The Hungry Hungry Writer

Or… Why, Papa… why?

Some of you may think an extra 150 meters isn’t that far. Well, that’s the extra distance I have to do in Venice Beach on September 10th for my “A” race of the year – The 2006 Kaiser Permanante Los Angeles Triathlon.

Coming off a VERY challenging and fear based swim at the Imperial Beach Triathlon on August 27, gave me only two weeks to focus on a longer swim at Venice Beach. Am I scared? Hell no. I’M PETRIFIED!!! That swim was only… ONLY… 500 meters.

How much longer is the LA Triathlon swim? 150 meters. It’s 650 total meters or almost half a mile swim. It probably will be more than half a mile as I’ll be to the outside of the mass start. There are over 1,000 competitors for this race. Will I be kicked? Probably. Will someone swim into me? Most likely. Will I survive? I better! And to add injury to injury, its the longest swim in a race that I’ve ever done! 150 meters MORE than the IB Triathlon swim. Scary, scary, shit!!!

Follow this with a 24 mile bike ride which is 14 miles longer than any other Triathlon Bike Ride I’ve done. End this with a 5K run which starts up a Hill called “Hill” street. I have my work cut out for me in just ten days time.

But I’m not concerned so much about surviving the extra mileage on the bike. Nor am I concerned about the pain in my legs as I fight through the run to the finish where my family will be cheering me on. I’m concerned about the swim. The dreaded swim.

This is what I’ve been training for since that day in November when Stephen, my 24hr fitness trainer asked, “Do you think you can ride a bike for 30 minutes?” Uh – yeah, I just need a bike. “Do you think you can run 3 miles?” I could probably do that tomorrow but it’d take me a while. “Do you think you can swim for 20 minutes?” Uh… I think so? And as he said a month later as I struggled with a 90 pound bench press… “You go through the pain now, so you don’t have to later.” Thanks, Stephen. You made more sense than you know.

I ran a 5K in December to prove that I could do three miles. I bought a bike and rode two laps around the Rose Bowl (6.2 miles) in 35 minutes. And I got into the pool. I had to relearn how to swim. I had to commit to swimming in the ocean. This is where all the doubts came to play. And the doubts still come into play and its eight… nine months later.

Lets put this in perspective.

In January my training totals were:
Swim: 1:43:46; 2,900 meters; 0:03:55 per 100 meters.
Bike: 2:21:33; 30.3 miles; 12.84 average mph
Run: 3:15:43; 17.2 miles; 0:11:22 per mile average

Here’s August so far:
Swim: 3:46:31; 6,200 meters; 0:03:39 per 100 meters.
Bike: 3:08:32; 53.6 miles; 17.06 average mph
Run: 8:48:20; 54.7 miles; 0:09:39 per mile average

Decent improvement in Bike going from 12.84 mph ave to 17.06 mph ave at the same distance. HUGE improvement in run going 17.2 miles a month to 54.7 miles a month with 6.2 miles more to go on August 31 with nearly decreasing a full minute in an average mile pace.

But swimming…

Two hours more this month, 300 more meters in distance and only a 16 second improvement at a 100 meters.

UH… I’m kinda not where I should be.

So why the HELL am I going to do this? Why did I do the swim last Sunday? The LA Tri will be THE LONGEST swim to-date. It will be THE TOUGHEST race to-date. It will be THE SCARIEST, MOST CHALLENGING THING I’LL CHOOSE TO DO to-date.

So why? This is way too far for me. This is WAY too challenging for me.

Jake told me he didn’t want me to do ‘this’ anymore [swim in the ocean]. I asked him why. He replied, “Because it’s scary.” And I told him that I have to. He asked again, ‘why’, as any kid would. I replied, “Because if I keep doing it it’ll get easier and easier and if it gets easier and easier then I won’t be as scared the next time and the next time.”

That is what I said. That is not how I felt. I still feel scared. I still feel unsure. I still feel like I might not make it through. And I asked myself the same question… “WHY?”

That’s when I came across this quote yesterday.

