rundangerously

packet pick-up for the 2012 gridiron classic

2012-02-02T18:56:00.000-05:00

this afternoon i picked up my shirt for sunday's gridiron classic. as i mentioned in yesterday's post, there's a very good chance i won't line up for this one because i'll be in brewster instead of nyc. since i haven't been able to line up an alternate driver, i'll take katie to field hockey practice.

in a twist, rather than drive back after dropping her off, i'll take my running clothes with me and get in a few miles around brewster while i wait for the girls to finish their practice :D

february 2012 race schedule

2012-02-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

with the weather we've had for the last couple of months it's hard to believe this is wintertime. this morning, even with some drizzle coming down, the temperature was in the 50's on the way to the office! and the warm weather should stick around for at least a few more days :D

but getting back to the february races. the month kicks off with the manhattan hot chocolate 10k at riverside park. the race is the companion (bookend?) to the brooklyn hot chocolate 10k held at prospect park last weekend. it will be my first race at riverside park and i'm looking forward to it. on deck for the following day is the gridiron 4 miler in central park. it's another one i'm looking forward to, but may not run if i have to drive katie to her field hockey practice up in brewster...

the following weekend hosts a pair of february standards; the stratford sweetheart run 4 miler and the boston build-up 20k. as in years past, i'll team up with emmy for the sweetheart run. but in a big change, jim announced yesterday that the 20k is moving from southport to fairfield! the biggest benefit of this relocation won't even be race related (although he did mention one less hill on the revised course). instead of the miserly parking conditions at the southport train station, there'll be practically unlimited parking at the much larger fairfield station!

mid-month will see a return to albany for the winter marathon. running 26.2 miles on the suny albany campus in typically frigid conditions has become something of a tradition - with this edition being my 4th trip around the grounds, so to speak. the only downside to this race is having to miss the cherry tree 10 miler, one of my favorite races, which is run on the same day :(

the last weekend is another old friend, the colchester half marathon. this race is a real hassle to drive to - and every year i promise it would be the last one. but it's worth the effort to get to - a classic old school, no frills, tough course, great post-race food - and shouldn't be missed! the next day, is a brand new race/event - steve is putting on an ekiden relay in central park (more details to follow when i've gotten a 4 person team together). i've run short (1k, 2k, & 3k legs) ekiden relays at waveny park, as part of the summer xc series. this one will cover more distance, and i'm looking forward to it.

here's how it looks so far:

2/4 - manhattan hot chocolate 10k
2/5 - gridiron 4 miler
2/11 - stratford sweetheart run, 4m
2/12 - boston build-up 20k
2/19 - albany winter marathon
2/25 - colchester half marathon
2/26 - ekiden 4-person relay

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

2012-01-29T16:48:00.001-05:00

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

2012-01-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

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 :(

2012-01-22T13:50:00.001-05:00

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

2012-01-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-17T08:41:00.003-05:00

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

2012-01-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

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.

2012 mhrrc "recover from the holidays" 50k: race report

2012-01-11T09:44:00.000-05:00

this was my third trip to norrie point for the mid-hudson road runners club "recover from the holidays" 50k - and by far the warmest, most runner-friendly of the three. in the prior two, 2008 and 2011, the temperature started in the low 20's and never worked its way beyond the mid-20's. there was snow and ice on the ground each time - enough that i wore trail shoes for what is essentially a road race within a park! this time there were no snow covered roads, no trail shoes, and temperatures that started in the low 30's and rose into the high 50's! good enough to run in shorts!

the course consists of ten 5k out and backs, with two decent climbs along the way. my goal was a sub-5 hour finish, which basically worked out to ten sub-30 minute 5k's. it would be my longest run since the brooklyn marathon in mid-november. since brooklyn, my longest runs had only been between 10 and 12 miles - so i was decidedly under trained for the 50k distance. be that as it may, i looked at it as an over distance run that would kick off my winter base-building training.

in what eventually turned into two separate races, a solid 30k and a grueling 20k, i missed my target by six minutes. my 5:05:45 finish, 9:50 pace, while the fastest of my three 50k's at norrie point, was decidedly unsatisfying because of the increasingly painful calf cramps that bedeviled me during the last four out and backs. that not to say i didn't enjoy myself - it was a great day to be outside and run long!

during the first half my splits were pretty consistent, and i ran a 2:14:58 for the 25k. that pace would have netted a sub 4:30 finish (which wasn't in the cards given my training mileage for the last month and a half). if i ran could run the remaining four 5k's at a 30 minute pace, i'd have 4:45 finish (which i thought was doable).

5k    26:03
10k 26:06 52:09
15k  27:48  1:19:58
20k  27:16 1:47:14
25k 27:43  2:14:58

at the end of the second 5k i took a couple of minutes for a bathroom break. at the end of 25k i took a couple of minutes to go back to the car for some gu and fluids. aside from those breaks, i felt fine. the second half went off according to plan:

30k 29:30 2:44:28

but that was the last solid 5k of the day. mid-way through 30k i began to feel calf cramps sneaking up on me. this issue has nagged me at races of various distances - and i haven't found a satisfactory explanation for what brings them on, and why sometimes they just go away and, other times, get worse. today it was definitely the latter :(

at the end of very end the seventh out and back, just before the 35k split, i was hit with a pair of cramps that made my legs seize up, just as i was crossing the road to cut a tangent. if it wasn't so painful, i would have laughed out loud at the jerky series of pirouettes that i made with locked legs as i tried to get out of the roadway! but i wasn't smiling but wincing. one runner came up and asked me if she could get me some help from the aid station.  the second runner that came up asked me if i needed help getting back to the aid station - my right calf was still knotted so tightly that i couldn't stand! somehow i weathered that setback and finished 35k - in what was my slowest split of the day.

35k 36:22 3:20:50

the remaining 3 tours of the course were a combination of running and walking (whenever the cramps returned). it was a real struggle - and a lot of runners offered help and encouragement along the way. i missed my split for 40k, so it took 1:09:53 to reach 45k. at that point, with thankfully only 5k left to go, i managed to wrap it up with a 35:02 out and back. what an exhausting way to finish a race! so while i was happy to have it finished, i was frustrated at how the last 20k played out.

afterwards, nachos and beer at the hyde park brewing company, quickly erased memories of the last 20k :D

2012 boston build-up 10k: race photos and results

2012-01-08T19:47:00.001-05:00

the 2012 boston build-up series kicked off with the 10k in rowayton this morning - and a record turnout too boot. the fantastic weather, a carryover from yesterday, made for a great day to be out running. there were so many familiar faces that it was more like a social event than a competitive road race: emmy, rob, don, roy, john, francoise, dan, kraz, andi, neil, ronnie, hiro, yuki, kate, jeanette, dorothy, tony, bob, torpedo, jeff, dawn, gracie, marty, gail, karen, and our rd, jim!

my calves were still sore from the 50k yesterday, so i had a soft target of 50 minutes for the hilly course. i was more that surprised to finish in 46:26, a 7:33 pace (with the downhill first two miles in a 7:15 pace). the last hill at 9k once again did me in and i had to walk a bit. but aside from that short bit, it was all good.

the next race, the 15k in ridgefield, will be another double because the manhattan half is the day before in central park ;O

here are the results from clubct.

2012 mhrrc recover from the holidays 50k: race photos and results

2012-01-07T20:45:00.001-05:00

what a fantastic weather day to run, and run long at that! while it started off in the low thirties, the temperature quickly rose into the fifties! the prior two times i've run the mhrrc recover from the holidays 50k, the temperature never rose above the mid-twenties!

great weater aside, my performance was a mixed bag. i wanted to run a sub-5 hour race, but managed to eke out a 5:05:45 finish. while i would normally be happy with that, for what was basically a training run (my first long run since the brooklyn marathon in november), the last 4 loops turned into a real struggle with calf cramps - argh!

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

back to winter running tights, winter has arrived :O

2012-01-05T10:28:00.000-05:00

yesterday, to again mark an irreverent milestone, i reluctantly put on my running tights for a training run. for me it's the psychological threshold that admits another winter has finally arrived. it was a personal record because i can't remember having ever postponed that day of reckoning until january - or even the official start of winter for that matter. last year i caved in to the cold weather on december 14 - and that was a week longer than the year before. so to have stuck it out for an extra 3 weeks this time around, well past the official start of winter on december 22, is definitely a morale booster :D

even so, with the two day cold spell about to break - i may still get a little more mileage out of my running shorts over the next few days :O

the girl with the dragon tattoo: movie review

2012-01-04T11:10:00.002-05:00

i'd been looking forward to the remake of the girl with the dragon tattoo ever since daniel craig was cast in the role of mikael blomkvist last year. while craig was an inspired choice, i must admit that i was skeptical when rooney mara was cast as lisbeth salander. but rooney made the character her own and it worked beautifully (a term some might find ironic to describe a edgy gothic lisbeth). it isn't often that a remake can stand on its own, but in nutshell, david fincher's adaption is worth the effort. fincher's take is generally faithful to the 2009 swedish original. but anyone who hasn't read stieg larsson's millennium trilogy or seen the original film, will not have a problem settling into the atmospherics of the graphic thriller.

it's the hollywood production values - read glossiness - that really set fincher's version apart from niels arden oplev's film. the subtitles may have been a factor because listening to the story transpire in english is a lot easier than reading it. i hate such generalizations but here, with so many plot details lurking in the storyline, i found it more enjoyable the second time around. with respect to the story, i laid out the narrative in more detail in my review of the original film. i'd rather focus on a couple of interesting changes this time around. the main twist is the eventual meeting between blomkvist and lisbeth - which arrive more than an hour into the film.

in the original, lisbeth continued to hack (pry) into blomkvist's life, post-libel conviction. she triggers the eventual meeting by sending him an email that explains the references - the story's major clue - found at the back of harriet vanger's diary. in the remake, blomkvist's daughter tossed off an offhand remark that led mikael to realize the significance of the numbers. armed with that clue, he then tracks down lisbeth to enlist her aid in his research. character-wise, this paints their relationship in a completely different light. in the remake, lisbeth had no continuing interest in blomkvist once she turned in the dossier to her employer.

moreover, while their meeting took place in similar circumstances (an unannounced arrival at her apartment after she had just spent the night with a girl she met at a club), craig exhibited an almost bond-like insouciance when he barged in, demanded the friend leave, and they had breakfast together! over the take-out breakfast he had brought along, and insisted she eat, he related the harriet vanger mystery and the sought lisbeth's help in researching it. in the original, blomkvist barged in threatening her with prosecution for continuing to spy on him - and settled for a cup of old, cold coffee!

that was the most significant twist in story line. there were minor ones too, but they really didn't change the story (london versus the australian outback as one such example) - just the tone. does leading the life of an investment banker over that of an archaeologist add glitz? why make that change? similarly, while the lisbeth's financial re-engineering was implied in the original, it was achieved explicitly - dare we say underwritten - with mikael's funds in the remake.

there were only two things i didn't care for in this version. the first was the opening credit sequence - done over a fantastic cover of led zeppelin! - which involved some of the most disgusting (imho) images of rubber fetish extremes imaginable. it seemed like a nightmarish cross between a james bond opening credit sequence and outright sadomasochism. call me a prude, but i found that utterly repulsive - and the memory still leaves a dank taste. the second was the contrived emotion lisbeth felt for blomkvist at the end - and the equally ridiculous denouement in the final scenes. contrast that to the scene in the swedish version of a country club prison where blomkvist was doing his jail time - now that ending worked.

all in all i enjoyed the remake - and look forward to the next two instalments

january 2012 race schedule

2012-01-02T08:38:00.001-05:00

a new running year has gotten underway! the first "race" of 2012 was a 5k fun run, the dash and splash, held at compo beach yesterday. i only did the dash - opting to keep myself dry while some runners joined a bunch of polar bears and dived into the water for a quick new year's day swim :O

the rest of january will be a more traditional race schedule - with the boston build-up kicking off this weekend with the 10k in norwalk. but, in a repeat of last year, i'll do the mid-hudson road runner's "recover from the holidays" fa 50k. and that may include some dehydration at the hyde park brewing company.

the following weekend, 1/14-15, doesn't have anything on the schedule. but not for lack of trying, i just couldn't find a race to run! but the manhattan half is on deck for the following weekend (a race missed last year because i was in singapore). the following day is the second race in the boston build-up series, the 15k in ridgefield.

for the last weekend in january it's a return to prospect park (last visited in november for the brooklyn marathon) for a new race, the brooklyn hot chocolate 10k. that may be cold, but it should be fun - especially since we only need to run the north hills twice :D

here's what it looks like so far:

1/1 - dash and splash 5k fun run
1/7 - mhrrc "recover from the holidays" fa 50k
1/8 - boston build-up 10k
1/21 - manhattan half marathon
1/22 - boston build-up 15k
1/28 - brooklyn hot chocolate 10k

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

new year's day dash and splash 5k fun run

2012-01-01T22:09:00.000-05:00

what a great start to the new year - great weather and a great fun run at compo beach with a lot of good friends. afterwards, the first of a pair of new year's day plunges into the unseasonably warm water took place. but no swim for me, the run was plenty enough (although i did get in 10 more miles that afternoon).

here are the rest of my photos on facebook.

