2014 running year in review

i closed out 2014 with an easy 4.5 mile run which my annual mile to just over 2,100 (2,100.21 to be precise).  that was exactly 68 few miles than my 2013 total of 2,168.2 miles!  the shortfall can be attributed to the 2 weeks in september that is didn't run - recovering from the scalding my hand took in the kitchen (no fun walking around or running with a bandaged hand).  both totals were well off my goal of 2,400 miles for the year (200 per month average).

i can close the first half of the year - with may the only month i didn't run at least 200 miles.  in fact, april capped off a 12 month run of 200+ mileage months! as such it was a reverse of 2013 were i started slow but ended with a long string of 200+ mile months.  2014 saw a second half that didn't include any 200 mile months!  july, with 184 miles, had the highest total miles.  with august and sepetember my lowest points, at 136.3 and 127 miles respectively.

during the final 6 months i average 150 miles a month, and brought down the monthly average to 175 miles for the year as a whole.  while i'm not happy at missing my goal for the second year in a row, i'm still pleased to have gotten in all the miles - and races. in fact, at 160 miles for the month of December, i'm closing out 2014 with the highest monthly mileage total since july's 184 miles! hurray for that!  and onward to another shot at 2,400 miles for 2015 :D

as for races, i only ran 35 of them this year. that's my lowest number of races run in well over a decade!  i usually average around 50 a year and the drop off was a surprise.  but, again, that was attributable to the second half of the year - in line with the overall drop off in my running mileage.  but i did get in an ultra (sbyill 50k) - which i was a goal for 2014 since i ran no ultra in 2013!  in addition to the my 12th nyc marathon, those were my 2 longest distance events of the year.

other highlights included my 5th escarpement trail run (a wet and soggy one in july).  that sets me up for my 100 mile shirt next summer - after #6.  i'm really looking forward to that one!  i also completed all 5 borough races in the nyrr grand prix series!  that was a logistical surprise - and marked my second consecutive year doing it (i doubt a 3 pete is in the cards for 2015).  i'm sure that another race or two should be included here - and if i remember, i'll update this :D

so to wrap up, happy new year to everyone.  i hope you've all had great running years!  and here's to another great year of running in 2015!  cheers!

more twists & turns from kerouac and cassady estates regarding "joan anderson letter'

last week sfgate reported on a couple of new developments in the ongoing saga of the recently discovered joan anderson letter - both involved lawyers.  in the first, lawyers in florida moved to reopen the estate of jack kerouac on behalf on paul blake, kerouac's nephew.  that's a direct consequence of a 2009 decision that held the last will and testament of gabriella kerouac - jack's mother - was a fake.  that surrogate's court decision was ultimately affirmed on appeal.  what remains to be seen is how that holding will impact the title and distribution of the joan anderson letter if it's found to be the property of jack kerouac.

in the second development, the cassady family has retained the services of marc toberoff, an intellectual property attorney. it doesn't seem to be in dispute that the estate of neal cassay owns the copyright to the contents of the joan anderson letter.  but, in a novel twist - pun intended - the joan anderson letter has been referred to as a manuscript.  in a distinction with a difference because whether it's a letter or a manuscript can lead to different outcomes with respect to ownership of the actual document (separate and apart from the contents).  it will be interesting to see how a court rules in that regard.

in any event, stay tuned because the saga will certainly continue!

merry christmas - 2014

merry christmas everyone!

from festivus to christmas, it's been a busy - and wet - 48 hours!  after all the rushing around - and  presents this morning, followed by a few miles running - the payoff is our family christmas dinner.  katie is home for winter break, mom came tuesday night, and my brother and his family come over this afternoon.  instead of snow this year, we've had plenty of rain  - and, luckily, warm weather prevents it from turning into ice.

hopefully i'll get a chance to add some christmas day pictures to this post :D

happy festivus - 2014!

happy festivus everyone!  the holiday for the rest of us :D

for seinfeld fans out there, this is the  december holiday tradition to observe.  whether it gets you into the proper holiday spirit is another matter entirely (especially if your festivus centers around the airing of grievances).  either way, it's a great reason to watch some seinfeld in the midst of all the airings of "it's a wonderful life," "miracle on 34th street" (either version), "white christmast," "elf" - you get the picture!

so have a great festivus - and christmas is just 48 hours away :D

r.i.p. joe cocker

we i heard joe cocker died today at the age of 70, it saddened me to think one more performer from woodstock is no longer with us.  his iconic performance of  "with a little help from my friends" 45 years ago helped define not only woodstock the event, but became part of the fabric of woodstock imagery that helped define the generation.  but he was much more than a writhing presence on stage in 1969 - his career and music was much more than that one off performance.  probably no greater tribute came via joe belushi's performance as joe cocker on aturday night live less than a decade later.  not only an iconic performance by belushi, but also a defining snl moment.

i was lucky enough to see joe cocker perform at radio city music hall (in a double bill with steve miller) back in 2008.  it was a fantastic concert and he still had the musical chops almost 40 years after woodstock!

take a look - and listen - to him at Woodstock



rest in peace joe cocker.

happy 2014 winter solstice :D

happy winter solstice!

winter officially arrived tonight at 6:03 pm (eastern time) - the shortest day, longest night of the year.  the best part of the solstice is that the days start getting longer again (until summer, when the process reverses itself)!  since winter arrived early this year, the cold weather isn't much of a surprise.  both of my runs this weekend were sub-freezing - with the temperature unpleasantly stuck at 30 degrees each morning.  it's hard to believe we have another couple of months of frigid temperatures looming ahead.  still, on a positive note, each day brings with it a little more daylight :D

auction of "joan anderson" letter canceled as result of claims by kerouac and cassady estates

in a predictable turn of events, following the assertion of claims by the estates of jack kerouac and neal cassady over ownership of the letter and contents thereof, respectively, the auction of the "joan anderson" letter scheduled for december 17 has been canceled (or indefinitely postponed).  shortly after news that the letter was miraculously found - and would be auctioned off - the kerouac estate claimed ownership of the letter and sought "an agreeable split of the proceeds."  with no agreement reached (estimates of the letter's value ranged from $300-500,000), the auction house, "profiles in history," canceled the auction and announced that it would institute legal proceedings to judicially resolve the various ownership claims to the letter.

stay tuned as the saga of the "joan anderson" letter continues to unfold.

