Sometimes things don't go according to plan, which is why you should always have two speeches on hand.
My friend Greg posted a speech draft to be read by Nixon in the event that Apollo 11 ended in tragedy.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Race Report: Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff
Race Report:
Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff
Oct. 25, 2009, 8:30 a.m.
We arrived up at Central Park about 8am and did a few laps around a baseball field to get warmed up. Bryan and I talked about our pace and goals . I said, "Let's just run it and see how we do. I'm not so concerned about running for time." I have felt a little burnt out on running after the half marathon, and sort of forgot that I had this race until about a week or so ago. I am fit and can easily run longer distances, so I put this on the back burner in terms of training.
Bryan and I get into our carrels and off we went! It was nice changed running up the West Side and down the East Side. And it was a stunning fall day! As we passed the baseball fields on the UWS, the sunlight filtered through the yellow and orange leaves, and I longed for living in New England.
We ran the first mile at 8:44, and I thought eh, we can do better than this. The rest of the miles were at 7:53 pace. I came in at 40:35. In the back of my head, I would have liked to come in at 40:00 or under. It was that first slow mile that really killed it. NYRR has been doing a great job of capping the number of runners, but the first mile can still be really slow. It makes a big deal of which carrel you are in. Luckily, I was in the third one back which meant I was running with peers at the same speed, but there was still a lot of passing.
Here's the breakdown for the miles from my Garmin:
lap 1 8:44
lap 2 7:46
lap 3 7:57
lap 4 7:55
lap 5 7:37
lap 6 :35 (436 ft)
My average pace was 8:07, which is eh. I should have run faster and closer to 8:00/miles or under. I thought I was kicking it the last mile. The finish line for this race is the same for the ING New York City Marathon, and uphill for the last quarter mile.
A big congrats to Bryan on finishing his 9th race, meaning he'll get guaranteed entry into the 2010 NYC marathon!
My next race is on November 22, a 4 miler through the park. My best time is a 30:58 and I'd like to beat that. Perhaps 30:00 on the dot! (This will be my 9th race of the year, giving me a guaranteed entry!)
Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff
Oct. 25, 2009, 8:30 a.m.
We arrived up at Central Park about 8am and did a few laps around a baseball field to get warmed up. Bryan and I talked about our pace and goals . I said, "Let's just run it and see how we do. I'm not so concerned about running for time." I have felt a little burnt out on running after the half marathon, and sort of forgot that I had this race until about a week or so ago. I am fit and can easily run longer distances, so I put this on the back burner in terms of training.
Bryan and I get into our carrels and off we went! It was nice changed running up the West Side and down the East Side. And it was a stunning fall day! As we passed the baseball fields on the UWS, the sunlight filtered through the yellow and orange leaves, and I longed for living in New England.
We ran the first mile at 8:44, and I thought eh, we can do better than this. The rest of the miles were at 7:53 pace. I came in at 40:35. In the back of my head, I would have liked to come in at 40:00 or under. It was that first slow mile that really killed it. NYRR has been doing a great job of capping the number of runners, but the first mile can still be really slow. It makes a big deal of which carrel you are in. Luckily, I was in the third one back which meant I was running with peers at the same speed, but there was still a lot of passing.
Here's the breakdown for the miles from my Garmin:
lap 1 8:44
lap 2 7:46
lap 3 7:57
lap 4 7:55
lap 5 7:37
lap 6 :35 (436 ft)
My average pace was 8:07, which is eh. I should have run faster and closer to 8:00/miles or under. I thought I was kicking it the last mile. The finish line for this race is the same for the ING New York City Marathon, and uphill for the last quarter mile.
A big congrats to Bryan on finishing his 9th race, meaning he'll get guaranteed entry into the 2010 NYC marathon!
My next race is on November 22, a 4 miler through the park. My best time is a 30:58 and I'd like to beat that. Perhaps 30:00 on the dot! (This will be my 9th race of the year, giving me a guaranteed entry!)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Race Report: Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run
Hot, humid, and fast.
I ran the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K last Saturday. Bryan and I had decided that we'd run together, start to finish. He was coming off running a half marathon the Sunday before, and I am training for a half on Sept 20.
I've been so cautious about pushing myself, due to my stress fracture earlier this spring. The week leading up to the race, I overtrained. I ran three days in a row: speedwork on Tuesday night (6 intervals of sprints), a long run in Central Park on Wednesday morning (witnessing the horrible damage from the storm) and then another speed workout (mile sprint, bookmarked with mile jogs) Thursday morning. Needless to say, my legs were tired and screaming for a break. I was worried that they would still be tight and tired for Saturday.