2011 running year in review

2011-12-31T22:25:00.001-05:00

another year in the books! seems like they keep getting shorter (faster?) because i've barely gotten used to the notion of 2011 and now 2012 has arrived - in the middle of a nice warm spell! in terms of running, 2011 has been mixed bag. i seriously missed my mileage target of at least 2,400 (a 200 mile per month average) with just over 2,230 miles (2,232.1). that total was more than 300 fewer miles than i've averaged for at least the last three consecutive years - 2,500+ (since i've began tallying the statistics).

the big drop off was in the second half of the year - a peak of 260 miles in july dropped down to 138 in august and then 127 in september. aside from the business travel (mexico and malaysia in september, then france in october), i really can't pinpoint a specific reason for the lower mileage. it wasn't until this month that my mileage crept back above 200 (204.1). i hope 2012 see a return to my old mileage levels.

on the race side, i actually ran 2 more races in 2011 than i did in 2010 (59 versus 57). the mix between marathons/ultras and shorter distances was pretty much unchanged. i ran 13 marathon/ultras in 2011 versus a total of 16 in 2010. my 2011 ultras (6), represent are half the number i ran last year, while marathons (7) just about doubled the 2010 total (4).

here are the 2011 racing stats:

59 races
783.5 race miles

ultras: 6
marathons: 7

15k-30k: 15
1-9 miles: 31

my most frequently raced distance in 2011 was a tie between marathons and 10ks, with 7 each. second place, with 6 each, was a tie between half marathons and 5 milers. the "first night danbury 5k" this afternoon, closed out the year on a high point, with 20:47, 6:42 pace :D

the low point of the running year came when the nyrr announced it would no longer honor runners who had completed 15 nyc marathons with a future of guaranteed entries. i don't want to end this post with negative karma, so i'll let that action speak for itself.

here's to hoping that everyone has a great 2012 - happy new year!

first night danbury 5k: race photos and results

2011-12-31T17:56:00.001-05:00

last race of the year! went up danbury for the first night 5k which could have been called the last afternoon 5k (it started at 3, the afternoon... and, technically, was the last night of 2011, not the first of 2012 ;o) :D

as my race went, it was probably one of my best 5k's of the year - with a 20:47, 6:42 pace - it was well under my 22 minute target. i had run just over 22 minutes at the holiday run for toys two weeks ago, so my goal was a sub-22. the sub-21 was a belated christmas present :D

here are the results from greystone racing.

happy birthday henry miller - 120 years old in heaven today!

2011-12-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

henry miller was born december 26, 1891, and died at the ripe old age of 88 years old on june 7, 1980. it's hard to believe more than 30 years have passed since his death - the same month i graduated from high school. at that time i doubt i had any inkling who miller was - it would be another year or so before i would read tropic of cancer and eventually become a huge fan of the man and the incredible scope of his literary output. i like to think of him as a proto-beat - someone who would come to influence kerouac's spontaneous prose.

aside from the controversy over his lifestyle and the more pointed criticism that his work was merely obscene and pornographic (at best), the litigation surrounding publication of tropic of cancer here in the united states in the early 1960's was part of series of landmark decisions expanding the breath and scope of constitutionally protected speech. it's hard to believe a brooklyn boy (proud denizen of the 14th ward - a/k/a williamsburg - during his formative years) could have such a profound impact on both literature and law.

during college i ran into a number of lit majors who were viscerally repulsed by miller - his work and the then (and perhaps still) current trope that he was a blatant misogynist. it wasn't until years later (the 90's) that i read the first, of numerous, miller biographies. he covered a lot of ground in those 88 years - and certainly collected his share of faults along the way. but, going back to the final lines of tropic of cancer, from practically the outset of his literary career, miller offers something of an preemptive apologia:

"human beings make a strange fauna and flora. from a distance they appear negligible; close up they are apt to appear ugly and malicious. more than anything they need to be surrounded with sufficient space - space even more than time."

happy 120th birthday henrey miller :D

merry christmas - 2011 :D

2011-12-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

merry christmas everyone!

no snow this year, but plenty of christmas spirit in the air. we just opened our presents and, after cleaning up the wrapping paper, will get to work on christmas dinner! my brother and his family, as is our tradition, will come over this afternoon. my mom is already here, and will, no doubt, so be in the kitchen getting started - with katie as her assistant - on a ever fantastic lasagna!

i had planned on heading over to tibbets brook park for the relocated holiday marathon races. but it getting late and i may have to get my miles in on the post road instead. given the number of calories in plan to consume today, i really should be running a marathon - or a decent long run at a minimum ;O

have a great holiday!!

happy festivus :O

2011-12-23T14:52:00.000-05:00

happy festivus everyone! i doubt frank costanzs would have decked out his aluminum festivus pole with lights, but it does give it a certain holiday spirit :D

as a huge seinfeld fan i've watched in amazement as the constanza (anti-) holiday tradition has grown and taken on a life of its own. it's yet another in a long line of example where seinfeld scenes have become part of the vernacular - soup nazi's, stella, art vandelay, marine biology, architects, yadda, yadda, yadda - to just skim the surface!

so here's to festivus - the holiday for the rest of us :D

happy winter solstice - 2011 :D

2011-12-22T08:04:00.000-05:00

happy winter solstice! winter officially arrived at 12:30 this morning here on the east coast - and today is our shortest day of the year. it doesn't seem like winter. except for a handful of cold weekends, we've had a great run of above average temperatures for the last month or so. and it's probably a good bet no white christmas is in the cards for us this weekend.

i'm not keen about the arrival of winter - it's my least favorite season - and the frigid weather it will ultimately bring. running during the cold weather months is hardly my idea fun - especially when temperatures dip into the teens and below. but, run we must! on the positive side, surviving winter gets us to spring :D

2011 norfolk pub 10 miler: race report

2011-12-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

saturday was my 4th consecutive time running the norfolk pub 10 miler - billed as new england's toughest ten mile road race. with two grueling climbs, somewhat inconveniently located in miles two and eight, it is a challenging course. toss in the usually frigid weather conditions, norfolk's nickname is the "icebox of connecticut," and it can seen like a very long ten miles. this time around the weather was fantastic - decidedly above freezing with 34 degrees at the start, and dry conditions.

at last year's race i had made a note to consider trail shoes because of the sloppy ground conditions - mainly packed snow. so this year i wore my trail shoes - and should have stuck too regular road shoes. while there were traces of snow littered around the parking lot, the roads themselves were free of it. while i was fine wearing shorts, i did wear a vest over my two tech shirts. i probably could have done without it after the first couple of miles, but given the occasional gusts of wind, i never felt overheated.

my time goal was a straightforward 1:20 - an eight minute pace. my times have been all over place, with a 1:20, 1:15, and 1:25, respectively, for the prior 3 races. as it turned out, i barely squeaked in under 1:20 - but managed to run a negative split for the second half. given that i walked a decent portion of mile 8, i was amazed at that outcome. here are the first half splits:

7:36
9:04 16:41
7:56 24:37
7:58 32:36
7:24 40:00

when i looked at my watch and saw 40 minutes for the half way split i wasn't too optimistic about the 1:20 finish. mile 8 would easily be another 9 minute mile - but i'd get most of it back on the downhill in mile 9 (which is retracing mile 2). here are the second half splits:

7:39 47:40
7:51 55:32
9:41 1:05:13
6:55 1:12:08
7:38 1:19:47

7:59 pace

i was so annoyed with myself for the walk breaks in mile 8 - and getting passed by a few runners to boot - that i really let it rip for the downhill in mile 9. i only got away with it this year because the road was dry! in prior years, this stretch would often be packed snow - or melting, slushy snow. but my happiness at the sub 1:20 was short-lived. when the results were posted i was 10th in my 5 year age group! that so many 45-49 year old men finished ahead of me was sobering stuff :(

but, thankfully, the high point of this great event is turning in your bib tag for a beer (berkshire ipa) while waiting for the awards ceremony at the local pub! that took the sting off pretty quickly :D all in all, this was another great time in norfolk - and count me in for the 2012 edition (although that one will probably revert back to the typical frigid race conditions).

here are my race photos.

2011 holiday run for toys 5k: race photos and results

2011-12-18T15:38:00.002-05:00

despite the chilly weather, there was a fantastic turnout for the holiday run for toys 5k in fairfield this morning. with so many familiar faces, it was more of a social event than a race. just to list a few: emmy, kate, tom, andi, bob, brian, john, ronnie, gail, jeff, jim and marty!

i had no particular time goal in mind. after yesterday's 10 miler in norfolk, i was more than pleased with the 22:26, 7:14 pace, over the road and trail course. but the best part of the morning had to be the post-race food - soup, to be specific!

here are the results from hi-tek racing.

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

2011 norfolk pub 10 miler: race photos and results

2011-12-17T18:14:00.001-05:00

the norfolk pub 10 miler certainly lives up to its billing as "new england's toughest ten mile road race!" it was my 4th time on the norfolk hills - and my first time running the normally frigid race in shorts (thanks to the relatively mild 34 degrees at the start). they had a huge turnout - almost 140 finishers.

i hit my 1:20 target with a 1:19:48 finish (just squeaked under with a 7:59 pace). i was more than pleased with it, taking 5 minutes off last year's result. i actually ran a negative split for the second half.

here is my race report. and here are the race results from greystone racing.

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

christopher hitchens, polemicist extraodinaire, dead at 62: rip

2011-12-16T08:49:00.002-05:00

christopher hitchens died at the tragically young age of 62 last night. while the cause was pneumonia, it was a complication from the stage four esophageal cancer that he was diagnosed with in the summer of 2010. hitchens was a prolific writer and speaker - the ultimate contrarian in seemingly all things. in almost a characterture of the outlaw literary style (a barely tamer version of hunter s. thompson - basically sans pharmaceuticals) he was self-professed hard drinker and chain smoker. it was only in his later years that he tamed the drinking. this is an extended quote form his memoir, "hitch-22" -

"I work at home, where there is indeed a bar-room, and can suit myself. But I don't. At about half past midday, a decent slug of Mr. Walker's amber restorative, cut with Perrier water (an ideal delivery system) and no ice. At luncheon, perhaps half a bottle of red wine: not always more but never less. Then back to the desk, and ready to repeat the treatment at the evening meal. No "after dinner drinks"—most especially nothing sweet and never, ever any brandy. "Nightcaps" depend on how well the day went, but always the mixture as before. No mixing: no messing around with a gin here and a vodka there."

ironically, the book tour for "hitch-22" was cancelled because of the cancer diagnosis and the need to begin the chemotherapy. eerily, the book - which i read during that summer of 2010 - opened with hitchen's recount of how he dealt with the false news of his death. encountering your very own obituary is probably equal parts hilarious and bone-chilling!

i've been a huge fan of christopher hitchens for decades - easily since the late 1980's. over the years i came to see him as a cross between the wordsmith william safire, erudite william f. buckley, and street fighter norman mailer. i'm sure a few more literary strains could be teased out of him - not the least would be his own favorite, george orwell.

but in a sense, hitchens life was practically the definition of orwellian - starting off at the fringes of the radical left and, in the last decade of his life, becoming the scurge of the left when he officially parted ways in the wake of the terrorist attacks of september 11th. ironically - again that reoccurring motif - as recently as 2009 he was voted one of the 25 most influential liberals in u.s media (ranked 14th)!

but the breath of his ire was astonishing - having labeled henry kissinger a war criminal, bill clinton a rapist, mother teresa a fraud, ridiculed reagan, hillary clinton, and princess diana to highlight just a handfull. but he saved his best for god himself, when he published "god is not great" in 2007. hitchens proudly confronted his impending death an unrepentant atheist.

it is a very sad day when we lose such a fascinating and engaging person.

rest in peace christopher hitchens.

2011 taconic rr couples relay and pancake breakfast :D

2011-12-11T20:21:00.001-05:00

i've run this relay many times over the last few years - and somehow i managed to miss a turn and get lost on the roughly 1.8 mile course this morning! even with that little detour, i still had a great time :D in anticipation of all the bacon and pancakes i'd manage to eat, i ran 4 miles before the relay and then ran the course (correctly) afterwards :D

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

warlocks play first concert as grateful dead at fillmore east, 46 years ago today!