2014 ted corbitt 15k: race photos & results

 

when nyrr races start up at 102nd street i typically get off the metro north at 125th and take the local down to 103rd street.  this morning there was a huge crowd of runners walking over from the train station to the park for the ted corbitt 15k.  i thought there would be a record turnout (at least 5000 or so) for the race but was surprised to see that just under 4500 runners finished!

be that as it may, i had a great run - finishing in 1:12:21 - a solid 6+ minutes faster than the pete mcardle 15k last month (even if that was a xc course).  given my low mileage over the last couple of months, this was a pretty solid run. if it wasn't for one 8 minute mile (the 2nd climb up cat hill), would easily have come in under 1:12 :D

but the best part of the morning was the post-race brunch at the rambling house with my fellow taconic road runners!  nothing beats rehydration with friends.  in a funny brunch twist, after the pete mcardle 15k, i was invited over the van cortlandt park track club's post race brunch.  maybe a new post-15k trend?!

here are the race results from nyrr

 

 

 

 

here are the rest of my photos, up on facebook.

2014 ted corbitt 15k packet pick-up

headed over to the nyrr this afternoon, to pick up my bib and shirt for the ted corbitt 15k. seemed like a long time since i was there (early october) since this will be my nyrr 3rd race since the staten island half (nycm and pete mcardle 15k).  one thing i noticed at the shirt distribution was the option for a large (clear) bag instead of the typical, less than large size, bag.  that will be very helpful since it will need to hold my jacket - in addition to the dry clothes that i usually take to baggage check.

this will be my 12th nyrr race of 2014 - 11 of which counted toward the 9+1 for the 2015 nycm.  it's also the last club points race of the year.  as such, my taconic rr club members and i will probably head over to the rambling house for brunch - and rehydration :D

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

2014 taconic road runners xc relay: race photos & results

it was chilly, but the sun was out this morning for the cross country relays!  after all the rain and grey skies of the last couple of days, it was great running weather - and resulted in a great turnout.  the temperature was more season appropriate than the mini-heat wave we had for the 2013 edition.

for the second year in a row the two relays went off at the same time (in contrast to holding the 3 person xc relays on saturday and the couples relay on sunday - with the club's holiday party on saturday night).  while i prefer the old couples relay course - this variation is also fun.
 
as for the relay, emmy and i teamed up again and we took 3rd place overall this year!  that was fun - but the pancake breakfast was pretty good too.  i actually skipped the pancakes and opted for just bacon and beer - a new breakfast of champions :O

here are the relay results from taconic road runners.

 

 

 

the rest of my pictures are up on facebook.

estates of jack kerouac and neal cassady assert claims to "joan anderson" letter

it didn't take long - less than a week actually - since the discovery of the long considered lost "joan anderson" letter was found, before the estates of jack kerouac and neal cassady asserted claims to it.  the sfgate reported on thursday that representatives from the respective estates have made demands for a portion of the proceeds from the upcoming action of the letter.  in particular, if a settlement isn't reached, the Kerouac estate may seek to have the auction - currently scheduled for december 17 - put on hold.  the estate is actually asking for the return of the letter.

as a general rule, with respect to letters, courts have held that the actual document - the letter itself - is the property of the recipient.  the contents, on the other hand - the intellectual property rights to the material - remain the property of the sender.  whether the passage of time may effect that initial determination would ultimately be decided by the courts.

whether the contents of the letter can be published is a separate inquiry from the initial question of ownership.  the estate of neal cassady would generally have to consent to the publication of the letter.  whether the passage of time altered that result, once again would be a question for the courts.  a portion of the letter was originally published in cassady's book "the first third."

stay tuned for more news on the fate of the "joan anderson" letter!

december 2014 race schedule

hard to believe december has arrived and another race year comes to a close!  this month race scheduled is populated with familiar races.  it kicks off with the jingle bell jog - a hilly 3 miler - in greenwich this weekend.  then it's a series of tough choices given all the great races out there.

the following weekend is the ted corbitt 15k - which, in the past, often conflicted with the norfolk pub 10 miler.  this year it's the same weekend as the roxbury marathon.  a tough choice, but will probably run the 15k in central park.

next up is the norfolk pub 10 miler.  it's one of my all-time favorite events - and this year it's on the same weekend as the bus fat ass trail mix-up 50k in queens.  in the old days i wouldn't have any problems doing these two events back to back :D  but now i may opt for the holiday run for toys 5k in fairfield the next morning.

on the final weekend of the year, may try to get in one last race - 1st night Danbury 5k.  or, may go for something new (for me) - the Nyack snowflake 5k.

here's how it looks so far:

12/7 - jingle bell jog, 3m
12/13 - ted corbitt 15k
12/20 - norfolk pub 10 miler
12/21 - holiday run for toys 5k
12/28 - nyack snowflake 5k

as always, if you're at any of these races - say hello!