Sunday – 20 miles planned

Up at 6:00 today. Full house this weekend. Among our guests is the incorrigible Stella B. It’s her first visit to New York, and it’s been a busy one. Manhattan zoo, a stroll through Central Park, then over to Peter Lugar’s for steak and cigars. It’s hard to keep up with her, but you must. If you don’t she becomes ill-tempered, dare I say violent – throwing things and talking gibberish. As you can see, she’s an all around miserable person.

I’m about three blocks away from the house when I realize I haven’t brought any money to buy more water. I decide not to bother. I’ll fill my bottle when I get to the park. I hate drinking out of water fountains. Remember what we used to do to water fountains when we were kids? Between spitting in them and packing them full of dog shit, there’s the whole idea of pigeons taking baths in them. Uuuuughh… pigeons.

North up 3rd avenue, with the BQE overhead. This area is called Sunset Park. The name brings to mind images of meadows and crisp fall evenings, doesn’t it? Ironically, you’ll find neither in Sunset Park. Nor would you want to spend your sunset years here. Come to think of it, you wouldn’t want to hang out here after sunset. Although if you did, you’d find plenty of entertainment. There is at least one 24 hour adult video/novelty store on every block. What exactly goes on at 5:00 am in one of these stores? Chris?

During the mid-week runs, I had trouble with pain in my left knee. So much so that each time, I needed to stop and stretch for a few minutes. Luckily that seemed to do the trick and I was off again. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time (and God help you if you have), you’ll know that I’ve never had any kind of knee problems. In fact my knee problem never started until after Sept. 13, when gobo33 posted in the comments section to “watch yo knees, hodgey.” As my Grandmother used to say, “Thanks a pant-load, Dan.”

It’s not warm, so I’m not drinking very much, but I am aware of needing to conserve the water. I won’t hit the park until about 9 miles in, so no refill until then. And btw, has anyone ever tried salt tablets? I’m hesitant to try anything new at this point, but I gotta be honest, I’ve had to pee since about mile 4. That’s really annoying. I’m trying to time it before I run, but I just can’t seem to nail it down. The salt is mostly to prevent hyponatremia, but I’m wondering if it would help cut down on needing to go?

At the base of the bridge on the Manhattan side and turning around. Wow. The incline is a lot longer than it seemed from Brooklyn. I assume it’s the same distance. My left ankle is starting to hurt now. Seems to only start barking when I’m going up hill. Unfortunately it’s all up hill to the park.

It’s Sunday in Prospect Park and there’s no bike race? Fear not, stroller moms. The races return next weekend. Make a half loop and make my way to… (gulp)… the water fountain. (I think my wife calls it a “bubbler.” What century are you from? Can you see my bloomers under my running shorts?)

I can’t fill the bottle all the way because the water is not coming out high enough. Mostly likely due to being clogged with dog shit. I’m only able to fill it half way. For those keeping track, that’s 6 oz of water for the next 12 miles. Can Kev do it? Can he?

Make my loop around and exit the park for the last 4.25 miles home. Things start to get interesting here. My stomach starts to hurt a little, as though it’s empty. I swig a little fecal-water and down a Gu. I’m fine for the next 15 minutes or so but then it’s back to feeling the same way. At mile 18 my legs really start to get tight. They feel like a day after a long run and I haven’t stretched them out fully. Weird. It feels like I should stop and stretch out for a while. I’m so close, I decide to keep going.

So that’s 20.5 miles. Another first. Despite Dan’s best try, I’m not injured (much). Now we’re off to meet a bunch of friends for brunch. Why? Cause Stella wants us to. And I can’t say no.

I’ve given Dan a lot of crap this week, but he’s made great progress in his own challenge. Stay strong, bro. Don’t be tempted.

And now on with the running…

Saturday – 16 miles planned. The route will be the same as last week, but I’ll extend the end of the run to get my extra mile in.

Wake at 6:15. I felt pretty good, so I’m doing the same breakfast as last week (pb&j, water, Gu). Load up and head out the door. Won’t get far without water. Head back to the house to get the water bottle. Now I’m really ready.