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” - T.S. Elliot

Hmmm… I thought the 100 yard pool swim at my first Triathlon was challenging. I thought it was too far for only two months training. I questioned, “WHY?”.

On my next triathlon I did a 400 meter pool swim. The pool was deeper than the gym pool and the lanes were longer (50 meters). It freaked me out. I made it through. And knew I could do it again the next day and the next… this was in the pool. I wasn’t scared.

Then I jumped into the Lake at another Tri for a 400 yard swim. No waves. No riptide. No current. I suffered like I never suffered before. 400 yards PROVED to be too far. But if I had quit the swim I think I may have quit the sport. I barely made it and I questioned, “WHY?”

And here comes Imperial Beach. I was on the verge of backing out before even starting. I was already in the water before the race started and I was ready to just go home and sleep. I remember 100 meters into it thinking about religion and God. You’re at your absolute weakest when you do this - that’s what I believe. Which means, only 1/5 the way through the swim I was at my absolute weakest point and I still had 400 meters to go. I made it. And JACOB questioned, “WHY?”

James asked my sister why I had to always do these ‘extreme’ things.

Why?

Because I said I was going to do it. Because I want to do something not many people have done. Because this is a life-changing thing: a commitment, a goal.

Because I said it 9 months ago back on Dec 15, 2005 – “Ironman in 2007” -

2007… not realistic. But still a goal to…

BECOME AN IRONMAN!

I WILL SWIM 2.4 MILES, BIKE 112 MILES, AND RUN 26.2 MILES and say… I AM AN IRONMAN - ‘all in a day’s work!’

And I will get the M-DOT tattoo on my calf as the first tattoo I’ll ever get. It will symbolize EVERYTHING: the pain, the hardships, the suffering, the low points, the high points, the accomplishments and the question… “WHY?”

So on September 10th, 2006, another step will be made to get that tattoo. Another milestone in my life that I accomplished because I said I would accomplish it. Another answer to the question “Why?” and the next one will be further, maybe scarier but again…

“Because if I keep doing it it’ll get easier and easier and if it gets easier and easier then I won’t be as scared the next time and the next time.” - Father to son.

VENICE BEACH… BRING IT ON!

KONA, HAWAII… here I come… Someday… somehow.

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” - T.S. Elliot

After this… too far may not be far enough.

JACOB – You are my inspiration.
BELLA – You are my love.
JESSICA - You are my motivation.
DONNA – You are my life.

Jacob asked me to take him to the bookstore because he wanted to buy a book yesterday. “Papa, can I buy a book with my ‘bucks’? I have alot of them!”

Isabella, very upset at Uncle James poking fun of the pronunciation of Aladin [uh-lad-n] by saying ‘Allahdin’ [uhlahdin] with no stressed syllable yelled, “It’s not [uhlahdin] its LAD-IN!!!”. My only possible response to her argument was - “Yeah, Uncle James! It’s LAD-IN!”

San Diego…

Ron Burgundy: Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale’s vagina.
Veronica Corningstone: No, there’s no way that’s correct.
Ron Burgundy: I’m sorry, I was trying to impress you. I don’t know what it means. I’ll be honest, I don’t think anyone knows what it means anymore. Scholars maintain that the translation was lost hundreds of years ago.
Veronica Corningstone: Doesn’t it mean Saint Diego?
Ron Burgundy: No. No.
Veronica Corningstone: No, that’s - that’s what it means. Really.
Ron Burgundy: Agree to disagree.

So this past weekend was spent in San Diego. Not only did I race in the Imperial Beach Triathlon: (Official Race Times & Pictures), Donna and I met up with our Real Estate Agent, Pat, and visited 7 homes for sale. Or was it 8? They were in the Tierrasanta area of San Diego. And let me tell you, I fell in like with at least three, and fell in LOVE with one. The one I feel in love with had this small pool and a very comfortable back yard. It was absolute coolness! I loved it. And get this, the prices – were cheaper than anything here in the Los Angeles area. I mean, our house is valued more than the homes there and the homes are BIGGER! You heard me! Cheaper, bigger, nicer. Its amazing. And… the interest rate is under 6% right now. So we should make an offer like today!