2011-12-10T07:47:00.002-05:00

on december 10, 1965 - without formal billing on the small ad taken out to promote the event, the grateful dead took the stage (as part of the "and many, many others") at the fillmore and played as part of the second fundraising appeal for the san francisco mime troupe. the dead had begun the year as the warlocks - and as the legend goes, jerry found their some to become iconic name, "grateful dead" by thumbing thru the dictionary after they had learned another band had already been going by the warlocks. the rest is history, so to speak.

no set list survives for that first concert. and, one caveat in using this date as the "first" - the dead had previously (december 4) played at a ken kesey acid test under their new moniker :D

so listen to some dead today!

update: instead of listening to early dead as i ran today, i opted for their final show at soliders field - yikes!

captain lawrence brewing - cuvee de castleton release :D

2011-12-04T08:44:00.001-05:00

our trip to captain lawrence for the release of cuvee de castleton (along w/barrel select cherry and barrel select rasberry) was preceeded by a 2 hour (12 miles) run at rockefeller state park. the park was a 5 minute drive from the brewery, and we arrived just after 10 for the 10:30 opening - only to discover that all the numbers had been pulled! with none left, it meant we wouldn't get to buy any of the new releases!

but, with plenty of beer to taste while we awaited some form of divine intervention, we decided to stick around and see what happened. and just like miracle tickets at dead shows - yes this stuff does happen! - a complete stranger offered me 2 numbers (259 & 260) - but immediately asked for the second one back when his girlfriend wanted it!

regardless, because like charlie's golden ticket into wonka's factory, anthony and i could get in the door. even with the limitations (2 per person for barrel select, 4 for the castleton) we could each get a bottle of the barrels selects and 2 of the cuvees. as it turned out, by the time we our number was called, they had sold out of ALL the barrel select - but, we each got to purchase 4 bottles of the curvee!

while i was happy with the curvees, i had really wanted the barrel selects (especially the cherry). then, again, sometimes fate just happens - anthony found someone in the tasting room that would sell us a barrel select at cost! so, amazingly, i managed to buy a barrel select chery after all. what a turn of events :D

morning run at rockefeller state park

2011-12-03T22:20:00.002-05:00

this morning emmy, anthony, and i, ran 12 miles at rockefeller state park, early enough so that we could then head over to the captain lawrence brewery in time for the 10:30 release of a new batch of sour beers :D

but, before the beer, we had to traverse what could mildly be called an adventure trail. despite signage to to wise, we found ourselves on trails that were decidedly affected by recent weather conditions - so there was a fair amount of bushwacking to be done :O

jackson browne jams at zuccotti park

2011-12-02T07:19:00.000-05:00

yesterday, when i got to the office i heard on cbs radio that jackson browne would be a zuccotti park that afternoon to play a few songs. the first thought that came to mind was "did zuccotti suddenly get re-occupied?" no, but it did sound interesting. while i couldn't make it down there - nor would i have wanted to deal with the crowds - crosby and nash played a couple of tunes there in early november.

since zuccotti park is just 4 blocks south of my office, i went and checked it out at lunch time. it was a very small scene. browne, and the members of "third eye blind," were stationed in mid-park, with roughly a hundred or so people circled around them. there was no amplification - just their acoustic guitars and voices. that made listening to the music, for anyone outside the immediate circle, practically impossible. the din of everyday nyc bustle drowned out the sound.

i inched my way close enough to catch snippets of songs - and some of the obligatory social commentary. but, given the impossible listening conditions, i only stuck around for 3 songs before i went back to the office. while it was certainly a nice gesture, the "jam" wasn't a worthwhile experience - if you were intent on actually trying to listen to jackson browne, or third eye blind. but it was a great excuse for a midday walk :D

december 2011 race schedule

2011-12-01T07:52:00.000-05:00

it looks like december will be a month of short distance races, topping out with the norfolk pub 10 miler. i had planned to run the roxbury marathon on the 10th, only to discover to my chagrin that not only was the race itself full (130 runners) but the waiting list was also closed (50 more runners w/fingers crossed)! wow!

while roxbury had been on my to do list for years, it was never an event that "sold out" - since it was basically a low key, local affair. be that as it may, i'll run the pete mcardle xc 15k in van cortlandt park that weekend - which itself is a plan b race because the taconic couples relay isn't being held this year!

so it seems that the only constant on the december schedule is the norfolk pub 10 miler - one of my all-time favorite races. it's a haul to drive up to norfolk (the "icebox" of ct), and face a challenging (read, hilly) 10 mile course - but the post-race festivities at the pub are worth it (including a free beer w/you bib tag) :D the following day, it's back to ct again for a holiday 5k in fairfield - another great local event.

on christmas day i may try to sneak down to van cortlandt park for the holiday races. last year i couldn't, but there may be room to squeeze in a 10k before settling in to cook our christmas day dinner :D

here's how it looks so far:

12/11 - pete mcardle xc15k
12/17 - norfolk pub 10 miler
12/18 - christmas holiday run 5k
12/25 - christmas day 10k

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

volunteering at the greenwich alliance for education turkey trot 5k/1miler

2011-11-26T18:33:00.002-05:00

instead of volunteering at the bedford turkey trot, as i've done for the last 3-4 years, this time around i manned the finish line at the greenwich alliance for education 5k. in yet another beautiful weather day, race day registration pushed participation up to 300 runners (80 for the one mile fun run, 220 for the 5k)! that's an impressive turnout for an event that was barely on the drawing board mid-october!

the only drawback to volunteering is not getting to run the race! but from my vantage point pulling tags for the spindle, i enjoyed myself vicariously as each runner crossed the finish. it was a great time!

2011 thanksgiving marathon races: photos

2011-11-24T22:57:00.000-05:00

another fantastic weather day - in the middle of november! while it was pretty chilly getting up, by 9 it was in the 40's and sunny for the first anniversary of the holiday marathons at van cortlandt park. last year the thanksgiving marathon kicked off what quickly became a holiday tradion - free cross country trail races at varying distances (from 10k thru the marathon) - and just recently the addition of a 5k course.

but in a twist from last year, the long (6.55 mile loop) wasn't available - the parks department hadn't signed off on it. instead we ran a 3.25 course that pretty much followed the traditional cross county route over the back hills. instead of 1 loop for the 10k, it was 2 - and so on (with 8 loops making up the marathon). the 5k distance was 2 loops of the parade grounds.

even with the course alteration it was still a great time. like last year, i only ran the 10k - and had to rush home to start work on our thanksgiving day dinner :D

happy thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T07:50:00.000-05:00

happy thanksgiving everyone! this is probably my favorite holiday of the year - although i'd probably say that about any holiday where family and friends get the gather around the table and eat (and drink) :D

as is my routine, no thanksgiving day would seem right unless i ran a race - and in this instance it's a return to van cortandt park to celebrate the one year anniversary of the holiday marathons! hard to believe it's only been one year that mike and mike have been staging the free holiday marathon races because so many of them have been successfully put on during the last 12 months! congratulations guys!

i'll probably run just one loop (the 10k+) since i have a turkey to stuff and get in the oven!

so to everyone out there - have a great thanksgiving, and burn off some calories before dinner (or after) and watch some football afterwards :D

2011 brooklyn marathon: race report

2011-11-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

i've run a lot of races in propect park, but heading back there to run a marathon was an entirely new experience.  the opportunity to run 26.2 miles in brooklyn - my hometown - had me looking forward to the inaugural brooklyn marathon since the race was officially announced last summer. normally i'm not very enthusiastic about multiple loop courses, but under the circumstances i enjoyed every trip around the park as i closed in on the finish line!

we were blessed with some fantastic weather, more like late september than late november temperatures. and, as a bonus, there was plenty of fall foliage still on the trees. my only time goal was a sub-4 hour finish. given that part of the course included 6 climbs of the notorious north hills, a four hour finish wasn't a foregone conclusion. not only did i run a sub-4, but my 3:54:26 was actually a minute faster than my finish at the nyc marathon 2 weeks earlier! but i've gotten ahead of myself.

three days earlier, on thursday night, the packet pick-up at the gibson, a williamburg local bar, was like a pre-race party. adding to the atmosphere, aside from the brooklyn and six point beer, was the locale: beford avenue - right on the nyc marathon course! what ambiance - what an auspicious lead up to the race. at the gibson i had a couple of beers (or 3) with eliot - and our only real concern was the sunday morning commute down to prospect park from westchester.

as it turned out, i wound up driving in with emmy (who only decided to run the race late saturday afternoon, after she had completed the knickerbocker 60k!). as luck had it, not only wasn't there much traffic on the ride in, but we got street parking right alongside the park - it doesn't get any easier than that! most of the pre-race activity was on center drive, the start and finish location of the race. it was as low-key a race start as i've participated in (at any distance).

in addition to the people i had expected to see, eliot, steve, and michael - i was pleasantly surprised to see ari and amy (fellow ny running show participants), cherie (volunteering at one of the water stops) and wayne (running the race), chris (who had just run a 2:39 at chicago!) and his wife bea (both running the race) and mat (who had also run the knickerbocker on saturday and would line up for the marathon) - to mention just a few. and, to help the pre-start time fly by, i was interviewed on ny1 as part of their race coverage!

as for the race itself - after a few brief remarks from two members of the city council and final course instructions from michael - steve got the approximately 300 runners officially underway around 9:15 or so. the course consisted of 3 lower loops of the park together with 6 full loops of the park. the most notable terrain feature was the climb at the north end of the park, which we would complete 6 times! to help keep tabs on the number of loops completed, runners could use 9 rubber bands (discarding one with each completed loop).

to hit my sub-4 hour target, i needed to run all 3 lower loops in one hour, and do 2 full loops per hour. while i started with the 9 rubber bands on my wrist, the mile markers were so helpful that i found myself counting miles instead of loops. my goal morphed into running sub 9 minute miles (instead of counting loops). as it turned out, i averaged an 8:57 pace (slowing with each climb and picking it up on the downhill).   i was incredibly pleased that i didn't have to walk the hill once during the day :D

all in all in ran pretty consistently. here are my 10, half marathon, 20, and 25 mile splits:

10 miles: 1:27:27
half marathon: 1:54:54
20 miles:  2:56:37
25 miles: 3:42:48

at the half i was concerned enough to reassess my pace. i'm a believer that 2x your half split + 10 minutes is a decent indicator for a projected finish time. if i didn't stay focused (or pick it up a little) i'd miss the 4 hour target. as luck had it, i managed to keep it together - slowing down just about 5 minutes for the second half :D

afterwards, i celebrated with a handful of chocolate donuts - and pizza for dinner when i got home. that night a bunch of us (steve, emmy, ari, amy) regrouped and talked about our experiences at the brooklyn marathon on the ny running show (episode #55).

here are my race photos.

new york running show podcast: the brooklyn marathon

2011-11-21T07:38:00.002-05:00

last night the ny running show (episode #55) was devoted to the inaugural brooklyn marathon held in prospect park that morning. participants included our moderator joe, steve (the brooklyn marathon rd), emmy, ari, amy, brenn, and me.

it was a wide ranging look at the race, including logistics, the course, participants (runners, volunteers, spectators - even "bandits") and the fantastic weather. despite all the talk about brooklyn, joe even managed to get in a few words on the mamaroneck 5k he ran that morning.

listen to, or download, episode #55 at talkshoe.

2011 brooklyn marathon: race photos and results

2011-11-20T16:47:00.002-05:00

what a fantastic day to run a marathon! beautiful weather and locale aside, it was even more enjoyable to run that marathon in brooklyn! today the inaugural brooklyn marathon went off without a hitch - with roughly 300 people crossing the finish line in prospect park.

not only did i meet my 4 hour target (3:54:26), but i actually ran it a minute faster than the nyc marathon 2 weeks ago. given that time included 6 climbs of the park's north hill, i was more than pleased with the outcome!

i'll write up a race report in a day or two. here are the preliminary results.

here are the rest of my photos posted on facebook.

brooklyn marathon packet pick-up at the gibson

2011-11-18T08:20:00.000-05:00

who would have thought i'd be back on the nyc marathon course, headed to the gibson bar in williamsburg, for the brooklyn marathon packet pick-up?! it was deja vu walking the 4 blocks of the course (7th to 11th street along bedford avenue) at twilight, that had been packed with spectators just less than two weeks ago.

and, when i arrived the first person i see is michael, who was helping steve set-up. then, after almost a year of interaction via email, fb, phone, missing each other at races, and even podcasts - i finally met up w/steve in person! to make it an even trio, just after stepping inside the bar, eliot walked in!

you know it's going to be fun when pick-up included unlimited rounds of six point beer :D in actuality, however, the bartender kept our glasses full w/brooklyn lager while the sixpoints got cold enough to serve :O it was a great time!

2011 great american smokeout!

2011-11-17T07:36:00.001-05:00

time to snuff out those filthy butts - at least for one day of the year! if you smoke, and hopefully you don't, please use today as an excuse to kick the habit - or restart a prior effort to kick it!

from the american cancer society smokeout page:

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke. However, more than half of these smokers have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year.

that pretty much say it all.

QUIT SMOKING - save your life, and maybe someone else's, in the process :D

after the leaves have fallen 20K: race report

2011-11-15T23:37:00.001-05:00

the weekend turned into a trail running two for the price one. not only did i run the trails of minnewaska state park at the "after the leaves have fallen" 20k on sunday, but i also put in 10+ miles on the trails of rockefeller state park on saturday. it helped tremendously that we had beautiful weather both days! i've run a both parks in the past, each one offering spectacular views, but never back to back. i last ran at "rockies" this summer, getting in a long run during the training that led up to the vermont 100. i last ran at minnewaska at the summer solstice 15k in 2010.

