New Years Resolutions

Well, since I haven't been doing much of anything except working these days, I've been a bad blogger. BAD blogger!!

So here's a quick holiday update, along with a few small resolutions.

Firstly, I always knew runners were amazing, but here's another reason why: we had a Fred's Team holiday party at the P&G, and our exceedingly generous hosts, Holiday and Steve, pledged to donate a dollar for each drink sold to the Aubrey Fund. We also had a toy drive AND a bake sale. And if that weren't enough, our good friends at Coke donated a lovely gift basket full of Coke tchotckes for us to raffle off. Well, we got about ten toys, sold a lot of raffle tickets, brownies and, thanks to my friend Sharon, who is not a runner but equally amazing, devastating chocolate-bacon cupcakes. Yes, you read right. Our livers also took one for the team, and at the end of the night, we raised $313 more for the Aubrey Fund!!

Running is strange. I've been trying to get out every other day, and will also be participating in the Midnight Run. For those non-NYers, it's a 4-miler in Central Park that starts at the stroke of midnight. There's dancing and a costume contest before and after, and champagne -- well, maybe more like "champagne" -- at mile 2. The Team runs as a group, as fast as its slowest member. Which is me. So be prepared for turtle mode, folks, because that's where we're at these days!!

It's been getting pretty cold in NYC, and I love running in the cold! I am having a little trouble getting used to it, though. I went out for a run a couple of days ago -- just a 3-miler -- and I had to stop three times, not because my legs were tired, but because I couldn't breathe properly. So strange.

Why is my body rejecting running?????

(and why don't I listen?)

I haven't biked outside in a couple of weeks, it being snowy and slushy. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to, but I can see from my forays out that snow and slush doesn't deter some folks. So maybe I will get some winter riding in.

Swimming, I've been a little lazy. I need to get back into the pool. But my legs are really dry, and shaving them is so irritating...bad excuse. I've just been both lazy AND pressed for time. Excellent combo!

Pressed for time because, unlike last year, I am supremely busy as a court reporter. Who knew that people would be so litigious during the holidays? I've been working every day for the past two weeks, and some jobs are expedites, meaning due in three days, which pushes other jobs back, which creates a backlog that I'm trying to get rid of over this holiday weekend. Hey, I'm not complaining. I'm grateful for the work, I really enjoy it, and feel lucky to be finally making some $$ for the first time in 14 years. I just need to get a little better with the steno practice to get my speed up so that my transcripts aren't so sloppy that it takes me a long time to fix them up at the end of the day.

Which leads to the resolutions.

1) more steno practice. I want to pass at least one leg of the RPR (national certification) this year.
2) more consistent running in the off-season. Do I think I'll get faster this year? Doubtful. But can I make an easier time of it? Definitely.
3) get my arse back in the pool. A must if I want to finish the Nautica Tri.
4) more blogging. And start the f-ing podcast already, like I've threatened for years.
4) send out my THANK-YOU NOTES from the marathon!!!!!!

I hope you all have the happiest of holidays, and best wishes for the New Year!

At Long Last...

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Marci Glotzer, court reporter!

Yes, I passed my final 225 test on Friday morning, and even though I started working about three weeks ago, I am now the proud owner of an AOS in Stenotype Reporting. Also the proud owner of $10,000+ in student loans and related steno debt, but whaddya do?

If only the running speed would pick up accordingly...

It's 12 degrees outside, and I'm not going to brave that for a run again. Off to the gym!

PS: I have somehow managed to misplace not one, but THREE gloves, all from different pairs, including my beloved Brooks Wanganui. I suspect one from each pair is in the laundry pile, which I will be doing in the next day or so.

Last Minute News

Expo time!

Unlike last year, I did not go camera-crazy. However, I did bring my camera, because we were having a NYC Phedippidation meet-up at the Team Boomer booth!


That's Cris, Franz, Dani and me. Okay, okay, I'm wearing the SAME THING I WORE LAST YEAR to the expo. Sad. We were hoping "Carboman" Jamie would show up as well, but alas, he didn't.

Holy crap, I spent a lot of $$ there. Of course, the requisite souvenir shirt...and visor...and socks...and some Fred's Team shirts that I needed...and some PowerGel...and some BodyGlide...and some sweatbands...and a race belt...and the Brightroom Photo CD package...

But my favorite booth was the marathon pin booth. They had a collector's edition 5-pin set of the five bridges, which was really nice. However, there was another pin there that caught my eye, and THAT was the one I had to have. See for yourself...

Can I break my record this year? Not my marathon time -- the amount of times I hit the porta-potty prior to the race! I do believe 7 is the record.

A few more members to add to the FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL:


DAN KLEIN
MARC ISAACS


bringing the total amount to date going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in honor of Liam Witt to


$4508


Just because the marathon is this Sunday doesn't mean you can't join the Honor Roll! If you would like to donate to my marathon effort, just click here, or on the links to the side and bottom of the page.


Liam update: my little guy is back at MSKCC, after a double whomp of a bacterial infection and an allergic reaction to one of his medications. Gretchen and Liam asked me to send love and thanks to all of my wonderful Honor Roll members.


The positive side, if there is one, is that they will be at MSKCC to be part of the Fred's Team cheering section, clearly the best part of the marathon experience! And if they are still there on Monday, I will be able to visit and give Liam some marathon gifties!


