Home for the Holidays

As I write this, a fire crackles in the living room, The Nutcracker floats from the speakers, the tree is lit, and all is well here in Saratoga. Did a great run yesterday morning all around Boston... down Mass Ave to Christian Science, through Copley Square, around the Common and back to BU. Made me realize how great a city Boston is.... lots to do while being of manageable size (read - not NYC). Ran Skidmore backloop today at home, 8.5.

Oh, last week was 63 total. Decent.

Merry Christmas!

Zamboni

Nate and I ran Brookline this morning... 8.5. Another day another 55 minutes...

In more exciting news I went ice skating at Frog Pond in the Boston Common after work. It was really fun. The ice was pretty solid, they ran a zamboni every 30 minutes or so which kept the surface relatively slick. I was pleasantly suprised at how uncrowded it was too. There was actually room to get some speed up. Getting out on the ice reminded me of the last time I went skating. That happened to be during my senior year of high school, when my AP Physics C class played a hockey game in the State Park. That was pretty fun. "Nerds on Ice" I think we called it. Lots of coefficient of friction jokes that night, let me tell you....

Also, check out the travel section of Boston.com in the near future, as Anne McGuire (fellow case assistant at Foley Hoag) and I might be featured in an article about skating at Frog Pond. I'll link it if it gets posted....

D'Oh

Today was a bad day for running. Hog and I rolled up to Gantch at around 6:30 ready to rock some intervals on the indoor track. After about 50m of warmup a facilities dude told us they were closing down in about 10 minutes and that we had to leave. Crap. Well... no workout today, which sucks because I was really looking forward to running fast for the first time in a while. Not getting a chance to work out made me realize how much I miss running workouts in general. In high school and college we ran them so frequently that it became second nature. Now, not having done one in a long time (months?), I'm psyched to start again. Oh well, looks like I'll have to wait until next week. Nate and I ran Belmont from Tufts instead, which was 9 miles, and ate some delicious Anna's afterward.

So the Yankees signed Johnny Damon today. I don't really know how I feel about it. I hated Damon when he played for the Red Sox. I disliked everything he stood for.... the long hair, the "Idiot" attitude, etc etc. Now am I supposed to cheer when he gets a lead off hit and steals a base for us? I guess, but it feels wrong. I wish that the Yankees and Red Sox players felt more loyalty to thier teams. The Yankees now have Mike Myers, Johnny Damon, and Alan Embree. What? Cashman and Steinbrenner should make it a rule that we don't accept Red Sox players.

The whole Johnny Damon thing is indicitive of a problem the Yankees have that people criticize with good reason. I look at their lineup now, Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, Sheff, Matsui, Giambi, Posada, Bernie, and Cano. That's not the Yankees. That's the AL All Star team. It seems like more and more we're playing with hired guns. Is Damon a true Yankee? Is Sheff? Is A-Rod? Not really. I think things might be looking up now that Cashman suppoosedly has more autonomy in the organization. That's a good thing, because I really think Cashman does a good job. Look at Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon from last year. Our pitching staff was in shambles, and Cashman signed two guys who basically saved our season for us. I'm really happy that we didn't deal Robinson Cano or Chien Ming Wang this offseason. These are talented, young players, who came from our farm system, and could be stars pretty soon. 3 or 4 years ago, these guys would have been gone in a second for some aging starter or position player that Steinbrenner had been coveting for 10 years (Randy Johnson anyone?). I hope we continue to stick with our younger players, becuase they are the ones who will really help us win consistently. And, perhaps more importantly, they'll be "real Yankees" (i.e. not hired guns). I hope Damon does well this year... I just hope Cano does better.

And, for something very funny... check this out.

