Spring racing season

With the Gansett Marathon behind me, it is time to start shaping my spring racing season. I find that, thanks to Hal Higdon's Post-Marathon training program, starting from scratch and training for a 5K is the best way to move forward after a marathon.
There is no shortage of spring 5Ks in northern New Jersey, so the pickings should be easy and plentiful. Unfortunately, I painted myself into a corner with all the other activities I planned, so I wanted to begin ASAP.

Five weeks is the standard turnaround time and I had my heart set on Pediatric Angel Network Classic 5K in Madison on May 19. That fell through when I injured myself and then got sick last week. Starting all over again, I decided I would be ready on June 2. I have few other options now, what with the Gogol Bordello show in Montclair that night (ruling out June 3); a family party on Long Island on June 9 (killing that whole weekend); and the Phish shows in Atlantic City from June 15 to 18, Wantagh, N.Y., on July 3 and 4, and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on July 7 and 8.

Take a look at the description of my blog - this is now the conundrum of my life. How do I balance racing with Phish tour? Can I run my best when I am up late dancing at Phish shows? Can I enjoy Phish shows when I am up early for races? During last year's tour, I was marathon training. Now, I want to be short racing.

We shall see how it goes, but one thing is for certain - I need to make a great showing at the Hoboken Catholic Academy 5K on June 2 because it may be my only real shot until June 23.

The "2112" reset button

One of the great things about post-marathon training is that it is like a reset button. For the first time in 18 weeks, I was able to simply run without any regard for time or past performance.

So after four days of rest, I did what I always do on the first post-marathon run of the season - I put the epic 20-minute Rush song "2112" on my Ipod and ran a carefree three miles. 

Knowing I would be a little slow, and having fun with the "year" theme, I also added one of Phish's renditions of "2001"  - the classical piece "Also Sprach Zarathustra", best known for its usage in '2001: A Space Odyssey', but performed in the funk disco mode of Deodato's 1970s recording.

Awesome.

Eli on 'SNL', and why sports stars tend to work well

I know this is not about running or Phish, thus defying the tagline of my blog, but I am a big 'Saturday Night Live' fan and I felt the need to comment on last night's episode. What makes me different from every other idiot on the Internet talking about it?  I am not a sports fan. I could not care less about the Giants or the Super Bowl or football at all. I'm not even sure I know what a quarterback does. The NFL could fold tomorrow and it would not affect my life slightest bit. Paradoxically, I enjoy when sports figures show up to host. There always seems to be an easy, laid-back vibe to the show when these folks host. So even when the show is not particularly funny (last night's "Helga Lately" and "TMC - Cheech and Chong), it is always enjoyable.

I spoke with my friend, Gavin, about this phenomenon while we watched Charles Barkley's episode earlier this season. Barkley nailed the show perfectly, and so did Gavin in his assessment. He said that sports figures are in their element in front of crowds, in pressure situations, on live TV. That's why they pull it off. I'll go even further and add that half of a popular athlete's job (and I'm only talking about the biggies here - the ones even I have heard of) is good PR. These guys take that stuff seriously, but the best ones don't take *themselves* too seriously, so they are game for dressing in drag (Manning's "Miss Drag World" - also not funny, but amusing - and Barkley's "Joann's Announcement") or getting smacked in the face with an old fuddy-duddy reporter's microphone (the great Bill Hader in "Herb Welch - Occupy Movement").

Obviously, comedic and stage actors work in front of live crowds, too, but the dynamic is different. When we saw Ben Stiller, Charlie Day and Daniel Radcliffe this season, we were seeing them work in their element and thus the essence of the performances generated from their own presence. Movie stars without the live background, be it from comedy clubs or theater stages, can be a gamble - as Lindsey Lohan and, to a lesser extent, Jonah Hill - when they rely too heavily on either the cue cards or their own star power to pull them through. Though I must point out that while Hill suffered from weaker writing (it happens - not everything can be gold), Lohan performed reverse alchemy, turning gold writing into a scrap-metal show.

Non-actors, on the other hand, turn the show into a writer's game. Sports stars usually do their homework, so they can be relied upon to deliver exactly what the writers produce, even if their acting is stiff. You can tell Manning memorized his lines and worked hard at it. Wisely, they stuck to the formula for great beloved-sports-figure episodes - making fun of himself (the funny "Motion Capture"), saying outrageous things (the hilarious "Text Message Evidence"), or focusing on a key aspect of his celebrity (the absolutely brilliant "Little Brothers") - and Manning aced it each time. 

He also did a bang-up job as the contestant on his girlfriend's game show, "What Is This?" who gets blindsided into having to answer the titular question, with the "this" being that important catch-all for the girl wanting to know the status of their relationship. Definitely one of the top sketches of the night.

The whole episode reminded me of the 'SNL' glory days of my youth when Wayne Gretzky and Chris Evert hosted. Those sports stars were given solid material by the writers and delivered great shows. Last night, Manning did the same.

Oh, and praise is due to "Weekend Update" for Kristin Wiig's Patricia Krentcil and Sasha Baron Cohen's Admiral General Aladeen with Martin Scorcese (!), too!

A few more things about Block Island

If you want to know why I love going back to the Block year after year (for eight now), here are a few of its attributes.

The island is only accessible by ferry (and only from Point Judith during the non-summer seasons) and small aircraft. There are no chain stores, no Starbucks, and no fast food joints. No building is taller than four stories.

If you ever get an opportunity to visit this quaint slice of heaven, you must stay at the 1661 Inn or its related properties. During the summer it is very expensive, but if you do not mind blowing a couple of hundred bucks per night, you will be very pleased. The rooms are gorgeous and the service is hotel quality in a bed and breakfast setting. The champagne buffet breakfasts are incredible and the afternoon "wine and nibble" is more than worth coming back to the inn for between outdoor excursions.

However, in the off-season, these same rooms are amazingly affordable. My friend, Lee, and I stayed in the Dodge Cottage, just down the road from the main building. For $300, they offer three-night stay at a room in the cottage, round trip ferry tickets, a $75 gift certificate to any of five restaurants, plus the buffet breakfasts (though scaled down a bit). Worth it!