Starting today at 9am PST, you can get up to 60% off DAKINE packs and snow gloves in our Snow n’ Go event. You don’t let the cold weather slow you down and we agree you shouldn’t have to. We have an awesome selection of luggage and backpacks to travel with you and snow gloves to keep you warm.

If you need to sign up at The Clymb , click here for my invite and you get to send $10 my way for each item you purchase besides the great deals

The Brooks Outlet Fall

TRUCKLOAD SALE

October 15 – 17, 2010

Bothell Outlet Store

22627 Bothell-Everett Hwy , Bothell, WA 98021 (425) 402-1632

I guess this would now be a review of the Heli Pack and am happy to say that this backpack is awesome. The fit of the Heli Pack is pretty snug with all the straps attached and I barely noticed it while on the slopes. I filled the hydration bladder with about 1.5L of water and did not feel it sloshing around at all. The only issue I had was being new to the pack, I spilled some water on my gear as I was a little unsure on how to open and close the spout but got the hang of it as the day went on. It is still not the smoothest spout out there (that award goes to Ultimate Direction) but being on the lift with my poles does not lead to most advantageous positions for drinking. Sorry, one other gripe is that I could not get the hydration pack to stay on the hangar in the bag. It kept slipping down into the pocket of the bag. Not a big deal, but would love to learn how to keep it up there.

This bag holds a lot of stuff and even with some sandwiches, the hydration pack, and extra layer and hat, it felt barely there. One of these days I will use the bag to its full potential and have my shovel in the back, avalanche beacon and bust out the straps so I can carry my skis and hit the backcountry. Once the spring hits I will also be able to use the pack for all day hikes in the mountains, but do not see this as a pack for long runs. A little too heavy and I am still a huge fan of my Ultimate Direction fanny pack.

There is no way most people can look cool wearing something reflective and I think I now have the proof of that with my new hat. The Brooks Nightlife Hat

This hat is comfortable, adjustable, reflective as hell, but kind of ugly. It has high visibility fabric that gives you 360 degrees of visibility and wait for it…….a flashing rear LED light on the back. Now since it is dark out when I am running I am going to go with function over fashion every night and wear this hat. While it will not a fashion award, it will probably save your life so I recommend this hat when running in the dark, which in Seattle at this time of year is 4:30pm – 7:30am. 

One more note – if you are looking for this hat or maybe some other reflective accessories check out this site night-gear.com. They have all sorts of reflective items for sale. 

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.

The reason I was called to action today to write this post is reading the news that Natasha Richardson, the actress was apparently injured in a tragic ski accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. It is horrible news and hope she is fine and that this does not happen to anybody out there, and the two best methods to avoid this are to ski safely and wear a helmet.

I wrote a little how to on eHow.com, one of my favorite sites.

Check it out here – How to tie a shoe for runners

My favorite method lacing up a shoe is below, but I do not recommend for running

Click here for Bacon Roll

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.

Check out this and only silly door mats at Uncommon Goods.

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 have been back from Yosemite for almost a week and trying to re-adjust to “normal” life. Just wanted to share a few photos. I went to Yosemite on September 7th to meet my friend JW and climb for two weeks. C joined us on the 12th for five days as well and we gave JW some time to prepare for his El Capitan (ed: !!!) climb. JW was planning to do the ascent the week of September 22nd with a German climber, Felix. Unfortunately Felix got sick the second day and they had to rappel down from the climb.

JW and I did mostly cragging, which consists of short multipitch climbs. The valley was very dry but the temperatures were perfect and there were not too many tourists. After September 15th there was a large influx of climbers including three very famous climbers. JW could tell you their names; I don’t pay that much attention.

The most noteworthy climb we did was Royal Arches. It’s a famous climb set up in 1931 by a climber staying at the Awanie Hotel. He was convinced that he could find a route up the cliff face to the top. After several failed attempts, and one bout of heat stress, he finally did. The climb is 16 pitches (rope lenths) long and about 2,400 feet high. In 1931, when the climb was first established, it was rated a 5.7. Most climbers today would agree that it is significantly harder. In 1931 the hardest rating was a 5.9, today the hardest routes are rated 5.16d.