"after the leaves have fallen" is a tough, hilly 20k+ (most garmins logged 12.6 miles instead of the standard 12.4). but the reward is all in the running - incredible views along practically the entire course, especially the route along the ridge line. because of trail damage from prior storms, we ran the reverse direction of the summer solstice 15k - with an additional 1.5 mile out and back tacked on to complete the distance. the race finished with a loop around the lake.

it's an incredibly low-frills, old school event. aside from the registration paperwork, that's it - no shirt, no bib, no timing chip - nada! after crossing the finish line each runner is handed a numbered index card. he then fills in the relevant data - name, age, sex - and hands it it for recording. it's simple and effective - a variation of is used during the westport summer series (replacing the index cards w/popsicle sticks)!

my time goal was to run 1:45 - but, as usual, i conveniently forgot how hilly the terrain was (of which i was quickly reminded during the 2+ mile ascent to the ridge line at the start)! my 1:49:06 finish was well off my target. even discounting the couple of minutes i used to snap some pictures (i carried my camera), i would only have run a 1:47 or so. i was the 55th finisher according to my index card :D the race results haven't been posted yet, but is suspect there were about a 100 finishers.

before the start i met up w/doug - who volunteered as the sweeper. i last saw doug at the harvest half marathon he co-directed w/lisa last month. and, in another twofer - lisa herself volunteered at a water station. she and her co-volunteers manned the water table at the start of the out and back section, where runners could grab some water at roughly the 8 and 11.5 mile marks. afterwards, volunteers dished out some fantastic veggie soup to take the chill off.

the trail miles at rockies and minnewaska were actually a fantastic change of pace - sandwiched between the pavement pounding of the nyc marathon the previous weekend and the upcoming brooklyn marathon this weekend! i'm a believer in mixing up the terrain as much as possible - it keeps the runner honest. after the brooklyn marathon (on the "roads" of prospect park, actually), i may heed the siren call of van cortlandt park for thanksgiving :D

here are my photos from the 20k.

after the leaves have fallen 20k: race photos and results

2011-11-13T23:15:00.009-05:00

the view in minnewaska state park are spectacular! definitely worth the long drive (1:30/45 minutes easy) up to new paltz to get there. after the leaves have fallen 20k was on my list of races to do for years. it's basically the summer solstice 15k with an additional 3 miles tacked on. for me it was the second day on the trails this weekend - with 10+ miles at rockefeller state park the day before.

my 1:49:01 was 4 minutes slower than the sub 1:45 i had hoped for - but, again, under the circumstances, i was more than pleased - especially with a scenic vista along practically every mile of the course!

here is my race report. here are the race results.

2011 nyc marathon: race report

2011-11-10T08:41:00.000-05:00

the 2011 edition of the nyc marathon was my 10th straight finish. i would normally add, "on my way to 15," which is no longer appropriate. while the nyc marathon remains my favorite race at any distance, the urge to ante up and run it every year has cooled off following the nyrr announcement that it would no longer recognize the runners w/15 or more finishers with guaranteed entries.

in an attempt to soften the blow of that disgraceful decision, it won't take effect until 2015. so, adding insult to injury, assuming i run it for the next 4 year, that would leave me with an underwhelming 14 completions - not good enough. as a practitioner of that dying art of "if you can't say anything good, don't bother talking...," i find myself at odds with my own views.

i can't say anything good about what i perceive as the incredibly myopic and self-serving behavior of the nyrr. and for anyone who cares about my view, i think it sucks! that's putting the most positive spin on it that i can (under the circumstances) muster. maybe sanity will return and the nyrr will rescind what i see as a insulting slap in the face to it's most loyal runners. maybe - but i aint holding my breath.

so, with that uncharacteristic negative rant out of the way, i can talk about the race - which began, as most of my nyc marathon have - with a drive to white plains high school. that morning, there was an extra bus (4 instead of the usual 3). andy, owner of the westchester road runner store that organizes the bus rides down to staten island, told me that he had a surge of interest in the last week - enough to book an additional bus! i sat on the last bus w/emmy, susan, and noonie. hiro and yuki were on one of the other buses.

in what can only be described as a monumental traffic jam, we would all find ourselves exiting the buses more than a half mile from the drop off points. the stand still traffic an on access road adjacent to the staten island parkway snared dozens of similar buses - and there were plenty of other runners who joined us on the unplanned walk to enter the staging grounds. it was well after 8 when we disembarked and, since we were in different villages, we soon went our own separate ways.

after a beeline to the baggage bus, i went straight my corral (the last one in wave one), reaching it with barely 5 minutes to spare before it was closed. despite all the stress of that awkward commute, i managed to get an unoccupied porta-john without a wait! talk about a reversal of fortune! then, once the ropes were dropped and we moved forward to the bridge, i found myself with 30 seconds of crossing the starting mats when the cannon went off at the start.

in a way, the stressful start didn't impact my plans. since i hadn't gotten in much training this cycle - low mileage as a result of a string of business trips - i had a goal to finish in under 4 hours. i also took my camera with me - something i haven't done at a marathon in years. i was very glad for the camera. but i could have skipped the fanny pack, which i wore in case i tired of carrying the camera in my hands. some of my favorites were on the bridge, and as we crossed into brooklyn. especially the hand-written sign, "yo, welcome to brooklyn!" that greeted us coming off the bridge :D

the only sad moment of the day came passing the spot my mom typically spectated from. she couldn't make the race this year - which was only the second time in 2 years! not a bad track record. i love running down 4th avenue - it's always a huge rush for this brooklyn boy. i didn't see any familiar faces on the course - a stark contrast from years past when i always managed to run a few miles with friends here and there. but at the halfway point, i did see todd, catherine and marshall ulrich cheering from the sidelines! that was a great positive boost of energy!

my half marathon split, 1:46:43, was way too fast given my conditioning. there was no likelihood whatsoever that i'd come close to a 3:30 finish. maybe 3:45, but even that was a stretch. i had been running consist 7 and 8 minute miles until that point. thereafter, they would become 9 minute miles - until the end of first avenue. once i crossed the willis avenue bridge and reached mile 20, my pace dropped down to 10 minute miles. i was still moving forward, albeit at a decidedly slower pace.

the highlight - if you will - of the second half (aside from crossing the finish) was checking out the couple who had gotten married at mile 22 - at marcus garvey park. it was fun watching the crowds wish them well - and it gave me another boost of energy. still the trip down 5th avenue, to central park, was the toughest stretch of the day. once we entered the park, there were just over two miles left to go - and the park itself is always good for positive energy!

i finished in 3:55:38, an 8:59 pace. it was my slowest nyc marathon finish - but i was still a happy camper. just after the medals, i ran into the first familiar face of the day, bette, who had finished just behind me. then it was on to reclaim my bag - which, in first, was located outside the park on the south side of the american museum of natural history! from there, on to the trrc after party - and some fantastic rehydration with captain lawrence pumpkin ale and smoked porter! all in all, it was a fantastic day!

here are my race photos.
here are my post-race, party photos.

taconic road runners' post-nyc marathon party :D

2011-11-07T22:24:00.003-05:00

in a slight twist, taconic's post-marathon party was moved to a different location this year - closer to the park (columbus and 83rd) and an apartment with a balcony! as always, it was a great way to wind down from the 26.2 miles - especially w/some captian lawrence pumpkin ale and smoked porter to rehydrate with.

here are a few photos of runners unwinding :D

2011 nyc marathon: race photos and results

2011-11-06T22:27:00.020-05:00

my 10th nyc marathon is in the books! at 3:55, it was probably the slowest of the bunch - but it came in under my 4 hour target so i was very pleased!

despite the fantastic running we had, the day didn't start off auspiciously. our bus, along with the other private buses, were stopped in stand still traffic along the access road to the staten island expressway - with the bridge clearly in sight. we left the bus more than a half mile from the drop-off point - and barely got to the starting corrals before they officially closed (w/5 minutes to spare for me) :O

after all that pre-race stress, the race itself was relatively relaxing - ha! i took my camera along w/me and took some great pictures. afterwards, the taconic road runners put on a great post-marathon party :D

i'll post a race report in a day or two. here are the official results from the nyrr.

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

2011 halloween marathon (5k): race photos and results

2011-11-05T19:39:00.000-04:00

after the 5k twice around the parade ground), i realized that i had now run all the holiday marathon distances, 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon (although not in that order). it was a fantastic day to be outside - and we shared van cortandt park with a high school cross country meet that added to the sense of runners "all over the place."

i actually came in second place, with a 22:07 - it had more to do with the small field than any inherent speed :O tomorrow is the nyc marathon, so i didn't want to push my luck with the 10k, or longer distances.

maybe it was the rescheduled date (moved from the snow packed last weekend) or most of the regulars were resting up for tomorrow's marathon - but the field was noticeably smaller than past holiday marathons.

smaller size or not, it wasn't any less enjoyable! i'll add a link to the results once they're posted.

"marathon boy" premiere on hbo: movie review

2011-11-05T07:54:00.002-04:00

i watched the premiere of marathon boy on hbo last night and must say i was viscerally repulsed by the entire saga. i'm into just about anything connected with running - people, places, races. i'll dig into anything on this subject; and do it with glee. but to witness a real life hobbsian choice - a life as a beggar in an indian slum, or the grueling regime of a long distance runner foisted upon a 3 year old boy was truly upsetting business. in reality, budhia had no choice at all.

because of the family's extreme poverty, budhia was sold by his mother to a traveling salesman for 800 rupee (roughly $16). it was quickly revealed to be an abusive situation. enter biranchi das, a judo instructor and orphanage director, who paid back the salesman and took budhia into his care (with the approval of budhia's mother). but budhia was no angel himself, fully equipped with a raw, foul mouth out of which spouted expletives! it was, in fact, a result of his foul mouthn that his talent for running became apparent.

as a punishment for cursing, biranchi had budhia run circles around the courtyard. he expected budhia to stop at some point, from just plain exhaustion. when he returned to the orphanage hours later, budhia was still at it, still running loops of the courtyard - no worse for the wear. that apocryphal beginning set the stage for his "training" and a series of half marathon, leading to full marathons and, ultimately, his collapse at a 40 mile ultramarathon.

the documentary then intertwines two parallel story lines - budhia's actual running and races coupled with the growing notoriety his feats engender and the efforts of the the local child services agency to stop what it perceives as his exploitation (for better or worse) at the hands of biranchi. the filmmaker takes strictly hands off approach to moralizing - one way or the other. there is no effort to show this story through western eyes. biranchi has many supporters in his battle against the bureaucrats of child services!

this come to a head when he is formally charged with child abuse. by this time budhia is now 5 years old and has run many, many race miles. there followed one dramatic scene where the authorities, after having already prohibited him from entering any more races, physically restrained budhia from a 300 mile walk! the story quickly spins out on a tangent when, shockingly, biranchi is murdered - which had no connection to budhia and running! by that point budhia had been returned to his mother - and eventually became a ward of the state (which would, in turn, enroll him in a prestigious academy).

the dilemma, if it can be described as such because leaving the slums, abject poverty, and a life spent begging for existence - is no choice when weighed against any alternative. biranchi, regardless of the training he put budhia through and the races he was made to run - saved him from the horrors he faced in his very real life (including redeeming him from someone who had already purchased him!). was budhia exploited - maybe so. but that alternative was preferable.

it's a very unsettling and disturbing story. running ultimately was the hook that pulled budhia out of the darkest abyss - but it's not really a story about running.

2011 nyc marathon expo at the javits center

2011-11-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

the nyc marathon expo was packed, more than usual, this afternoon! maybe it's a reflection to the increased field, over 47,000 runners expected to line up on staten island sunday morning? i tooled around the expo with michael, emmmy, and lucimar for most of the time. but aside from the socializing, it was an exhausting afternoon :O

november 2011 race schedule

2011-11-02T10:22:00.002-04:00

i got home yesterday afternoon (a half day sooner), after a change in flight plans necessitated by air france flight crews who staged a 5 day strike! ironically, i flew home on delta, an air france partner. enough said about that experience...

as for the races on deck for november... up first is the nyc marathon. it will be my 10th straight one. i love the event, and it's my favorite race at any distance. but my love for the nyrr has taken a serious hit in the wake of its arbitrary decision to severely cut back guaranteed entries. that rant will, gratefully, be put off to a future post :O

the following weekend i'm looking forward to the "after the leaves have fallen" 20k - a race i've had on my to do list for years, but could never enter because of conflicts. even now it conflict w/the "beachfront bushwack" - another fantastic race!

then, a new race (although it was run years ago as the achilles track club marathon) - the brooklyn marathon!! a marathon to call its own is certainly something brooklyn needs - to complement its already fantastic half :D while the inaugural race takes place completely within prospect park, future editions will hopefully find their way onto the streets of brooklyn.

for thanksgiving day itself, it's always a tough call. the mid-hudson 25k is more in line with creating the proper calorie deficit for a turkey dinner. but the gateway gobbler, and a challenging 6 mile course, is only 20 minutes away. right now i'm opting for the 25k, but circmstances (like the weather) could keep me closer to home.

the last weekend of the month brings a volunteer switch. for the last few years i've volunteered at the bedford turkey trot. this year emmy is directing a 5k run for the greenwich alliance for education. so i'll volunteer at that race this year. while not technically a race, the next day todd will reprise his completion run on its anniversary. that should be some excellent trail running in harriman state park :D

here's how it looks so far:

11/6 - nyc marathon
11/13 - after the leaves have fallen 20k
11/20 - brooklyn marathon
11/24 - mhrrc turkey trot, 25k
11/26 - greenwich alliance for education, 5k [volunteer]
11/27 - 2nd annual thanksgiving weekend trail run
as always, if you're at any of them, say hello!

