Running with the Cows of Owensville, Missouri

I just wanted share a bit of an achievement. In celebration of my thirtysomething-th trip saround the sun, I wanted to do something really incredible. I thought it over, and well, the marathon has already been done, hang gliding/parachuting was out because I'm terribly afraid of heights, then it came to me- Running with the Bulls of Pamplona, Spain:


The only problem is the running with the bulls is in July. It's also in Spain and I'm in Missouri at present. Getting to Spain might be a little bit of problem, even with the excellent directions provided by Google Maps: getting to Pamplona

no. 2o on the list of directions is a tall order and I'm probably in the best shape of my life

So I thought I'd do the next best thing:

Running with the Cattle of Owensville, Missouri

It was an exciting day. The air was cool, the cow pies fresh, the sky a bright blue, perfect for weather for running with the Cattle. The first hurdle to jump was to locate the herd. After riding around the farm for 20 minutes on the ATV the herd was located.

Here the cattle are getting their game plan together or ignoring me, it's tough to tell.

I tightened my laces and looked over the herd, they looked ready to do business. The business consisted of eating grass and producing methane gas. Apparently they didn't get the day's updated agenda:

• 9:00 am Eat Grass
• 9:30 am Eat More Grass
• 10:00am Run with Jim
• 10:04am eat more grass
• 10:15am Union Scheduled 15 minute Break
  
• 10:30am Eat Grass
• 10:33am Move to pond
• 10:37am Exit pond, eat more grass
• 11:00am watch 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray
• 11:30am Eat grass
• 12:00pm Book Club Luncheon - On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
  
• 1:00pm Eat Grass
• 1:15pm Move to far pasture, eat grass
• 2:00pm Jazzercise
• 3:00pm Eat Grass
• 3:30pm Free time/Bocce Tournament (The Utter Bowlers Vs Bovine Bocce Gals)*

*Please note that the profanity rule will be strictly enforced!

• 4:30pm Eat Grass
• 5:00pm Meditation
  

After a little discussion with the Head of the Cattle Local 19, a little "greasing of the hoof" with a salt lick, the agenda was updated among the herd and we were back on schedule and the RUNNING BEGAN:
It was challenging, traversing uneven terrain, fresh cow patties, and catching up with the herd.


Here we are on a slight incline heading toward the back pasture.
The excitement was running high, look at the dust being kicked up.
And so it went: they ran, I tried to catch up. It wasn't easy my friends. I won't lie and tell you I wasn't scared. I was. I almost stepped in several fresh cow patties. Then afterwards there was the ceremonial 'Tick Removal.' Fortunately I didn't have any.

So that's it sports fans. If you ever get a chance to run with cattle I highly suggest you try something else. The cattle were much more interested in eating grass and chewing cud. But it was just the right amount of excitement for me in my advancing age.

I'm already thinking ahead to next year, something a little more challenging, like running with scissors.

-JP

Yee Haw! Country Music Marathon Pt. 1 Getting There is Half the Fun!

Here's the post you've all been waiting for--what was it like? I ain't gonna lie, it was tough. But it was a lot of fun too. But lets start at the beginning of the weekend -

The car, my super fantastic mentee, Heather (here she is at left), arranged to pick us up was outside my apartment at 5:00am.

I was the first to be picked up so, I had been up since 4:00. Coffee consumed, showered (sort of) as best you can at that un-godly hour.

The car then picked up Heather and then Lauren:

Look at Lauren here; she has quite a story of the weekend but I'll get to that later. Just a preview though- she's tougher than a coffin nail!








We were at Laguardia at 6:00am. Not the first ones there, but second, even before Shelby the event coordinator from TNT.

We sat, and waited, sat and waited, finally we were able to board and we were off. Everyone made the plane and in a few hours we touched down in Nashville.

