Wednesday, March 31, 2010

there are days that have highs and lows.

I will use today as an example.  My workday started off in court.  I am not going to get into detail, but suffice to say I have had better days.  The highlight had to be the judge proceeding to give me a lecture on the rules of evidence, the CPLR and the burden of proof in front of a packed courtroom.  Awesome.  The reason? To be honest, I still don't know.  I was there doing what I have done in other cases looking for the same relief numerous times in the past.  One judge let's you do it one way, the next does not, or the next day that same judge does not.  You haven't experienced arbitrary until you have experienced the court system on a day to day basis.

After having chunks taken out of my ass and my JD I was in no frame of mind for clients, so I came home and decided to go for a run.  The monsoons and some issues with my alarm clock (ignoring it mostly) have really thrown my training to sh*t lately.  Mentally though I needed to vent, and I could think of no better way that did not involve hitting something.

With no particular goal in mind I legged out 4 miles in 42:48.  I would be more happy if I did not do the first mile in 8:40.  My pace really dropped off at the end.


Training program for this week.

Tuesday I was supposed to put in five miles.  I put in none.  Today i was supposed to put in three miles.  I put in four.  Tomorrow I am supposed to put in five.  Saturday is a six mile day.  The weather calls for sunshine. 


In closing, all my respect to Dr. Michael Sabatino for running the SunTrust National Marathon in Washington D.C. in 3:55 on March 20.  We shall now add sub 4 hour marathon man to your list of honors, included DM extraordinaire and GoldenEye Champion of Carll's Path, Deer Park.




Sunday, March 21, 2010

not all addictions require treatment.

My obsession with sneakers being one.  I would not classify myself as a sneakerhead.  the dunks and jordans are not my thing at all.  I prefer ben shermans, old addidas, chuck taylors, purcells, pumas and sauconys.  For the record i wear my collection, rather than leaving them in the box.

You can guess how tempting it is to stock up on running sneakers.  I have really kept myself in check on this though.  Currently my arsenal only consists of three pairs; my personalized NikeID Zoom Airs; Asics Gel GT-2140; Asics Gel GT-2150.


The Nikes are the oldest pair I have.  To be honest, I brought them a few years ago during an aborted attempt to get back into running.  They sat in the closet unused and collecting dust.  Since they are Nike ID's I picked the colors and materials online.  I will never make that mistake again.  Actually getting properly fitted for a pair of running shoes makes a huge difference.  These don't fit all that well and they aren't really all that good for my overpronation issues.  Plus side is they are light as hell.  As a result I really only wear them on recovery days.  And yes, I am aware my color choices are just this side of obnoxious.  And yes, it does say "Used to be fast" across the tongues.  At least I am honest. 


Next up are my Asics Gel GT-2140's.  I got these at Sayville Running Company a year ago when I became serious about getting back on the road, trail and track.  I actually took the time to get properly fitted, however the only time I could make to do it was while I was on my way to the office from court one day.  So I went to the store, tried on shoes while wearing a suit, and did laps around the block to try them out.  So if you were in the Sayville area sometime last April and saw a guy in a suit doing loops around Main Street you now know it was me.  It was at that time that I learned I actually have a wide foot.  Taking note of that my collection of work shoes has become much more comfortable.  The GT-2140's are a great stability shoe and the amount of cushion packed in there was amazing.  I didn't keep track of my mileage for the first few months I had them.  Since I started keeping track I have put about 230 miles.  They were long overdue to be put out of their misery.

The newest additions are a pair of Asics Gel GT-2150's.  They are basically the 2010 model of the pair above.  Since I only got them over the weekend, I can only give my initial thoughts.  Ascis didn't really change much between last year and this year.  Great cushioning and support.  One thing I did notice is that the position of some of the lace eyelets seems to have changed.  IMHO the fit in the toebox seems more snug. Since I am upping my weekly mileage for my marathon attempt in November I don't think these will last as long as the 2140's.  And no, they do not come with the obnoxious orange laces. 


Training program for this week.

I am going to make an effort to post my training schedule for the upcoming week each sunday night. It will force me to update this blog with some sense of regularity and force me to live up to what I type.

Tuesday - 5 miles
Wednesday - 2 mile recovery

Thursday - 4 miles of hills
Saturday - 6 miles

Hold me to it. 

Monday, March 15, 2010

dying of shame mostly

For those who did not look outside all weekend, there was a monsoon here on the east coast.  My front lawn turned into a lake and I am pretty sure that the house sank a bit.  We did not lose power though.  While many would think that is a good thing I beg to differ.  If the power had gone out then Aidan would not have been able to watch Ponyo over and over and over.  Quick review of Ponyo - Disney produced anime about a fish who wants to be a girl featuring the voices of a Jonas brother, a Cyrus sibling and Matt Damon.  Enough said.

Back to my point. The Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid Kings Park 15k was held on Saturday.  I knew the race would not be canceled because runners by nature are stupid.  Did I run?  Hell no.  I will run in cold.  I will run in the rain.  But I drew the line at running in freezing rain that is falling sideways and aluminum siding blowing through the air.

I knew Kevin was planning on running the race, but after looking outside I thought he would also decide to take the day off.  In fact I banked on it.  I was wrong.  Kevin went out and ran the whole 9.3 miles of rolling mountains in about 76 minutes and change.

I am now sitting at work ten feet from Kevin's desk and dying of a mild case of shame.  At least he hasn't hung his race number up over his desk.  Wait, wtf, he just did.  Jerk.

Today is the last day to submit applications for the 2010 ING NYC Marathon.  Lottery will start on April 7th to see who gets in.  Aside from Meb that is.  I am pretty sure Meb doesn't have to go through the lottery process.  Fringe benefit of winning the damn thing last year I suppose.  

Upcoming events

4/24/10 - Sayville Running Company 4th Anniversary Prediction Run - Prediction Run means that before the start of the race you predict your finish time.  The person to finish closest to their actual predicted time is the winner. 

6/12/10 - Keith Nintzel Memorial 5k - Part of the Sayville Summer Series

6/19/10 - Schwachman Diamond Dash 5k - Second race of the Sayville Running Series.  Also marks one year since I dusted off my racing shoes.

8/14/10 - Run Amuck - road trip to Quantico with Shinji, John, Kevin and Sabby.  A four mile obstacle course through rolling hills.  

10/2/10 - Hamptons Half Marathon - 13.1 miles.  Because I am stupid.  
 

Thursday, March 4, 2010

a 15K in how many days?

Nine days until the Kings Park 15k.  Seeing as the snow, a cold and laziness have kept me indoors for the better part of a month I am nowhere near ready for this.  However, I am too stupid to back down.
 

Due to ever changing work schedules, I am now stuck doing my miles in the early morning.  My body still has not adjusted to the change from late evening to early morning running.  I have never been a morning person.  But there is something to be said about being able to watch the sun rise.
 

 

A few more weeks until I know whether or not I have a race number for the NYC Marathon.   
 
upcoming events


3/13/10 - Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid Kings Park 15k - billed as a Tough course with rolling hills.  


8/14/10 - Run Amuck - road trip to Quantico with Shinji, John, Kevin and Sabby.  A four mile obstacle course through rolling hills.