Run Jimmy Run

2006-12-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

2006 ING NYC Marathon
2006 Staten Island Half Marathon
2006 NYC 1/2 Marathon
300 miles in training runs
$2,285.00 raised for cancer research

Thank You For Your Support!

I had such a good time
I'm heading South to the
Nashville Country Music Marathon

Check Out the all new Donation site:
www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/nashvillejimmy
And be sure to visit the BLOG:
www.nashvillejimmy.blogspot.com

2006-11-07T04:36:00.000-08:00

The Reward!

2006-11-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

Clicking on the picture will open a new window and allow you to view video of me as I enter Central Park at 90th Street. I am not the person with the buffalo horns; I am the one wearing the purple singlet and orange hat. More neat stuff and details on the way...for right now, rest.

JP

2006-11-02T07:36:00.000-08:00

On September 3oth, this couple got married:
Good looking couple, huh?

There was a big party with a glorious cake:
Now what does this have to do with running a marathon? Not a thing. Well, almost nothing. You see, I'm raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. On every table at the reception was this card:
On November 5th, I will run in the New York City Marathon in Honor of my Mom & Dad, and in Memory of Cara Carpenter, a little girl I've never met, but whose spirit makes the world a brighter place.

-JP

2006-11-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

A link to a little inspiration for the Marathon (it will open up a video on another page):

2006-10-28T04:16:00.000-07:00

Nothing says Happy Birthday like new underwear!*
*the events detailed here occured back in June, 2006

That's what you're looking at to the left here. In addition to the fancy boxers, Aurora also gave me a pair of running shorts and a running shirt. I presented myself with the Under Armour black boxer jock . We'll come back to the picture in a moment.

The running shorts, shirt and boxer jock are made of polyester now a days; moisture wicking material they call it. My memory of polyester is of my little league baseball uniform. That thing was made of polyester, and there were no moisture wicking properties to those little league uniforms. On the contrary that thing was like your wearing your own Easy Bake Oven. A few hours in the hot sun and a kid could easily bake himself a few dozen brownies.

So I put on all my new gear, feeling every bit the runner, and head out for a run with Aurora. As we jog through Prospect Park, Aurora asks me periodically what I think of my new shorts and shirt. The shorts are shorts, and I don't notice a big difference. The shirt is great because it doesn't soak up sweat like a cotton shirt.

The UnderArmour boxer jock, is a whole other story. The point of wearing this particular item is three fold: keep your upper leg muscles warm, hold your private bits in place, and prevent your thighs from chaffing. My muscles were warm, the private bits weren't moving around and my thighs didn't chafe, but I was feeling a little discomfort, chaffing if you will, in a very personal area. I believe the correct anatomical name is Perineum. As the run went on, the chaffing became almost intolerable.

I tell Aurora that the shorts and shirt she gave me for my b-day are super, but I'm gonna melt down these stupid compression shorts, cause they are causing a great deal of irritation in an uncomfortable spot.

We finish the run and are back at our apartment. I have taken off the shorts and the shirt and am only wearing my UnderArmour boxer jock. I'm about to take these off too, when Aurora comes up behind me and says, "Jim, what are you wearing?" I reply, "this stupid UnderArmour boxer jock!". She says, "What's all this stuff in the back here?" while grabbing at my posterior. "Oh my God! Are you wearing your underwear backwards?"

I looked down, at the front of my compression shorts and there was no "fly" like you'd see on traditional shorts. Take another look at that picture above and then look at these:

I stripped them off, turned them around, and sure enough, I just ran four miles with my
underwear on backwards. D'OH!!!

Disgusted with myself, I jumped in the shower to clean up. I can hear Aurora laughing even with the door close and the water running. Then I step in the shower. Have you ever had hot water hit chafed skin? Let me tell it feels like being touched with a red hot poker. YEEEOWWW!!!!

How does a relatively well educated, not crazy person do this? Well, if you look at both shorts side by side, they both have a label on the outside of the waistband. Only, the Polo boxer shorts have the label on the front and the Under Armour shorts have the label on the back.

So what's the moral of the story? Training for a marathon is not easy. It's harder when you put your clothes on backwards, so put your clothes on right way round and you'll find it's much easier to run.

The Marathon is now one week away. You can bet that I'll be wearing my shorts the right way round come marathon Sunday, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

-JP

2006-10-19T05:10:00.000-07:00

MARATHON ANXIETY PART ONE

I've had this dream a few times in the last month. Here it is:

I'm in Central Park I've run the 26 miles, I can see the finish line, I hear the crowds, I'm tired, legs tired, but I can make it. I can make it, the finish line is just few hundred feet away. And I STOP.

I look around, there are people yelling, saying "you're almost there, keep going!" I take a deep breath, bend over at the waist, stretch. I watch other runners go past. Then I sit down and remove my shoe that has the timing chip. I look at the shoe, stand up. Then I throw my shoe across the finish line.

I then walk off the course and disappear in the crowd.

Any of you amateur dream interpreters/Freudians out there who have an opinion on this let me know.

2006-10-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Staten Island Half Marathon October 15, 2006

Staten Island Half Marathon

These brave folks rose early in the morning to take a taxi, several subways and the Staten Island Ferry to run 13.1 miles just for the heck of it.

This picture was taken before the race, don't they look happy?

Wait there's more

Eric a.k.a Flash : Super hero or super runner? Hmm. You be the judge.

Piya is truly having a good time. Look at that smile!

Anne looks very pleased too:

Notes on the Race:

All of us started running together, but Flash took off with a "I'll see you guys at the finish."
As we started the first mile, I had the feeling that I might have to go, but I dismissed it as nerves. That feeling didn't go away, I still had to go. I saw a bunch of runners by the wayside taking care of business. I still can't bring myself to do that. Plus there was an announcement before the race saying that anyone caught urinating in public would be disqualified from the race and BANNED from the New York City Marathon. I've worked too hard to be disqualified for urinating in public. Plus what would my parents say?

At mile one there was a porta potty with only a few people in line. I told Anne and Piya I'd catch up with them later and stopped to use the facility. It felt like an eternity waiting. By the time I got out the whole of the race had passed me by! Not a soul! No one. Maybe a walker or two, but really talk about feeling alone. I figure I spent 8 minutes waiting on line to go. So take my time and subtract 8 minutes and I did pretty well, shoot even if you figure just 5 minutes.

After that I did something stupid and ran pretty hard to catch up with Anne and Piya. I did catch up with them, but it cost me. By the time I got to mile 12, I had nothing left! Ok, I had a little bit left:

You know what's next...

2006-10-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

JUST BECAUSE:

2006-10-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

October 15, 2006

Staten Island Half Marathon

NYRR Grand Prix: Staten Island
List by Name: j purvis

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: Oct. 15, 2006, 9:40 am
Location: Staten Island, NYC
Weather: 44 deg., 63% hum., wind 3 mph

Search Results Wheelchair Finishers Award Winners Statistics

Click any heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/
Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall
Place

Gender
Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Net
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG
Time

AG
Gender
Place

AG %

PURVIS

JIM

M37

7218

LEUK

BROOKLYN

3177

2033

783

2:22:40

2:19:25

10:38

2:16:54

2092

43.2 %

Notes: So what does the above mean? For comparison here are my results from the Nike Half Marathon:

NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE
List by Name: j purvis

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: August 27, 2006, 7:00 am
Location: Central Park to Battery Park, NYC
Weather: 67 deg., 76% hum., wind E 8 mph.

Click any heading to sort the list. AG = Age Graded.

Last Name

First Name

Sex/
Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall
Place

Gender
Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Net
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG
Time

AG
Gender
Place

AG %

PURVIS

JAMES

M37

8806

LEUK

BROOKLYN

9296

5057

2123

2:35:20

2:28:38

11:20

2:25:57

5150

40.5 %

More on this race coming this week. Plus pictures!

-JP

2006-10-12T04:42:00.000-07:00

Workout Summary October12, 2006

Distance : 3 miles

Time: 30 minutes

Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=488556

Notes: Woke up at 6:00am to the sound of garbage trucks and some honking a horn. Was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. Took a look outside, not raining, so I thought lets take a little a jog.

First mile I had tightness in my left "hammy." I heard one of the coaches say that the other day, her "hammy" was hurting. Just didn't sound right. Any way my left hamstring muscle was feeling tight. It loosened up a little bit on the run and more so when I stretched.

Left knee is getting that IT band pain. Wearing a strap and that seems to help. Stretching and ice helps the most. We'll see how the half marathon goes on Sunday.

2006-10-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Work out Summary October 10, 2006

Location: Central Park

Mileage: 5 miles

Time: 49 minutes (that's just under 10 minutes per mile!)

Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=488571

Notes: The workout tonight: run marathon pace from Bethesda Fountain to 102nd up the west side. Turn around and do half marathon pace from 102 back down the west side and around the lower loop of Central Park.

Oddly enough I was the only Brooklyn person at the practice. Hmm. A lot of the Brooklyn people are preparing for their marathons coming up, the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco and the Chicago Marathon. I hate to think about it but this experience is coming to an end.

2006-10-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AND WHY ARE THEY FOLLOWING ME?

TRIP TO THE TRAILS- THE LAST BIG RUN (20 MILES) BEFORE THE MARATHON

October 7, 2006

These are the fearless and slightly chilled Team in Training New York City Marathon participants. I've never seen so much goose pimpled skin in one place; it was quite disturbing. But there we were, gathered in New Jersey in Johnson Park getting our mettle together for a 20 mile run. No, that is not a typo, TWENTY MILES of running.

My morning started a little before 6:00am.

Here I am leaving my building to meet my fellow Brooklyn teammates. As you can see I am bright eyed and bushytailed. You can see the garbage has not been picked up and the building could use a new coat of paint.

BROOKLYN IN THE HOUSE:

For some strange reason, I agreed to meet at Prospect Park. But the thing is, there were only three of us from Brooklyn heading to New Jersey for the run. Two of us, Piya (here on the left) and I live about a one block away from each other. So why Piya and agreed to meet Anne (she was driving) at Prospect Park (several blocks away) is a mystery to me.

The run was pretty simple; run ten miles out and turn around. The trail cut through the New Jersey country side. At times we were running next to a canal complete with fishermen. Other times the trail cut through the Blair Witch Project setting. Pretty, but potentially creepy.

A great bonding experience: running twenty miles together takes a long time. So in order to pass the time we regaled each other with tall tales, college hi-jinks, work, you know life stuff. None of which I would ever repeat. The trails are like Vegas, "what happens on the trails stays on the trails."