happy halloween, from lille :O

2011-10-31T05:24:00.000-04:00

happy halloween! since i'm in lille until tomorrow, no trick or treating for me this year. the closest i'll come to celebrating halloween was wearing my pumpkin tech shirt when i ran this morning :O

but for those of you back in the states, put on a costume and get in the halloween mood :D

running around lille... with a camera :D

2011-10-29T11:36:00.000-04:00

this morning i took my camera with me as i ran the streets of lille. in just under 6 miles, and in a 4-leaf clover route, i managed to take in some beautiful sights! i had so much fun taking these pictures that i may take the camera out with me again tomorrow :D

greetings from lille, france :D

2011-10-28T16:36:00.002-04:00

greetings from lille, france! i left jfk last night, arrived at charles de gaule airport this morning, transferred to the high speed train - the station conveniently located at the airport - and arrived in lille this afternoon. as travels go, this was a relatively easy trip (contrasted w/how long it took to get to kuala lumpur last month!).

the train ride, even at just over an hour, managed to take me back to my post-college days bumming around europe on a eurorail pass! as a practical matter, however, lille is a definitely a walking city - with most major attractions clustered together near the city center. hopefully, i'll get in a few runs that take in some of the sights :D

stay tuned!

update: air france cabin crews just started a five day strike - so it remains to be seen if i make it out of here on tuesday! but, w/news reports of a freakish snowstorm hitting new york city/new england this weekend - maybe i'm better off being stranded here a couple of extra days :D

2011 run the farm 5 mile trail: race photos and results

2011-10-23T20:23:00.002-04:00

this morning, from the race directors of the leatherman's loop, the second edition of run the farm took place on muscoot farm in somers, ny. it was a challenging (read hilly) 5 mile trail run. for fans of the leathersman's loop, it was a warm-up (sans water crossings) for westchester's spring trail classic.

for only its second year, there was a large turnout, not only for the 5 miler, but the 1 mile kids fun run as well. as an added bonus, each runner received 5 farm dollars at the finish to spend at the farmers market, conveniently taking place on the farm, post-race :D

race prizes (as at the leatherman's loop) were pies! emmy, after winning her age group at the sleep hollow 10k yesterday, doubled up and won her age group again this morning - and a pie in the process. she seamlessly switched from roads to trails w/out missing a beat!

i, on the other hand, missed my 45 minute target by two minutes. i thought that a nine minute pace was doable, but after a poor starting position it quicky got out of reach. nevertheless, i had a great time out there. in addition to emmy, todd, chris, and bob (who took pictures along the way) also ran the course.

here are the race results.

here are a few more photos posted on facebook.

eliot's first double - race reports for the hartford and atlantic city marathons: guest post!

2011-10-18T12:25:00.001-04:00

this weekend eliot took on a pair of marathons, back to back, for his first "double" - and they were in different states to add a logistical twist! his friend john joined in this 52+ mile weekend on the roads, both running and driving :D

here is eliot's write up of the adventure (and as a bonus, he picked up another marathon maniac star in the process)!
_________________________________________________

Hartford and Atlantic City Marathon Weekend - My First Double Marathon
October 15/16th, 2011

Honestly, I’ve been struggling to find myself as a runner for a better part of this year. Can I ever (or do I even want to) become faster? That was my early 2011 plan …. to try to become faster. It never happened. Yes, I did throw down for a bunch of races (short and long), but only did them halfheartedly. What could one expect with basically a once a week training regime? What could I realistically accomplish?

In May, at the NJ Marathon Expo, my ‘5:42 am train to the city’ friend, John, asked if I wanted to try a double marathon in the October; a first for both of us. John’s story is this …. he has run 3 to 4 marathons a year for the past 4 years, including Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, MCM, etc. He has a different approach than me about training. He is like Felix Unger and I am like Oscar Madison. Need I say more? But, I thought to myself that it was like five months away; so, “why not!” This gave me something to work towards …. so, I even ran two/three times a few of these past weeks.

Hartford

The expo at the XL Center was convenient to the start and they had a race-day packet pick-up in the morning, which meant that I could sleep at home, pick John up at 4:00 am and drive the 2 hours to Hartford with plenty of time to spare!

Live to fight another day! I went into the first one with a strategy: Run hard like I’m trying to PR and re-assess at the halfway mark. The ½ mat came at about 1:53 and I re-assessed. Goal was to finish in good enough shape to ‘fight another day.’ So, I ran another 6 or 7 at ~ 9:30 mpm pace and finished the rest in an ‘ultra’ style combination of run/walks while eating an energy bar. My goal was to finish with an overall 10 mpm pace or a sub-4:22 finish.

I hate ‘out and backs’ with a passion and Hartford had a doozy! At miles 10 to 17 was the out with a return to mile 24 as the back. It was a long straight stretch in the sun and seeing the runners ahead of me effortlessly heading back is always disheartening. I just grit my teeth to 24 and was finally coasting in for a close to goal time (give or take) when I had my race highlight. During the last ½ mile stretch as the crowd thickened, an obnoxious runner sprinted past me towards Bushnell Park. I said to myself, “F that!” I took after him as the crowds cheered, “Catch him!” As I passed him, I turned my head and gave him a nod. Then, I said to myself, “Holy crap, you looked at him so now you can’t let him pass you again.”

The finish was in sight now so I just put my head down. So focused on staying ahead of this guy, I must have ‘obnoxiously’ passed another runner who must have gotten pissed off at me. That guy got slightly ahead of me. Without thinking about etiquette, I found another gear so we blazed through the Arch together. We both smiled. Talk about a climax. And, I must admit, the obnoxious runner (not me) got me in at 4:21:15. Post-race in Bushnell Park was free Harpoon IPA for the runners. Too bad I left my ID in the car. All in all, a very nice race and course with lots of support.

Atlantic City

John and I headed straight for the car and onto 91S when we hit a wall of traffic just outside Hartford. Damn it. No beer, now traffic and a 5 hour drive to Atlantic City to boot. We got to the hotel at about 6:30 pm, checked in, showered and headed over to Bally’s for late arrival packet pick-up. We had a nice meal at a local micro-brewery which included some food, a sampler of their brews and then a pint of their IPA to wash it all down. Now to sleep, but for the bachelor party next door that returned to their room at 2:30 am. Security please, to the 10th floor!

I went into the second one with a strategy: Finish healthy enough to run NYC in three weeks. I hate ‘out and backs’ with a passion and Atlantic City had a doozy too! After 4 miles of crosswind on the boardwalk, we ran southbound on the roads from about miles 12 to 16 into strong headwinds. I was actually feeling good for this half of the race, crossing the ½ mat at about 2:05 so at about 9:30 mpm pace. But, the ‘out and back’ plus wind just took its toll on me. Funny how it always works out this way, but there was no tailwind to speak of on the backside. It was sunny, warm and I was feeling fatigued, so my very generous goal was now to finish in under 5:00 hours.

My ‘ultra’ running kicked in much sooner out of necessity. Oh yeah, there was a second ‘out and back’ between about miles 18 to 21; where, again, there were headwinds, this time on the backside. The last 2 miles were running northbound on the boardwalk through the crowds and I felt a great sense of satisfaction finishing at 4:49:17 at about an 11 mpm pace overall. I even stopped for a ‘jump’ at the mat, didn’t get very high, but the crowd cheered anyway. At the finish there was Blue Point beer. Yikes, I forgot my ID again, but didn’t need one in AC. Whew! We hit the road for the 3+ hour drive home. All in all, another very nice race and course with lots of support. Plus, a finisher’s medal that is also a bottle opener!

Marathon Maniacs

Sporting my Marathon Maniacs shirt, I was given special attention. So, I’m giving a shout out to all my fellow MM’s who crossed my path this weekend (like Otto Lam and Dave Mari) for the winks, smiles, and words of encouragement. The ‘maniac’ question of Saturday was, “What are you running tomorrow?” And, Sunday’s was, “What did you run yesterday?” Gotta laugh! And, special thanks to John for making us get our MM fourth stars!

So, besides a MM fourth star, what was accomplished this weekend? I did 52.4 miles in 9:10:32 or at an overall 10:30 mpm pace across two days. Did I find myself? Not yet, but I understand to do so will involve having and setting goals. So, I’ll keep looking ….

2011 great train race

2011-10-16T20:30:00.000-04:00

not much in the way of photos to post for the great train race. i only took this one of the race registration before the start. since it's a point to point course, didn't take my camera with me.

as for the race itself, the course is hilly! i ran a 55:14 for the 6.8 miles, which was well off the 51 minutes i ran it a couple of years ago. but i was more than happy with that result.

instead of carpooling back to the parking lot in new canaan, emmy and i ran it. that plan worked well for the first 5+ miles - but then we veered off course, after missing a marker, and wound up tacking on a few bonus miles as a consequence.

the return trip took us 1:30 (and included flagging down a couple of cars, a biker, and a runner to ask for directions)! still, even with that little detour, it was all good :D

2011 harvest half marathon: race photos and results

2011-10-10T00:08:00.001-04:00

today emmy, rob and i took a road trip up to red hook for the second running of the harvest half marathon. our friends lisa and doug were the race directors (and there was also a 5k). reaching into the 80's, it was 20 degrees warmer than the half we ran in ridgefield last weekend!

while i wanted to run a sub-1:40, i was more than pleased with my 1:42:35 under the circumstances! surprisingly, it was good enough for 3rd place in my age group (and emmy won her age group)! afterwards, we headed over to the hyde park brewing company for a little hydration :D

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

a few more photos posted on facebook.

2011 ridgefield half marathon: race photos and results

2011-10-02T19:18:00.001-04:00

this morning i ran my first ridgefield half marathon. it's a race i've wanted to run, but somehow never managed to line up for in prior years. it's a challenging, double loop course. but the real challenge was the pre-race weather!

i woke up to driving rain, which eventually gave way to much cooler than usual temperatures! i was shivering on the way to race registration - and not much warmer when we started! but within the first mile i had warmed up, and it turned out to be perfect weather for running.

my 1:42:15 was well under my 8 minute goal pace. in fact, all but 3 miles came in below 8 minutes, between 7:40 and 7:50 - for an average 7:48 pace for the race. next weekend is another half - the harvest half in red hook - and i'll target a sub 7:40 pace.

here are the race results from hitek.

i posted a few more pictures on facebook.

october 2011 race schedule

2011-10-01T06:06:00.051-04:00

october kicks off with the ridgefield half marathon tomorrow morning. i haven't run this one before, so i'm looking forward to it. i'll follow it up w/another half marathon next weekend, the harvest half in red hook. it's also a new one for me - and the race director, lisa glick, is a friend.

shorter distances make up the rest of the month, as a lead in to the nyc marathon the first weekend of november. the great train race, one of my favorite local point to point courses, is on october 16. if i can get back in time for the noon start, it may turn into a double with the harry chapin "run against hunger" 10k that afternoon!

the following weekend, is a 5 miler on the trail, at "run the farm" in katonah. this is another new race for me - bring the total up to 3 for the month. the final weekend of october i typically run a great pair of halloween 5ks - but this year i have another business trip planned (the 3rd in two months), so no races that weekend.

here's what it looks like so far:

10/2 - ridgefield half marathon
10/9 - harvest half marathon
10/16 - great train race, 6.8m
10/16 - harry chapin run against hunger 10k
10/23 - run the farm, 5m

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

batu caves, kuala lumpur

2011-09-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

i only managed a half day of sight-seeing in kuala lumpur - and the highlight was the 272 step climb up to the batu caves (and an additional 80 steps to the upper cave). this stair climb was shared with monkeys. seriously, it was an interesting experience to be accompanied by small gray monkeys as if they were ordinary tourists out for a stroll. equally interesting were the handful of exercisers (i won't describe them as runners, despite the running apparel, because - they walked the stairs). back down at street level, i rehydrated with a distinctly local treat :D

greetings from kuala lumpur :D

2011-09-18T05:58:00.000-04:00

greetings from kuala lumpur, malaysia! i was on airplanes for a long time - 15 hours from jfk to hong kong, then another 3+ hours from hong kong to kuala lumpur. add in the non-flight time at the airports and the 45 minute cab ride to my hotel, it really does seem like i've travelled to the other side of the world! i've done long haul trips like this one in the past (bangkok, singapore, indonesia) - but it never gets easier.

despite the travel fatigue, i still enjoy these road trips - they never get old! this trip is all business, but i'd like to get over the the petronas twin towers. what i'd really love to do is run up the stairs to the top of one - but i'll settle for an elevator ride to the visitors' bridge :D

stay tuned...

