2015 nyrr healthy kidney 10k: race photos & results

given the swampy, humid conditions, the healthy kidney 10k was probably the kick-off to summer races!  ironically, the medal noted this was the 11th edition of the race - and the one it replaced way back then was called the "summer kick-off" 10k (that tee shirt had an ice pop as the race logo)!

i knew we'd have tough conditions when i worked up a sweat just walking over to the start corrals!  i had it at 80+ percent humidity at that point.  heat is one thing - humidity + heat is another matter entirely!  as for my race, it wasn't pretty.  my 48 minute goal went out the window in the first mile - and with my 48:48 finish, i didn't even come close!  but days like this aren't about time - they're all about survival!

after the finish, at the post-race events, the sponsors (UAE) were incredibly generous - i picked up an extra race tee, a polo shirt, and a hat - and skipped the encyclopedia sized books (which were nice, but way too heavy for me to carry home).

here are the official results from nyrr.

"shortwave ghost" - pirate radio is alive and well :D

for the second time in one week i picked up a pirate radio station.  last night it was "shortwave ghost" broadcasting on 6920 kHz - playing mostly classic rock tunes.  earlier this week, on memorial day, i tuned into "radio free whatever" on 6950, upper side band!

i posted reports on hfu - high frequency underground and also sent emails to the stations themselves.  "radio free whatever" replied with an email the next day, but didn't send an eQSL.  shortwave ghost replied to my email an hour later - the fastest turn around time i've ever encountered!  they sent the above eQSL - pretty neat :D

while international broadcasters are drifting away from shortwave, pirate radio is flourishing!

2015 nyrr healthy kidney 10k packet pick-up

picked up my bid and shirt for the healthy kidney 10k this weekend.  it'll be race number 5 on the road to my 9+1 for the 2016 nyc marathon.  just over a month ago was there to pick up for the 4 miler - and winter was still clinging.  today it was all summer, in terms of heat and humidity (80+ degrees on the walk over)!

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

memorial day 2015

today is memorial day (formerly known as decoration day) where we remember those who have fallen during service to our country.  veterans day honors all those who served.

here's a short summary of its history:

"Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May[.]"

so take a moment today to remember those who died while serving!

2015 norwalk mothers day 10k: race photos & results

it was a dreary start to the day - drizzle when i left the house, fog on the drive over to norwalk, and a damp chill over calf pasture beach.  and, once the race was underway, humidity became the real race damper, it was thick all along the course.

but the weather didn't take away from happy mothers day!  and i managed a 46:01, 7:25 finish - just missing a sub-46 by a couple of seconds.  that was a solid minute and a half+ improvement over my scotland run 47:39 last month.  not too shabby for a humid morning :D

next up for me, instead of traveling down to brooklyn for the half - will run the law day 5k in darien.
 
here are the official race results from lightfoot runners.

here are the rest of my photos up on facebook.

"beat tavern" published in aphros literary magazine :D

this week i got the latest issue of aphros literary magazine - wherein "beat tavern" was published!  as the title implies, it may have a little in common with the beat generation ;D

i wrote it years ago - back in my college days, actually.  it was an effort to capture the mood of a night hanging out with the beats.  it's set in tribeca.

radio new zealand qsl (eQSL, that is) :D

i've been an avid radio listener since the 1970's - when as a teenager i spent countless hours trying to tune in distant stations over the shortwave (and then medium wave) bands.  i also spent countless hours collecting qsl cards (typically postcard size replies from those radio stations confirming that you did, in fact, hear their station in all that static - hi).  the qsl bug returned last month!

it's been years (maybe 25+) since i've actually collected a real - old school - qsl card.  i don't know what came over me last month, but i sent a reception report to radio new zealand international, via email.  i heard them sign off on one frequency and then start broadcasting on a new frequency.  it was so 21st century! then, in about 2 weeks, the above qsl arrived in my mailbox - or, correctly stated, the above eQSL arrived via email :D

that was my very first eQSL!  i will note, for posterity - that i did verify reception of radio new zealand with an actual qsl card (in the shape of a pennant, no less) back in the day - via an actual letter sent via snail mail.  i may dig it out and post a picture for comparison :D

73s

may 2015 race schedule

since my mileage has dropped off over the last 2 months, i'll spend a good part of may working to re-build my base.  this month will consist of mostly shorter races.  in a twist, the business trip scheduled for this month was pushed back until august.  i hadn't planned any races mid-month (and the reason i didn't register for the bklyn half!).  but now can get in a couple - where i would have been spending that time in an airplane :O

i still haven't decided on a race for this weekend but it would most likely be a 5k in fairfield county.  the following weekend, in what's becoming a tradition, will be the norwalk mother's day 10k.  it's the unofficial (to me) kick-off for the norwalk summer series which starts in june :D

the next weekend - when i had originally planned to head back to kuala lumpur - will be the fred weisberg law day 5k.  had i not expect to be on that trip, i all likelihood i would have registered for the brooklyn half marathon that weekend.

next up is a pair of memorial day weekend races.  it kicks off in weston with the 5k on saturday and wraps up on monday, in greenwich, with the jim fixx 5 miler.

last, but not least, the month ends with the nyrr healthy kidney 10k - race #5 of my 9+1 for the 2016 nyc marathon.

here's how it looks so far:

5/10 - norwalk mother's day 10k
5/16 - fred weisberg law day 5k
5/23 - weston memorial day 5k
5/25 - jim fixx memorial 5 miler
5/30 - nyrr healthy kidney 10k

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