NEW JERSEY WILD LIFE: New Jersey is filled with wild life. Like Bambi here. Bambi and his brood were out in force that afternoon. We saw a lot of deer on the trail (ok I saw five, that's more deer than I've seen in the past three years). A few butterflys, a squirrel or two. But the most exciting moment of the day came around the 12 miles into the run. Piya looked down and saw this brown snake. Piya almost stepped on it. I didn't quite register that it was a snake at first.

The thought that went through my head: oh look at that oddly shaped stick moving across the trail. It didn't quite dawn on me that sticks don't move; I chalk that up to my laser like focus on my running.

Anne however had a different reaction entirely. Her's was more like this:

Anne took off like Olympic sprinter when she saw that snake. I didn't think Piya and I were gonna catch up to her. But when we did, we all had a good laugh.

And the good times didn't stop there.

The topic turned to dance specifically this one:

Ok, that's embarrassing enough, but to try and do this while you're running? Ok, little bit more embarrassing. Totally humiliation is having Coach Ramon see you trying to do the Macarena while running.

After that, the run was pretty much the same: trees, canal, fisherman, creepy twin joggers, flowers, dirt, rocks. When we made it back to the starting point, most of the team was there, enjoying bagels, chips, water, Gatorade, pretzels. They hooped and hollered as we came running in.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

-JP

2006-10-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

October 3, 2006

Workout Summary

Mileage: 5 miles

Time: 49minutes

Route: Three Lower loopsÂ1.7153 miles on roads
Start on East Drive at the 72nd Street Transverse (point 5) and head west across the transverse. Turn left/south on West Drive (point 4), passing Tavern on the Green on your right. Continue around the south end of the park to your starting point.

Notes: This was a team run with simple instructions: run this like a race. Surprisingly there were very few Brooklyn people at practice tonight. So few that I thought I missed a memo or something. The run was fine, it was very warm out and dark. The last loop I was huffing and puffing, not gasping but I turned it on and still had some left when i finished.

-Jim

2006-10-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

October 2, 2006

Workout Summary

Mileage: 10

Time: 1:48

Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=472317

Notes: Do you ever get that feeling that something just isn't right? I got it this morning. I had the strangest feeling that overnight, Manhattan and New Jersey had disappeared. Not in an apocalyptic way, more in, a "we're tired and we deserve a vacation so we're going to Boca for a few days," kind of way.

I had that running through my head as I got ready for my morning run. It was still dark out. I started running down Third Avenue. As I started to get warmed up, I thought, I'll just take a look and see if the Brooklyn Bridge is still there. Yep it was still there. So I thought, maybe I'll just take a quick run across and make sure that Manhattan on the other side of the bridge isn't a mirage. I got to the other side and found that Manhattan had not left for Boca.

Since I was already in Manhattan a little after seven in the morning and still feeling good, I thought, lets take a run over to the west side and see if New Jersey is still there.

I can't really confirm that New Jersey was there, I mean it looked like it was there, but I didn't actually set foot on it. As far as I know it's still there, but I know a lot of people who reside in New Jersey and I didn't hear from them all day yesterday. Coincidence?

Why the big run on a Monday? A couple of reasons: 1) Didn't get a run in over the weekend, more on the weekend later, let me just tell you it involved me, a suit, a tie, and Long Island. Nuff said. 2) Decided to take the offensive and fight off "a case of the Mondays." 3) There is no reason number three. 4) When I got out there, it just felt right. 5) I wanted to see the sun come up as I ran across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Have a great week!

-JP

2006-09-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

September 29, 2006

Work out summary

Mileage: 5

Time: 58

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=465528

Notes: Big note to self, do not start run up hill if possible. I started my run by running up 9th street to Prospect park. Ah geez, that's tough. It was a nice morning to run, a little damp, cool and over cast.

At about two miles in to the run I had to take a few minutes to stretch. My shins were killing me for some reason and I just couldn't get a flow going. I took the time to stretch and it did wonders. The rest of the run was much better. It was still a little challenging, but no where near as tough as the first two miles.

At home I had to tend to some blisters and chafing. I've got a blister on my little toe. And what makes it worse is it's under a callous. Ouch! It didn't help that I tried to do a little surgery last night, not a good idea. Been a tough day since. I'll spare you and not post a picture.

-JP

2006-09-27T04:35:00.000-07:00

Workout Summary Sept. 27, 2006

Mileage: 5

Time: See the notes

Route: Central Park Lower loop

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=461042

Notes: I had to pee as soon as I got to practice. There are no restrooms or porto-potties at 90th street. I just can't bring myself to go in the bushes in Central Park, even though I know people do. After all, what would my mother think? The closest restroom was at the boathouse, exactly 1 mile away. So I hopped around while announcements were made.

The team is sent out in groups: the advance & intermediate runners go first (these are the super runners who run 6-7 minute miles), then the beginners (I am a beginner). But I couldn't wait, I took off with the fast group. I found the right stride that allowed me to move forward but not jostle my bladder and was able to make it to the restroom with out incident (in about 12 minutes).

So the first loop I ran at an easy pace. It's about a 1.7 miles around and I did it in 18:30. The next loop was supposed to be 30 seconds faster. I did the second loop in 16:40. Uh oh! To finish off the run, we were to run the last mile back (that's the boat house to 90th Street) as fast as we could.

That last mile I did in 9:44. So what does this all mean? It means I'm probably starting off too slow and need to pick up the pace on the front end.

"The race is long, and in the end, itÂs only with yourself." Mary Schmich

2006-09-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

September 25, 2006

Workout Summary

Mileage: 3.5

Time: 40 minutes

Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=456450

Notes: Working out a few kinks from Saturday's long run so I took it easy today. VERY HUMBLING MOMENT today; running up Union Street toward the Park and this guy running while pushing a stroller passed me. PASSED ME!!! It wasn't this guy, but this is what the stroller looked like. I have to think that he just had just come out of his building. His building must have been really hot too, cause he was all sweaty.

2006-09-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Food and Exercise

Training for an endurance requires energy. Lots of it. We all know where that comes from, calories. That's a fun part about this training; I don't really have to worry about what I'm eating. Of course I don't load my self with a bunch of crap either, but I don't deny myself either as you can see.

Last night for instance, my dinner consisted of pasta with chicken sausage. I sauced the whole dish with a fresh tomato sauce (really simple and really good). So this morning I was carbo-locked and loaded for the 18 miler.

But what do you do while you're running for 3, 4 even 5 hours? An orange? A sandwich? I once saw a guy who ate a pizza while running a marathon. But these options are not practical for most of us.

The answer: SPORT GELS

Sports Gels are complex carbohydrates. Other ingredients can be: sodium, amino acids, protein, herbs and caffeine. A shot of 100 calories with a bit of caffeine does wonders to a runner.

This stuff is viscous, like honey. They come in convenient little packages not much bigger than a packet of ketchup. Not very appetizing, but it gets the job done.

Gels are not meant to be savored like a fine wine. Take this stuff like a pill, with water. To do other wise is too...well did you ever feed a dog peanut butter?

Here's where you benefit from my experience: Reviews of three flavors of a popular sport gel made by GU. I'm not a big fan of any sport gels, but GU makes some that are tolerable.

Gu Tasted: Vanilla Bean

RATING:

Notes: Aftertaste of a Snickers bar, a warm liquefied Snickers bar.

Gu Tasted Tested: Orange Burst

RATING:

Notes: Knock knock.
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad you don't have to eat this everyday?

Gu Taste Tested: Tri-Berry

RATING:

Notes: Tri-Berry, try not to gag as this swallow this somewhat berry flavored gel.

Gu Taste Tested: Banana Blitz

RATING: none

Notes: Many of you know my feelings about bananas. For those of you who don't: bananas are not meant for human consumption. I find the texture repulsive, the taste is awful, and the smell inspires me to wretch.

Oh sure some of you will tell me about the nutritional value of bananas, but come on, they're disgusting. I don't even like to be in the same room with one. One of my roommates in college (Buffalo, I'm talking about you) chased me around our apartment threatening to mash a banana in my face. My co-workers know the fastest way to get me to exit a room is to set a banana on the table.
Final thoughts: eat at your own risk and please don't consume this or any other banana flavored or banana type food in my presence.

Ok, that about wraps it up for this week. I hope this little review about sport gels was informative if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Be well,

JP

2006-09-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

September 23, 2006

Workout Summary: The Run to Coney Island

mileage: 18

Time: Today was a LSD (long slow distance) so time is not a factor, but I timed it and it was give or take three hours and twenty minutes.

Notes:

The run started in Bay Ridge Brooklyn then we ran along the waterfront, under the Verazzano Bridge, and through parts of Brooklyn I don't normally frequent. A little rain came down, at one point it came down sideways. Yes it was a bit windy next to the water. The rain stopped and the temperature came down.

Getting out there was easy enough. And it was fun running along the deserted boardwalk. No stopping to ride the rides:

The return back seemed to take a little longer, but over all I felt good and even had a little kick for the last mile.

-JP

2006-09-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

September 21, 2006

Work out Summary

Miles Run: 5
Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=450556
(zoom out so you can see the whole route)

Time: 51 minutes

Notes: I had taped my foot up to help support my plantar fascia. It made a world of difference.

My course took up my Union Street. This stretch of Union Street is a long slow hill from Fourth Avenue up to Prospect Park. At Fifth Avenue and Union I saw another runner half way up the block towards Sixth. I said to myself, I'm gonna focus on my form and technique and I'm gonna catch up to that guy. By the time I got to the park he and I were running side by side. I caught him and I was breathing just a little heavier than when I started running!

Little victories my friends, little victories!

-JP

2006-09-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

9/19/06

Workout Summary:

Mileage: 5 miles
Time: 56 minutes

Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=450575

Notes: This was a team practice in Central Park. Weather was a little overcast and even felt a few sprinkles. The goal of the run today was pacing. The instructions were to go out, warm up, hit an easy stride then at 59th Street (about 3.2 miles into the 5 mile run) pick up the pace and see how much energy you have left to run hard for the remaining 1.8 miles.

Little tip here in case you want to try this at home: Don't spend the first 3 miles yapping to your teammate about your lousy day. I made this mistake and by the time I was going hard during the last 1.8, my teammate had run off a good minute or so ahead of me.

-JP

2006-09-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Monday September 18, 2006

Work Out Summary

Miles: 3 Miles

Time: 34 minutes

Notes: I ran over to the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. Wasn't feeling all that great so early in the morning so I just thought a quick jaunt was in order.

An interesting sight- on the corner of Smith and Carrol (I think it was Carrol) there were a dozen people standing all looking in the same direction not moving. I figured it was a meditation class or something like that, but there were all different types of people. A few in suits, a few in jeans, and some kids.

