Mornin' everyone.
Steve sure has interesting adventures with everything he does, even dining out.
Ribs, your DS is amazing, and has a great future ahead of him, short-term, as well as long-term!
"Jay, don't feed the monkeys." I know, I know. But I can't just ignore people, especially when maintaining a good image is integral to the success of our race. And I can't blame people for asking if there is a last-minute way into the race. The only guy I was a bit rude to said he planned to run even though he hadn't registered. So I mentioned theft of services, told him to bring his own water on the course, and also told him to carry some ID because if he gets injured we'll have no idea who he is or who to call on his behalf.
I have a meeting this afternoon about how to cross an extensive salt marsh with a 'rail-trail,' then relatives come in (for the race on Sunday) late tonight, and I'm hosting a racewalking clinic tomorrow morning.
I picked up a lacrosse ball yesterday, and had a fine time rolling around on it last night. It's a bit bigger and noticeably more firm than my spaldeen, so the difference was appreciable. And so, despite more insanely warm weather this morning, I sucked it up and spent time reading instead of walking.
Have a greta Friday, and a greta time if you are racing this weekend!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
Sayhey! MM#130
Jay, you have to get your Jock Semple on and if you see any race bandits, just run up to 'em and wrassle 'em off the course. Just fling 'em sideways.
Say Jlynne, you gonna share some of the titles you got at the Tattered Cover?
Glad to hear of a good training, Mari, and 8 miles on top of it. You sound super .
Got in 6 this am and 6 last night. While I was rolling along this am, a friend on her way to work drove up along side and conversated with me while I ran until someone pulled up behind her. It was fun.
Looking forward to staying up a little tonight and starting a new book; no long run tomorrow since our local marathon is Sunday. Some folks aren't doing it b/c it's had some issues in the past (this is year 3). I figure if I didn't do it, I'd be doing a long run, it only cost me $45 entry. Additionally, if I do it and they still have problems, any comments I have will be constructive criticism. And c'mon, it's the hometown marathon.
And thanks to stumps, I have only 97 days to check off my calendar until T-Day!
Happy weekending,
A
https://agratefullifedotnet.wordpress.com/ (for a piece or two of my mind)
King of PhotoShop
Little by little my strength is coming back. Today the Saint and I ran 3 at a good pace, although we stopped a couple of times for her to get a rest. After torrential rains and tornados last night, the skies are clear and it's pleasantly cool today.
Moebo comments that yesterday's post is more than anyone wants to hear about work, but I disagree. I find others' jobs very interesting. My own job continues to fascinate me and I find all kinds of work stories to be interesting. Think about it; running isn't really that interesting. But how someone makes his living is often a new story every day. Anyone wants to talk about work stories, you will always have an eager reader in me.
Although my diet is a very healthy one, I still get a craving for stuff that is generally considered "bad" for you, so tonight I will satisfy the Saint's craving for sausage and pepper sandwiches for tonight's dinner. We always eat casually on Friday nights so this will do the trick. Go ahead and say "Ugh!" if you like. We go nuts for sausage and pepper sandwiches. I remember as a kid there was always a firemen's fair in our town and the firemen would make these sandwiches, cooking the sausages on a big open grill, the kind made from half a 55-gallon drum with a grate on top. They would grill onions and peppers on one side and put the sandwiches on a deliciously chewy Italian roll. Spareribs
Trails are hard!
Just had those for dinner a couple of nights ago. Never taste quite the same as outside Fenway, but still pretty good.
Still not out running. But ear is getting smaller and hoping for more energy over the weekend to invest in some running
Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.
an amazing likeness
Just came across this video today and thought I'd share it should anyone be interested in experiencing the course for Jay's Seacoast Half Marathon without coming north to run it.
YouTube link
It's just a quintessential New England course of tree-lined streets through neighborhoods, out into the countryside of stone walls, through salt marshes, then along the ocean, through a village settled in 1600's and back. it's 14 min video, so here's some highlights:
- the ocean parts start at about mile 5...
- from mile 8 to 11 (7:50 in the video) is the 'money' part of the race for me as the course heads through New Castle -- notice the houses and stores right on the road; they didn't have front yards in 1600 (village itself shows up at 10:00min in video).
