an open letter to motorists

Dear driving public at large;

You may or may not know me.  I am the guy running on the side of the road as you speed by.  Typically it is after dark when we encounter each other.

I just want to take this opportunity to let you know that flashing your hi beams at me is in no way, shape or form actually helpful to me.  I can see you coming.  Trust me, I don't need you flipping your brights at me to tell me that you are there.  In fact, I am sure I know of your presence well before you notice the reflective and day glo nightmare of clothes that I am rocking.  I am hugging the curb to begin with.  You have plenty of room to safely speed by me.  If it looks like a close call, I will jump onto the grass shinobi style.  Getting hit by an oncoming car is the least of my worries.  It is the a**holes speeding by from behind me that I am more worried about.

My second biggest worry is potholes.  Alien abduction comes in at third.  Oncoming cars, distant fourth.

Maybe you are worried that I am going to pick your 1994 Nissan Sentra to throw myself in front of in order to score a big personal injury payday.  Maybe you are worried that I am going to commit suicide via 2005 Kia Spectra.  Rest assured, neither is on my agenda.  However, if they were, I am sure being blinded by your warning would only make me more likely to choose you. 

Thanks for your time and I'll see you on the road tonight,

Daniel

P.S.  To those who have the ultra bright halogen stadium quality lamps instead of standard headlights.  F*ck you.  They are just obnoxious.  Stop it.

P.P.S. Take a moment to make a donation to Memorial Sloan Kettering by visiting Daniel Jimenez's Fred's Team Fundraising Page

Upcoming events

4/18/10 - Eastport South Manorville Girl's Lacrosse Booster Club 5k - because my kick ass niece Ava now plays lacrosse.

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.  

11/7/10 - ING New York City Marathon - 26.2.  Because I am very stupid.  

2010 ING NYC Marathon

It is now official.  I am training to run the 2010 ING NYC Marathon.  Thank god for bags of icy and more bags of ice.  

I am honored to be running the 2010 ING NYC Marathon as a part of Fred's Team, and to be raising money for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  

Over the past few months I have come to realize just how many people in my life have had to battle cancer.  Since I am neither a doctor or a scientist (in fact a friend of mine recently described my understanding of science as "Jetsonesque") and I don't have enough money to endow a research chair somewhere I have felt powerless to help.  What I can do is run.  Point me in a direction and tell me to go, and I will just keep going.  I won't set any records, I won't qualify for Boston, I won't be able to stand up once I am finished.  But I am too stubborn or stupid to stop. If that trait can make some difference for someone out there battling cancer then I will gladly do it.

It is my goal to raise $3,000.00 to help battle cancer.  Please visit my fundraising page to help me reach this goal and make a donation. 

Daniel Jimenez's Fred's Team Fundraising Page

I thank you in advance for your donations to this cause and for your support as I run, jog, shuffle and plod my way across 26.2 miles of NYC.

Training schedule for the week

Tuesday - 5 Miles - I went out and did a few loops around the neighborhood totaling 5.5 miles in 61 minutes and change.  Shins still hurt a bit.

Wednesday - 3 Miles

Thursday - 3 Miles

Saturday - 6 Miles

of tuesdays and shin pain.

The lotto for the 2010 ING New York Marathon is being held tomorrow.  Hoping that my name comes up. 
I have been putting in more miles these past few weeks in anticipation of good lotto dharma. 

On Friday I put in 4 miles and on Saturday I put in a quick (for me) 5 in 53:09.  Easter morning I woke up and was in agony walking up and down the stairs.  Sharp pain shot from all the way up the fronts of my shins with each step.  As the day wore on I started to feel a little better.  As a result I decided to try and put a few junk miles in while Aidan was napping.  BIG MISTAKE.  The first mile was bearable enough, but then the pain got to be bad enough to drop a rhino.  I cut my losses at about 2 miles. 

I limped my way back home and soaked in a tub of ice water until hypothermia was about to set in.  The recent purchase of compression socks were a godsend, but with temps howering around 80 degrees, it has been pretty warm when wearing them.  I took yesterday in order to have ample recovery time. 

Finding time to run is still proving challenging with Dori working evenings.  On a typical day I get out of work, drive 50 minutes to get home, pick up Aidan from daycare, feed him, get him cleaned up and ready for bed.  Sometime in there I like to find time for mayhem and havoc with the kid too. In fact, the mayhem and havoc are non-negotiable. 

Tonight a sitter is coming by to watch Aidan for a while after he goes to bed so I can get out and see if my shins let me run.  Hopefully it works and the new routine will be that I do my long distance days on weekday evenings while the sitter watches TV and does homework and my son sleeps. 

Training schedule for the week.

Tuesday - 5 miles (5x1 minute of tempo runs with 1 to 3 minutes easy run between intervals)
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 6 miles

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.

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. 

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.  

 

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.  

4/24/10 - Sayville Running Company 4th Anniversary Prediction Run

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