JW

Hazard being sweet

JW and I started climbing at 6:00 a.m. in the morning. We climbed non-stop and finished the last pitch of the climb at 9:00 p.m. at night. We bivied on a small but comfortable ledge and the next morning hiked 8 miles up over the ridge by North Dome and then back to Camp 4. We finally arrived back in Camp 4 around 3:00 a.m. and promptly went to the Awanie to celebrate.

Gotta say, that’s a totally serious effort. Arches may not be the most technical, retarded-spiderman climb, but 16 pitches and a night spent on the rock in Yosemite should qualify as righteous in anyone’s book. Rock on with your bad-ass self Hazard & thanks for sharing.

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.

My Esteemed Dukes,

It is with great honor and sense of obligation that I have joined your exalted ranks. As a sign of my good faith and dedication, immediately upon returning to my native lands I set about a conquest to claim lands for the ever expanding Flatbush empire to the north. I am pleased to report that the summit of Mt. Katahdin was claimed for the Dukes as well as all territory visible from its summit (see attached picture). All vassals encountered upon the way were made to grovel before the Flatbush flag, and I would have dispatched any Los Compadres encountered, but I am sad to report that none were spotted. Becoming hungry during our expedition, I hunted down one of Maine’s alpine parakeets with my bare hands. My trusty assistant is seen in the second picture holding our substantial feast immediately prior to roasting.

For the glory of the empire!

Res Firma Nitescere Nescit

-The Duke of the North

Knowing that 2 days of running would put those blisters through the paces, I invested in a box of Dr. Scholl’s Blister Treatment Pads in hopes of protecting the now open blisters from getting rubbed raw and terrorizing my every step. While the box promises they will stay in place for up to a week and goes on and on about how you are going to have to soak with water water to remove, I can assure you these suckers can barely hang on for three miles, let alone a few hours!

In all fairness, while they were in place, they definitely provided a much needed cushion between the open wound and my sock, making it much easier to run than if there was nothing there at all. Further, I know it’s not totally fair to put these things up to such a challenge as a 208 mile over night relay race as a product review, but seriously. At almost $1 per pad, they should stay on for at least a few miles. Unfortunately, for all they promise-

* Helps heal and prevent blisters
* Stays comfortably in place
* Thin and flexible to conform to the heel and other areas of the foot
* Sterilized for safe use on open blisters
* Nearly invisible
* Water-resistant

I think they only thing they succeed at is being sterile, which while in an overnight endurance race (read: no shower) is very useful in treating wounds.

So, the search continues for a comfortable blister treatment. Until then, I guess it’s back to a sterile pad and moleskin for me.

Go Dukes!

Big props to the team that brought it home this year: Birch, Fayth, Laura, Sean, Christina, Steph, Kevin, Jennifer, Jon, Kristin, yours truly and the indefatigable team leader, Chad. Additional posts will follow that document the amazing stories that happened along the way, but it was an epic journey and I couldn’t have been happier to share it with my fellow Dukes. We killed it.

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

A study released two days ago by Stanford School of Medicine confirmed what many in the running community have long known – running slows the aging clock.

“When Fries and his team began this research in 1984, many scientists thought vigorous exercise would do older folks more harm than good. Some feared the long-term effect of the then-new jogging craze would be floods of orthopedic injuries, with older runners permanently hobbled by their exercise habit. Fries had a different hypothesis: he thought regular exercise would extend high-quality, disability-free life. Keeping the body moving, he speculated, wouldn’t necessarily extend longevity, but it would compress the period at the end of life when people couldn’t carry out daily tasks on their own. That idea came to be known as “the compression of morbidity theory.”

Fries’ team began tracking 538 runners over age 50, comparing them to a similar group of nonrunners. The subjects, now in their 70s and 80s, have answered yearly questionnaires about their ability to perform everyday activities such as walking, dressing and grooming, getting out of a chair and gripping objects. The researchers have used national death records to learn which participants died, and why. Nineteen years into the study, 34 percent of the nonrunners had died, compared to only 15 percent of the runners.”

Perhaps not the fountain of youth itself, but an elixer almost as good. Maybe ol Ponce de Leon shoulda pulled his conquistador head out of his armor ass and laced up a set of kicks.

