Philadelphia Freedom

Here I sit, two days before Thanksgiving, watching the rain outside and hacking my brains out. But two days ago, I was in Philadelphia running my 10th marathon and freezing my butt off. I finished in 3:52, which is not the sub-3:40 I had hoped for.

We drove down to NJ Friday and stayed at Matt and Tricia's before the four of us headed down to Philly on Saturday; the kids stayed with Tricia's parents and were excited to see "Madagascar 2." We hit Philly, checked in, met up with Deb and Matt's dad Harry and then went to the race expo. It was pretty small compared to the bigger ones, but had the usual vendors and such. We then hung out back at the hotel for a while before meeting Deb, Matt and Tricia's college buddy Chris and his wife Stacy, who was also running the marathon. We had a great meal at an Italian place. It was brutally cold and windy out, so I was rethinking what I'd wear for the race: I settled on wearing a sweatshirt over my technical shirt and old sweatpants over my shorts that I could ditch at some point. Everybody was planning to get a couple of drinks afterward, but Stacy and I both decided to just stay in at our respective hotels and rest up. Besides, I had a chest cold that flared up conveniently on Tuesday and didn't want to make that any worse than it had to be. I went back to the room, drank a lot of water, and watched "The Bourne Ultimatum" until 10, when I went to bed. Deb got back at 11; I had only been asleep for about 20 minutes and had a fitful night of sleep after that, between the coughing and the nervousness.

I got up at 5 and got ready for the 7 a.m. start. I was unable to clear the bomb bays, if you will, which was not a good sign. I was hoping not to have to use a porta potty if I could help it. Matt and I were heading over to Stacy's hotel at 6, where Chris would give us a ride to the start. Matt was running the half marathon, which started at the same time. We could only get within a few blocks before we had to get out and walk the last several; it was bone-chillingly cold. I went to get in line for a porta potty but the line was so long I just decided to get into my corral for the start. I moved up to where the 3:40 pace group was standing and planned to follow them all the way.

The beginning of the race wound its way through some narrow streets before opening up a bit. After the first mile I was already sweating like crazy from the sweatshirt and had planned to give it to Deb when I saw her, but I didn't see her at mile 1 and so kept it on. Saw her at 6 and ditched the sweatshirt and my hat, but kept the pants on because I didn't want to fall too far behind the pace group. I stuck with them but noticed around mile 11 that I was struggling a bit, which was surprising because that shouldn't happen until at least around mile 20. I made the turn at the half and headed out, but mile 14 was a hill and it just killed me. I realized I couldn't keep up with the pace group and stopped to ditch my sweatpants. I started running again and hoped to do the best I could. At mile 15, Stacy caught up to me, ran with me for a bit and then kept going; she ended up finishing in 3:35 and qualifying for Boston.

The sun was out, but it was still pretty damn cold for anyone standing still. At the water stations, all the spilled water froze and made things pretty treacherous for us as we made our way through. I saw a couple of people wipe out.

I kept chugging along and got to Manayunk, which was where the race turned around at mile 20 and headed back toward downtown Philly. As I headed back, I got a side stitch and had to walk a bit. I dealt with those on and off for a few miles before finally feeling okay. Just before mile 24, the 3:50 pace group caught up to me, so I decided to hitch my wagon to them and follow them in. I felt good and with a mile to go, I pushed it and ran ahead to hopefully finish under 3:50. I came in strong but finished at 3:52, which can only lead me to believe that the 3:50 pace dude was behind pace. Oh, well. I was just glad to be done. Caught with Deb, Matt and Tricia afterwards. Matt ended up running a 2:12 in the half.

I just didn't have enough energy to keep up the pace I had hoped to; I really believe I could have broken 3:40. Someday. But the marathon was great and it seemed like a lot of people had PRs this year. I wish we had more time to hang out in Philly; seems like a fun town.

Next up, I'm trying to get a number for Boston in the spring through my running club. I don't expect to set a PR there, not with those hills.

We drove back Sunday night after picking up the kids in NJ, getting home at 9. My cold has gotten worse, but I still have to go to work because I've got too much to do in the next two days before T-giving. Still planning to run the Salem 5-miler on Thursday, too.

Be Aggressive

Woo hoo! Long weekend time. It's not a traditional long weekend in that most people have to work tomorrow, but I took it off because we're heading down for the Philly Marathon. Actually, we're going to NJ first to stay over at Matt and Tricia's tomorrow night, then leave the kids with Tricia's mom so the four of us can drive to Philly Saturday morning. We'll hit the expo and pick up our race packets (Matt's doing the half) and then get some dinner before calling it a night. The races start at 7 a.m. Sunday, so we're going to have to get up super early to get ready. Temps look like they'll be in the low 40s for a high, which means at the start it should be in the high 20s or low 30s. That's when you wear stuff you can throw away once the race starts.

