It's been awhile

Haven't blogged in couple days, so I thought I would say hello. Our trip home from NYC was uneventful, just as one would hope it would be. Ethan was exhausted so it was nice having him sleep in the past few mornings. Now that I am back it is time to get back on the training stick. Wednesday evening I ran with the x-country kids. The modified kids and I did the 3 mile lake loop at Beaver lake. I ran it in 20:30 and had a 7th grader run it in just under 20 minutes. A 7th grader!!!!!! After I finished my loop I ran about a 1/2 mile back into the woods to make sure all the other kids got in safely. Lots of them ran the loop in the 21 to 22 minute range. I like how these kids are looking...we could be a strong little team this year.

On Thursday I got up early and went for my 4.72 mile run. The calves felt much better, but I have developed a major crack in my left heel and it killed and bled for the entire run. Every year it happens because I wear Birkenstocks all summer long so my feet dry out and crack. I didn't want to make an excuse out of it so I ran the entire thing in about 34 minutes and then spent the afternoon nursing it. I knew I had my golf league that evening and walking 9 holes wasn't really looking exciting, but with a little Neosporin and lots of bandage it was fine. I guess I made it easier on myself by making a concious effort to keep the ball straight and not be all over the course as I sometimes can do. I played with more 5 woods than drivers and it saved my walking effort. And when all was said and done I shot the same score I seem to shoot every week (43).

Today I got up and had a little more time because Kelly works later on Friday's. When she got back from her run that she was really excited about, I set off on my own. Kelly is finally getting over a knee issue that bothered her up to the Boilermaker. A little time down and easier running and she is feeling like she is back on top of her game. I haven't ridden my bike in a week so I decided to go out for an easy short spin to remind my muscles what biking was all about. I usually always ride on the middle chain ring for the entire time, but after watching the Tour de France time trial I thought I would give the big chain ring a try and see how my legs would respond to a run right afterwords. I really was quite comfortable for the entire ride and it didn't feel like as much work as I feared it might, and I felt like I was moving. Granted I only rode 9.5 miles, but for a test run I was excited. I then got off the bike rehydrated and went right back out for my 4.72 mile run. My legs felt loose, my breathing was exactly how I like it, and my heart rate was in a nice zone. If I were to guess I was probably working at about 75-80% of my max heart rate. I did the run in 33 minutes flat, which is one of the quicker training runs I have done on that course in some time. It was a good effort for the day. I think tomorrow I will try and go for a nice bike ride and maybe a swim. For the first time since the Tinman I feel like their is sustainable energy in the tank again. Yippeeeeee

Game 2 in NYC and Central Park was mine!!!

Got up early this AM and took on Central Park. I entered at 6th avenue and did a couple of loops around the south end of the park. I didn't realize the Park could be so hilly. Not ridiculous hills, just annoying enough to remind you that you are climbing here and there. After that we saw NYC in her Manhattan entirety. The bus loop around the city was fantastic. Saw everything from Rockefeller Center down to Ground Zero. So many emotions at Ground Zero will save for another blog another day. After doing that we came back to the hotel and chilled out for about an hour then headed down to Yankee Stadium in rush hour subway traffic. Yikes!!!!!!!!! Anyways seeing Yankee stadium and and the new stadium is always a treat. The history of that building and the aura of is just amazing. What made it all the better was that the Yankees got spanked. I should actually clarify that by stating when we left the Yankees were getting spanked. After 6 innings Ethan was ready to bail. He started at 9 this morning at the top of the Empire State Building, did a full day loop of Manhattan, and ended up at Yankee Stadium...He had had his fill. His quote of the day has to be when we were on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. "This isn't the tippy tippy top, I want to go to the tippy tippy top." This from a kid who is terrified of getting his picture taken with a team mascot (Mr. Met). Oh well on the whole it was a great, yet tiring success. I got a run in through CP and saw the other side of the city as well as the Yankees getting spanked...great day, great day.

Mets win 9-1, Beltran and Ethan steal show!!!

Got up a little late this morning and was going to tackle CP, but as I looked out my Hotel window a mass mob of runners was flying by out of CP. My pops had the tube on and it was the NYC 1/2 marathon. Going for a run this morning into CP was thus out of the question...I wasn't up to dieing a Salmon's death. Tomorrow my friends CP and I will have our moment.