Just how far are we chunkin these punkins? The world record currently stands at 4434.28 feet, a little under a mile. Are you kidding me? The event is held in Bridgeville, Delaware from October 31 – November 2 this year. Count me in. I’ll blend in perfectly…

Q: How should I train for a road relay in which I’ll run about five miles three times in 24 hours?

A: Train as you would for a half-marathon, but add these strategies: (1) Do two-a-day runs of five miles each at least once a week starting six weeks before the event. (2) Run a hilly route once a week to increase overall leg strength. (3) head out for a few runs in the dark (with friends, reflective gear and a headlamp); night runs are an inevitable part of the relay experience. (4) Find foods you can digest easily because you’ll be eating at all different times of the day and night.

The cumulative mileages vary for each runner on the RTB team and some will log a good deal more than 15 (more like 20-22). But this seems like sound advice and a good place to start. Seeing as the author is Sean Coster, I’m guessing he knows what he’s talking about. I can’t say as I’m looking forward to initiating 2 x days much, but think I’ll get cracking on that this week. My dogs be barkin’ just thinking about it.

Stay tuned for more Dukes RTB updates from our RTB Captain: The New Guy.

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.

The Brooks Axiom 3 is going to contain their secret weapon MoGo. This is the midsole that everyone seems to rave about and has been held back from the Axiom line so far. I have yet to try a shoe with Mogo, so I cannot comment on the feel, but I can tell you the logo looks cool on the sneaker.

Below is a picture of the Brooks Axiom 3 I found on a french Brooks website. Hope to be back soon with a review.

A bit like the Russians at Stalingrad, our rival running club Los Compadres continues to best us at area races with an attrition strategy based on overwhelming numbers and superior infantry training. However, all indications are that they have no “Unified Forces Plan”, and have left their BBQ, Motorcycle and Naval flanks completely undefended.

The Dukes already own the Grill and Motorcycle theaters; we’re confident that the addition of a stout sailing vessel will be the linchpin in our summer campaign of good-times domination.

Consider this fair notice Compadres, your speedy ways on the asphalt are no match for our comprehensive forces. We will express our dominance and steal your good times in a classic pincer movement that would do Hannibal proud.

In other boating news – the Dukes of Flatbush are pleased to announce partnership with the Hüskooler School of Sailing and Maritime Refreshment Research. With a staff of gifted instructors, the Hüskooler School offers a new paradigm in multidisciplinary seafaring education. Full certification is the goal for all students and a rigorous, Shelter Island based, 8 week class schedule will commence in early July. Please contact your administrator or neighborhood Moose Lodge for more information.

Proper technique from a lead instructor

CIT training session

Anti-pirate-stratagem role play

“Working in conjunction with BMX legend Mat Hoffman and some of the best stunt riders in the world, Johnny Knoxville hosts a super stunt spectacular in homage to the late, great Evel Knievel. A few of the guys that step up and risk life and limb in the spirit of the world famous daredevil include Travis Pastrana, Scott Palmer, Allan Cooke, Davin “Psycho” Halford, Trigger Gumm and “Harley” Jeff Schneider, all of whom attempt a number of ridiculous stunts worthy of making television history. This DVD also includes over an hour of bonus features like an extended look at Johnny Knoxville’s painful hospital visit, thoughts on Evel Knievel’s legacy, a hilarious behind-the-scenes featurette, as well as a thorough look back at Mat Hoffman’s trailblazing career.”

Buy it here.

Has anyone seen this? Any good?

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

The Sea Senor(ita) is a classic 17′ O’Day DaySailer. DaySailers are fantastic fun and this one should provide endless summer good-times plying the waters around Shelter Island. The craft was gifted to the these Dukes by a most-excellent family member who was tired of it gracing her lawn; a sort of God-Duke if you will.

She’s been sitting the better part of the last 10 years, so we have some work to do before launch. But working on a little sailboat in the sun is a damn fine way to pass the time. Plus this boat will be a floating classroom for a whole host of folks, little ones included, who are eagerly awaiting sailing lessons. With that to look forward to, we started out this past weekend with a solid first cleaning. I’m sure you’ll agree the results are impressive.

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The accumulated funk from years of sitting unprotected outside

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Dirty Deck; Liken Gone Wild.

