fun in the park

always head out to the YAI 5k with the same intention, no pressure/just anice easy5k in Central Park-good training. Always go against what I thought.

LOTS of people, great support-they must blackmail all their staff. The run and the walk+ activities for the munchkins takes the entire morning. Food aplenty, too much-great sponsors, more water bottles than I can store, more Fuse than I can quaff. Def your $$$ worth. The support along the route really makes it. Good thing I got there early, parking on Sat is a 'roid.

Things like this one make me long for a "family." Keith would love it if his Bitch mother would push. Instead, I come home, It's on the couch sleeping (3pm). Guarantee @ 11:30 pm things'll be hoppin' here. Yes Virginia, up IS down.

In the real world, from what I'm told, you work during the week to enjoy the weekend. Trust me on this, I've read studies. Here we have 3 people doing 3 things. AND, the dog has yet to be let out. WALKED? You jest. Just throw him into the backyard to shit all overthe grass I don't cut. "We love you hulk," yeah.

Tomorrow, New Hyde Park 8k. Bring it!!!

***Sex in the City: A+. Must be the only straight guy who saw it. Loved it!!! In addition to wrapping up a few loose ends from the series, GREAT exteriors from Bryant Park-you know who YOU are ;) AND terrific plot turns. Well done.

game, set, match

had our bored meeting last night. Actually a good meeting, there goes my street cred.
For ONCE we didn't quibble n' got some business accomplished-in other words-we didn't bitch about a table minimum. Nice. Actually felt good to be among fellow Striders.

Got my St.Francis on. REAL good morning. That makes a solid week of longer runs under my belt. Then, @ the turnaround, ran into David the Superjew. GREAT for my pace. Ended up doing a negative split.

almost there

one more day n' the weekend's here! Not a moment too soon (LOVE short weeks!!!).

Got my St.Francis on, feeling good. Nice to have tangible progress. The dif? NOT exercising to the point of injury. Like 6+ miles isn't enough??? Used to do the LIRRC 5k the night before, THEN run in the am. Tsk tsk. DO miss those days though.

BEAUTIFUL weather this am-50 degs!!!

better

gettin' over that L'Chaim thing. Still irks me that I didn't place. Feel better knowing I did way better than last year, also minutes better the day prior @ Long Beach. No walking, a consistent pace. A faster crowd in my age group. Oh well. What do I always say? Run to finish.

St.Francis, yes, again. Knees actually feel good. Worrying 'bout that. No, it ain't easy being me.

"Arrogant," what Shebitch now calls me. Funny, people who use that word are rarely, if ever, serene. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. "Arrogance," "Self assuredness," TomAto, tomAHto.

I'm baaaaaack!

Missed me there for a while. What brought me back? The Line. Life may go to hell in a handbasket, but The Line remains. Thanks G.

Woke up, tried logging on @ home, nuttin' zip. Spike has so much server shit hap'nin' with his Warcraft jive, the whole schmeer is fubu. Gave up, left Toxichouse, left for The Line-yes, @ 4. Hit 7-11, coffee, papers, running by 4:30. Felt GREAT! Light misting rain, shirt off, shorts, yummmmmmmm. That goddamned skin rash is back, haven't felt comfortable in my own skin in months-and I KNOW what it's due to: if Hulk has the same prob, what does that say? So, to the point, back to stomping grounds was jwtdo.

.....my past history's caught up with me n' I'm a changed man, deranged man.

ANOTHER fine mess

ok. Enter the L'Chaim 5k with secret aspirations of...dare I say it...placing? For the last 2 years I came in 2nd in my age group, lets see if we can three pete.

Saw Eric n' Mike @ the scoring areas, they said my age group was wide open, most regging younger or older. I of course said I'd be happy to finish, but placing would be nice (minimize those hopes!!!). Saw Dom n' Chris.

Saw Debbie Pantano, she'd done this one years ago, remembered the dreaded hills and the need to line up in front.These people are NOT runners, you can hear___vitz or ______owitz telling their offspring "line up in front, save a few seconds," only to nearly trample them when the Shofar is sounded.

David n' Elik were smart, I wasn't. They placed, I came in fourth. Not bad really, but when awards are given 3 deep, DAMN!!!

