Week One Down

Yesterday wrapped up the first week on the road. The Plan, ah the Plan, there really isn't much of a plan yet. I'm thinking a modified combination of Pfitzenger's 18-55 plan and the Flyers' plan (which accounts for NYRR races). I'd like to peak around 60 miles, which is about 10% more than last fall. And I have to take account of a week off/light for vacation in Central America at the end of July. In short, I haven't really written the plan yet. I know I'm running 8 or so miles tomorrow and 40-ish this week, but, beyond that, everything's a little up in the air.

Everyone seems to like pictures (especially of the Marathon route) and I'm not above kowtowing a little. But I make no promises since I'd planned to take a camera running last year and that never happened. So, we shall see...

Week (of July 2) in Review

Monday	Rest	--	--
Tuesday	7.3 miles	52:55	7:15/mile
Wednesday	9.1 miles	1:11:11	7:51/mile
Thursday	4.1 miles	31:20	7:33/mile
Friday	Rest	--	--
Saturday	12.2 Miles	1:37:00	7:57/mile
Sunday	4.4 miles	31:20	7:07/mile
Total	37.2 Miles	--	--

Milestones

This is this blog's 100th post!

It's also Week One of training for the NYC Marathon. So far, I've modified the plan, rearranged the dates of runs, and run hung-over. Hardly an auspicious start. I've also discovered that if you want to listen to Latin Podcasts while on the run, a strong headwind or heavy traffic make it really difficult to make out the words.

Tuesday: 7.3 miles in 52:55 (7:15 pace) with 10X100 striders
Wednesday: 9.1 miles in 1:11:22 (7:51 pace)
Today: 4.15 miles in 31:20 (7:33 pace)

Today's run was along the Pulaski O&B, which is great because it's the middle miles of the marathon. And I get to imagine I'm hitting the halfway point, which is here...


Slightly before you get here...


And a long way before you get there...


Which is after you run along this bridge...


And you leave Brooklyn.

Fatigued

Oh man, oh man, I'm tired! Today makes four days of running in a row, which I haven't done since December. The schedule compression is caused by tomorrow's travel -- getting to LaGuardia, flying to Nashville, Tennessee, a 2.5 hour drive to my parents' in Kentucky, a normal family whirlwind, and my ten-year high school reunion. Running tomorrow? Ha! I have 15 on tap for Sunday... but, after Saturday, we'll see.

I've been on a small mileage binge over the last month and, as I sit here sipping my Juicy-Juice, I'm kind of glad next week's a cut-back.

Cut-back, huh? The terminology's starting to come back to me and that's good because a week from Monday official training kicks off for this:

Date : Jun 22, 2007 1:38 AM
subject: I'm in! the ING New York City Marathon 2007

Congratulations! You’re one of the lucky ones!

Since I'm going to be in Kentucky for the next week (and my hometown's so rural that broadband/cable/DSL doesn't exist) posting's going to be sporadic.

Y'all have a good'un an' I'll see ya' na-ext week. (I'm practicing.)

Yesterday: 8 miles (Billy-Br. + McCarren Park) in 59:30 (7:26/mile)
Today: 4.15 miles (Pulaski O&B) in 30:15 (7:17/mile)

P.S. We got tickets to see The New Pornographers on July 4!

A Strange Panorama

It's a strange place, the East River Bike Path that runs along South Street beneath the FDR. On a spring morning it's a glorious space filled with light from a rising sun that climbs the towers of downtown Brooklyn, across the water, until, reaching a pinnacle, like a bird testing its wings for the first time, it seems to hesitate for just a moment before leaping into the precipice and continuing its ascent with newfound confidence.