I love running in the Park this week. All the marathon stuff is up, the finish line is cordoned off, Fred is at his post. But it's the energy in the Park that's the draw. Everyone is smiling, everyone is psyched. Thursday night Teammate Jenn and I went for a 4-miler -- to NYRR and back down the marathon course, finishing at the finish line. The Park was super-crowded, even after dark. I wish it could be like this all year round. Not crowded, but upbeat.


A busy weekend for me! I have a dinner tonight with friends I haven't seen in a few years, then tomorrow morning I have the skills portion of the national certification test for the NCRA (court reporting association.) I do not expect to pass any of the three legs of the skills test, which is fine. It's more for the experience of taking the tests (it's the kind of test you can take a dozen times if you want, so I don't lose anything by taking it now, except for the registration $$.) The bad news is, not only do I need to take my steno machine, I also need to take my laptop AND PRINTER. My printer is the size of a house, and I'm not buying a portable one to use once (besides, I spent all my $$ on marathon crap!) And the test is being given AT MY SCHOOL, where I have access to a computer and printer. So I have to shlep all that crap around town tomorrow. Sigh. The good news is, taking the RPR is keeping my mind off my marathon jitters, and the marathon is keeping my mind off the RPR. Then our pasta dinner time is the ridiculous 3:30 to 5:00 slot (special for Fred's Team, we get to cut the line and get in early if we go then,) followed by the fireworks, and then on Sunday is a little road race. Who needs sleep?


But my real question is, how am I supposed to make progress in steno when I'm trying to take dictation from a man dressed in a gorilla suit? Witness some of my teachers, dressed up for Halloween:

Okay, folks, wish me luck!

xoxo,
#33252

Honor Roll Hoedown; Liam Update, Shameless Promo for "A Race Like No Other," Why Aren't I Getting Faster? and Tune-Up Race Report

Wow. Did all this time pass? Have y'all been as busy as me?
Cannot begin without a HUGE addition to the FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL!!!!!
Let's welcome:

LAURENCE HELFER
SETH RUDETSKY
CHRISTOPHER CAPPER
HOWARD AND EDYTHE SCHAERF
PHIL AND IRENE KUTHER
JAMES SMITH
SCOTT TAYLOR
DR. GREGG ROCK (my podiatrist!)
SUELLEN ESTEY
CANDACE POTEMPA
JEFFREY MARCUS
LINDA EDWARDS
JACQUELINE BRONER
JILL DUBOFF
SAM AND MARION FREED
THERESE EISENHAUER

bringing the total amount raised for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research in honor of Liam Witt to an amazing

$3808

Many of these people kindly donated after listening to Steve Runner's impassioned plea on Phedippidations, or from The Extra Mile podcast. For those of you visiting from those sites, I cannot thank you enough. Thatyou, who only know me from a podcast, would think highly enough of my noble purpose to donate money either to my marathon effort, directly to MSKCC, or to Band of Parents, who also support pediatric cancer research at MSKCC -- well, what words are adequate? "Thank you" just doesn't suffice. And I apologize for blitzing you with two podcasts in the same week. This is a cause that's so important to me, I'm willing to be annoying. Just ask my friends and family.

I don't run for Fred's Team because they give me a marathon entry. They don't. I earn my entry by being a member of NY Road Runners and completing the requisite amount of races. So I don't HAVE to run for Fred's Team. Raising money for the Aubrey Fund and helping children like Liam is what I MUST do. And if you've ever visited MSKCC and seen the pediatric cancer ward, and watched how the nurses and the staff interact with the children -- to know that you have played some small role in this, it's the best feeling in the world.

If you would like to donate to my marathon effort and be a part of the Honor Roll, just click here, or on the links to the side and bottom of the page.

Liam update: he is home again, after two rounds of chemo, intensive antibiotics, and rounds of scans and tests that ranged from scary to painful; and only missed the first day of school! And, according to Gretchen, none of his classmates seemed to care that he was bald. Hooray!

Shameless promo: Liz Robbins' book, "A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York" comes out October 7th, featuring many Fred's Teammates, including Yours Truly. Pre-order your copy today!!

I want to crab for a minute or two about the same thing I crabbed about last time. I am feeling frustrated about my progression -- or lack thereof -- in the speed department, both in stenography and in running. I don't know why I said last week that I thought my running was improving, because I'm not having great long runs, and I am still not able to get beyond my 190s in steno. After last weekend's 18 mile Tune Up, I checked my Buckeye Outdoors log to see how I did last year -- and it was the same time, approximately, and I apparently felt a whole lot better (more on this year's run in a minute.) I feel like I've been struggling more this year, not training as much and needing more recovery time between workouts. Now, that could be the case, or it could be that last year was the real breakthrough year for me, and this year, not so much a breakthrough year. I'm afraid that I've undertrained, even though I've done all my long runs, made nearly every Team practice, and more. But not as much as last year, I fear. Here's how I'm trying to talk myself down from this. First, it doesn't mean I'm having a bad year, only that this year was more about maintenance than breaking through. Second, if I look carefully, it wasn't until the Tune-Up that I felt good about a long run -- and the following week I crashed and burned in Staten Island. And that isn't happening this year. I'm no psychic, but I can predict that with confidence. But I don't know, and I won't know until I cross the finish line on November 2nd, and that's the thing that sucks.

As for steno, last week in school, I know I got the 225 and the 200, but couldn't get the 190, which is the one I need. The teacher said, "You have the speed, you're thinking too much." Hmm. He's right. Too boring to explain what that means for steno, but since I equate running speed and steno speed, how can I apply "not thinking" to my running as well as my steno?

