The Hospital for Joint Diseases at NYU Langone Medical Center
Presents
“Ready, Set, Go!: A Marathon Prep Course”
hosted by The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty
Where: NYU Schwarz Hall, 550 1st Avenue (entrance between 32nd and 31st Street-Tisch Hospital Lobby)
When: October 29, 2009, 6 pm Registration , 6:30-9 pm Panel Discussions
What: Join Lewis G. Maharam MD, www.runningworld.com’s Running Doc and former Medical Director of the NYC Marathon, for an evening panel discussion with the faculty of HJD on optimizing your marathon performance, dealing with existing injuries, preventing new injuries and recovering quickly after the marathon.
How: Please email Ana De Jesus, at ana.dejesus@nyumc.org to pre-register or for more information. You may also register half an hour prior to the event. Raffle prizes available to individuals who register.
*******SPECIAL GUEST: Former Marathon World-Record Holder Steve Jones*******
This is what makes me miss NY. The group interviewed about 2 minutes into this are so good, they cannot be real.
Enjoy
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Long Island Wants to Secede | ||||
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Another reason we’ve been holed up is the Dukes of Flatbush have been competing in a Winter / Spring bowling league at Gutter in Brooklyn, NY.
Although we excel in all manner of blue collar sports, I can’t say we started the season with high expectations. Well, that has all changed. We managed to hold onto the #1 spot for a long while, only recently ceding it to our nemesis “006″ and our co-conspirators “Wild Turkeys”. This past week we managed to reclaim the #2 spot. We have one more week of league play and think we’re rolling in the semis. Needless to say, we’re focusing our inner Lebowski and drinking plenty of White Russians to get ready for the ultimate showdown. One man, one ball and 10 pins. We’ll keep you posted, but you can check the standings here.
Well, with the Ibuprofen count officially under 4 a day, and the nightly icing rituals melted away, I thought it about darn time I relayed my NYC marathon story.
Let me first start by saying, how amazing all of the Dukes of Flatbush, particularly that guy I call my Husband, was through this whole process. A very sincere thanks to everyone for all of their well wishes, advice and encouragement along the way. And a particular shout out to the lady on First Ave and 96th St who was the ONLY person I didn’t know to call out my name- you will never know how much that helped. THANK-YOU!
I’ve taken a bit of time to write this for a lot of reasons. Partly because I needed to digest what exactly happened in those hours between 5 am and 6 pm on November 2nd, 2008, and partly because I really needed to get some rest! As I mentioned in my pre-marathon post, I was really looking forward to the two-week taper. My body, particularly my right knee and calf, were really giving me hell, and I was in an almost constant state of pain. I sought out the services of an acupuncturist, which helped tremendously, but even still I did not go into Marathon day in top form.
I’ll get this negative stuff out of the way, because as the administrator of this noble blog said- “It’ll be cathartic”. I’ll admit, I was pretty disappointed about not being in top shape on Marathon Day. After 2 + months of training, to be feeling rather questionable about your ability to perform is a bit of a lousy feeling. I didn’t play many team sports as a kid, so maybe this is something everyone else is used to by 32- I am not. I didn’t play through an ankle sprain and kick the winning goal. I didn’t get the MVP for getting two teeth knocked out and staying in the game to score four 3 pointers. I was a cheerleader- I broke my elbow doing a high kick and sat out the rest of the season out. Simply put, I’ve never played through the pain, it’s just not what I do.
OK, that feels better.
So there I was on the Saturday before Marathon Day, with perfect weather (crisp and partly cloudy with high of 50F) to look forward to, and I was a nervous friggin’ wreck about my knee. I went out for a long walk when a friend and fellow Marathoner called to ask how I was feeling. I described myself as the Owner of a Best in Show Contender at the Westminster Dog Show who had to leave Madison Square garden to go get a hotdog because they were too nervous to watch. This training process had done a lot of strange things to my mind, but this was getting out of hand. I was now simultaneously the Best in Breed, the trainer and the Owner. This had to stop!
What was the worst that could happen? “You could do real damage to your knee and wind up in serious trouble, Idiot,” I told myself. OK, fair enough, but really what are we talking about? Collapse in Williamsburg? Ambo in Central Park? I told myself that I could walk if I needed to, and in all honesty, that was fine. “There are plenty of people that walk, it’s not about the time. More importantly, it’s about finishing and raising funds for Jack’s Fund I reminded myself. Well, either the Viszla inside developed language skills or I was being to make sense. Either way, I was calm enough to go home and start the process of unwinding- 5 am does come early.
