thoughts on long island greenbelt trail 50k

the race information packet for the 2008 long island greenbelt trail 50k arrived in today's mail. i cited portions of that letter in my 2007 race report. since i managed to go off course 4 times in the first loop, one point is worth repeating.

"Which brings up Point 7 again: 'If you travel more than 50-60 yards without seeing a marking, you have almost certainly gone astray, and should retrace your footsteps. ... The bottom line is that it is YOUR responsibility for staying on the course, PLEASE KEEP AWAKE!' That emphasis is from the original text!"

this time, if my navigation skills don't abandon me, i'd like to run this course in 5:30 - my original 2007 goal.

check out anthony's blog for a great preview of the race. not only does he have up the course map and an elevation chart, but he has links to race reports as well.

as an extra special treat, here is emmy's 2007 race report, which was published in the hi-tek newsletter, but never found its way on-line:
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race report by Emmy (happy Mother's day to moms - and congrats to those who raced today)

The May 12 Greenbelt 50K sounded fun and different. A fair but challenging course on Long Island's Greenbelt trail network (7.4 miles of north - south trails up to Cold Spring harbor). It was part of the ultra grand prix series. This year a 25K race was added. My friend Frank was entered so I figured I would try it out and maybe do the 50K if up for it. We got in the mail a 3-page letter warning runners that it was easy to get lost and that we would have to find our own way back onto the trail. It sounded much more menacing than we both imagined. Well, 6 hours and 55 minutes later I survived 31 miles of trails (a double out and back course) with getting lost (Frank got lost 4 times and probably went 33 miles) and ended up in 4th place for the women - Frank came in in 6:22 -both of our times were actually right on target for this difficulty of a course.

What an adventure! I had a blast at times, hiking, complaining and talking with the other runners. The key, according to the seasoned trail runners, was just to hike and walk when needed and run with caution! and eat and drink a lot. We were to follow the white blazes and orange ribbons (which at times did not appear when one needed desperately to see them) up the trail, down and back up and down for a total of 29 miles - we started at 7:30 a.m. with about 50 people and ran 2 miles on the roads - at this point my calf was sore and I yelled out to Frank as we doubled back, "I'm in pain!" He said, "dropout and volunteer"' (plan B). I decided to switch shoes - our drop bags had been driven to the trail head - and once we got on the trails the muscle stretched and it felt better.

I followed this amazing German woman Helma, who is known for getting lost on this course - but she had run it so many times, she knew where to go. The first 4 or so miles were flat and pretty - then, after an aid station, the fun started. We had to climb up a mountain, navigate roots and wooden pilings, go up and around and back down a mountain to the turn around. The cruelest part of the run was that the aid station, located near the scenic Long island Sound, was way down a cliff - try getting down and back up with tired quads! Every runner had to check in down at the station.

I did a lot of walking and hiking which suited me just fine. Cruel also was the speed with which some of the lead runners were coming back. I truly wanted to cheat and turn around at times - I had lost Helma and was running with a guy who ran finished in 7 hours last year. He told me that we had to make each leg in 1:40, so that became my goal. My first leg was almost 2 hours(!) and back was 1:37. I thought about stopping at the 25K, but had seen Frank going back out and I was running with a sister and brother who were doing their first trail ultra and were doing my pace (slow!). That inspired me to turn around and go back out. Only halfway - what a feeling of dread. On leg 3, northbound, the 25K runners were coming in, that had started at 8:30, as well as the faster 50K runners. Everyone said hello to each other. I endured the hiking and climbing at the northern end and was relieved to see Frank coming back. He was about 25 minutes ahead of me and I was afraid he would have to wait 3 hours to get a ride home!

