Crap

Its been a crappy week, although I’ll concede that it flew by.

Monday, I ran with the Delco crew. I was feeling crappy, and luckily, the only people who showed for the run were some of the slower folks, and one or two guys recovering from some lung weekend runs, so banged out an easy three miles with them. Tuesday, I took a day off. Wednesday, I started feeling poop-ish as soon as I arrived at the office. I had a massive headache, and I felt that little tickle in the back of my throat that’s usually the early-warning of an oncoming cold. I bagged out of work early, went home, and slept for two hours. I then slept for another 8 hours going into Thursday. Yesterday, I felt fine, and I went to the Thursday night Delco run over at the Springfield Library. I was only one of three people in attendance. The other two guys are faster than me, and I was kind of regretted showing up. Luckily, Bill declared that he was doing a short three miler, and Steve usually takes it easy if he has no one to race. We kept the pace comfortable ~ 8:40 min/mi. Bill cut out around three miles; Steve and I did another mile and a half for a total of 4.5.

Today, I feel like crap again. Both Heather and I didnt sleep very well last night. I think I got four, maybe five hours of sleep. I felt fine going into the morning, and then I hit a wall around 2;00 this afternoon. I can feel that tickle again in my throat. I think I just need another good night of sleep. My knee has been giving my some pain in the last two days as well. I am not sure if this wet weather has anything to do with it. I have stretching (not as much as I should), and I havent been doing alot of miles.

I would like to get a long run in this weekend, even though the training plan outlines this week as a “scale-back” week – no long runs scheduled for the weekend. But that’s for sissies. I would like to get in at least 10 at a very minimum. Originally, I was thinking about heading over to the Springfield library tomorrow morning and running the 7.5 mile course with the 7:30 group, and adding in the “add-on” leg of about 2.5 miles for an even 10, and then following that up with the 9:00 three miler, for 13. I am hesitant to join the 7:30 group because they tend to push the pace a bit. I should know because I did a bunch of these Saturday morning runs last year when I was training for the Philly Marathon and we were moving petty good on a lot of those runs. The Running Club is doing a long run on Sunday morning down in the City, but I can’t make that due to a scheduling conflict.

It’s been nearly two weeks since I have been on the mountain bike. I am getting a little antsy. This is great and all that, but nothing beats the bike. I got a new (used) fork from Ebay, and I would like to get that on the bike this weekend. I went the used fork route because I am not prepared to install a new fork on a bike that isnt worth anything. I have put forks on my bike before on my own, and its not rocket science, but I think I might need a new headset, which is something I cant do on my own. A headset installation requires something called a head press. I dont own one of those, and I am not going to go out and buy one just to install one measly headset. If I determine that I need a new headset, I’ll run the bike over to my ship in Upper Darby and have Frank slap one in.

I normally go to a shop in Swarthmore. They are located less than three miles from me, and they do good work – sometimes. I used to go to a guy named Frank Havnoonian over in Upper Darby. Frank is an old schooler. I have been going to Frank off and on for nearly 15 years, starting way back when I was still living at home in Briarcliffe. before I got married, I lived in Upper Darby for a short spell, and I would frequent Frank’s shop since he was located less than two miles form my apartment complex. Frank has been around for ages. He was at one point the team mechanic for Team Saturday, back in the 80’s/90’s. Frank is great, and he’s cheap. Frank’s the go to guy. Not that I dont trust the shop in Swarthmore, but about two months ago, I brought the bike in for a bottom bracket and a headset adjustment. I am not convinced they did the headset adjustment properly. I am not going to take any chances – I am taking it to Frank. He’ll straighten sh*t out. There are two mechanics that I think work miracles- Frank Havnoonian and Rob V formerly of my old sponsor, Mainly Bikes. Rob got out of the wrenching biz when the shop closed and he now works for Jamis. He’s been my Jamis hookup for the last couple of years. Thats why Dom and I have ridden nothing but Jamis for the past ten years, and why most of the old crew rode Jamis or Yeti exclusively, Anyway, the fork install should be a fun little weekend project. Hopefully, this new (used) fork will solve the clanking problem I am having with the current setup. If the clanking is still there after I slap this thing in, then I know its the headset, which would confirm my suspicions that my shop half-a$$ed the adjustment.

