november book update

November was thriller month, with the exception of one book. I'm ending the month on a thriller, but haven't finished yet, so will let you know how Tana French's Broken Harbor goes next month.

A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow
Another free download. A relatively quick read (when my kindle wasn't acting up). I just needed to read something until my library requests came in. Apparently this is the first in a series of books about a DA investigating murders in remote Alaska. The location is cool and since I've been there it was nice to visualize. However, it wasn't summer, so the days are short and it's cold. I'm still not sure they will be able to have an entire series of murders in a small town. But it's fiction, so the author can do what they want.  Like I said, it was a quick read, but nothing too spectactular.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Like Gone Girl, this was written in a similar style, with alternating chapters of 2 different storylines. From the beginning, you find out a 31 year old woman's mom and 2 sisters were murdered when she was 7 and her her brother went to prison for it. After a difficult childhood, she hasn't been able to function properly in society. However, an odd group of people come forward to help her figure out the truth. The alternating story follows the brother and mother on the day of the murders. Eventually it everything comes together and you learn what really happened that night. Unfortunately, things don't completely get wrapped as nicely as I would have liked. I of course put Sharp Objects on request.

Defending Jacob by William Landay
This was another page turner. A boy is murdered in a town outside Boston and a classmate of his is accused. Throughout the trial, you are getting the point of view from the father, who happened to be the Assistant DA. Of course once his son is charged with the murder, he had to relinquish his duties. You see how Jacob's parents handle the stress of having their son accused of murder. They stand by him unfaltering for most of the process. The book really focuses on the trial and those surrounding it, not so much on solving the actual murder. There are a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book. You also never really get inside Jacob's head, so it's harder to see how this 14 year old boy is internalizing everything that he's accused of.

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I had seen this book on a few different lists and saw some polarizing views of it. I read most of it over the Thanksgiving holiday. Each chapter is from a different person's point of view, but Sasha and Bennie are the central characters with each story. Each chapter was at a different time point and didn't go in chronogical order. You read from Sasha and Bennie's point of view in the first 2 chapters, and then you learn more about them from key people in their lives. There's some overlap with characters, with a few different storylines going on. I did like how they were all intertwined and made you wonder how things could turn out much later down the road. I also liked how most of it took place in NYC, so was able to relate to that closely. I didn't like how there was really no specific storyline. It was more a topline overview of key events and people in their lives.

38/30 books in 2012.

french food

I checked off one more item off my 12 in 2012 list. Not sure if I'm going to do them all, but I'll keep trying over the next month. But one more done.  

Last night I took a French Bistro cooking class. I had wanted to take a reoccurring class, but decided it was just a little too expensive, so decided to limit it to one class. I found the Home Cooking website and went with it. I figured French cuisine was a good way to start—the Julia Child way.

The menu included:

 

- Goat Cheese Soufflé
- Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Wild Mushroom Râgout
- String Beans with Pistachio-Shallot Butter
- Potato and Caramelized Onion Gratin with Gruyère
- Dark Chocolate Mousse

Mixing the mousse.

Our chef John led us through the entire process of making the dinner (which we got to eat later on). Throughout, he gave us tips and suggestions. I obviously diligently took notes for when I recreate this someday. Which will probably be never, or at least not anytime soon. We started off making dessert. John suggested that you always start with dessert and then you can put it aside for later.

Heating it up.

Our group of 11 assisted in trimming green beans, peeling pistachios, cutting onions, folding the mousse and soufflé, and of course drinking the wine. I attempted to cut potatoes with a mandoline, which wasn't a good idea. Luckily I didn't cut off a chunk of my finger. I also helped layer the potatoes and caramelized onions for the gratin. Cheese was also included in the layers—the way I like it.

The final layer.

 

Most things made sense to me. I must have picked up more info over the years of working and eating in restaurants. But I did learn a few things:

1 – Mousse and soufflé isn't as intimidating as I thought (although that doesn't mean I won't mess up the first time I attempt this)

2 – When cooking a full course meal, you need to be organized in the steps and order of each item throughout the process

3 – Always drink wine when you cook (ok, I knew that one already)

The final product.