At the northern end, I was elated - the clock said 5:12, and i knew I had 2 hours to finish in around 7 hours. I picked up the pace as I knew I could break 7, if I didn't get lost too much! I did lose about 5 minutes trying to find a trail head across a road. Going back out, I saw the runners I had been with and we said hello. I finally saw Helma (she was in last place, bless her heart). I started to feel good and was all by myself - this was tough as I made a wrong turn twice and was so mentally tired i couldn't find my way. I have never been happier to see the final aid station. My watch said 6:12 -only 4 miles to go. This was the LONGEST I'd ever been on my feet in a run. Fortunately the trails were flat and easy to run on. I passed a woman who had been in the front as she was nursing a sore knee.

Finally at 6:53, we hit the road and the final stretch to the finish line. Frank was drinking a beer. All the finishers got cool baseball hats. The trails were a real test of endurance - I had never hiked or run that far on trails. A lot of the runners were training for longer races like the Leadville or VT 100 (Frank) or Nipmuck. All we talked about at the finish was getting lost. The Greenbelt was a good trail runner for a beginner like myself and I recommend the 25K. A lot of people hiked the 15.5 miles - on a gorgeous May day, that's not all that bad.

piers lawrence quartet at the knitting factory

the piers lawrence quartet: chuck, jim, sir earl, and piers - relaxing outside before show time.
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i will admit to sneaking up behind piers just outside of the knitting factory. "don't you guys have a show to do?" they were in great spirits and enjoying the cool spring evening before getting on stage to play some hot jazz. in a twist, i saw piers and the band before i met up with pat and her sister, tina, who were already inside.

while no stranger to the knitting factory, it was a few years since i'd last gone to see a show there. in fact, the last time pat and i had been there was to see pat metheny and his trio. this place a has some good music history and a nice tribeca vibe to it.


on-stage, playing some great jazz.
chuk on the keyboards, sir earl on percussion, jim on bass, and piers on guitar.
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the show kicked off with a sonny rollins classic, "pent-up house" and rolled (excuse the pun) into "samba christina." this one, an original composition by piers was written for christina, the girl sitting to my immediate left. it's a very forward take on the bossa nova style. having enjoyed it often on via the cd, it was especially fun and atmospheric live.

"samba christina" was followed by the cd's title track, "stolen moments." a few songs later we were treated to a chuk fowler original, "steppin'." the band was having some serious fun, especially when they did "dimanche" (sunday morning) and asked the audience to guess the which city that might lend its name to.

but they really kicked it up for the final tune - "reza." in fact, it's the first time i ever heard a jazz band noodling around with the chords to deep purple's "smoke on the water," before diving headfirst into the song. this, as deadhead, reminded me of oh so many shows where the band would lay down a bit of tease and swing into a different song entirely. as an added bonus to "reza," sir earl tossed in a smoking drum solo mid-way thru the number!

here is the complete set-list from the show:

1. Pent-Up House - Sonny Rollins
2. Samba Christina - Piers Lawrence
3. Stolen Moments (cd's title track) - Oliver Nelson
4. I'll Remember April - Gene de Paul
5. Grant's Greens - Piers Lawrence
6. Steppin' - Chuk Fowler
7. Everytime - Piers Lawrence
8. Mr. P.C. Blues - John Coltrane
9. Dimanche - Piers Lawrence
10. Reza - John "Jaco" Pastorius

afterwards, pat and i socialized a bit - but we had to get home, since it was a school night. piers and company are playing at the iridium jazz club tonight. if you're in the city and want to see a great show - go check them out!


piers, christina, and pat - after the show
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if you're not in the city, or can't make it to the show tonight, all is not lost - just pick up a copy of their new cd:


"stolen moments"

mid-week training update

this morning i ran 6.2 easy miles, two of which were again on the track. i'm adding those mid-run miles on the track to get reacquainted with the cadence of running laps, because in a few weeks i'd like to start doing intervals again.

on monday i went to the dentist and had some serious drilling done on my jaw. he inserted the base to which, once healed, the post will be attached. then that post will be be base for my new cap/crown/tooth? i'm at a loss for the proper dental jargon. did i mention that my dentist is a former marathoner? he transmitted his marathon genes to his daughter. a picture of her finishing the nyc marathon is proudly on display in his waiting room! that's my kind of decor!