Date: 8-24-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Rest/ Cross Training

Actual Workout:
Easy run of 3.12 miles at a 9:20 pace

Course:
The Delco RRC Monday Night loop that meets the Ridley YMCA. Flat course, kind of boring, low traffic.

Workout Nutrition:
N/A

Post workout Eats:
I think I might have pigged out. Cannot remember.

Weight:
Not sure.

Comments:
Like I had mentioned above, I was a bit tired and I ran easy with some of the slower crew from the club. I got home and did my stretching routine. Knee was feeling great

Date: 8-25-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Easy run; 5 miles @ 9:13 pace

Actual Workout:
Rest; I more or less swapped out Monday for Tuesday, although I didnt do the scheduled distance for Tuesday’s workout.

Date: 8-27-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Easy 5 miles at 9:13

Actual Workout:
4.5 miles at 8:39 pace. I traded some distance for pace.

Course:
The Delco RRC Monday Night loop that meets the Ridley YMCA. Flat course, kind of boring, low traffic.

Workout Nutrition:
N/A

Post workout Eats:
I had a very late dinner. I had a turkey burger (no cheese); some sugar free pudding;

Weight:
Not sure.

Comments:
Like I had mentioned above, I was a bit tired and I ran easy with some of the slower crew from the club.

Date: 8-28-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Rest

Actual Workout:
Rest; see above – I feel like crap

Wrap-up

Date: 8-22-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Rest/ Cross Training

Actual Workout:
Long Run broken up into three pieces
1st Run: 4.5 miles in 40 minutes or so
2nd Run: 3.1 miles in 27 minutes
3rd Run: 2.5 Miles in 22 minutes

Course:
I did the first run while measuring a course with Tim for the DCCC 5k in September. I did the 2nd run on the same course, We ran the course to double check our measurements. I did the third run immediately after the 2nd run at Ridley Creek State Park.

Workout Nutrition:
I gulped down about six ounces of Gatorade between the first and second runs.

Post workout Eats:
Nothing. I had a bit of rot gut. I didnt eat too well the night before.

Weight:
Not sure.

Comments:
Tim called me Thursday or Friday and asked me to help him measure the course for a new 5k that I am timing at the Delaware County Community College. I decided that it would be best for me to do the long run scheduled for Sunday on Saturday.

Woke up to rain. Tim and I had decided that if there was no lighting on Saturday morning, we would go out and get the measuring out of the way. While there was no bolts flashing in the sky, it was HUMID, and that presented itself to be the first challenge of today’s run.

Measuring a course while running tends to be choppy. There’s a lot of starting and stopping to make marks on the ground, take measurements, etc. Getting into a rhythm is difficult. That was the second challenge of the run. And, as luck would have it, the third challenge manifested itself by means of hills, and lots of them. The DCCC course starts up hill, and ends uphill. We probably ran the long hill from the turn-around point of the course back to the finish at least five times.

After we got the course squared away, we ran the course continuously to double check the measurements. Mind you, none of these runs were at any sort of blistering pace – it was too humid and too hilly. The first two runs game me a grand total of 7.5 miles, and my goal for the day was 10. I couldnt stand running the DCCC for a third time just for the shear monotony, so, I hopped in the car and headed over to Ridley Creek which was a mere 5 minutes away.

Sitting in the car for 10 minutes didnt my legs any favors. I hadnt stiffened up pretty good by the time I got to the Park. But, being the trooper that I am, I persevered and ran an out and back 2.5 miles. I hit for the cycle and got my 10 miles in, disjointed as it was. 10 miles is 10 miles. I ran into some of the Delco folks at the end of my run, as they were finishing up the weekly 9:00 run at Ridley. Moving on to Sunday:

Date: 8-22-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Rest/ Cross Training

Actual Workout:
Recovery Run; 3.0 miles at 8:25 pace

Course:
Delco Road Running Club’s Springfield Library three mile course

Workout Nutrition:
N/A

Post workout Eats:
N/A. Went out to a breakfast boo-foo a couple of hours later

Weight:
Not sure

Comments:
I did the long run the day prior, and my legs were feeling stiffy, so I figured a nice recovery run would help shake out some of the lactic acid from my lower half.