2011 tuckahoe challenge: race photos and results

2011-09-11T17:44:00.000-04:00

this morning i ran the tuckahoe challenge - a pair of back to back races (1 mile & 5 mile) where the lowest combined scores win. i've run this one many times over the years, going back to the days that katie and i did the parent-child team race :D

i didn't have any time goals in mind today. i ran the mile in 6:14 and the 5 miler in 35:47 (a 7:10 pace). i was 4th in my age group in the 5 miler, a few seconds behind the 2nd and 3rd place finishers. but the highlight of the morning was emmy's 1st place in the 5 miler - and 1st place for the challenge!

lots of familiar faces there: emmy, rob, hiroshi, joe, julie, judy - to mention a few. and the vctc had a good group running in their purple singlets :D

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

never forget: today is the 10th anniversary of 9/11

2011-09-11T06:29:00.000-04:00

this is one anniversary no one should ever forget. ten years ago today, three planes were hijacked by terrorists, a manifestation evil incarnate. those acts resulted in the deaths of 2,977 innocent victims.

we should never forget that bloody day and the suffering it inflicted upon us. we should never forget that twisted minds exist out there that want to see us die in the name of their hateful beliefs!

NEVER FORGET!

trip to tepotzlan, mexico!

2011-09-10T07:39:00.000-04:00

a small group of us made the 2 kilometer climb to the top of tepozteco mountain to see the aztec pyramid, only to discover the locked gate barred our entrance - argh! but the climb to the summit (2150 meters above sea level) was great - and the views along the way were fantastic!

greetings from cuernavaca, mexico :D

2011-09-04T17:53:00.000-04:00

greetings from cuernavaca, mexico. i flew into mexico city this afteroon and, after about an hour and fifteen minute drive, arrived here in cuernavaca - affectionately known as the city of eternal spring. i can't opine on that since it's been raining on and off since i arrived.

at roughly 5,000 feet above sea level, it should make running very interesting! stay tuned :D

2011 westport 10 miler: race photos and results

2011-09-03T18:14:00.000-04:00

the 2011 westport summer series came to an end this morning with the labor day weekend 10 miler at staples high school. this is one of my all time favorite races - no frills, challenging course, and great socializing! i had a sub 1:20 goal in mind (an 8 minute pace) and met it with a 1:18:16 (7:50 pace). i was very happy with that one :D

here are the race results.

a few more pictures posted on facebook.

september 2011 race schedule

2011-09-01T15:47:00.000-04:00

september will be a sparse month for races. i have two business trips planned, which leaves barely a weekend to race!

the westport summer series ends with the 10 miler this saturday. it's one of my favorite races. the very next day i'm off to mexico. when i return the following weekend, if i'm not too jet lagged, i'll run the tuckahoe challenge - a pair of races (1 and 5 miles). there are a few other races i'd consider for that sunday, but tuckahoe is a 5 minute drive :D

later that same week, thursday night in fact, will head into the city for an evening 5k - the sunset & suds 5k in riverside park. i've never run there, so that should be an interesting change of pace. then i'm off to kuala lumpur that weekend. when i return the following sunday, i've run out of september weekends!

here's the what it looks like.

9/3 - westport 10 miler
9/11 - tuckahoe challenge, 1 mile
9/11 - tuckahoe challenge, 5 mile
9/15 - sunset & suds 5k

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

2011 norwalk summer series, 11 miler: race photos and results

2011-08-27T18:06:00.002-04:00

the norwalk summer series 11 miler was tough going this morning. the silvermine course is a tough, double loop, without having to factor in the weather. this time around we had incredibly soggy and humid conditions. i hadn't planned to run it - but tomrrow's bronx half marathon was cancelled in view the anticipated arrival of hurricane irene!

i didn't have any particular time goal in mind - i just wanted to survive both loops! i thought an 8:30 pace would do it - but after a pair of 8:45 miles during the first loop (and walking a couple of hills), that seemed to be a stretch. still, my 1:33:50 (practically 10 minutes slower than 2010's 1:24) worked out to just over an 8:30 pace (8:32) - so i'll take it :D

here are the race results.

2011 bronx half marathon cancelled!

2011-08-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

the bronx half marathon was officially cancelled today - so announced the nyrr site:

"Due to the cancellation of all NYC events on Sunday, August 28, the Bronx Half-Marathon and the Henry Isola Cross Country Classic have been cancelled."

it was a direct consequence of the mayor's announcement last night that all city permits were cancelled for events scheduled on sunday. it was a preemptive response to the approach of hurricane irene.

in any event, it will be my eighth nyrr qualifying race point. now, after the nyc marathon, i will have completed my 9+1 for 2012 entry :d

2011 westport summer series, 8.44 miles: race photos and results

2011-08-20T20:26:00.001-04:00

it's been a while since i've been to burying hill beach - years, actually. the westort summer series 8.44 miler starts and finishes there, with a few decent climbs tossed in the mostly loop course. aside from some lingering humidity, we had some decent weather.

i didn't have a time goal in mind. instead i wanted to get in as many 7:30/7:35 miles as i could. that plan worked well for the first 5-6 miles, but i slowed down enough over the final 2.5 miles to bring my average up to 7:40 for the full distance. i finished with a 1:04:40 - which i'll take, under the circumstances :D

here are the race results.

conrad schumann made epic leap to freedom over "berlin wall" 50 years ago today!

2011-08-15T08:47:00.000-04:00

it was a remarkable 50 years ago today, august 15, 1961, that conrad schumann lept over the barbed wire fence in east berling - that would shortly become the infamous berlin wall - to freedom in west berlin! he was only 19 years old - and the nascent berlin wall was just 3 days in the making (still mostly barbed wire as the east germans began the process of creating the concrete wall).

this historic image was actually a still taken from the super 8mm film made photographer peter leibing as a crowd of on lookers shouted, "komm ruber!" - "come over!" it has a special meaning for me because a poster of that image hangs in front of me here in my office as i write this post. i purchased it in the then divided city, at the checkpoint charlie museum, during the summer of 1984. it's been with me ever since.

it will always symbolize our innate desire to be free from tyranny!

2011 westport summer series, 6.85 miles: race photos and results

2011-08-14T06:35:00.001-04:00

we had some great weather this morning - and it was even greater to be at the beach to run this morning! the 6.85 miler of the westport summer series, w/one notable hill at the end of the 4th mile, starts and finishes at compo beach.

my goal was to run a sub-7:30 pace, which - depending on whether i use 6.85 or 6.8 miles as the measuring yardstick. my 51:06 finish either barely met, or barely missed (7:28 or 7:31 pace, respectively) that target :D

the highlight was winning a vintage race tee shirt at the post-race raffle :O

here are the race results.

2011 nyrr team championships: race photos and results

2011-08-06T15:51:00.005-04:00

taconic had a great turn-out for the club team championships this morning - and most teams were out in force, actually! despite the overtly competitive nature of this particular race (it's a pair of championship races, with bragging rights :O) - there was overwhelming social dimension. there was plenty of interclub socializing, pre- and post-race. in a way, it hardly seemed like the typical nyrr race in central park!

here are the race results: men and women.

a few more photos posted on facebook.

2011 escarpment trail run: race report

2011-08-05T09:11:00.003-04:00

sunday was my third escarpment trail run in the last six years (previously, 2006 and 2009). if i could, i'd line up for this one ever summer - it's probably my favorite trail run! even so, it seems to get the best of me because i haven't managed to break five hours yet. my 5:23 for 2011 was 20+ minutes faster than the 2009 mudfest, but still 3 minutes shy of my first run in 2006. i'm now half-way to my 100 mile shirt :D

as with most events, a newly scheduled run briefly tempted me to change plans - the twilight 6 hour pajamas run in queens the night before. i normally go out of my way to run b.u.s. events, but since i missed escarpment last year because i had to drive katie up to summer camp that weekend, i had no intention of passing it up to run an ultra the previous night! emmy opted for the pj run - and was in no condition to tackle the "wall of manitou" the next morning!

still, i met up with emmy in bedford and we drove up to windham together. instead of running, she hiked part of the trail. there were plenty of familiar faces at the start: todd, barbara, hiroshi, christine, hiro, yuki, johnny, and marge - to mention just a few. the trail conditions and weather were great! with no rain the night before (ala' 2009), the ground was relatively dry. and, as a bonus, the heat and humidity were manageable.

dick vincent got us underway just after 9 with a blast of the horn. my time goal was a sub-5:30 finish. while i wanted to shoot for a sub-5, my legs weren't recovered from vermont 2-weeks earlier. as it turned out, i had a great first half - pretty much a sub-5 hour pace. but as i suspected going in, fatigue would eventually catch up with me on the second half of the course. i reached the peak of windham, after a 3.3 mile climb, in a solid 54 minutes (13 minutes ahead of my 2009 pace).

the descent off windham was equally productive. i reach the 6 mile aid station (manned by volunteers from the wolfpit running club) in just over 1:32 - and was averaging just over a 15 minute pace for the first third of the course. just before i reached the third aid station, at the base of blackhead, todd caught up to me. we ran in together in just under 2:09. i said hi to lisa glick, volunteering there, and then todd and i set off to climb blackhead.

it took me just under 28 minutes to reach the top, todd was already there - and headed out as i stopped to refill my water bottle and grab some chips. johnny and i headed off blackhead together, but he quickly flew down the steep descent. my trip down to dutchers notch wouldn't go as smoothly. just as the first wave of drops began, i got a calf cramp (shades of 2009)! a girl running just behind me saw me nursing my calf and offered me an s cap! it worked some magic, and i was back on the move again!

it took me just under 45 minutes to reach the next add station - at the base of stoppel point. and the climb up to stoppel took just over 47 minutes! i reached the top of stoppel at 4:09 - and smiled when the volunteers announced the next aid station was just 1.7 miles away! those were a grueling, technical 1.7 miles - that opened up to the initial field of boulders, where the "final" aid station was located on a huge boulder, with a fantastic view of the lake at the finish. i put "final" in quotes because that was the last aid station - 2.5 mile to the finish.

but dick added one more, about a mile from the finish - new for the 2011 edition. as i climbed down from the aid station i met up with lisa. we ran the last 2.5 miles together, encountering a handful of people along the way who gave us varying distances left to go! we saw emmy about 1.5 miles from the finish and then john holt less than a quarter mile past her.

in hindsight, i probably could have pushed the pace a little and broken 5:20 - but i was more than pleased with the 5:23 finish. i'll definitely be back for the 2012 edition!

in an aside, on the drive home from the 2009 edition, we were stuck on the taconic when it was shut down because of the tragic car crash that killed 8 people. i couldn't help but note the documentary, "there something wrong with aunt diane" had just been shown on hbo to coincide with the 2 year anniversary of that horrendous incident!

here are my race photos.

august 2011 race schedule

2011-08-01T05:24:00.005-04:00

august will be a low-key racing month for me. most, if not all, of the races are short distances.

it kicks off with the nyrr club team championship on saturday (which will be race #7 on the road to 9), followed by the sgt. keith ferguson 5k - run over the brooklyn bridge - the next day. as a former brooklynite, i love the idea of running back and forth across the bridge :D

the middle of august will be back to back weekend in westport for summer series races. the 6.85 miler is on 8/13 and the 8.4 miler is on 8/20. in between is a tuesday night trip to new canaan for the wavney 3-person relay.

i may make a trip back to brooklyn for the "battle of brooklyn" 10 miler on 8/21 - still undecided about that one. it's a summer version of the cherry tree 10 miler :D

the month ends with the bronx half marathon - it'll be my 8th nyrr race for 2011. with the nyc marathon in november, that should give me my 9 races for guaranteed entry into the 2012 marathon.

here's what it looks like so far:

8/6 - nyrr team championshiops, 5m
8/7 - sgt. keith ferguson 5k
8/13 - westport summer series, 6.85m
8/16 - waveny summer xc series, 3-person relay
8/20 - westport summer series, 8.4m
8/28 - nyrr bronx half marathon

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

2011 escarpment trail run: race photos and results

2011-07-31T20:46:00.005-04:00

my third escarpment trail run is in the books! it was a great day to be out on the trails - and plenty of familiar faces were there: emmy, todd, catherine, hiro, yuki, hiroshi, marge, lisa, chris and joe - to a name a few!

my 5:23:20 was well under my 5:30 target - and missed a course pr for me by just 3 minutes! it was a solid 20 minutes faster than my last escarpment (2009). it was a good day!

here is my race report. and here are the race results.

the rest of my photos posted on facebook,

2011 vermont 100 endurance run: race report

2011-07-19T14:31:00.006-04:00

it's hard to believe my third vermont 100 miler is in the books. up until late last week i was still on the fence about running because i hadn't gotten in the training mileage. my longest training run had been just 19 miles, and my longest run had been 35 miles at the b.u.s. 6 hour run in early april. in between those two markers were a couple of marathons and 50k's. not what i'd consider an ideal training plan for a 100 miler. and, more importantly, i hadn't lined up a pacer.

be that as it may, things came together when hugo and i decided to split a room at the yankee village motel. i sent in an email request for a pacer to the race organizers. and, on friday afternoon, i car pooled up to west windsor with emmy, chip, and lucimar. under trained or not, i'd get through the first 50 miles (47 actually), and tthan see how things looked from there. as fate had it, i stuck it out for the second 50 :D

apologies for the long winded introduction - but i'd be less than honest if i didn't mention how ambivalent (fearful) i was going in to this one.

pre-race check in:

emmy, chip, lucimar and i got to check in about 3:30 - and there were plenty of familiar faces. hugo and hiroshi were just in front of me on the weigh-in/medical line. when the scale registered 180 pounds i realized it was a mistake (+5) immediately - but the number stuck. it would come back to haunt me the next day. the rest of the afternoon was divided into socializing, drop bags, the pre-race briefing.