But we’re not.

We are taking our time. My resume is out and about. Donna is lining up interviews with hospitals… we’ll head down in October once again for another one of my, what James calls, EXTREME things – the Jamba Juice Triathlon in Mission Bay.

But man… its hard to think about living anywhere outside of Los Angeles. But having the beaches, the many Triathlons throughout the year, the great run and bike paths that you have in San Diego – I’m ready to jump ship.

It’s beautiful there.

I can totally see myself living in San Diego within a year. I’ll miss my best friend, Dale. I’ll especially miss my sister and her kids. I’ll miss the Rose Bowl, my job, George and Melinda at Phidippides Running store, miss my 24hr Fitness Sport with a pool in it (although there’s a ‘Sport’ in Balboa with a pool), I’ll miss… I think that’s it.

So there you have it. We are moving to San Diego. Someday. Somehow… It will be done.

That is unless I can move to New York or Seattle. Then that will be done.

Veronica Corningstone: For the entire Channel 4 news team, I’m Veronica Corningstone.
Ron Burgundy: And I’m Ron Burgundy. Go fuck yourself, San Diego.

Thanks, Dorie… That’s exactly what I might possibly have to do on Sunday. I have decided to MAYBE do the Imperial Beach Triathlon in San Diego on Sunday. I MIGHT go out there and face the dreaded open water swim that I have been training for since the beginning of the year. I POSSIBLY will be an experienced open water triathlete come Sunday afternoon. I MAY have to keep saying over and over as I tread water, ‘Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”

I mean, IF I actually do this triathlon I’ll have to keep swimming, swimming swimming if I want to actually finish, finish, finish.

Wish me luck?

Well, if I actually sign up and do this thing in two days, yes, wish me luck.

As you can see, I have made my decision to MAYBE swim, bike, run this race.

I love San Diego.

Help! I’m drowning!

I was TOTALLY unmotivated to workout last night. I’m contemplating a Triathlon on Sunday in Imperial Beach but am fearful of the open water swim. BUT… I have a two and a half weeks before an open water swim at the LA Triathlon. So… I should be OVER that fear NOW and not in two and a half weeks.

Yes, I was going to sit at home and veg. Donna didn’t feel like working out so I decided not to. But then guilt set in. A tri in five days, the LA Tri in nineteen days, and a swim hump I need to get over.

I did 500 meters non-stop on Saturday. It felt good to do it non-stop. But I didn’t swim freestyle all the way through. I spent a lot of time on my back. The goal – make it. And I did. But the ocean is different. I’ll be expending energy fighting for space, I’ll be fighting a current, I’ll be fighting riptides possibly and I don’t know how to body surf. HELLO! Am I doomed? Am I just crazy?

Well, I tried to do 500 meters last night. I felt like I was suffocating in the water. At every wall I’d stop and gasp for air. I couldn’t relax. I couldn’t do it. I managed to swim a ton of it on my back and occasionally found a freestyle rhythm with a few meters left to the wall. I panicked, I stressed, I did EVERYTHING you’re not supposed to do while swimming. So I quit early. 500 meters with a ton of stops in 17 minutes and 07 seconds. That’s my first UGH of the night.

I don’t want to do a long run this week because of the potential tri on Sunday. So a 5K on the treadmill was my goal. It was one of the hardest 5K runs I’ve had in a while. I was at an easy pace. After a mile I felt better and decided to do 5 miles instead of a 5K. That’s two more miles than planned BUT… at mile 2.5 I almost quit. I kept looking at the distance display and sprinted to the 3.1 mile mark and called it quits. That was a tough 5K run and I nearly didn’t do it under 30 minutes. 29:14 was my time. I wasn’t going for a personal best time, I was just trying to get my legs to move for 3.1 miles and it was tougher than normal. Maybe I peaked too early.