Framed by the great stone towers and swooping steel cables of the Brooklyn Bridge to the south and by the gargantuan industrial towers and massive girders of the Manhattan Bridge to the north, two spans a half-mile apart but as vastly different as the worlds which created them, this panorama presents an unparalleled vista for the play of fishermen, yogis, runners, walkers. Even commuters from the ferries who hurry ashore to take their places as cogs in the post-modern assembly lines of the Financial District. And there's also ... but no, they're not present. That's why it's strange on the East River Bike Path that runs along South Street beneath the FDR. Perhaps they've been driven away by the crowds; or maybe they have more fear of a miscast lure than others; perhaps a qualitatively different scene is required for their special aesthetic. Perhaps. But in any case, it remains strange to have a bike path, even beneath the FDR along South Street, with all of this life and not one bicycle.



Today's run was like swimming through the air and with a headwind, that made the out leg like swimming through the air upstream. One would think that the tailwind on the way back would be nice, but since you never notice a tailwind it just seemed hotter.

5 mile Billy Bridge O&B in 38:30 (7:42/mile; splits of 19:50 and 18:40).

Hello Summer

So, I ran in the Say No Prostate Cancer 5 miler on Sunday. Less than a mile in, I felt like I was really moving. Maybe even 6:10. At the first mile, the clock read 6:50. I wasn't boxed in; I wasn't stopped by the crowd in any way. This is just an example of what heat and humidity do to me. Some people fade a little in 75% humidity. I fade 40s/mile. I managed to struggle my way to a 32:37, for a 6:30ish average, but some days just aren't your day. Sunday wasn't mine. I've had worse races.

Although the heat and humidity have slammed into New York pretty hard, it's tough to gripe too much. This weekend, I'm heading back to Kentucky for my ten-year high school reunion, and a browse of the forecast shows I get to look forward to the mid-90s. Ah, crappy Kentucky summer weather...95 degrees, 85% humidity, not a breeze to be seen...I can't wait.

The worst part is that, unlike New York, Kentucky does not have nearly enough ice cream parlors, gelatto joints, Italian ice stands, Mr. Softee trucks (or knock-offs), or short, overweight Hispanic dudes with foot-wide razor blades who'll manually shave a three-foot-by-three-foot block of ice for you. And ice cream is one of the best ways to beat the heat, as the FDNY knows.


Photo taken on Graham Avenue, Brooklyn during my 5 miler on Saturday. (More to come.)

Today: 10.33 BS Run in 1:21:58 (7:56/mile)

Week (of June 11) in Review

Monday	Rest	--	--
Tuesday	8.6 miles	68:40	7:59/mile
Wednesday	4.4 miles	32:57	7:29/mile
Thursday	13.4 miles	1:44:24	7:47/mile
Friday	Rest	--	--
Saturday	5.2 Miles	49:50	9:34/mile
Sunday	5.0 miles	32:37	6:31/mile
Total	36.6 Miles	--	--

But the Pants!!

Look, I know I promised that I'd switch the topics here back to running and off the legal system, but this story was just too ridiculous to not write about.

A D.C. AdLaw Judge, upset because (he claims) his local drycleaner misplaced his pants and tried to pass off a cheap knock-off pair instead, sued the dry cleaner . . . for $67.3 million!! To put this amount in perspective, 5 acres of oceanfront property with a 10,000 sq. ft. house in Southampton (complete with guest house, pool and tennis courts) would sell for about half that amount! Or you could buy 30 2 bedroom apartments in Manhattan. Or you could buy 1/2 of Newport, Kentucky. According to the Times the "judge" has tried to pass himself off as a private attorney general vindicating the rights of consumers everywhere. He also apparently broke down in tears at one point, moved by the horrible injustice being perpetrated upon him. "You will search the D.C. archives in vain for a case of more egregious or willful conduct," the Times quotes him as saying. Just to give you an idea of how accurate that statement is, the "judge" is representing himself.

In the end, this is really just kind of sad . . . Sad for the "judge" who'll, as my quotation marks indicate, never be taken seriously again. Sad for the cleaners, who have to deal with this nonsense. Sad for the judge's pants, who may never get to actually tell their side of the story. (It is not, however, NOT sad for the court reporters, the judge, her law clerks, anyone who happens to be a courthouse while this trial is being conducted, the Times beat reporter, and me, because it certianly provides a good laugh for anyone not vested in the outcome.)