It turns out they were standing outside the entrance to the F-Train (for those non-New Yorkers that's a subway line). The subway comes up above ground just past that station and all those people were looking to see when the train was coming. As soon as it did, they all on cue turned and went underground.

-JP

2006-09-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 9, 2006

10 Mile Run to Manhattan -

We met up in Prospect Park for a little run to Manhattan and back. Unfortunately for me I have been battling a head cold since Wednesday. I read a few things on the web that said running with a head cold is not so bad.

The run wasn't too bad. I actually felt pretty good through out the run. I spent most of Saturday after the run in bed. The head cold hasn't lessened but I did need the rest. I may spend the next few days trying to recover. It's Sunday and I'm still feeling out of sorts.

Any of you have experience with this? A head cold you can't shake? That's all for now.

-JP

2006-09-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Barney the Dinosaur or Jim the Marathoner?
If you answered Jim the Marathoner, give yourself 2 points and a pat on the back.

-JP

2006-09-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday September 5, 2006

Central Park - Five Miles

Worked on Pacing

First off it was raining. Ugh! I had little desire to run this evening, but I dragged my self up to the park. Once I got there and saw the other die hards hopping around in the rain waiting for the run to begin, I felt much better.

The work out was simple, run three of the lower loops of Central Park. The first one at an easy pace, the second one should be about 15-20 seconds faster than the first, the third should be 10-15 seconds faster than the second.

So how did I do? Not too well as far as pacing goes. I ran the second loop a full minute faster than the first, and the third about 45 seconds faster than the second. The run was fine and I felt fine, but I was disappointed that I couldn't time it better. I asked Coach Lisa about this and she, always supportive, told me not to worry to much about it just now.

This is the first of a series of pacing workouts, so I have plenty of time to practice.

2006-09-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sept. 2, 2006

Hurricane Ernesto Blows through the North East.

I woke up at 6:00am , looked out the window and saw the trees really swaying in the wind. Not a whole lot of rain, just that mist that you can not escape from. Crawled back in bed woke up a few hours later, and the wind was still blowing and the rain still misting. No long run for me today.

I did make it to the YMCA where I did a little cardio work on the bike then hit the weight room to pump some iron. As you can see, the weight lifting is working out well. Today was a leg day, so you can really see where this work is paying off. Who knows maybe when this marathon thing is done I'll go back to pro-body building circuit.

But that's a hard life; the weights, the raw egg yolks, protein powders, hand washing thongs in hotel bathroom sinks. I guess I just better focus on the marathon.

Be well,

JP

2006-08-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

August 31, 2006 Park Slope Brooklyn

A morning run through Prospect Park - 4 miles

Long run coming up on Saturday and it's supposed to rain.

-JP

2006-08-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM THE ESPN SPORTSZONE:

Purvis Achieves Personal Best for Timed Mile

New York City, Central Park August 29, 2006

7:32 Mile

Coming off Nike’s New York Half Marathon, Jim Purvis (pictured below) of Team in Training put in his personal best for a timed mile at 7:32, Tuesday evening in Central Park. When reached for comment, Purvis had this to say:

“Wow! I wasn’t even going to show up to practice. It was raining, work was a bear, I missed two subways, showed up late. Once I’m out there, everything else just goes away. Me and the road.”

Purvis put in two other timed mile repeats, with times of 8:30 and 8:50. The latter time was a leg of Central Park that included Cat Hill.

Ramon Bermo, Purvis’ coach, had this to say, “Jim ran the first mile a little too quickly; I think he should be aiming for a 8:00 or an 8:05 mile pace. But a job well done”

In a related story, Belt Hole Number Two on Purvis’ black leather belt has walked off the job.

There are rumors, that Khaki Pants Local 38 is considering going on strike in a show of solidarity. We'll keep you updated.

On November 5, 2006, Jim Purvis will run in the ING New York City Marathon, his first ever. Jim Purvis is running for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training. As a member of Team In Training, Purvis has agreed to raise $1,800 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. To date Purvis has raised over $1000, but still needs your support. If you would like to donate, you can visit his web site: www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/runjimmyrun.

2006-08-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

August 27th, 2006 The New York City Half Marathon presented by NIKE

Jim Finishes Strong!
2 hours, 28 minutes*
(ok I wasn't burning up the pavement, but I had the courage to start and the stamina to finish)

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: August 27, 2006, 7:00 am
Location: Central Park to Battery Park, NYC
Weather: 67 deg., 76% hum., wind E 8 mph.

*8/28/05 - I got an e-mail from race organizers saying my 'official time' was 2:35. Obviously one of is off, and I'm sure it's not me. ;^P

Yes, my arms are two different colors. I have to rember to wear this singlet on a sunny day and even out my tan.

The morning started at 3:45 am!!!! I was truly wondering if I had gone around the bend. What am I thinking, I know people who were still out partying at that time (and you know who you are)?

I pushed those thoughts out of my head and got on with getting ready. Coffee, a light bite and water. Lots of water. More than one trip to the rest room.

We made it to the Park at 6:00am and it was a mad house. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a runner. It was great! I was pumped and ready to go. Have you ever seen 10,000 people all in one place? I have. This morning when I lined up to run this Half marathon. That's a lot of feet.

Everyone was so excited it was electric. Just like this:
Ok, no one was busting any sweet dance moves like they did in Electric Boogaloo. Mostly, people were stretching and getting ready to run.

Team In Training received final instructions from our Coach, the one and only Ramon. The sum and total of his instructions:

Have fun!
Behave! (that means don't bolt out of the gate)
Now go line up!

I'M KING OF THE HILLS!

I've never run a complete loop of Central Park, but I've run every mile of the loop in part, so I knew what to expect and how to run. I knew the hills, up and down (remember I had whole series of hill trainings earlier) so they were no problem.

The course went down Seventh Avenue through Times Square then across 42nd Street. The streets belonged to the runners this morning. Tourists were agog at the mass of humanity jogging past. I'd wave and they'd wave back with a blank stare on their face.

You want to know the neat thing about these events? All the free stuff you get (it's not really all that free, there are entrance fees). But check out all this stuff I came home with:

Four towels

Towels? They handed these out at the end of the race. It did rain a little bit and I was just a little sweaty by the end. They were kind of scratchy and not very pleasant to put against your skin. But soaked with water they felt kind of good on the back of my neck.

Two Bottles of Poland Spring Water

There was enough bottled water to fill a Volkswagen. I drank a few of these and I ended up with these two extra bottles.
Mmm...Volkswagens.

Two bottles of Gatorade Extreme
Gatorade with extra salt....
Mmm ...SALT

Five Dark Chocolate Bars

This was random but there were a bunch of people handing out chocolate bars. I don't know if it's any good, but I'll let you know. (8/29/04 - The chocolate is not bad. It tastes kind of like Nestle Chocolate Chips)
Mmm....Chocolate.

BandAids and Surgi-lube!

BandAids and Surgi-lube for your blisters. I have a little on my little toe, so this came in handy.
Mmm....bandages & slicky-doo stuff.

Sunscreen
It came in a cute little bottle on a little carabiner clip. It was cloudy today, so I didn't need this stuff.

Mmm....Sunscreen on a Carabiner!

Balance Bar

Balance Bar with 100 Calories.
Mmm...Calories!

Newman's Own Microwave Popcorn
This was almost as random as the chocolate bars, but you know what, I ain't complaining. I love microwave popcorn. It's quick, easy and delicious.
Mmm...Corn kernels subjected to micro-waves until puffed.

The official clear plastic bag of the New York City Half Marathon presented by NIKE

I had to stuff all my semi-valuable stuff (cell phone, a few bucks, a metro card, a dry shirt, and safety pins) in this bag and hand it over to the volunteers who took good care of my stuff while I trotted around Manhattan.
Mmm.... Semi-Valuable Stuff.

An Official New York City Half Marathon shirt made of 100% polyester. It's baby blue with purple lettering, this picture is not so good.
Mmm....Soft Spun Polyester!

A Medal on a blue and yellow Ribbon

I wore this to lunch after the race. Mind you, I had come home and dropped off my gear and left the house, so I had plenty of opportunity to take this off. But I didn't cause I was pretty proud of myself and I wanted to let everyone know I ran 13.1 miles this morning. I got a lot of looks from the Hipsters of Park Slope and smiles from the Park Slope Young Parents' brigade.
Mmm...Ribbon with Medal

Tub full of Ice Water

What the heck? A tub of ice water? Ok, NIKE didn't give this to me, I had to furnish this on my own. And yes, I sat in this tub for a good 15 mins reading the New Yorker. Very refreshing. Brrr!

Hot rocking band at the end of the race

These folks were at the end of the race. The two women playing the drums were rocking out and knocking out some hot dance moves while banging the drums.

Interesting people

A pirate, a zaftig woman in a bathing suit holding a beach ball, a mermaid, a bug lady and a man wearing swim fins. These guys were just hanging out at the end of the race. You meet the nicest people while running. I don't think these folks ran in the race.

A last comment and a wish for you:

As I was heading towards the finish line there were at least 30 of my teammates and coaches yelling my name and cheering me on.

If I could wish everyone one of you reading this blog, one thing. I would wish that you would know what it is like to cross a finish line with dozens of people cheering you on. It's an amazing feeling.

JP

2006-08-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 26, 2006

Day before the NYC 1/2 Marathon.

Easy 1 mile just to loosen up and then off to the YMCA to Stretch.

-JP

2006-08-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday August 24th, 2006

Did I mention how hard the run on last Saturday was? Yes it was hard. So tonight I did a little different workout tonight.

I did a little workout on this machine. This thing isn't an elliptical machine, but it is a non-impact machine. So I did that for half an hour, then ran a quarter mile just to make sure the feet still work. No problems with the feet.

And then, I stretched.

-JP

2006-08-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

Team Workout in Central Park

A run on the trails, but then some how I got separated from the group. Ended up doing around 4-5 miles when we should have done 3-4. I was talking to my teammate, Alexia and we just kept running till someone said it's time to go back.

Go figure.

-JP

2006-08-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

August 20, 2006 - Apparently I lost a bet...

because what I thought was going to be a pleasant run over the George Washington Bridge turned in to one really hard run.

The morning started at 6:00 am, Aurora and I were meeting Pia (Pia if this is not how to spell your name I apologize) at 8:00 on the F-Train.

That gives us a good two hours to:
CAFFEINATE

Little did I know how much I'd need the caffeine for what I was about to undertake.

GET DRESSED

It never ceases to amaze how long it can take to get dressed. I mean really, all I have are maybe a half dozen articles of clothing to put on.