One thing that HAS improved is my arms. Apparently when I run I don't swing them loosely and I hold them behind me. I don't feel that they are, but why would Jeff and Ann both lie to me? I'm a visually-oriented person; I need to see something as much as I need to feel it in order to know that it's right. My posture, for example; it's not enough for me to know what standing truly straight feels like, I also need to see it in the mirror from many sides. It takes me a while to incorporate things physically that I can only feel and not really see. At a Team workout a couple weeks ago -- the hill workout we were supposed to have two days after the ten Cat Hill repeats was replaced by a lighter workout concentrating on form (thank goodness!!) Jeff stuck with me and made me work my arms until I got it., And this time, finally, I think it stuck.

I put my arms to the test this past weekend, at the 18-Mile Tune-Up. Sadly (and I use the term loosely) the Tune-Up fell the day after both the Urbanathlon, which I wanted to do, and the infamous NY Flyers Palisades Run. This year we were not, as a Team, officially invited to the Palisades run (don't know why) but they were okay with us signing up for it. I was seriously considering doing the Palisades run, after having such a crappy time of it last year, but to be honest, I've been beating myself up so much about my running, as you can see, that I couldn't stomach the thought of having one more potentially bad long run. As boring as the Tune-Up is (3 loops of the Park,) I know it's one I can do. I just read my posts last year from both runs. Wow. What a difference a year makes. You can't see the pause, but I went and read some of my reports from this year, too. Am I running well or badly?? I'm so conflicted!!

So anyways, the Tune-Up. I added two miles to the front, because there weren't no way I was doing them after. And apologies beforehand, I erased my splits from my watch before I recorded them, but I know the generics, and here they be: first, I did negative split, but not by much. I was definitely slower the first four-five miles -- my first two "official" miles were 10:00, that I remember -- which was exactly what I wanted. The good thing about the first eight miles was that they were EASY, and except for the fact that I had to stop at mile 3 (or 5, depending) to remove the bursitis pad, because it was rubbing against the blister pad and making things worse, it was a great loop. I didn't start getting really tired until about mid-way through the second loop. And it's not that I was out of breath, my breathing was great the whole time. It's my legs. They just get all rock-like and heavy. Grr. The other thing is, it was very humid on Sunday, even though it was a little cooler. 93 percent humidity. So not easy. I spent most of the second loop really concentrating on my arms. After the first two miles, I hovered in the mid-to-high 9's in mileage. Not thrilled, but not going to make myself crazy.

The third loop was difficult. I decided as I finished loop 2 that if I had reached the point where I knew I would finish in under three hours, I would let myself walk up Cat Hill. Now, if you haven't read my blog a lot, this is one of the mind games I play with myself. I love to let myself off the hook, as it were, but I rarely do. For some reason, the more I give myself permission to stop, the less I will. Sort of the same twisted psychology that made me walk around with a pack of cigarettes for a year and a half after I quit. If I wanted one badly enough, I was allowed to have one, but just knowing that I could made me not want to. PS: as far as walking goes, I walk all the water stations.

Rounding the south end of the Park during loop 3, I knew we were getting close to the finish, and I started speeding up. My third trip up Cat Hill -- not walking -- was on pace, and my final mile was my fastest.

Finished the 18 miles in 2:55, and adding the two and a half beforehand, that 20.5 in 3:19. Didn't feel as chipper as I did after last year's Tune-Up, but not too bad. Had it been cooler out, maybe it would have felt a little better. It's not a question of finishing the marathon -- that I will do -- it's a question of time. That's all. I just want to finish strong.

Okay, off to NYRR to pick up my chip for this year's Grete's Gallop -- my entry in the Phedippidations Worldwide Festival of Races!! A week early, I know, but I traditionally run this race for the WWF, if two years a tradition makes. I am looking forward to meeting my running idol Grete Waitz again, and I am also looking forward to the WAFFLES!!

much love,
MG

PS: Wednesday in the Park, I saw someone walking a dog, and the dog had a pacifier in its mouth. Bizarre.

Good News, Bad News; Running vs. Steno Part II, Fdip and TEM, and A Brutal Long Run that I'm Sad (?) to Miss

Today's post features good news and bad news (and back to good news again.)

First, some good news -- we have more people to add to the Fred's Team Honor Roll!

ELLEN HORAITIS
SUE AND OWEN GROSSBLATT
ISABEL AND HAL ROSENSTEIN
and the proceeds from my second bake sale

bringing the total going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research to...

$3018

which is terrific! But we still have a long way to go! Even though my official site says I'm raising $3500, I'd really like to raise $6,000. It doesn't go into my pocket, of course, it goes to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. Over 80 percent of the money raised for the Aubrey Fund goes directly to research and patient care. Plus, I'm running in honor of Liam Witt, an amazing little boy who just turned four, and who has been battling neuroblastoma for the past year. I really would like to raise $6000 in Liam's honor. Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer, and pharmaceutical companies aren't spending time working on cures and treatments for it, because there's not enough of a patient base for it to be profitable. Government support is also limited. That's why it's so important that the Aubrey Fund gets the support it needs, to fund MSKCC's development of new treatment protocols to treat neuroblastoma, and other childrens cancer.

And with the marathon just over a month away, now is the time. Won't you help me honor Liam's fight, by making a donation to Fred's Team on my behalf? Please click on the links to the side and bottom of the page, or right here.