I moved this week's long run to today to free Sunday for a points race. This makes only the third time that I've broken the 1/2 Mary distance at all this year, which I guess highlights how limited my running's been.

13.4 miles in 1:44:24 (7:47/mile)

Bad Day for Bush

Yesterday was a bad day for Bush.

His immigration bill has stalled.

His watch was stolen.

But I'm most interested three-judge panel in the Fourth Circuit's rejection of the Government's position that a non-combatant resident alien, apprehended on American soil, could be held indefinitely as an "enemy combatant." (By the way, for clarity, let's say what we mean. "Enemy Combatant" is a term of art under the Geneva Convention that means a "solider.") This is a pretty narrow holding: if you are a soldier in, e.g., the Taliban, you could be held even if apprehended in the U.S.; if you are apprehended outside the U.S. you have to still go through Gitmo's separate administrative process to determine if you're a solider. Only if you're not a solider is the military precluded from holding you. And, the panel rejected that the President has power to unilaterally decide that someone is a solider, especially someone who is within the U.S. and to whom the Constitution applies. That's it. My summary of the 86 page opinion. And this would not be that notable an outcome but for the Gov't making some really wacky arguments that the Court then had to address.

My favorite was the argument that the President has inherent power under the Constitution (that means power not in any way tempered by the Courts or Congress) to detain anyone who he believes threatens the country under his war powers. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. As I once heard in law school, "Your position is like the thirteenth chime of a clock, not only is it irrelevant and nonsensical, but it also calls into question the legitimacy of all previous chimes." Or another good response would have been: "Mr. [President], what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." And, oh, in case there's some confusion, that means WRONG.

Any person within the United States and any citizen anywhere enjoy Constitutional protections against intrusion of government power. Among those protections: habeas corpus (the right to a petition a court for release from wrongful confinement); civilian primacy over the military; due process of law. The government's whacked out position led to such fantastic sound-bites as “We refuse to recognize a claim to power that would so alter the constitutional foundations of our Republic.” We can all thank god that some of Justice's positions are so insane. Otherwise we wouldn't have the amusement of watching them get struck down quite so hard.

But, leaving aside Bush's power grabs that no court's going to allow, and looking ahead at the narrow heart of the split of opinion between the majority and dissent -- whether Al-Marri was a solider for Al Queda or just some schmuck who associated with them -- it will probably go for a rehearing before the full Fourth Circuit. The decision yesterday was by two Clinton appointees with one Bush II appointee dissenting. The full Fourth Circuit is generally regarded as one of the most conservative in the country, so I'd expect them to lean more towards the dissent. This is by no means the end of this story.

(I promise. Back to running next time.)

June 9: 4.14 miles in 30:36 (7:22/mi)
June 10: 12.6 miles in 1:36:07 (7:38/mi)
June 12: 8.6 miles in 68:40 (7:59/mi)
June 13: 4.4 miles in 32:57 (7:29/mi)

BBQ

Today's the annual Big Apple Barbeque Block Party in Madison Square Park. I can't wait to sample some ribs in a Memphis dry rub. Oh, the only way this could be better is if I were doing a barbeque-sauce keg stand.

Yesterday, a half dozen attorneys and a bunch of paralegals went for a two-mojito lunch (because martinis are so eighties) to celebrate the inking of a settlement in the case that's been driving me nuts over the last few weeks. I've been basking in the freedom of leaving work after 9 hours for the last couple days.

It's also amazing how much easier it is to get runs in when your work-week's under 50 hours.

Week of May 14: 27.7 miles
Week of May 21: 12.4 miles
Week of May 28: 13.7 miles
Week of June 4: 35 miles (projected)

I Run for Me

That’s right. I said what you’re all thinking. I know it’s not the politically correct thing to say, that it’s not a kosher statement, but I don’t care. I’m putting it out there that I run completely and totally for my selfish self. I don’t run for either kids or kidneys. Nor do I run for hearts, lungs, skin, colons or prostates. (I might run for breasts, but that’d totally depend on the context.) I most certainly don’t run for heart disease, multiple schlerosis, down syndrome, diabetes or any form of cancer. I might consider running against them … but probably not. I don’t run for general health, for other people’s obesity, or for the environment. I don’t run for general fitness. And I can say with certainty, I don’t run for you.

About six weeks ago, I was running through China Town, and on a down note in whatever I had blaring on the headphones I heard a Latino voice yelling, “Hey, Gringo! Why you jogging?” My normal reaction to something like that would be unprintable, but as I was basically past the guy by the time the question registered, any response would have involved breaking stride and turning around. Not worth the effort. But, over the next few days, I puzzled over the question, why was I jogging? I scratched at it, prodded it and, then grew tired of it and forgot it. That is, until the pre-race speeches at the Healthy Kidney 10K about three weeks ago.

At the Kidney, between (NYRRC Prez) Mary Wittenberg’s and the United Arab Emirates' representative’s respective speeches, we were all putatively running for healthy kidneys, medical research, general health, kids, against obesity, for religious tolerance, freedom from discrimination, international comity and for world peace. Yes, actual, honest-to-goodness world peace. I only wish I had the creativity to make this stuff up! Despite what you may think about running for a cause or a charity, that's really an awful lot of pressure for a 6 mile footrace. As for me, as those speeches were filling the air, I was realizing that I don’t run for any of the reasons they were giving. That’s right, none of them.

So, why do I run? I’ve spent three weeks thinking about it and have an answer:

I run for the sun rising over the East River. I run for the feeling of working stiffness out of my legs in the morning. I run for the rush of flying past a bicyclist as we’re both climbing the Queensboro Bridge. I run to dodge canine urine. I run for the pain of trying to hit a sub-six pace in the last 400 of a half-marathon and that feeling that you … might … just … vomit after a hard-fought 5K. I run both for the annoyance of being passed by a sprinting guy in chinos at the crest of the Williamsburg Bridge and the feeling of comeuppance for catching and passing him before the bottom. I run for the fear of three more reps and the elation at finishing the last one. I run because otherwise I wouldn’t know where every Starbucks in the City is located, would never have seen Anacostia in D.C., would never have walked in on two homeless guys sharing a bath in a public restroom sink in the East River Park.

I run for the thrill of singing along with The Killers at the top of my lungs as I hit the peak of the Williamsburg Bridge (can't hear my own tone-deafness with headphones, heh). I run because I know what it’s like to be stopped by injury and I run because I know what it’s like to run through one. I run to get through the morning heat that collects on Driggs Avenue to the relative coolness of McCarren Park. I run because when everything in life is insane, there’s structure in the training. I run for the tears when crashing into the wall after months of marathon training, for the frustration of finishing a 10K in 40:02, for the annoyance of a season lost to injury and work. I run for the elation of bursting through old plateaus, the hope of another race in six months and for the knowledge that in this sport, as in no others, hard work does create success. I run to see a deer charge at me in the woods, to see a homeless guy peeing in a trash can on the Brooklyn Bridge, to flip off rude drivers who don’t look both ways when turning right on red. I run to share the celebrations, conversations and dreams of my friends. I run for the splash of the rain, the sting of snow and the warmth of the sun.

I run because my life is richer with this hobby than without it.

There really is only one answer to the question, Why are you jogging? I run for myself. Any other reason would present a pale comparison.

Do you see what the clock makes me do?

Today's title is from the New Pornographers' album Twin Cinema and the song "Sing me Spanish Techno." Although the song's not really about long office days, I really feel a resonance these days with the line, "The hour glass spills its sand, only to punish you." In fact, I was so intrigued by the line that I had the song on repeat on the way back across the Billy-Bridge today. Just captures my mood, I guess...

Although things have stabilized and we've now moved into a sort of controlled chaos, when that means you're putting in 70-80 hour weeks, you appreciate the the little things that make a big difference in life; for your amusement, here are some of the little things:

• A 4 mile run before work, with no shin pain
• Drop off laundry service
• Modest Mouse
  
• Goose Island Oatmeal Stout (yum)
• A new UK basketball recruit
• Mocking Matt Lauer
• Town cars (with the BQE* I'm not sure they're faster than the subway, but being able to sleep on the way home is priceless)
• Jeph Jacques' comics
  
• Pesto
• A new gym bag
• Last.fm
• The Cincinnati Reds (Hey, when a team's this bad, every guy feels like he can be a Major Leaguer!)