So up the stairs I go to do some light weight training. A core workout with a fitness ball. I did the normal 150 crunches then tried to do some pullovers with a 10 lb weight and hamstring curls with the fitness ball. I did a few, not my normal sets, and I managed 5 soccer ball pushups. FIVE!!! That’s all. I normally do 2 sets of 15 at the end of a workout but this time - I did FIVE! That sucked! I called it quits and went home.

Talk about discouraging! I’m totally insecure about this triathlon and of course my LA Tri. I’m probably going to just do the Tri on Sunday, suffer through the open water swim just to see what to expect in 19 days. I’ll use it as a prep race. If I can complete this one, I can complete the other one.

If I complete this one, I’ll be alive which means I can complete the next one.

If I can’t complete this one… I’ll probably be dead.

Having been home for only six days as of today, it seems more like months since I came back from New York. I’d have to say that that vacation was one of my favorite vacations next to the LaCosta Resort vacation I had earlier this year. It wasn’t because of New York per se, but because I was able to hang with Jake for several days in New York. I would have rather it be everyone in my family, but hanging with Jake was pretty cool and really rare.

The kid was awesome. I brought a stroller but had a long talk with him about walking and sure enough, he held up and walked-walked-walked.

Coming home and getting into the routine of things kinda sucks. I’ve had to put him in time outs a lot more than normal and I just think its because he has pent up energy. It seems like he’s trying to make up for missed time. He’s trying to make up for five days away from his home, from bugging Isabella and from playing with his cousin Colby.

Today I bought a Dove Bar down at the snack shop. It reminded me of the little hotel gift shop in New York. I bought Jake and myself ice cream bars there after our long walks. We must have eaten four of those ice cream bars. We’d head straight to the gift shop and he’d pick out an ice cream bar and we’d hang out in our rooms and devour them while watching The Little League World Series. It was a great reward after blocks upon blocks of walking we just did.

I feel bad that Bella didn’t get to enjoy the trip. She watched the video I took with my video camera and really enjoys it. She laughs at all Jacob’s little antics. It’s like a funny movie to her that unfortunately she was not a part of.

I am determined to bring them all there next summer – after our Hawaii vacation. All of us will go – Donna, Bella, Jake, Jessica… Maybe instead of a LaCosta vacation we’ll spend a week in New York.

Fantasy football sacks real work production: study

However, Challenger encourages employers to embrace fantasy sports in order to foster a sense of camaraderie in the workplace. - That’s what I’m talking about!

“The potential damage to morale and loyalty resulting from a fantasy football ban could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 minutes of online team management,” said Challenger. -See?!? If you have a boss that doesn’t let this happen, YOUR BOSS SUCKS!!! My boss ROCKS!!! Hell, if I wasn’t able to churn out my work on a daily basis then it would be a problem… but I ROCK TOO!

The study also cited a survey saying average fantasy sports owners spend 34 minutes a day just thinking about their teams and spend close to $500 a year on fantasy sports.

The question is… WHO WANTS TO JOIN MY FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE?

I have obsessive compulsive disorder. In the clinical sense I have OCD. Maybe slight as I can catch myself here and there but OCD none-the-less.

But I also have obsessive compulsive behavior. I admit it. I will NEVER deny it.

What am I talking about?

I’m obsessed with shoes. Running shoes. Pure running shoes and not those fashionable attire that Nike or Addidas puts out (although they do have some shoes dedicated to serious runners).

Imelda Marcos I’m not. But I am Filipino so maybe its a FLIP thing!

About 10 years ago I really got away from buying ‘expensive’ shoes. Maybe I’d spend 30 bucks on a pair and try to make that last as long as possible. I use to buy Nike’s at $100+ a pop. Basketball shoes, trainers, etc. Usually whatever was hot or something. Not for working out or basketball or anything like that. Just because it was new and cool looking. That’s when I discovered Asics on eBay. They were older models and cheap! So that’s what I’d do for shoes. I hated to pay more than thirty bucks for a pair of shoes.

