Happy Birthday Jackie!!! See you around Jesus-time!

That's the thing about open doors...

Sarah Palin appears to be desperately trying to regain her face and image after GOP scapegoating and a national refusal to buy what she's selling. The Times has this great follow up regarding to which degrees she is succeeding (and mainly failing) to do so but it ends on a great, hokey and Palinesque note:

“And if there is an open door in ’12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I’ll plow through that door.”

I'm going to love watching her go down in flames a second time but it's a little sad that she seems to be missing out on one key element of open vs. closed doors here - if the door is open Sarah, it's already open, you can just walk in, if you need to plow through, perhaps you should reconsider the door's open-ness! 

Oh, and I hate you.

Off-Season

Alicia suggested I add some of my daily web-comics to my links... 2 of my daily web-comics are down for the week due to Fallout 3....

End of the Season Thoughts

So, I'm technically still signed up for the Philly Marathon this Sunday but I don't think I'm going to be running it. After a practice run yesterday afternoon I'm feeling pretty beat up. So that's it for all my big races of 2008, 3 marathons, a couple of half-marys and my first two triathlons. It's been a great year for me. So many firsts. My first multi-marathon year. My first sub 6 minute mile (more than an hour into a triathlon I might add) My first top 3 win with my first trophy and a many more great memories. So what's to come for next year? I'd really like to either have my first half-ironman distance triathlon and to qualify for Boston. I don't know if I can do both in one season but they're both top priorities. 

Yesterday, I had a truly magnificent run. It's already well into the fall in Prospect Park, there are more leaves on the ground than on the trees and the air has the faintly acidic tinge of decay. After a couple of quick miles I decided to take off my headphones and wander the trails where I was assaulted with a rustic peace which one rarely encounters in a major city. With every footfall I swished and crunched the wrack; more than once I frightened the skittish squirrels as they sprinted about. Feeling the cold air become heavy in my chest I contrasted the feeling of the walk/run with my racing as of late. 

These are the bipolar personalities of the runner. The physical and emotional stress of running a marathon are difficult to overcome and as an athlete, you have to step up to these challenges. Alicia calls me an 'athlete', I'm not sure I can handle that tag yet. I have never, ever been an athlete. I have been pudgy, I have been a smoker, I have played more than my own fair share of videogames, magic cards and I live to eat. I have played sports, admittedly, but I've never felt at home on the field. I felt like the smiling ethnic kid photoshopped into a candid college advertisement, more of a gesture than a reality. Yet in the last few years, as I've run more and more, my daily challenges have been coming from a footpath, and not a screen. So I suppose that I am becoming an athlete. Maybe that'll be my New Years Resolution, accept my athleticism. 

But there is a different side to running that's easy to forget. A non-athletic side that I was reminded of as I walked through the fallen leaves. A childish, gleeful and enrichingly playful rush of delight that comes from the exhaustion of playing in a park. At one point I caught myself jogging down a crunchy, leafy hill, breathing in the musk and humidity with a cool and collected demeanor. While in my mind I was 5 years old, playing in a freshly raked pile of damp leaves with my arms out-stretched yelling 'Weeeee!'. 

I'm certainly not old enough to be jaded; I still vote democrat, I can eat an entire pizza by myself, my Dad will comb my hair and my mom still puts ketchup out on the table for me when she makes steak. But I am old enough to sense that I am no longer the pudgy little boy throwing muck and pine cones into the air before dinner and, quite frankly, that's not ok, not just yet. For time being I am perfectly content to escape my job, and my rent and my debt and run off to a little hill in Brooklyn, throw my head back, scare a few squirrels and play in the leaves. If you'd like, you can come too but... (gets closer)... shhhh, I know a secret place... don't tell anyone... 

New York Marathon Race Report

Well last Saturday morning Alicia and I went to the Javits Center for the NYC Marathon Race expo. I wanted to show up right at opening because I've seen what can happen at poorly run race expos (Ahem, Philly, we're looking at you) and wanted to be out of there before dinner time. That was silly of course, because if any marathon has their act together it's NYC. It took about 10 minutes for me to get my bib and enter the expo (read : runner's flea market) area. 

A quick note - the bib, shoe chip, safety pins and quick-ties were all self-sealed into one tiny bag so there could be no losing the tiny pieces, GENIUS! (We're looking at you, Philly....) 

Expos are like crack for runners. All this great gear, shorts, tech-shirts, energy bars, gu's, applications to other races, all for cheap cheap cheap. I made it out with no less than a new parka, mug, gloves, hat and about 15 applications to destination races I could never afford. We stopped by the Team For Kids table (my charity) and started chatting up the volunteers. After a few minutes they assigned me to a later bus (6:30 instead of 5am) and gave Alicia two free passes for seating in the marathon finish grandstands. How awesome is that? 

Did I mention that this was my birthday? After the expo Alicia took me to the museum of natural history (we held hands and laid down under the whale, how perfect for a birthday?) Afterwards we rowed boats in the park and ate sushi with Reed. This was one seriously, seriously awesome birthday. 

Now, that was also Day Light Savings so with the clock change and my new bus I got an extra 2.5 hours of sleep. Feeling tired by pre-race giddy I boarded the Team For Kids bus in midtown and made a friend with my seat-mate Dana. This was her second marathon ever and she just wanted to get it out of her system before trying for a child this winter (best of luck Dana if you're reading this!) She was racing in honor of her sister-in-law who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer 5 years ago. They gave her 2 years to live and so that she could experience her remaining days to the fullest she took up running. Now, 5 years later, she is both still fighting the illness but also running in her 5th consecutive NY Marathon. How's that for inspiring? 

The buses dropped us off and we made for the TFK tents. This is the bonus of running for a charity, not only do you get guaranteed entry, but they also take good care of you. Our own area, our own bathrooms (either share 1000 portalavs with 50,000 people or share 200 with 500 people.. hmmm) bagels and coffee! Dana and I sat chatting, eating our bagels, applying body glide and Vaseline to our faces. Another thing about runners, we don't mind telling you all about how, when and where we chafe. In a way it's gross, but in another way it's a red rash of courage and accomplishment. Anyway, my baggage stowed, I went to the starting line. 

They interviewed Abdi Abdirahman, one of the more famous american runners, and they questioned him on his nick-name, the Black Cactus. 

Asinine Reporter- "So you're from Arizona, the land of the cactus... And they call you the Black Cactus... why is that?"

Abdi -  "Uhm...Well...I'm from Arizona... land of the cactus... and well, I'm black..."

A.R. - "...Oh..."

And the race was off! The climb up the Verrazano Bridge could have been troublesome, but we were fresh and it was a breeze. Down into Brooklyn and up 4th Avenue all the way to Atlantic Terminal. My calves were tight from the very start due to the the Dublin Marathon only 6 days before. My ankle which had been troubling me since Galway was so far silent and I felt great. Down Lafayette Ave (my old home!) and down Bedford to Williamsberg. I was expecting to meet with Alicia around N.9th Street so I turned Coheed down and starting peeking around. I first saw Chris's shock of red hair and ran over for some highfives. Of course, I forgot to give Alicia my gloves and hat so I had to throw them away in Queens... damn.

The crossing from Queens to Manhattan via the 59th Street Bridge was hellish. It's a dark, mostly enclosed lower level with the ominous echoing for footfalls. I actually passed 3 runners ON THEIR CELLPHONES! WTF?!? Bah, almost an entire mile on that crap. 

Them BAM, we're in Manhattan. There had to be 10,000 people cheering in the 2 block turn around towards 1st Avenue. The course was a straight shot from 59th street to the bronx and there were people just going wild, such great energy! By this point my ankle was really starting to bother me and even me ITB was starting to ache. I learned that walking actually hurt more than jogging so this was motivation enough to keep the pace. Basically, the entire race was run around 7:45, very flat timing for me. I usually start around 7 min/mile and drop to around 10 or 11 average in the last few. 

From mile 21 or so until the end was down 5th avenue, around the Plaza hotel and then around Columbus circle and up to the Tavern on the Green. I saw Chris and Tracie again around the top of the park and what a difference it made! Thank you guys so much. Seeing friends on the race, even for a split second helps draw you out of the agony and introspection of racing and reminds you, hey! This is awesome! I'm running the New York Marathon! 

