merry christmas 2012!!

merry christmas everyone!!

this shot of running santas is wishful thinking for me this morning.  i wanted to head down to van cortlandt park and run the christmas holiday marathon course (at least one or two loops).  but it kicks off at 11 and that's just too late in the day for me to run then get back here to start on christmas dinner.  instead, after we open our christmas presents, i'll get in a few miles on the post road :D

i put in half a day at the office yesterday morning before officially getting into the christmas spirit.  we had our traditional fish christmas eve dinner last night (less the shellfish - katie's allergy) to usher in the holiday.  today my brother and his family will join us for christmas day dinner.

i hope everyone has a great christmas this year :D

jack klugman: r.i.p.

jack klugman died today - he was 90 years old.  for those of a certain generation he will forever be know as his t.v. alter ego - oscar madison - of the "odd couple" sitcom (and some may also see him as "quincy").  klugman's oscar madison, together with tony randall's felix unger, are ever present characters in the memories of my t.v. viewing past.

jack klugman's career was much bigger than the odd couple (though he did play oscar on stage before the t.v. series) - a role for which he won 2 of his 3 emmy awards.  he also had a long run with "quincy m.e." that ran from the late 70' into the early 1980's.  klugman had a pretty illustrious number of stage credits. there was also one non-comedic movie role he will forever be associated with - one of the "twelve angry men."  in fact, jack klugman was the last surviving actor of the 12 members of the jury from that film.

however you remember him, rest in peace jack klugman.

2012 queens fa 50k/30k: race photos and results

it was an incredibly blustery day to run the queens fat ass 50k/30k races at alley pond park this morning.  but at least it didn't snow or rain!  i opted for the 30k - 6x around the hilly 5k course.  i briefly toyed with the idea of running the 50k (key word here is briefly).  i was more than happy to stop at 18.6 miles (which took me 2:52:40) :D

i'll add a link to the results once they're posted.

here are the rest of my photos posted on facebook.

happy 2012 winter solstice :D

happy winter solstice! 

winter officially arrived at 6:12 this morning here on the east coast.  with all the rain and wind, it was anything but winter like.  when the rain finally does pass through later today however, we'll see a drop in temperature just in time for the weekend.  thankfully, it's warm enough outside for rain.  the alternative would have brought quite a different day if it was cold enough for snow... and all the shovelling that comes along with it!

i love the winter solstice because it brings to an end the march of increasingly shorter, darker days.  i don't like winter, however.  it's my least favorite season to run in.  but now - despite the cold weather that comes along with it - we can welcome the return of longer days and the daylight :D

cancelled 2012 nyc marathon options: i'll opt for refund

this morning the nyrr announced that it would offer refunds to the runners in the cancelled 2012 nyc marathon.  runners can skip the refund and get guaranteed entry into the nyc marathon for 2013, 2014, or 2015.  and, in an interesting twist, can skip the refund and opt for guaranteed entry into the nyc half marathon.  unfortunately, the guaranteed entry option requires runners to pay a new entry fee for the race.

for me, the refund option is a no-brainer.  with guaranteed entry via the 9 +1 program, the refund will basically offset my entry fee for the 2013 marathon.  i suspect most people w/guaranteed entry for 2013 (apart from the cancellation option) will chose the refund.  i'm sure there are plenty of people without otherwise guaranteed entry that will forego the refund and take a spot in the 2013 (or 14/15) marathon.  it's no different than someone who deferred her 2012 entry prior to the race (an injury, for example), and now has to pay the 2013 entry fees.

but there is no earthly tha way i'd pass up a refund for guaranteed entry into the nyc half (even w/guaranteed entry into the marathon) - because it would result one of the most expensive entry fees for a half marahon on earth (when you add the foregone refund to the half entry fee)!  that's too rich for my blood :O

here is the official nyrr statement.