Sunday proved to be a nicer day than Saturday but still humid. About 7 of us met up for the run, and I went out with three other guys who are much faster than I am. Our pace started out slow, but within a half mile, we settled into an 8:30-ish pace. I was a bit surprised how good I felt, which I am assuming is more of a function of the fact that I split yesterday’s run into smaller pieces, which gave my legs more of an opportunity to recover in between runs. I finished up Sundays run of 3 miles with an average pace of 8:25. Granted, it was a bit faster than what a typical recovery run pace should be, but it was a good quality run none the less.

So, the grand total for the week is a little over 23 miles, and I managed to hit all of the major food groups. I got my long run in, my speedwork, and my tempo run. That came at a small sacrifice – I didnt get any mountain biking in at all this week. Weather had a big factor, as well as my wacky work schedule.

Today is a scheduled rest day, but I think I am going to try and bang out a slow run after work.

Weekend Jones

I hate it when people use “TGIF” to describe Fridays. Its gives me a shiver reminiscent of the dreadful work environment in the movie Office Space. But, Ill admit that TGIF. There, I said it. It’s been a wacky week. I put some boo-koo time in this weekend, so I am taking advantage of our company’s “Summer Hours” Friday half day. I managed to drag my @ss out of bed this morning to run, but I had slight case of the trots, so I bagged it and sat on the couch until I had to leave for work. So I am going to give it another shot this afternoon lunch. I think I might stay in the city and run up and down Kelly Drive.The training plan is calling for an easy day today, short run, 3 miles. It has me scheduled for a rest day tomorrow (HA!) and then an 8 miler on Sunday. I’d like to try and sneak a MTB ride in somewhere, but I dont want to kill my legs if I am going to try and bang out a longer run on Saturday. I would actually like to push the distance closer to 10 miles. It’s supposed to be cool on Sunday with isolated T-storms. Good running weather, and I am going to head to Ridley and run the loop there, which is flat, relative to the course I have been running through Brookhaven, Media and Swarthmore.

I had an observation yesterday that made me chuckle in a semi-sadistic way. As I was sitting in Suburban Station waiting for the arrival of my train, I happened to notice an inordinate amount of obese women wearing running shoes. They wear the running shoes to help alleviate pressure on their feet. Here’s an idea: loose weight. I can draw a parallel to some of my own experiences that are near and dear to my heart: cycling. There is a subset of cyclist’s known as “weight weenies.” Weight Weenies are on a never ending questio to adorn their bikes with the lightest components on the market. In cycling, light = expensive. I’ll admit that the majority of the weight weenies are in great shape, good riders, probably racers, and are consequently looking for anything that will give them an advantage. It’s the small minority of weight weenies who arent in great shape, perhaps slightly on the sticky side, that mystify me. Here’s a guy who is 5’9”, probably bucking 220, 230, and he’s worried about finding a set of titanium pedals that weight 129 grams. Dude, loose weight. 400 grams is a pound. You just shaved half a pound on your ride by purchasing a pair of $150 pedals that functionally perform the same way the less expensive, heavier set of pedals of the same model. Save the $150 and loose 5lbs. It makes a work of difference. People can spend their money any way they want. I jus think its comical when I see a big dude on a 22lb mountain bike. There is a point of diminishing returns for the heavier rider. You can only out so much weight on a pair of wheels that weight 1500 grams. Those wheels are put under a lot of torsional stress that causes them to flex. The flexing is very noticeable in cornering. Enough flex will cause the bike to drift. You drift too much taking a tight turn at 15 mph on an MTB and you stand a good chance of loosing your wheel, flying off the trail, and hitting a tree with enough force to knock you silly. Additionally, putting a heavy load on a pair of light wheels increases the propensity of wheel failure. Heavy riders arent necessarily known for riding with finesse – they beat the crap out of their rides, further increasing the There are wheels on the market that specially crafted for the “Clydesdale” rider – heavier walled rims, thicker gauge spokes, perhaps a specific spoke lacing pattern (36 holes versus 32), etc. Light is good. Light is expensive. Much light comes at a trade off- durability and strength. Besides, you put a 220lb guy on a 22lb pound and he’ll still get out-climbed 90% of the time. Its not the ride, its the engine (although in all fairness, having a sweet ride certainly helps).