Some other good news, is that I've recorded segments promoting Fred's Team that will air on two of my favorite podcasts, The Extra Mile and Phedippidations. In fact, I am the Featured Blog on Phedip this week!Steve Runner was a great supporter last year; he mentioned this humble little blog three times, and so many runners pitched in that I was able to raise over $6,000 last year. Runners are amazing. Thanks, Steve!

And now, the bad news.

Can you say BURSITIS?

That's the pain on the bottom of my foot that was mimicking the awful burning bunion pain I had two years ago, according to Dr. Rock. He also says it's curable, and gave me some pads to wear on the bottom of my foot, just under the ball, to take pressure off the bursitis. I actually drew a circle around the pad, so I could hit the right spot every time I change out the pads. Here's the good news part of it -- not only is the pad helping the bottom of my foot, it's actually making my piriformis pain go away. Huh? Am I fooling myself? Or is my right leg shorter than my left, and the extra boost with the pad is all it takes? I am so confused. I must call my beloved PT Miri Ingwer and find out what the deal is; if anyone can answer that question, it is she.

However, the one thing that is NOT going away is my continual non-passing of my steno tests. I am getting very frustrated, this not moving forward. I need to graduate already! Up until just now, my running speed and my steno speed have gone hand-in-hand. As one improved, so did the other. Well, the running is getting better...where's my steno speed? It's a cycle, I've been through this before, I think it was last year, when I was stuck at 120-130. I took 14 tests in a row and didn't pass one. I'm there again. I know that I'll get through this and get that last burst of speed I need to pass those last few tests and get out, but each day it doesn't happen is adding to the frustration amd making me not want to practice, which of course doesn't do any good, and the cycle continues. I am taking a CaseCAT weekend workshop to learn all about the software, and it's helping me get a little more excited about practicing.

The one bad thing about the workshop is, I'll be sadly missing ten repeats of the Great Hill in Central Park Saturday morning. It's bound to be brutal. I say sad because I'm truly sad to be missing this one. My first year with the Team, one of our evening workouts was 8 repeats of the Great Hill. Jeff says to us, "It's a mile." Turns out, it's more like 1.4 miles. By the time we finished, it was pitch black out, the Park was deserted, and we could barely move. We all collapsed on this splintery trailer bed that was parked on the transverse and just laid there. But that run really turned us into a team. I really do wish I could be there. Alas, I will have to do the run on my own on Sunday. Sigh.

So, good news, bad news, good news. etc.

Off to the gym!!

Fred's Team Kick-Off Party, Broadway Bares, and more!

Ooh, boy. Lots of stuff to tell you about.




But first off,



THE LATEST MEMBERS OF THE FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL!



MARIE SASSO
SALVINA SCERRI
MICHAEL & LISA MOSSBERG
URSULA STANTON
and THE GUY WHO BOUGHT MY EXTRA NIKE+



bringing the total to


$1,145



I am running this year in honor of Liam Witt, an amazing little boy who has been waging war against cancer for the past year. Thanks to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research and the money donated on behalf of Fred's Team runners from people like you, MSKCC has developed treatments that is helping Liam win his battle. As recently as twenty years ago, a boy with Liam's cancer, neuroblastoma, had a zero percent chance of survival. MSKCC recently hosted a reunion for childhood neuroblastoma survivors. Three hundred people showed up. So if you think your donation doesn't make a difference, there are 300 families who can tell you otherwise.

Won't you help give MSKCC and Liam the chance every child deserves to live a full life? Simply click here, or on the link to the right and bottom of the page, and make a donation to my marathon effort. It means a lot more to Liam and his family than a dollar sign.


Kicking off the season also means that my blogging will hopefully become a little more regular, and maybe I'll even get to that long-awaited podcast. I gotta say, trying to record a podcast is a lot harder than it sounds. I've been trying, but it just sounds terrible, I "um" and "er" so much, and I blither. I'm too lazy to write a script, not good enough to talk off-the-cuff. Hmm....



First off, Broadway Bares was this past weekend. What a great show. 250 performers, 30 or so stage managers, and a whopping $874,372 raised for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS! A new record. Broadway Bares, for those who don't know, is basically a strip show for charity. There are about a dozen original choreographed numbers all built around a theme (this year's theme was "Wonderland," loosely based on Alice in Wonderland." Very loosely.) It's at Roseland Ballroom for two shows in one day, a 9:30pm and a midnight. The show features Broadway and other professional dancers, loads of celebrity cameos, and ends with everyone go-go dancing for tips along the runways. There's straight strip, gay strip. drag strip -- something for everybody!

Here's a picture from the event, from the Living Art of Armando number. They're a Vegas act that comes in every year. They do crazy aerial stuff that's always gorgeous. This year was no exception. If you click here, you can see pictures from the event. My job was to run one of the four rolling panels that we use as part of the set. Yes, very high-tech. We stand behind them, flip them from black side to white side and roll them around on cue. I love doing this show and I love being up on the stage with the show (as opposed to being a runner or standing in what we call Pervert Alley -- the section on the floor where dancers enter and exit off the right side of the stage. It's curtained off, but some intrepid audience members sneak over there and try to pull up the curtains to sneak peeks, hence the name.) When the set was a wall with three doors in it, I was the "towel girl" where I basically stood backstage and when the newly-stripped dancers came offstage, I'd give them towels to cover up with. Usually. Anyway, it's a really fun show to work on as well as watch.

