january 2015 race schedule

january kicked off with a windy "dash before the splash" run at compo beach in westport yesterday.  the follow-up, this weekend, would have been the kick off of the 2015 boston build-up series on sunday - the 10k in norwalk.  however, instead of racing on sunday, i'll be in ann arbor helping katie move her stuff over to a new apartment for the spring term!  one benefit of that change in plans will be visiting a couple of wolverine powered brew pubs when the works done :D

the following weekend is the joe kleinerman 10k - my first nyrr race of 2015.  i'd rather do the nycruns 10 miler the following day, but i need to start accumulating my 9+1 points for the 2016 nyc marathon.  given the upcoming schedule, my 2nd nyrr race might not come until the nyc half in march.  so have to grab this one.

next up, on the 18th, will be the boston build-up 15k in ridgefield.  somehow - albeit unscientifically - this one always turns out to be the series race with the lousiest weather!  maybe this year will be different.  not likely, but there's always hope :D

not sure what's on deck for the following weekend - i didn't register for the fred lebow half (since it was replace by the nyc half in the nyrr 5 boro series).  one possibility is the nycruns brrr-ooklyn half, or a shorter distance event in connecticut.  still need to decide this one.  

finally, to end the month will run a non-traditionally - but tradition nonetheless - 3 hour run in valley stream, long island.  it precedes the annual broadway ultra society awards brunch held immediately following the run.  since i only ran one b.u.s. event in 2014 (sybil 50k), it's more of a social event for me this time around :D

here's how it looks so far:

1/1 - "dash before the splash"
1/10 - joe kleinerman 10k
1/18 - boston build-up 15k
1/24-25 - tbd
1/31 - b.u.s. 3-hour run

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

2015 dash before the splash photos :D

 

the new year kicked off this morning with a few windy miles at compo beach!  if it wasn't for the wind chill factor, the sunny weather by itself would have been great for running.  the actual dash was just over 2.7 miles, but i ran a little longer to bring it up to 4.2 miles before heading over to the watch the splashers brave the freezing water!  every year i toy with the idea of joining them - yet managing to come to my senses (a/k/a chickening out) before coming into contact with the water :O

 

happy new year to everyone! 

 

here are the rest of my photos posted on facebook.

2014 running year in review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

merry christmas - 2014

merry christmas everyone!

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

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

happy festivus - 2014!

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

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

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

r.i.p. joe cocker

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

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

take a look - and listen - to him at Woodstock



rest in peace joe cocker.