after the briefing, i learned that i hadn't been assigned a pacer. there were other runners in the same boat - emmy and betsy, in particular. but john, the pacer coordinator, told us not to worry. he'd have pacers for us by the time we got to camp 10 bear (the second time around, mile 70). this development didn't really sink in because i was still unsure i'd reach mile 70 - much less power on beyond it!

race morning:

set the alarm for 2:30 - the plan was to leave for silver meadow at 3. at just before 3, tammy knocked on my door - i was the last one dawdling! emmy was already in the car and betsy was in her car, waiting to follow us. we got to silver meadow by 3:30 - plenty of time for the 4 a.m. start. we had great weather - and dry conditions this time around. i took a small flashlight, but didn't bother with my headlamp.

by the time we were halfway up desmore hill, to the first aid station at mile 7, the it was light enough to turn off the flashlight. the first 21 miles - to the pretty house aid station - were productive. my split at 21.1 miles was 4:18:12. the next 9 miles - to the stage road aid station at 30.1 miles would include the climb up and down sound of music hill! in between, my marathon split was 5:38:30.

i reached the stage road aid station in 6:30:12 - and changed my shirt for a second time. then on to suicide six just down the road. my next drop bag was at camp 10 bear - mile 47. by this time the sun was out in force and the temperature had climbed into the 80's. during this stretch of 15+ miles, my only objective was to get from aid station to aid station. the most pleasant surprise, food-wise, came at lillian's (mile 43.5) where little cups were filled with good & plenty! that licorice candy as magic!

half-way:

at camp 10 bear (47 miles) the scale showed that i had dropped 8 pounds! not only was i drinking an entire 22 ounce bottle of water between aid stations, but i topped it off with food and other fluids (coke and ice tea) at the aid stations! my 5% sit down number was 9 pounds and i was still one pound shy. i wasn't in the mood to sit down there and ingest food/water until my weight increased. as it worked out, i sat down to change my shirt (again), dig out my headlamp and flashlight, and eat!

my appetite had returned with a vengeance and i ate two sausage & pepper sandwiches! ironically, while i needed to gain weight - emmy was in the opposite position. at her weigh-in, she had gained weight and the medical staff was concerned that her body may have started shutting down! it was more likely that she had taken too many s caps and was retaining water weight. as it turned out, when we returned to 10 bear later that day, i had gained back a few pound (up to 176) - and emmy lost weight. so it was all good.

this middle stretch - the loop out and back to 10 bear - was challenging because it included "agony hill" (which i thought was fun) and the 2 mile climb out of tracer brook (my least favorite part of the entire course - and i consistently run out of expletives to describe it). but it also includes margaritaville - probably my favorite aid station on the course. where else can you get a margarita (or corona) and cheeseburger! it was my longest stop - 13 minutes! - where i had a margarita, two cheeseburgers, and a cup of ramen noodles in broth.

my 100k split - leaving margaritaville - was just over 16 hours (16:04). the eight miles back to camp 10 bear would be broken up by a stop at brown school house (a/k/a the grateful dead aid station) at mile 65.1. just before brown school house it got dark enough to start using the flashlight. but with a full moon that night, i would never wind up putting on my headlamp! i got back to camp 10 bear in 18:41:36 - my pace had slowed significantly over this last stretch.

the final 30 miles:

fatigue had caught up with me on the return to 10 bear. at this point i had been running w/emmy and we both agreed to push on from 10 bear (exorcising any thoughts of calling it quits there). as mentioned, we both passed the weigh-in on the second go round. but the surprise waiting there (or not, as in this case) - john had no pacers available! by the time we were ready to head out (deciding to team up w/tammy and her pacer) - one pacer did become available. we were set to have him pace both of us - instead, he was assigned to a solo runner. emmy and i would pace each other until spirit of 76 (westwinds).

on the way to spirit of 76 (mile 77) the strangest thing happened. on the steep descent on the switchbacks leading to seabrook (mile 74.7) a moth flew into emmy's ear! she let out a scream and was hopping all across the trail trying to dislodge it! at first i couldn't make out what she was saying/what had happened. despite our best efforts, the moth crawled deep into the ear canal and we couldn't get it out. no one at the next two aid stations could get it out - so she became resigned to running the remaining miles w/it stuck there!

on the positive side, when we arrived spirit of 76, john had two pacers available for us! with 23 miles to go, and fatigue overtaking me, i really needed one. dave, a member of the shenipsit striders, agreed to pace me. within a few miles - where i alternated between sleepwalking and incoherent gibberish - he diagnosised my problem as bonking, not fatigue. the last solid food i'd eaten was almost 6 hours earlier, at margaritaville! he gave me a 12 oz. bottle of gatorade to drink - and it did the trick.

since i was in no mood to eat solid food, his plan was to keep me ingesting simple sugars and caffeine. it was one bottle of coke after another during the night - and it worked! after goodman's (mile 81), i finally got a second wind - and it stuck. we alternated running and walking during this stretch, trying to keep the pace between 17-18 minutes a mile. we reached bill's (mile 88.6) in just over 25 hours (25:04). i had 5 hours to cover the remaining 11.2 miles - very doable!

at bill's i left my windbreaker (which i never wore), my headlamp (which i never used), and my remaining gear (flashlight, gu's, glide) in the drop bag. all would carry to the finish is my handheld and my camera in the fanny pack. we had a couple of major climbs to deal with, but the end was finally in sight! it took another 3 hours and 40 minutes to cover the remaining miles - but it was sweet to cross the finish line again! given my pre-race training concerns, this was a big accomplishment for me :D

post-race:

emmy, chip, fran, and tammy were all at the finish line when i got there. tristan gave me a beer to celebrate (many thanks, tristan!). then i insisted emmy go to the medical tent and get the moth taken out of her ear! at first one of the technicians didn't think they could do it because it was too invasive a procedure. he suggested that she go to the emergency room to have it removed! luckily, a second ems technician decided to try and flush it out with saline solution. it was a success!

as for me, aside from a pair of swollen feet, i didn't seem any worse for the wear! in a first, i didn't have any chafing, or blisters. while it would be a couple of days before i'd walk normally again, i was a happy camper!

here are my race photos.

2011 vermont 100 mile endurance run: race photos and results

2011-07-18T08:29:00.006-04:00

this year's vermont wasn't easy, and at 28:44 it was my slowest 100 miler - but i got to the finish line!!

i was especially lucky to get dave, at mile 77, to pace me. dave got me through a rough patch were i could hardly keep my eyes open, or string together a coherent sentence - between miles 80-85. then came my second wind!

here is my race report.

here are the preliminary results (including the 100k)

a few more photos posted on facebook.

and here are my pre-race photos.

2011 vermont 100 mile endurance run: pre-race photos

2011-07-17T20:23:00.001-04:00

i drove up to vermont on friday, with emmy, lucimar, and chip. it was a fun road trip, and when we arrived at silver meadow for race registration, we met up with plenty of familiar faces. it seemed more like a reunion, than pre-race check-in/briefing.

the only glitch, from my perspective, was the weigh-in. the scale tipped in at 180 - a weight that i haven't seen in well over a decade (and i knew was at least 5 pounds too much). that number would come back to haunt me at the first camp ten bear weigh-in on saturday! but that story will be in the race report :D

here are my race photos and results.

2011 norwalk summer series 5 miler: race photos and results

2011-07-09T13:04:00.004-04:00

it was a hot and humid morning to run a hilly 5 miler. despite the tough weather conditions, the second race of the norwalk summer series had a great turnout. i missed this one last year, the first year of the revised course layout - so the initial loop around the high school parking lot at the start was a surprise! my 37:50, 7:34 pace, was a disappointment (and probably my slowest finish for this race).

despite the poor finish, i still had a great time. what better way to spend a saturday morning than running miles w/your friends :D

here are the results from lightfoot runners.

2011 wlf putnam county classic: race photos and results

2011-07-04T14:08:00.004-04:00

this morning was the 34th running of the putman county classic - a challenging 8 mile course around lake mahopac. in a first for me, i was the co-race director, with emmy! we had just under 320 runners cross the finish line in some pretty hot, humid conditions. we had over 40 volunteers: spread across race registration, food prep, water stops, course marshall's, finish line timing, and ham radio operators. they made the event go off without a hitch!

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

2011 westport summer series, 2.2 miler: race photos and results

2011-07-02T13:00:00.002-04:00

the 49th annual westport summer series kicked off this morning - with a record turnout for the first race, a new woman's course record, and - in a real first - first place, overall, went to a woman! a fantastic way to kick off the race series!

i missed my target of 15 minutes over the hilly 2.2 mile course by 6 second (15:06, 6:52 pace) - well off my 2010 finish. but i was still pleased with the result. afterwards, i squeezed in a long run by doing most of the 10 mile course after the race!

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

july 2011 race schedule

2011-07-01T07:07:00.005-04:00

is it possible that 2011 is now half over? the time has flown!

this weekend is the 33rd running of the putnam county classic on the 4th of july. this year i've been enlisted as the co-race director, together w/emmy. so i won't run the race. but i'll enjoy it just the same - especially watching everyone else run the hilly and challenging course :D

my major running event of july is the vermont 100 mile endurance run. it's been a staple, for better or worse, on my race calendar for the last 5 years! this time around i'll be heading up there on the decidedly untrained side :O

another highlight of july is a return to the escarpment trail run - one of my all time favorite trail runs. unfortunately, it conflicts with a new b.u.s. event the night before - a 6 hour pajamas run in queens. argh!

the rest of my july races are shorter distances, and include a pair of xc relays (vctc and new canaan) plus a couple of norwalk and westport summer series races. no nyrr races on the calendar for july.

here's what it looks like:

7/2 - westport summer series, 2.2 miles
7/4 - wlf putnam county classic, 8m [rd]
7/7 - vctc summer series relay - [w/emmy]
7/9 - norwalk summer series, 5m
7/12 - waveny summer series relay - [w/emmy]
7/16 - vermont 100 mile endurance run
7/23 - norwalk summer series, 7m
7/31 - escarpment trail run

as always, if your at any of them, say hello!

group run at rockefeller state park

2011-06-27T05:19:00.003-04:00

it's been a long time since i ran at rockefeller state park ("rockies") - almost 10 years, in fact (back in my old wtc training days). but if yesterday's group run was any indication, i may have to reconsider whether to drive out there for a few more weekend long runs.

anthony led a group of us (emmy, cherie, micah, hiroshi, peter, and me) out on the trails just after 7 and after 10 miles we met up with joe's group (supplemented with a few runners from the bronx running company) at the sleepy hollow high school parking lot. in a pleasant surprise, before we met up w/joe's group, we ran into yuki (sans hiro) on the trails!

joe's group, taking it out at a faster pace, didn't run too much w/us. as it went, i got in just 19 miles, plenty for me - but the fewest miles in our group :D

front runners pride run: race photos and results

2011-06-25T15:40:00.003-04:00

even with 93% humidity this morning, it was a fantastic day to run 5 miles in the park! the front runners pride run had some incredible news to celebrate (in addition to the 30th anniversary of the race itself): same sex marriages were legalized in new york state late friday night!

there were over 5,000 finishers. even if my time, 36:25, was on the slow side, i was happy with the outcome. the 7:17 pace was well under the 7:30 that i expected to run. aside from emmy i lined up with susan and saw my old friend (and wtc teammate) michael at baggage. this was 2011 nyrr race #6 for me - just 3 more to go :D

here are the race results from nyrr.

packet pick-up at nyrr for the front runners pride run

2011-06-23T21:36:00.003-04:00

the nyrr were taking care of two races at once at their offices. downstairs were tee-shirts and bibs for the achilles hope and possibility 5 miler on sunday and, upstairs, was the front runners pride run packet pick-up. in a twist, no tee shirts for the pride run - hats instead. not just hats, but hats that were distributed in a drawstring tote bag :D

the pride run sold out late last week, but there wasn't too much of a crowd. there was probably an equal split in runners picking up for both races. the course change for the pride run (now to use the north end of the park) means we'll run the hillier 5 mile loop - via the harlem hills.

this will be race #6 on the road to 9 for the 2012 nyc marathon. as always, if you're at this one, say hello!

mount greylock trail run: race report

2011-06-22T07:44:00.003-04:00

sunday's trip to adams, ma, for the mount greylock half marathon was certainly worth the long drive (3+ hours) - if only for the scenic views. it was my first time climbing mt. greylock, which runners summit in the first 3 miles of the the course! i drove up with emmy and rob, and we met up with yuki and hiro - who had also been at the norwalk summer series 3 miler the day before. hiro pulled a hamstring in norwalk, so he opted to sit out mt. greylock. both hiro and yuki (and rob too) were veterans of mt. greylock

my only inkling of what was in store was the 2,500+ foot elevation gain packed into the first 3 miles. in this respect, greylock was very similar to the escarpment trail run - which also starts off with a 3+ mile climb to summit windham peak. on the course, after cresting the summit, i soon came to realize how much more they had in common - especially the rocky, technical trails - and the intense downhills! it's no exaggeration to call mt. greylock an escarpment "light" - primarily because the course has 5 fewer miles.