And naturally after drinking coffee and some water it's important to use the toilet. After all:

We meet Pia on the platform a little after 8:00 am. The subway ride turns out to be one hour exactly. We take the F-Train to the A Train all the way from Brooklyn to 178th Street in Manhattan. That's a long ride. I was worn out just from being on the train.

Our meeting spot is on the south side of the bridge, but lo and behold the south entrance is closed. Dodging traffic the team (that's about 100 people), make their way to the north entrance.

In order to get on the bridge we had to climb a series of stairs worthy of MC Escher. Once up on the bridge we run single file for a good fifty yards. We had to there was no other room.

As we run along I can see the tops of buildings and trees. I realize that my intense fear of open air heights has not eased as I've gotten older. In fact it's worse. I did manage to calm down a bit when I got to the center of the bridge, and just to my left I could lean over and smack a passing car.

On the other side of the bridge after navigating another labyrinth of steps , we were finally on terra firma. Terra firma being a narrow sidewalk along a busy street. A short jog along this busy street crossing once then crossing back over and we were in Palisades Interstate Park.

The park drive was asphalt under a beautiful canopy of trees. The little hills started to turn into great big monster hills with no end. At one point I had to absolutely to go. Ramon, our fearless leader, Iron Man extrodinaire was following us in his SUV. I asked him about the facilities and he pointed to a fork in the road, telling us to follow the trail along the water and we'll meet up with the team. I, along with Aurora and Susanna E. took the fork in the road down to a boat launch on the Hudson River.

Bladder relieved, we started our run along the water. The terrain was a little rocky, but it was flat. It was quite nice really, the wind blowing, the water lapping just a few feet from us, very enjoyable.

The trail ended at another boat launching area and sure enough it merged with the main drive of the park where our teammates were chugging away up a steep, steep hill.

We were met at the top of the hill by Ramon. His truck had the tail gate open with bottles of water and pretzels! I took a break with a few other people, had a bottle of water and a few pretzels.

From there we kept going, and going and going. We ran down a long slow hill. The kind of hill you don't think about till you're half way down and you realize, "Oh crap! I'm gonna have to run back up this sucker."

Today's run was more about running for time rather than distance. So I manage to remain up right and moving forward for about three hours straight. Like I said it was a hard run, and I'd say with stops for water and restroom usage, I managed 10-12 miles.

After the run, Aurora, Pia and I had brunch at Santa Fe in Park Slope. After these big long runs I really crave red meat, so to satisfy that craving, I had a mack daddy of a hamburger.
Ok, I didn't eat this one, but right after running I feel like I could.

Happy trails.

JP
NIKE NEW YORK HALF MARATHON NEXT SUNDAY!!!!

2006-08-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

August 18, 2006 Jim hits the air waves!

This morning on the Brian Lehrer show, I called in on the Open Phones segment in response to the question: What are you doing this weekend?

So I told the host and NYC about Team in Training running across the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.

If you follow this link:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2006/08/18

Scroll down to the segment titled: Open Phones

My call comes at about four minutes and fifty seconds into the segment.

-JP

2006-08-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

August 15, 2005 - The History of the Hills in Central Park; a Tall Tale

What I'm about to tell you is 100% true, mostly.

If you ever run or walked through Central Park you know the place is filled with hills. Long slow hills, short steep ones, curved hills, you get the picture. Over the years they've accquired names, Heartbreak Hill, Navy Hill, Pilgrim Hill, Cat Hill, Great Hill and others. What you may not know is how the hills came to be.

I must start this with a disclaimer: I grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fans, and my allegiance to any ball club now is limited to the home stadium I'm sitting in at any given time.

After hill training in the park this week, I was tired. Really tired. The practice finished at dusk and I spent most of my run back to the starting point (East 90th street) by myself. I actually had to take a few minutes to stop running and stretch my IT band (see the picture to the left for what an IT Band is) because the hills had done a number on them. So here I was doing this on the grass:

This older guy walked up to me. Remember now, it's getting dark in Central Park, I'm pretty much by myself off the main drive of the park. I was a little leery of the old dude, but something about him was familiar. I had seen him before. He looked an awful like, and I am not kidding you, Babe Ruth. But the Babe was wearing contemporary running clothes. This is what he told me:

Tough night on the hills, Jim? (he knew my name, so I figured he was part of Team in Training). Yeah, they can be a real tough son of gun. You know how they got that way? (of course I did not) A lot of people think it's because Olmstead and Vaux, the designers of the park had to incorporate the rolling landscape and swamp land. But that's not it. It's a problem of clams.(obviously he registered my disbelief) That's right. Clams. When the two were designing the

park, both of them were members of a club, similar to the Masons, made up of builders, landscapers who liked to play a new game called baseball. They called themselves the YANKEES. Olmstead and Vaux appealled to their club for help in making the park a success.

It just so happened that while researching this, a rival designer, Bennet T. Blockart (pictured here), from Boston was in attendance during the research. He too, was a member of a similar club in Boston which distinguished itself by wearing bright red socks. In fact the club was called the RED SOX, the 'x' in the sox was due in part to the poor spelling skills of the Boston club's secretary. Blockart said, he knew of a custom whereby if a builder buried a bushel of clam shells under the project in question, the project would be a smashing success. Bennet then offered to send Olmstead and Vaux a bushel of Boston's finest clams upon his return to Bean Town.

The clams arrived with these simple instructions were simple: Prepare a Clam Chowder at midnight, bury the shells in a pit after consuming the chowder. Best wishes, B.B.

The club set up a big pot in the middle of the soon to be Central Park. They had a clam chowder feast to beat the band.

What they didn't know was Blockart had put one bad clam in the bushel. One bad clam can do a world of hurt even on a good chowder. The scene was not pretty. The next morning all nine of the members were discovered with their heads in the hole, so sick they couldn't move. Each was carted away to their homes to convalesce.

They recovered after a while. In that time, Olmstead and Vaux learned of the dirty joke Blockart had played on the Yankees. Rather than respond by sending bags of tainted Bagels, Olmstead and Vaux struck back by inviting Blockart and his club, the Red Sox to a friendly match of baseball.

The Red Sox were trounced. At the end of the game, Olmstead stood on the pitcher's mound and declared: May all your sorrows and broken dreams be collected under the foundation of this park and make this park the GRANDEST PARK IN THE WORLD.

Thunder clapped over head. Lightining struck the bench where the Red Sox were sitting, scattering the Boston like buckshot. Then the howls of pain and fright from the Red Sox Club were sucked in to the hole made by the lightning. Everyone stood slack jawed as the ground beneath them began to swell and rise up. Everyone but Olmstead and Vaux. They stood strong and when all was said and done, they were standing on what is now know as the Great Hill.

Blockart, his face white, turned to Olmstead and Vaux and vowed that the Yankees had not heard the last of the Red Sox. A clap of thunder and Blockart cowered the tripped and rolled down the new hill his club's loss had created.

Since then, everytime the Red Sox lose the hills get a little larger. People talk about the Curse of the Bambino, but that has nothing to do with it. So much fuss over a bad clam. But look around, this really is a great park, hills and all. You know Heartbreak Hill? I got one word for you: Buckner. That poor SOB, that's his doing.

So the pain in your knees and the stress on your joints, you can thank the Boston Red Sox for those.

I bent down to check my laces, saying that was a nice story mister. and when I looked up he was gone. I continued back to meet up with my Team in Training compadres and I swear I heard, "Buckner what have you done?" followed by a visceral moan, "oooooohhhhhh nooooooo!"

So if you're in the park at dusk on the night of a full moon, put your ear to the wind, and you can hear the cries and broken dreams of the Red Sox fans escaping from under the hills.

Happy Trails,

JP

2006-08-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

August 15, 2006 Last day of Hill Training

Did our last day of hill training on the North part of Central Park. Was it hard? Nah. But it wasn't easy.

Here's a picture of me and a team mate discussing proper facial hair care after our practice:

I'll tell you like I told her, a little mustache wax and you're good to go!

And for sore muscles, ice bath:Refreshing!

-JP

2006-08-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

August 12, 2006 - Things To Do Today

Laundry
Pay Bills
Run 13 miles
Office Work
Answer E-mails
Return Chasing Amy to video store

Hmm, didn't get to the laundry, bills were opened, knocked off 13 miles this morning, office work was organized, answered a few e-mails, still have to take the video back.

That's right folks, 13 miles in Prospect Park. Finished nice and strong too. The weather was fantastic for running. Not too hot and almost no humidity. Luxury.

I'd take you on a tour of the route, but it's kind of boring. Basically I did two five mile loops of the park, a two mile loop and then an extra mile at then end. If you look at the map here, a
five mile loop in this park, is an one outer loop and to add the mileage an extra loop at the bottom of the park which takes you past Prospect Lake.

The Nike New York City Half Marathon in a couple of weeks is looking to be not so hard.

After the run we went to Kelly's (she's a mentor and team mate) apartment for a little barbecue. Hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, bagels, beer, soda, water, Gatorade, man O man, Kelly and her husband treated us right. It was a great little get together sitting in their back yard.

Looking forward to the Half Marathon the only thing that concerns me is the start time: 7:00am! The race starts in Central Park so I'm thinking we'll be taking a car into the city rather than rely on the subways at that early hour.

Next Saturday we'll be running across the George Washington Bridge and heading to the Garden State. I'll let you know how it goes.

-JP

2006-08-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

August 10, 2006 This was no boating accident!

Plans were made earlier this week with my co-workers to have a little get together after work today. So I had every intention of getting up early to take a quick run around Prospect Park.

At 6:00am the alarm went off. I hit the snooze. 8 minutes later the alarm goes again. I hit the snooze. Another 8 minutes another smack on the snooze button. Another 8 minutes another smack on the snooze button.

You get the picture. Shortly after 7:00am I got out of bed, there would be no run around the park this morning. So, what could I do? I could jump on my clothes hanger also known as the Nordic Track, but that would require moving clothes, a door, a cat, some other stuff. That's far too much for me to think about upon waking, so I decided I'd do a little yoga.

I found this handy little diagram a long time ago and I keep it around so I remember the poses.

In my little living room, I go through these poses:

1. Mountain

Begin by standing in Mountain pose, feet about hip width apart, hands either by your sides or in prayer position. Take several deep breaths.

2. Hands up

On your next inhale, in one sweeping movement, raise your arms up overhead and gently arch back as far as feels comfortable and safe.

3. Head to knees

As you exhale, bend forward, bending the knees if necessary, and bring your hands to rest beside your feet.

4. Lunge

Inhale and step the right leg back

5. Plank

Exhale and step the left leg back into plank position. Hold the position and inhale.