It rained last night and the streets/sidewalks are all still wet. A couple years ago I hurt my foot slipping on some wet leaves and sticks, so I really hate running when it’s wet out. Speaking of, with about 1/2 mile left on my 8 mile run on Wednesday, my right hamstring started hurting badly. I limped in and the walk home was tough. I’m going to keep an eye on that today, shorten my stride a little and slow my pace a little. I’m aiming for racing pace today. Trying to keep things as fluid and controlled for as long as I can. When I start to get tired, I begin to lean. A little forward here, then maybe sitting back a little. It just makes me have to strain more, so I’m going to watch that too.

53rd & 3rd – Although it’s only a little bit later than last week, there is more activity. More people, more vehicles. Maybe it’s because it’s a Saturday as opposed to a Sunday. I’m sticking to the sidewalks because they’re wide pretty much all the way to the park. Up ahead I see a bunch of bread pallets stacked in the middle of the sidewalk. There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread. No one is around. They must have dropped them off before the store opened. As I pass, frantic clucking and wing flapping scares the crap out of me. And btw, that’s not the smell of fresh bread. That’s the smell of several dozen live chickens in those pallets.

That really scared me. I hope those chickens die! Oh wait… .

On 5th Ave now. The infamous Greenwood Cemetery. I give the finger as I pass by.

Inside the park now, and there are signs that say there’s a “high speed bike race” in progress. (As opposed to the “slow speed bike race?” Whatever.) I’ve been here for over 5 minutes and I haven’t seen any bikes which is kind of weird. All of a sudden over my right shoulder I hear someone yelling “Go go go!!” Before I can turn to look, what seems like a hundred bikes fly by. They’re *really* bunched together. In another mile or so, I find out that that was the final lap. I wonder how they’ll be able to pick out a winner with everyone bunched together like that? I didn’t see any chip mats.

Second lap around, north west end of the park. Two women are up ahead of me. One is running, the other is on a bike next to her. We pass an entrance across from the bike lanes and the husband of the woman running is walking with their two kids. The husband starts waiving and yelling at his wife to cheer her on. This makes his 4 year old so excited, he decides he wants to run with mommy. He takes off running across the bike lanes and nearly gets creamed by one of those stray “high speed bikes.” Jesus.

Out of the park for the trip home now. Pass Van Gogh Moving And Storage. I just got the pun, btw. Every once in a while, my left achilles starts to ache. So does the right hamstring. Thankfully, they both come and go.

Can we talk about nipple abrasions? These technical shirts are great, but I’ve never had pain like this with a regular cotton shirt. I’ve been using a Body Glide knock off, but today it wasn’t enough. I slap on a band aid while I run, but it falls off because of the sweat. Maybe one of these? Of course the other option is to lose the shirt. That’s the subject of another blog entry.

Van Gogh is across the street from the place with the live chickens. I pass the poultry place and look in. Chickens and ducks are stacked floor to ceiling. And just down the street (same block, mind you) from the poultry place? You guessed it. A strip bar.

“What’s that hideous smell, honey?”

“It’s either the poultry market or the strip bar.”

Last week I only listened to my mp3 player for the last 2 miles of the run. This week is the same. Having stuff to look at and keep my interest has made me not need it. Toward the end I start running out of gas, so I put it on.

All in all, another good run. Very good pace (for me). If I could do this on the 2nd, I’d be more than happy.

I’m starting to wonder whether I need new shoes. I was kind of hoping to use these all the way through, but the heels are getting worn. I also wonder if a new pair would help with the achilles twinges I’ve been feeling.

Oh and one last thing. I will on occasion watch the team-hunts-a-ghost shows. I don’t discount the possibility of ghosts, but what the fuck is up with orbs? (Do you see those two faint circles of light above the cat?) That’s supposed to be proof of spirit activity? Looks more like proof your house is dirty.

I have two main foot problems. First, my feet seem to be sweating more than I remember them sweating in the past. My Nike socks are sopping wet when I’m done with even a moderate run. Second, if I don’t keep the nail on my middle toe (on my right foot) trimmed extremely short, the nail digs into the side of the nearby toe and I bleed all over the place. My sock pools with blood. Bad in that it’s painful. Good in that I look badass like Curt Schilling.

(Actually, didn’t someone say the bloody sock incident was fake? I always suspected Curt was a pussy.)

I’m trying out a new pair of socks today. They are made by Balega and they are the Ha-You-Just-Paid-10-Dollars-For-A-Pair-Of-Socks model. I had originally wanted to try the Injinji tetrasock, but the running store near me doesn’t stock them yet.