Anyways we decided to have sweet continental breakfast then hop the trains to Queens to check out the sites. Ethan thoroughly enjoyed his train ride and when we finally came above ground he kept the car informed of the Empire State Building's location about every 20 seconds. When we got to the stadium Ethan burned through about 15 pictures on his disposable camera of just Shea and the new Citi Field. After being reminded that we still had to get pics of Jose and the Carloses he slowed down a bit and also reminded me that Pujols was going to be here and was going to be his first picture. After sitting under the Mezzanine during a pregame torrential downpour the weather straigtened out and we watched a fantastic game. Santana was sharp and the Mets bats were hot. Ethan went crazy when David Wright hit the games first homer, then Tatis and Castro followed shortly after that. It was awesome to watch him pop out of his seat, cheer, and actually understand what he was cheering for. After those fireworks Oma decided to take a break and she missed the best play of the day. Ryan Ludwick crushed a ball to dead center 411 feet only to have Beltran bring it back for a really long out. Shea exploded and so did Ethan. He must have talked about that catch 5 times from Queens to Times Square on our trip back...that is when he wasn't once again reminding the entire train car of the Empire State Building's location. "Thank you Ethan." Unfortunately Pujols ruined Santana's shutout bid, but I think it was for the best as Ethan really enjoyed watching his favorite non-Met get on the board with an HR. "Pujols is a power hitta huh dad."



After the game we went back to Times Square and fed our faces at the ESPN Zone. Ethan didn't eat much until Oma's angel food cake with strawberries and sorbet came out. After mauling her sorbet he decided to feed Oma her strawberries after she suggested he try one. After a quick stop in the restroom to watch TV while we....well you know what we did, we went to the world's most obnoxious Toys' R Us. Ethan rode in the monopoly car on the ferris wheel while I kept wishing I didn't order that Brownie with hot fudge. Tessa will have to come next time because I think the world's largest Barbie play house is in that Toys' R Us.



Well tomorrow is me and CP as well as a trip to the building that Ethan keeps us informed of. Oh yeah Yankee Stadium too. The Yanks have quite a test to match the show we got today, but I'm sure it will be fun anyways. Ethan tells me he is going to sleep until 9am tomorrow. He got up at "8:06" today, so I'll be content if he sleeps to 7:30. I think his nickname should be the rooster given that "8:06" is probably the latest he has ever slept by over an hour. Before I go Ethan says the Empire State Building is right over there and hi momma and Tessa.

NYC

Got up early this morning to get a bit of a longer run in (7 miles) and it felt good given I did a 5 mile speedplay run yesterday (1 mile warmup, 1/2 mile hard, 1/2 mile relaxed etc.). After the run Ethan and I finished getting ready for our trip to NYC. After watching Carlos Sastre tie up the Tour de France we headed off to pick up Opa and Oma and go to NYC. When we got here we got settled then walked down to Times Square and had dinner. Tried to eat at the ESPN Zone but it was chaos so we ate at Maxine's instead. Ethan had a window seat and was mesmorized by the giant TV's and the M&M store right next door. I asked him if it NYC was bigger than he thought it would be and his response "I thought it would be higher than the sky, but it's not." Who would have thought I would be more impressed than a 5 year old? Tomorrow is the day I have been looking forward to. Going to get up early and tackle Central Park. We had a stare down today from my 37th floor window and she knows I am coming with my saucony tangents in tow. After that it is off to Shea to watch the Mets sweep the Cards....Ok I know they are currently losing 8-7 in the 8th inning, but always the optimist.

Taking a little run in Central Park

Today I got up early and a late night storm with remnants this morning all over the place prevented me from taking the bike out. So I took the kiddos to DD so they could enjoy their favorite donut and oj while I relived the Mets breakdown against the Phillies last night in the paper. After that I dropped Tessa off to play with her cousin and Ethan and I got some pool work in together. He taught me how to dive and I tried teaching him to keep his butt higher in the water. Obviously I am not the greatest to teach that skill because I look like a giant L plowing through the water when I swim. I got some decent work in and then Ethan and I fired up the Weber to cook my all time favorite Cornell BBQ chicken. It is a white BBQ sauce that we have to home make, and it takes about 3 hours of grill time for it to be perfect, but it is worth every sensational second once you sink your teeth in.