6. Stick

Exhale and lower yourself as if coming down from a pushup. Only your hands and feet should touch the floor.

7. Upward Dog

Inhale and stretch forward and up, bending at the waist. Use your arms to lift your torso, but only bend back as far as feels comfortable and safe. Lift your legs up so that only the tops of your feet and your ahnds touch the floor. It's okay to keep your arms bent at the elbow.

8. Downward dog

Exhale, lift from the hips and push back and up.

9. Lunge

Inhale and step the right foot
forward.

10. Head to knees

Exhale, bring the left foot forward and step into head-to-knee position.

11. Hands up

Inhale and rise slowly while keeping arms extended .

12. Mountain

Exhale, and in a slow, sweeping motion, lower your arms to the sides. End by bringing your hands up into prayer position. Repeat the sequence, stepping with the left leg.

It's not without a few drawbacks. My big cat (this one here)

thinks this is the perfect opportunity to try and climb on my back or lie on the yoga mat. When he lies on the mat that is particularly awful because the mat is kind of tacky and he leaves a bunch of hair on the mat. And all that hair some how ends up on me!

The nice thing about doing this series of poses is it gets the blood going, loosens up the muscles and there's a bit strength training in there (try to do a Plank and not activate some upper body and core muscles).

Well that's all for this day's workout.

JP

2006-08-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Workout in Central Park More Hills!!!

We started at the Bethesda fountain and warmed up by taking a jog over to Tavern on the Green. From there we got on a path, it wasn't gravel but it wasn't cinders either, it was a little dusty.

From this path, we headed north and as the path went north, there were two inclines. A slight incline and then a plateau, then a much steeper incline. All in all, the whole route was about a half mile from bottom to top (I'm guessing). The work out was to run with an elevated effort level up the inclines then recover on the descent.

I was still feeling a few aches and pains, so I had to take it a little easier than I like to for a Tuesday workout. Plus running on this little path was kind of like running in sand.

I had a good workout, by the end I was feeling good, the aches and pains were just kinks that needed to be worked out or warmed up.

After practice we had a meet and greet with our honored team mates. This was kind of a last minute deal. The Brooklyn Runners were to meet with the honored team mate , but the meet and greet was on the upper east side of Manhattan. The inconvenience of the location was not lost on anyone and many apologies were made. Once that was out of the way, I had a lovely time with my team mates, and honored team mate Caitlyn Herman.

The only downside was not getting home till mid night! Argh! I need my beauty sleep don't you know.

JP

2006-08-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

August 8th, 2006 Am I sick?

I woke up this morning and I was like, "man I feel really tired and my head is all stuffed up."

Went through the morning rituals of getting ready for work;

Scrub the barnacles -

Have a cup of coffee -And of course get dressed for work -

(New York is a tough city so you gotta keep protected)

So, I'm ready to go but I'm still not feeling very good. I make the call and tell the office I'm not coming in, I'm sick.

I took a quick trip in to the city to see a doctor. Who said, what I really need is a rest and I should go home and get back in bed. Which is what I did.

Around 8:30pm I was feeling better. So much so that I thought I'd take a walk/run around the Park.

Aurora and went up to the park and did a nice and easy loop around the park. It was dark when we got to the park and I was a little apprehensive about wandering around the park.

When we got to the park, Manu Chao and Radio Bemba Sound System was playing and the place was packed. Every hipster and their babies were crowding the area, so I felt much safer about the park. That and all the policemen trying to keep the crowd under control. Park Slope couples with baby strollers can be a mean bunch.

It was a little humid and we didn't push it, but I did need to stretch the legs. The music could be heard all over the park. It was a nice little jaunt.

There's only 80 some odd days till the New York City Marathon.

JP

2006-08-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

The magic number is 12!!!
(zoom out so you can see the full map)

Woke up at 6:00 am bright eyed and bushy tailed for the long slow distance run. Had half a cup of low acid coffee and some water. Breakfast of champions.

Shortly before leaving I thought I better have a little something in the stomach. I hacked off a slice a bread and smeared some peanut butter and ate it. No problem (yet).

Aurora and I were out the door at 7:40 to meet our group at the park for an 8:00am start. Half way there Aurora and I realized neither of us brought the fuel belt.

I had a backpack full of Gatorade and water for after the workout, but nothing to drink during the run. I jogged back to the apartment, looked and couldn't find the belt. I know we had it because I had filled the bottles myself. Frustrated and feeling like I was gonna be late, I thought, "I got a few bucks on me, I'll buy anything I need. I don't need the water belt."

Aurora, was not feeling the same way, so when I caught up to her and told her I couldn't find it, she ran back to the apartment to look for it, while I went on to practice. Aurora showed up shortly before we left with the belt in hand (it was hanging on one of our doors!).

The coaches told us of a few things to be mindful: have food (Sport Gels) and hydration. I didn't have any gel (this stuff ranks right up there with bananas for me, blech!) but I did have these things:

I think you can read that correctly: JELLY BELLY SPORT BEANS. This is a real product meant to serve a real purpose (delivering calories and salt, mmm salty jelly beans). When I first saw this I thought this was something Homer Simpson invented, but no, the coaches confirmed these are a viable alternative to the sport gels (see this comparison chart).

I got food, I got some cash for water/Gatorade, and Aurora has the fuel belt. We were good to go.

We headed out of the park on our way to Manhattan. It was a gorgeous day! Sunny, not too hot and very little humidity. We ran down 9th street to Third Avenue through the lovely soon to be developed part of Brooklyn called Gowanus. Right about this time that piece of bread with the peanut butter started to let it be known that I should have eaten it much earlier. Fortunately that feeling went away quickly. At Atlantic Avenue we turned left and headed up to Boerum Place and then on to this : I ran right across that there bridge. Once on the other side , we crossed lower Manhattan via Chambers street. On the west side there's this lovely park where you can right next to the water. Maybe it was the endorphins kicking in, but New Jersey never looked so good. Way To Look Good New Jersey!! I ran up to Houston and I thought, "I could make it up to 14th street," but thought better of it and turned around and came back.

A neat thing over there on the west side is the Runner's Aid Station. I think it's sponsored by Nike (there's a big NIKE truck where you can try out Nike shoes).

Halfway across the bridge I spotted a guy with two dots on his shirts and I was like, "what is that?" As I got closer I saw the dots were red and they looked like they were running down his shirt. This poor guy had bleeding nipples. It hurt just to look at him. If you read my previous post on the subject, you'll know I suffered no such trauma; I use Body Glide!

Once I got over the shock of the bloody nipple dude I started to feel a little out of sorts. I realized I hadn't eaten my beans! I pulled them out of my pocket and started chewing them suckers. Mmmm, nothing satisfies like warm salty jelly beans! But I tell ya, I'll take warm salty jelly beans over that goo stuff any day. That did the trick but I needed a little water to wash them down but I wouldn't get that until I was across the bridge.

I made it across got a bottle of water and made my merry way back to Prospect Park. The hard part about the return trip: 9th street from 4th avenue up to the park is a long slow hill. At fourth avenue one of the mentors, Eric (experienced marathoner) caught up to me and said "you ready to go?" I said yes, after all I was feeling pretty good, I thought I can keep pace with this guy up the hill. Wrong!!! Eric took off, looked over his shoulder to see me half a block behind him and kept on going.

It's all good though. I ran 12 miles. Never ran that far before in my life. And when I got to the park I felt good. Tired, but good. Had some Gatorade, some water, a little stretch and like I said it was all good. 12 MILES!

-Jim

2006-08-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

Workout Summary for August 3, 2006

3 Miles- One loop of Prospect Park

When I came off the subway it was unusually dark and very windy. It's been very hot, but with the wind blowing, I figured I'd be all right for a quick loop of Prospect Park.

You know how things go, you get in, you sit down and then the next thing you it's an hour or so later and those thoughts of running around the park seemed more like a fantasy.

I peeled myself off the couch, donned my new running shorts. Aurora was ready to go and we were out the door and in to the rain! Rain? Now? I'm about to go running, there can't be no rain. But raining it was.

We walked up to the YMCA discussing our options: we could brave the rain (it wasn't raining that hard and it had actually gotten a bit cooler) or we could work out in the YMCA. I really couldn't stand the thought of running on the treadmill for any length of time. We decided the rain is not going to stop us.

With our bags dropped at the YMCA we headed up to the park in the rain. At the park we started our slow trot. We had been running about five minutes and then the rain stopped. And the humidity grew worse. It was like running through a wet wool blanket.

The humidity definitely slowed us down, but it didn't stop us. We stretched for a good long time back at the YMCA, then called it a night.

-Jim

2006-08-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Work out Summary for August 1, 2006

Still feeling the effects of last weeks workouts. Took it easy this evening. A little time on the bike and did two miles on the tread mill.

Running on the treadmill this evening was very boring.

Finished the whole evening with some nice stretching.

2006-07-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Bloody Nipples is not Cockney slang:

A while back, long before I even thought about running the NYC Marathon, I was in a new running store, Jack Rabbit looking at shoes. The neat thing about this place is they video tape you running and tell you about your running style and what type of shoe would be good best for your foot.

So, I go through this whole production. The woman was super nice and patient with me. She let me try on a bunch of shoes, most of them in the $80-$130 range. As I was sitting there trying on different shoes, right at my eye level was a package of these things:

I got a good laugh at these things. Ha! Ha! Then the woman helping me asked me what was so funny. I told her and she said, "you'd be surprised how many men end up with bloody or irritated nipples." Yeah right I thought.

Flash forward a few months. Here I am in my second week of training for the NYC Marathon and I come to realize a couple of very important things: Cotton shirts are not the best shirts to run in and this is probably the most important thing I learned: NIPPLE IRRITATION IS REAL!!!

I'll talk about the cotton fabrics and my conversion to the "dri-fit" athletic wear in another blog, but now let me talk about Nipple Irritation. It hurts like hell! If my chosen profession did not require me to wear a shirt I wouldn't but, alas Chippendales is not busting down my door.

Now, I remembered the Nipple Guards, but I really thought these were for women (they're not just for women by the way). And I wasn't about to tell the Brooklyn coaches, both women, that my nipples hurt, because I'd die of embarrassment. Fortunately Coach Vanessa let us all in on the joys and wonders of BODY GLIDE. She told us it was good for chafing, blisters on the feet, and for men it's good to put on your nipples.

I didn't waste anytime after that practice, I bought some right away. I'm much more comfortable now. I highly recommend this product.

Run in good health.

JP

2006-07-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

7/29/06

Two days of rest was not enough.