We ended the night by eating what we made and it was pretty damn delish. I would totally take another class. Maybe next year I’ll try another type of cuisine.

26.2 hours for hurricane sandy

On Sunday, October 28th I was fully aware of the hurricane barreling down on NYC. Subways were going to close at 7pm and the likelihood of the office being closed was high. Early evening, I walked to a bar not far from my apartment to meet up with my sisters to catch the end of the Giants game. On my way, I called my mom. I figured she'd be worried and I told her everything would be fine. Of course the high winds were starting to make her nervous. Moms. It wasn’t a big deal. At least right then. After the game, I made my way home and picked up some essentials just in case this turned out to be a bigger deal than Irene. Like every other New Yorker, those essentials included pretzels and a 6-pack. I was ready to wait out the storm. Bring it Sandy.

Subways are closed.

Monday I worked from home which consisted of meetings and emails. The storm was approaching the NYC area and Eyewitness News was documenting the entire thing, but nothing too exciting at that point. However, things got interesting real quick once the crane collapsed near my apartment. That night and the proceeding days, my roommate and I were on "Crane Watch 2012". While drinking some Chateau Dusseau of course. Then a Con Ed plant exploded and downtown lost power. Many friends and co-workers were stranded. It was definitely windy out there, but I deemed ourselves safe, even from the crane with my limited physics knowledge. The biggest culprit of the storm was the surge. Apartments, houses, tunnels, and subways were becoming flooded.

Hurricrane.

I slept through the night and when I woke up, the crane was still attached, but no emails from work. The server was down and there were no emails in or out. I turned on the news and pretty much didn't turn it off. The streets around my apartment were blocked off and fortunately for sleeping, there was no traffic on 7th Avenue.

My office remained closed the entire week due to the power outage. I continued to do what work I could, and did I mention while watching the news? When returning to my apartment after an errand or a run, I would negotiate with the cops to let me onto my street. All of a sudden the crane was the next tourist stop in Midtown.

On Sunday, November 4^th, the NYC Marathon was to have taken place. Earlier in the week Mayor Bloomberg and Mary Wittenberg, the CEO of NYRR, reassured runners that the race would take place. After the announcement was made, the extent of the damage was coming to light. The devastation in the 5 boroughs, Jersey Shore and Long Island was shocking. In my midtown bubble, I didn’t fully comprehend the wrath of Sandy.

My sisters and many friends trained for months to run the NYC marathon. Runners were conflicted on whether they should run or not. They trained for months, but there were people out there that lost their homes. Others were outraged that 48,000 runners would make their way to Staten Island, one of the hardest hit boroughs, and run through the streets that were in the process of recovering.

Due to the controversy over the marathon, I decided to challenge all runners to commit to 26.2 hours of volunteering after they completed the race. However, on Friday evening, I watched breaking news that the marathon was cancelled. It seemed to be the right decision but most people wished they had just made it sooner.

In the latter part of the week, I had been signing up to give my time where possible. Unfortunately, it takes time to mobilize volunteers and ensure it’s safe for them. I couldn’t do anything until the Saturday following Sandy. I then started my 26.2 hours, along with running (or walking) 26.2 miles.

I made my way to the LES and went door to door in a massive building to ensure residents were ok. A group of us started on the 26^th floor and made our way down. Fortunately, most of the power had come on the evening before, so many residents were in good shape. I made plans with a friend and my volunteer organization, Back on My Feet, to come together on Sunday to help out even more. We took some time to get food for the next day.

On Sunday, we made our way to Brooklyn, loaded with food, to join other BoMF volunteers to make PB&J sandwiches for people in Red Hook. Later in the day, I also helped out in the West Village with donations and delivering hot food to residents in a building without a working elevator.

BoMF PB&J sandwiches.