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Much better – she’s actually kinda good lookin’ under all that grime!

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A much cleaner cockpit; neigh ready to bear Dukes upon the sea towards unknown adventures, spoil and plunder….

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There are some minor repairs still to be done, rigging to be replaced, and another round or two of cleaning, but what a keen reminder of the restorative powers of elbow grease. Will certainly update again as the Sea Senorita nears launch.

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“The marathon was an incredible experience. Just running a course with so much history (112 years – oldest except for the original Greek Olympiad) is pretty amazing. And, some of my earliest memories are of watching my dad run it.

The race is incredibly well organized – making 26,000 runners safely and timely move through an urban course is no small feat. High points for me were finally getting under way in Hopkinton, charging through the “wall of sound” at Wellesley College where hundreds of college women uphold a tradition of nearly blowing your eardrums out, Summiting heartbreak hill with my stride intact and realizing ½ way down the final stretch of Boylston Ave that I had my sub 3:10 in the bag. Low points included a scary hip pain in the early miles that went away, struggling on the first of the Newton hills (I recovered), and struggling mightily in the final 5 miles to maintain a sub 3:10 pace.

My goal was to run under 3:10 and I managed to cross in 3:09:13, 2290th place out of 25000+ finishers. The weekend was even sweeter because 4 college buddies of mine were all running as well. One of them even got to run with Lance Armstrong for about 2/3 of the race. For any of you who ever have the desire to run a marathon – there is truly nothing out there like Boston.”

Nice work Sean; may all dofb membership in good standing toast your mettle forthrightly!

Morning all,

Just a quick report from this morning’s jaunt to Lido beach. Waves were 3′ glass and, while the water is still in the low 40′s, it was already nearly 70 degrees out by 7am. Holy F I’m out of form/shape, but it was amazing to be out on such a perfect morning. While further out than the Rockaways, I like Lido. It always seems to stack up a bit higher and there are less folks spread over seemingly more peaks.

Can’t do it everyday (the 5:30am roust + hr each way of driving is a bit much) but my-oh-my does a little clean surf start the day off right.

As a runner and native New Englander I can’t help but love the Boston. I was peeved to miss qualifying in this year’s NY by a minute and change, but it’s with no small amount of pride that we’ll be cheering one of our own on from afar. My cousin (in-law?) Sean Kerwin, an iron-man, all around kick-ass athlete and soon to be Duke (he’s on our Reach the Beach team), will be competing in this year’s race. Sean’s a machine and I have no doubt he’ll be high-steppin’ over heartbreak hill.

Best of luck to Sean and all the other runners….we’re pulling for a cool, windless and slightly overcast day Monday!

On that note I came across the results from the London Marathon this past weekend and Ryan Hall kicked ass. He finished in 5th place (behind 4 Kenyans) with a time of 2:06:17, which is the 3rd best American marathon finish ever. I think the coolest thing I read about the race is that sometime in the middle of the race, Hall in the lead pack rolled up to the front of the Kenyans and told them to pick up the pace, they were running too slow. Granted that may not have been the best move as the Kenyans picked up the pace to 4:30/mile (insanity) and dared him to keep up, not much of a chance.

Overall, congratulations to Ryan Hall on a great performance and look out for him in the Beijing Olympics this year when he tries to win a gold medal for the USA in the smog, smoke and debris of the streets of Beijing.

 I had been following the Atacama Crossing race online this year which was won by Dean Karnazes and the people who compete/participate in this endurance event are nuts. Besides that you are racing for 7 days straight, in the driest conditions in the world (it is a desert) you have to carry all of your own gear and there are no support crews. Is there a purpose to this type of insanity? If there is someone needs to explain this one to me. I can understand ultramarathons and team endurance events like the Eco-Challenge or whoever is sponsoring it now, but this one is beyond comprehension. I think the only cool thing are the pictures.

That being said, if someone can come up with a good reason, and convince me, I will see meet you in the Gobi Desert and run across China.

The way I am able to do that, is through the generosity of Sports Illustrated who have set up an online archive of 50+ years of articles, covers and photos. I am not going to go through Dr. Z’s predictions which I know to be wrong 80-90% of the time, but have been going through the photos and the covers, especially the covers.

Below is a selection of some of my favorites so far: