I wanted to pass this message along to all of our readers still interested in running in the 2008 NYC Marathon and do not have an entry
The Jack H Marston II Melanoma Fund (Jack’s Marathon Team) has 6 guaranteed entries available for anyone interested in running in the ING New York City Marathon 2008.
For details or to register please visit www.jacksfund.org/jmt_wmm.htm by August 29. Or contact Amy@jacksfund.org
Join Jack’s Marathon Team and help fight melanoma every step of the way. Donations received through Jack’s Marathon Team fund vital research and awareness programs.
Please note: The fundraising goal has been lowered to $1000.
Amy Saletta
amy@jacksfund.org
At long last, it’s The New Guy (holy crap it’s about time!) with his inaugural dofb post. It’s only fitting that Reach the Beach take top billing.
This evening one-third of Dukes: Team RTB took to the streets and bridle paths of Central Park for an evening jaunt. The run is of special significance because it marks two team members’ foray into an elite RTB training regimen; for our very own Stephanie and Kristin, it was their third run in 24 hours. They managed 6 last night, 5.5 this morning and capped it off with 4 tonight. Now that’s impressive! Meanwhile, reports suggest that Duke MFP has been knocking out two-a-days while Laura has been putting in 20+ mile days. And speed-demon Sean’s team The Chipmen rocked the Vermont 100 on 100 last Friday in a blistering 6:34 team pace, winning the Masters age group. Team Dukes will not be stopped!
RTB Training Tips:
*from now until race week, work in at least one two-a-day every week w/ 6+ mile legs
*train for your night leg: start wearing your headlamp or carrying a small flashlight on a long run each week (even if it’s a day run)
*if you don’t already own two new-ish pair of sneaks, get them; you’ll want to rotate shoes across your legs to prevent shin splints and other injuries
A group of Dukes went out Wednesday night and ran with the NYC Bridge Runners. The Bridge Runners are an area running crew that are somehow affiliated with Nike and promote running over, well, bridges. It’s always cool to take a lope that includes one of NYC’s amazing spans & it was an added bonus to do it with a bunch of new faces. The Bridge Runners have weekly runs on Wednesday night and usually offer two different options of varying length.
The Dukes showed up six runners strong and opted for the “longer” run which, while not really long, did provide all kinds of awesome scenery. I ran there and back as well, effectively doubling my mileage and upping the bridge-crossing ante (12 Miles, 4 spans crossed; 3X Manhattan & 1X BK). Great miles logged and hill training for RTB as the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges have looonnnnnng grades. All in all, an excellent evening spent running with friends and some good new runners met.
RTB:
RTB Training Report 2
RTB Training Report 1
RTB Announcement
Imagine seeing a unicorn running through Times Square shooting $100 bills out of it’s magical money shooting horn. Pure bliss. That’s what watching this video is like…
We take a break from our normal programming to discuss the New York Mets. The Mets are on fire as they head into the All Star Break and this hot streak is a long time coming.
They have won 9 in a row, have 4 shutouts in their past 6 games and have come back to within 1/2 game of 1st Place.
Let’s hope these guys can keep their act together over the All-Star break and keep their winning ways in the 2nd half of the season.
I live in New York and rarely go to see museums - it makes absolutely no sense. It’s like growing up in a brothel and never getting laid. At some point, you have to question the wisdom of it all. Well, I saw the Waterfalls last week and also made it to see the Murakami Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It is one of the more enjoyable exhibits I have ever seen in my life. Period. It closes on July 13th, 2008 so if you’re in the City or nearby, do yourself a favor and check it out.
Here’s the official blurb on the show - “The most comprehensive retrospective to date of the work of internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami includes more than ninety works in various media that span the artist’s entire career, installed in more than 18,500 square feet of gallery space.