Week of 5/14: 27 miles
Week of 5/21: 12 miles

*That's Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, for you non-New Yorkers.

Kidney 10K

Finished in 39:44, but that's not really important. What is important is that this was a fairly hard pace for me currently, on a hilly course, in racing flats, and I went start to finish with zero, none, nullus shin pain -- this was a totally and completely uneventful race below the knee. That's a success no matter what the time was (even though the time was a clockwise p.r.). I'll learn how big a success it was when I run later today and see if this lack of shin pain continues. We might just be out of the woods here.

Now, on the negative side -- every hill after two miles killed me. I realize, of course, that this results from the lack of strength workouts, avoidance of hills, etc. that go along with running through shin splints, but it was somewhat disheartening when I consider how I motored over those hills in, say, Grete's Gallop last fall. With this weakness identified, and the other problem (hopefully) solved, work permitting I can address it over the summer.

I have lots of little anecdotes for this race.

First, it was sponsored by the United Arab Emirates. So, before the race began, a U.A.E. ambassador gave a little speech on how our running supported religious tolerance, ideological inclusiveness, peace, being a good neighbor and so forth. This was only really notable because about 3/4 of mile into the race some Whack-Job at the side of the course was screaming "You're Supporting Terrorists! Stop helping the Heathens!" Really nice contrast there between a blasé, but well-meant (and I think well-received) speech on peace and inclusiveness from the "terrorist" and the acerbic screamings of the "patriot." Honestly, guys like that sometimes make me embarrassed to call myself American.

Immediately on finishing, I met a new Flyer. Poor guy caught me right as I realized I'd just finished with no pain and, thanks to my excitement at that fact, he got all the gory treatment details--the ice, the no hills, the slow-down, the cut runs, the anti-inflammatories--that you guys missed because I think the only more boring than reading about injury treatment is writing about it. So, if you're a reader fellow Flyer (Hah! Like people would read this nonsense!) accept my apologies for monopolizing our one-way conversation.

After the race, I was walking through the Park on the way to the office, and lo a bright light shone before me. I was in shock, "What the hell is that!?!" Then I realized that it was just sunlight reflecting off a jogging James Carville's forehead. That head's really bright!

And finally, after the race while still in the Park, this little woman fitness walking comes up to me and says ecstatically, "Did you run? Did you finish?" I confirmed I had and she said, "Oh. How long did it take you?" I told her and then she asked, "Wow. That's great. Do you, like, practice weekly?" When, holding back the urge to chuckle, I said, "Yeah, almost daily," she seemed extremely impressed. And, I guess, with all the constraints of life, I find that pretty impressive too.

Tick, Tock, Tick

Useless News

Around the globe the last few days...

The alma mater picked up its first super blue chip recruit of the BCG era, which has some folks rapsodizing in Latin no less!

CNN reports studies on a desk/treadmill combo. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'd kind of like to keep my exercise separate from my job, thanks very much. Plus, jogging in a full suit seems kind of silly.

More reasons to stay clear of New Jersey. Where do these people come from?

Blogger announces autosaving.

Sorry for the stacatto, joint-post-esque listing, but likely won't have time in the near future for long solo posts. It seems a long-standing firm client has decided to hire us for his case (good), but the case is less than six weeks before trial (uh). So, all that stuff that we were doing in December-March when I was going two weeks between runs, we're now going to try to do in June! Heh. In all seriousness though, this is going to be a lot of fun.

This week was already a cut-back week as I've hit about 35 miles four straight weeks. I've also decided to try an hit the Kidney 10K tomorrow morning before work. I'm pretty excited since I seem to finally be over that shin pain.