Per usual, I didn’t sleep much. It was a cold morning, but the spirit of the day most certainly got me out the door and onto the Subway Platform by 6 am. If your listening Mr or Mrs NYC Marathon Logistics Manager Man or Woman, I have to admit, I don’t think the Wave Start plan worked as well as you hoped. There were many, many runners that were in the 10:20 am start that had 5:30 am ferry or 4:30 am bus times. Doesn’t seem that it was the best use of staggered starts to then have people crowding the Staten Island Ferry terminal to stay warm before heading out into the sub 40 degree temp. But, I’m just saying. As I mentioned before, I consider myself a wimp. I know everyone talks about how amazing the Marathon Village is before the race, and how much fun it is to walk around and such, but I was freezing, so I stayed in the Ferry terminal till 8:30 before hoping on the bus to Fort Wadsworth.
Once there, I realized that there was a whole flurry of activity going on, and I clearly was not the only one that was a bag of nerves! People were literally walking in circles, too anxious and cold to sit, but too sore from months of training to move too fast! 9:30 am marked the end of Bag Check and in those few moments before I saw every type of salve, cream, gel you could imagine being applied to any and all body parts. Without shame, I too, joined the Vaseline’d Masses and got myself prepped for the race.
Before I knew it, we were lined up and stripping away our “give away” warm up gear. Without realizing it was really happening we were moving en masse up the platform up to the start line at the base of the bridge. Of course, Bruce Springstein’s Born To Run was playing on the speakers as I crossed over the start line. I chuckled to myself and smiled as I took off up the Verranzano Bridge and looked out over to Manhattan in the distance. I overheard someone say, “Doesn’t it look so far away?”. And strangely to me, it didn’t.
Coming into Brooklyn, I felt great. There was a dull pain in my knee, but it felt manageable. The tightness in my calf had subsided, I felt well rested, my digestive tract co-operated earlier and in all honesty, I felt like I was about to have the run of my life. Once on Fourth Avenue, I could see the Williamsburg Saving and Loan Building in the distance. 
I live in Fort Greene, which is just past that at mile 8 so I settled in for an easy cruise up Fourth Ave, knowing that I would get a Dukes Welcome at the end of my block.
And there they were, my Bloody Mary’ed Cheering Section!
Luckily, my Husband brought out the Stick to the end of the road for a bit of mile 8 ITB release.
By this point, I was starting to question that “run of my life” comment. My knee was starting to feel very tight and tender, and each time I flexed my knee back after taking a step, it hurt even more. I slowed down from my 9 minute mile pace to a 9:30 for the next two miles to see where I was at. By mile 10 on Bedford Avenue, I stopped for a few moments to stretch out to see if I could loosen the ITB- it was beginning to feel like a rubber band being snagged on the outside of my knee with each step. No such luck. I stopped at the next Medical Tent to see if they had a Stick- for some reason this made sense to me, but of course they didn’t.
I was only 10 miles in, and here I was contemplating that I might have to serious consider walking for a bit. But walking on my right knee didn’t feel any better. The way I thought about it, it would just take longer and therefore hurt for longer. So I took off on my left leg, and just gently used my right foot to balance myself out. With that first step, I set my mind to running the remaining 16 miles on my left leg. Now I know this sounds insane, and of course it is. But it’s basically what happened. I stopped at two medical tents to have them tape up my knee to keep it from bending too far back, and I went about the business of getting through it.
Just passed seeing another group of friends at mile 14 in Long Island City, the pain was so bad that I stopped, folded over and started to cry. I don’t know if it was the pain, the frustration at my 11 minute pace or what, but I was pissed. All of this training, the resting, the icing, the balanced friggin’ nutrition, the Tetolling- I couldn’t believe it was coming to this. I think I even let out a bit of a Blue Streak- sorry to any kids that may have been nearby. After I few minutes, I got myself back together and got back to the business of the left sided shuffle. If it took me 7 hrs, I was gonna finish this thing.
I had been warned about the 59th St Bridge. With no crowds on either side, and the vibration of the runners pounding the expanse, it can be both daunting and exhilarating I was told.
As I made it up the incline, I got into a bit of a rhythm with the my new left sided gait and I was starting to settle in a bit. Just as I crested the bridge I realized that it truly “all down hill from here”. Not exactly the best thing for someone experiencing ITB pain, but you get the metaphor.
First Ave was pretty unbelievable.
Looking up those 50 or blocks and seeing a river of runners moving up the canyon of skyscrapers is a pretty remarkable site. There are so many spectators at this point too; never before have I felt greeted with such welcome arms to Manhattan. That said; I basically put my head down and wobbled my way up the Avenue, knowing that my Dukes Cheering Section was just 4 miles away.