I am now on the way home. I wound up staying in the office for more or less a full day. We had a staff meeting around lunchtime, and after the meeting was over, I chatted with the CEO and CFO for a good while. I am on the fence about running. We had pizza at the meeting, and I wound up shoveling down five slices. Needless to say, running would probably not me in my best interest, at least for another hour. It’s not looking terribly inviting outside right now – looks like it might storm. I guess I am going to the gym if I do decide to run. Truth be told, I havent been to the gym in ages. I have been spoiling myself with all of the outdoor running that I have been doing in the recent weeks. The prospect of treadmilling it right now isnt all that appealing. I am very sleepy. The belly full of pizza isnt helping. I think I am going to take a nap.

So much to say and it’s probably not all that interesting.

This week has been a blur. I put in three 12-hour days in a row at the office. I havent had much time to add to this, so I am going to start with yesterday and work backwards. I did manage to drop another couple of pounds – I am down 13 lbs. Granted, I thought I would have been further along at this point, but I will take what I can get.

Date: 8-19-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Rest/ Cross Training

Actual Workout:
Temp Run; 3.83 miles; splits are as follows:
Mile 1: 6:44 pace
Mile 2: 8:28 pace (recover)
Mile 3: 7:19 pace
Mile 4: 9:50 (cooldown)

Course:
Delco Road Running Club’s Wednesday night course. It starts and ends at the small church behind the Swarthmore College Running Track. It’s relatively flat with some small hills here and there. Low traffic.

Workout Nutrition:
N/A

Post workout Eats:
A bottle of no-cal Powerade immediately after the run. I got home and ate a quarter of a small Italian hoagie with some mac and cheese and a Klondike bar (hehe)

Weight:
176 as of Tuesday August 18th

Comments:
I did speedwork the day before, and I didnt feel great on that particular workout. However, when I run with this group, I get the same type of motivation to move faster, as I do when I race, albeit on a smaller scale. There is usually a group of faster people that go out and run some silly pace ahead of the smaller groups that are running various slower paces. I try to keep with the fast group for as a long as I can.

Last night, I went out with a group of five. The pace kicked into the low 8’s almost immediately. By the middle of the first mile, we were doing low 7’s and sub 7’s. I felt good. Actually, I felt great. There were about7 of us in our group. About midway through the 2nd mile, the heat started kicking in, and I heard two people in a our group say that were backing off. I got caught between them, and four guys who split off ahead of us and we’re pushing low 7’s. I decided to back off a bit as well. By the 3rd mile, our group started pushing again, and we were averaging the mid 7’s. I decided to cut the course short and do the short course instead of the normal 5 mile course. I started by cool down midway through my last mile. By this point, the four fast guys had put significant time on us, and they were no where in sight. Three of us broke off and headed back to the start/ finish.

It was hot, but no where as hot as it’s been the last couple of days. However, when I got back to the car, I was in bad enough shape that I had to sit in my car with the air on for a couple of minutes. I got home, ate and then stretched

My knee felt great and I think that’s part of the reason I ran so well. I have been ona fairly consistent stretching routine over the past few days to try and loosen up the IT Band, and I guess it’s working

The schedule called for a rest day or cross training. Normally, I would have gone mountain biking with Dom and Mike. My rear wheel on my bike sh*t the bed over the weekend and I had to drop it off at the shop. It was ready for pickup on Monday, but with the late hours I put in at the office this week, I hadn’t had any time to get it. I guess it was a blessing in disguise because I had a great run instead.

Date: 8-18-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Easy Run, 9:13 pace for three miles

Actual Workout: 
Speedwork; 3 miles. I kinda made this one up as I went along

Course
I did my short Brookhaven out and back course along Rt. 352. Starts uphill, ends downhill.

Workout Nutrition:
Nothing.

Post workout Eats:
Nothing immediately after the run, but when I arrived at the office an our later, I ate a Slimfast bar (the poor man’s recovery bar).

Weight:
176 as of Tuesday August 18th

Comments:
I had a crappy run the day before (read below – next entry), so I felt the need to redeem myself with some kind of hard effort. I was out on the road at 5:15 am. I did a half mile warmup at 9:05. For the first interval, I pushed a 7:15 for a half mile, followed by another half mile recovery at 9:25. The next interval was a mile at 7 flat, but in all fairness I was going slightly downhill for a good portion of the interval. I cooled down the last half mile with a 10:44 jog. All in all, not a bad workout, but I wished I could pushed that first interval to a full mile instead of a half. The uphill start doesnt do me any favors. I got home and did a good ten minutes of stretching. Knee felt good.