when the anesthesia wore off at noon, i was in no condition to run for the rest of the day. to be on the safe side, he also prescribed some antibiotics - so have to take 2 pills a day for a week to guard against infection. so no miles on monday. nor did i run any miles yesterday, but for different reasons.

i had originally planned to see the piers lawrence quartet tuesday night after work. but then my friend todd and i made plans to have a couple of beers before the show. that's the same todd i ran more than half the boston marathon with last month. then, at the office, i read that the sports museum of america would have it's dedication ceremony at noon. so i took a walk down to the old customs house at lunchtime to check it out.

i have strongly negative feelings about the sports museum. so much so that i'm loath to even write up the experience. but i'll post something on it later. i've already posted what a great time todd and i had at the blind tiger ale house - and there will definitely be a part two since we have to go back to try a "bloody beer." i also had a great time listening to the piers lawrence quartet at the knitting factory - and a review is forthcoming! but when i got home last night, running a few miles just wasn't in the cards.

so to make up for the back to back zeros entered in my log, decided to run first thing in the morning. did i mention this was also my way of burning off all those excess hops and alcohol vapors lingering in my system from those pints of rogue ale - haha.

here are the splits:

8:24
8:05 16:29
7:56 24:25
8:27 32:52
8:09 41:01
8:36 49:36
1:35 51:12

8:16 pace for 6.2 miles.

looking forward, will probably do another 6 miles on thurday and friday - leading up to the long island greenbelt trail 50k on saturday, and the norwalk mothers day 10k on sunday. anthony has already posted a great, must-read, preview of greenbelt on his site. check it out!

blind tiger ale house

tonight my friend todd and i went to the blind tiger ale house in greenwich village. our primary objective was to try "louise's famous bloody beer." but tonight was the first of two nights that featured rogue ales and the beers of the pacific northwest on tap. i kicked off my beer tasting with a rogue chocolate stout and after that initial round, we were shocked to disccover that the special bloody beer was only served on weekends!

so moving on to plan (or beer) b, i tried a rouge smoke - a style of beer i was introduced to at captain lawrence brewery. we briefly lamented the inability to try the bloody beer, but on the positive side, it was another reason to return to this great ale house! the time flew by quickly as we reviewed our time at boston, talked about upcoming races and other running related stuff.

we had enough time and the thirst for a third round. for my final selection i went with the classic american amber ale and todd went in the opposite direction with a rogue brutal bitter! then it was time for me to head downtown and meet my wife at the knitting factory in tribeca. we had plans to meet pat's sister, tina, and see the piers lawrence quartet. but that's for another post.


Hedonistic! Ebony in color with a rich creamy head. The mellow flavor of oats, chocolate malts, and real chocolate are balanced perfectly with the right amount of hops for a bittersweet finish.




Rogue Smoke(previously known as Welkommen on draft) is a German style Rauchbier (Smoke Beer), which was inspired by the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Most rauch brews are bottom fermented, however Rogue Smoke, is top fermented. It is orange-amber in hue with a delicate smoke aroma and flavor with an intense hop finish




Tawny amber in color with a coffee aroma and tight head. A delicate roasted malt accent, generous use of hops and a smooth finish





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the elusive "bloody beer"

"our version of the Bloody Mary with beer: tomato juice, secret spices, strong ale depending on what's available, usually something strong and malty, aventinus, barley wine, imperial stout or porter, etc, & garnished with the kitchen sink. try one and you'll never go back to vodka!"

kate taylor at the blender theatre: guest review

i am so pleased to post this guest review by my wife, pat, of kate taylor's show at the blender theatre in new york city friday night. there is no bigger fan of james taylor and all things taylor (including the extended musical family of taylors) than pat. so sit back and enjoy this great review of her show, and her opening act, the ellis unit.
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Kate Taylor at the Blender Theater

