Down and Dirty

#29.

#29 on my list is another running thing. Of course. Do you expect any less? This one was meant to be more fun—and that's why I added a mud run or obstacle course. I had never done one and thought it would be fun to do. I kept seeing all these groups at various race expos.

There are plenty of races all over the country  but it was difficult to make a commitment. Finally, Merrell Down and Dirty was coming to NYC and I was free. And I didn’t even need to rent a car to get to the race. This one only needed my  metrocard. So I signed up for the 5k.

My alarm went off this morning and I wasn't thrilled. I literally felt like I just went to bed. I was at the postponed Yanks/Tigers Game 1 of the ALDS last night and got to bed pretty late. They won by the way. Grand slam baby!

But I made a commitment, got out of bed and made my way onto the 6 train. I got to the race right before the start time.

Now I ran 12 miles yesterday. My marathon is 2 weeks away and the plan was to take this race easy. Well these plans never really happen. So I went out and just ran. But of course there were the obstacles. So not your typical ‘easy’ 5k.

First up was a ladder wall, then a low crawl followed by a tunnel and a cargo climb. Then the first mud pit! Yup I definitely got muddy. After that there was a bit of trail running. As it rained a lot the last few days, it was muddier than they had planned, so I just added to the mud. Luckily I didn’t fall on my butt anywhere along the course (this happened to others). There was a wall I had to jump over—a short one luckily. Eventually I made it to the beach and ran in the water for a bit. The hardest obstacle for me was after the water towards the end—the slippery mountain. Apparently I’m lacking upper body strength. I eventually got over it—with no help let me tell you. Last up was the final mud pit and boy was that a doozy. I was pretty much swimming in mud. Kind of fun. I haven't been this dirty since I was a kid.

So I raced faster than I had planned and got 2nd in my age group for the 8:30 race. They added the 9:30 5k race and overall I placed 4th in my age group with a time of 32:13. Not bad at all. And I totally want to sign up for another race even if my knees don't agree.

LA Times

#13.

I love games that test your mind, especially trivia games. My favorite game show is Jeopardy. It's a good day if I'm able to get home to put on ABC at 7pm. I enjoy listing out all the states and trying come up with their capitals. sporcle.com is kind of awesome. Yeah, I’m a big nerd.

So of course I had to put on my list to complete a crossword puzzle. Without cheating. But I do have to admit, I had a little help since I ended up completing an online puzzle. A friend recommended using the LA Times crossword puzzle to complete #13 on my list.

I’ve been meaning to take some time to do this for months now. But I just couldn’t find the time amongst reading all those classics! Yesterday, my friend Amanda emailed me the link and I figured I’d take a break from my 10 hour day and test my knowledge.

I didn’t know it all, but through the process of filling out the clues that I did know, I eventually completed it! I mean, it definitely helped that the letters would turn red if they were incorrect. I would type something in and one letter would be right. Well I’ll take it. Some people may not consider this a real completion since it wasn't the actual crossword in the NY Times, but I’m going to. Baby steps. I did not google anything.

Next brain task—complete a Rubix cube.

P.S. The missing letter is 'I' and I had to fill it out again in order to get a screen grab of the almost complete puzzle.

Big Blue

#2.

I’m a huge sports fan. Always have been. Been watching all types of ball games practically my whole life. I also played basketball and field hockey. And I run. A lot. Sports and athletics are pretty much a daily aspect of my life.

Been to ‘Cuse basketball and football games. Have made the trip on the 4 train to the House that Ruth Built so many times I can’t keep it straight. I try to visit a new baseball stadium every city I visit. I’ve watched the Knicks and Rangers both play at MSG. I’ve even made it to the US Open a few years ago. The only type of game I hadn’t seen in person was an NFL game. I’ve been wanting to go for years, but just didn’t get to it. Usually because it’s too expensive.

This year I was determined to get to a game. Earlier in the year I was banking on getting to the Superbowl, but alas that did not happen. Not sure why. I mean, I obviously have thousands of dollars to use on tickets, so why not. Ha.  

Luckily I waited and saved my money. Another NFL season is now upon us and I can now support the Giants in all their glory in person. I recruited my sisters (one who I believe is still an Eagles fan) and a couple of friends, Elida and Silv. We made our way to Jersey to the MetLife Stadium to watch week 2 against the Rams. It was a work day and late game, but we were able to tailgate for a little bit. We made it inside the stadium right for the kickoff.  It was a pretty fun night, going from the 300s to the 100s. There was even a celebrity spotting. Well I didn’t recognize him. Apparently he’s a husband of a housewife. But more importantly, the Giants ended up winning, 28-16, and are now 1-1.

I see how people get caught up in getting season tickets. Football season tickets are more manageable than baseball season tickets (time respect, not money). Tailgating is fun. I know I’d make some friends for sure.