A bus showed up shortly after we got our bags. The driver was a good ol' boy, a real southerner. How do I know he was a real southerner? Well, when he spoke, my New York team mates looked at each other blankly, but I being a son of the South (I was born in Monroe, Louisiana) was able to translate New York Team Mates. Here's a announcement he made over the bus's PA system with the New York Translation in parenthesis;

Y'all welcum ta th' great city of Nashvul.
(Yo! How's it hangin'?)
What cha' all fixin' to do here?
(What yous doin here?)
Do what?
(Fuggitaboutit! )
Well, bless yo' heart!
(Yous people are crazy)
I'm sure y'all are gon have mor fun dan a puppy a wit two peters.
(Yo, whatever pops your cork, I gots a cousin, Sammy, he likes the ponies, so you know whatevuh)
Be sho to git out an et some grits, give y'all some fuel fer da race.
(Don't be a cheap bastid, tip well)
Y'all come back, y'hear?
(Yeah, come back, don't come back, no skin off my nose)

The bus driver managed to point out the high points of Nashville-

One of the over 1000 churches:


The reason for all those churches - The Brass Stables - a place were people dance. (no I did not pay a visit to this place)





And of course the dominating building of the Nashville Skyline- the Bell South Building aka THE BATMAN BUILDING cue the music:
We were able to check in to the hotel with no problem. Through some luck of the draw I had a single room. The room was on the 11th floor. Upon entering the room I made myself at home immediately as you can see. Yep, lined up all my stuffed animals above the bed, threw my clothes on the bed, turned on all the lights, smelled all the little soaps and shampoos. The I opened the curtains and took in the view of downtown Nashville. Over whelmed by the beauty of our great nation and the impressive view I felt compelled to reflect back some of the beauty before me (this is not an actual picture of me):






So now that was done, I felt I was able to now focus on the next task- Getting to the Expo- it was off to the expo to pick up my number and see what kind of free swag was to be had.

Coming up next the Expo, the Race, The Finishers!

Country Music Marathon Finished!

Details on the weekend and the race coming!

Brooklyn Half Marathon

So you pay a few bucks and they give you this nifty t-shirt. Let me tell you all about the run...It started on Coney Island Boardwalk and then out Ocean Parkway to Prospect Park. Here's a linky to a map of the route: linky

They call it a "boardwalk," because it's made of actual boards. No kidding, real wood and nails holding 'em down. The thing is, boards on the ocean, not all of them are going to stay nailed, what with wind, sand and left over Nathan's Hot Dogs eating away at the wood and nails. I saw a few runners take a stumble over a nail or a loose board and I promised my self, that I would not do that. Besides it's the first two miles of the race, there's no need to run fast, right? So I'm running along with my teammates Jeff and Melissa. We're talking about the weather, the clothes we're wearing, yada, yada, yada...and I then thunk, pblounk, I catch my foot on one those nails sticking up out of the boardwalk. I didn't do a face plant, but I came pretty close. Arms and legs flailing, like I'd just been stuck with a hot poker.

We weren't supposed to race this race, it was really a long run, since the marathon is two weeks away!!! Ok, so that's about it then, just tapering down the mileage till race day. Looking forward to the Nashville.

Where in the world have you been?

Two Minute Re-cap:

• Injured
• Sick with Flu
• Recuperated
• Race
• New Job
• Back in the Saddle
• Running Makes You Hungry

At the end of January, I was running well, tackling the practices and races, doing all that neat stuff. The February came.

Injury:
On February 1st, I took a little run in Prospect Park. Nothing fancy, just a loop around the 3.3. By the time I got to the end I was like, hmm, my heel really hurts! It hurt so bad I was limping. I limped home, iced it up and figured it will get bettter. It did not get better.

I saw my podiatrist and he took this neat picture. You can't quite see it here, but I have a little bone spur on my heel (towards the backwards 'R') on top of something called Haglund's Deformity.
Haglund’s deformity is often called “pump bump” because the rigid backs of pump-style shoes can create pressure that aggravates the enlargement when walking. In fact, the deformity is most common in young women who wear pumps.

Strange that I would have this condition, because a) I'm not a young woman and b) I don't wear pumps at least not often enough to get this condition.

As it turns out I have a high rigid arch and my shoes might be the culprit. This was not good news since I'd only had the shoes a month. I'm not giving up on them just yet. They still have some life in them.

The treatment- NO RUNNING, ICE and ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES. Well, that's not what I wanted to hear at all, but if I was going to have any hope of running in Nashville this would be the only way.

Sick:

While I was taking my time off from running I still had to fulfill my Team In Training mentor duties. This included watching bags in Central Park at night in freezing cold weather. A day later I came down with the flu. I haven't been that sick since I don't know when. I mean it kicked my A$$. I was home sick in bed for a few days, and then it seemed to be another two weeks before I was feeling somewhat normal! The only problem was I was tired all the time and couldn't train much.

Recuperated:
Towards the end of February I was on the mend. I managed to log a few pain free miles, then came a big run - the Three Bridges--from Prospect Park over the Manhattan Bridge to Manhattan, up to the Williamsburg Bridge over and back to Manhattan, down to the Brooklyn Bridge and head for Prospect Park. My teammate Jess kept me company most of the way.

Race:
The next day, a Sunday, I was feeling pretty saucy so I thought I'd try my hand at a race. Coogan's Pub 5K. The race was in upper Manhattan and started at the New Balance Training Center. The cool thing about this race was free beer and food at Coogan's Pub after the race. You read that correctly- FREE BEER AND FOOD! The beer was cold and the food- well, they had Shepard's pie, corned beef, bread, eggs --- just a note to self here - I do not like Shepard's pie. It seems like I would; ground beef, gravy covered in mashed potatoes. It's not a taste dislike, it is just not a very attractive dish. Once you break through the potato topping, well then it looks kind a like vomit. And I can't get over that looks thing.

New Job:
There was some adversity during February. There was also an opportunity that came up that I just couldn't pass up. I was offered a position with a company called www.thumbplay.com. I thought about it, and decided it was the right move for me. It was tough for me leaving my position with Intercontinental. My co-workers threw me a little party and gave me a most unique going away present; a bunch of bananas.

As you can see they drew my portrait on one, can you guess which one it is? The thing is I hate bananas. Hate them, I dislike the smell, the taste, the texture, the hype, blech!

Most people who know me know this about me. You can try and sell me on the "perfect food," argument, but it just won't work. I've tried eating them; I might as well be eating lima beans sauteed in ear wax. Eeew!


Back In The Saddle:
I suffered through the injury and the rehab and the sickness. I've taken on the new job with gusto! Things are going well. I had a 20 mile run last weekend, and it was fantastic. Yesterday I ran out to Coney Island and am I'm feeling pretty good about the marathon. Which is in a few weeks!

Running Makes You Hungry:

After my 20 miler last week, I was ravenous hungry. And I ...fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...

Ok, it wasn't that bad. But I did do something you should never do- go grocery shopping when hungry. I was tired and hungry. This is what I came with from the grocery store:

Sea Legs (red and white mushed fished parts pressed together in pieces)
Cocoa Puffs - been craving this for weeks
Chicken Stock
Vanilla Oreos
Bagel Chips
Can of Diced Tomatoes

You'll notice that there's no milk on this list. I took the Cocoa Puffs straight and they were good (much better than bananas.)

So what's on the horizon? The Brooklyn Half Marathon is next weekend and the weekend following that is a four mile race in Central Park, then the biggie - Nashville.

Stay well my friends,

-Jim

HILL TRAINING BEGINS, AGAIN

CAT HILL
WE
MEET AGAIN

yes, this is a picture of a shaved cat

Tonight's drill: run up and down Cat Hill till your legs fall off.

The specific instructions were to run from the bottom of Cat Hill to the top incorporating proper technique: short quick strides, low arms and good breathing. Then recover on the way down.

When I recover, I RECOVER. I take my time and slow my pace down so I can really get my breathing back to normal. People pass me on the way down, but I don't care. I got to get my breath back.

