Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Bronx Will Burn...With My Soles.

Virtually speaking, I have already ran through Bethlehem and Allentown, PA.
At 153.3 miles done, I am now in Jonestown, PA. Take a look where I am on the map...

.....and here's my picture.......


Looks nice, ehh?


Here's my bitch about the Bronx....
So yesterday, I went on to run 14 miles on a treadmill at the LA Fitness gym in Lake Success. At 6 miles per hour, I had to restart the treadmill twice, since it stops after an hour. It was pretty hot, about 74 degrees, and I was running on the 2nd floor promenade, in the area where the ceiling above me is not too high, which added to the heat.

Basically, I needed to get a long run in before my half-marathon race this Sunday. It was mostly a confidence booster. I actually did very well, and ran a negative split (negative split = when you run your last half of the race better then the first half). Losing 2 pounds from yesterday's long run felt good too. I went from 162 to 160, but I am sure that it may go back up because I had 2 1/2 slices of pizza.

So, we've seen the Super Bowl, celebrated Super Tuesday yesterday, and in less than 4 days it will be Super Sweaty Sunday, when I take on the Bronx Half-Marathon. For some reason, this race seems to be a tough one for me. I guess it's because I had terrible memories when I lived in the Bronx, and when a person has run 11 miles, their mind starts to wander. And for me The Bronx=The Gutter. I'm not saying that everything is beyond redemption there, but I am saying that the Bronx never liked me, and that feeling is definitely mutual.

The 2nd challenge will be my past race history here. Take note:
2006 - Bronx Half-Marathon - 01:59:18 pace 9:06
2005 - Bronx Half-Marathon - 02:02:47 pace 9:22
The only two worse half-marathons were the 2005 Queens Half Marathon which I did in 2:07:04 which was my first race after a 2 month layoff after breaking my left leg. The other was the 2005 Staten Island Marathon in which I finished in 2:02:57.

Challenge #3
The weather forecast for Sunday is not good:



But now....THE BRONX WILL BE MY BITCH!
I will deface you, and berate you. I will smash the bottoms of my Brooks Beast Size 10 shoes so hard into your asphalt, that the thunderous sounds of my impact will be felt in New Jersey. As where in the past you have spat upon my good nature, stripped my sense of decency, and broken my will, it is now I WHO WILL INFLICT THE PUNISHMENT UPON YOUR SORRY ASS COURSE! Do not attempt to adjust your cameras, or your video machines. The blur that you will see will be my energy as it demolishes everything in its path at blazing speed!!! Scores of pain and years of stupidity of my wasted youth will be erased this Sunday! Bring me your worst. And give me some more. I am ready for it all. Snow, hills, crime, apathy. BRING! IT! ON!

T-minus 81 hours and counting.....

In other news, tomorrow is the Chinese New Year.
It is the Year of the Rat.
There are 12 animals, and they rotate in the Chinese New Year calendar.
I was born in the Year of the Snake.
Amanda and Matthew were also born in the Year of the Snake.
Even my father was born in the Year of the Snake.
Stephanie was born in the Year of the Tiger.
Oh, and yes,
...I think Lorraine was born in the Year of the Pig.
However, I will have to check.




Besides having a ticker tape parade for the New York Giants yesterday, it was Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, and it was Super Tuesday which culminated in a stalemate between Clinton & Obama, and a runaway by McClain, with a second chance for Huckabee. However, there was another event that took place in the Big Apple, which has become a notorious annual ritual. The "Empire State Building Run-Up" as it is called, is another race that is sponsored by my club. Each year they take some 200-230 competitors from around the world to run up from the lobby to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. Thomas Dold of Germany won for the 3rd straight year. He climbed the 1,576 steps in a time of 10 minutes and 8 seconds. Perhaps one of the signficant "sign-of-the-times" was the article to the right which later goes on to reference how he just needed that time to race up New York's tallest building. Another somber reminder that 9/11 was real and not just a bad nightmare. We must all remember what happened that day, and find that son of a bitch Osama and have him executed, slowly, but surely. Instead, our wonderful government is spending billions each year in Iraq. And for what? I could go on forever about this topic. I won't. Anyway, this is a race that I will never ever run. I hate going up even 1 flight of stairs. My body isn't meant for it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very funny about the year of the pig and lorraine. lol