Born in Tokyo in 1962, Murakami is one of the most influential and acclaimed artists to have emerged from Asia in the late twentieth century, creating a wide-ranging body of work that consciously bridges fine art, design, animation, fashion, and popular culture. He received a Ph.D. from the prestigious Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he was trained in the school of traditional Japanese painting known as Nihonga, a nineteenth-century mixture of Western and Eastern styles. However, the prevailing popularity of anime (animation) and manga (comic books) directed his interest toward the art of animation because, as he has said, “it was more representative of modern day Japanese life.” American popular culture in the form of animation, comics, and fashion are among the influences on his work, which includes painting, sculpture, installation, and animation, as well as a wide range of collectibles, multiples, and commercial products.”
But on to the eye candy…
I heard a few songs by an Austin band named The Black Angels and was particularly fond of their single “Black Grease”. They remind me of The Velvet Underground or Brian Jonestown Massacre. Psychedelic rock - full tilt boogie. If you haven’t seen it, check out the video for “Black Grease”:
I managed to get a ticket to their sold out show at Southpaw this past weekend, a venue a few blocks from my apartment in Park Slope - Brooklyn. First, Southpaw is a great place to see a show - small room, big bar, great sound. Second, The Black Angels put on one helluva show. The songs are long and kinda trippy, it’s easy to get lost in the wall of sound. Towards the end of the gig, I think it may have been during the second encore, the lead singer Alex Maas wandered to the side of the stage. Facing the wall, he sang for the next 15 minutes. Say what you will, but brother was into it. They are playing at the All Points West Festival this summer - really looking forward to hearing them on a festival stage. Should be a real kick in the head.
The “New York City Waterfalls” exhibit opened this morning. For those of you who aren’t in the know, an artists named Olafur Eliasson was able to raise $15.5 million and secure Mayor Bloomberg’s help to install 4 waterfalls across the New York Harbor. I like the look of the one directly under the Brooklyn Bridge.
This installation is on the scale of “The Gates” by Christo and Jeanne-Claude that filled Central Park with saffron-colored fabric panels back in 2005. I wasn’t that excited to see “The Gates”, but was taken aback by the beauty and scale when I did make the trip. It was really extraordinary. Make sure you don’t miss this one…
Kudos to Mayor Bloomberg who helped the artists navigate the NYC bureaucracy to get over 30 separate permits to make this a reality. Well played sir.
As my exile from New York City continues, I have missed a few crucuial events that DOFB has sponsored over the past few weeks. This past weekend I missed the Shelter Island 10K, Summer Solstice and DOFB member Birch’s birthday, the trifecta of DOFB events. I thought I had a great excuse for missing the weekend, I am currently in Paris on business and could not attend. I thought it sounded good.
Well……..I think the reaction to my decision can best be expressed below:
23 May
Posted by Birch as BBQ, Baja 1000, Cars, Electronics, Food, Gadgets, Misc, Motorcycle, Music, NYC, Run, Sailing, Sports, Surfing, Training, Travel, Uncategorized
Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do and, I guess, this is one of those times for our beloved admin, erstwhile coach, training partner extraordinaire and certified master of the grill Jeff. He’s packed up the shop, loaded what’s important and is redeploying to the left coast in search of fortune, adventure and cracked crab. As we all navigate the fog caused by last night’s sayonara wumpus, I’d just like to pause for the cause and give a hearty HUZZAH to our partner in crime.
Fare thee well sir. You’ll be sorely missed but we’ve every confidence you’ll quickly get to holdin’ it down out there and swelling the ranks of the Dukes West Coast Chapter. Write when you get work and we’ll come inspect your beachhead.
Vaya con dios y un gato en tu pantalones Amigo.
-mismanagement
Today on Mothers Day we get a race report from one of our team members, Eve F, who was out there representing and much stronger than the rest of us. While we were at home liking our wounds from last weekends half marathon, she went out there and ripped a 10 mile race. Back to Back 10 mile races. Respect!
From Eve:
I just wanted to let you know I ran another for the team today. The
Mothers Day 10 Mile. It was a rough one for me, central park and those
damn freaking hills on top of just being damn tired it wasn’t the
greatest for me but it was fun. Just wanted to give you a DOFB heads
up.