Went to the job, did the bbq for the patients, set up the music, played, showered, came home. Empty house. Happy memorial day. One foot in front of the other..............Really down, but not every day can be a banner day. DO miss the family thing, oh well. "no one knows what it's like..."


.....n' I stepped to the edge, to see my world below.................

seemed like a good idea @ the time

did Long Beach 10m. Felt good. Saw some peeps, Vince, Sue, Rob, Tom, Debbie, and the usual Islander suspects. Nice turnout, GREAT weather-though a bit warm. Didn't resort to walking any of it, less than a 1/2 on a flat surface agrees with most. AND they had one of my faves: deli coupons!!! $5. Nice. So, hung out for a bit, then off to the rec center to sauna/shower, ahhhhhhhhh. THEN, off to the Deli and that coooool store a few doors down.

Long Beach itself is a strange bird. Kind'a like Malverne or Garden City, but less $$$ and less attitude. Very nice areas, some affordable areas, but they keep to themselves. REALLY nice turnout spectator-wise. Any run that starts @ 8 doesn't expect too many people to cheer, but this one had a very neighborhoody feeling-as opposed to the Wall Street Run where I actually overheard one asshole utter "whoever put this on should be shot." Fuck you and everyone who looks like you. I'll remember HIS words when the market takes a nosedive, and he as well from the top of his office. Putz.

Went to the coooool store, got a few books, a few cd's. How ANYONE can walk out empty handed, haven't a clue. Went to drop off the booty in the truck, to head back out to the deli. Backed outta my spot, in the process of going from rev to for, when boom. Not BOOM, but boom. Pinhead backing out with his head up his ass hits my fender. DAYUMMM! My baby's hurt! Not really a biggie. Called LB PD, they were there in 5 mins, we decided to settle it amongst ourselves. Why do I get the feeling this won't end up well? Karma struck? KNEW I was enjoying Shebitch's keylessness a bit TOO much. Still, gotta lovethe irony-she demanded my spare set, now can't find either. Worth a fender bender's worth of karma.

Tomorrow, the YIJE 5k. Legs feel ok, knees too. So far so good. A weird one. Starts @ 10:30. Oy vey!

ahhhh, old times

back to the CNGCS 5k. One of the first "scenes of the crime," a.k.a. one of the first races I did where I noticed others. This one's less than a mile from where I sleep, so I kind'a sorta gots'ta do it. Plus, reconnect with my Long Island peeps. THIS is where I first noticed that blueshouldjustcallaspadeaspadeandjoinaREALrunningclub club doing pre-race warm ups, wondering why they wasted their calories BEFORE a run. Today, one of them was there, pity. Life's drama leads us in dif directions. Couldn't resist a chance to break her balls (?) though. She and her peeps were peeing in what they thought was a secluded behind the bushes area. HA! So, after the run, hadda say hi and remind her that bushes have eyes. She'll never pee in public safely again. Heee heeee!

BEAUTIFUL am for a run. Nice and nippy, then sun. YUMMMM. Took it nice and easy, just a smooth 5k, Long Beach 10m manana, then the YIJE 5k Mon. Gotta leave gas in the tank.

Had a nice conversation with Anthony Randalfi after the run. We were musing over the LI Marathon. During our conv, 2 assholes come over "Hey Anthony, which race you gonna suck @ next?" ?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anthony did his first marathon, came in @ 3 htrs 17 mins, and these guys are breaking his stones? He said they do this often, no class. He hopes to train to the point he can do a 2:20 marathon. If he can do 3:17 forhis first ever, it's within reach, he's young. Good for him!

Saw Vince n' Sue, they were doing the Rolling Thunder thing. Funny. After the drama re: Our Race, we didn't feel awkward around Steve "Mr.Rolling Thunder.". Each party moved past it, in the true spirit of what it's all about.No grudges, no b.s. Nice.

Went to the job after, put soda's in the fridge for Memorial Day party. Yes kiddies, displacing/sublimating-what one lacks on the home front, make up for @ work. Spike's weekending @ his brotherfromanothermother's. God forbid we have a memorial day family weekend. When I came home, a driveby actually, Shebitch was there. Damn. Went for an oil change, Shebitch STILL home. So, movie time. Saw Narnia pt 2. Actually surprisingly good!
Shebitch STILL home. Turns out she lost her car keys. Pity. Can you feel my empathy? Long ago she DEMANDED the spare set I kept. Now she can find neither. Sucks to be her. Thanks G.

tgif

DO NOT see Indiana Jones.