Two small problems marred the event for me. First off, I ran over my right big toe with my panel during the 9:30 show. It didn't break, but man did it hurt. It bruised really badly; in fact, it's still bruised. Secondly -- and this wasn't a problem until the next day -- we are, how to put this, encouraged to drink. It's a Broadway Bares tradition, stemming from 18 years ago when Jerry Mitchell and six other dancers jumped up on the bar at Splash and raised $3,000. They did one show, and the management brought them tequila shots to encourage them to stay and do another, since the line was around the block.

And no, I will not be dancing on a bar to raise money for Fred's Team. Isn't running a marathon enough for you?

So, liquor. A vodka shot for the SMs before the first show. A bottle of vodka for the SR SMs. I kept a small water bottle full in my pants pocket. A trip to the VIP bar during the brief rest we had between shows for a free drink. The aforementioned tequila before the second show. More vodka during the midnight show. And lastly, at the after-party at Therapy bar, more vodka. Couple this with not really eating that day, and spending the majority of the weekend at Roseland working and not really sleeping. I got home at 4:30 Monday morning, fully intending to go to school that day. I even woke up at 7:00am. And then I made the mistake of standing up. I spent the next four hours becoming very intimate with my toilet. Needless to say, I didn't make it to school.

Between Bares and my post-Bares recovery from injured toe and alcohol poisoning, I didn't get a lot of running in over the past few weeks. Not so great, since this weekend we should be up to 11 miles. Oops. Shoulda read that training chart.

Yesterday was the Fred's Team kick-off party at MSKCC. It was, as usual, great to see everyone, and it's always a treat to see people not in running clothes. Normally the parties at MSKCC just have cookies and whatnot, but this one had sushi and a veggie plate. Hey, if they're catering workouts, I'm there! Hee hee! Sad that Matt F. won't be running with the Team this year, but happy to see so many returnees, and so many more newbies, including my old friend Bill from Gods Love We Deliver! Bill was my driver for one of the weirdest delivery days ever, but that's a story for another day. Dr. O'Reilly, the head of the pediatrics unit, talked to us about the Aubrey Fund and its importance to MSKCC. He told us about some patients who came into MSKCC with cancers that would have normally been death sentences, who are alive today thanks to research and treatment funded by the Aubrey Fund. Brothers Rich and Harrie Bakst, who joined the Team last year, spoke movingly of Harrie's journey through MSKCC last year for treatment of a rare salivary gland cancer. Harrie finished cancer treatment in June and ran the marathon in November. Not only did he train throughout his treatment, he also graduated from NYU. Words aren't adequate. I have to say, one of the amazing things about being on this Team is that you meet people like Rich and Harrie, who have gone through so much, and are willing to share that experience with us. Makes you realize the importance of what you're doing, both for MSKCC and for yourself.

Team runs begin next weekend, but we're all meeting up tomorrow AM for a non-Team Team run, if you know what I mean.

Lastly, two things. First, I volunteered at the NYRR Father's Day races. In order to be eligible for guaranteed admission into the 2009 NYC Marathon, not only do NYRR members have to run 9 qualifying races, they must also volunteer at one. I've volunteered at races before, and I kind of hate being told I have to, but I admit, it's a lot of fun, primarily because you get to say all the things to runners you want to say when you're running the race -- YOU'RE IN THE WRONG CORRAL, MOVE BACK TO YOUR CORRECT CORRAL! -- RUNNERS, STAY IN THE REC LANE! -- WALKERS, MOVE TO YOUR RIGHT! Love it! I worked the corrals at the start of the race, and the finish line at the end. One kid ran the race -- he only had one leg and was using crutches. Since we were about 100 yards from the finish line, we're all there screaming, "Finishing kick!" to the runners. This kid came around the corner, we started yelling, "Finishing kick," and I'll be damned if he didn't have a one-legged finishing kick! Amazing.

My job at the finish line was to cheer the runners on, watch for potential injuries, and finally to help direct traffic, because the race participants and spectators needed to be shepherded out of the rec lane at the finish line to make room for the bicyclists. There's an excellent article in New York Magazine this week about the dog vs. bike vs. runner debate called "Who Owns Central Park?" with lots of great comments. I guess you know what side of the debate I fall on. I remember two years ago a biker had wiped out towards the bottom of the Great Hill. There was an ambulance there, and bikers had spaced themselves out all the way up the hill and were screaming at all oncoming bikes, SLOW DOWN! ACCIDENT AHEAD! None of them did. Not that runners are always blameless, but at worst we're annoying. At worst, a biker can be life-threatening.

The reason I picked this race is because there were kids races, and c'mon, is there anything cuter or funnier than watching a bunch of two-year-olds try to run in a straight line? They look like miniature drunk people. They only go about 50 feet, but that's enough. The age groups for the kids go up to 11, I think. After that, they can run in the real race.

Finally, for you stenography fans, I passed my final 180 literary test on Thursday! Hooray!

Happy Birthday, Liam! plus All Things Connect, and the Healthy Kidney 10K

My little buddy Liam turned four on May 13! That's his sister Ella in the foreground, and mom Gretchen.

Your support of my Fred's Team marathon effort made this picture possible. "Thank you" just doesn't seem adequate.

Please help me make sure that Liam, and all the children suffering from neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers, are able to celebrate their birthdays for years to come. Just click here or on the links on the right side and bottom of the page to visit my Fred's Team home page, where you can make a secure donation to my third NYC Marathon effort, which I'm running in Liam's honor.