The weekend ended and I made my way back to the office to catch up on lost work. We were behind on projects and I spent the evenings making up for it. I cancelled my trip to DC due to work,and my urge to help over the weekend. A group—NYC MORE—came into existence and I decided to take advantage of their logistics and transport to Staten Island. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see.

My friend and I got off the bus in Midland Beach and got a briefing from the volunteer organizer. We split into groups and walked around to see who needed help. It was going to be a warm, sunny day, and at first glance, houses looked intact and in order. However, after looking again, you’d see parts of houses collapsed. One plot was completely empty and the remainder of the house was down the street. Cars were in a swamp nearby. We spent the morning helping a guy clean out his garage. Mostly sweeping and hosing it down. He was more fortunate than others since they were further away from the surge.

 

Midland Beach, SI.

Once the garage was in good shape we made our way to another street, closer to the beach, and found a family looking for assistance. We were happy to start right away. We made our way into their empty house to help take wet sheet rock out to the street. However, on a trip back into the house, I noticed the red sticker on the door. We weren’t allowed to go into houses with red stickers and had to leave due to the possibility of a roof collapse. I felt terrible leaving since they needed help, but really couldn’t risk it. Across the street, an older woman accepted our help and we proceeded to gut her house. The surge from the hurricane had flooded most of the houses in the neighborhood. Mostly 1^st floors were damaged and had to be taken care of immediately to prevent mold from taking over.

 

The house we gutted in SI.

We filled up a dumpster with wet sheet rock and wood paneling. It was devastating to see this woman watch strangers tear down the walls of her home for more than 30 years. She was incredibly grateful for our help. But I felt like there was so much more to do. We had to take our bus back to Manhattan, but I was realizing how much work there was still to do. A group of us spent the afternoon taking are of one house. Which was pretty amazing. But this was one house on one street of many. I was feeling very overwhelmed. That night, I read an article about the residents and it really hit home what they all went through.

 

Good spirits in Long Beach.

Yesterday I made my way to Long Beach to complete my 26.2 hours of volunteering and 26.2 miles—mostly running, but I definitely included walking. Normally I try not to walk during a marathon, but since I walked more than 6 miles yesterday, I counted it. Like last week, NYC MORE worked with Jack Rabbit and arranged transportation out to Long Beach. Long Beach holds some good memories for me—beach days in the summer and Polar Bear plunges in the winter. We met with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and assisted them and the Long Beach Police Department with collecting information on the residents. Throughout the day, we saw similar devastation like we saw in Midland Beach. Remains of houses were in piles on the streets. We saw an antique car stuck in between loads of garbage. Many parts of the boardwalk were destroyed. And we saw sand covering an entire front side of a 3-story building due to a massive wave. However, after meeting many of the residents, I got a real sense of community. Most seemed in good spirits and are one the road to recovery. But there’s still so much to do and Long Beach is one of the last towns to get a lot of media coverage. I’m hoping that when I go back out there for my 3^rd annual Polar Bear Plunge, the town has greatly improved.

Long Beach  boardwalk, or what's left of it.

 

So I put my 26.2 hours in. Am I done? No. During many other disasters, like Katrina, I donated money. However, nothing beyond that. I never made the commitment to spend the time and money traveling to help out. I've seen people from Indiana, Texas, Florida, Illinois and many other places travel to the Northeast to volunteer. I find myself thanking them for making the trip. Given my proximity to Sandy, I’m going to continue doing what I can in the upcoming weeks and months. I can’t recount all stories and highlight all the good things my friends have done. But I can stress that there's a lot of work that still needs to be done.

 

For those of you trying to decide if you have the time or not. You have it. Find an organization. Show up. Give your time. And help your neighbors.

bachelorette flash mob

Last year, I checked off flash mob from my 30 list. But it wasn’t quite what I expected. You know, like in Friends with Benefits with JT. That’s the kind of flash mob I was looking for. My friend Sandra and I have been looking for another one ever since. We found a website—Flash Mob America—where they list flash mobs around the country. A bunch are in NYC, but over the last several months we either couldn’t do it or it was cancelled.

Not today! So the plan was to do a choreographed dance to Sir Mix-a-lot’s Baby Got Back. Yup, you read that right. The Grammy Award-winning single. Now I’m going to be straight up, I’m not good at choreographed dance. I mean, I can pretend, but I'm not necessarily doing it to a beat.

Practice.

So we practiced. A little bit this morning in my living room and then at the studio in Midtown. Eventually I got the hang of it, but still found myself slightly off beat and messing up some of the transitions. But overall, I deemed myself at least acceptable to dance with a large group of people. Sandra on the other hand got the hang out of it really quick. So I just tried to copy her.

Waiting.

 

The flash mob was a surprise for a bachelorette and took place in Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain. As with a typical flash mob we watched it start, looking perplexed, and then of course jumped in to join them. I got most of the moves down and we were successful in surprising the bachelorette. We also had quite an audience since there were a number of people hanging in the park. Overall, a blast. Now, time to find another one!

 

Right before I joined.

october book update

October was a busy month and definitely interesting. It started with a marathon and vacation, and ended with a hurricane. However, during this time, I got a wide range of books in.

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht

For last month's book club, we read The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht. Compared to 1Q84, it went by quickly. The story is about a woman's relationship with her grandfather and the stories of his childhood in the pre-war Balkans. On a trip over the border to treat orphans in a war-torn, newly established country, she finds out about her grandfather's death and recalls the story about "The Deathless Man" and "The Tiger's Wife". She does go out of her way to learn more about "The Tiger's Wife" after his death since she wasn't told the entire story. You flip-flopped around a bit, but quickly picked up the flow of the book. Although in some instances, I had to recall what had happened previously. I did have higher expectations due to the hype surrounding it. But overall, still a pretty good read.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
This has been on my list to read for a while now. I really enjoyed reading it (it must be the psych and econ major in me). It describes the theory of what the tipping point is for a wide range of epidemics, whether it's crime, social, or fashion, just like a virus does. The author goes into the 3 laws that help define this. A lot of studies are referenced for a wide range of scenarios—what points that may cause an epidemic and what doesn't. I found it really interesting. Outliers is on my list to read as well.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

This was a pretty quick read. I read The Age of Innocence a couple of months ago and liked it, so I decided to read another one of Edith Wharton's books. There were some similar themes in both books. A visitor to a small Connecticut town meets Ethan Frome. On a snowy evening, all the various rumors around town get put to rest as Ethan's unhappy situation is recounted. It goes back decades when Ethan was dealing with his parents deaths, and being newly married. It seemed as a full life was ahead of him, but his wife's relative comes to town, and forbidden love and tragedy eventually occurs.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

This has been on the list for a some time and I had no excuse when my friend gave it to me. The story starts and ends with the fictional town of Maconda and the Buendia family that started it. Jose Arcadio and Ursula run away from their town looking for a new place to live since they are first cousins. There is this threat of certain things happening due to incest and they want to start over. Unfortunately, incest is a theme that runs throughout the duration of the family no matter how far away they run. As does solitude (obviously). Various characters go through periods of solitude. Too many to really account here. Also, time was a weird concept. People were alive way longer than normal. But then others died very young—usually in a strange way.

I think one of the most frustrating parts of the book was the repetition of the family names, in particular Jose Arcadio and Aureliana. I tried to get a handle on that since there are 7 generations of the family to account for. Good thing for Wikipedia! I definitely need to re-read this again though since I felt like a lost a lot with all the characters and crazy stuff that happened.

So I surpassed my goal of 30 books in 2012, which is great news. However, I set another goal of 50 on goodreads.com. I have a ways to go and at this rate, I may not achieve it. Especially if I continue to read lengthy books. I'll have to find a few more short ones!

34/30 books in 2012.

chicago & denver

Last week, I visited my 10th and 11th state this year (including DC). They weren't new states, but I did visit a couple of great ones that I've been to already.

The weekend before last I flew to Chicago to run the marathon. Since it was the beginning of October, the weather is usually pretty nice. However, it was the first time I felt frigid temps this fall. But luckily that made for ideal running weather on Sunday.

The Chicagoen crowds were pretty amazing as I wound 26.2 miles around the Windy City. For the race I felt pretty good almost entire time but don't think I was aggressive enough. Which is always a dilemma when you run a marathon. I had a goal to break 3:35 in order to BQ. This would have been a 4 minute PR from last year, which would have been amazing. However, I may have been too conservative and only ended with a 3:40:20. Still a respectable time—especially as its my 2nd fastest time. However, still disappointing. With the flat course, ideal running temps, and a strong training season, I had hoped to do better. I felt good up to the last couple of miles. I felt fine, but was slowing down a bit in the last few. I try to go back and remember what I was thinking and it's always a blank. Just couting to a 100 repeatedly until the finish line. That little tiny hill at the end was NOT cool. But at least they had a beer waiting for me at the finish.  

Chicago Marathon Finisher

I'm a bit conflicted in how I did. I really wanted to do better, but I felt good throughout and luckily no previous hamstring issues arose. I've been telling myself that I would take 2013 off. I'm really going to try, even when everyone will be thinking about their fall marathon in the spring. We'll see what the spring brings.

The day after the marathon, I enjoyed what Chicago has to offer. I did a Wrigley Field tour, an Architectural Cruise, and got my medal engraved at Niketown. A pretty good day, even if I was moving slowly.



Wrigley Field

Chicago Architecture

I then made my way to Denver to visit a friend, hike some mountains, and drink some beer. A few friends have raved about their college town, so I first took a day-trip to Boulder the first day. I was going back and forth about hiking Mt. Salinas since I just ran a marathon, but hey, why not. The 3 miles may have helped the recovery process—or maybe not. And honestly, I couldn't NOT hike in Colorado. I celebrated by hitting up a couple of breweries.

Top of Mt. Salinas in Boulder

I then roamed around Denver for a few days, where I pretty much ate lots of food, tried lots of microbrews, and watched the Yankees get to the ALCS. Oh and I also hiked another moutain—Mt. Galbraith (4.2 miles). Below is a sampling of the places I ate and drank at to combat my marathon and hikes. All recommended. 

• Little Man Ice Cream
• Sweet Action
• El Diablo
• Snooze
• Denver Beer Company
• West Flanders Brewing Company
• Mountain Sun Brewery
• Two Spoons
• Sputnik
• Lucky Pie
• Crepes 'n Crepes
• Biker Jim's
• Great Divide Brewery
• Rackhouse

More beer!

september book update

I definitely had a range of reading this past month, even with only 3 books.

 

Dream New Dreams: Reimagining my Life After Loss by Jai Pausch

I had read The Last Lecture, a memoir by Randy Pausch, over a year ago . Randy decides to tell his story after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, something for his kids. It quickly became a bestseller, but was very sad. I do recommend reading it.

 

A few years later, his wife Jai, decided to write from her perspective of caring for her husband during his cancer treatment. It was nice to get her point of view of their life together. Her focus was to tell people about the difficulties of caring for a loved one in such extreme circumstances. And it was tough.

 

It was a quick read, and if you are looking for seeing Jai’s side of things it was good to read.

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Go out and read this book now. Yes, it’s that good. And crazy. On Amy and Nick’s 5-year anniversary, Amy goes missing. It seems as if something has gone wrong. You get both perspectives as you read Amy’s diary leading up to her disappearance and the hell that Nick endures as he’s faced with the possibility of being charged with his wife’s murder.

 

As the story unfolds, there are many twists and turns, as you delve into each character’s psyches. I’m telling everyone to read this. Oh and it looks like there will be a movie—which I’m planning on seeing once it comes out. 

 

IQ84 by Haruki Murakami

This took me most of September to get through. It wasn’t tough, just long (I guess it was published in 3 volumes). Years ago, I had read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by the same author. It was a memoir about how the author got into running. For obvious reasons, it was given to me to read. When I saw that 1Q84 was on the bestseller list last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but put it on my list.

 

The story alternates between Aomame and Tengo as they find themselves in this alternate world of Little People, cults, Air Crysalises, and other crazy things in Tokyo. Each of them journey this world, trying to figure it out.

 

I liked the book, although it wasn’t my favorite. I do want others to read it so I can discuss it with someone. I did think the book was too long. Also, I have too many questions that are now going unanswered.  

 

Next up is The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht, which is also the next book club book.
 

30/30 books in 2012.

10 day forecast

This is the day I've been waiting for ages—the 10-day forecast. Lame, right? No. In less than 10 days, I'll be running the Chicago Marathon. It can pretty much go 2 ways. The weather can be crappy, I may not eat enough, or my body just won't cooperate and I'll do worse than my PR of 3:39. OR, the weather will cooperate, my training will pay off and everything will go well for a sub-3:35 (or at least a PR) time. 

 

Now I'm not saying the weather will drive any of these other factors. But I think I have enough control over them, that assuming the weather is good, everything will go well. Now the weather is another story. In this link, you'll find a mini history of each race since the race began. I don't want to bore you with all the details of the weather, but will give you a quick snapshot of the last bunch of years, starting in 2007 when I ran my first marathon.

  

2007: Temperatures soaring into the high 80s combined with high humidity forced organizers to halt the race for the first time in history

2008: With another year of hot temperatures predicted on race day almost 33,000 runners started the race and 31,344 recorded official finish times.

2009: In a welcome departure from the past two years, race day temperatures were in the low 30’s

2010: The participants in the 33rd annual Chicago Marathon were no exception Sunday, as runners experienced the third-hottest race in 20 years.

2011: Climbing temperatures slowed thousands of runners in Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon

 

So yeah, you can see why I'm a bit nervous about the weather. At least NYC in November is predictably on the cooler side. Early October in the Midwest—not so much.  

 

And now that it's 10 days away, I can stalk weather.com daily. Today, the forecast for October 7th is a high of 60 and a low of 47, mostly cloudy. Not terrible. And definitely not in the 80s. Here's hoping for an ideal race day—weather-wise.

 

trivia

Last night I checked off trivia night! I've been wanting to go for ages and just never got around to it. I love trivia. If I can get home from work in time to watch Jeopardy—it's a good day. Obviously I missed Jeopardy last night, but instead met up with a couple of friends and my sisters at Professor Thom's (yeah, yeah it's a Red Sox bar—boo) to participate in 5 rounds of trivia. Wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it was actually quite organized. Each round was a bit different with question/answer, true/false, and multiple choice with a wide range of topics. In total, around 25 teams competed. We didn't place in the top 3, but there were a lot of teams behind us.  We could have done better, but the last round was tough and we guessed most of them. For the most part, we were able to pool our knowledge ranging from politics to sports. In this link, you'll see the questions and answers they gave us. How do you fair? No smartphones!

Oh and we got to come up with a team name to see if we can win something with our creativity. Well apparently we weren't that creative, but at least there was a theme amongst everyone playing. From now on, we'll be known as Honey Boo Boo Child & The Replacement Refs.

My only complaint was the length of time it took. Since it was a Tuesday, I wasn't looking to stay out too long since I started coming down with a cold and I'm not as young as I used to be. I just can't stay out that late. I'm now going to make my way around Manhattan doing trivia. Let me know if you have any good places!  

 

Honey Boo Boo Child & The Replacement Refs

Oh and if anyone is insterested in testing their trivia knowledge, go to sporcle.com. It's loads of fun.

delaware

Dewey Beach

I’m halfway through the United States of America! My plan is to get to all 50 before I turn 50. It would be cool if #50 was Hawaii, but I don’t think I can wait that long.

So Delaware was #25. I spent Labor Day Weekend in a new state. Like with RI, I've also driven through Delaware a few times, but never lingered. A group of us drove down to Dewey Beach and pretty much spent our time at the beach, playing games, and consuming food and drink. A pretty good weekend if you ask me. I of course had to get my long run in, so did that first thing Friday morning. I didn't want to get lost, so I made my way down the Coastal HIghway for 10.5 miles and turned around. Let's say I was tired and ready for a beverage and a dip in the ocean when I finished.

Delaware is the First State and home of tax-free shopping. I didn't do much shopping, even with the outlets so close, but did have a few 'firsts'. First Grotto Pizza, first Capital Ice, and first Dogfish Head beer.

 

Besides the beach, Delaware has a ton of microbreweries and wineries. So of course, we went to Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats fo dinner one night. Instead of choosing 1 beer to go with my dinner, I decided to go with a 5 4-ounce selection of beers. They were all pretty good, with Midas Touch and Raison D'Etre as my favs.

Doghead Fish Sampler

 

My first trip to Delaware was a success. I officially checked off 4 states so far this year. I don't have any other trips planned, so that may be it for 2012. Twenty-five more to go!

august book update

In August, I only got through two books (one of which I started in July). I guess that's what happens when you decide to read Three Musketeers, which is approximately 715 pages.

Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The book was pretty good. I liked The Count of Monte Cristo better, but this has a series of books that follow the Three Musketeers through decades. The book was quite long, so it did take me a while to get through it.

I saw the movie when I was younger, but don't remember much except there were 3 men always getting in sword fights. Obviously the book goes into much more detail and chronicles how the 'fourth' musketeer, D'Artagnan, joins the ranks of the famous trio. In a few months, I'll read Twenty Years Later to continue D'Artagnan's story.

Until We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
This is another book club book, about working in an office. I figured it would be interesting since it takes places in a Chicago ad agency and it was. I definitely understood a lot of the happenings in the office since that's what I do every day. The book goes into various characters during a series of layoffs, which hopefully won't ever happen to me.

I'm glad I read the book and there were some funny parts (but only in the I-understand-this-from-working-in-an-agency POV), some sad parts, and some shocking parts. It really got me thinking about my old company and the people I used to work with. I spent about 4 years there, the longest at any job. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the book. There are some parts that will be interesting to discuss, and others that made me question what I'm doing day in and day out. I guess this is meant to be thought-provoking.

As I'm writing this, I'm anxious to get back to Gone Girl, which has been a suspenseful hit so far.

27/30 books in 2012.

dear nyrr

Dear NYRR,
 

Yesterday I received an email with the latest news from you in regards to the NYC Marathon. No bag check. Really? I decided to run the Chicago Marathon this year, but I live in NYC and my 2 sisters are running, along with many our friends and their families. Most live here, but some are traveling down to NYC to run the largest marathon in the world. How do you think the bag check will affect them? Well I will tell you.

 

I ran the NYCM in 2009 and 2010. Below you’ll see my list of items that I brought with me. I try not to bring a lot since I don’t want to carry it, but there are items you just need after running 26.2 miles.

 

In no particular order:

• Keys: To get back into my apartment later
• Metrocard: To get to Staten Island and back home later
• License: A form of ID just in case I need it, oh and to get into the bar later that day to celebrate
• Insurance card: Because my doctor friends tell me I should have it in case something happens
• Phone: To get into contact with family and friends post-race. Also to tell the Facebook and Twitter world how my race went.
• Camera: To document the momentous day that took months of training to accomplish
• Change of clothes: Because I sweat (a lot) and its cold in November
• Face wipes: To try to get some of the sweat off of my face post-race
• Food and drink: Yes, this will most likely get consumed pre-race, but I may want a snack later on or a drink (water bottle, Gatorade)
• Cash: In case of emergency  
• Credit card: To celebrate, and buy lunch and  beer post-race
• Misc items: Chap-stick, extra hair tie, ect

This isn’t even including any medication that some people require, like an inhaler.  I’m now fortunate to live close to the NYCM finish line. But I used to live in Queens. Which is far from the Tavern on the Green finish line. I didn’t have the luxury of popping over to my apt to shower and get personal items post-race. Honestly, if I had, I probably would have passed out and not moved until Monday morning. But after months of training, all you want to do is celebrate with your family and friends who supported you all those months and cheered you on during the race.