- at 10:46 in the video there's a small school on the right, and a huge (say it like Trump huuuugggee) oak tree. From the tree, there's just under 5K to go...I always get to that tree, make the right turn and mentally buckle down for the push to finish. It's a great landmark.
- the next section from the tree takes you across a causeway and two bridges, this can be nasty if there's wind or weather.
- you can't tell from the video, but the last mile is a heavy climb which starts at an old cemetery and dumps you onto a flat section with about 1/2 mile to go and no will to anything but survive to the finish.
You can see how popular this area is for running and biking by all the folks the car passes along the way...
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Spareribs I agree, it is interesting to hear about what others do for a living.
An hour on the elliptical and then I headed off to the office for the day.
In marathon news, they finally posted the course for the New Orleans Marathon on February 28. I have been thinking of targeting this race. I have to work back up to the distance but the race is at just about the right time for me to make it. From the looks of the map it seems clear that the race organizers (Competitor) had problems getting a course together that New Orleans would approve. There are several out and backs, one in a very odd spot. Still, the course looks like it goes through some fairly attractive areas.
Based on Atlanta dropping their (a?) marathon and Denver losing theirs it seems clear that mid-sized races in larger cities are struggling with the local politicians. I think this is short sighted. Marathons have the potential to bring in a lot of business. But if you treat the race like a problem to be solved, instead of an event to be celebrated not too surprisingly you end up with a tiny field and no economic benefit. Take a look at Cincinnati. It is a mid-sized city with a big city marathon. The course is tough but the city puts on a great show and is so welcoming to the runners! The result is a big field and lots of money for the local hotels, restaurants, etc.
Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.
Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
that's just the reason they invented the word quintessential.
.
Another marathon coming up.After confirming during this morning’s five mile walk commute that there’s no more lingering left-over quad-and-glute soreness from last Saturday’s Carkeek 12-hour Fun Run, I signed up for tomorrow’s 15th running of our local In-Unity-We-Run Marathon honoring the 14th anniversary of the November 2011 running of that year’s New York City Marathon. Some shin soreness I hadn’t noticed until everything else went away and I tried to run a little downhill this morning should not be a problem as the Unity’s on a perfectly flat bike path course. Gotta love an 8am marathon that not only has early (7am), super-early (6:30am) and super/super-early starts (6:00am) but even earlier remedial starts: regular remedial - 5:30 am / super-remedial - 5am. .I remember watching the NYC Marathon when I there in 1983 and Rod Dixon overcame a half-mile deficit to pass Geoff Smith in the last stretch for one of the race’s more exciting finishes. Oddly enough, compared to my current interest in running any convenient marathon that happens to present itself (especially if the price is right, e.g. Unity’s $10 entry), I’d already run my titular one-marathon-for-the-year inh 1983 and had no interest about not being in that year’s race. Too bad. .Don’t know why this year’s Unity is not on NYC weekend but it’ll allow a couple of local runners to be wearing their NYC Marathon tee shirts. .Amy - I’d rather run a marathon too than go on a training run. In fact, I very much doubt I could run 26.2 miles on my own.
In preparation for my first ultra of 50K ten times around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in 1985, I thought I'd try to do the full distance beforehand to see if I could do it. I got bored and quit after two laps but had no problem a couple of weeks later with everyone else.
..Steve - I bet they didn’t call it spaghetti either.However, if you like calamari, . . . I mean onion rings, . . . I’d like to take you to a Japanese restaurant sometime. ps - No matter what color they make it, I could never put oil on bread either. .
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
Marathon Maniac #957
I am picturing people on the sidelines armed with giant sling-shots loaded with water balloons to take out the bandits.
Milktruck - thanks for the link - that does look like a lovely course.
Jay - you amaze me with all you do!
Guess what? I ran today! Okay, it was more like "running" than actual running. After 3 weeks off, I thought my legs would feel energetic and fresh. Instead I felt as if I had never run before. It didn't help that I ran right after 50 minutes of P90X Core Synergistics, which, for a workout with Core in the name is actually chock-full of lunges, so my legs were a bit stiff already. Still, I was outside, moving my legs, in a lovely 65 degrees!