Date: 8-17-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Easy Run, 9:13 pace for three miles

Actual Workout: 
Easy run for 2 miles. Blah.

Course:
I did my short Brookhaven out and back course along Rt. 352. Starts uphill, ends downhill. I didnt make it the whole distance

Workout Nutrition:
Nothing.

Post workout Eats:
Cant remember

Weight:
------

Comments:
I ran at 12:00 in the afternoon (I work from home on Mondays). It was HOT- too hot. About a mile in, I was suffering and my heart rate monitor was throwing back some numbers that told me that enough was enough. I wasnt pushing a hard pace, but my HR was pinging in the high 170’s/ low 180’s which is WAY too high for that kind of pace. I decided to cut the run short and head home.

As for the rest of the weekend….

Sunday, I rested. It was hot. I did a 7 miler on Saturday (I wanted to go a bit further but the heat got to me). The course for Saturday had me climbing up towards Media for the first three miles. I ran through Media, and back down towards home. Around 5 miles, I was in deep crap. The heat and the hills we’re killing me. The last mile was awful. I stopped short on 352 at exactly 7 miles. Regardless, I average 9:15 for this run, which is exactly the pace that I was scheduled to run for that distance, so I cant complain too much I guess.

Friday, I did an MTB ride with Mike and Dom on the trails behind Swarthmore College. It was a good ride, very hot, and it wasnt a balls to the wall pace. The trails back there aren’t really the type that are conducive to hammering. The trails are kind of disjointed, and quite frankly, they kinda start to suck when you get a couple of miles in, so much to the point that riding back the same way on them is not very preferable. As a matter of fact, we took the roads hone on the way back to the College.

So, taking stock of my present situation – do I think I will be ready to run the Philly Distance Run in September?  It depends on how you define “ready.” Yes, I will be ready to run and complete 13.1 miles. No, I will not be running anything close to the pace I ran two years ago, which was 8:00 min/mile. I could barely run that pace for 4 miles last night. I do not think 4 weeks is enough training time to make up that big of a gap in fitness. That’s not to say I wont try. At this point, I would be happy with an 8:30 or faster. I probably could do an 8:20 steady over 13.1 miles – maybe some 8’s here and there. It all depends. I usually surprise myself on race day with respect to pacing. Anything is possible. More now than ever its key to stay on track with the training plan. Fortunately, the temperature should be a hell of a lot more moderate on race day. If I remember correctly, when I ran the race two years ago, it was chilly enough at the start that I had to wear the patented “Frank Durso Ghetto arm warmers.”

I was reading an article in Runner’s World, the subject of which is the effect of ambient temperature on running paces. The article used marathon finishing times as context. I dont recall the exact finishing times, but the heat effects were dramatic. A 3 hour finisher in 50 degree weather would run almost 30 minutes slower in 80 degree weather, or something like that. This is not an unknown phenomenon – it’s one of the main reasons most marathons are held in early spring and in the fall – to take advantage of the moderate temperatures. So, I guess I am compelled to ask myself, if I could run an 8 minute mile average over 4 miles on a slightly rolling course in 90 degree heat, could I run 13.1 miles on a flat course in 60 degree weather? One could argue that it’s like comparing apples to oranges. One good run is not enough to frame out a situation. I could go out tonight and run really sh*ty. You get the point.

EZ

Date: 8-11-2009
Scheduled Workout: 
Easy Run, 3 miles, 9:13 pace

Actual Workout:
Easy Run, 3.5 miles, 9:26 min pace

Course:
Delco Road Running Club’s Tuesday Night Springfield course, which starts and ends at the Springfield Library

Workout Nutrition:
Half a bottle of regular Gatorade before the run.

Post workout Eats:
Half a bottle of regular Gatorade, chip steak with cheese (no roll), small slice of cheese cake my wife made, and a beer.