A Public Thank You

I'd like to take a moment of your time today to give thanks to a very special and positive force in our community. This American institution has given so much to those of us out on the public highways and byways of New York City that its influence cannot be understated. We can only hope that mankind as a whole comes to appreciate and emulate this generous spirit.

Therefore, and without further ado, I'd like for everyone out there to join me in giving a hardy round of appreciation to Starbucks! That's right, Starbucks Corporation (SBUX).

I hear the protests. "But, Jo-u-u-u-n," you say, "Starbucks is a corporation. An evil empire even." Well, let me tell you a little about what Starbucks has done for me and why you should love them too.

Imagine with me. . . you're on a run. It's a nice day, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping. The commuters driving up the FRD are throwing a nice breeze over to you in East River Park. You're light, you're fast, you're floating. Everything is going your way. . . UNTIL . . . sudden lower G-I tract distress! [Cue music: Dum-Dum-Duuummmm].

You see a port-a-let and make a dash, but alas it's March and the Parks Department pad-locks the port-a-lets from November to April! You continue through the park, to the East River Track. There are runners there. People use that track. Surely the bathroom is . . . Foiled again! It's 7:15 in the morning and the Parks Department keeps that bathroom locked until 8. Your run's heading down the tubes faster than Jersey! You head out of the Park, sort of run-shuffling, grunting all out of proportion to the speed you're travelling, as you clench your stomach muscles, and then you see a chance -- a McDonald's. McDonald's (MCD) is always open at 7:22 in the morning. But, McDonald's, the selfish bastards, just like the toddlers to whom they market with their insipid clown, doesn't know how to share and keeps its bathrooms locked. That means you -- dear runner with an emergency -- have to stand in a line while all sweaty and squirming and then ask some teenager for the bathroom key, with it being obvious to everyone in the shop what you're doing, why you're there, and that you're not a paying customer. No. McDonald's will not do. It will not!

Then, against all hope, another block down, the heavens open, sunlight beams through a cerulean patch of sky to illuminate a black-and-white mermaid seated in a deep green halo. You've found your answer. Starbucks. Ubiquitous. Starbucks. With its bathrooms never locked. Starbucks. Where you can dash in and dash out. Starbucks. Which often has two entrances, one placed directly across from the bathroom. This is generosity my friends. In a city like New York which has no public bathrooms because . . . well, I don't know why. Perhaps because Giuliani was afraid homeless people would live in them? But anyway, we don't, which is a huge problem if you're 6 miles into a 13 mile out-and-back and suddenly nature calls. But with Starbucks it's no problem. Starbucks is everywhere. Starbucks is open early. Starbucks doesn't lock the bathroom door.

So, everyone out there. Go today to Starbucks. Show your appreciation. Buy a coffee, or a tea, or a Decaf Grand Iced Venti Soy Skim Latte Vanilla Almond Mocha Frappuccino, light on the ice, with distilled water, diet. Give a little back because Starbucks gives so much to us.

Thank YOU Starbucks!

Week of April 30: 34.2 miles
Week of May 7: 36.3 miles

Triumphant return?

Today I planned to make a grand return to blogging. I had a beautiful post written.
It was profound and intriguing, but accessible.
Even life-changing, maybe, for the the right person. . .

But then my computer froze and my prose disappeared into some digital Limbo.
And my muse left for her day job.
I guess the return will have to wait a few more days.

Week of April 30: 34.2 miles
Monday: 4.15 miles, 31:54 (7:41/mile)
Tuesday: 10.33 miles, 1:18:20 (7:35/mile)

Error

Microsoft Word gave me this error in the office yesterday:

"Error. There are too many spelling and grammatical errors in the document "*my document's name*" to continue displaying them."

Yes, folks, I killed spellcheck!

With running, I finally had a (largely) pain-free run today. Each one's getting just a little better than the last. . . more later.