Tonight was our 3rd installment of running with the x-country kiddos so I biked the 9 miles to school where we did 1/4 mile intervals on the track. The goal was to run them at 5k race pace and no faster. I did all 8 of mine at 1:25 with 2 minutes of rest in between. Since that works out to about a 5:40 mile I went a little bit quicker than 5k race pace, but it felt right and I wasn't pushing too hard. The varsity guys looked good again and went ahead and did 12 intervals. I would have done the extra 4, but another storm looked imminent so I hopped on the Trek and got my bootie home.

I guess I should explain the title of this post now. This weekend Ethan my parents and I are going to NYC to watch Johan Santana pitch against Albert Pujols on Sunday, then were going to watch Mike Mussina pitch against his old squad the Orioles on Monday. We are staying near Times Square so I am very excited about an opportunity to run Central Park. Runners World can really make a run through CP sound romantic so I have to test it out for myself. Maybe twice if all goes well. Tomorrow is supposed to be my off day, but I am already feeling an easy morning run in my bones. We'll see how it goes.

Waiting for Toogs blog about his Olympic Distance

Paul and Craig finished their 5430 on Sunday and I'm just awaiting their race breakdown. In the meantime I am still pushing forward to Sodus on August 17th. Drew and I plan on hitting the course one or two times before then and maybe I will be able to convince Paul to go for a ride with me while he is there. As for my training update, Sunday was very rainy with many thunderstorms so I went for a 5 mile run between fronts. It was hazy, hot, and humid. I don't like being that guy showing off with no shirt on, but after a while it became a necessity in dealing with the heat. Other than feeling like a fried egg, the run went well and was surprisingly quick for the conditions. Yesterday I think I was feeling both Saturday and Sunday efforts so I slothed most of the day, but after dinner I decided to go for an easy bike ride. I wish I could stick with my plans to go easy as I only wanted to ride about 17 miles, but I ended up going 26 miles averaging 19.6 mph for the ride. I just found a rhythm and was the most comfortable I have ever been in my aerobars so off I went. This morning I got up early and did the 5 mile trot again. Finally a run without scorcing humidity. The calf pain resurfaced and was radiating into the knee, but it did disappear as I pushed on so I am going to stick with the ice treatment and press on to August 17th.

Back on the stick!!!

Well today I got my act back together. It has been really hot here in CNY (90+ with our traditional hazy, hot, humid mix). Thursday was spent in the swimming pool with Ethan and his cousin Noah, then we played what seemed like hours of wiffle ball. Friday's goal was to get in a morning run before the heat then play it by ear, but I woke with real stiffness in my right ankle which I twisted a touch on Wednesday on the trails. So I went to the golf course instead and swang the club so much it felt like a workout. When I got home I hopped in the pool and swam laps for 25 consecutive minutes then played with the kiddies. It is amazing to watch their confidence grow in the water with each passing day. So today I had to get out and hammer it a bit. I went on my Liverpool loop (5.36 miles) with a goal of doing it in under 40 minutes. That's a brisk pace for me, about 85% of max, especially on a morning when it was already in the 80's and the air was moist. I ran comfortably for the first 4 miles but the home 1.36 were a bit tough as all I could think about was the water I wish I had, but was still 1.36 miles away from. I got home in 39:35 and ran for the kitchen sink. I swear there were palm trees and tiki torches surrounding that sink as I finally reached my oasis. After Kelly completed her run we decided to head out to Fairhaven Beach with Drew and his family. Of course Drew wouldn't let me come out his way without my bike, so we stopped at his house so I could bike out to Fairhaven with him while the wives and kids met us out there in the cars. It was only a 13 mile ride but it is quite hilly and at 12:30 in the afternoon was quite hot. We took it easy and then spent the rest of the day on the shores of Lake Ontario, with some time out on his boat in Lake Ontario. My kids have never been on a fishing boat before, and weren't really excited about it at first but once we got going I think they could have spent the rest of their lives out there. Tessa is in bed now but the smile is still on her face from riding in the front seat like the little queen she is.