Then came December of last year. I had a pair of Asics stored away in a box that I got from eBay more than a year prior. They were a white pair of the “Kill Bill” shoes. They were cool! And they were like $30. So I pulled them out and used them for my workouts starting in September. In November I started to run on a treadmill and they weren’t very comfy. My other Asics, which I wore to the ground, were extremely comfortable but they were thrashed and two or so years old.

I signed up for a 5K race in December and the signups were held in a Running store. And that’s where I had my first taste of quality running shoes made for the serious runner and specific to a runners gait, pronation, etc.

I bought two pairs of UK Gear PT-03s to rotate as I trained for races and things. And also in December I decided to train for Triathlon. I ran my first 5K race with the UK Gear and used them for the race in December and also two Triathlons in February and April. But I realized they weren’t enough support for my running style and they screwed up my ankle!

So I bought another pair… and as the months came and went, and more miles were built into my running, and different surfaces were in play, more shoes were bought and more miles were run and the UK Gear PT-03 were shoved out of the rotation forever.

So if you’re looking for a shoe for running, if you are an overpronator and NEED support… here’s a list you can go by before going to buy a pair of shoes.

Yes… obsessive. But I don’t think I will buy another pair for a long time as I’ve tried on nearly EVERY pair out there for mild over-pronators like myself, and these offer the best support and comfort for me.

My rotation of running shoes has grown. I retired the two pairs of UK PT-03 after only approximately 72 and 105 miles on them respectively. This is quite early for shoe retirement but I think they were not giving me the kind of support I needed and ever since I switched to another pair of shoes, my ankle has not been giving me any problems. I am not sure if it was the PT-03s but I’m not about to test them out in my rotation for fear of continued foot problems. (both were $95 each)

So here’s my rotation of road and trail running shoes as of today (8/20/06) and a short review of each shoe sorted by road shoe miles ran and then trail shoe miles ran thus far:

Road Running Shoes
Saucony Grid Omni 5 (43.8 miles)
Brooks Adrenaline GTS6 (28.7 miles)
Mizuno Wave Alchemy 5 (18.3 miles)
Brooks Trance 6 (3.1 miles)

Trail Running Shoes
Saucony Grid Omni 5 TR (15.5 miles)
Salomon XA PRO 3D (2.0 miles)

Saucony Grid Omni 5 (43.8 miles) $90
Obviously, based on the miles, this is my shoe of choice – especially on my long runs. I’ve also owned it longer than the rest as I bought this pair to mix into the rotation of the two pairs of UK PT-03s that I was using. They offer great stability, they are comfortable all around, the cushioning is decent and they feel lighter as a trainer shoe. I wore these on my Central Park run and through most of my 10 hour walk around New York. It’s a popular shoe for runners and would work for most anyone who wants to get into a starter shoe. For those who don’t over-pronate, it might be too much stability so beware. I highly recommend this shoe for almost everyone where comfort and stability is a must. (back to top)

Brooks Adrenaline GTS6 (28.7 miles) $90
If I only had to own two pairs of shoes it would probably be this and the Saucony Grid Omni 5. Another go-to shoe for longer distances. Extremely stable without giving up too much comfort. It keeps my feet cooler than the Saucony’s and does the job for short distances as well. This is another popular shoe for runners and another shoe I recommend for those starting out. Make sure you can handle the stability or it may feel too stiff. I don’t know why ‘stability’ type shoes means less cushion, but these feel like they have enough cushion and yet are extremely stable. (back to top)

Mizuno Wave Alchemy 5 (18.3 miles) $85
I immediately took this pair out for a long run: 10K. I was 0.1 seconds off my personal best. The next day I took it out for a shorter run: 5K. I was 5 seconds off my personal best. A week later I ran 4 miles at an easy pace and I am still unsure how these shoes feel on me despite coming close to two personal bests. They feel very stiff compared to my other shoes and are made for moderate over-pronators. I’m probably a slight to moderate over-pronator. I will probably do a 4 or 5 mile run with them on my next run but may just reserve these for a 5K run and for shorter run rotations. (back to top)