F EVE DOFB NEW YORK NY 1:28:11 8:49
My esteemed colleague, training partner and fleet ne’er-do-well Jeff Eckhaus has already turned in a beaut of a report on this past weekend’s Brooklyn Half, so I’ll not dwell on what he covered. Suffice it to say, I did not have nearly so fine a day as he. Cruel irony indeed that this half, on my own home turf, on the very streets where I train day in and out, would wind up being my most painful to date.
First 6 miles were largely without incident. I was running a pretty strong 7:05-7:10 pace though I felt a little fluttery. My left foot started to get pins and needles numb, which is rarely a good sign. It’s previously only happened in full marathons, but for some reason my left foot starts to go numb whenever I’m creeping on my limits. Never the right, only the left….go figure.
Anyway, about the time old lefty was checking out I pulled up on Jeff. I drafted behind him for about a quarter of a mile watching his stride. As has been noted many times, Jeff and I train together regularly and I was noticing how his mechanics seemed to have improved of late. You know a runner is coming into form when you can see the energy tensed in their muscles release seemingly without effort. Sort of like a large cat when it looks like it takes more exertion for them not to pounce and un-spring the stored energy than it does for them to bound along. Anyway, Jeff had that stride going where he was sort of floating effortlessly above the pavement and I was deep in considering how very different I was beginning to feel when he finally caught on to my lurking.
We cruised along for a bit together, but I was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain pace and sent him ahead just before we reached Prospect Park. Not more than a quarter mile into the park I had to pull my ship over on account of grinding stomach cramps. Somewhat mystified, I walked along for 20 or 30 yards and was every bit as surprised as the poor woman next to me when I projectile yakked. Mind you, I run this very loop 2-3 times a week, so it was an odd sort of thing to be feeling so utterly lousy on ground that I normally sail over. Another boot about 50 yards later I managed to pull my shit together and get a shuffling head of steam before heading up the last looming hill before Grand Army Plaza. I don’t normally mind this one, as I’m a hill lover, but I can assure you this was one of the hardest climbs I’ve ever stuck with. Had to resort to all sorts of mental cheats…..the older lady in front of me will never know it, but she actually towed me up that thing and I owe her a psychic debt of thanks.
Anyway - managed to gut it out and finish with a 1:37:15. Not the worst, not the best, but definitely the toughest half marathon I’ve run. I really don’t know what the issue was. The indicators could be read to point to dehydration, but I was well hydrated. And I was equally well rested etc. Certainly all the pints of Guinness in Ireland a month back didn’t help; I was under-trained, but that’s hardly a first. Guess I’ll just chock it up to the borough of Brooklyn reminding me who’s boss.
All that said - congrats Jeff on running an excellent race and establishing a new PR. Tremendous shouts out to the other three Dukes who turned in awesome performances as well. Eve with her first half completed and she, Jen & Fayth all turned in sub 2:00–righteous!!
This is the first time we’ve had 5 Dukes for one of the NYRR half’s and it’s sweet to be officially in the hunt for club standing this year. Nice work all and remember, there are few better feelings than looking at a Los Compadre in your rearview!
Waking up this morning and stepping outside, I could feel a great day for running. It was about 50 degrees and overcast with just a little humidity, but nothing to be worried about.
Getting to Coney Island for the start was little bit of the pain due to track work on the F train but made it there with 20 minutes to spare before the start. Tried to find the rest of the Dukes of Flatbush at the start, but no luck, this race was going to be solo.
I have to give a huge hand to the NYRR and the volunteers for a great start using the seeded corral system. My bib color was red and number was 15xx which meant I was in the 2nd corral, right near the start. This was especially useful since the first 2.5 miles of the race are on the Coney Island boardwalk, which is a little old, warped and sandy. Not a place you want to have to jostle for space.
Toeing up on the line, I got my Garmin 405 ready for its maiden race, and then the cannon went off.
Mile 1 & 2 were on the boardwalk and according to the Garmin I average a 7:15/mile pace, a little quicker than planned but I was feeling really good.