I set out to run 10 miles and seemed to be going along just fine. Then I stopped for a drink and took a few steps. Holy CoW it felt like someone was stabbing my knee.

I thought it's nothing. I jogged a few more steps and I was done for the day. I walked back to the bag watch, picked up my bag and went straight to the YMCA for a stretch in the air cooled comfort and a rinse in a cold shower.

The pain didn't go away when I got home, so I iced it up. Fearing this was ITBS I got on the computer and started the research. The first thing everyone says: REST. STOP RUNNING.

So no running for me for the next few days. Plenty of ice and rest. I think the two hard workouts this past week just ran me down, so now the body is saying you need to take it easy.

I'll keep you up to date.

JP

2006-07-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

7/26/06

The Big Coach Comes to Brooklyn

Coach Ramon came to Brooklyn tonight. I didn't even know we had practice till that morning. It kind of put a kink in my plans for the day. It was a celebration day of sorts and I was hoping to take my lady out for a dinner, but...

I made her go to practice instead. I thought it would be a review of all the hill work we did on Tuesday night. But NOOOOOOO, Ramon felt we all needed a little strength training.

This involved doing a lot of squats, sprinting up and down hills, more squats and some other postures that became increasingly difficult the longer we stayed in the pose. For example we'd stand like this:

Ok, I didn't have the umbrella for support, but trust me it wasn't easy getting into this position. Actually all we did was pick one leg up off the ground and hold it so that the quad was parallel to the ground.

I am sore today. Feeling a few pains in muscles I didn't know I didn't know I had. But it's all good. We're gearing up for a long this Saturday, so Ramon told us to take it easy Thursday and Friday.

-JP

2006-07-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Grace: A few Words

I work out with a lot of people (over a hundred). I see a lot of different running styles; people who have never run to elite athletes and everyone in between.

Some runners have natural grace, the arms and legs move in perfect rhythm; to see a graceful running is a real thing of beauty.

Some runners don't. But even in their lack of grace there is beauty in the effort, and the desire to go farther, faster and to be better.

I have the desire to go farther, faster and to be better. I'd like to think that I do it with a little grace.

-JP

2006-07-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Great Night!

The Hills are Alive with the sound of huffing and puffing!

The workout was tough, but still it was good!. We started at east 90th street in Central Park, made our way up the east side of the park to the 102nd street traverse where we traversed to the west side of the park.

On the west side of the park we took a right and there we were at the bottom of a long hill.

The drill today, run fast up the hill, then run slow and recover going down the hill. Simple right? I tried keeping count of how many friggin' times I ran up that hill, but I lost count after three. It couldn't have been more than six.

I ran pretty well all the way up to the last one. By the last two, I was feeling a little nauseous and like my brain wanted to escape through my ears. So after practice, I asked Coach Vanessa about this experience.

I told Vanessa, and she replied: "Good, you were doing right!"

Huh? Apparently I was pacing myself well, so I managed to keep a good form and almost last to the final hill. So, that was a good day.

-Jim

2006-07-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

7.23.06 Work out Summary

Park Slope, Brooklyn -

It was a great day for running, cool and almost no humidity. Aurora and I did two loops of Prospect Park plus the distance from the park to the YMCA. All in all, we did a little over 7 miles.

Let me tell you it was much easier to do these seven miles this morning than it was to do the 4 miles yesterday morning.

Coming up in about one month is this little jaunt, the first ever New York City Half Marathon. I'm already registered, now its just a matter of getting out there and running it.

All is good. Just spent the evening on a rooftop across from the Greenwood cemetery.

Yeah, it's been a good day.

2006-07-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Run For Central Park, 4 Miles

This was the first race I've run in a long time. That's the finish line behind me. It was a hot and humid this morning (humidity was 93%).

It was a nice race, Aurora and I ran together for the first three miles, just going nice and easy. At the fourth mile, I told Aurora I'd like to push it a little and she encouraged me to go on. So I turned on the speed and had a nice finish.

The best part, coming around the corner to the finish line and having the Team in Training teammates cheering us on. That's a pretty great feeling, if you can get a cheering section I highly suggest it.

May have to take it easy for the next week (even though this past week was the easy week). I'm experiencing a little pain the back of my calf. I think I may have strained something. It doesn't hurt while I'm running, but after ward it's a little tender.

Got any running tips? Feel free to pass them on...

-Jim

2006-07-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

July 22, 2006 5:45am

Good Morning Race Fans!

Race time is at 8:30am why am I up so friggin' early.

Well, I gotta have a little coffee, not a lot just a little. I feel good. Just want to get to the race on time. Jeez it's really early. I thought I'd have something to eat, but I'm still full from last night's dinner.

I'll let you know how it goes later today.

-J

2006-07-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

July 20, 2006

Work out for the evening

Cross Training was on tap for this evening. I did thirty minutes on the bike, just worked up a sweat really, not much else. Then I did a mile on the treadmill (boring stuff). Then off to the weight room to get totally pumped up.

I've been having a bit of fatigue in my hip and inner thighs during the long runs. So I asked Coach Ramon and he suggested I needed to strengthen those muscles. He suggested these machines:

So you sit in this contraption and open legs.

Then there's this one:

I damn near broke myself with the one on the left. I was sitting in this thing and I pulled the lever that opens the pads just a little too wide. I won't be doing that again.

After those and a few other light weights, did a little stretching and called it a night.

-J

2006-07-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

Wednesday July 19, 2006

In effort to take it easy this week, I enjoyed the company of my co-workers for a drink in the neighborhood.

No workout tonight. And yes it is late.

-J

2006-07-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

"Easy" Work out in Central Park

July 18, 2006

This was supposed to be an easy workout in the park. It was so hot though, I didn't think I was going to make it.

We started at 90th street on the east side, then turned left at the 102nd street traverse then turned right on the west side of the park. From there we just continued around the top loop of the park till we came back to the traverse and started another loop. Here's the route on gmap.

Some folks got in three loops, some got in four, but I only got in two, the heat and the humidty were a killer.

We were under the very watchful eyes of the coaches, particularly Coach Christine. She was great telling us how different people react to the heat and humidity. The main advice is to listen to your body. If your body says, "hey this is too much, you better slow down," then it's probably a good idea to slow down. She also added that it is very unlikely that the NYC Marathon will have such humid weather.

It was a tough workout this evening, but some days are easier than others.

-Jim

2006-07-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

July 18th, 2006

A little moon light run of 3 miles....

I had a little work to do last night, so I couldn't get my workout in earlier. Oh, I could have worked out earlier, but then I'd want to come home, eat, put my feet up. So that didn't happen. I was in the middle of a project and just couldn't tear my self away from it. If any thing develops out of it you'll hear about it here. But this blog is not about that...This Blog is about:

RUNNING!

So I did a little 3 miler around 11:00pm. Ran up to the park, and ran next to the park for a good distance. The only real problem is running down the streets here in Park Slope. The lighting is not so good and amazingly the mommy patrol of Park Slope has not pressured the local politicians to fix the broken uneven sidewalk. But other than that, it was great.

Another workout later today.

-Jim

2006-07-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

July 15, 2006

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York

Distance: “Distance, we don’t need no stinkin’ distance. Run for 2 hours… giddy up!”

Today was a break from the, “ok, go run around the park two or three times.” Today the entire team came to Brooklyn for a practice. Coaches too. Many of the coaches were unaware that a passport was not required for entry into Brooklyn. Ah, go figure.

There must have been 1,000 of us, give or take 900 people.

Before we started the run, Coach Christine Luff, gave a little primer on running and nutrition. The jist of this little talk was, you need to eat if you’re going to run for a long distance. One of the TNT sponsors, Power Bar, donated sacks of “sport gel.” I’ll get to the sports gel in a minute.

Ramon, the head coach, got up and gave us the workout. “Go run for 2 hours,” then he added, “oh, yeah, and when you get to this big giant hill, I’ll be at the top where you’ll turn around, run down the hill, and then run back up.” I thought maybe the trip over from New York, had rattled his brain, but then he repeated his instructions. He was serious.

But then, I was thinking, “Hey! This is my house! (yeah I like to get a little street every now and then) I feel good today Ramon, I’ll run this hill, I’ll run up that hill, I’ll run any freaking hill in the park!” Ok, I didn’t say that out loud, but I thought it.

Now the gel: I’ve never eaten sports gel before. Never really had a reason too, well there was that one time over Memorial Day weekend, when TBS had the Law & Order Marathon, but that was a different kind of marathon. I looked through the bag and it was pretty well sorted out by the time I got there. There were three flavors left: Rasberry Cream, Strawberry/Banana Cream, and one lonely Green Apple. First off, exercise and the word Cream don’t really work in my mind. And Bananas; I can not think of another more vile fruit in the world, blech, eew. I went with the Green Apple.

We were given strict instructions to eat this stuff after one hour of running. Off I went, nice and slow. Ding, one hour! I peel the thing open, and splurt it into my mouth. Ugh. It kind of tasted like green apple, but it was so viscous, that it coated every part of my mouth and throat. One of the women that was running with Aurora and I, looked at me gagging on this stuff, sucking down water, said to Aurora, “What’s he doing?” Aurora replied, “I guess he’s trying to get the taste out of his mouth.” Lesson learned here: it’s not about taste, it’s about fuel. It’s amazing how good a few calories and a little sodium can make you feel. I wasn’t hungry that’s for sure.

Practice was hard today. The heat and the humidity really made it tough, but I ran for two hours solid. I’m a little stiff and sore, but I’ll get over it.

-Jim

2006-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2006
Central Park, New York City

Hill training. Run back and forth 82 to 89th street

Met in Central Park at the lovely Bethesda fountain. From there things got a little ugly.

We took a warm up run from the fountain to the point where we'd be doing our hill training. A 7 block stretch of park where starting at 82nd we make a slow recovery descent down to about 85st. At 85th street there's a slight rise, not drastic but enough. So the training was this: At 89th street, run at 75% capacity, then at 85th St. go to 95% capacity (run like the wind) up to 82nd street. At 82nd street, turn around and jog slowly back to 89th street so that you can recover your breath, where you start all over again.

I managed to squeeze in four of these back and forths, and let me tell you when I hit 95%, I was flying. I even had some else tell me, “you were running really fast.” Yes, that was on the first go, I never got to that speed again. Running all out like that, is really hard on your joints and muscles, plus the technique goes out the window. I was exhausted after doing those. Aurora managed to do five. I had to take time out to get some water with all the runners in Central Park who didn’t bring there own water bottle.

Lessons learned today:

1) don’t run all out. It wastes too much energy and is hard on the body.