Brooks Trance 6 (3.1 miles) $135
At first I thought they were as stiff as the Mizunos above. My first mile was a bit difficult to get into. I was at a normal 6.0-6.4 mph pace for me and after a mile I got into a faster pace: 7.0 mph. My goal was to hit a personal best 5K run. The shoes started to feel good. They have this new cushioning technology called ‘MoGo’ - midsole for a soft, cushy first feel that lasts, increased energy return, and incredible cushioning–without any sacrifice in stability. I’m not sure if I noticed it, but I did notice they were comfortable throughout the run (after mile 1) and eventually the stiffness disappeared. I’ve enjoyed walking in them and felt good on my run although they feel a little heavier than my other shoes. Oh, and hit a personal best 5K doing it in 26:53 (22 seconds better than former PB). Was it the shoe? Probaby not. But after my run I was quite pleased with the comfort it provided. Maybe the MoGo technology made a difference and maybe Brooks is right about their 90-day MoGo Guarantee: “If it’s not your favorite running shoe in 90 days, we’ll buy you a new pair – even a competitor’s shoe”. I’ll let you know in 90 days. (back to top)

Saucony Grid Omni 5 TR (15.5 miles) $95
Two Triathlons: UCLA Iron Bruin and the LA Tri Express #3 required me to run on trails. After the UCLA Tri my right ankle started having problems. I ran the LA Tri Express with a sore ankle 2 months later. Two weeks later I was scheduled to run another Triathlon – the San Bernardino Tinman which also required a trail run. Each of my Triathlon races I used the now retired PT-03 shoes. A week before the SB Tinman I purchased a pair of Saucony Grid Omni 5 TR and took them out for a trail run at the Rose Bowl; with a sore ankle. Then I used them for the SB Tinman a week later. I can say that it helped with stability as far as traction is concerned. I wasn’t slipping around as I did on the trail during the UCLA Tri and LA Tri Express. These shoes probably didn’t ‘cure’ my injury, but the combination of taking out and retiring my PT-03s from my running rotation directly after the LA Tri Express race is. These trail running shoes have great support as they are similar to the road shoes that I own, but it also provides comfort and traction that is needed for trail runs. I will always have them with me before a race if I find out the race is a trail run. The colors aren’t that appealing, but they’ll get dirty and dusty anyway right after your run. Out of the 5 Triathlon races I’ve run, two of them have been with this pair and the rest with the PT-03. For the LA Triathlon on September 10th, I will be running with the Saucony Grid Omni 5 road shoes unless my new Brooks Trance 6 works its way up to my favorite shoe category. (back to top)

Salomon XA PRO 3D (2.0 Miles) $100
Did I need another pair of trail running shoes? Probably not. But that’s debatable. Trail running is better for my body than road running so I was determined to do more of it. I just haven’t had the time to get to the trails as much as I like. I might do my long run on the trail this weekend and if I do, I’ll be running with these. They are extremely comfortable. They look cool. And they are built for stability which I desperately need. I’ve run 2 miles on a treadmill with them, have done quite a bit of walking with them, but I have yet to run with them on the trails. As of now I have no real review of what these shoes do for me. (back to top)

My short trip to New York was awesome. I had a great time.

Here are a few highlights.

Ray Bari Pizza
The first place we ate when we got to NY was Ray Bari Pizza on 3rd and 56th. We were so hungry at 10PM after checking into the hotel that we asked the doorman where a good Pizza joint was. He recommended Ray Bari Pizza so that’s where we went. It was about six blocks from where we stayed and it was also our very first ‘taste’ of New York night life. It was pretty damn good pizza and it turns out it was Jake’s favorite restaurant. We ate there twice which was too many times for my dad. But because Jake wanted Pizza, my dad sacfificed his craving for ‘good food’ and ate there again. I was craving it last night but of course… I’m in California now.