Saturday morning, we headed up early to pick up our race numbers. As we got our numbers and started to warm up it started to rain. Luckily, it ended by the time the race start. It was a smaller race, only around 2000 entrants. The course was beautiful, through some of the historical areas of Harlem. It was fairly hilly, with a large hill about a half a mile in, and I think another around the halfway point. One hill overlooked the Bronx and the new (and old) Yankee Stadiums. My approach to hills is to maintain speed, and it seemed like the pack just slowed down on the first hill. I like to pick a point at the top of the hill, or just beyond and focus on that. I've been running the big loop in CP and it's made a difference. The good thing about running uphill... is that there is a downhill. We ran the last mile in 7:17, for an average of 7:48. We finished 24:12, not my fastest but I was pleased. About two thirds of a mile from the finish I snarled at Bryan "we started to fast!" and wanted to throw up. Turns out, we ran each mile progressively faster. I was running on his pace, and it was a gentle reminder to push myself more on my runs, to practice my race pace and above all listen to my body.
We crossed the finish line together. The data geeks in us were interested to see what the results page would look like. Someone had to be listed before the other. Four people finished the race at 24:12, I am listed as the 493rd finisher and Bryan the 495th finisher. Looking at the data, I can't quite figure it out. Pleased to have finished in the top 25%.
I was a bit dismayed to see that while there were No Parking signs on the streets, there were still many many cars parked along the route, making the race course very narrow. None of these cars had parking tickets, and yet police aplenty were standing around. This was frustrating. Runners should have a clear course with the full width of the road to run and the NYPD should enforce this by either towing cars or ticketing them.
I ran the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K last Saturday. Bryan and I had decided that we'd run together, start to finish. He was coming off running a half marathon the Sunday before, and I am training for a half on Sept 20.
I've been so cautious about pushing myself, due to my stress fracture earlier this spring. The week leading up to the race, I overtrained. I ran three days in a row: speedwork on Tuesday night (6 intervals of sprints), a long run in Central Park on Wednesday morning (witnessing the horrible damage from the storm) and then another speed workout (mile sprint, bookmarked with mile jogs) Thursday morning. Needless to say, my legs were tired and screaming for a break. I was worried that they would still be tight and tired for Saturday.
Saturday morning, we headed up early to pick up our race numbers. As we got our numbers and started to warm up it started to rain. Luckily, it ended by the time the race start. It was a smaller race, only around 2000 entrants. The course was beautiful, through some of the historical areas of Harlem. It was fairly hilly, with a large hill about a half a mile in, and I think another around the halfway point. One hill overlooked the Bronx and the new (and old) Yankee Stadiums. My approach to hills is to maintain speed, and it seemed like the pack just slowed down on the first hill. I like to pick a point at the top of the hill, or just beyond and focus on that. I've been running the big loop in CP and it's made a difference. The good thing about running uphill... is that there is a downhill. We ran the last mile in 7:17, for an average of 7:48. We finished 24:12, not my fastest but I was pleased. About two thirds of a mile from the finish I snarled at Bryan "we started to fast!" and wanted to throw up. Turns out, we ran each mile progressively faster. I was running on his pace, and it was a gentle reminder to push myself more on my runs, to practice my race pace and above all listen to my body.
We crossed the finish line together. The data geeks in us were interested to see what the results page would look like. Someone had to be listed before the other. Four people finished the race at 24:12, I am listed as the 493rd finisher and Bryan the 495th finisher. Looking at the data, I can't quite figure it out. Pleased to have finished in the top 25%.
I was a bit dismayed to see that while there were No Parking signs on the streets, there were still many many cars parked along the route, making the race course very narrow. None of these cars had parking tickets, and yet police aplenty were standing around. This was frustrating. Runners should have a clear course with the full width of the road to run and the NYPD should enforce this by either towing cars or ticketing them.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Ready to Run.
I've been sidelined for the past two months with a stress fracture. I ran a 15k on March 21 in 1:17:24, a 8:19 average minute a mile. I was pretty pleased with myself, and came off that run with a nagging pain in my left tibia. I stayed off of it for a week, and tried running a week later. The pain was still there, excruciating at times.
I found myself a sports medicine doctor, got myself a bone scan (radioactive!) and the results confirmed my suspicions: I had a stress fracture. (A running rite of passage, right? That and toenails falling off?). No running for two months, wear sneakers, if it hurts to walk, don't walk.
These past two months have been humbling. I've been without my physical and mental release. I've had to slow down my walking pace and use public transport even more to get to work. I've watched my fiancé train for and run a half marathon. I miss that high, of getting in a good run, of the soreness in the legs after a good work out, of working toward a goal. I've been bike riding a bit, but it's just not the same. Running is simple elegance- it's just you and will. It's courage, confidence and spirit. I can run now, but I am aprehensive. I am afraid I will reinjure myself. I will want to be able to run like I was, but I'm not there yet. I am starting over with a blank slate- reminding myself that my past running history is not an indicator of present performance, and it is a goal. A place to get back to and beat.