2) When bent over stretching, come back to a standing position very slowly. This was actually a bit scary. I was crouched down like a duck stretching the insides of my thighs and groin. When I came up to a standing position: BLACKNESS. I am not kidding, I saw a glimpse of the park, then I saw nothing. I said to myself, “you’re fine, you just stood up too quickly, it’ll pass. The light came back on, for a second, then BLACKNESS. Now I started to panic a little. Luckily Aurora was right there, and I grabbed her shoulder. Then the lights came back on. I really thought I was going to go down, but I remained calm and kept breathing. Lesson learned. All is well.

2006-07-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 9, 2006

Workout summary

3 miles in Prospect Park

Nice day, good run. Did I mention I was still sore from Saturday's workout? Yeah, I had muscle joy* in muscles that I did know could hurt. Particularly in my posterior. Sunday morning I almost fell of my chair because my gluteus maximus was a little sore from the all the squats.

-Jim

*muscle joy - this is a term my massage therapist uses to describe muscle soreness after a workout.

2006-07-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2006

Injury Prevtion Clinic with the Doctor Jordan Metzl

You know the old saying there are no stupid questions? Well, I may have come up with a stupid question. I'll get to the stupid question in a sec.

This clinic had three speakers: Doctor Metzl, Coach Ramon Bermo & Coach Michael Conlon. Each of the speakers are triathletes and considered elite athletes. Each one spoke to their strength, Doctor Medzel regarding dying on the marathon course (apparently you can do it if you're not careful), Ramon spoke about running technique, and Michael, a physical therapist, spoke about stretching and injury recovery.

The word for the day: Hyponatremia

What does that mean? Low sodium in the blood stream; you ain't got no salt in your body no more cause you sweated it out. All that salt needs to be replaced. The symptoms of hyponatremia are similar to dehydration which is a bad thing. Drinking water will only excacerbate the problem. Lose enough salt and your body will shut down.

There were lots of other interesting topics discussed: stretching, running technique, hydration, new shoes, everything under the sun.

Ok, so on to the dumb question. I waited around afterwards to talk to the Doctor. Here's how it went down:

Me: Hi Doctor thanks for coming tonight. Uh, you know and this is gonna sound crazy but
Dr.: Nah, I've heard it all.
Me: Yeah, well sometimes after a run or a workout, if feel, uh, kind of stupid.
Dr.: Uh, huh.
Me: Like I couldn't add 2+2.
Dr.: Can you normally add 2+2?
Me: Yes in most situations. But it goes further than that, I mean, it's like I'm in this haze. I've almost walked into traffic.
Dr.: Hmm, well, yes. Open your mouth. (he looks in with his flashlight) Yep. You're an idiot.
Me: Huh?
Dr.: No, just kidding. What's probably happening is your experiencing extreme fatigue and maybe a little loss of sodium. Make sure you have a sports drink handy during and after the run.

2006-07-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2006
Cross Training in Central Park at 8:00 am with the "Team."

So you know I was up at an ungodly hour to make it to the all team work out. This is what we saw when Aurora and I arrived at Bethesda fountain:

Instead our of long slow distance run we usually do, we did cross training. We managed to divide in to two groups, then those groups divided in two, follow that? So half the team took off for a ten minute "four points" run and the other half remained at the fountain for torture, I mean calisthenics.

So Aurora took off for a ten minute run, while I started on my squats. After five minutes of squats, we did five minutes of abs. Total of ten minutes. By that time the runners had returned from their 10 minute run.

Now it was my turn for the 10 minute run (five minutes out five minutes back). We were going to do this four times. Each time we took off for a run we were to run either the southwest, northwest, southeast, or northeast leg of the park.

Now in between those runs we did more "exercises" lunges, calf raises, push up, step ups on a bench, and more squats. More squats? Yep, apparently the burn we were feeling by the second round of squats is similar to the burn at mile 23. It was a good workout, hard, and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but it's a good hurt.

After practice the whole lot of us met at a local school for a breakfast. While we're enjoying our bagels and coffee, we were presented with our honored teammates. One of our honored teammates, is Kate Davis, she's four years old. Unfortunately, Kate couldn't make it to the breakfast because she's still in the hospital. Her Aunt was addressing us and said something that really touched me, "When you think you can't run 13 miles or 26 miles, think about Kate who is too weak to walk around the hospital floor. She thinks you guys are super heroes for just showing up to the practices every week." Puts things in to perspective doesn't it.

HereÂs Aurora and I after the work out:

BONUS: After practice Aurora and I were walking to the subway and ran into this guy. Yeah, I looked up and I said rather loudly, "I'll be damned." He was walking with his head down not wanting to be recognized, but Aurora said good morning to him. He jerked his head up and looked at both of us, and replied, "oh, hello." It's nothing to see stars on the upper west side of Manhattan, shoot I sat next to Al Franken on the subway, and literally run into Alec Baldwin, but this guy? He's not New York at all, so it was neat way to end the morning.

2006-07-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

I've been up since 5:45am this morning. There's an all team training in Central Park this morning at 8:00am followed by a breakfast at 10:00am.

Did you know that the sun is up at 5:45am in the morning?

This is what I look like at 5:45am on a Saturday morning:

That's right at 5:45am I have a full head of red hair, which promptly falls out after a quick shower.

More on the practice later.

-Jim

2006-07-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Workout Summary 7.6.06

7:oo am in the morning

What am I crazy? I kind of wanted to go out after work, but I didn't want to miss my run, so I did my run in the am. It's not so bad.

I was out the door and off running through Prospect Park. Since I was running late, I didn't quite do three miles. But it was great running weather, cool a little damp, perfect. And there weren't that many people out.

Did a timed mile and clocked in at just a hair over 9 mins.

-Jim

2006-07-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2006

Central Park, New York City

All Team Training...On Cat Hill

This evening the whole New York City chapter met for hill training. It really is an awesome spectacle to see 150 people all in one place for one purpose. And that purpose tonight was to "hill training.

We did a little warm up around the lower loop of Central Park. It was a great evening in the park. It was a little warm, but not too humid. After the warm up we headed for , so named because of this statue that looks down on the park drive:

The beginners were to train on Cat Hill, which is a quarter mile hill with a 49' rise and at 3.7% grade. I don't really know what all that means, but after running up and down this five or six times I have a healthy respect for Cat Hill.

So the focus of this training was to create an efficient stride going up hill. That meant taking a lot of short steps and lots of arm motion (what Coach Ramon calls the "tiki tiki" movement). My first go up the hill I was chatting up Aurora telling her about my day.

That apparently wasn't part of the training. Ramon yelled at me, "this is the hard part, you should be working to hard to talk. Talk on the way down." Then my workout got a little harder. I followed what Ramon had demonstrated, short strides, quick arms, and you know what? Doing all that I couldn't talk on the way up. Going down was our recovery time, talk all you want if you can..

I was chugging along when I heard one of the coaches say, "this is the last one." So when I hit the bottom of the hill I went "full tilt boogie." That lasted about 3/4's of the way up the hill. Then I started to feel nauseous, then light headed, then nauseous some more and then I started to wheeze. I was like what the F-? So I slowed down, way down, and just took the rest of the run to recover.

Lesson learned today? You bet! When I went all out on the last hill, my technique went to hell in a handbasket, which made me work harder, which was obviously too much. I was fine by the time I got back to the team cool down/stretch. But I found my threshold, didn't even know I was looking for it.

Hey sometimes you gotta push yourself right? We have six or seven more weeks of hill training, so I'll have more opportunity to push it.

And now a picture of my feet:

Jim

2006-07-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

JULY 1, 2006 WORK OUT SUMMARY 9 MILES TODAY!!

Prospect Park

Really wasn't sure what to expect today. Met in the park for the LSD. Instead of running around the park, we took a little run outside the park. We did a short jaunt down through the park then exited out and ended up running down Ocean Parkway.

Made it to Avenue M where we turned back. Was a nice day and the company was good which made it easy going. I was running with Aurora, Debbie and Kelly. When we got back to the park, Kelly had to do her mentor thing and wait for folks to come back. Aurora, Debbie and I headed back, up a long hill. Mid way through I was feeling a little a cheeky, so I split off from Debbie and Aurora at the Center drive and added an extra two miles to my run.

Total mileage today: 9 miles.

In the words of Ice Cube,"Today was Good Day."

2006-06-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

6/28/2006 Very Special Training this evening

Prospect Park

The Brooklyn contingent of TNT met this evening for a special traing session with the head coach Ramon Bermo (that's him holding court at team practice in Central Park). Want to know more about Ramon, google him and see the things this man has done. Ironman, Marathons, Triathalons, coaches several different teams around the tri-state area. I mean this guy knows what he's talking about. And to top it all off, he's a very nice guy.

So Ramon and another coach, Carla arrived in Brooklyn to give us a little more attention. We reviewed upper body work and effort levels.

At the end of the workout, Ramon felt we really didn't get enough of a work out, so he had Carla lead us through some "strength training."

Carla, I don't know much about her, but after talking with her and going through her workout, I have come to conclusion that she may very well be a super hero in disguise. She runs, she lifts weights, she bends steel with her bare hands, and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Ok, maybe not the bit about the building.

Carla in the event you're reading this: my quads are still burning from the workout.

I think both Ramon and Carla enjoyed working with us. I know we enjoyed having them and look forward to their return in a couple of weeks.

-J

2006-06-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

Tueday 5K Run in Prospect Park

Run Till the Violence Stops 5K run sponsored by NYC Road Runners.

Ok, I was a paid participant, but Aurora was and I ran with her. I won't divulge the time, cause it really wasn't about time, but I will tell you this: we increased our speed a little bit with each mile. Not a big deal you say? Well, consider that a short time ago, I thought walking up the subway stairs was on par with having to climb Mt. Everest on a daily basis.

We came around the turn to the finish line and Aurora and I were running at a nice clip in lock step. People were cheering us on, and there was an announcer who called out, "here comes two peppy runners, congratulations!" It felt good, everyone should have that experience.

-Jim

2006-06-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

6/24/06 Work Out Summary

Prospect Park

Brooklyn TNT

We were supposed to have a "surprise" coach, either Ramon (who is a Marathon/Ironman athlete) or Coach Michael (who is also a Marathon/Ironman athlete) this morning, but I think both of them got lost on their way to Brooklyn.

It was a miserable morning. In fact I kind of thought practice would be canceled because there were thunderstorms.

Went to practice anyway, and the die hards were there. We finally got the word that our special coaches were a no show. So our very own Liz C., stepped up to the plate put on her coaching hat, and took over. Way to go Liz! And special thanks to her for not chiding me about eating pizza the night before. Our Brooklyn coaches, Vanessa and Lisa were at two of the four corners of the earth either on business or running around in Alaska.