The American Museum of Natural History.
The whole reason for this trip was to go see the Dinosaur eggs displayed at the AMH. Well, we saw one big one and one small one which Jacob touched. We strolled through all the different floors of the museum. It took about two hours and then we were back walking through Central Park. Jake liked the museum but refused to go to another museum the next day. I guess he had enough and he did see what he wanted to see: the Dinosaur eggs. I wanted to see the Sperm Whale and Giant Squid display and I thought it was this huge display like I thought it was in the movie, “The Squid and the Whale”. Unfortunately it was one of the small displays stuffed in a dark corner of the museum. I took a picture but its hard to see. You can see a better picture here: Sperm Whale and Giant Squid.

My Run AROUND Central Park.
As I mentioned before, my run around the park was a great experience. Having an easy pace really allowed me to appreciate the little things around the park. The weather also played an important role as it made my run easier rather than a struggle. I hit my personal best in distance as well, I saw a celebrity – Spike Lee – and I still had a whole day left to see the city. Which is exactly what we did by taking the…

NY SIGHTSEEING bus tour.
We signed up for the Downtown Loop which brought us to all the hot spots in Manhattan. I highly recommend this tour for visitors. Get it for the week and get on and off the tour bus in different locations throughout your stay. We went from Central Park through Times Square to Greenwich Village, Little Italy, China Town and the Staten Island ferry all the way back up past The UN building and Madonna’s old pad before she became a star. We stopped at the Empire State Building and Battery park where we walked to…

The Staten Island Ferry.
We were able to relax on the ferry and view the Statue of Liberty. It took about 20 minutes to get to Staten Island where we got off the ferry, circled around and got right back on the ferry for the trip back to Manhattan. Jake saw a Statue of Liberty souvenir at one of the street vendor tables so my dad bought it for him. It’s one of his prized possessions at the moment. You should have seen his face! And on the take off from LaGuardia airport he turned to be with concern and asked, “Did you pack my Statue of Liberty?” I assured him it was safe and secure.

JackRabbit
Anyone who runs should go to JackRabbit if they visit New York. Try on shoes, have them video tape you running in them, and make the right choice based on your gait. Every running store should have this feature available. I bought a pair of Brooks Trance Six.

Of course there was alot more things we did like shopping on 5th avenue, the hot dog stands, a carriage ride in Central Park and an adventerous walk through Central Park, the walk up Park Avenue residential area and things like that. We did a lot in the four days we were there yet we didn’t get to do enough!

Here are a few pictures I took with my phone:

Our first breakfast in NY – The Metro Café.

My dad and Jacob in Central Park

Jake and my dad posing in front of stream somewhere in Central Park.

Entrance to the AMH

The big Sperm Whale display

The Sperm Whale and Giant Squid display. (hard to see, look above for a better picture)

Jake being attacked by Walruses.

The dinosaur egg!!!

Yummy hot dog stand!

Walk through Central Park.

A view from deep inside Central Park.

Jake on the carriage ride.

The entrance into Central Park. This is where I entered as I did my run.

The Empire State Building viewed from the top deck of the Bus Tour.

Jake on the ferry with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

— More pictures of NY —

Overall I rate this trip an 8 out of 10!!! Despite all the dad quirks I had to endure - I just ignored them and they came and went without confrontations or anything like that. It would have been a definite 10 out of 10, like our La Costa vacation if Donna, Bella and Jessie were there, but all-in-all, a solid 8! I would not hesitate to do it again and I definitely want to plan a trip there next year after our Hawaii vacation in April!

Jake did great walking up and down and through Manhattan. I had a long talk with him about not being able to carry him, that he had to be strong and walk everywhere because that’s what people do in New York, and he had to behave. Even when he was cranky and tired he didn’t ask to be carried… what he did was… ask to flag down a taxi. I obliged once for a ten or so block trip back to the hotel. The other time we had to take the cab way down close to 14th street which was way too far to walk. The other time he asked for a cab I told him we were too close to the hotel – 8 or 9 blocks – so I told him we were like 6 blocks and to count the blocks. We got to block 6 and he questioned it but I said I was wrong, we have two more blocks to go. He was fine with that. I even brought a stroller with us to NY but we didn’t use it once. It would have been way too hard to maneuver the stroller with all the people on the streets.