Saturday – Up at 6:15. 12 mile run planned. Banana and a glass of water before I leave. I still haven’t figured out the magic breakfast formula. I’m taking a 12 oz bottle of water and couple of Gu packets- one orange and one lemon. Why does the lemon have over twice as much vitamin c as the orange?

The out of shape old men are out in force today. Do man-breasts really require that much oxygen that a cotton t-shirt could possibly suffocate them?

Around mile 5, I get a pain on the top of my foot around the center. I find that I can run through just about every kind of pain that I experience by drawing on some of the things that I learned studying piano performance back in college. My professor was very big into Feldenkrise and she incorporated it into her teaching. Feldenkrise “is a method of movement re-education.” This meant that while 40 minutes of an hour long lesson would be sitting at the piano, 20 minutes of it might be on the floor just breathing or stretching or doing controlled movements. So when I feel pain or discomfort when I run, I find that it really helps to change something slightly. That might be the length of my stride or my breathing or it might just be to focus on a different part of my leg. For example, if my knee starts to hurt, I’ll try focussing on my toes. Is there a lot of tension? What would happen if I spread my toes a little bit?

This technique was very effective for me when I played piano. I can remember getting to the point where I no longer concentrated on the notes but more how the keys felt underneath my fingers. It sounds kind of trippy, but I think about that a lot when I run.

That said, it’s amazing how my mind will race if I let it. It makes running that much harder.

“Almost at Kohl’s. That’s 1/3 of the way there.”

“Directly underneath the bridge, that means I’m at 6.5 miles. Aw hell, only half way there?!”

I haven’t found a good answer for this phenomenon, that constant need to be further along. I always bring myself back to something someone once told me regarding the weather. It was an unbelievably hot day in the city and I was complaining about it. This person’s response was, “There’s nothing you can do about it. Why fight it?” Of course you could stay in the air conditioning or wear a short sleeved shirt, but his point was you can’t control the weather. It’s gonna happen whether you like it or not.

Speaking of, the woman who cuts my hair really wants me to attend a Buddhist service with her. I mean she REEEALLY wants me to go with her. That’s probably for another post.

Ended up running 12.5 miles. Couldn’t tell you the time because instead of hitting the “stop” button, I hit “reset” and lost my entire run. Maybe it’s time to take Kevin’s advice and get a Garmin.

Yesterday, Lar and I were walking to the toy store to get a gift for a friend’s son, and we got to talking about parallel dimensions. Some parts of string theory suggest that there may be 11, some say as many as 26. Basically that means that there could be multiple Kevin’s and Lara’s running around. I joked that I imagined parallel dimension Lara was nice to children. Lara said that parallel dimension (pd) Kevin was probably “rich and good looking.” I then said that pd Lara was probably not a pain in the ass and it all spiraled down from there.

Anyway, it makes you wonder.

Ah yes, the running – This week was a HH step-down week. Long run of 7 miles on Saturday. It’s amazing how strong you feel some days, and other days you feel as though 3 miles is going to be the death of you. Sat run was a struggle. To make matters worse, I only have one orange burst Gu left. I decided to save it and take the strawberry/banana PowerGel packet that I had lying around (it was given to me in the Buffalo race packet). So now I’m feeling weak and I’ve got to choke down warm strawberry/banana jelly. Yeesh.

The positive news is I’ve been much better about stretching and it’s made a big difference. I’m still not being as thorough as I should, but I’m getting there.

Oh and Saturday night, we hunted down this in our basement. This is the largest I have ever seen in any apt I’ve lived in and I’ve lived in some crappy places. The only thing we can think is that it’s because they are doing work next door. Do yourself a favor and click the pic to view in all it’s close-up glory.

“The Prep-Ho Week 6 Recap.”™

1) I could be a weatherman.
2) God and Brett Favre hate Buffalo.
3) Doesn’t the US President have things to do (I mean instead of watching swimming matches all afternoon)?

Check this out. Only 5 and a half minutes long. Contains some swearing, but it’s otherwise safe for work.

http://tinyurl.com/56lt9k

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I have to admit I didn’t eat well on vacation last week.   Is a blueberry muffin considered a serving of fruit?

Good news for my fellow lactose-intolerant-walking-dead; Cabot Cheddar cheese contains no lactose! What’s that? Is that the sound of my brittle bones getting a much needed calcium spray-coat?

Chris made his 6th appearance as master chef for the week. Once again the meat was grilled to perfection, the jambalaya was spicey and it rained fakin’ bacon.