Took Spike to see it yesterday. He didn't go to school, again, spent the day sitting @ the pc, by 5:30pm I couldn't take it, told him to throw on some clothes, and off we went. (Funny, Shebitch can call n' rage like a true psychotic, but can't call to tell me he's home from school-or poke her head in to check in on him. Surprised the shit outta him when I waltzed in!)

Not a bad movie, just too long. @ 90 mins, would've been ok, but @ 2hrs +, just a waste. A played out franchise.

And now for the good news: yes, progress is incremental. Hadn't done St.Francis in a week, been doing weird after work races and 86th. Was a lil' worried there kiddies! Not to worry!!! Did it this am, felt grrrrrrreat! Surprisingly so. LOT to be said for NOT working out 'til you're injured.


.....n' there ain't no tellin' when I feel like yellin' "I love you..."

40 days/nights

1)Is this G_______ed rain ever gonna stop?

2)Grab an atheist. David Cook won Idol. No, really couldn't give a shit, but nice to see a real human come out on top. Anybody who did "World I know" deserves the win.

3)Apple DOESN'T fall far from the tree. Spike gave it right back. Translation: 10:30 pm last night, Keith wants to watch Mencia. Shebitch watching the news. Fight fight fight! She SCREAMS @ him (10:30 @ night mind you), nice parenting. More of that good old time religion, if her students could see her now. He finally comes upstairs to hang with me, yelling @ her: "don't cook, don't clean, what DO you do???" Ahhhhh, that's my boy.

Got my 86th on, perrrrfect running weather, cool, spritzing, felt good. Gotta take it easy, BIG weekend coming up. Don't wanna run outta steam.

fitting 3 lbs into a 2 lb bag

Did the Wall St. Run. WOW. 17,000 had regged, with the rain, about 5,000 lost their balls, 12,000 did it. Hence the title. Fitting THIS many people through the streets of waaaaaaaay downtown was a fiasco. A wonderful fiasco, but a fiasco nontheless. Mr.G the weather guy was there, he's @ so many runs he's gotta be one of us. Ran into Vince, Sal, Irish Joe, Mike "Big Bird"-volunteering, David the SuperJew harassing some poor guy trying to convince him of some point or other (guy's got issues, n' I should know 'bout issues). A BIG premium was those sling bags-nice to keep your stuff dry, and Nintendo was giving out WI socks-cute. Merrill Lynch had over 6,500 employees signed up-walkers, but hey, they were there.

The rain actually stopped as we lined up, thanks G! Felt good for the first mile, then too warm, took off my jacket.

Did ok, took one piss break-hey-when you know your time is gonna suck/you're there to be there, it doesn't matter.

NICE job by Subway yet again. Can you imagine wraps for about 15,000 people, and we ARE gavoons. I walked away with a shitload. Propel as well.

Took the 8:15 home, in the door by 9. Not bad.

All in all, lots of fun, I'll be back.

Monday Monday

a rare treat. As these appear to be father-son bonding days/mommy ditched us to go to Atlantic City (a vacation????? from what???), I get to drive Keith to school. Truth be told he could damn well walk, but it's nice to give the lil' fucker a lift. I'll pick him up later as well.

An off day obviously. Got the Wall Street run tomorrow. These night runs mess me up, but they're fun. NOT repeating last year's performance-get there Thurs afternoon, early. Wonder where the hell everyone is, only to find the run was 2 days prior. DUH!!! Just gotta remember it may be warmer during the day, but @ race time it'll be cool, worse after.

NOT a run for time. Thousands of runners, hampered by walkers, negotiating narrow streets. A bit of a pain, but well worth it.

3 for 3

BSA, check.

Healthy Kidney, check.

Forest Park, check.

Ran well, felt good. But that's not the point. Felt terrific to be with my Queens peeps. My roots become more and more important as time passes, Queens especially. Felt good @ the end, passed a couple of peeps in the final kick. Thanks guys!

One MAJOR downer: made Gillian feel bad. REALLY feel bad about that. She'd been doing track work so I figured she'd kick my ass. I overestimated. Was a tad too honest, i.e. "what happened to you?" You could tell the gears were turning in her head, but she took it well. You could tell she was affected. Still feel bad.

Always use others as benchmarks. Jose starts last, like me, then works his way up. He did his usual, but @ mile 2.5 I passed him. Asked him wassup? Usually @ that point he'd be 800m or a mile ahead. No reply. Does that alot. Used to it.

THEN, Spike makes my day, asked if I wanted to play handball. We'd played the day before. HELL YES! Let the record show, he actually pulled away from World of Warcraft. Bless him. There weren't any good movies to see, so we actually played. Old school. Ahhhhhhhh.

Shebitch called. Spoke with Keith. Of course she forgot his allowance. Nice. Go off to A.C. but don't give your kid allowance.

God get me to a run!!!!!!!

Next weekend: total insanity. 5k Sat, 10m Sun, 5k Mon. Yumm!!!!!!!!!!

.....all the things I thought I'd figured out, I have to learn again...........

2 down, 1 to go!

So far so good.

Did the BSA, Boy Scouts of America (you KNOW you wanted to ask) 5k. Had a BLAST! Thought of it as a warm up for Saturday's Healthy Kidney 10k. Did a fiddler crab, left work @ 1:30, went to NYRR to get my # n' bib for Sat, headed to the Westside Y to check in and poof! Ready to run. Met Sal, Travis, Anita, and Maria. Sal hadda split after, Maria, Anita, Travis n' I went to Mickey Mantles for the after race party. For some reason one of the organizers remembers me, commented "it's the first time I ever saw you eat." Guess the tats n' earrings DO leave an impression.

Did ok on the run, nothing special, just a run for the sake of running. We ALL agreed this one is special. Where else would you pay $30 for a run. Really cool peeps. Then, back to the Y to crash. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, a blissful night uninterrupted by screaming and accusations, or phone calls betraying your confidence. Bliss.

Friday, rain, rain, and guess what? More rain. FUCK! Wassup with weekends n' rain? Miss Spike terribly, but can't afford to go near Toxichouse. Shebitch gots'ta step up n' parent for 72 hours. Leaving us for A.C. while I pay HER taxes. Makes running look easy n'est pas?

Saturday, woke up, got outta bed, did the Healthy Kidney 10k. Saw Helen n' her peeps. Felt good, really good. Rested. At peace. Called Spike to see what time Shebitch was leaving, It works tonight, leaves for A.C. @ 9am in the a.m. Sunday. Good. He n' I will have a quiet weekend. Asked if he wanted to see Narnia, he thought it was for pussies. Bless him. Asked if he wanted to come back to the scene of the crime Sun am (we went together to Forest Park back when Shebitch was hospitalized-ahhhhh good times). He said he'd prefer sleeping in. I tried.

Went to JV's for coffee before checkin' out a flick. Ahhhhh JV's. Memories, sweet memories. The counter chicks were cute. Thought I was "sexy," must be desperate for non-diseased males. NY, just like I pictured it.

Dread going home, but for Keith, I'm there. Only for Keith. Bless him.

......n' how I lost me, n' you lost you...........................

tgif???

for me it is. Leave @ 2, head to the city, check in @ the Y, head over to The Park, get my #, race, back to Mickey Mantle's, chow down, back to the Y, shower, blissful/no screaming/no fighting sleep. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Heaven.

It's the yearly BSA run. LOVE it. Not a NYRR event, NOT a Q, NOT cheap ($30!!!), but the people are magnificent, the cause cool.

Did 86th yesterday, twice. AM ran it, pm walked it. Dead legs in the pm. Funny, if I'd done the LIRRC Wed race I'd have run-poorly but I'd have run. Peer pressure eh wot?

War of the Roses

get back to Toxichouse yesterday eve. Park across street-It is parked in front of Toxichouse. Neighbor gives me the "whatthefuck?" shoulder shrug. I explain, with Bipolar woman, I have to park away from her vehicle as she used to park ON my bumper. He, of course, indicated "aren't you the guy who hates when people park in front of your house?" (REALLY glad I shared my issues) I said, you bet, but people do all the time anyway. Told him to have a nice day, walked away. Next thing I know, he's on the phone, telling It everything I said. Imagine, dear reader, EVERY morsel you say, think, did, thought of doing, didn't think of doing, being twisted/manipulated/passed on to all/in short, made public. Wow. Just "wow."

Now, one may well wonder, why live in this toxicity? Who pays the mortgage? Like I'm supposed to pay close to 2 grand for someone ELSE??? Not to mention what would transpire w/Keith. Let him see the insanity, knowing in the midst of it one did the right thing. It DOES hurt, more than can be expressed. But, no one promised an easy time of it.

Got my 86th on, used it as a speed run. REALLY nice weather-crisp. VERY much looking forward to The BSA run.

Now, the big question is: do Forest Park 4m Sunday, or the Healthy Kidney 10k Saturday AND the 4m Sunday. Either way sounds enticing.

Tonight: do the LIRRC 5k? Dunno yet, gotta play it by ear. See what the evening brings.

...it's my job, to be better than the rest and that makes the day for me...........

Seroquel and Effexor

Breakfast of champions? No, Shebitch's main diet. It's back on meds, apparently It either ran out or decided not to take them. Yes I explained to Keith that Mommy isn't Mommy when It doesn't medicate. He needs to know. Ahhh, memories.


Got my 86th. on. Weather predicted showers, when I left Toxichouse it was dry, figured I'd park @ the Y, do that voodoo that I do, then shower. Got the first part of my run on, then poof! REAL FUNNY G!!!!! Oh well, felt good actually, very good for my pace! Hate the flatter, shorter runs, but hey-it's something.

Got the BSA run Thurs. This one's special. Terrific peeps, a wonderful cause.

it's a miracle!!!!!

a.k.a. "you're not getting older, you're getting older."

Did the Mauler. Did the usual too much thinking as well.

As Toxichouse is appropriately named, wasn't exactly in my happy place leaving for Jersey. I'm bad enough @ directions, but feeling a total lack of support, AND having opened mail indicating I owed $2,000 to the IRS for Disability Shebitch collected, wasn't exactly feeling confident...yet...press on!

Headed out @ my usual ridiculously early hour, with Rob's directions. Made it to the GWB in good time, over the bridge, into Jersey. All pervasive thought was: "If I get THAT lost, I can always double back n' do the NYRR race." Whaddyaknow, made it to the race site. Took prerace nap, sun rose, entered the park. So far so good, but...wait...no peeps. Wassupwitdat? Sure enough, Rob n' Helen arrived. THEY left Queens @ 8, got to the race site @ 9. What's it like to be normal?

Did 3 seconds faster than the last time I did it. THAT was '04. I'm very happy. Not a bad way to come back from a marathon (you remember, that 26.2 miles of tedium last week???). What you gots'ta know 'bout the Mauler is "The Bastard." This is a hill you CAN NOT run. ALL fail. This year I didn't even try-actually used strategy. Made time on the downhills, walked The Bastard. As though THAT wasn't bad enough (n' you do it twice no less), there's also The Steps, a series of 48 steps designed to make you lust for the rolling hills of AP.

REALLY a good race, put on by runners for runners. Capped off @ 150. Gotta push the club for this o

.....so it goes......

ne, it fills up fast.

today ok, tomorrow the world!

For first time in years (first came in @ 32+, can you imagine??? That's what you get for mongo hills), no sched conflict, doing the mauler tomorrow. Looking to do a pw-personal worst. Only a 5k, but, put it this way, one-n' it's ONLY one-hill is known as "the bastard." This is Rob's fave, he's done it 6 times, but every year another run conflicts with it. This year I'm in!

Shebitch STILL sick, raging more than ever. Actually copped to "I don't give a shit" re: housekeeping. Had another War of the Roses evening, she-raging that "Tom does the cooking" (a pussywhipped hub of her peep Cynthia), to which I responded "Cyn cleans, you do neither, in fact, you do nothing." I had to cook Keith's dinner, again. LOVED doing it, but that's not the point. What the fuck DON'T I do??? N' all her groupies actually believe I'm Satan. Really nice to have someone besides me to count on, oh well. G knows, I know, and you know. He went to his brotherfromanothermother's for the weekend, she spent the night G knows where. Thank G. Peace in the house.

Did 86th. Really shouldn't've done squat, but hadda. You know how it is. Went to the parkhouse, my peeps not there, decided to go it solo. Appropriate in view of personal chaos. Tom called, bless him. Passed by 249th st @ 9:20, door was open. Hmmm. Stalking 101. Knee felt ok. Gotta get back to St.Francis. Enough of short runs.

.....n' I can still hear her complain............................

tgif

Shebitch came home from work, still sick. Funny, if ill, can miss work-the world will continue if one waitress in one restaurant isn't there-but don't ever rearrange the sched for your son's basketball. Hmmm.

Keith still out, if he misses today it'll be a week.

Can we SEE a pattern here?

Eat well, live well, no probs. Live according to your feelings: many problems.

Good on ya!

Spike made me teary.Of course with his mssing school, trapped @ Toxichouse, I felt horrible for him, reiterated my phone #, told him to call WHENEVER. Of course he did, asking when I'd be home-I replied the usual time-he was asking so we could eat together. Nothing big, just to be together. Made me tear.

miss me?

after taking mon n' tues off, back on the road. Nice easy 5k @ LIRRC. Felt good. Apparently I wasn't the only recoverer hitting it. Big bird was there, 5 seconds ahead of me! A few others. Most did the half. Nice to see the LIRRC usual suspects, congratulate each other on being vertical n'still at it for another year, compare notes on Sunday-most did the 10k. Actually expected to see a few green peeps, nope. Took it nice n' easy. Many pulled me aside to give positive buzz about The Only Race That Matters. We REALLY are brother clubs.

Poked my head into Toxichouse, big mistake. Spike missed school yesterday AND the day before, Shebitch bedridden-good, fridge empty. Nice. Ahhh home. Yes, made Spike dinner, SOMEONE had to do SOMETHING. Lawn looking like a hit of napalm would work wonders. Good to come home to.

Elik's blog hits on Sunday. Says he didn't wanna get "CJR'd." ANOTHER catchphrase is born, add it to "bibbed." HE refers to my almost catching him @ Eisenhower, after catching him last year. What do the letters mean? Guess. Hee hee.

better

the time AFTER a marathon can be tricky. After the high of the weekend, the period following is one of reentry. Taking a day off for a runner is tough enough, NEEDINGa day off is worse-why G created peeps-to kick you in the head should you decide to injure yourself!

STILL can't believe how well run the most boring marathon in creation was. It IS a snooze-a-thon, yet, we keep coming back for more-this is my fifth or sixth. Volunteers @ every mile along the dreaded "no man's land" of the Wantagh, GU @ every other mile after 9, nice, really nice. N' lo n'behold, that was the scene of my pr, not Hartford after all. Hartford was 4:22, LI was 4:04. Also, LI was the scene of my first crime-my very first delving into the world of pain and insanity-2003 @ 5:32:46, this year an hour better (the day after a 5k! Really helped I guess-and all this time I took days off before marathons). A true testament to sticktoitiveness, peeps, and utter stupidity.

FYI: check out Terriertracksblogspot.com . A real howl! Captures the essence of the Riker's run nicely.

Sybil sick, as in "up all night" sick. Get this: It doesn't want Spike to "see her this way," yet it's ok for him to witness-daily-the venom spewing from it's mouth. Reap what you sow.

Might do the LIRRC 5k tonight-go back to the Wednesday night series. They showed for our run, should at LEAST return the favor-if not running, as a vol.

p.s. in passing big bird @ LI, he extended his hand for a low 5, gave props on the 5m run. Said he had a good time and it was a well run, fun time. Nice. On the road props from someone I respect.

Thinking too much

Ran (hah!!! pun there) into the s.o.s. this year @ LI Marathon. TOO many options!!!

Awoke with serious rain. What to do, what to do? Be smart n' do the 10k? Be less smart n' do the half? Be a total fool n' do the full???

Get to Eisenhower, rain stopped. Hmmmmm. Ask around, general consensus-no more rain. 880 says showers passed, sun this pm-just about when I expect to finish. OK, head out.

Sweatshirt, shorts. Check. Chip, check-last year headed to the start w/that nagging feeling, PUTZ!!! Forgot yo' chip mon. Not this year. @ last minute, exit the truck, head to the start. See some green peeps, most doing the half. Laughlin has bib 26059-mine 26058, hmmmmm.

And away we go, high five Jose Lopez n' Tom Suozzi-can a white guy look more white? No rain, so far so good. Pass the half/full split. Shit, committed now. Actually felt good, wow. After doing the 5k yesterday fully expected to limp along. Lost the sweatshirt @ mile 5, t-shirt n' shorts. Nice running weather. @ the end, actually a bit too warm. Last thing I expected as of this am. Passed Long Beach dentist doc, big bird Michael Ogazon-funny, he expected ME to encourage HIM-should be the other way around, Trudy Hodas-volunteered, her hub Andy. Nice. Also, Anthony-he came in @ 3:17-his first marathon-a sprinter really. Impressive. ALMOST passed Elik, he was 400m away when we entered Eisenhower. Took our picture together @ the end.

Did much better than I'd planned. Expected to come in @ 5, did my best LI ever. Thanks G. Thanks peeps, you carried me.

Nice swag too! Tech shirt, gym bag, after the finish you're handed a jacket. Quite cost effective.

REALLY nice to hear from my peeps. Tom called, was heading over to volunteer. Lisa left voicemail-she was on my shoulder the whole way, couple of other nice messages. Spoke with Tom after. Really felt wrapped in green. And, you ready for this kiddies, my chest swelled with pride (my chest, dirtbag) when Terry "the voice" announced my name @ the finish as "President of the Alley Pond Striders, from Hicksville New York, Gerard Ruiz." REALLY made my year. Pity Shebitch is who she is. This would've been a stellar day for family. F 'em, make my own.

I never thought I'd do a marathon, I've done several. Never thought I'd get this far in life. I have. Never thought I'd love again. I did. Marathons REALLY put everything in perspective.

.....to touch the night without the one you love............................

WOW!!!

35 of us! Impressive. Had the Riker's 5k. Green everywhere!!! (as well it should be).

Picked up my green peeps @ the Parkhouse, headed over to Riker's. From moment one the fun started. In the parking lot-we were among the first, we view green peeps doing sign in/registration, nice. Then the lot started filling with one Strider car after another. REALLY impressive when you realize there were other 5k's today as well as the Brooklyn 1/2-thebluepeoplewhoshouldquitandjoinaREALclub were there-poop on them, they missed a blast! Some people gotta learn Queens sticks to Queens. I think lots signed up due to the cost-only $10 for preregged groups.

COLD over there near the water n' in the open. Perfect for running! Made for a rough time after-you're stuck there 'til you take the bus off the island, but a great excuse to stay-esp for peeps like me who wanna hit n' split.

Lots of pix of our peeps. Striders took a few choice awards: Debbie, Fran, Birdie, and we SWEPT the men's 65+. WOW.

Nicely done. One for the books!

get what you pay for

30 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The carbo loadingdinner is included in the cost of the marathon, so, I went. Huge mistake, or so I thought.

Went in @ 6:30, lined up, not to the head of the line'til 390 mins later!!! Typical Long Island.
Saving the night was the company. Nowhere other than running, esp a marathon, can you make instant peeps. Ended up sharing the table with a chiclet doing the 5k. Lots of good conversation. These humans ain't so bad.

Picked up Keith @ school, went to see Iron Man. Love these surprises. We'd planned to seeit as soon as the previews came out, but he didn't know I'd be there when school ended. Usually Shebitch works thurs and fri, so he walks home. Hit taco bell, then the flix.

REALLY good conv w/Kim @ the job. She's all over the guitars. They needed the work.

Let's hope the weather holds up. By the by, whatthefuck am I doing doing a 5k the day before a marathon??? Actually looking forward to this Riker's thing, hooking up with the peeps etc.....This social thing is awright.

tgif!

had our club meeting last night. Still glowing fromSunday's success.

Not a negative word, thank G. A great time hadby all.

Two things widely noticed: Suffolk peeps are provincial, they took the cake, not a one to be found. THAT was the bad news. Good news: local clubs did what they ought'a. We joined together. Nice. Can't say how happy/proud I am. My only goal for the club in my time was to a)see it's numbers for the race increase-check, b)have the membership increase-we have 40 more than last year. NICE!

NOW we gotta capitalizeon our gains. We're discussing a camping event in conjunction with the adventure course the park has. Spike's in, so the Club's in. Hee hee!!!

Riker's Sat (35 of us!!! COOL!), then the full sunday if it doesn't rain, half if it does.

...now the only bars I see has lettuce n' tomatoes...............

40 days???

weather for the weekend: 50% showers, UGH!