2012 taconic road runners couples relay: race photos and results

it was a soggy morning to run just under 2.5 miles on the trails of the blue mountain reservation in peekskill for the taconic road runners couples relay.  if it wasn't for the pancakes and bacon waiting for the finishers in the lodge - and a nice little fire burning in the fireplace - i don't think i could have run it :O

luckily, the rain stopped just after the race got underway.  by the time the men's turn came, it was just wet and muddy out on the trail.  for the second time in two days i was way overdressed for a race.   emmy handed off second place when she tagged me for my leg, but i was overtaken halfway thru and we finished in third place.

given the conditions, i was more than happy with that... and the post-race breakfast that followed :D

i'm not sure results will be posted, but if so... i'll add a link.

here are the rest of my photos on facebook.

2012 norfolk pub 10 miler: race photos and results

this was my 5th consecutive norfolk pub 10 miler.  it was some of the best running weather we've had for the race in recent years.  but somehow i managed to be incredibly overdressed - not only could i have done w/out the windbreaker - but i should have gone w/shorts instead of tights.  even so, i had a pretty good run. 

i've run this course between 1:15 and 1:25 - w/a 1:19 finish last year.  this time around i was hoping to finish in 1:25 (coming off the roxbury marathon last weekend, my legs still felt pretty beat up).  the 1:23:18 was well under my target - and lead to the regrets on overdressing.  i may have shaved off a minute or so w/out the extra weight and heat.  even so, it was fun.

and the best part was tradinng in bib tags for beer at the pub!  i had a pint (or two) city steam naughty nurse :D

here are the race results from greystone racing.

here are the rest of my photos on facebook.

2012 jingle bell jog 3 miler: race photos and results

it's been a long time since i ran the thread and treads jingle bell jog in greenwich - maybe 10 years ago in 2002?  but this is a fun holiday race - with some interesting hills along the lollipop loop course.  i planned to take the title literally - and jog the 3 mile course - after having run the roxbury marathon yesterday :D

aside from the race itself, lots of familiar faces - inluding a handful of my taconic rr teamates.  afterwards, the runners walked over  to the y, across the street from the finish line, for the post-race party (which included hot soup and mimosas). 

here are the race results from threads and treads.

here are the rest of my photos posted on facebook.

2012 roxbury marathon: race photos and results

the roxbury marathon was my longest race/run since june!  on the drive up to roxbury, with on and off again rain showers, i had second thoughts about even starting the race. but start it i did, as did about 100 runners.  this race has been on my "to do" list for a number of years - and despite the iffy weather, i'm glad to have run it.  at 4:36:15, it's my slowest non-trail marathon finishes - but given the ups and downs of the last 6 months... i'm more than pleased w/it :D

i'll write up a race report.

here are the official race results.

2012 join the voices 5 miler

this is a somewhat belated post on the join the voices 5 miler that i ran on sunday.  for a last minute addition to my race plans, i was very pleased with the 36:20, 7:18 pace, result.  i was sure that the nyc marathon would have been my ninth and final nyrr race of the year.  but since the nyrr have yet to post "mq" on the runners race history - as is typical when a scored race is cancelled - i figured why not run this one.  join the voices was the last team race of the season - and we had our trrc brunch afterwards at the rambling house.

now, with the 2012 nine + one completed, my 2013 nyc marathon guaranteed entry is taken care of - regardless of the 2012 marathon fallout.  still, like everyone else i'm anxious to see what announcement the nyrr will make.

as for the race itself, i was surprised it hadn't filled.  normally december nyrr are packed w/runners trying to finish up their nine races.  even so, the park was packed - maybe because it included a walk and a kids run in addition to the 5 miler.  my goal was 37:30 -  a 7:30 pace.  i ran just under a 7:40 pace at the gateway gobbler 6 miler on thanksgiving.  but that turned out to be a soft target.  even with the crowded start i managed a 7:07 first mile - and my slowest mile (4), was just just over my goal pace of 7:30 (7:33).  not too shabby :D

here is a link to the handful of photos i took that morning.

