Chapter 49.1: Running Fool

I can claim to be a runner again. Last weekend, I ran in the Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, overlooking Long Island Sound. It's a tough route, with a good-sized hill between miles one and two. Unlike the person who won the race, I wasn't looking to set any records. I was able to finish in under an hour, which was my personal goal; I averaged a 9:34 mile. Not great, but given the course and my current level of training, I'll take it.

The people of Northport were great, doling out water at their own makeshift stations and offering their misting hoses on the side of the road. There was even a family of people dressed up as cows, which was amusing after 4 miles. I don't know if I'll do this race again next year or not (I'm leaning toward yes, especially if there's still a beer truck at the end like there was this year!), but if nothing else, i'm adding racing to my 2007 resolutions.

Chapter 49: Finally!

The first of four steps has been completed: The Mets are the champions of the National League Eastern Division.

The Braves, who won 14 division titles from 1990 through last year (none awarded in 1994; they were behind the Expos when the strike killed the season), deserve to be recognized for being great champions for all those years -- including the ones in which they played in the NL West.

What's next? Too soon to say, but I think the Mets have a lot of flying in their future. The Wild Card will not likely come from the West (either the Dodgers or the Padres, though the Giants still have a shot); I don't expect the Reds to come back. And if the Phillies or even the Marlins went on a late-season tear, the Mets would still be flying, as they can't compete against their own division in the first round.

Bring on the challengers!

Lets go Mets!

Chapter 48.9: Cartwheels in the Rain

Recently, someone spray painted a message at the top of the stairs coming out of the 14th Street PATH station: Cartwheel-Only Lane. Violators Will Be Prosecuted.
It's a rainy day, but for a moment I thought it might be fun.

Chapter 48.6: Primary School

I don't remember last year's election, but since it was an odd-year off election there was probably little to recall. This year, the stakes are a bit higher. But I live in an area where surprisingly little is happening in the primaries. The NY senatorial race between Hillary Clinton and a bag of elephant dung is hardly noteworthy; Eliot Spitzer seems to have won the gubernatorial in 2005 and held up on taking over the governor's mansion until Pataki declares he's running for vice president or another organ acts up on him -- whichever comes first.

Of course, the NY attorney general's race is a bit of a dog-fight, particularly between Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green. I don't have a dog in that hunt, but I respect other people's polar-opposite opinions.

In New Jersey, Menendez vs. Kean (who Republican friends of mine call "a bumbler") is less exciting than watching paint dry. But that's not a primary.

Which makes primary day here in the metropolitan area decidedly uninteresting. I was barely accosted at the train stations "reminding" me to vote in districts where I have no right to do so.

I'm sure there'll be more to hear while switching channels on the television over the next eight weeks or so, but for an important election with the emergence of real vitriol among the proletariat, I'm surprised at how dull the political theater is around here.

Chapter 48.4: Are You Ready for Some Zebras

Did the NFL referees really need to change their uniforms? What is the reason for the new look? They look more like zebras than they did before. Change can be good, but this was just a waste.

Og Ginats Og!

Chapter 48.25: Fun With a Lint Brush

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Chapter 48.2: Spaz

For the past week or two, I've had discomfort in my left forearm. Yesterday it was pain. Initially, I thought I'd pinched a nerve when I was taking my laptop into work for a couple days. But it wasn't bothering me over the holiday weekend, and it's not as though I was drinking so much that I was oblivious to pain. But the one evening I did have a couple beers I also played guitar for the first extended time in months. Perhaps that's what is causing the spasms.

Yesterday I tried to avoid using the arm. It only felt worse. Icing it didn't help; it only made my arm wet. So today I'm trying to use the arm again, perhaps the constant use will keep it exercised and relieve whatever tension seems to be causing the discomfort. At least I can extend it further than I could yesterday.

Chapter 48.1: New Shoes

Perhaps it’s left over from when I was a kid in school, but I got new shoes yesterday and my whole perspective seems different now. No, they’re not making me taller than I really am, or anything like that. But my feet feel much more comfortable, and that seems to be enough today.

I’m not one for flashy shoes, and I don’t particularly care for shoes that look appropriate for working in an office. But the pair of Deer Stags I have on my thankful feet have that look. I’ll tolerate it because they’re so darn comfortable. They have extra padding inside, and after running 14.5 miles over the past week (not a record, but a lot for me), I’m grateful for the soothing squishiness of this pair of shoes.

Also new today is my first hire. I’ve got a new writer starting for me, a recent graduate of the Columbia University journalism program. His name is Mark Allwood, and I’m expecting great things from him. He doesn’t exactly have to put his shoe leather to the ground in this electronic information age, but he’ll have things to do. Good luck, Mark.