it's been an unusual week of running. monday is my typical off day, but not only didn't i run on monday, but skipped tuesday as well, and logged only 4 miles on wednesday. i just couldn't get into a running groove, so to speak. part of it was general fatigue from the run around manhattan on sunday, but i also was tired of my general running routes.
so, to mix it up a bit i resurrected an old running route - one that i haven't run in a few years. it's a hilly 8 mile loop that i abandoned not because of the hills, but because the 2 mile stretch along weaver street (route 125) was a traffic nightmare. actually, i expanded the route by a mile to avoid weaver street entirely and the 9 mile loop became part of my weekend long runs.
mindful of the traffic hassles, enough time had passed that running it was like revisiting an old friend (albeit a cranky one - ha). well it didn't take long for me to re-familiarize myself with the hills. in fact, my plan to run 8 minute miles was way off. finishing the loop in 1:09:23, an 8:40 pace, was a bit humbling. generally i run my 8 mile training runs on the post road in 1:04 or 05, so this was an unpleasant surprise!
not to shy away from this sort thing, i tried it again on friday. this time around i shaved a full minute off the first go around. but the modest improvement, 1:08:22, an 8:32 pace, was still way off the 1:05 that i had hoped for the second time. while the first 4 miles were actually slower on friday, i picked up the pace over the last 3 to make up the difference. given these two back to back performances, can't wait to see what running this loop will bring next week!
since tomorrow is the boston build-up 20k, i didn't run long today. instead, as a check on my sanity, i ran my "regular" 8 miler on the post road and was pleasantly surprised with the 1:02:31, 7:48 pace. after the thursday and friday runs, it was a relief to bring this one in under 1:04! phew! even with the 20k tomorrow, this will work out to a low mileage week, in the low 40's. a big drop off from the 70+ miles last week.
here are the splits for those 8 milers.
thursday, february 4:
8:16
8:29 16:45
9:05 25:51
8:48 34:39
8:24 43:04
9:14 52:19
8:35 1:00:54
8:28 1:09:23
8:40 pace
friday, february 5:
8:16
8:35 16:51
9:06 25:58
8:49 34:47
8:27 43:15
9:05 52:21
8:00 1:00:21
8:01 1:08:22
8:32 pace
saturday, february 6:
8:17
8:18 16;36
7:35 24:11
7:29 31:41
7:40 39:21
7:34 45:56
7:56 54:52
7:38 1:02:31
7:48 pace
Saturday, February 6, 2010
a trio of 8 mile training runs
Friday, February 5, 2010
happy birthday william s. burroughts - beat legend 96 years old in heaven today!
william s. burroughs was born february 5, 1914, and would have been 96 years old today. he died 13 years ago, at the age of 83, on august 2, 1997. allen ginsberg, his lifelong friend, died just four months earlier, on april 5, 1997. burroughs, ginsberg, and jack kerouac were the core trio of group of writers that eventually blossomed into the beat generation. interestingly, burroughs was the least inclined to write among the three.
while kerouac and ginsberg were fiercely driven to become writers, burroughs route was almost accidental. it wasn't until the early 1950's that he took up the "profession" of writing - and even then, reluctantly! in the mid-40's he had actually co-authored "and the hippos were boiled in their tanks" - a thinly disguised retelling of the murder of david kammerer by lucien carr. he and kerouac alternated writing a chapter of the story each.
notably, burroughs and kerouac were both participants, albeit on the periphery, in the grisly tale (kerouac even spending time in jail as a "material" witness). the short, early work, was never published during the lifetime of either kerouac or burroughs. eventually, more than a decade after burrough's death, the manuscript was finally published (in 2008). but that taste of murder was just a mild foreboding of what was to come.
while living in mexico city in 1951, burroughs shot and killed his common law wife, joan vollmer, during a drunken game of william tell! eventually, burroughs jumped bail, left mexico, and began his career as a "literary outlaw" - a term coined by ted morgan for his biography. in late 1954 burroughs eventually settled in tangiers where "naked lunch" came to be "written" - or just as accurately, "assembled," from the pages and pages of manuscript typed up by kerouac and ginsberg!
in the late 50's burroughs moved to paris and took up residence at the beat hotel. among the characters that populated the hotel (aside from ginsberg) was gregory corso, who - while younger than burroughs, ginsberg, and kerouac - became a core member of the beat generation. it was at the beat hotel that burroughs moved away from traditional narrative and adopted the "cut-up" technique (what some consider a primary cause for the criticism that his work during this period was "unreadable").