The run today was arduous. I had pizza the night before, you carbo loading. Wrong choice. Half way through I was having horrific acid indigestion. I had to cut the run short so I only did a loop around the park. Now I know better.

Speaking of food and training; I have a little father/son story on the importance of a good meal before a workout. Keep an eye out for it.

2006-06-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

6.20.06

Central Park with the whole team.

"We're not going to do much running today!" I could have sworn I heard someone say that. But I was wrong. Very wrong.

The goal today: run at an anaerobic threshold.

What does that mean? Run real fast for a short distance then recover, then run real fast for a short distance then recover. Repeat.

We started at 90 th street then ran up to 102nd traverse. Our work out today consisted of running at effort level 4 half way through the traverse then slow down to effort level 1 for the other half. We did that about six times. Coach Vanessa was at one end, Coach Christine was at the other end, and another coach in the middle.

I had to walk to recover from my effort level four. As we pressed on my speed went down and down. I have to recognize one of the team mates, Pete S. Pete was a machine. He sped back and forth like it was nothing. I think he lapped me twice.

So I have a little ways to go.

Survived the workout, back was a little stiff at the end but nothing to worry about.

-J

2006-06-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

6.18.06 Work Out Review

Prospect Park

2.5 mile loop. Running with Aurora, did 10 mins on then 3 mins recovery. We ended with a fast trot for a quarter mile just to get an idea of what a fast pace is.-

-J

2006-06-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

6.17.06 Work Out Summary

LSD (Long Slow Distance) in Prospect Park

Five mile loop plus 6min out and 6min back. Turns out to be a little over 6 miles.

Ran with Amelia and Marissa. Ran slow not breaking any records, but still moving. Running with the girls made run a little faster.

Just an FYI - this is the longest I've ever run continuously. Yes I used to play soccer when I was younger, but I never actually counted the miles. In fact I've always had this "idea" that six miles was "too far" and I'd never make it. Six miles this week, who knows how many next...

-J

2006-06-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

6/13/06 Work Out Summary

Work out in Central Park.

Lower Loop- 2.44 miles no idea how fast.

We do this thing where we run between lamp posts at an effort level that is about 10% more than what our "slow" pace is.

More Random Notes on the workout...
Warm weather.

Concert in the park sounded like the Dead

Rode the sub way with fellow Brooklyn Teammate, Alexia. Met Susanna getting off the sub way. Susanna told us about a debate she was having with a friend: would you rather read a biography about: Axel Rose or Dave Grohl?

My Vote: Dave Grohl - there's the whole Nirvana history to him.

2006-06-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

6/12/06

Monday Evening Run through Prospect Park

It was a nice evening for a little jaunt through the park. Only did 2.5 miles, but I did them none the less.

I got home around 7:00 and A was in the bedroom. "I'm just resting my eyes," she said. I said, "rest them while run round the park, ok?" She got up a little sleepy, but once we were half way through our run she was bright eyed and busy tailed.

Have a big team work out tomorrow in Central Park.

Please donate by clicking on the link that says "Donate Here."

2006-06-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

6.10.06

The LSD in Prospect Park was good!

(excerpt of a conversation with myself)

Jim2: What’s that? Jim are you on drugs? LSD?

Jim: That’s right Jim2. I am in Training for a marathon.

Jim2: Then what are you doing taking LSD in Prospect Park?

Jim: Jim2, its just another way of saying Long Slow Distance.

Jim2: Long Slow Distance?

Jim: That’s right Jim2. On Saturday’s in Prospect Park, I get together with my other Team In Training teammates and run for a long time at a slow pace.

Jim2: Whew! That’s a relief. How far did you run?

Jim: Jim2 I ran a five mile loop.

Jim2: FIVE MILES? Gee willikers! That’s like a long long long distance.

Jim: Well Jim2, its nothing compared to the twenty six miles of a marathon.

Jim2: Twenty six miles? Won’t that take like a week to run?

Jim: Let’s hope not.

Jim2: Well I’m glad you’re not doing drugs. For a minute there I thought...

Jim: I know what you thought. Remember Jim2, Just Say No To Drugs.

Jim2: I will Jim. And good luck with the marathon. Which one are you training for?

Jim: That’s a good question. I was training for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco, but earlier this week I received my entrant number to the New York Marathon.

Jim2: New York City! Jeepers Jim, what are you going to do?

Jim: I’m still thinking about it Jim2. I’m still thinking about it.

2006-06-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Take a good look! These are the feet that are going the distance.

-Those letters on my foot? Click here to find out.

2006-06-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Team In Training Presentation- Why I signed up...

As I said the presenation was given by a group of very healthy looking runners. All of whom had the same line, "I too was sitting where you are wondering can I really run a marathon?"

Naturally all of them assured the crowd, YES YOU TOO CAN RUN A MARATHON. Really? Me? I mean I've got this back thing, I used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, I love to eat food, good food, bad food...Really? Me, Jimmy Jimmy Jo Jam?

YES. People worse off than you have completed training and a marathon, then they come back for more!

Yeah right. Did I miss the Kool Aid on the way in? Cause it sure seems like these people are all singing the same song...And you know what I kind of liked the tune. Then things got a little heavy...

The lights dimmed and the and video was put in the VCR. Images of lots of people running (obviously they drank the Kool Aid). These are people who look happy. Happy while they're running a marathon. Then it hits me I'm watching crazy people. I'm watching crazy people laugh and have a good time while running. I'm thinking, all right now, I get it, it's a lot of fun, run, marathon, people have good time, I get it.

Then the screen flashes to kids in hospital gowns, with IV's in their arms, and no hair on their heads. I sucked in a deep breath. The idea that children who have not yet "lived" their lives are now fighting to stay alive. It just seemed so damn unfair. I've had such a full life in my thirty something years. Why did I get so lucky and some kid who hasn't lived is fighting so hard just to stay alive?

One of the things I have to tell you here is my Dad survived a battle with cancer recently. The scariest thing about the whole thing was we didn't know how far the cancer had spread. And we wouldn't know until they split stem to stern and had "a look around." Huh? You're gonna cut my Dad open like a side of beef and look around? Its not a set a car keys, its friggin' cancer! Isn't there some test you can do to tell? Have you got to cut him open? Yes they did.

Fortunately he's gonna be all right. He seems to function just fine without that pesky bit of cancerous colon. Sure he's got a big zipper scar up his front, but he's here. Well not in Brooklyn, somewhere on the east coast. He got his Jack Keroac going full tilt boogie, and is traveling the country with his wife in an RV.

So why am I running? To honor my Dad, who showed real courage during his battle with cancer. To help those young kids battling blood cancers. I'm running for you, reading this, I want you to live your life to the fullest.

2006-06-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 7, 2006 Workout in the Central Park

A big E for effort today. Today's workout was all about Effort levels.

I think the group who showed up today should get an extra gold star because the weather today was miserable. It was that misty rain that doesn't really come down but is present everywhere, so no matter what you get soaked.

Tonight's run started at 90th street and Fifth, we ran up town to the 106 traverse, the down to 86th street and back. The Effort level training came in to play at the turn on to the 106^th street traverse.

Light Poles its all about the Light Poles- on the traverse we were to the distance between three light poles at Effort Level 3, the slow down to Effort Level 2 for three light poles and so on until we go to the west side. On the West Side Drive we headed south to 86^th street then at 86^th street, we turned around and ran back. The whole time we’re supposed to be doing the whole 3 light poles thing.

Today’s discoveries: 1) don’t start out at level three, 2) If I have the smallest inclination to urinate; I should do so before running 3) I can not see out of fogged up glasses 4) my beloved green pull over from LL Bean is not water repellant, 5) the location of the tennis center in Central Park.

I started out much too fast. By the time I got half way through the traverse, I didn’t have much left for the down and back to 86^th street.
Always “go” before you run. Besides starting at too fast a pace, my small urge to “go” had turned into an all consuming feeling. Ugh! I thought about just running in to the bushes, but I just couldn’t. I kept looking out for a port-a-potty but oddly enough there were none to be found.
My X-Ray vision that I inherited from Superman (third cousin twice removed on my mother’s side), was not working to its best capacity. I was wearing my glasses and if they weren’t fogged up they were covered in water.
I thought it’d be a good idea to wear my 10+ year old LL Bean pull-over thingy. Wrong move. It soaked up water like a sponge, and then bothered the heck out of me.
The Tennis Center is located at about 96^th street on the west side. Restrooms are available. Please wipe your feet before entering.

It was cold and wet, and damn proud of myself and all the TNT who showed up for training.

2006-06-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

It all began over a scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry's in Downtown Brooklyn. After all don't all great stories happen around food? Aurora (my fiance) picks up a flyer and says, "I'm going to do this."

I look and its a Team in Training Pamplet...something with a headline like, "TRAIN TO RUN A MARATHON; CURE CANCER." And just about that time, a little bit of my ice cream ran down my wrist, ohh, can't let that get away...slurp. Right run a marathon, cure cancer whatever....

Flash forward a week later, and Aurora and I are sitting in the Brooklyn Public Library listening to a presentation by a host very peppy presenters about Team in Training. And I like what I'm hearing.

2006-05-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

May 16, 2006 FIRST TEAM PRACTICE

Happy Birthday to my big brother!

Central Park

First whole team practice. There were over a hundred people who showed up for this practice. I couldn't believe it.

Our workout today, consisted of running around the reservoir. TWICE! Isn't that like 8 miles or something? (the reservoir loop is 1.5 miles) Easy enough right? Ha! The training part of today's workout was to work on arms. Every three lamp posts, we're supposed to run with exaggerated arm motions (swinging really fast or swinging really high).

When you swing your arms fast, your legs go faster. When you swing your arms higher, your stride gets longer. Go figure.

I was worn out by the time I finished my warm up. Apparently I have to start out much more slowly. I had to slow down quite a bit, but I finished the workout.

2006-05-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

May 13, 2006

Prospect Park

The un-Godly hour of 8:30am.

Oh, Jim what have you gotten yourself in to. The practice started at 8:30 and the coaches told us, "we're just going to run out for 12-15 minutes then we'll come back here and stretch."

Easier said than done. I start out real slow, real slow. Aurora and manage to make it to a water fountain on the Parkside Avenue side of the park. Ahh, sweet water, I never thought I'd love you so much.

At this fountain I had turn and go back the way we came. Did I mention that we down hill on our way out? So naturally that means in order to return we had to run up hill.

What on earth did I get myself in to. I was huffing and puffing, but I made it back.