I finished in 3:29:03, only 5 minutes slower than Dublin. Let me tell you, I have never been in such agony after a race. I felt as if I had been dipped, from the waist down, into boiling water. For the first time in my running history, I was one of the marathoners who needed help walking. Again TFK was awesome. I had not one but 2 volunteers help me walk to the post-race tent. They plopped me in a lawn chair, got me water and when I got scared because they couldn't find my bag it turned out to be because someone had already seen me struggling up the hill and went off to get it for me before being asked. TFK is really a class act. If I ever do the NY Marathon again, it will be with them. Anywho. That's my story! 

Oh, and afterwards my mom took Alicia and I out to a big greasy Belgian breakfast. YUM..I friend eggs with pancetta and two types of cheese. Muahahahaha.

I have never in my life been more proud to be an American. 

Dublin Marathon Race Report

Sorry, this is a bit late, but blah blah blah excuses excuses... 

Had a wake-up call around 5:15 and went and got some breakfast. (I had brought my usual bag of oatmeal w/ craisins and cinnamon with me.) A few cups of a coffee and I was ready to go! My dad was nice enough to join me on the adventure the race start which was a whopping 2 blocks from the front of the hotel. There were about 13,000 people and it was all one big ol' mass start. I cranked the Dropkick Murpheys and took off!

Miles 1 - 3 were in downtown Dublin and it was really special to see many of the places that meant something to me, but that no would could possibly want to visit. Like that warehouse in which I bought sheets of plexi-glass for my research project, or that coffee shop I used to be quite fond of, ohhh! we used to get fish and chips there! Some really special memories were flooding my mind (the DART station! what the hell was that called... we took it to 40 Foot Beach that day and saw the Martello Tower from Ulysses...) and as I crossed the O'Connell Bridge it sudden dawned on me where I was and what I was doing and yes, ladies and gents, a few quick tears of soulwarming bliss were shed before I remembered I was a big tough man and not a little baby. 

For a while the course wound through Northern Dublin, nothing too great, passed 78 Eccles Street, of Ulysses fame. Then we entered into Phoenix Park and spent about 6 miles there-in. A terrific park, now, a FANTASTIC PARK. It's one of the largest urban parks in the world and about 7 times larger the Central Park. There are many monuments, a few embassies, several Polo fields, about a dozen football pitches, a zoo, a couple pools and probably a couple pubs on it's grounds. It was the hilliest portion of the race but the views of fogswept Dublin in the distance were well worth the climbs. The course led us zigging and zagging through trees, down promenades and across a dewy field. (That sounds so much nicer than rank peat-bog... poetic license) 

The second half of the race was both less visually spectacular but also a bit of a haze due to my rapidly deteriorating coherence. It was brutal. Fortunately the weather was gorgeous, in the low 50's, and it actually didn't rain. Dublin is a beautiful city despite the fact that its an ugly one. It's a city that has known centuries of oppression, poverty, disease, misery and hardships, yet the people and streets seem to radiate an obstinate willpower that might not warm the heart, but certainly braces it against the worst the world may throw at you. Such are the people that the last few miles of the race will be forever with me. A huge crowd was constantly offering chocolates, sweets, delicious "fruit gums" (i.e. gummy bears and other type snacks), bananas and water bottles. 

This generosity made the difference and I was able to rocket through to the last mile when just as I turned the corner around Dame Street *WHAM* my entire left thigh seized up. This was no cramp, this was an amputation. I couldn't even move. I managed to the side of the road and tried to stretch out to no avail. Here I was, less than a mile from the finish, totally unable to move an inch. So I hobbled, and I stretched some more and I tried walking, and I stretched some more. I gathered my last wits and really tried to just throw myself step by step forward when a passing racer claps me on my on the shoulder yells a few words of encouragement and disappears into the fray. Suddenly I'm fully recharged and with a small dust outline of where I was a moment ago, I'm off and onto the finish line. I can't say it was the the easiest finish, but I crossed, and that's all there is to it.

Results- 

3:25:03, AG  - 362, Total Place - 1009 / 9398

Also, future reference, Marathon in Dublinese = Mairtin.