The Joe Nation 2007 NYC Marathon Log

I know the wet gravel riding. I also know how pride gets broken on dry river boulders when one scared of the mountain bikes attempt to perform some mountain bikery. Ribs get broken, too. Or, detached from the cartiledge rather.

I went running today. The weather was actually pleasant, 48 degrees and not slight drizzle, which is not bad at all. For some reason I practiced the interval running (sounds much better than having to say I stopped a few times), and I am all stiffened up now. Just felt wrong today. Eh, maybe because I skipped 2 or 3 days, or maybe because I jumped to Prince far too much two days ago and got my muscles real sore the next day. Either way, at least I sucked it up and went running, that alone feels good.

Take three Advils for the soreness and relax tomorrow.

I am looking for upbeat tune to put on my Zen player.

Joe(Suggestions? And nothing is too loud)Nation

Gogol's Bordello: Immigrant Punk!

ok - just a little interruption here - perhaps tangentially related - perhaps eventually running related ... The Zen Player ... love it? hate it? don't mind it? easy to deal with?

I can score one at an amazing price tomorrow ... is it worth getting worked up about it?

Love love love it, ebeth, I've got four books and more than a hour and a half of music on it. Plus I can punch up NPR and get the news.

Audiophiles sniff at it's tinny sound. (and the headset it comes with IS crap) but.... it doesn't care if I run in the rain with it and no one knows what it is ......so no one in NYC wants to steal it.

Joe(just bought some 14.00 headsets from Radio Shack --over the ear thingies)nation

Rain-resistant. Not steal-worthy.

eh(scoringadealtomorrow)Beth





Thanks JoeN!

depends on your demands, bethie. do you just want a few albums (that you can change up every now and then) or do you want an entire audio library in your mp3 player? i ended up wanting the whole library thing, since i travel a lot and don't want to be bothered with changing it up often. so i got an iPod. I ended up not using it much anyway. I don't like using it when I bike or run (I like the sounds around, plus i feel blind when I have extraneous sound obscuring my mind, the same way i feel deaf when i wear sun glasses...but that's just me). but if you want just a few songs on, then that's the way to go. besides, the iPods are getting out of control. I really don't want no video or photos or whatnot on the thing. just play music and be done with it.

No Trains
It's a favorite activity for the MTA on weekends. Tourists take note. They always screw with the trains on weekends. So with no train to get me to the park I decided to run down the river.

It was, of course, drizzling rain. Here's the George Washington Bridge.


I'm about two miles from home at this point. T'was brillig.
The path, which runs all the way down to Battery Park (I am going to do that whole thing one day soon.) gets a little narrow, goes through some unpleasant areas where there are huge fences on both sides of you and puts you right next to traffic at several places.

That being said, it is flat to down hill the whole way from the bridge (of course it is, rivers don't run uphill.) and there are enough fountains along the way.


As you can see, it was not crowded this morning and I breezed along to 72nd Street through the garden that was the scene of the last scene of "You've got Mail" which is all roped off and fenced and full of construction stuff except for this part



and took the 1/9 back up to a station nearby to my neighborhood. I know, I could have taken that train down to the park but I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go this morning. Fecking rain! But each time I stopped to take a picture a little voice inside me said "What? Stopping here you great big lug!!!?? Get those shoes moving and the next thing I knew I was seven miles from the start. (okay 6.88, but then I ran from the 181st Station up through Little Dominica where the folks were having their own little illegal street fair right up the hill from the 33rd Precinct.


Oh, and just as I got back across Broadway I saw something that I hadn't seen in days.


Joe(now for some breakfast)Nation

Coolness :-D

i went on my usual loop, too.

all the credit goes to Joe. If not for his shining example, i'd still be sitting on my arse.

ZenVPlus is mine. $20 Canajun. Just the right storage size for me, + radio. If I don't lose it inside my purse, it may become a great walking companion.

A Lost Weekend -- at least in terms of running.
On the plus side, my youngest son graduated high school.
Today is sunny and I plan to hit the road at lunchtime.

Looking forward to a glorious week of weather here.

Joe(look at the stars, look how they shine for you)Nation

Did you see Venus by the crescent Moon the other night?

Running at night, always a temptation, if not a sensible option.

I did two and a half miles with Three-Mile Mike yesterday.
We were planning on doing 3, but Mike had had it at 2.5.
He's a strong weight-lifter and can smoke me on a sprint,
but I've got him at distance.

And I'm one year older than his father.

still checking your progress!

Did my usual 3.6. Dreadful, sluggish. I think i'm not stretching enough,cause i'm constantly stiff. Or I'll stretch, but then I bike to work (15 mins FAST) and then i don't stretch. I'm not getting any better. I want it to be effortless quick!

Patience, girl! It takes a while to get back in the groove.
(Instant gratification! That's what's wrong with kids today! Harumph!)

When I want effortless results quickly I just go over to where I keep the big bucket of magic wands. I pick out a large one, one with an especially whippiness to it, and then I beat the hell out of myself with it.

Tuesday night is one of the big nights for training classes and I got to jog along with three of the packs. (yes. they zoomed around me like I was a rock in a river but still.... .) I did five long sprints within the 5.25 miles (there was also a detour over to the tennis locker rooms for a nature break which would add another half a mile if I was counting walking, but I'm not.) The sprints were fun! I am learning just how fast I can go without falling off of my rhythm.

Joe(or falling)Nation

How often do you go to the training classes?
Have you worked out a schedule of increasing mileage?