50 minutes P90X plus 4 miles of slow running.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Take a look at Cincinnati. It is a mid-sized city with a big city marathon. The course is tough but the city puts on a great show and is so welcoming to the runners! The result is a big field and lots of money for the local hotels, restaurants, etc.
The Pig really does it well!
YAY! Holly runs!
When are we all going to decide to do the Pig one year??
twocat--if you want a more established marathon, A1A Ft. Lauderdale is Feb. 14. This will be my 4th in a row. Finish right on the beach.
I had been looking at New Orleans. My TFA roomie, who was in CA and met up with me at Big Sur in April, has moved to NOLA AND she's run a marathon or two in the past. Hmm.....
Why, I'd be happy to Aamos Started "Blood, Bones and Butter" by Gabrielle Hamilton on the flight home from Denver. Almost finished with it. What a story about her life as a chef! Also picked up a David Sedaris and The Witches by Stacy Schiff.
That son of yours sure is something, Ribs. And nice that you and the Saint are back at it. But you can keep that sausage and pepper thing!
Yah Holly!
I kind of like a nice, crusty bread dipped in oil and balsamic vinegar.
Take care of that ear Stumpy!
Good luck with the race Jay. You really are doing a super job.
Steve - hope the bruises on your shins heal quickly
7 miles yesterday in balmy 68° temps. Back to the real world this morning. Cloudy, spitting rain and real windy, 42°. Opted for 60 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes of weights at the Y.
DH and I are taking the grandboys to see the new Charlie Brown movie tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone, and good luck to all who are racing!
The sausage and pepper thing is right up The Hub's alley.
I'm always amazed at how Tet can just show up and run a race of any distance. Tet - You are indestructible.
Yes, we're back! We had an absolutely amazing time. Africa is incredible, the Zimbabwe people are so kind and accepting even though the economical and political situation is horrible, and the animal life was all we had hoped for and then some. The only animals we didn't see were rhino, leopard, or cheetah. Well, we saw two cheetahs, but they were in a sanctuary, so not sure that counts. But we saw tons and TONS of elephants, warthogs, baboons, and vervet monkeys, and it never got boring seeing them, watching them. I'm actually partial to warthogs now. So ugly their cute, especially the little guys. I took about 1300 pics, so I need to go through them and delete, delete, delete. (Oh? Another elephant picture??) The travel time over and back (including driving from our house to San Fran and back) was 43 hrs and 45 hrs. I'm still working on getting over jet lag, as well as a nice bout of food poisoning that hit in the wee hours the morning after we got back. (Thank you, airline food.) Today, I am finally feeling human again and able to actually eat.
Managed only 4 runs while we were gone. And unbeknownst to me until we got there, Harare sits at over 5000 feet, so yeah - oxygen deprived (although for Carolyn it'd be a walk in the park). Also, when we were at the safari lodges/national parks, we weren't allowed to leave the grounds without the safari guide since there are things out there that love to eat other things, especially things that look like they're flailing, suffering, and running away. So come Monday I will be starting anew - again. With very little running since late June, my goal is to just concentrate on building my base again.
I will try and get some pics posted soon.
Later ~
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
stumpy, sorry to hear about the ear infection. It sounds like some progress, though. steve, it's neat to be taken out to dinner, even if it's not what you're used to. ribs and Saint, nice 5K with 2nd in AG for both. Holly, it's good to hear you finally got to run. fatozzig, welcome home after what sounds like a great vacation.
This morning, it was in the mid 50s and quite windy. I was able to pick a route where the wind was always from the side. I did 5 miles at a 10:59 pace.
A good day and good runs for all.
TomS
. I'm still working on getting over jet lag, as well as a nice bout of food poisoning that hit in the wee hours the morning after we got back. (Thank you, airline food.)
I find it hilarious that you traveled to a foreign third-world country and got food poisoning on the airplane back..... But I do hope you feel better now. That sounds like an amazing trip! I hope you dedicate a thread to some pictures from the trip.