I know that not too long ago, ok 15 years ago, people didn’t have cell phones. They survived. I get it. But the NYCM wasn’t the size it is today. You tout you are the largest marathon in the world; well you need to accommodate your 45,000+ runners. In 2009, I ran the NYCM hoping to Boston Qualify (I had a great race the previous year and thought it could be possible). Well that didn’t happen. Not sure what I did wrong, but I was slightly faintish after I finished. I called my sisters and dad to locate them on CPW. I was slightly out of it and couldn’t comprehend where they were. I finally found them, and I had a phone to communicate with. What if there’s nothing to communicate with? Should we use smoke signals? Oh wait, where would we put our matches? Oh and I’m pretty sure the NYPD wouldn’t be pleased with their no fire policy in Central Park.

I’m about to run my 6th marathon. I’ve run marathons in Alaska, DC, NYC, and Amsterdam, and am about to head to Chicago. I understand what it takes to travel locally and long-distance for a race. Although, going to Staten Island seems like traveling long-distance. If you are lucky, you have friends that could meet you at the end. But, what are you going to give your friend all your stuff the night before? So yeah, let’s run around NYC to coordinate the night before a big race. And if you are visiting? You may not have anyone to help you out. So you are stuck. Unless you find a random Good Samaritan. But I doubt it. 

I was contemplating on running the NYCM again next year. It’s a great race and it’s not like any other. However, I will now stop contemplating. I had planned on getting my 9+1 just in case. So far this year, I’ve run 4 races with NYRR. Five toward the 9+1 if you count the cancelled Manhattan ½. What has stopped me from signing up for other races? Well increased fees number one. Apparently members don’t get as much as a discount like they used to. I’ve been running with NYRR since 2007 and it’s sad that prices have gone up this much. Also, there are now shorter deadlines for the race fee increase. For example, if I wanted to run the Fitness Games 4-miler on September  15^th, in order to benefit from the lower race fee, I would have had to sign up prior to May 28^th. That’s over 3 months in advance. Really, 3 months for a 4-miler? I didn’t know what I would be doing in September back in May. I know plenty of people who have had unexpected travel plans come up or they get injured. My friend signed up for a ton of races this year and hasn’t been able to participate in most due to injury. So not only did she waste her money, but now that’s one less spot for another runner. But there’s such a demand, that runners sign up so far in advance and now races now sell out much quicker than they should.

So the price difference doesn’t seem like much when delaying your registration—only $5. But that adds up over time. In 2008, I ran 18 races. If I had signed up late, that would have resulted in an extra $90. I’d rather spend that on a new running jacket. The price of the marathon is now over $200. Outrageous. For a non-elite runner, who doesn’t qualify with time, this is what I would pay to run the NYCM in 2013.

• $40 for NYRR membership
• $216 for the marathon fee
• 9+1 races on average of $30/race 

This totals $526. To run one race? No more. Last year, I paid 59 euros to run Amsterdam, which was equivalent to $85. I’m running Chicago and paid $150. Yeah, still pricey, but didn’t have to pay for all these other races like I hav,e and would have to for NYC.

So NYRR, you are just getting too big for your britches. I’ve been supporting you since I actively started participating in races back in 2007. Not anymore. I really wanted to run the 5^th Avenue mile in September, but $30 to run a mile? And now it’s $40 to run one of the 5 borough ½ marathons. All races used to be $17, and now they range from $20-$40. It’s just too much. You don’t even get a good technical t-shirt for most of these races.  I spend enough on running, I can’t validate spending more.

 

I do really love the NYC Marathon, but I can’t support it any longer. I know that people will continue to pay these outrageous fees and accept these ridiculous race day demands, so this may never improve. I will go out there and support those running, but I no longer support you. Maybe in 10 years or so when you change your policy, I’ll reconsider.

For now, it’s time to support other local running organizations.

Sincerely,
Shawnessy