By the time I got to mile 18, I realized that stopping to stretch was not a good idea; it became increasingly difficult to get started again and was more painful each time. It was also at that point that I realized that despite my difficulties, I was still within shot of my goal of sub 4:30. To do so, I would have to shave about 30 seconds off of my mile pace. One thing that has always been true during my training is that I tend to speed up after I get over the hump and enter the last 3rd of a run. Would that be true this time was the question.
I’ll spare you the grunting, wincing, cursing blow by blow of the last 8 miles, but they were the most intense of my life. The crowds down 5 Avenue and in Central Park were amazing. To each of the crazy spectators with the large “Beer” signs, thank-you for the laughs.
But I think this sign had to be the best-
With one last glance at my husband at the 26 mile mark, I ran those last .2 miles with tears in my eyes and a fullness in my heart that I will hold with me for the rest of my life.
At 4:28: 53, I can now say I know what it feels like to have made my own goal, banged up knee and all.
A week plus later, and I am not quite ready to tackle the pavement just yet. I might go back to Pilates for a bit, maybe even consider taking a Yoga class. I’m waiting for all of the swelling to go down to figure out what to do about my knee. I figure it makes sense to see what is just a result of all that training, and what may or may not be a lasting result before going to see a Doctor. To be honest I don’t want to know yet, I’d rather just bask in the glory for a bit longer.
Well, folks, I’m in the final stretch and, I will admit, I’ve never been so thankful to ONLY be running 25 miles in a week! After two weeks of 35+ miles, my knees and calves are definitely starting to act up, and I too, now know the pain that is ITB Syndrome. Ice, Ibuprofen, The Stick- these now are my very dear friends. But this is not new news, almost everyone I’ve talked to says that the two weeks of taper are not only the most welcome of the process, but also the most needed to get the bod back in shape and healed up for the LAST big day. It’s funny, I never thought about it like this before, but the marathon is not just one day, it’s 90+ days of getting your @$! out there and going for a run even when it’s the last thing in the world you want to do. I am still in awe that I have made it this far. With my big runs behind me, it all feels like down hill from here.
For my last 20 miler, I ran from the Brooklyn Promenade
, across the Brooklyn Bridge, across Wall Street, up the West Side Highway, across Central Park South, and then over to the 59th street bridge. Next, up to Roosevelt Island
for a loop, then back over the Pulaski Bridge into Brooklyn for the victory 5 miles back along Kent Ave and the Navy Yard. I thought I might be going insane around mile 18 when inner my monologue turned into a full on debate between three disparate voices- the one telling me to stop- Ms Whiney, the one telling me to get my act together- Ms Tough Gurl, and the one telling Ms Tough Gurl to “DIG DEEP” and “YELL LOUDER”- Ms GET IT DONE. When I end a long training run, I always ask myself if I have the remaining miles to 26.2 in me. As I rounded the corner at the end of that run, I asked myself if I had another 6 in me. Thankfully, Ms GET IT DONE answered, and the response went something like this. “HELLS YES!”
My 16 miler in Tampa, Florida last weekend, while not as entertaining, was quite a feat. Down in Tampa for a wedding, I had to make an early break from the post rehearsal dinner festivities to get some rest for the 8:30am 16 miler the day of the wedding! Who am I? My sister plotted the course for me along the Upper Tampa Bay Trail 
, which is really something many urbanites don’t see much. 8 miles of paved trail through lush forest, along a canal, with water stops every 1/2 mile- crazy! Even though it was over 85 degrees, that run felt like cake walk to the week before. A bit of soreness around mile 12, but I stretched it out and kept running, it was only 16 miles after all.
Now, I’m all about the recuperation. I’m looking forward to my afternoon dose of Ibuprofen, an easy four mile jog and perhaps an Epson Salt Bath tonight. With my last two big runs behind me and only a 6 on the horizon for this weekend, I’m feeling great. 
Oh, yeah, and that 26.2 the week after, but, I got that one- “NO PROBLEM!”
I swung by Banky’s latest art installation here in Manhattan. It’s a store in the West Village named The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill that is an animatronic menagerie. It’s hard to describe so take a look for yourself:
“I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming,” Banksy explains in an official press release. “But it ended up as chicken nuggets singing.”
This gentleman who claimed to be the store owner was fielding questions from a TV reporter and when asked about the hot dogs, said it was very sad, that they were rescue dogs. Ba da bing!
As Summer turns to Autumn, Tasty Tuesdays are back in full swing. Fearing divorce, I concocted a late Summer-early Autumn menu featuring a tried and true Panzanella salad that I usually do many times a Summer. For some reason I just didn’t get around to this Summer, so I figured I should get on it before tomatoes disappeared until next year! The rest of my menu was my attempt to connect with my inner Mario Batali, 
and while adventurous, was not like my recent trip to Babbo.
Let’s focus on the Panzanella.
1 baguette
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 lb fresh mozzarella
1 red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Olive Oil for basting
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ cup pesto vinaigrette
This recipe takes the whole bread, tomato and mozzarella salad to new heights by not only combining it with a fresh pesto- balsamic vinaigrette, but get this, you actually grill the bread, mozzarella, onion and tomato first! Basically, the original recipe calls for several tomato, red onion, mozzarella and bread skewers, lightly dressed with olive and garlic, that are grilled, removed from their skewers, and then tossed with the Pesto-balsamic vinaigrette- and let me tell you, it’s really delicious. That said; having suffered through cleaning quite a few grills of molten mozzarella, I’ve come up with a better method to ensure that everything is cooked properly when combined. Moreover, I’ve abandoned the recipe for the vinaigrette and just make it how I like it now – I encourage you to do the same.
Firstly, if you have stale bread, use that. Stale bread toasts better and won’t get soggy like fresh bread does. If you don’t have any “day old” around, try to cube (about 1 ½ inch square) the fresh bread up few hours ahead of when you plan on making the Panzanella- this will let it dry out a bit. Next, key step here, when you are about 5 minutes out from getting started, put your mozzarella in the freezer. I can’t tell you how much it easier it is to cut cold mozzarella. Not only that, but it helps the cheese hold it shape a bit better during the grilling process. Without doing this you could wind up with melted cheese all over the grill!
As far as assembly of the kabobs goes, there is the main point of difference with the original recipe. Rather than combining the ingredients on the skewers, I do a few solely cherry or grape tomatoes, a few red onion kabobs and then combine the bread and mozzarella (cut into 1 inch cubes) on the last few kabobs before lightly dressing them with a bit of minced garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil. By doing this, you can control how much heat each of the ingredients get. Personally, I like the onion and tomatoes to get a bit more charred, so I get those on the grill first while I am putting the bread and mozzarella skewers together.
When making your pesto, use your favorite recipe. Some people use pine nuts, some walnuts, I like crushed red pepper; all that matters is that at the end you add a bit of balsamic vinegar to it and a touch more oil than you normally would to give it a slightly looser consistency. I usually make my pesto in a food processor, but I have done it by hand as well. If you have the time, give it a try- it’s quite sexy.
Once everything is grilled to your liking, remove from the skewers into a large bowl 
and toss to combine with the 2/3 of the pesto vinaigrette. I plate, and then top each with a bit more vinaigrette, salt and fresh pepper. Yummers!!
In an effort to usher in Autumn, I followed the Panzanella salad with Monkfish and Pancetta kabobs served with roasted butternut squash with fennel and lemon.
They were tasty but lacking some oommf. Next time I might make lemon oil or herb-anise vinaigrette or something to add a bit more acidity to the dish.
I followed that with black figs, with fresh ricotta, lemon sugar and balsamic reduction- sort of a dessert and cheese course in one. While I liked it for being light and fresh, I think next time I’ll combine the lemon sugar with the ricotta in advance with a touch of lemon juice tie those flavors together.
Till next year, goodbye tomatoes. Bring on the squash, figs, apples, pears, and Brussels sprouts!
I can’t say that I was looking forward to running the NYC Marathon Tune-up this weekend, per se, but I was looking forward to seeing how my mind and body were going to deal with the added mileage. After the very amusing walking hallucinatory state that Reach the Beach put me in, I will admit, I was looking forward to meeting that stranger I have heard so much about over the last few years- “The Wall”.
With the Tune-up miles locked in, I needed to add two extra miles to the start to meet my 20 mile run requirement for the week. This meant a 5am wake-up, train to 57th street, then the 2.6 run up to the start at 102 st on the East Side for a 7am start. (I know, boo-hoo, but hey, it’s my first marathon and I’ll moan if I want to!) After a bit of a battle with shin splints after an 18 miler to Coney Island last weekend, I will admit, I wasn’t feeling all that strong going into Sunday’s race/ run. I had been slow all week, and just couldn’t seem to get the lead out. I knew it was gonna be another difficult one when I stepped out of the house that morning- it was muggy and already 70 degrees– oh dear.
By the time I arrived at the start after my warm-up, I was already drenched with sweat. The humidity was at 93%, and I was praying for the sky to open up- no such luck. Knowing my body, I resolved to take it slow and just see what running with the crowd felt like, and listen to what my mind and body were doing and just take it nice and easy. After 3 miles I realized I was running a 9:20 mile pace and there wasn’t a darn thing I could do about it- nice and easy was all I had.
Running loops is definitely not my preferred training method. Even though I have a pretty nifty hill mantra (I love hills, I love *%$@*&% hills), I don’t like to have to use it on the same hill again and again- it seems to lose efficacy. That said; round and round the park I went for a good 15 (17.5 for me) miles with all systems pretty much in check. Slow, but in check.
It was at mile 15 that I realized that I must have dropped my 3rd Gel Pack somewhere. Opps! It was also at this moment that I also started to feel really cold. From sweaty to shivering in a matter of seconds. “Why didn’t I eat breakfast this morning?” Fearing a premature introduction to “The Wall”, I assured myself that I was fine, and reminded myself of the “Gel” table just past Columbus Circle at the bottom of the park on Central Park South. “All good, just get around the corner”, I told myself.
Just as I inched around the corner, and felt my head fill with cotton and my feet turn into 100 lb weights, I noticed that the table was empty.
“Well, hello Mr. Wall. So nice to finally meet you in person.” Maybe some good manners might soften the blow, I thought.
And it did. He’s a funny fellow that Mr. Wall. We laughed for a few steps, talking about what a crazy fool I am for taking this on. I should still be in bed, he’s right. Or better yet, glass of wine and a cozy couch. I know it’s only 9:30 am, but I’ve been up for almost 5 hours. TAXI!
We talked for a few more steps as warmth started to return to my arms, and we got near the Gatorade table- oh sweet nectar! “Three more miles, eh?” he asked. And with that, I was off. “What the hell is 3 miles?” was I needed to ask myself.
Just as I hit the 16 mile mark, I looked down and saw the brand of Gel I prefer. “Oh, wouldn’t that be nice,” I thought to myself. Then I thought for a moment and tried to do some math. Surprising how difficult that can be. My last gel was at 10 miles, the park is 6 miles. 10 plus 6 equals…come on Math don’t fail me know- 16! Oh my, it’s my Gel! Without thinking of how dirty NYC truly is (read: Horses in Central Park), I turned around, scooped it up and slurped it down- delicious, yummy, goodness, I love you Gel!
I don’t know if I really needed it or not, but I’m not trying to be a hero. Could I have run this race faster, sure? Should I have eaten breakfast? Yes! Will I run faster than a 9:40 pace on Marathon day? I don’t know. All I do know is that I ran 20 miles this weekend and I met “The Wall”- hopefully they will both be as gentle the next time we meet.
A good friend of mine celebrated his 35th birthday last night by hosting an epic dinner at Momofuku Ssam, one of David Chang’s restaurants in New York City.
I had never been to this restaurant before, but had heard exceptional things about the pork that flowed freely from the kitchen. I can tell you that they did not dissapoint.
We started off with a few different plates of thinly sliced ham and crusty bread, accompanied by a sauce that I mistakenly took for mustard. A closer inspection revealed it was mayonnaise cut with Sriracha and Red Eye gravy (coffee, pan drippings). Really interesting and quite tasty. The ham was bolstered by a few orders of lardo which is cured strips of pig fat. It’s a fairly subtle dish and a little unnerving. It’s not something I’d order every day, but I found it quite satisfying. Next was crispy lamb belly. I am a huge devotee of lamb and can honestly say that I have never tasted anything quite so “lamby”. Baaaaa humbug. But on to the main attractions.
Ssam means “anything wrapped” and one of the stand out items on the menu is a pork bun, essentially a flour pancake filled with braised pork belly, topped with a few dabs of Sriracha.
I can’t say I have tasted anything so good this entire year. I can see myself visiting this restaurant time and time again, slipping in for a few pork buns and a glass of wine. It’s pure magic.
But on to the main event. My friend had called the restaurant exactly one month before to get a reservation required for Bo Ssam. They have a 5:00, 6:30 and 11:00 seating every day for this special meal. But what is Bo Ssam? It’s a 6 lb pork butt that has been cooked for 10 hours. You shred the pork at the table, place it in a lettuce leaf, top with a fresh shucked oyster and your choice of accompaniments like rice and kimchi.
Although I had already eaten a great deal of swine, I managed to scarf down six of these delicious little packages. I found it equal to the pork bun in flavor, but it was a lot of fun to sit around a table and eat a communal dish.
I hard heard about Momofuku Ssam from a number of friends, but somehow it slipped off my radar. Don’t let this happen to you. If you like pork, get yourself over there and enjoy the fruits of their labor. You won’t regret it.
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…
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