Physically, I feel pretty good. I did my last pre-marathon run today, 3 miles. Although I was a little bummed when I headed out and my right ankle was bothering me; it actually was because our comforter weighs about 2 metric tons and kinda forced me to sleep with my right foot bent to the side. Not sure how I'm going to deal with that tonight because it's so damn cold up there. At any rate, I walked a little before just making myself run and sure enough, it was fine after about a minute. Other than that, the only other concern is some chest congestion that conveniently showed up two days ago. Hopefully it won't be a full-fledged cough by Sunday; it shouldn't affect my lung capacity too much (knock on skull).

My third running column was published today, this time around focusing on cold weather running, appropriately enough.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?:

• So gas prices have been dropping like a rock around here. I filled up at $1.95 per gallon in Salem yesterday and I've already seen it for $1.83 at another place. Gas prices are lower than they've been in four years. I wonder if they'll approach the magical dollar mark that they were around in the '90s. Unfortunately, the stock market is plummeting at an even faster rate. It's getting ugly, folks.
• Apparently, hell has frozen over, because Guns N' Roses' long-awaited "Chinese Democracy" album is coming to Best Buy shelves on Sunday. No, really, it is. I'd heard some of the songs over the last few years when they were leaked online, but today, I listened to the entire album, which is streaming at GNR's Myspace page. On first listen, it was okay, not great. You can definitely hear the kitchen-sink approach Axl took, with a real glossy production and lots of bells and whistles. EW has a nice collection of reviews, which have been mostly positive. But for my money, what Axl should have done was brought back Izzy, Slash and Duff and made another balls-out rocker like Appetite for Destruction, which is one of the greatest hard rock albums ever made. If you've got a little time, check out this excellent and lengthy article on the long, twisted journey that Axl Rose went on while he tried to make this album. Just nuts.

Cheap Thrills

Happy Saturday. I was really dragging the last couple of days due to lack of sleep, but I'm feeling good now. Last night, I joined Briggy, OJ and Amy, and Lee at the Miracle of Science in Cambridge for our annual Black Friday celebration, marking the 7th year since we were all laid off from Webnoize. It's hard to believe it's been that long, although in some respects it feels like it was even longer ago: During that time, I was commuting into the city, didn't have kids, had just gotten married and bought a house. I started that job before George W. Bush was president. Damn.

Tonight, I'm meeting up with my buddy Bob to see the Eagles of Death Metal at the Paradise. Should be a lot of fun. A couple of other friends of ours wanted to join us, but the show's sold out.

The reason I didn't get much sleep was because I was watching late-night football and hockey. Monday night, I stayed up watching a game I normally wouldn't give two craps about: San Francisco vs. Arizona. But I went 13-0 in my office football pool through Sunday; alas, so did one other guy, so it came down to the Monday night game to break the tie. I needed Zona to win by 10 and sure enough, they only won by 5. So I got nothing. Tuesday night, I watched the Leafs-Calgary game, Wednesday I was out until 1 at hockey, and Thursday night, I watched the Pats-Jets and Leafs-Oilers games simultaneously until midnight. Funny enough, even with the trip to Cambridge last night, I was home and in bed earlier than any other night this week.

T-minus eight days until the Philly Marathon. I'm feeling good, although I took a puck off the skate Wednesday night that left a bone bruise on my left foot. Fortunately, it was on the side and didn't bother me when I ran yesterday. Right now, the forecast is calling for temps in the low 40s next Sunday, which means it should be in the 30s when the race starts at 7 a.m. I'm a little disappointed that we'll have to take off right after the race to head back home, but we both have to work Monday and the kids have school.

Quick and to the point:

• Speaking of the Leafs, they've been fun to watch so far this year. Ron Wilson has a speedy, hard-working team that has been tough to play in almost every game. But that could change soon if Brian Burke joins the team as GM; he just quit his Anaheim job this week and could be in Toronto soon. He's more of a proponent of big, bruising teams and tough guys, which the Leafs have in short supply right now. It seems like every game, an opponent is taking liberties with one of their players. It wouldn't surprise me to see a lot of changes in a hurry. If he can get them contending for a Cup in the next few years, I'm all for it.
• So Obama reportedly has been talking to Hillary Clinton about becoming Secretary of State. Interesting.

Anything 'Cept the Truth

So...we've got a new president. Yeah, I know the election was a few days ago, but I haven't had a chance to blog since then. I was glad it didn't come down to some hanging chads in Florida or Ohio. Hopefully Obama will surround himself with good people on both sides of the aisle and get right to work bringing about some of that change he's been talking about for a couple of years. Because we sure need it. I've been around long enough to know that campaign promises don't mean squat. Obama's proven he can run a hell of a campaign. Now let's see how he runs a government.

Today would have been my dad's 68th birthday. Hard to believe he's been gone for 12 years now. Sadly, he's becoming more and more of a distant memory; it's not like I've forgotten him or anything, but it's just that so much has happened in my life since then. I will say he taught me my most valuable lessons...by showing me what not to do. The way I lead my life is exactly the opposite from how he led his, which isn't to say he was a bad man. He just made a lot of mistakes and in the end, they killed him. But hey, let's not dwell on that now. Wherever you are, Dad, happy birthday.

My second running column ran in the paper today. I focused on the debate over whether runners should use headphones. I've already gotten a lot of good response from folks (both friends and people I don't know), so that's encouraging. My photo ran with the column today (only in the print version).