Weight:
Last weigh in was 178 on Thursday, August 6th

Comments:
Early on in the run, our collective group broke into two separate groups. I got stuck between the two groups; I wasnt fast enough to stay with the lead group but the slower group was, well, too slow. About half-way through, I laid up and I ran with Terry, who is coming back from an injury, and I did his pace, which as you can see, was much slower than what my plan called for.

The training plan does not have any scheduled for any running today, so, the draft plan as of now is to hit the mountain bike with Dom and Mike after work, weather permitting. It’s cloudy right now, and the forecast is calling for scattered showers this morning and then scattered t-storms in the afternoon.

Mike mentioned this nifty word jumble in his blog called Wordle. You tell Wordle where your blog is located, and it makes a word jumble with the most commonly used terms in your blog entries. Click on it to make it bigger.

Do you see any patterns? :)

Like the New Title?

I got up at 6 and I was immediately greeted by the sound of my phone “blowing up” as the kids say these days. When you wake up for a group ride or a race and your phone is going apesh*t, that’s not a good sign. It means that someone is bailing, or the weather is crappy. A silent phone is a good sign.

In addition to the chirping and buzzing of my phone, I could also hear another faint sound in the background – the sound of rain. A quick glance out the window only confirmed that which my ears had first suspected.

A long story made short: it was raining. Hard. And the forecast for the rest of the day called for more rain. So while I was sleeping, the boyz  were calling me to tell me the obvious: aint no one riding in this weather.

I was disappointed. I spend a fair amount of time the day prior getting the bike cleaned up. I installed a new brake line for the rear wheel and got all of my kit together. I have a particular setup that I use on the bike for races. I dont like to carry a Camelback when I race. I wear one only when I do my normal rides. For racing, I prefer to be as minimalistic as possible. I carry a spare tube, tire irons, mini-tool, and a CO2 Gun. I keep all of the tools in a small saddle bag, with the exception of a spare CO2 quickshot, which I keep taped to to the seat post, and the spare tube, which I keep tucked into the space between the saddlebag and the saddle. By keeping all of this stuff on the bike, I keep the rear pockets of my jersey free for gels and food. So anyway I got all of that setup on Saturday, plus some other miscellaneous maintenance items.

But, no racing for me.

So, I have changed the name of the blog, and I’ll admit that its a bit tongue in cheek. I am going to use this blog, from this point forward, to document my training for the upcoming weeks for the PRD. The format will be as outlined:

Date: 8-9-2009
Scheduled Workout:
Long Run, 7 miles, 9:13 pace

Actual Workout:
Long Run, 10.5 miles, 9:00 min pace

Course:
Start and end at my house, circuit through Brookhaven, Wallingford into Swartmore. 10 minute break in Swarthmore, return to home via different route. Lots of hills!!!!

Workout Nutrition:
Ran with two large Fuel Belt bottles of plain water; drank both (one up, one back). One GU gel at 50 minutes; another 30 minutes later

Post workout Eats:
Slimfast powdered mix, one scoop, with 1c of 2% Milk

Weight:
Last weigh in was 178 on Thursday, August 6th

Comments:
I hadnt run in four days, so I wanted to get a longer than scheduled run in. It was extremely humid- near 100%.

I am going to do this every day from this point forward. So, in keeping up, today’s (Monday) entry should be:

Date: 8-10-2009
Scheduled Workout:
Rest/ Cross Training

Actual Workout:
Nothing. The plan said rest, so I rested

Weight:
N/A

Comments:
I was not as sore as I thought I was going to be, for not having run in nearly a week, let alone running 10 hilly miles in 100% humidity. I would like to have done a recovery run or maybe a light spin, but what can you do.

In other news, I do not think the 24 hour mountain bike is going to happen. I would really only want to do it as part of a four man team. Three people are cutting it close. Lou cannot do it – the kid’s baptism is the same weekend. Mike is going to Vegas. That leaves me and Dom. It’s no big deal. There is serious talk of doing the French Creek Fling Adventure Race on October 11th. More on that later.

Backlog

Written Friday/ Saturday

By the time you read this, you will notice that there are two blog entries right behind this that I wrote earlier in the week, that I never uploaded. Happy Reading!