Speaking of honor, the latest additions to the Honor Roll are...

MY PARENTS GIL & BONNIE

making the total so far

$705

How cool is that? Six thousand is a long way off, though. Won't you please help me reach my goal?

I'm taking an extra day off today, I'm feeling a little shin-splinty and I have a race tomorrow, the Wall Street 5K. Rumor has it that 17,000 people will be there! Egads. I need new sneakers, I think. I'm still waiting to hear back from Saucony, who I asked to sponsor me, but I'm guessing my request ended up in the circular file. That's the garbage can. So I shouldn't be putting the sneaker buy off much longer. Sigh. I'll still wear Sauconys, though. Love 'em.

Some unrelated good news to report: in addition to running and doing theater, I'm also a court reporting student. I'm learning to use those little machines that spit out gibberish on long, skinny strips of paper. The speed you need to get to in order to graduate and become certified by the national CR governing body is 225 words per minute. Seems really fast, and it is -- normal conversational speed is around 180. I was in the process of passing my 180 tests (there are 5 tests: a q & a, 3 tests on literary material, and a jury charge) when the semester ended and I took the next four months off to go to Florida to work. In my school, once you pass all your 180s you move into the final speed class, 190-225. In the week before I left, I took a whole bunch of tests, but never found out how I did. Anyway, today was my first day back at school, and there were three happy surprises waiting for me. First, I passed all but one of the literary tests. Two, they had changed the requirements for moving into the final speed class, and with the q & a and jury charge complete, I was now in the final speed class. Finally, I can start my internship hours! I was going to do some down in Florida, but I was not ready. I felt that I was losing speed, even though I was practicing, and I was too distracted by work to commit to interning. Now I am ready.

For those who followed my blog last year, it was pretty remarkable how my steno speed kept pace -- pun intended -- with my running improvements. Every time I made progress in one area, the other area improved, too. With my average speed holding steady at about 30 seconds faster than this time last year, I was kind of hoping that my steno would make a similar improvement. Turns out, maybe so. So wish me luck as I start testing again this week!

Saturday was the Healthy Kidney 10K. It was a beautiful day for running. It was my first race back, my second of the year. This race is a benefit for the National Kidney Foundation, and is sponsored by the United Arab Emirates. A few years back, a sheik (forget who) needed a kidney transplant, came to the US, got one, and began the Foundation as a thank-you. This race has some of the oddest swag -- phone directories for Saudi Arabia, pins in the shape of kidneys saying "I (Heart) Kidneys," stuff like that. It's always well-attended, and the t-shirts are always technical. I was looking forward to seeing my Fred's Team buddies and seeing how my racing form would hold up after all the trouble I had running in Florida.

One thing NYRR has started doing is to use seeded corrals -- your bib number corresponds to a pace corral, with your pace determined by this year's NYRR race history (if you have one) and your educated guess (if you don't.) You can start in a slower corral if you want, but not a faster one. I have to say, it was one of the best ideas NYRR has come up with. Even though there were over 7,000 people running, there were never the logjams or frustrations of previous races. The field was crowded, but it kept moving. Hooray! Anyway, my pace time, according to NYRR, was 8:07. Ha ha! That's based on my 5K from the Coogan's run. I saw one of my Teammates as I was heading for the start. She's a lot faster than I am, but she's also only run one race this year, a half-marathon, and her pace was 8:13. Hilariously, I was now "faster" than her! I started with her in her corral (one back from mine) so I could talk with her for a bit and start a little slower. I was wanting to run it at about an 8:30ish pace, which was what I did at the Bull Run in Boca Raton (8:35 with a 53:18 finish.)

Even with the seeded corrals, it was a slow start because of the size of the crowd. Mile 1 was 9:17, which was great. I am a big fan of negative splits, and I don't mind starting slower. I'm not sure negative splits make me any faster, but I find it makes racing a lot easier, which is more important to me.

No need for a blow-by-blow of the course, which was a clockwise loop of the Park, from 61st St on the West Side to Tavern on the Green, and the dreaded uphill finish. It started getting warm around mile 5, and I was starting to feel queasy. I saw a lot of people walking the last mile, and one person passed out at the finish line, a little unusual for a 10K. I'm guessing people didn't stop at the first two water stops, when it was still pretty cool out. Word of advice -- you still sweat when it's cold. Maybe not as much, but you do. Drink!

As I was rounding the south end of the Park, I saw a couple of my Teammates up ahead. I was amazed to see them, because they're normally a lot faster than I am. That was a real ego boost. I knew I couldn't catch up, but I pushed hard to keep them in sight, and ended up with a PR of 53:15. It's funny, their 8:35 pace is their off-season, haven't-really-run-in-a-while pace, and my 8:35 pace is a PR. For this brief moment, I'm as fast as they are -- at least until training begins! I'll take what I can get!!

The stats: Mile 1 - 9:17; Mile 2 - 8:50; Mile 3 - 8:37; Mile 4 - 8:35; Mile 5 - 8:12; Mile 6 - 7:58, and 1:44 for the .2.

More anon!