Only two weeks until we head to Philly for the marathon. Knock on wood, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm supposed to run 13 this weekend, but I'm going to do a 10-mile race in Andover on Sunday morning instead.

Kibbles and bits:

• Commercials by the major automakers in recent years have usually taken a classic rock song and beaten it to death for months at a time. The latest example from Toyota is even more annoying than usual because it takes an old Fixx song, "Saved By Zero" (which I liked), and has an unknown singer atonally singing the line. This is bad enough, but the worst part is the ad runs probably 15 times during a football game, so you're just bombarded by it. Even Lily was making fun of it the other day. And apparently it has engendered major hate from all corners.
• In a story that has to be already in the works as a movie idea, two kids from India won a talent contest and are now training for a pitching tryout in front of major league scouts. The guy who discovered them is Barry Bonds' manager, who you figure has a lot of time on his hands these days.
• Runners face many hazards on the road, usually from inattentive or obnoxious drivers. But you don't often hear about a rabid fox biting a runner, let alone the runner continuing to run another five miles with the damn thing clamped down on her arm. Insane in the membrane.

As We Go Up, We Go Down

Another Saturday morning check-in. I'm taking advantage of the calm before the youth soccer-induced storm. Lily's got soccer at 9 and Hannah has her game at 10:30, so things are going to get pretty busy in a little bit. Deb's off at a flea market selling stuff to raise money for her next Costa Rica trip in June, so I'm solo this morning.

We're starting to get that crisp fall weather that I like so much: Sunny but with temps only reaching the low 60s. Great for running. I've got to get a 20-miler in early tomorrow. Marathon training has been going well. I'm feeling pretty good for the most part. My back has been bothering me a little, but I got a massage this week and that helped. Philly's only two months away.

Met up with OJ and Amy last night and went to a small birthday bash for Big Audio Douglass, who lives across town. Good time with a good bunch of folks.

Change the channel:

• So after all the hullaballoo about the Large Hadron Collider and how it was going to doom us all, the thing's now on the fritz. Guess they don't make black-hole creating particle colliders like they used to.
• I don't place much stock in polls, but it sounds like people are finally tiring of Sarah Palin hype. Tina Fey totally nailed her on SNL last weekend, but I thought the rest of the show was pretty weak. They had a chance to really make some good political satire with one of the best political impressionists around in Darrell Hammond. But NBC foisted Michael Phelps as the guest host, which meant they had to do a lot of dumb sketches built around him instead.
• Metallica had a nice number 1 debut with their latest album, Death Magnetic. I haven't picked it up yet, but I heard a good preview of it and found some tracks online and it sounds like they're definitely getting back to their classic mid-80s sound.
• Speaking of metal legends, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson has been keeping busy with his other job as a commercial airline pilot. He spent last weekend flying to Egypt to pick up stranded British passengers for XL Airlines. Aces high, indeed.

Counting the Scars

Happy hump day. It's absolutely beautiful out right now--sunny, dry, about 80. Hopefully next week will be like this when I'm on vacation. Yeah, I know I already took a vacation a few weeks ago, but next week is Deb's last before school starts up again, so I figured I'd spend it with her and the girls.

We've been officially bat-free for 10 days. Just sayin'.

Deb's definitely got Olympic mania. She's been watching it nonstop. I've been poking my head in from time to time to see what's going on. Man, that Michael Phelps has been insanely good. Five golds as of this writing, with three more chances to win. He's already the winningnest Olympic athlete in history. Meanwhile, tough times for Canada, which has yet to bag a medal.

I'm into the second week of my training for the Philly Marathon, which takes place just before Thanksgiving. I did a 13-miler on Sunday and will run 15 this Saturday. Just got some new shoes, which should make things that much easier. Gotta love the cushioning in new shoes.

Blowing the blues away:

• There's a fair amount of controversy brewing this week over the film Tropic Thunder, which has seen protests from activist groups upset over the film's use of the word "retarded." The movie is a satire of Hollywood, but the folks urging a boycott don't seem to get the joke. The ones being made fun of are Hollywood stars who play mentally disabled characters in bids to win Oscars, not the mentally disabled themselves. But just like any joke, when you have to explain it in minute detail, it's not as funny anymore. If we're supposed to stop making jokes or satire because of the fear of offending people, we might as well stop making jokes or satire altogether.
• Sad to hear of the deaths of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes in the last few days. Both of them were leaders in their respective fields. The theme from "Shaft" was positively kick-ass. And Bernie Mac was a funny dude (clip is NSFW).
• As a big fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, it has been fun to see OG host Joel Hodgson and crew come back with a new movie riffing venture, Cinematic Titanic. Basically, they follow the old MST3K formula of taking a crappy movie and making wisecracks over it. I've seen the first movie they did, The Oozing Skull, and it was hilarious. Meanwhile, second MST3K host Mike Nelson and a couple of the other dudes have their own movie riffing effort, Rifftrax. Haven't seen any of their work, but they've been riffing on movies of more recent vintage. Check 'em out.