Mr. Pibb plus Red Vines equals CRAZY DELICIOUS

Buff Chicks

No, I'm not talking about female body builders. I refer to Buffalo Chicken calzones, aka "Buff Chicks". Now, these are not normal calzones in the traditional sense of the word "calzone". Buff Chicks refer to one specific calzone, and that is the Buffalo Chicken calzone, served at Espresso's Pizza near Tufts University. The Buff Chick is legendary for it's flavor, size, and general ability to satiate even the most ravenous of college aged males, and to put the freshmen 15 on girls in about the same number of minutes. To imagine the Buff Chick, think about a entire pizza dough squished so it is about 75% as wide. Now, lay that flat and lay 64 slices of highly processed american cheese down. Follow this with 16-24 oz. of slimy buffalo sauce. Top it off with a sizable helping of chicken. Fold the entire thing in half, pinch down the edges, and allow to deep fry for approximately 10-12 minutes.

We've tried to figure out how many calories are in the Buff Chick. The most conservative estimates weigh in at about 2000 calories, with others guessing as high as 3000 to 3500. There are Espresso's Buff Chick-haters out there who claim there are better buffalo chicken calzones to be had at other "fine" eating establishments, such as Andrea's or Pasta Pisa. They are clearly confused. There can be only one Buff Chick.

Why do I bring this up? Becuase tonight is a monumental occasion. All 7 of the residents of 19 Walker Street Apt. #2 are joining together for a reunion tonight. Myself, along with Peter "Betty" Bromka, Matt "Thor" Theodors, Jon "Woody" Rosen, Justin "J-Lew" Lewis, Zach "Morris" Chrisco, and Pete "Moose" Jurczynski will be convening momentarily at Espresso's Pizza to go 7 for 7. That's right, 7 Buff Chicks. This has been accomplished only once before in the history of man, circa spring 2004. (I would link a picture of this, but right now many of my files are in limbo as I switch things from my old desktop to my laptop... check back for updates).

And, on a running note, Hog and I did the 8.5 Brookline loop this morning. It was pretty chilly, but bearable. I'm in love with my new Nike Pro Sphere top. It's hott.

Monday

9 miles this morning with Hog, AK, and Bromka. Tufts loop... took 1:00:50. Pretty cold out but bearable. Eventually I'll start linking google-map pedometer pages to all these runs, I'm just not now. Also, I'll start posting some more interesting stuff.....

Sunday 12/18

Training for today: 12 miles with Hog and Bromka. We went out Comm Ave toward BC and past hearbreak. Felt decent, first good run after having been sick last week. Noticed (again) that the mile marks are permanent fixtures along the course which is pretty cool. Ran from 21 to 22 in 6:34... strange to think that we'll have to be running that pace for 26.2 in April. Planning on running my first workout in a while this Wednesday with Hog at Tufts...

Beginnings

I've decided to run the 2006 Boston Marathon and to write a blog about it. I was inspired to run Boston by several different things. Each spring the Tufts Cross Country/Track team runs out to heartbreak hill to cheer on runners... I've done this 5 times (yes once as a pre-frosh). I was impressed by how many non-runner spectators made it out to cheer on the runners. The race definitely has a community feel to it. I was also inspired by my dad and sister. My dad ran his first marathon maybe 5 or 6 years ago in Ireland, and has run 2.5 marathons since then (Hudson-Mohawk, Boston, and 20 miles of Boston). My sister also just ran the NYC Marathon this fall. Seeing all the atheltes race, jog, or trudge their way to the finish line is pretty cool. Also, now that I'm out of college and don't run for a team anymore, which I've done since I started running in 7th grade, I feel like running Boston is a good running goal.

Since in order to enter Boston you need a qualifying time, and since I don't plan on running a qualifier between now and April, 2006, I've signed up to be part of the Tufts University President's Marathon Challenge (http://marathon.president.tufts.edu/home/index.php). I think this is a really cool thing that Tufts does. Basically students, alums, and friends of the University raise money, which goes to the Nutrition School and research on exercise, obesity, nutrition, etc etc. In exchange for raising money, participants are given entry into the Boston Marathon. Lawrence Bacow, our President, has run the marathon through this program 2 out of the last 3 years. I give him mad props for organizing and participating in this program.

So, I think that's it for now. This blog will cover my training for the marathon, and I guess I'll write about other stuff as well.... people might get bored with just "Ran 10 miles today. Felt good". Enjoy....