I have decided to race on Sunday at Neshaminy. I am only going to do the Beginner class. I was on the fence about the race earlier in the week, but I had a good ride Wednesday with Mike and Dom, and it was enough to convince me to throw my hat into the ring

I cant shake this pain in my side. It’s definitely a strain of some sort. It feels like its sort of in-between my hip and lower back. I no doubt believe that is a result of Wednesday’s ride. It’s nagging enough that I bagged running yesterday and today. I’ll probably do a little something in the morning tomorrow – light run or something. I do not want to aggravate it before Sunday’s race.

Finally, The First Annual Wife’s Away 5k and BBQ is over!!!! The weather was miserable when I woke yesterday, and the forecast called for showers on and off for the rest of the day. However, the clouds cleared up in the mid afternoon and we have absolutely beautiful weather for the race.

I started marking the course with our patented crushed lime technique around 5:30. Amazingly, I didnt get any gruff from any of the neighbors. I did have a slight scare about 10 minutes before the start of the race. A Brookhaven cop rolled down my street very slowly and immediately I began to think that a neighbor called the cops when they say me painting arrows on the course. But the cop just rolled on by, even though there were 20 people congregating outside of my house with ole finishing chute setup in the street. Whew. I should have asked him if he wanted to lead the runners out with his lights and sirens on :)

I had about 15 people in last nights race. My wife, Tim, Alex, Buggsy*, McCaff**, Gregg, Kristen***, Andrew****, Dave, Cecile, Elizabeth, Joey K, Brian, Dom*****, Tom B and his Greg. I think I got them all. Its a shame that we had to bag it this weekend past. I had alot of people on the guest list that couldnt make it. They missed out on a good time. Everyone who ran loved the course I laid out and thought it was very well marked. It was a tiny bit long at 3.15 miles, but I really wanted the start and finish in front of my house, and I don’t think anyone really cared anyway. I was a bit disappointed that only three people from my running club attended. I figured I would get more participation from them. They’re an odd group, that running club of mine. They hardly support or attend the Pickle Runs. Weird.

I had plenty of food and beer. Everyone was really generous and we had dogs, burgers, watermelon, homemade fried chicken, cookies, veggie burgers,tons of beer, turkey burgers, and all kinds of chips. Elizabeth brought a box of homemade Italian creampuffs from South Philly. We had just enough food – no leftovers. And everyone got a T-shirt in their respective correct size (I had ordered some random sizes with no real rhyme or reason). The “after-party” raged on until a little after 10. My girls had a great time playing with Uncle Dom and Uncle Speedy (thats what they call McCaff), and I think everyone loved the silly prizes that I gave out. Pictures of the first overall Male and Female award winners are on the way.

This fall, I think we’re going to do another silly race called “The Pickles and Beer.” It will probably be another invite-only race. Tim is going to have it at his house. Our first-ever Pickle Run was at Tim’s house about 2 years ago (maybe 3) so we’re going back to where it all started. Sounds like we’re going to do these small private races at least twice a year.

I started this blog entry this morning, on the train on the way into work. I am finishing it on the way home, and it’s now 11:05 pm. Any train after 10:00 pm on a weekend is affectionately know as “The Crazy Train.” At this time of night, the R3 becomes a virtual “who’s who” of mental illness. It’s one step below riding a Greyhound Bus. This particular train is especially fun tonight because there was a Phillies game, and as such we have an unusually large volume of passengers. As a matter of fact, there is a nice young gentleman adorned in full Phillies attire, seated about two rows ahead of me, who appears to be in some advanced state of inebriation, and as such, he is especially loud. I would never be one to judge on first appearances, but he doesnt exactly look like he will be tendered a membership to MENSA anytime in the near future.

I went out with boys tonight to Chima, a Brazilian Steakhouse in Philly. All you can eat meat. After the meal, we walked around the city for about 45 minutes to work off dinner. At point in the evening, I had to leave the table in order to go outside and get some air. I figure I have about 5 pounds of meat settling to the bottom of my stomach. Nice.

* Buggs showed up 11 minutes late, but still ran the whole course, and was kind enough to bring a huge pan of homemade fried chicken that his wife made

**McCaff ran with Baba (my little one) in the stroller and still clocked 22 minutes

*** Kristen is friggen three months preggo

****Andrew brough his three kids who rode the course with him while he ran

***** Dom didnt actually run- he was my “lead cyclist” on the course.