cook till opaque. Finish with oregano, rosemary, stuff like that.

*If you prefer scrambled - whip them up on the side burner until just about done, then spoon on top and finish in the grill

This is especially good after a long, early-morning, late-summer run [or ride]. Standing barefoot beside the grill at 8AM on a Sunday with a cool bottle of water and a spatula, is remarkably ... well, it's just weird, let's be honest.

If you can't possibly eat pizza without a beer [even at 8AM!], I suggest something light ... A non-NASCAR pilsener or a hefeweizen - this IS summer after all. If you require something stronger to start the day, might I recommend ...

Founders Breakfast Stout
You?ve got to love coffee to truly appreciate this phenomenal brew. Brewed with an abundance of flaked oats, bitter and sweetened imported chocolates, Sumatra and Kona coffee. Breakfast Stout has an intense fresh roasted coffee nose toped with a cinnamon colored frothy head that seems to never fade and makes you wish breakfast could last forever.

Specs:

8.3% ABV

25 IBU?s

Color: Black

Unfiltered

Cellar: 1 year

Availability: Quarterly (limited production, pre-order only)

Serving temperature: 42° F

Glassware: Bubble glass