The Sound of Hope, and my first loop of '08

As I mentioned in earlier posts, there's been a lot of construction -- rather, destruction -- in my neighborhood these last several months. Across from the rear of our building, on 57th Street, used to be a whole bunch of brownstones and low-rise buildings. "Back in the day," on Sunday afternoon somebody would usually practice their sax and we could hear it. It reminded me of my old apartment on W. 22nd St. which faced out on the backyard of a restaurant that had a Sunday jazz brunch. It's the only thing I miss about that apartment. Well, those brownstones are gone now, bought by and destroyed by Extell, to make way for what we're told is going to be Time Warner Center Junior -- shops on the bottom, hotel in the middle, residences on top. Right now we have a lovely view of the pit where this tower will eventually rise, and Carnegie Hall across the street. I was looking out the window today, in fact, before I went out for my run, thinking about the sax player and how much I missed it. When I got home, what did I hear but my friend the sax player practicing away! I thought this person was a victim of the 57th St. brownstone purge, but thankfully not. As soon as I heard it, I started to cry. With so many things in my life turning upside-down, to hear the sax again was an anchor to the days when this was a neighborhood. It's a good omen, it gives me hope.

For those who asked, yes, I'm in -- I did my nine qualifying races in 2007 and I have guaranteed entry into this year's NYC Marathon. Tomorrow morning is the first chance for those of us who've done that to claim our stake, and I'll be there. Then Fred's Team starts up in a couple of months and we'll be back on the training wagon again. Dear readers, and members of the Honor Roll, start saving your dollars because you know what's coming...

Speaking of running, haven't been getting in as much as I hoped this past week. That's the problem with being unemployed -- because you have free time, you book and book yourself and then there's no time left. Also, because you do have time, you tend to squander it -- oh, I'm free until X o'clock, I can mess around until then, and then all of a sudden half a day is gone. Now, hard as it may be to believe but I am the laziest person you could ever meet. Huh? But you run marathons! Yes, true, but on the other hand if there was a way for me to drive from my bedroom to my bathroom I would do it. Misplaced priorities. So having too much time on my hands is proving to be a bad thing.

The other thing that's eating away at my time is trying to get some pick-up work as a transcriptionist/scopist in these weeks between work (a scopist is someone who transcribes steno notes as opposed to transcribing audio or video material.) Turns out, not as easy as I thought (is anything ever?) It's one of those Catch-22 situations where you can't get work without experience, but you can't get experience unless you get work. I have most of the tools -- I have the computer, most of the software, I read steno, and with the steno machine I type 180 wpm -- but because I didn't graduate from a transcriptionist or scopist course I don't have the experience necessary to jump in and get some jobs. There are a couple of forums I started subscribing to, plus a transcription website that's been helpful in shaping my resume to make it look like I'm qualified (which I am, just not in the conventional way) and lots of job leads that might lead to some work. I was going to go back to school for these three more weeks that I'm home, but I don't think I want to spend the $$ to take basically 6 classes, which is all I'd get in before I have to go back to Florida. I'm heading down to school tomorrow to talk to them and see if I can work out a deal. Anyways, researching all these different things just takes a bucketload of time -- I sit down at the computer and zap, the day is gone.

But enough about me, onto, well, me. Running me, though. So yes, not getting in enough runs, but I'm really enjoying the quality of the runs. I never realized just how much better I run in the cold. I admire those who prefer warm- and hot-weather running -- I'm not one of them. Look at my paces for the runs I did this week, and mind you, I did not push the pace of any of these runs: 8:58 per mile on the humid day, then 8:16 for the 33 degree day Thursday and an 8:25 today for another 33, 34 degree day. I can't believe that I am that affected by the temperature that there would be that much difference between hot and cold weather. Boy, I'm going to hate running in Florida again, even though it will be good practice for summer. Yuck.

Skipped the Al Gordon 4 miler yesterday. Who is Al Gordon, you ask. Just read the race t-shirt: "In 2008 the former chairman of Kidder, Peabody will turn 107. He serves on NYRR's board of directors, gives to many research and social causes and still believes the discipline of sports can apply to a successful life. 'Keep moving' has been Al Gordon's lifelong motto. And what a life it's been." Yes, that's all on the shirt. Friday's promised snow and ice storms actually did happen, and the weather was just too dangerous. NYRR smartly called the race, making it a "fun run" instead and saying that everyone who registered for the race has it count towards the nine we need for guaranteed entry to NYC '09, regardless of whether we run it. I actually woke up early enough to contemplate going, but it was 31 degrees out, meaning that the roads were still icy. Slipping on the ice didn't particularly sound like my idea of "fun," and since I got the credit for it anyway -- back to bed.

To make up for yesterday, and because I wanted to, today I did my first full loop of Central Park since returning, my first of the year, in fact. I was dreading it a little, since I've barely done any hillwork for months. Florida is not exactly known for its rolling hills, you know. I didn't even think I was going to do the loop when I started out today; I set the Nike+ for 45 minutes. Tomorrow's supposed to be nice, too, and I figured two shorter runs instead of one longer one. But once I got out there, after the first few minutes of getting adjusted to the pace and temperature, I felt so good I just wanted to keep going. Besides, I signed up for a 15K in two weeks, I need to get a few decent runs in. The Park was crowded today -- people training for Boston, and also the More Marathon in April. I don't ever see a lot of people on the road in Florida, but I know they're there; they have Road Runner Clubs in Boca and Ft. Lauderdale, but they meet at times that don't work for my work. Anyway, I was surprised by how little I felt both Cat Hill and the Great Hill today. I'm pretty sure I've lost most of the benefits of our marathon hill training, but glad to see that some of it is still there. If I decided to do some repeats, I'm sure I'd be singing a different tune. I'm going to do a hill workout this week -- Sunday is the Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K, and Ft. Tryon Park is HILLY! That's a tough little 5K, but there is beer at the end. Mmm, 9am beer!