Is fakin’ bacon considered a serving of vegetables? Maybe I wasn’t so bad after all.

Did the midweek run on the mean streets county roads of Craftsbury. Got a little bit outside of the town proper and saw a farm midway up a hill, just up the road. Farmhouse and barn on the right of the road, pasture with cows grazing on the left side. These cows were all grazing in a group at the bottom of the hill near the road and when I got close, they all stopped to look at me. As I passed I said hello with the obligatory, “Moooooooooooooooooo.”

All the cows slowly began following and then running with me up the hill. In fact their pace got so fast that I thought for a minute they might break through the flimsy fence at the top of the hill. Luckily they didn’t.

Let me tell you the feeling of power and responsibility that comes when you finally achieve cow-control.

[whispery voice] “Help… me…” [/whispery voice]

Bad idea.

Ended up running 10 minutes in the garage and riding 10 more minutes on the stationary bike in my folks’ basement.

Sunday – Lunch with my folks, then the long haul back to Brooklyn for the start of week 5.  Scrapped traveling via 87 and headed over to the Taconic.   Made damn good time for a Sunday evening.

Over the next week or so, I’ll be reflecting on the sights and sounds of Craftsbury, Vermont and the surrounding area.   Still winding down from 9 days away that blinked by.   Time goes so damn fast, as Dan would say.    Here’s a pic from one morning run along Creek Road.

*this just in* – I’ve been informed that Teresa lost her “beloved” running visor, and she has bought 3 replacements. Clearly an intervention is in order.

Week 3 was a tough week for blogging. I bought a new computer and might I say, this bitch is ready to freakin’ rock. I opened the box and unwrapped it and it snarled at me! No joke!

Oh yes, the running… Saturday long run – Up at 5:15. It’s 78 degrees. Gawd. 5.5 miles/48:04. Every third week the long run milage steps down. It increases next week.

“The Prep-Ho Week 3 Recap.”™

1) Two bedroom coops right across from the sewage treatment plant are listed for $649,000. Free aroma included.
2) Step-down week kinda makes you feel like a pussy. Thanks, Hal.

Next week I’ll be coming to you from Craftsbury, Vermont, so until then loyal readers… uh… well actually I’m sitting across the room from all of you right now.

Stop touching me.

k

Up at 7:30. Ate a banana and headed out. Started running at 8:10. I’m really surprised how many people are already out at this time of day.

As I wrote before, I have two technical shirts. The first is a Zorrel that is great and is made by communist slaves. The second, and the one I wore on Saturday, is a New Balance shirt that is clearly made by Green party members because everything about it just blows from the heatstroke-please-navy-blue color to the graphic of a Buffalo that looks like a malnourished dog.

Achilles feels fine, but that’s one of those things that even when the pain is gone, you keep waiting to feel it snap at you.

Although this wasn’t a really long run, I did “Gu It Up” at mile 4. I’m an Orange Burst man myself. In the hotel room the night before our first half marathon, Kevin and I discussed the proper way to administer Gu. Needless to say the conversation went from jovial, to informative, to funny, to uneasy, to creepy, to informative, back to creepy and then back to jovial.

Good times.

Sunday – Dug Lar’s bike out of storage and rode down to the Verazzano. It’s been years since I’ve been on a bike and it was a lot of fun. In fact, I may put a horn on it. That’s how goddamn fun it was.

I don’t know about where you are, but in Bay Ridge, old men LOVE to take off their shirts and walk around when it’s hot out. So every two minutes you’re passing a guy that really needs to not be shirtless. Yeesh. I guess it’s just incentive to run faster.

Looks like it’s time for “The Prep-Ho Week 2 Recap.”™, so let’s go!

This week’s lessons?

1) New Balance is a terrible company that makes a terrible technical shirt.
2) I managed to injure myself walking, not running.
3) Few people click on the links in these blog posts.
4) In Russia, running blog read you!

Welcome week 3.

Here’s something I’ve been putting off. I think I have to consider wearing a headband. For sweat absorption, the baseball cap isn’t cuttin’ it. The problem is twofold. First, aren’t headbands for fat people? Second, there are so many styles to choose from.

Tonight they were showing a movie outdoors at the Botanical Gardens at the end of our street. Very cool. “The Money Pit” starring Tom Hanks, Shelly Long and featuring a young Yakov Smirnoff!