Myy last thought is that field hockey players still totally run more than football players. ;)

One Month To Go

One month to go. One month to go. One month to go. In one month I’ll be running 26.2 miles. Again. Not sure why I keep doing it. I guess because I like it. It’s also a nice goal to achieve, and I want to keep improving. Hence the desire to Boston Qualify.

The training is going. Not ideally, but going. I’m not feeling it as well as I did last year. I’m getting my runs in, so that's not the problem. Been getting some speed workouts in too. But I just feel tired. I guess it’s all the working and traveling I’ve been doing. I ran 20 miles last weekend, with a few breaks throughout (volunteered as a race buddy and chatted with my sister in CP). It wasn’t quite continuous, but got the miles in. This coming weekend, I’ll be running the Rock ‘n Roll Philadelphia ½ for the 5^th year in a row. This is always a pretty good race to assess my training. Last year I PR’d by 5 seconds. Not sure if I’ll PR again, but I’ll do the best I can. It’s a nice, flat course usually with pretty decent running weather.

Two weeks ago, I ran a ½ upstate over Labor Day in Geneseo. This was way different from Philly. Less than 300 runners and I actually placed in my age group. This NEVER happens. And it wasn’t even my best time—not even close. It was pretty humid, and hilly. The last hill at mile 11 sucked the big one. I almost walked, but I refused to.

I only have a few more long runs to complete before the big race. The goal is to Boston Qualify, but at this point in my training, I’m not feeling too optimistic about it. However, I will try my best.

CP with my Nikon

I’ve always loved photography. Probably since I was a kid, but more so when I was in high school and after. I took a photography class in high school and totally wanted a dark room someday (still kind of do). In college, I took a few art classes, including photography (technical and history). I’ve been meaning to get a really nice camera for years and finally made the investment earlier this year when I bought a Nikon D3100.

I had planned to take a summer course, but alas too much traveling for work got in my way. So I found a one-time class in Central Park with Judith Farber—Sundays in NY. There were 7 of us in the group and we spent 2 hours learning about composition at Bethesda Fountain. We were instructed to be simplistic, find an interesting background, pay attention to corners, and a few other things... I wasn't exactly taking notes. We framed a few shots and took photos at various points nearby. Now I don't think these shots are my best that I've taken. But you can see some examples of what kind of shots we were framing and what I took away from the class.

Judith does a lot of street photography which I would be interested to do more of. I haven’t been able to capture people in those moments, but would like to try.  If I have the time, I would like to take one of her other classes in different neighborhoods around NYC, but I really just need get out there and experiment more with my camera.

Race Buddy

I’ve volunteered lots of times before. So technically this isn’t a ‘new’ thing on my list. The last time I volunteered with kids, was in college in the Pediatric wing at Strong Memorial. Unfortunately, it’s taken me way longer to volunteer again. I also planned to do something on a regular basis. But life got in the way.  

I knew I wanted to volunteer with kids. I do love them, even though some of them cry too loud on the subway when you are still trying to wake up on the way to work. I also wanted to combine volunteering with 2 of my favorite things—running and reading. So I filled out my volunteer application with NYRR and decided it would be good to influence kids to be more active.

After many attempts, I was able to finally volunteer today with the RACE Program with NYRR. Today was the team's final run (the Percy Sutton 5k was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene) and it was a 5k in East River Park.

It was a bit hot and humid this morning, but a bit breezy on the river. I was paired up with 3 teenaged girls and we made our way around the 2 loops of the 5k course. It definitely wasn’t my fastest 5k (my time was on par with the Yankee Stadium 5k I did last year), but it was fun. It was nice to be out there encouraging kids to be more active. Ideally I’d like to get involved in a regular program so I could see kids more often to get to get to know them and be a bigger influence. Maybe next year.

Classin' It Up

Number 23 on my list is to take a sommelier class. The plan was to take a full-on class and learn the ins and outs of wine. I’ve done my fair share of tasting and drinking wine. And obviously I know a ton because my dad and uncle started a winery when I was in college. No, this isn’t true. I’m pretty sure I was drinking boxed wine during this time.

Over the years I’ve gone on many wine tours in Napa, Long Island, and of course my home in the Finger Lakes. I’ve also visited various wineries in Europe, including Spain and the UK. But I wanted to expand my knowledge a bit more. However, given the limited time I had, I decided to do a one-time class that would be more informative than your typical wine tasting.

A google search later, I found a place that had a class this week and was reasonably priced. I recruited my friend Kara to accompany me to the UWS and made our way to Nancy’s Wine on Columbus Avenue. This is where we took a 2 hour class on various wines from Italy. We tasted 3 whites, including a still Prosecco, and 3 reds. I went home with my favorites, a red, Sagrantino from Umbria and a white, Cortese from Gavi. Both pretty good.

The class was informative and I learned a few new things. I still don’t claim to be a wine expert, but I’m trying to go in that general direction. And the next time I go in a wine shop, I will have an expert recommend something new and different instead of just picking a random bottle that's within my budget.