The ING NYC Marathon Lottery closed yesterday. I entered and should find out in a few weeks. In the meantime, I working toward the 2010 guarenteed entry program. Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times is training for the marathon and posted about the run/walk training program, one that Jeff Galloway is known for. I am a bit of a purist, thinking walking as a bit of a weakness. But I can reflect back to when I first started running, I was faster on my long runs when I ran 9 minutes and walked 1. I am focused on lifetime running, not just this season. So perhaps I may experiement with the run-walk a bit.
I found myself a sports medicine doctor, got myself a bone scan (radioactive!) and the results confirmed my suspicions: I had a stress fracture. (A running rite of passage, right? That and toenails falling off?). No running for two months, wear sneakers, if it hurts to walk, don't walk.
These past two months have been humbling. I've been without my physical and mental release. I've had to slow down my walking pace and use public transport even more to get to work. I've watched my fiancé train for and run a half marathon. I miss that high, of getting in a good run, of the soreness in the legs after a good work out, of working toward a goal. I've been bike riding a bit, but it's just not the same. Running is simple elegance- it's just you and will. It's courage, confidence and spirit. I can run now, but I am aprehensive. I am afraid I will reinjure myself. I will want to be able to run like I was, but I'm not there yet. I am starting over with a blank slate- reminding myself that my past running history is not an indicator of present performance, and it is a goal. A place to get back to and beat.
The ING NYC Marathon Lottery closed yesterday. I entered and should find out in a few weeks. In the meantime, I working toward the 2010 guarenteed entry program. Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times is training for the marathon and posted about the run/walk training program, one that Jeff Galloway is known for. I am a bit of a purist, thinking walking as a bit of a weakness. But I can reflect back to when I first started running, I was faster on my long runs when I ran 9 minutes and walked 1. I am focused on lifetime running, not just this season. So perhaps I may experiement with the run-walk a bit.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Facebook brings blogging back from the dead.
I really dislike the new Facebook design. I might be bailing.
Here's why:
Here's why:
- The Highlights. These look like Google Ads. I've been conditioned to ignore the right side of screens as that is there the sponsored results are, or other ads in my Gmail.
- I dislike seeing my own activity in the news feed. I felt there was some level of privacy, having to go to people's pages to read their wall or see their recent activity.
- I am unable to block applications or quizzes from my feed. I don't care that so-and-so has a yellow aura, and I don't want that cluttering my News Feeds. Apps are like Spam now- clutter. However, the only option I have is to hide my friend and never see any updates. Well, that's not helpful! I still want to see her pictures and status updates. There is no middle ground.
- I just don't need to see my profile picture all the time.
- I have a variety of Friends of Facebook: my fiance, my best friends, cousins, colleagues and acquaintances. Friends from my hometown, high school, college, grad school, etc. I've used it as a supplement to seeing my friends in real life, sharing photographs of our weekends together and inviting people to parties. As there is no longer the ability to say, More of Bryan and Less of so-and-so, I might as well un-friend so-and-so. I have this faux relationship with her anyhow, we don't interact that much on FB or at all in real life. It is the false sense of friendship and closeness that FB breeds. So, perhaps to use the tool more effectively (as it currently is), I would unfriend people.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Running Class
I've been getting a quizzical look when I tell people I am doing a running class. "Uh, do they teach you how to run?" and I've been explaining it is about workouts to help you run faster and better.
I had my first one last night, and it kicked my ass. I joined the Competitive group, which is for runners whose 5k pace is between 7:30 and 8. Oh, definitely not. Talking to some of the folks in the group they said it is always generally a minute slower. Oh, guess I will join the basic competitive next week. It was a brisk evening in Central Park, a bit crowded as the Chanel Mobile Art opened. I ran okay, reflective of my lax structure in running. I learned that I work will with a goal and a fixed deadline. It is what I am working towards and I am able to increment various trainings and runs in order to meet that.
In other news, my Nike Plus SportBand is so unreliable. Sometimes I look down and it has my pace at 13:53! Annoying, when I know I am running at least 8:00.
I had my first one last night, and it kicked my ass. I joined the Competitive group, which is for runners whose 5k pace is between 7:30 and 8. Oh, definitely not. Talking to some of the folks in the group they said it is always generally a minute slower. Oh, guess I will join the basic competitive next week. It was a brisk evening in Central Park, a bit crowded as the Chanel Mobile Art opened. I ran okay, reflective of my lax structure in running. I learned that I work will with a goal and a fixed deadline. It is what I am working towards and I am able to increment various trainings and runs in order to meet that.
In other news, my Nike Plus SportBand is so unreliable. Sometimes I look down and it has my pace at 13:53! Annoying, when I know I am running at least 8:00.
Friday, August 29, 2008
End of Summer.
Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Just this morning as I walked from the train station to the library I had to pull my cardigan out of my bag. There is that certain crispness in the West Village air last night where I found myself slightly shivering without a cardigan. I know an Indian Summer is just around the corner, so in the meantime I will be relishing this taste of fall.
I am heading up to the country, Norfolk for the weekend. Where the evenings will be especially cool. I will be taking along my new L.L.Bean monogrammed bags, one of which may be too big.
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