but, during the 1970's burrough's had become sufficiently "mainstream" that he was elected to the american academy and institute of arts and letters - no small accomplishment for a literary outlaw. his place in american culture was securely established by then (walter becker and donald fagan named "steely dan" from a "naked lunch" reference). eventually, burroughs moved back to middle america, where he spent the remainder of his life in lawrence, kansas!
take the time to rent "drugstore cowboy" - where he played an aged, junkie priest. it's a small part that he fully inhabited. the film, starring matt dillon, is a classic. better still, watch the film and then read morgan's "literary outlaw" :D
Thursday, February 4, 2010
world cancer day 2010
today, february 4, is world cancer day. the international union against cancer initiated the "world cancer campaign" in 2005, and since 2006 has coordinated world cancer day activities.
this year's theme is "cancer can be prevented too" and focuses on simple, straightforward measures to prevent cancer:
no tobacco use
a healthy diet and regular exercise
limited alcohol use
protection against cancer-causing infections.
take some time today to promote cancer awareness.
the ravages of cancer impact everyone at some point during a lifetime. whether it's a family member or friend who succumbed to cancer, a current struggle with cancer, or a survivor - cancer and its insidious effects permeates our existence.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
today is the 97th anniversary of the sixteenth amendment - the income tax :(
on february 3, 1916, delaware became the 36th and final state necessary, to ratify the 16th amendment to the constitution of the united states. the brief, 30 word, amendment reads as follows:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
in a nutshell, those 30 words gave the federal government authority to impose an income tax. the supreme court had, in 1895, ruled an earlier version of the income tax unconstitutional. congress, in 1909, passed the resolution that proposed the amendment and sent it on to the states for ratification. four years later it became the law of the land :(
i can't grip too much about taxes because aside from having to pay them like everyone else, i'm teaching federal income tax this semester ;p
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
some pictures from the 2010 empire state building run-up
i went to the empire state building to watch the run-up this morning. this is a fantastic event and even though i've done it in prior years, was disappointed not to get selected this time around. instead of climbing, i was cheering (along w/hiro). amy took third overall, emmy took second and julie took third in their respective age groups! and to mix-up the training a bit, elaine and emmy both did the "run around manhattan" 50k on sunday :D
a few more photos posted on facebook.
ted corbitt "run around manhattan" 50k: race report
Except for a WLF group training run planned for Central Park on Saturday, I had no races on the calendar that weekend. In fact, without the "Run Around Manhattan," I probably wouldn't have run longer than 18-20 miles that weekend. Instead, Emmy arrived 6:45 Sunday morning and we made our way down to the City for the 8:00 start. The run began at Dave’s apartment on West End Avenue, and had a starting field of almost runners! Before we set off, Dave said a few words about Ted and read a letter to the group from Ted's son, Gary. Yijoo Kwon, president of the Korean Road Runners Club also said a few words about his upcoming trans-America run kicking off March 23 - a 110 day, 3500 mile cross county trek from Los Angeles to New York to raise fund to fight diabetes.
We took a couple of group photos outside the building and began. It was cold (mid-teens) and the wind chill easily brought the real feel down to the low single digits. Aside from Emmy and Eliot, there were plenty of familiar faces - Phil, Alicja, Ruth, and Grant from B.U.S. (Broadway Ultra Society), Ralph (Phil’s teammate from the West Side Runners), and a group from the KRRC. As the day went on, I got to know more of the runners, including Elaine who would do the Empire State Building Run Up with Emmy on Tuesday. A very diverse group.
This was Dave’s 11 year organizing the event. Not only was the course well laid out, but it included 3 planned stops at donut/bagel shops at roughly 8, 16, and 24 miles. Runners could catch up, rehydrate, and regroup - which went a long, long way toward making the event into more of a group effort than individual run. The sense of camaraderie among the runners was there from start to finish. We were responsible for our own support, but were blessed to have Alex ride alongside the group on his scooter! He was a one man mobile aid station - with hot chocolate, black coffee and tea on board. Last but not least, Alex kept tabs on elapsed time and distance stats.
