Tuesday, November 06, 2007
2007 New York City Marathon
Ack, busy. Wrapping up loose ends here at work, because... I got a new job! As of Nov. 20, I'll be a real live editor/writer for these guy--er, girls. Quite exciting for me, considering the main reason I moved east in the first place was to take on full-time work as an editor (and/or writer). One cool thing (among many) is that the hours are flex-y. I can work 9 to 5 or 8 to 4... I think I'll try out the earlier range to start, as I love the idea of 'home by 5'... Of course, this'll mean a pretty distasteful rise-time if I wanna get my runs in beforehand, but we'll see. Also cool is the location: an express train stop closer to home and real close to Bryant Park and that fabulous liberry. Whoop!
Back to running: As ya'll know, last w/e meant Marathon Sunday, and the trials the day before. I watched the marathon from right outside/inside this great Park Slope bar, which is a few short blocks from the cave and about 7 1/2 miles into the race. Croissants, coffee, bigscreen TV, good company... An ideal setup.
Amazing.
This runner clearly coulda used one of Petey's famous high-fives. But alas, my cushy son was nowhere in sight. (Sorry Petez. I promise to take it up w/ that other parent of yours, ensuring the same gruesome fate--locked in the apartment!--doesn't befall you next year...)
The littery aftermath. What slobs. ;)
Outside Sheep Station.
Inside Sheep Station: prime end-of-race viewing. The women were especially thrilling to watch, w/ Radcliffe (GBR) and Wami (ETH) running as if attached by a string (so consistently close) up until the very end, when Wami surged ahead (or alongside) of Radcliffe only to inspire a counter surge that put Radcliffe back in the lead for good.
Such a sweet scene at the finish line, w/ an elated Radcliffe hugging her baby (born in January!) and husband... 
Bar's owner, a runner himself, wielding weaponry. 
Watching warm.
Day before: Olympic Trials in Central Park.
That sign repeatedly came at me. Frightening.
Five miles to go, a frontrunner.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheidippides
Eeeee! Watched the Olympic trials in Central Park this a.m., and what a sight to behold. The course included five loops around, and I caught the final two. W/ five miles to go, Ryan Hall (at left, pictured as 2007 U.S. Half Marathon champ) was decisively in the lead (by like a minute), a distance he held through the end. The crowd was thick from where I stood, and support was deafening. When Hall strode by that last time, the clear victor, he was all smiles and sweeping waves. As an onlooker, it was impossible not to follow suit. What a stunner. And a damn encouraging performance, heading into Bejing...
As I just learned, the morning was marked by a very sad event as well, w/ the death of 28-year-old Ryan Shay. Heart goes out.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Burn
As if Sunday weren't enough, tomorrow promises even more squeals: http://www.nyrr.org/races/pro/mens_trials/spectator_guide.asp. I'll be there, and I'll use the resulting high as fuel for my own run immediately following. Might be time to revisit my coveted GW Bridge...
Also on the trials, this page: http://www.nyrr.org/races/pro/mens_trials/glory/week_7/friday.asp. Some poignant words on running, including these ones:
The marathon is the insidious withering of the will as the body cannibalizes itself over time in an exchange of fitness for distance, until finally it reaches the point where each step is a victory. For athletes of the highest caliber, fitness is like a candle: It has to burn brightly, but not too quickly. The marathon is a long burn, and it's the rate that becomes key. Whose rhythm best matches race pace? Whose energy is being utilized most efficiently? That's what we mean by, "Whose day is it?" ... The marathon is a cruel game, as the miles rob you of your wits just when they are most required, when muscles revolt and the brain seeks oxygen now shunted to pistoning legs. These are the moments that challenge and inspire as the battle rages. ... There is purity in this process that transcends a world wed more than ever to fields of secular yields. The marathon is a contest unencumbered by modern contrivance. It won’t be determined by luck, a turn of the ball, or a referee's arbitrary call. Rather, it will be settled by trial in the crucible of all systems coming under fire. It has been this way since the beginning, since gravity's design of leg, lung, and limb. And though training methods have been refined and equipment and surfaces have improved, the outcome remains determined by men carrying no more than what they first brought into this world, whips of sinew and cudgels of bone.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
On your mark...
Below is my latest RW credit. Below that is a neat running essay--one of my fav RW columns--that's also in the current issue. Novel, provocative, awesome.
Speaking of running, NYC marathon this w/e! I literally cannot wait. Can not! I'm already so excited thinking about first laying eyes on that front pack of elites, then the nutty costumes, my fellow Park Slopers' very vocal support for the event... Running in/around PS last w/e, I caught a couple of comments from shop owners, things like, "you ready to run next w/e?" Bleh, damnit. Next year, next year...
I do plan to run religiously along Fourth Avenue these next few days (beginning tonight), which is always kindof a thrill, given the banners/signs already hung and ready to be run beneath by the masses. For one last year, I'll pretend.
x