Last Friday, I had the luxury of listening and relaxing to the beautiful voice of Kate Taylor in a relatively cozy spot in Manhattan. I walked into the Blender Theater at Gramercy on East 23rd Street not really knowing what to expect. I knew that Taylor, the younger sister of famous singer-songwriter James Taylor, usually played in small venues, filled with incredibly devoted crowds -- since I had seen her for the first time in March of 2007 at the Turning Point Café in Piermont, N.Y. in Rockland County -- but I had no idea what seeing her in Manhattan would be like.

When I arrived at about 7:45 for the 8:00 show, I was incredibly surprised to see a ton of people filling the theater! Oddly, the theater is set up with only about 10 rows of 12 chairs, with a center aisle going down the middle, in the front, near the stage. Behind those rows of metal stackable chairs is a large standing area. There is a bar on either side of the theater and behind the open area is traditional movie theater type seating, with two sets of steps on either side of the theater leading up to the 20 rows or so of permanent seats. I chose a great aisle seat in the second row, which would give me a close up view of Taylor.

It was only when I saw more and more people crowd into the theater that I noticed that there was a distinct difference to this crowd: there were a lot of twenty-somethings who looked "cool." Of course, there were also many people in their 40s and 50s and some of them seemed cool too. But this younger crowd seemed to be a different from the usual Kate Taylor groupies I had seen last year.

Soon I realized that the ticket I had bought said something like "Kate Taylor and the Ellis Unit." What was the "Ellis Unit?" Well, as I was soon to find out, it was a four-piece rock band led by a guy who looked about 22 on lead vocals and guitar, a guy who looked about 19 on electric guitar, a sleepy-looking youngster who looked about 18 on bass guitar, and a drummer who bobbed up and down and looked like he was about 20. There was also a young woman and a young man singing back-up, both swaying to the music with their hands in their pockets. As soon as they started playing, I realized I was going to be in for some sort of rock and roll, though I never really was able to pinpoint their exact style. They played about 6 or 7 songs, ranging from a few loud rock songs, to a couple of loud but slower folk tunes, to a couple of loud bluesy rock songs.

Frankly, I couldn't really hear or understand the lyrics that well and the lead singer's voice was okay but not anything really special (in my uneducated opinion). He seemed a little too shy to be a performer and he had an odd habit of turning his back on the audience and facing the drummer for about 30 seconds at a time while playing. Other times, while facing the crowd, his eyes were closed for long stretches. His fingering on his guitar, though, showed some talent and he seemed to be enjoying himself. And every once in a while, he even showed a boyish, mischievous smile. The guy on the electric guitar did a little bit of singing, as I recall, but otherwise hung back. During some of his solos, though, he did appear to be very talented. I'm no big fan of electric guitar, but he did make it sound really cool. The guys on bass and drums seemed to be having a good time too.

After each song, the crowd showed their appreciation by clapped loudly, though it seemed as if it was mainly the people standing in the back, not the old fogies like me sitting up front. At the end of their set, the lead singer thanked a couple of people and the band exited to lots of applause. When I stood up to stretch my legs and look around, I noticed the that crowd was buzzing. As I was standing there alone, looking around the room and seeing all these young people in black, a nice guy standing across the aisle walked over to me and asked if I was there to see Kate Taylor. I said yes and told him I was a huge fan of Kate, as well as James and their brother Livingston. We chatted about how I even had a CD by Hugh Taylor who owns a bed-and-breakfast out in Martha's Vineyard.

Then I asked him what he knew about the Ellis Unit. He said that the lead singer was Gus Wenner, the son of Jann Wenner, the owner of Rolling Stone Magazine, and the guy on electric guitar was Jack Byrne, the son of Ellen Barkin and Gabriel Byrne. He also reported that "Ellen Barkin was here and she looks great!" "And on top of that, Yoko Ono was sitting up there, in the audience, in the back!" Wow! Little did I know I was in such a celebrity scene. Of course, by the time I learned all this, Yoko and Ellen were long gone and the young, cool people were drifting out of the theater. Just today, I saw this snippet about their concert. Maybe if this band becomes famous, I can say I saw them first in 2008! (This news story tells a little more about these two boys, who are apparently headed off to college).