We started off northbound on the Henry Hudson Parkway - running on the bike path alongside the Hudson River. These were some specular views, with the approaching George Washington Bridge ahead and the icy river in view. This was probably the windiest, coldest stretch of the day. I ran most of this portion with Alicja. After we passed the GW Bridge we moved away from the water and continued north to the Henry Hudson Bridge and Inwood Park. Phil contributed this stretch of the route - his running backyard, actually. We had an informal stop in the park to regroup, and the headed east.
Our first official stop was at Twin Donuts just past the Columbia's Butler Field. It had a decidedly Dunkin’ Donuts atmosphere - and the owners didn’t mind the long line of runner making use of the facilities. The most challenging terrain - a climb up Fort George’s Hill - greeted us on the next leg of the journey. While I knew there were hills in Manhattan - had no idea there was one that big lurking along the route! Phil does repeats on that hill (which at that point easily looked like a small mountain). We made it across to the “east” side of that northern strip of the city and turned south.
That stretch led us down to Marvin Gardens Park and we picked up the NYC Marathon route headed to Central Park. It felt great to run this stretch without having to put in 20+ miles to reach it (the mileage point on the NYC Marathon course). We took Fifth Avenue down to 86th Street and made a left, running cross town to York Avenue and our next scheduled stop at Bob's Bagels. Eighty-sixth Street was an unpleasant stretch (the only one of the course) - busy, crowded, and difficult to navigate. I didn't even want to stop at the bagel shop, but Emmy convinced me otherwise. Then we continued over to the more traditional "east" side, turned right and began the long run down to South Ferry via (mainly) the FDR Drive.
Below Houston Street was familiar territory for me. I especially enjoyed the sights of the approaching East River bridges - the Brooklyn, my favorite. By this point in the day (noon) plenty of crowds had gathered along the waterfront - and South Street Seaport in particular. The wind had died down, but the temperature hadn’t increased significantly. We continued to our third and final stop, at South Ferry, where we all regrouped. At this point I was a bit anxious to get moving since it seemed our stops had be consistently increased beyond the suggested 10 minutes!
It was an exceptionally great day all around (excuse the pun)! Back at Dave's apartment we changed into dry clothes and socialized for a bit more, before it was time to head home. I can easily see myself back for the 12th edition next year!
Monday, February 1, 2010
eliot's ted corbitt "run around manhattan" 50k race report: guest post
the ted corbitt "run around manhattan" is eliot's third ultra in as many months - and second in one month! what a way to bookend january - kicking off the new year with with the "recover from the holidays" 50k and ending the month with a loop of manhattan - a 50k measured in horton miles, no less!
above is a photo of eliot and dave obelkevich at the start of our run. dave had just read us a letter from ted corbitt's son, gary. and here is eliot's great report of the run that followed:
___________________________________________________
RR – Dave Obelkevich’s Ted Corbitt ‘Run around Manhattan’ – 54K
My ‘Run’ Through Memory Lane - Manhattan, NY, January 31, 2010
You meet the nicest people ‘around’ New York. I write my second-ever RR while the thoughts and images are fresh, and refreshed, in my mind. Two RR’s in one month? Writing these RR’s will not become a regular habit; but this run had a lot of significance to me since I grew up in NYC’s Chinatown, and today’s run helped bring back many of those happy (sometimes forgotten) memories. So, this won’t be your typical report; rather, it will be a collection of the thoughts that ‘ran’ through my head with the ‘views’ through my eyes. So, again, please pardon the lack of the detail in this RR that experienced runners usually crave …. and, be forewarned, there will be none of that here today.
First, I give so much credit to Dave Obelkevich (a legend himself for having the longest streak of NYC Marathon finishes) for honoring Ted Corbitt (the ‘Godfather’ of long distance running) by organizing this annual run around Manhattan …. one of Ted’s training runs. Throughout the day, I had the pleasure of running with many old and ‘new’ friends. To all of you runners: Thanks for making this a very memorable day. Perhaps, we’ll see each other soon when our paths/roads/trails cross again. Last, but not least …. let’s give props to Alex, the rolling one man race crew, for his excellent support throughout the day.
This Wednesday past, I caught some eMail traffic from Emmy about a run on Sunday. Didn’t know anything about the run …. except that it was ‘around’ Manhattan. So, I traded a few eMails with Emmy and Frank and that’s all there was to it. I was committed to doing this even before I got the specific details. Emmy/Frank – What have you done to me?!!