emmy and i hadn't pre-registered, but rob had. we arrived at 9:45 - and parked what seemed like a half mile from registration. there was a relatively long line for race day registration - and the race began a little late. in the pre-race crush of business, emmy and i managed to switch bibs (i signed us up and had the two bibs - mistakenly giving her my bib, and vice versa). it would lead to an interesting result switch at the end of the day! aside from that, my only pre-race issue glitch was that i forgot the body glide in the car. luckily, chafing wasn't an issue this time around.

the first 3 miles were, literally, a hike. the race could accurately be described as a hike to the summit of mt. greylock, followed by a 10+ mile trail run. it took me just under 55 minutes to reach the summit - and, after a few photos, left the summit just after 57 minutes. it's no exaggeration to say that 95% of that time was spent power hiking up and increasing grade! for the remainder of the race, the opposite held true (95% running, 5% walking).

it came as something of a shock to discover the steep - and rocky - descent just off the summit. for at least 1-2 miles the trail was - putting it mildly - a jagged single track of exposed rocks and roots. then it settled down to just technical running! i reached the 6.1 mile aid station - and was startled to be informed that we had "only" covered 6.1 miles! the next aid station, we were informed, was 2 miles away, followed by a 4 mile stretch before the final - unmanned station.

i reached 8.1 miles in just under 2 hours - which averaged out to a 15 minute per mile pace! i had covered the 5 miles from the summit in just under an hour. if i could run the next 5+ miles in another hour, i'd finish in under 3 hours - which was pretty much my goal time. the final miles were not as grueling as the first 8, so i managed a decent 52 minutes for the final stretch. my 2:52:23 was well under my 3:00 hour target - which, in hindsight, may have been soft.

at the finish i met up w/hiro and yuki (who had run a 2:46). i had some hot dogs at the post-race bbq. and the good folks from g.a.c. had a cooler filled with a half dozen growlers of berkshire brewing beer! it was so incredibly great of them to spot me a few glasses worth :D emmy wasn't too far behind (3:18) - but the real surprise was seeing our times reversed on the results board! at first i thought it was the beer - then i realized we had mistakenly switched bibs! that as first!

all in all, the mt. greylock half was a fantastic event all around (there was also a 5k trail race). climbing the highest peak in massachusetts was a first for me - and i especially enjoyed the few minutes i took at the summit taking in the views. separately, i had no idea how technically challenging the trail would be on the descent. but it was a bonus because it was great training for the escarpment trail run next month!

mount greylock trail races: race photos and results

2011-06-19T20:20:00.003-04:00

today rob, emmy and i drove up to adams, ma, and ran the mount greylock trail half marathon. it was a long (3+ hour) drive, but well worth the effort. it was a fantastic race - which began with a 3 mile climb (2,500+ feet of vertical ascent) to reach the summit of mt. greylock, followed by 10 miles of trail run to return to the base of the mountain. it was a great way to spend father's day :D i ran a 2:52:38 over the 13.5 miles.

i'll will write up a race report. here are the race results from wmac.

2011 norwalk summer series 3 miler: race photos and results

2011-06-18T13:04:00.004-04:00

the 2011 norwalk summer series kicked off this morning with the 3 miler at norwalk high school. aside from the humidity, it was a great morning to run. while i missed my sub-21 target (21:14) and was well off my 2010 finish, i still had a great time. just a handful of the familiar faces: emmy, rob, kate, roy, jeanette, tony, dan, hiro, yuki, evan, and don (our fearless rd).

this was the first of a pair of races this weekend. tomorrow, emmy, rob and i had to north adams, ma, to run the mt. greylock half. yuki and hiro will be there as well. from a short road race to a longish trail run, it makes for an interesting running weekend :D

here are the race results via hi-tek.

2011 litchfield hills road race: photos and results

2011-06-13T07:09:00.002-04:00

yesterday i ran my first litchfield hill road race. it was the second race of the day, on the heels of the bridgeport run the rock 5k, that morning. the course lived up to its billing - hills! the major one was called "gallows hill" to inspire! my only gripe, in an otherwise well-staged event was the lack of a baggage check. for an event that had just under 1,500 (1,483) finishers that was a major negative.

i managed a 52:53, 7:27 pace over the 7.1 mile course. emmy and andi took 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in their age group. in addition to emmy, kate and jeanette also ran the bridgeport 5k earlier in the day.

race report to follow. here are the race results, via coolrunning.

2011 run the rock 5k: race photos and results

2011-06-12T17:35:00.002-04:00

the day kicked off with the run the rock 5k, in bridgeport. this was the first of a pair of races i'd run today - with the litchfield hills road race on deck that afternoon. emmy, kate and jeanette did the bridgeport/litchfield double. we had fantastic weather for the race - overcast and on the chilly side (which is a relative here, 20 degrees cooler than friday temps).

i was more than happy to squeak in with a sub-7 minute pace (6:58), 21:43 finish - albeit a few seconds slower than my 2010 finish. both kate and emmy took age group awards.

here are the race results from hi-tek.

here are some photos from the 2010 edition.

2011 cook your buns 3 miler: race photos and results

2011-06-10T22:11:00.004-04:00

just back from the 2011 edition of "cook your buns" at todd's point in greenwich. not only is it a great mixed terrain course, but the post-race bbq is fantastic. i had a bad start - stuck behind lots of runners - but still managed a 21:00, 7 minute pace. lots of familiar faces at this one: emmy, rob, kate, jeanette, john, hugo, dan, and gail - just to mention a few.

here are the results from threads & treads.

some photos from the 2010 editon.

"bobby fischer against the world" documentary review

2011-06-07T16:14:00.005-04:00

last night, "bobby fischer against the world," which premiered at the 2011 sundance film festival, was broadcast on hbo. in a word, it was fantastic! but in the interest of full disclosure, i must say that i'm a huge fan of bobby fischer the chess legend - and detest the hateful shell of a human being that he deteriorated into in the last decades of his life. it's this very duality that animates the view most people have of fischer - especially those who came to chess as a consequence of fischer's capture of the world championship in 1972.

the documentary, directed by liz garbus, is filled with archival clips of the young bobby fischer - inter spliced with modern day interviews with most of the cast of characters that unfolded across the years of fischer's active chess life. on of the most interesting people among the interviewees is anthony saidy - perhaps the person most responsible for physically getting bobby fischer to iceland for the match! the history of the fischer-spassky match is meticulously covered in dozens of books and other sources - but garbus does a fine job of relating it in the film.

for those unfamiliar with the storyline - it's no spoiler to disclose fischer won the match - the biggest concern among all those involved was whether or not fischer would actually deign to play the games! fischer's demands were endless - and he eventually arrived late for the first game, which he lost. fischer went ahead and forfeited the second game because he refused to play unless the organizers removed the t.v. cameras (the noise from them bothered him)! to come back from an 0-2 deficit, to win the world championship is the stuff of epics.

the line-up of interviews assembled by garbus is truly diverse. in addition to saidy, larry evans is another fischer confidant that adds to the material. garbus managed to interview henry kissenger - who called bobby fischer during his holdout to personally aske him to play. kissinger added to the cold war dynamic be insisting that fischer represented the united states and his participation was a matter of national interest. garbus also interview garry kasparov, a future wourld champion. fischer and kasparov never played against each other, but kasparov is probably the single chess player who could assume fischer's legendary mantle.

the documentary pulls no punches in describing fischer's descent into madness and hatred in the decades after the match. this part of his life is the most difficult to countenance. regardless of the twists and turns of his life - nothing justifies the monster he devolved into. in 1992, he ignored a u.s. embargo and played a "re-match" with spassky. that defiance earned him fugitive status with the united states - which only fueled his growing hatred of the united states. a decade later he was taken into custody at the tokyo airport - and would have been extradited to back here to face criminal charges, if not for iceland!

thanks to icelandic citizenship, fischer lived out the rest of his days in the country that rocketed him to the world championship. but even after his death in 2008, the fischer saga continues - in the form of a battle over his estate. that material is enough for another documentary! in the mean while, enjoy this one! it's a must see for any chess fan - and any child of the early 70's :D

new york running show podcast: memorial day & vermont city marathons, celebrate israel run, and freihofer's 5k

2011-06-06T07:28:00.005-04:00

last night's new york running show, episode #33, covered the memorial day and vermont city marathons, the celebrate israel run, and the freihofer's run for women 5k. with only joe, ari, and i on the show, we didn't actually have a participant in the women's only 5k - but joe was a volunteer at the race and gave us his perspective :D

joe also gave us his take on the memorial day marathon races at van cortlandt park last weekend - the latest instalment of the holiday marathon series. ari covered his race at vermont city last weekend. and ari and i both talked about the celebrate israel run. good stuff!

listen to, or download, it here at talkshoe.

celebrate israel run: race photos and results

2011-06-05T12:31:00.003-04:00

i wasn't sure i'd make the celebrate israel run. got back late last night from our little road trip to oneonta, where katie particpated in a field hockey tournament at hartwick college. it was tough getting out of bed and taking the metronorth into the city. but i'm glad it did - the race was fun. i ran a 28:33/7:09 pace - which far exceeded my 30 minute (albeit soft) target. i was very pleased with that result because i wasn't in a racing mindset and, more importantly, my legs still felt dead from all the miles last weekend.

didn't have a chance to take many pictures. but my friend chip was at the finish line w/his camera - so i may get to post a few of his later.

here are the results from nyrr.

katie's field hockey tournament at hartwick college - redux :D

2011-06-04T21:52:00.001-04:00

that could also read, "a year later." it's amazing how time can fly. we were here for the very same tournament a year ago this weekend. this time around katie played in both sessions: four games, with the first at 9:30 and the last began at 5:00 - a full day of field hockey.

we had lunch in downtown oneonta, at a fantastic place called the autumn cafe. which contrasted the so-so place for dinner last night - and the fast food for dinner on the ride home.

here are a couple of photos of the girls in action:

greetings from oneonta :D

2011-06-03T20:08:00.003-04:00

greetings from oneonta, new york. we drove up this afternoon, in just over three hours, for katie's field hockey tournament at hartwick college tomorrow. she participated in this tournament last year, so the surroundings are a bit familiar. like our trip last year, we passed by the escarpment trail head along the way. but this time around we didn't stop for a picture.

unlike last year, when we couldn't make the morning session because of a prior commitment, it's an overnight trip and katie plays in both sessions. i brought along my running gear, so i can get in a few miles in the morning, before the first game :D

packet pick-up at nyrr for celebrate israel run

2011-06-02T17:13:00.001-04:00

this afternoon i picked up my shirt, bib, and d-tag for the celebrate israel run at the nyrr offices. i ran into my old friend steve there. he was both picking up for the race and using the club as a drop location for his stuff, as he went out for a few miles in central park. the israel run will be my 5th nyrr race of the year (on the road to 9). after a series of high mileage races in may, i'm looking forward to the 4 miler :D

as always, if your at this one, say hello!

june 2011 race schedule

2011-06-01T05:25:00.002-04:00

after a month that included a pair of marathons and a 50k, june will be a month of shorter distances - for the most part. one caveat: if we can put together a summer version of the "run around manhattan" at the end of the month, june goes out with a fa ultra!

this weekend kicks off with the nyrr israel run. it'll be race #5 on my road to nine. that will be followed up with a pair of fantastic 3 milers. the "cook your buns" 3 miler is a friday night race that ends with a barbecue. it's a race i've often run with katie - and, hopefully, she'll be at this one too. the norwalk summer series 3 miler - which kicks off the 2011 summer series is the following weekend.

something new, for me, is a road trip up to adams, ma, for the mt. greylock trail races. it's a half marathon+ run up and back down mt. greylock! since one good road trip deserves another, the summer solstice 15k at minnewaska state park in new paltz, ny, is later that week.

the last weekend is still open. if plans for a summer version of the "run around manhattan" don't pan out, there are a few good races that weekend. stay tuned.

here's how it looks so far:

6/5 - celebrate israel run, 4m
6/10 - "cook your buns," 3m
6/18 - norwalk summer series, 3m
6/19 - mt. greylock trail races, 13.5m
6/22 - summer solstice 15k

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

2011 memorial day marathon: race photos and results

2011-05-30T17:24:00.003-04:00

it was a hot and humid day in van cortlandt park. the morning kicked off with a thunderstorm that flooded a good stretch of the trail for the first half of the memorial day marathon. a bunch of us started early, at 9:00 - todd, mark, joe, emmy and me. if emmy hadn't insisted on running the entire 4 loops, i would easily have called it a day at the half! i'm glad we stuck it out. ran a 5:15 (which was 10 minutes slower than the queens 50k on saturday!) - and emmy finished her first full holiday marathon!

i'll post a short race report, and add a link to the results once they're posted.

a few more photos posted on facebook.

ny running show podcast: phil mccarthy's american 48 hour record & memorial day marathon

2011-05-30T06:55:00.005-04:00

the bulk of last night's new york running show, episode #32, was devoted to coverage of phil mccarthly's new american record at the 48 hour distance! we also discussed today's upcoming memorial day races (the next instalment of the holiday marathon series). as i write this at 7 a.m., with the sounds of thunder and pouring rain outside my window, the memorial day marathon may be a wet and muddy affair!

listen to, or download, episode #32 at talkshoe.