2012 boston build-up 15k: race photos and results

it's funny how the mind works w/selective recall. the boston build-up 15k in ridgefield sounds pretty noncomital. but reword it as the barlow mountain 15k and suddenly all the hills come back to mind :D

it was colder than yesterday - 33 degrees at the start - but still great running weather.  even so, i opted for tights instead of shorts.  sun or not, there was plenty of wind out there and i didn't mind the extra layers.

i had a good race.  the 1:11:40 was a solid 8 minutes faster than my 2012 performance!  i don't know how that worked out - i would have been happy with a 1:15 :D

i'll write up a short race report.  here are the race results from clubct.

post-race mileage at rockefeller state park

after the brooklyn hot chocolate 15k, drove up to rockefeller state park for a few more miles. anthony had been there since 7 and had already logged 24 miles. he ran a few more with wayne, emmy and me, then called it a day at 27+ miles! wayne, emmy and i ran just under 8 miles before calling it a morning.

that afternoon, with the sun still shining, i headed out for another 4 miles on the post road - which, i will admit, was mainly to reach 20+ cobbled together miles for the day :D

next up, the boston build-up 15k in ridgefield tomorrow morning.

2012 brooklyn hot chocolate 10k: race photos and results

with great weather we had for the brooklyn hot chocolate 10k this morning, it's hard to believe we're at the end of january! i ran the double loop course of prospect park in shorts - and with two long sleeve shirts, was overdressed! one glitch, with the timing system down, the race became a fun run - which was fine by me. i'm trying hard to shake off the remenants of a chest cold :(

my 47:26, 7:39 pace, was well under my 50 minute target. i was pleasantly surprised because for the first 4 miles i was struggling to maintain a 7:45 pace. i managed to pick up the pace in the last two miles w/a 7:30 and 7:08, respectively. but the highlight of the race was the burnt orange mugs we got instead of tee shirts :D

afterwards, went up to rockefeller park and ran a few more miles with anthony, emmy, and wayne.

one snowstorm knocks out two weekend races :(

saturday's snowstorm - the first of the season - turned the manhattan half marathon into a fun run and resulted in a postponement of the boston build-up 15k until next weekend.    given that we had more than 30 inches of snow by this point last winter, i've got no complaints about the weather - especially when we had only a few inches of snow when it was all said and done  (and we got a qualifying credit for the manhattan half).

but from a mileage perspective, it was tough to make up the 13 miles on saturday.  i only managed nine - broken into two 4.5 mile runs.  the first was during the storm itself, and running through 2-3 inches of freshly fallen snow was fun.  the second 4.5, after the snow had stopped, wasn't much fun because now there was 4+ inches on the ground and forward motion across it was work!  add to it shoveling snow - twice - and i got some solid cross training in yesterday :D

this morning i got in 6.5 miles - on the same route, but with the snow cleared.  that was a totally different experience.  it was just as cold (maybe colder), but the effort was noticeable easier.  i'll head back out for a second run later this afternoon for another 6.5 - which should give me 22 training miles for the weekend - instead of the 22.4 race miles.  while it wasn't what i'd planned - it's all good :D

then it's time to sit back an watch the giants play san francisco :O

packet pick-up for the manhattan half marathon

this afternoon i picked up my bib and shirt for the manhattan half marathon. i hadn't been to the nyrr building since august - when i picked up for the bronx half (a race that was cancelled in anticipation of a hurricane - which arrived, instead, as a tropical storm)!  this shirt looks a lot like the bronx half marathon style.

the manhattan half will be my first nyrr race of 2012.  the forecast is for some snow to arrive on friday night - maybe into saturday morning.  hopefully the road conditions will be okay.  the race itself sold out back in december so the park should be crowded. 

whatever the morning has in store, it will be my 10th manhattan half marathon :D

if you're at this one, say hello!

bobby fischer died 4 years ago today: january 17, 2008

bobby fischer died on january 17, 2008, at the decidedly young age of sixty-four. on the one year anniversary i did a lengthily post on fischer as a chess legend and, subsequently, a deeply flawed human being.  it's hard to believe so much time has passed so quickly (his death occurred before this blog came into existence just a couple of months later, in march 2008).

in the four years since fischer's death, his estate has been in a prolonged litigation for more than three of those four years.  the controversy included the exhumation of fischer's remains and a post-mortem paternity test (which definitively concluded that he was not the father of the alleged daughter making a claim to his estate).  it also included a ruling against his widow, followed by a reversal of that ruling last march - which, apparently, has finally brought the protracted battle to a close - his widow inherits the estate.

aside from the estate litigation (always fascinating stuff for me, as a trusts and estates attorney), in those four years a full length documentary was released, and a comprehensive biography published.  while neither did much to change opinions (at least mine, of the post- 9/11 fischer), they did further the quest to understand what made him tick - and eventually implode.

group run at rockefeller state park

it was a rare weekend where there weren't any local races to run. but there was plenty of socializing on our group run at rockefeller state park (a/k/a "rockies). i got in a solid 12.5 miles at an average 10:15 pace. it never ceases to amaze me how many hills can be crammed into a given route at rockies! to even things out, when i got home i put in another 6.5 miles on the post road - pancake flat by comparison. that run came in with an average 8:29 pace :D

next weekend races return: the manhattan half on saturday and the boston build-up 15k on sunday.