It would be another cold (but dry …. whew!) day today – temperatures ranging from the high teens to 30-ish degrees with wind chills of 10 to 20 degrees. I dressed in layers topped with a fleece that I could open/close to regulate my temperature. My hat and gloves were on early and off later in the day. The 8:00 a.m. start was at Dave’s building on 97th Street/West End Avenue. So, to avoid the hassle of parking, I took Metro-North to Harlem/125th Street and headed down by subway to Dave’s apartment. I arrived at the same time as a contingent from the KRRC and followed them up. Dave greeted me with open arms. Emmy and Frank arrived shortly thereafter. There would be up to 30 runners today (some doing all the K’s, some not).
We took a few photos outside the building then we were off to the races. With the breeze coming off the Hudson river, it was cold as we ran north along the Henry Hudson Parkway: we passed the George Washington Bridge, Washington Heights (where the annual NYRR Coogan’s race is held) and the Cloisters (where I had gone on elementary school trips as a child – I still remember seeing the Unicorn Tapestries). We then headed through Inwood Hill Park with views of Spuyten Duyvil and Marble Hill (stops on my daily Metro-North commute to the City). We marched past Baker Field, where the Columbia University Lions play football …. although I went to business school at Columbia, this was my first actual viewing of Baker Field. Our first rest stop was at Twin Donut (218th Street/Broadway) after about 8 miles. [Approx. 8 miles.]
The next 8 or so miles brought us to our second rest stop at Bob’s Bagels on 87th/York Avenue. During this portion of the run, we wound ourselves down and through - Broadway - 10th Avenue - Dyckman Street – St. Nicholas Avenue - up Fort George Hill - Edgecombe Avenue to 124th Street/Mt. Morris Park W. One part even took us along the NYC Marathon route down 5th Avenue. I remembered vividly how tired I felt both times I ran this portion of the NYC Marathon course in 2008 & 2009. Ahhh …. Central Park – the home of the NYRR races, the NYC Marathon finish and Wollman Rink (where I ice-skated as a young teen). [Approx. 17 miles.]
After my fill of Gatorade (w/ salt packs added) and chunky chocolate chip cookies, we set off across 86th Street to the East River. This was, for me, by far the coldest part of the run. I was still damp and the cold air hitting my cooled down body made me really shiver. Thank goodness the East River promenade was now in full sun. Before long, I was warmed up again. The next 8 or so miles were running southbound beside/under the FDR Drive. We would pass many landmark bridges along this route – 59th Street / Williamsburg / Manhattan / Brooklyn. When I first started my casual 2 - 3 mile jog/runs, say, ~ 25 years ago; I used to run across/back the Brooklyn Bridge .… so that is, I guess, where it all began for me. We ran by Stuyvesant Town (where my sister lives), by the South Street Seaport (where I would go to hang-out as a teen and, then, into my 20’s) all the way down to our third rest stop – the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The Staten Island Ferry also brought back memories of my teen years. My brother, friends and I would regularly take the ferry over to Staten Island for day long bike trips. For kicks, we would spend the day riding to the other side of the island just to ride down Victory Boulevard – a big-ass, white-knuckled, hill – back to the ferry terminal. Lots of work for 10 minutes of extreme satisfaction. [Approx. 25 miles.]
The final stretch home. We circled around Battery Park and then up the esplanade/Greenway on the Hudson River (where Captain ‘Sully’ landed his plane last year). Along the way, we passed the footprint of the Twin Towers (as a boy, I watched them go up …. as a man, I sadly watched them fall), the ‘new’ Stuyvesant High School at Chambers Street (I graduated from this high school when the building was located on 15th Street/1st Avenue), Canal Street – portal to Chinatown, and on Worth Street - the Church where I met my Jen over 30 years ago and married her 8 years later, 23rd Street (home of Chelsea Piers) and to the east – Baruch College, where I received my undergraduate degree. A few of us affectionately referred to Baruch as ‘UCLA’ – the ‘University on the Corner of Lexington Avenue.’ We passed the Intrepid Museum (where my cousin was stationed a few times during Fleet Week in the 90’s when he was a Naval carrier jet pilot). We continued up the Greenway to the 95th Street exit, and then we were back at Dave’s on 97th/West End Avenue at about 3:20 p.m. for the complete loop. [Approx. 33.5 miles.]
After the run, we took more photos; shared smiles, stories and a great sense of satisfaction for having completed this wonderful journey together …. with many new friendships as a result. Like I said earlier …. you meet the nicest people ‘around’ New York.
So, to recap my results today: Total Distance - 54K; Time – Fantastic.