So, finally around 9:00, Kate came onstage wearing black stretch pants and a blouse with a sort of native-American-type white vest with fringes on it. She has a wonderful mane of blonde hair that flowed around as she bopped around with her acoustic guitar. She had amazing energy and a big smile! She played with a male guitarist (whom I vaguely remember seeing with her last year) who seemed relaxed and mellow, as well as a drummer (am I forgetting a bass player? Hmmm.) Kate started off with her melodic "Beautiful Road," the title track from her 2003 CD, which I play every once in a while at my desk at work. I love the refrain, "I've got wide open valleys, and high walls of stone/ I'll always be a traveler on this beautiful road."

Although the sound of Kate's voice and her amazing range are reminiscent of her brother James, her style is all her own. She has more of a country twinge to her alto voice, and she dances around, swings her hips, and smiles much more than James. Although she seems more outgoing, she also, at times, seems a bit more nervous. Still, she has an amazing twinkle in her eye that an audience member sees only sometimes in James, but all the time in brother Livingston, who is an amazing and fun singer to watch in his own right. I love both James and Liv (especially singing this duet, called "City Lights!" Both Kate and Livingston seem to really love to tell stories to introduce their songs, and James seems to be enjoying that more and more as he gets older.

As I sat down to write this today, I found someone else's review of Kate's "Beautiful Road." I have no idea who Holly is, but I agree with her opinion about the album, so I'm quoting it here:
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"Beautiful Road Kate Taylor

"Created out of love and finished in loss, Kate Taylor - the saucy vixen of the musical Taylor family that included iconic singer/songwriter James, the late bluesy Alex, the troubadour bard Livingston - has grown from ebullient eclectic into a ruminative vocalist who can let life filter through the velvet tone of her worn in alto.

“I Will Fly” as elegiac as it is life-affirming opens an album that is as much about the joy of having lived and known as it is about the holes and sorrow of loss, while the sweetly pensive duet with dusty suede throated brother James on the complete “Auld Lang Syne” offers a benediction of hope and possibilities amongst the memories. Having lost husband, collaborator and writer of six songs herein Charlie Witham, Taylor brings a grace to the most difficult transitions that transcends the hardship and expands the beauty… with guests Mavis Staples, Levon Helm and Chuck Leavell, this undiscovered jewel is grown-up music that sows a more expansive sense of what it means to live, die and be fully present in the now and the gone."
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When Kate sang "The Water is Wide," a beautiful traditional song that James recorded in 1991 for his album "New Moon Shine" (watch him sing it on youtube), I was floored. Kate has such a sweet but strong, clear and warm voice that her rendition of it was like drinking a mug of wonderful hot chocolate while sitting around a glowing fireplace (coming from a recovering chocoholic like me, that's a huge compliment). The lyrics always warm my heart: "The water is wide/ I can't cross over/ And neither have/ I wings to fly/ Build me a boat/ That can carry two/ And both shall row/ My love and I."

Kate is a lively, chatty woman who recorded two albums in the 1970s, then had two daughters and "just sang in the kitchen" after that. She talked a little about her daughters and then sang an amusing song about a couple who was about to get married but then the woman decides to call it off. She did a few other folk tunes and maybe one or two semi-rock songs - - all of which she put "her all" into.