Week of	Miles
April 2	21.6 miles
April 9	16.3
April 16	32.5
April 23	35.4
April 30 (To date)	21.1 Miles

Happy Easter

Peep Show - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Went to see the rock opera Spring Awakening on Broadway this weekend. It's a fantastic show. However, for those of outside New York, you'll probably need to come to the City to see it. The show's just a little too frank about teenage angst and sexuality for Peoria. We followed the show with an early dinch (dinner+lunch??) at The Modern's Bar Room, which is like The Modern Restaurant, but affordable, while still being cool. The food (for me, Arctic Char Tartare and Spice Crusted Colorado Lamb Loin) was fantastic and the service good, which solidified The Modern Restaurant as a member of my short-list for my next "occassion dinner."

Still dealing with the shin-splints. Now I've tried both slowing down and cutting mileage. It no longer matters for next week's Half, since I now need to make an emergency trip back to the Ky for the second half of this week. However, the leg pain during the early part of my runs (i.e., my legs stop hurting after a warm-up) is still annoying.

Week of 3/26: 33.2 miles, 5 days, 11.3 long run.
Week of 4/2: 21.6 miles, 3 days, 11.3 long run (at 7:43 pace).

Matt Lauer

I love Matt Lauer! You can always count on him for some sort of asinine comment. This morning I arrived home from my run (I saw the dog again; this time I didn't wave at the owner), turned on the T.V., and as I was making coffee overheard this exchange with the jacket artist of the soon-to-be-released Harry Potter finale:

• Matt: So, exactly how long does it take to print twelve million books?
• Guest (looking confused by the question): Uhm, a few weeks.
• Matt: Oh, that fast?
• Guest: Yeah.

Matt, Matt, we have advanced printing techniques now. By and large, we haven't made books by hand for some 500 years. Of course, this pales in comparison to when, after announcing that Fred Thompson had announced his candidacy for president a few weeks ago, Lauer asked, "But can an actor really be president?" Doesn't anyone screen that man's teleprompter?!?

Today's run went well, with the exception that the shin splint I mentioned in yesterday's post hurts a little more. I'm now icing and anti-inflamatorying it. After the run, I was also solicited for medical advice. Some random on the street runs up yelling "Sir! Sir! When you have a pain here (gestures from his lower back along the outside of his hip to the top of his thigh), what do you do about it?" I demure with a, "Ice? I don't know." He walks off with a "Oh, you've never had that? Fine." Great, I guess Brooks shoes equal medical license?

4.15 Miles:29:45 @ 7:10/mile.

Perspective

As Yvonne has pointed out, perspective's a funny thing. I had the same reaction on my first "Queensboro Loop" after time off as she just had to her first "Tri-Borough Run" (which, is basically the same course). That reaction was, "Dear Lord, this is a long way! What ever possessed me to think marathoning was a good idea? And how'd I ever run this twice a week last fall???" Relativity is a funny thing.

Today I had another experience with perspective. Since I've re-taken to running after my months-long (and somewhat anticlimactic) trial build-up I've noticed that my pace has been quite a bit faster than last fall at the same effort. I've assumed that would change, that I'd soon be back to running 7:40-8:00 like last fall once the mileage got back up. Today, I assumed, would be that day. I'd run just under 2 hours on Saturday followed by 10k at a decent clip on Sunday. My legs this morning felt sluggish, I felt dehydrated, I still haven't acclimated to morning running, and, to top it off, I've developed a mild shin-splint in my left leg. If there was ever a day where running was a struggle, it was this morning and I knew that today was the day to get back to "normal" paces. I was therefore somewhat (or rather, completely) surprised when I got home to learn that the pace had been 7:36/mile for the 8.6 miles. I guess it's all a matter of perspective because it certainly didn't seem that fast. Of course, we'll have to see if this effort continues to produce 7:10-7:30 miles as I continue to drive up the mileage, but for the moment I'd like to delude myself into thinking I'm fit.

I've decided to dump Edith Wharton. It's just not working out for me. Really, it's not her. It's me. I just don't feel the connection. There's no spark; no chemistry. And there's another woman in my life. She's the subject of both song and poem. I'm now reading Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary, from whence comes this lovely Christmas poem --

Angelus consilii
Natus est de virgine
Sol de stella;

Sol occasum nesciens
Stella semper rutilans,
Semper clara.