Miles 3 - 9 were along Ocean Parkway and were flat and built for speed, except for a little headwind blowing here and there. I was cruising along at a 7:20 pace and feeling strong and then a minor miracle happened. At mile 6, Birch, fellow DOFB member and training partner pulled up alongside me. I think he may have been behind me for awhile, checking me out from that perspective , but he said nothing. Seems suspicious.
Birch and i cranked along at a little faster clip, about 7:10/mile until the end of Ocean Parkway, where Birch started feeling some pains and needed to slow down and told me to go on without him. This is a first as Birch is normally running sub 7 minute miles and I am ready to die trying to keep up.
Mile 9 - 13 saw me entering Prospect Park, fan support started to build and so did the hills. There is a small downhill in the beginning but then we came up the big hill that leads to Grand Army Plaza. The thing I hate most about this hill are the false peaks. Each time you think you are done there is another climb. Damn those park architects.
The last few miles were a race for me as I tried to break 1:35 for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I pushed and tried but the final small hills at the end drained me of the precious few seconds and finished the race in 1:35:55, a new PR for me. I am not going to say the Garmin 405, made the difference, it was probably training, but running a race with a GPS watch changes the whole race. I strongly encourage anyone serious about running to purchase one.
Overall another great Brooklyn Half Marathon and look forward to race reports from other members. More important, I believe the Dukes of Flatbush finally had 5 racers finish which means we earned club points. Look out Los Compadres, here we come in the Club Competition
It is only now, with a week’s distance, that I can begin to encapsulate this year’s Boil. The Fifth (mostly) Annual SpecialAI Crawfish Boil was, in a word, epic. The bugs were god-damned delicious, the music was off the hook and the revelers gave everything they had in the pursuit of good times. Tally of relevance:
Lbs of Crawfish shipped up from Louisiana: 275
Lbs of Crawfish Consumed: 275
Barrels of Beer Consumed: 5 (!!)
Number of kick-ass Bands: 4-5
List of notable instruments demonstrated: Stand up base, drums, keys, mandolin, banjo, tuba (!), trombone (x2), trumpet, guitar (x5), maracas, tambourines, cowbell, neck-tie washboard!?!), accordion, larynx (yodeling), rubber chicken
Number of DJs intending to play: 5
Number of DJs who actually played: 3
Approximate number of attendees: 150 (+/- 25)
Number of unknowns who crashed: 25
Number of hours the party lasted: 11
All in all, an amazing time was had and a serious thanks out to them tasty lil bugs, the incredible bands, our excellent friends and everyone else who contributed of their time, energy and buzz to make this the best boil yet!
And now a few pics for da taste:
Special Cajun delivery…one of three mongo boxes of bugs straight from LA
Craw enforcement is serious work…one needs a placard for the vehicle
Said Craw Enforcement Vehicle and the attached compliance officer
The calm before the boil. Please note appropriately prominent placement of the NH state flag. Boil Free or Die baby!
Looks may deceive …this pint sized shellfish lover can eat her weight in Crawfish
$2 Goat gettin’ things roarin’ as the bugs start coming out. These guys wail!
Early round as folks start jockey for long-haul positioning.
This past week has been the final week of hard training before the Brooklyn Half Marathon next week and I guess a mini-taper. I think the whole team has been putting in the miles and getting ready for the race. This is going to be a fun one and hopefully able to get close to a 1:35 half. With Birch pacing I think it is a possibility.
To prepare for the pace, I have gone back to the track for some speed workouts, which are horrific and vomit inducing, but would love to share with you for those who want to speed work.
On a standard 400m track, do one lap below 1 minute 30 seconds, then slowly jog (hate the word) or shuffle your feet to keep moving for 1 minute, then repeat the fast lap. Then wash rinse, repeat for 8 fast laps, trying to stay below a set time (mine is 1:30).
I have no scientific proof for this method as I have cobbled it together from a few training gurus, but give it a shot, if you do not get faster, you will puke, gonna be fun either way.
Tomorrow morning I will try to hook up with the Shampoos for an easy 8-10 mile run before our annual Crawfish Boil. Then let the good times roll.
Crawfish Boil pictures and report to follow later this week
DOFB