One of my favorite songs is one that she wrote about her husband, Charlie, who died right as Kate was about to finish her "Beautiful Road" CD. The song, "Red Tailed Hawk," was about a hawk that circled Kate and Charlie's home in Martha's Vineyard at the time that Charlie's illness was getting worse (she wrote the song after the CD came out, so it's not on "Beautiful Road"). As I recall Kate telling the story, Charlie saw the hawk one day and told her that it was looking out for her. Then, on the day of Charlie's funeral, the hawk flew overhead and cawed. Later, at various family functions, even in other locations, a red tailed hawk flew over and cawed. So, Kate told us, she knows that Charlie is up there, looking out for her. This tune has a special meaning for me, as my dad died last August and there are so many times that I feel that he is up there, somewhere, like Charlie, looking out for me.

All in all, Kate played about eight or ten songs, each of which I thoroughly loved. I only wish I could have stayed for the "meet and greet" afterward. Alas, I had to scurry home to get to bed and then wake up early to drive a bunch of crazy runners to a foot race in Brooklyn! ;)

the Ellis Unit at the Blender Theater

updated race schedule

i posted my revised racing schedule through july this morning. a business trip planned for the first week of june was postponed. that unanticipated change let me add two events to the schedule: first, i joined a team for the "need for speed" relay - which runs from bear mountain, across westchester county, and finishes in new rochelle. second, now i can revisit the nipmuck trail marathon and, hopefully, run it in drier conditions!

as i mentioned yesterday, while i'm leaning toward the laurel highlands 70.5 mile ultra, i may switch to the unisphere 100k. either race would be a new event for me. but traveling to maine for the pineland farms trail challenge 2 weeks before laurel highlands makes the short drive to queens for the unisphere 100k a more attractive option. there's still time to finalize those plans.

a race that i'm looking forward to is the putnam county classic, an 8 mile road race on the 4th of july. organized by the taconic road runners, it's emmy's debut as a race director. anyone within driving distance of mahopac, put this race your summer race schedule! another race directed by a good friend is the lightfoot mother's day 10k in norwalk this weekend. if you're near norwalk, consider joining us for this great race. it's a great way to burn off, in advance, the calories sure to be consumed at mother's day meals that afternoon!

two nyrr events are this month: the healthy kidney 10k and the aha wall street run, 5k. the wall street 5k, minutes from my office in downtown manhattan, will be my 7th scored race of the 9 needed for guaranteed entry for the 2009 nyc marathon. the 2008 nyc marathon will be race number 8, so then i'll only need 1 more scored race this year to have completed 9.

last, but not least, my 2 goal races for the summer, the vermont 100 and the 24 hour around the lake ultra, happen to be on successive weekends. while that may seem a bit extreme, i did that combination last year. i added a countdown clock for vermont to the sidebar. but the more important thing to do is send in my race application before it closes out!

training recap for the week

with all the things going on, i hardly had time to mention my training for the week. i found an on-line running log, "running ahead," to store my training information - and have started to experiment with it. i doubt, however, that it will replace my primative record-keeping anytime soon (manually recording my split times in the training log). but it is fun to play around with.

i did 3 runs in the 5 days that lead up to the brooklyn half:

tuesday: 6 miles/47:43/7:58 pace
thursday: 6 miles/44:26/7:25 pace
friday: 6 miles/47:37/7:57 pace

then, saturday, was the brooklyn half marathon: 1:39:38/7:37 pace

today, in full-blown recovery mode, i ran 6.2 miles in 51:12, an 8:16 pace. for a major change of pace, ran the 4th and 5th miles on the high school track. no semblence of speed, just to get reacquainted with 400 meter laps.

that tallies up to 37.3 miles for the week. almost makes me want to head back outside for another 3 miles to bump up the total to 40 miles.

but, tonight i want to update my racing schedule for the next couple months. i have a few races lined up for may and june. probably the biggest race in may, aside from the long island greenbelt trail 50k next weekend is the pineland farms trail challenge 50k at the end of the month. june is still a tough call because two races i'd like to run, the unisphere 100k and the laural highlands 70.5 mile trail run are both scheduled for the same day. yikes - some tough decisions will have to be made.

stay tuned.