Alas, the last bit of wood is burning away. It’s been many years, but because we are hosting Christmas this year, my sister having sold the house in which we have long done it, we wanted to do a test run of the fireplace. And it worked. So I spent a deal of time reading, glass of Scotch helping me, by the fireplace in the living room, which happens to share a wall with the Porch.
Couple of things. After my run on Friday, I stopped by the Bronxville Running Company, as is my wont, and chatted with Josh Hibbs (holder of the record for the Bronxville 2.5 mile course). He’s debating whether to focus on an HM in the spring or on track, 3000s and 5000s. As I think of it (and I’ve never been anywhere near as fast as he is), I’ve been going through something of the same debate and, as I think about it, a man who is tired of track-racing is tired of life. By which I mean that there’s something exhilarating about running fast. Of course speed is relative, person-to-person and distance-to-distance. As Brenn pointed out in our last New York Running Show episode, while a cross 15K can be tough — we were speaking of the Pete McArdle 15K at Van Cortlandt — a hard 5K is pretty much as tough as things get. In terms of intensity, this is probably true, although I think that a 10K is tougher because while you’re not as red-lined you’re at for longer. (Speaking of which, Julie has a nice report of the second in her 5K-race series.)
And doing stuff on a track just feels more intense. I say this as if I know what I’m talking about. But I’ve raced only one 5000, in which Greg Diamond blew me away in the final 400. I do hope, however, to give it another shot in 2012. They are, however, rare. I think the people behind the new USATF NYC affiliate are thinking of improving the quality of meets. This, though, is in the back of my mind. A hard 5000 in the spring? Something to shoot for.
What does this mean in the real world? It means that my mindset now a week before Christmas fueled by a couple of glasses of Johnnie Walker Black and fondly remembering those recent track work-outs I did (and listening to a podcast from Hawaii where the temperature is 76) is to race fast. Fast, as I say, being relative.
Speaking of fast, my friend Mark Thompson was among my clubmates at SSRMC and he and I differed on the frequency of racing. I was against it; he lived for it. Shows what I know. He is on a tear, hitting PR after PR, including in today’s Ted Corbitt 15K. Congrats to Mark who is a runner’s runner.
The guys at LetsRun have a link to an interview with Terrence Mahon about the men’s and women’s OTs. Good stuff. Note especially what he says about a shortened marathon-specific training approach, although that assumes one comes into it with a solid base. And here’s a status report from Jaymee, who’s heading to Houston for the trials. Yikes!
Speaking of running, I’ve thought it might be worthwhile to throw in some tempo-work on my Friday track runs. A little rusty, I risked it this past Friday, 7 laps at about 6:14 pace and my legs didn’t fall off. I figure a bit of speed regularly can’t hurt. I’m just glad to get it done outside before snow closes the track.
Apropos of nothing, here’s a cool 2011 movie compilation. I don’t go to movies much. But here’s a cool compilation:
And here’s fire:
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December 24, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Mark Thompson
Thanks Joe. I think you’re a runners runner too. Merry Christmas. Hope to see you on the roads again soon.
December 25, 2011 at 10:43 pm
JoeGarland
Back at you Mark.
December 25, 2011 at 8:15 pm
Ewen
We’re out on the verandah down here. Enjoying the cooling easterly breeze.
Love that quote: “a man who is tired of track-racing is tired of life.” For the Julies and Flos of the track I’ll add “or woman” even though I’m not one for political correctness. Good point you make about running fast being fun, and even for us slowies a track race from 800 to 5000 at least *feels* fast. I’m grateful for our ‘summer’ season of track, from October to April. The break for Christmas though is perfect to step back from tempting over-indulgence.
December 25, 2011 at 10:58 pm
JoeGarland
Well it’s the feel that I’m speaking of for I surely would be lapped in an open 5000, and feared being lapped in a 3000 (a race in which I confess to nearly losing track of the lap-count).
How much “winter” do you get? Here in New York, it gets cold, sometimes very cold, but nothing like in some parts of the U.S., especially in the Upper Midwest, which helps explain the hardy Scandinavian stock you find there. But there are parts of the U.S. where I think winter gets a bit chilly but never cold. For us there are days like today, Christmas, in which I ended up my run in shorts and a tee-shirt, having stowed the arm-warmers and gloves I wore at run’s start. But it really won’t be until March when such days will come, with increasing frequency, after we’ve forgotten what it’s like to run in the heat and then it’ll be spring and the cycle continues. I do not envy those running spring marathons. (OK, I don’t envy the fall folks either, but that’s another story.) Schlepping through those long runs in the dark and the cold — I’ve seen them in Central Park — is another reason to vote for the short stuff. I am a lazy sod.
As to gender, I deplore the “man or woman”, “he or she”, “his or her”, etc. construction and although Churchill reputedly said regarding his insistence on using the masculine that “the masculine embraces the feminine” I go with the feminine for gender-neutral purposes, an affectation from its general use in writing about the law in the U.S. although contracts will either use both or have a paragraph that says “The use of the masculine herein shall include the feminine” or some such lest anyone be confused. In this case, though, I am being derivative of Dr. Johnson so I had to stick with his formulation.
December 26, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Ewen
I’ve noticed your use of the feminine for gender-neutral purposes. Perhaps also, “a woman who is tired of cross-country in winter is tired of life.”
In Canberra we get the 4 seasons, although we’ve had the coolest start to summer since, I think, ’61 — no days above 25 degrees C until recently. Weather is good for T-shirt running from now until June (if you run in the afternoons). Mornings in June can be below freezing. July, Aug, Sept can be cold and windy. Rarely snows except on higher hills.
January 1, 2012 at 2:12 am
cg9m
hall may run six days a week. but he runs twice a day. as does radcliffe and most other elites.
you didn’t quit twitter/facebook for the reasons you keep purporting here. that’s part of my problem w/your posts. even if they malign me, that’s fine. be honest.
January 9, 2012 at 11:26 pm
cg9m
sigh. ok. i’ll do the (dis)honors. truth is less interesting than speculation. i confess i don’t know why joe’s quit social media this time around. but a couple years ago, it was b/c of a fall-out btwn me and another ssrmc member, with whom joe was friends. somehow he felt involved in the spat (he wasn’t). but it’s been two years, and s–t happens. he’s the only one who still cares (i’m a moot point by now). so i don’t get it, except that they were rtb teammates. i have personally never understood why they have issues (they seem birds-of-a-feather to me). so, joe. and jl. i *know* i have *zero* influence on any interaction btwn the two of you, and wish you both the best in your racing careers. please leave me out of it and get on with life?