december 2012 race schedule

it's hard to believe 2012 is now in its last month!  in a twist, i kicked off the december race schedule with the join the voices 5 miler in central park this morning - typically, my last nyrr race is the the nyc marathon.  afterwards it was off to the bronx  for the trrc post-race brunch at the rambling house :D

next weekend is the roxbury marathon.  this one has been on my "to do" list for years.  hopefully, the day after i'll have a enough left in the tank to run the jingle bell jog in greenwich the next morning!  i haven't done that race in almost a decade - and probably would have skipped it again this year if the trrc couples relay hadn't been pushed back a week.

mid-december is a road trip up to norfolk for the 10 miler.  this race is on my short list of all time favorites (at any distance).  aside from the challenging course, your bib tag is generally good for a drink at the pub.  norfolk bills itself as the "icebox of connectictu" - brrr!  the next day is the rescheduled couples relay in peekskill.  as a consequence, i'll have to miss another holiday favorite - the run for toys in fairfield.

december will end on a long run - the newly minted broadway ultra society queens 50k (or 30k).  my plan is to run the 50k - but i may drop down to the 30k.  taking a wait and see on this on.

here's how it looks so far:

12/2 - join the voices 5 miler
12/8 - roxbury marathon
12/9 - jingle bell jog, 3m
12/15 - norfolk pub 10 miler
12/16 - trrc couples relay
12/22 - b.u.s. queens 50k

as always, if you're at any of them, say hello!

2012 join the voices 5 miler packet pick-up

yestereday i picked up the bib and shirt for the join the voices (against brain cancer) 5 miler on sunday.  i hadn't planned on this one - i wanted to run the pete mccardle 15k in van cortlandt park instead.  but since it's the last team race of the year... and we'll have a post-race brunch after the race, i opted for this one instead :D

the nyc marathon would have been (and probably will be) my 9th nyrr race of 2012.  but for some reason, even though almost a month has gone by, the nyrr still haven't posted a mq for the race on runner's race history.  be that as it may, the join the voices will be number 10 for the year.

as always, if you're at this one, say hello!

2012 greenwich alliance for education turkey trot

it was a cold, blustery morning for the 2nd annual greenwich alliance for education turkey trot yesterday.  despite the colder than expected temperature, there were more than 300 finishers of the 5k race and another 200+ finishers of the one mile fun run - a substantial increase from the number of first year finishers!

like last year, i volunteered at the finish line and pulled bib tags for the scoring, which once again was by don and the lightfoot runners.  except for the seemingly unabated winds, it went off w/out a hitch - and was fun.  it's always an interesting experience to be on the other side of the finishers' chute (so to speak).  aside from the friends and familiar faces that come across the line, the best part was seeing the handful of runner who had just completed their first race!

here are the race results from hitek racing.

a few more photos posted on facebook.

2012 gateway gobbler: race photos and results

thanksgiving wouldn't be the same w/out a morning race to kick it off.  it's been a few years since i've run the gateway gobbler 6 miler... enough years to have forgotten the long, mile+ climb up the hill on taconic road!  still, this is a fantastic low-key, old school, race - that shouldn't be missed.  in the age of 1000+ participant thanksgiving day turkey trots, this one is a classic (normally, w/less than a 100 finishers).

for some reason i had the overly ambitious goal of a sub-45 minute finish (clearly thought up before i remembered how challenging the course was).  i did string together a bunch of 7:30 miles - and was on pace fot that target.  but in the end i was the 22nd finisher - in 45:34, a 7:36 pace.  i was more than happy w/that result :D

there were plenty of familiar faces who ran this one: don, john, dan, karen, dawn, gracie - and emmy (who spectated).  no better way to create a small calorie deficit going into our thanksgiving meals :D

here are the race result from hitek racing.

the rest of my photos are up on facebook.