I can’t wait to do it again!

9:06 PM NEW YORK TIME

I did it! I ran Central Park! I made it my long run for the week and hit the 8 mile mark before a cool down walk. It was awesome.

It almost didn’t happen. No, not because of Spike Lee, but because I was too lazy to wake up at 6:00… then 6:30… then 7:00, 7:30 then finally I got up at 8:00 AM and headed my way out the hotel doors about 20 minutes later.

I started on 51st but my Garmin didn’t find a satellite till 60th street. So that’s when I started to run. 8:30 AM.

Point Six miles later I got to Central Park and started the trek around the 6 mile loop. There was 1/10 the amount of runners, bikers and walkers that there was on Saturday; probably because those people had to go to work. Which was fine. It made it a more peaceful jaunt around the park.

I made sure NOT to push it as I wanted to enjoy the run. I kept a very easy pace, around 10 min miles, and enjoyed the sights of the park. This park is huge; bigger than I ever expected with so many different things to do. There’s a swimming pool, several baseball diamonds, several playgrounds, and the Jaqueline Onassis Reservoir that I ran by, but not around.

The run was peaceful, quiet, and if I didn’t fall in love with New York already, this really was the topping on the cake. I can live here just for this park alone!

The music of choice: two albums that I bought prior to the trip; U2’s “Unforgettable Fire” and Yes’ “90125”.

Here’s a snapshot of my run from my Garmin.

Okay, not only did I run Central Park, I also managed to hit my Personal Best in distance. 8 miles! There were a few stops here and there for lights, a check on my iPod, and as I mentioned in my subject, Spike Lee!

At the 7 mile-ish mark around 5th and 59th Avenue (right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of 5th Avenue) I saw a film crew and lights. There were two chairs set up and they were wrapping on some morning show I believe. Spike Lee had stepped to the side to do another interview for some entertainment channel – I can’t remember the name – and I stopped dead in my tracks. He looked right at me and I smiled. I was about to shout, “KNICKS SUCK!” just to start conversation. I mean it would be stating the obvious so no offense to him and his reputation. They just suck and its Isaiah Thomas’ fault. Anyway, he was there, I was there, he shook hands with whoever was interviewing him then without smiles, talked to some big wigs in suits twice his size. I was tempted to say, “Hi Mr. Lee… I’m also an aspiring filmmaker and love your work!” But refrained and started back on my run.

One more mile left through traffic, lights and pedestrians on my way back to the hotel.

I had a lot of energy left, my legs NEVER felt any pain throughout the run, my water intake was good and I felt great!

So at least now I can say it… I saw Spike Lee… I mean, I RAN CENTRAL PARK!

Here are my splits:

Mile 1- 0:10:08
Mile 2- 0:10:18
Mile 3- 0:10:04
Mile 4- 0:10:19
Mile 5- 0:10:50
Mile 6- 0:10:55
Mile 6.22- 0:02:27
Mile 7.18- 0:10:56
Mile 8.01- 0:11:42

TOTAL 8.01 miles: 1:27:39
AVERAGE 10:57 min/mile

That’s how I started my day. Immediately after that we took a Bus Tour through Lower Downtown. We saw a ton of things. Too many to mention really. Times Square, some of Trumps Buildings, The Empire State Building, Jack Rabbits (where I bought my shoes yesterday), SoHo, and we took a ferry to Staten Island and back. Yes, there’s a lot more but too much to mention. We got on the bus around 11:15 PM and we got back to the hotel around 5:30 PM as we got off the bus a couple of times. I carried Jake to the hotel – he was whooped and I was the one that ran 8 miles!

So its time to go to bed and its only 8:45 Eastern Time.

Here’s some Phone Video of Jake on our trip to Staten Island.

Ferry Vid 1
Ferry Vid 2
Ferry Vid 3

Enjoy…

One more day of New York and we’ll be heading home.