What was really cool about this practice was talking to everyone about their runs over the weekend. My mentee's had a great weekend. A few were running on Saturday morning (see earlier post) in the bitter cold (hardcore) and a couple of them ran the half marathon. Some had their longest runs to date this past weekend. I admire all of them for getting out there in the cold and running.

-JP

Manhattan Gran Prix Half Marathon

Manhattan Gran Prix Half Marathon:

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First off it was freakin' cold! 21 degrees at 8:30am in the morning! I was out the door at 6:30am to catch the subway up to the park, to meet my teammates:


This is them in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Look closely, notice anything missing? ME. I'm missing from this picture because I was still on the friggin' subway on my way up to the upper east side. The adventure didn't stop with the subway.

I got off the 4 train at 86th street and Lexington and started to make my way over. I wasn't late for the race by any stretch, but I was late for the pre-race pep talk and that really drives me nuts. I walk the few blocks to the park and I cross Fifth avenue and start to head down town. As I'm walking down Fifth, I can see the baggage trucks parked in front of the museum but for some reason, unknown to me, I decided to follow a sign posted inside the park that said "Baggage" with a big Arrow. So I followed it thinking somehow the shortest distance between two points was a detour into the park. It wasn't.

The path took me inside the park, past the starting line, a slew of port-o-potties and the back of the Met.

DENG! I look around for my teammates (see those smiling faces above) and I can not find them. I resign myself to the thought that I'm going to run this race by myself. Ugh! I strip down to full fledged winter race wear, put my food (Clif Bloks) in my pocket, put the ear-muffs on and stuff all my other gear in my bag. I'm putting my gear on the baggage truck when I run into Lauren and Margaret.

By now it's quarter past eight, and I got to empty my bladder before the race. I say hello to Lauren and Margaret, and it turns out they to need to visit the port-o-potties. The three of us head to the rear of the museum to get on line for the toilets.

The lines are long but they seem to be moving quickly. I could avoid the line all together and just go pee on the Met like many, many, many guys did, but I didn't. It's bad enough trying to use the port-o-potty when there's 50 people waiting outside the door, I can't imagine trying pee in public, let alone in front of a throng of people and on one the world's most famous museums.

I got in and out of the toilet, met up again with Lauren and Margaret. And the gun goes off. We're right next to the start, all we have to do is duck under the tape and jump in the race. The start is crowded. Even though the gun went off hundreds of us are walking. This always happens, though. It doesn't matter much because of the timing chip attached to my shoe.

The race consisted of two laps of the park and a little extra. I like to think I ran a smart race. I drank water at each station (it was so cold the water turned to ice in the cup, and the Gatorade turned to slush), ran up the hills technically well (short strides, low arms), ate at specific points, which brings me to this: NUTRITION

Rather than Gu's I chose for this race: Shot Bloks. My good friend, Doug C. out in Alaska told me these are like Jello Shots with out the booze. He was spot on, these things are tasty. Shot Bloks are, in my opinion, the most palatable of all the sports nutrition. I had my little bag in the pocket of my jacket while I ran and these things were frozen solid. I popped one of these of these things in my mouth about broke my jaw trying to chew it. Ultimately I ended up keeping one in my cheek and treating it like a lozenge.

So, after all the fan fare how did it go? Well, I had a really good day, here are the numbers:

Last Name

First Name

Sex/ Age

Bib

Team

City

State

Overall Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Finish Time

Net Time

Pace/ Mile

AG Time

AG Gender Place

AG %

PURVIS

JIM

M37

8480

LEUK

BROOKLYN

NY

2889

2055

779

2:08:48

2:04:58

9:32

2:02:43

2280

48.2 %

Ok, I'm still not breaking any land speed records, but the last half marathon I ran, I ran at a pace of 10:38 per mile. And you know what I looked good doing it which of course is the most important part: After the race I had to pick ice out of my beard and mustache, but other than that I was feeling pretty good.

-JP