Sicut sidus radium,
Profert virgo filium,
Pari forma.

Neque sidus radio,
Neque mater filio
Fit corrupta.

{"The angel of consel was born of the virgin as the Sun of a Star. A Sun knowing not setting A Star aways shining Always clear. As the star brings forth its ray, the virgin brings forth a son, in like manner. Neither the star by its ray, nor the mother by her son is made corrupt." (It certainly loses a lot in translation.)}

Week (of 3/19) in Review

Monday	Rest	--	--
Tuesday	5.25 miles	39:30	7:31/mile
Wednesday	4.15 miles	29:47	7:11/mile
Thursday	Sick Day	--	--
Friday	Rest	--	--
Saturday	14.5 Miles	1:50:00	7:34/mile
Sunday	6.25 miles	45:08	7:13/mile
Total	30.2 Miles	--	--

Etiquette

Here's a suggestion on manners,which, if it has not been mandated by Emily Yoffe, should be. Let me set the scene . . . Imagine it's a crisp spring morning. Your dog wants you to take it for a walk. It's scratching the door. You put on your shoes and take it outside. Now, you're outside the front door of your vinyl-siding house with a second floor entrance, standing at the top of the concrete stair that goes down to street level. You see a runner coming down the sidewalk. Runner waves at you. You wave back. When runner's head gets even with the edge of the concrete stair . . . you allow your dog to run to the edge and start urinating into the street, or I should say, urinating at the runner! Gross!

(Okay, I did have the iPod on and didn't hear the dog honking, but that should be a non-issue because his urine did NOT have right of way.)

• Tuesday: 5.25 miles in 39:30 (7:31/mile: Erin gave me a cold she had last week. This was tougher than it should have been because I'm all drugged up.)
• Wednesday: 4.15 miles in 29:47 (7:11/mile: Easier, felt better, or maybe just ran faster to get home to shower off canine excretion)
  

It's All in My Head

I have been blogging consistently over the past two weeks. I just haven't been writing to the blog or posting. I have the best of intentions. As I walk down the street, I compose the most striking and penetrating stories and commentary on life in the city. But then I get home, crack a beer, turn on the T.V. and never commit these thoughts to notebook. To a certain extent, I've started to narrate my life like John Dorian. (Erin says that this means I don't have enough friends.) But I realize this is both a lazy and selfish way to deal with life. So, for you, dear readers, and I mean both of you, I'll try to make more of an effort.

I've been thinking more about Victorian society as I've been working through The Age of Innocence, which I'm still undecided on. However, one passage in particular struck me as resonating with New York today, especially since I know so many women of around thirty lamenting their single status and their difficulties in finding marrigable men. (One friend, with whom I'm not even all that close, gave me the full breakdown on the status of her biological clock over drinks one night!) Here's the passage:

He had married (as most young men did) because he had met a perfectly charming girl at the moment when a series of rather aimless sentimental adventures were ending in premature disgust; and she had represented peace, stability, comradeship, and the steadying sense of an unescapable duty.

So, that's the secret. You have to be lucky enough to catch the guy at the right time, at a time when he's looking for stability, and then he'll feel obligated to marry you! This is really only funny because for many cases it's probably spot on true.

Running has been going fairly well as I've been striving for consistency. The last three weeks have been 22, 31 and 26 miles. I'm going to try to work up to around 40 over the next three weeks before cutting back for the Brooklyn Half-Marathon on April 14. Today's run, by the way, was loads of fun. It was 5.6 miles, with the first 2.5 into a headwind. They were extremely hard and I made the turnaround at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge after a tough 19:10 (7:40 pace). At that point, although I was climbing back up the Bridge, the wind assist was so great that I was moving at around a 6:40 mile going uphill and it was easier! The last 3.1, where the wind was either neutral or assisting I knocked out in a nice 21:35 (6:58 pace).

That's it from the land of Iphiclus. I have to go watch the alma mater play the Jayhawks of Kansas; but before I do, I'd like to add that I am so impressed that I don't have red-eye in this post.