Wake Up Call

Yikes. I was not ready to come through the first half-mile at 1:55 and be 2 seconds back of the main pack. But, you live and you learn.

I got my ass kicked this weekend in New York, and it sucked. As I talked to Coach Henner on the phone after the race, he put it pretty well into perspective: “Forget this one happened, and come back to DC and we’ll go back to work on Monday.”
And so that is what I will do. I found out that I have a long ways to go to get to the point that I want to be at, and there is no point not to start working towards it. The goal may be a little loftier than I once thought, but nothing would be fun if it wasn’t hard.

There was some redemption this weekend, and that was Koronets Pizza after the race. Koronets is the best pizzeria pizza that I have ever had. The slices are larger than my torso, and the taste is better than any filet mignon I’ve ever had. One slice of cheese and a Dr. Pepper please. (Although I forgot to consult the Doctor on this trip and just went with a slice).

I have recently dabbled in some pizza making artistry. My father makes the best pizza known to man. I have taken that recipe and tried to make it my own…with extremely promising results. Eventually a pizza shop in my name will be opening up, but that’s a whole different story…

And one last note: A huge congrats to team Columbia. A group of mostly ex-Columbia guys, sprinters alike, who dominated the Fred Brown relay this weekend. In the 65.4 mile relay race, they won by 28 minutes. Boo YAH.

20 Blocks To A Mile

At 1:05PM this coming Saturday, a gun will go off on 5th Avenue at East 80th Street and I will run like hell. Around 1:09PM on that very same day, I will be gasping for air at 5th and 60th, having just finished running a mile as fast as I could, at least that’s what I’m hoping.

I am extremely excited for the coming weekend and the 5th Avenue Mile, I’ll be lining up against some of the world’s best, and trying to stick my nose out there amongst them. It is going to be a blast.

As previously mentioned, I will be looking to add some street racing cred to my repertoire. I once beat the 1-Train from 110th to 116th running along Broadway, so I see no reason as to why I wouldn’t beat a few human beings this weekend.

Training for the race has gone pretty well leading up to the race, and nothing really special has been done in preparation. But Coach and I did go out and do some fast running on the bike path that runs next to the Potomac this past Tuesday. Him on a bike and me on my feet running from cone to cone with intervals of 400, 400, then 800. Then Coach pulled the classic 4×200 after the workout when I was clearly a pretty tired guy. The workout wasn’t great, but it was definitely good, and I’ll be ready to go for the race.

In my non-runner, real person life I had a nice weekend of class. Went to the Georgetown Track Banquet as an alum and then my roommates and I hosted a white party on our rooftop patio. Only white clothing allowed, and the event was a complete success.

Anyone in New York next weekend, I will hopefully see you out there. Until next time…

The Launch of "runLBP"...

Originally this was meant to be a little journal I kept of my overseas adventures in racing. However, only being a part-time student and working 15 hours a week at the local running store, I get a little bored. So, in turn, you all can have the privilege of checking in once or twice a week and seeing how I’m doing with the whole running thing (err on the once a week side).

I’m still down in DC, but have made the move away from Georgetown into Columbia Heights. Its supposedly the next Adams Morgan, but I just like the fact that its a little more urban than Georgetown and you see some things other than the rich, white upper-class that runs Gtown. I’m living with two fifth years on the team while I’m acting as a “Volunteer Assistant” under Coach Henner so he can continue to be my coach. I did, however, already let the freshman know that they can feel free to talk about anything around me, as the only ratting out I will be doing is if they actually do something stupid…but it will probably take a lot for me to consider something stupid.

We live right next to Rock Creek Park and the trail system there is amazing. The hills are also extremely stupid in the sense that they are steep and long. It’s a pain in the ass, but I guess it will help in the long run.

I’m running the 5th Avenue Mile on the streets of New York September 26th, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m doing a mini race simulation on Tuesday with some fast stuff on some streets.

I am, however, a little nervous. My record on the streets is 1-1. I begrudgingly will admit that my brother, Will, defeated me in a street race 3 years ago on the streets of New York (he decided flip flops were unnecessary even if chards of glass were covering the streets and he pulled away once he kicked his off…I was left in the dust with healthy feet, but a battered heart) .
I evened that record in a 2 on 2 relay race this past weekend up in Loon Lake, New York. My sophomore year roommate, Zach Richard, and I took on my brother and our friend and fellow Columbia Alum Kevin Verge, Esq. Kevin is the 200-meter indoor record holder at Columbia and it was very evident that I was going to need a lead from Zach. He provided just that as he left Will in the dust, giving me at least a 10 meter lead in what was only a 50 meter race. I glided smoothly home with a few taunts directed at Mr. Verge and brought my street race win percentage up to .500.

While a win may be asking a little much at 5th Ave, (A World Champ by the name of Bernard Lagat is competing) I’m hoping to race with the big boys and get after it on some streets that I still consider home. I’ll keep you posted, but if you’re going to be in New York the 26th of September, I hope to see you at 60th street and the finish line.