Off to the Oscars! More anon.

Home Again, Home Again

Jiggity jig!

Yes, I am back in NYC, I arrived Saturday afternoon. I left the show I was doing in Florida a couple of days early because I had a wedding to attend. Fortunately I was able to get a friend to sub in for me there.

Before I get into travel and wedding stories, and even a little about running, let me take a moment to say hello to Mo, and thanks for the kind words! The best place to find marathon training info in my archives is summer and fall of '07, that's where the bulk of the long runs were. You can also check my training log on Buckeye Outdoors by clicking on the sidebar and checking my mileage and training during those months; I was really good about logging everything. Enjoy those ice baths!

It is good to be home. No offense to anyone (I hope) that it was strange -- and good! -- to get off the plane in Newark and see people who weren't 80 years old and white. After a few weeks in south Florida, and especially after living in a retirement community as I do when I'm there, you forget that there are other ethnic groups in the world. Ahh, variety.

Sunday was my friends Margaret and Andrew's wedding. My roomie Laura was one of the maids of honor, as was our friend Shirley. It was held at Battery Gardens, a restaurant and catering facility inside Battery Park. I've run by this place a number of times during marathon training, it's along the West Side Highway path, and I had no idea what it was. From the outside it looks like an extension of the building it sits next to, the Department of Homeland Securities Training Facility (for real), and it's accessible by a junky service road. But it's beautiful inside, and the views of the water were magnificent. The service was lovely, very personal, and of course everyone looked beautiful. Since I live with Laura I got the inside scoop on the tasting menu, and that was what was on my mind when we went to the pre-wedding party on Saturday night -- what's on the menu? Priorities, people! It was served buffet-style, which was a great idea, and I had heard so much praise for the short ribs that even though I normally don't eat meat, I tried some. They were pretty darn good (there was also pasta, salmon and Peking duck for entrees.) And though I don't eat dairy, I made the exception for the wedding -- well, not the cake, it was a tree of cannollis and Beard Papa cream puffs. We had been told that they overbought on the cannollis and cream puffs and to eat our share. I did my duty.

I should've run on Saturday afternoon when I got home, or Sunday morning, but I was operating on fumes. I'm the world's worst flyer. Not paranoid about the flight, but everything surrounding the flight -- missing the flight, getting searched, can't take my carry-on on the plane. The first time I flew my cat to Florida, I had to fly her in cargo, and they lost her. I was able to find her -- ON THE CURB OUTSIDE, unattended. That was traumatic, to say the least, and from then on I've been super-paranoid about checking anything, and it just spills over into everything else. There's other stuff going on, too, that I'll get into another time, and between that, and packing, and making sure the show was going to be okay without me, I got maybe 5 hours sleep total over 72 hours.

But I'm home now, and after 8 actual hours of sleep two days in a row, I went for a run today (Monday.) Okay, let's check the date: February 18. And the temperature. 60 degrees! Wait, did I really go back to NYC, or just loop back to Florida? I went out for a welcome-home 5 miler. And lo and behold, five minutes into it I was sweating up a storm. In February. In NYC. It was so humid out, the cool breeze did nothing to help. But it was a definite improvement over Florida. And while I didn't forget how hilly the Park is, my legs kind of did. Ah, Cat Hill, how I missed ya! Not. I'm going to try to get some hillwork in while I'm home, since there's precious few of those where I train in Florida. I used my Nike+ to track the run, and it's so funny to see the difference -- mile 1, which has a lot of small rolling hills (from 59th St to 72nd St) was an 8:20 mile. Mile 2 has Cat Hill, it was a 9:10. I wasn't pushing or anything, the other miles were 9:17, 9:18, and 9:04. I have some doubt as to the accuracy of the pacing per mile on the Nike+, but I'm happy with a reasonably correct result, and it did feel ultimately like a 9 minute mile average.

Oh, two other good things that happened this week: I was able to see the amazing Miri Ingwer and have her fix my right butt cheek. As I suspected, she took a look at me and said, "The problem isn't your hamstring, it's your hip," and proceeded to bend, twist and stretch me into a pretzel. And for two whole days, there was zero pain! It wasn't that I was in constant agony or anything, it was just a nagging ache that I would feel while running, and also when I sat for a long period of time. Now that I've got a plane ride and a bunch of runs behind me, the ache is starting to return, but now I know how to address it, and that a few more sessions when I return to Florida will vanquish the pain from my ass. If only everything else WEREN'T such a pain in my ass...

The other thing is that Matt, my Stenotrader buddy, souped up my steno machine. He did an overhaul at the end of December, and shimmed the keys to shorten the stroke length (less length = more speed.) It felt great, but I realized at the beginning of my last week in Florida that the shimming made the paper notes stack up on top of each other. See, you can use the machine with paper -- which I have to do in school when I test -- and without, when I plug it into the computer and use it with my steno software, which is what I do out of school. When notes "stack" it's like you're typing them on top of each other, the spacing between lines is too narrow and they become hard to read. You can make these adjustments on better machines, but mine is just a 200 student model. So Matt took my machine back and put a motor in it, so it can run in manual mode with paper and space properly, or electric mode, like the 400 model (still a student model) which requires much less effort, with or without paper. So in essence he made my machine 200 better. Thanks, Matt!

Off to practice now. More anon!