Praise the warmth of the sun. Long live the sun.

Posted on December 24, 2007 by threlkeld

At last, the Bronx River pathway is runnable! Did six recovery miles this morning and will do another four this afternoon. Then we’ll walk it into Bronxville for Christmas Eve cocktails and dinner at Sammy’s Downtown, a new bistro and bar on Pondfield Road.

I drank far too much last night, but surprisingly I have no hangover. I’m wondering if there was something magical about the enormous amounts of chocolate I chased the martini and wine with. Hmm…

This is my fiftieth day of running without a break. I guess that’s a milestone of sorts. Or should I say millstone?

Happy Christmas! Ten miles tomorrow…

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Our tax dollars at work

Posted on July 22, 2007 by threlkeld

Had a lovely run early this morning along the new extension to the paved path along the Bronx River Parkway. Some of the charm may have to do with its being a totally new area to see (whereas I’ve been running the same paths in Eastchester for 7+ years). But it’s also just very well done: a winding path along the river with plenty of well-placed benches and bridges.

The path runs from Scarsdale at Harney Road for a bit more than a mile and a half, then dead ends at Pipeline Road, a totally deserted two-laner. Pipeline runs just above the Metro North Harlem Line tracks straight up the Hartsdale train station.

At Hartsdale there are toilets, thanks to the Starbucks there (and, if you’re suffering from total glycogen depletion, snacks and coffee). It’s just shy of 10 miles round trip from the bottom of our road to Hartsdale station and back. And if I cross over the tracks, I can continue all the way up to Valhalla. This will make a nice 20 miler when I’m up to that long run distance again — with a perfectly located rest stop coming and going. I guess you could say I’m easily pleased.

I am on vacation, which means I still have to run 12 milers, but I am relaxed enough to stop and sit on a bench and enjoy the ducks rather than rushing home. This afternoon included lying on the couch reading, a leisurely stroll into Tuckahoe to pick up fruit at the Sunday farmers market, then more lying around. Going back into town this evening for a martini and Thai dinner at Garlic and Pepper.

Filed under: drinking, eating, everyday life, training, westchester | 1 Comment »

Running again at last

Posted on April 7, 2007 by threlkeld

My foot got better earlier in the week, and I’ve done a bunch of good runs:

  • Tuesday 4/3: 7 miles easy
  • Wednesday 4/4: 5 miles easy
  • Thursday 4/5: Easy doubles — 3.3 in the AM, 5 in the PM
  • Friday 4/6: 7 miles not so easy

I admit, I ran a bit hard yesterday. I just felt really, really good. So I ran a 9:04 pace for 7 miles, which for me is a fast run (that’s just a few seconds slower than my marathon pace last month).

Thursday was my birthday, which meant a big martini. And, unfortunately, a mild hangover on Friday morning. I’ve been drinking a lot less since being on a diet, and haven’t had a martini in months. Between the abstention and being lighter, the martini hit me like a ton of bricks, I guess. I’m going to stay away from vodka for awhile.

Yes, I ran with a hangover. Maybe it’s just me, but a good, hard run is just the thing to rid myself of a hangover.

I got lots of phone calls, cards, and even some flowers and books. Plus a cake with a little runner girl on top and ice cream. Excellent birthday overall.

One more day of birthday abandon…then the cake and wine will be gone and it’s back to the Ghandi diet.

I went ahead and ordered an exercise bike off of Amazon, a Schwinn 112. It’s on a UPS truck, even as we speak, speeding its way to Yonkers from Sparks, Nevada. That should help get rid of the cake effects. Review to come.

The freelance work continues to escalate, which basically means I’m working every day. When it rains, it pours. It’s tempting to turn down work, but I can’t bring myself to. It’s just too nice getting those checks! Jonathan just picked up a fairly significant project too. If freelancers are, as someone once told me, the “leading economic indicators” of the overall health of the business economy, then things must be picking up.

So there will be lots more long hours in front my computer this weekend and next…and next. But I am looking forward to getting out of town for two days at the end of the month for the PA race. Even if it’s just two hours away, it will be a nice change of scenery.

I’ve been running MP3-less this week, although I did listen to one podcast on Thursday morning. The latest Phedippidations had an interesting episode this past week: a profile of Joan Benoit. It was very well done. I enjoy the “legend profile” editions, and this was the inaugural “women’s legends” edition. As the kids say, “Check it out.”

Filed under: drinking, eating, everyday life | 6 Comments »

Running while drunk

Posted on December 23, 2006 by threlkeld

Okay, I’m not drunk, but I’m mighty hung over.

Work has felt like a racing hamster wheel lately, and it culminated in a big crisis yesterday, which extended into today, unfortunately. Here I thought I’d have a nice relaxing Friday before the holiday, followed by Saturday off to leisurely run errands. Instead, I worked for around 13 hours yesterday and just finished up another eight or so today. At least I can charge for the aggravation — one of the few perks of working as an hourly freelancer rather than a wage slave.

I kept my plans for a leisurely Friday evening at least. The evening started with a lovely dinner at our local Thai place, which used to be a bar. It’s a funny place, because they left the bar up, and it’s populated with the same sorry guys who probably went there when it was the old bar. But the other half of the place is a cheery Thai restaurant. Very weird.

As usual it was empty. Well, almost. Oddly enough, there was a huge family with Cockney accents at the big table. Londoners having Thai food in Tuckahoe? Why? Why?

A martini and a Tiger beer later, I was stumbling the half mile home for…wine. And bad TV. Bad TV until 12:30AM. Then woke up in a state of worry (and extreme dehydration) at 5AM. So I made some tea, ate some protein and got to work.

Now that’s done and I can go along my leisurely way. And figure out how I’m going to do a tempo run later this afternoon in my present state. Ah, but I remember. The best thing for a hangover is a good run. I think it clears out the toxins or something.

Only two shopping days till Christmas. Glad I’m done.

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Happy birthday, cocktails

Posted on May 25, 2006 by threlkeld

You’d better head down to the local Hallmark store, because there’s a birthday you missed. Yes, the cocktail turned 200 earlier this month. The cocktail has a rich history and a complex etymology. But, once you’ve knocked back a few, who cares about all of that?

I am a martini fan, although my long runs on the weekend have certainly curbed my consumption. On the other hand, I’ve discovered that the best cure for a mild hangover is a good, long run. I think I’ll raise a celebratory glass this weekend for the humble cocktail. On Saturday night, after the Bronxville race.

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