Phish on Jan. 3, 2003 - Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

Usually, nothing indicates a throw-down more than a "Tweezer" opener.  Usually, if both "Tweezer" and "You Enjoy Myself" are in the same set,  you are in for a wild ride.  But 2.0 was anything but usual.  

Why they chose to play "Tweezer" at a tempo so glacial it makes the 2022 performances seem speedy is beyond me, but I guess that is a testament to the unpredictable nature of the era. Just as oddly, it never picks up, wandering around at that tempo until it segues into a similarly-paced "Theme From the Bottom". 

Trey is always most excited to play his newest songs, so even though an adequate "Foam" picks up the pace a bit, it is "Pebbles and Marbles" that finally injects some needed energy. But it is quickly deflated when "YEM" begins so disastrously that Trey calls it off and restarts it just as badly. Blowing their signature tune was such a major low point that it was what I remembered most vividly about this holiday run, 20 years later. Which is a shame because the jam ended up being a rocker.

The "Birds of a Feather" opener for the second set helps to wash away the stink; as does the "Wolfman's Brother" that spends some time as a battle of the wah-wahs between Trey and Page before finally breaking into a traditional jam for the final few minutes.  As will continue to be the trend for the next year and a half, the song eschews a proper finish ("Twist" does the same) and leads into a very weird "Makisupa Policeman" (or is that redundant?).  Another new song, "All of These Dreams" is dropped into the set and I am reminded of how much I love the 'Round Room' ballads.

In the encore, the band has a little bit of fun with stops and starts in the middle section of "Contact", which is a unique change, before closing it out with the "Tweezer Reprise" bookend.  This is a wildly uneven show and I still cringe at that "YEM" opening, but there are bright spots that should not be overshadowed by that.

Phish on Jan. 2, 2003 - Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

Upon their return from a two-year hiatus, Phish flipped the New Year's run to start with the Eve and play through the beginning of January.  Also for the first time for the holiday run, they did the bulk of it at Hampton Coliseum in Virginia.

After taking New Year's Day off, they come out swinging on Jan. 2 with "Chalk Dust Torture" and "Bathtub Gin" and right away, the 2.0 jamming style is cemented.  Straying way out of the confines of its typical jam for a solid four minutes in the middle, it is almost miraculous that the former somehow found its way to the ending of the song.  The latter stays more within the "Gin" realm, but combined they take up the first half-hour of the show.  Later in the set "Stash" provides another rager, and for those who think that it took until 3.0 for "Back on the Train" to become a surprisingly fun jam vehicle, look no further than this first version of 2.0.

The rest of the first set keeps it closer to the old formula with shorter, tighter songs from its 1989-1999 period, including a rocking ending with "Character Zero" (that starts with Trey not quite hitting all the right notes on his guitar); though the band does toss in one new tune - the title track to "Round Room" with all its Mike Gordon-led odd-time-signature rhythm.

Continuing to sprinkle new songs into the shows, the second set features the quiet "Thunderhead", but starts with the rocker "46 Days" that, like the previous set opener, runs so far away with itself that by the time they get nine minutes in, it has shed the skin of the actual song.  Somehwhere around the 14-minute mark it becomes almost an entirely different beast that eventually breaks the 20-minute mark with no return in sight.  So Trey swerves into the key of F and blasts into "Simple", which gets quiet after about seven minutes but still also manages to break 10, meaning that the first two songs once again ate up a half-hour.  

Elsewhere in the set "Limb By Limb" and (especially) "Run Like an Antelope" provided such raucous climaxes (not to mention the reliable I-IV of the encore - new song "Mexican Cousin") that my inclination to poop on the 2.0 era seems unfounded.  This is all quite a bit different from my memory of the era.  There is definitely a different vibe from where we left off in October of 2000, but this is still a band that is pushing boundaries and creating excitement.

Phish on Dec. 31 - 1992, 2002, 2012, & 2022

12/31/92 - Matthews Arena, Northeastern University, Boston, MA

The "Buried Alive" opener is much more suited to Phish '92 than its '22 counterpart. They throw down the gauntlet and start knocking you out with hard and fast jams in "Maze", "Foam", "The Divided Sky" and a set-closing "Run Like an Antelope" that makes the 12/30/22 version sound sad. Make no mistake, though - these are guitar jams, and all the momentum lies in the capable hands of young Trey. Stay for Fish's last vaccuum solo of 1992 in "I Didn't Know" because the audience is clearly being goaded into cheering at random spots, to the puzzlement of those of us who were not there to see what was going on.

The second set picks up right where the first left off with a "Runaway Jim" that not only has Trey soloing hard, but has Page providing some excellent counterpoint on piano.  "Stash" is another winner, with the jam getting briefly dark while Trey fires off machine gun 16th notes.  For some fun, how about Trey's narration in "Fly Famous Mockingbird" that features two of what seem to be Trey's favorite subjects for such occasions - flying and transmogriphication (the audience congealing into rock) - and the controlled chaos the "Big Ball Jam" that comes out of "My Sweet One".

New Year's Eve is all about the third set, of course, and this was the second-ever three-set NYE show.  The countdown commenced during a hot "Mike's Song" jam, which tumbles into "Auld Lang Syne" which then neatly segues into a "Weekapaug Groove" that kept the party going.  For more fun, there is "Harpua", with another storytime segment that covers the usual dog/cat fight in great detail and incorporates Fish's "Kung" chant, and a special appearance by the Dude of Life singing "Diamond Girl".

The a capella "Carolina" in the encore is an impressive feat - getting the 6,000+ crowd to quiet down to let the band sing barbershop without microphones - and "Fire" puts the exclamation point on the evening. 

12/31/02 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

A very different Phish came onstage at Madison Square Garden 10 years later.  This Phish had upped the ante every year through the 1990s, culminating in the almost unbelievable Big Cypress NYE show in 1999.  Now, after a two-year hiatus, they return to play their first show of Phish 2.0 on the most special night of year, inverting the four-show concept so there would be three shows after NYE.  The opening "Piper" speaks volumes about this new era - they get right down to the jamming and it is darker, deeper and thicker than before...and it clocks in at 16 minutes.  And yet, for a band that is finally announcing itself to the new millennium, with a new album in tow as well, the rest of the set stays firmly rooted to the '80s and '90s and for a while, it feels like the old Phish again.

The second set opens up with the new "Waves" and Trey's new guitar tone (crunchier, dirtier, more bitey) serves the jam section well (as it does for "Carini"). But not so much for "Divided Sky" and "Rift", songs that need a lighter tone.  Also, some rust seems to show in the composed sections of these tunes, as well as "Harry Hood".  Had Trey forgotten how to play them?  Did they not practice enough?  Does Trey <gasp> just kinda not care?  He had spent the better part of the past two years with a 10-piece band that was fully capable of picking up his slack (and he seemed to have spent a lot more time conducting them than playing guitar solos) and now he is revisiting these old songs like a stranger.

The cracks continue to show in the third set with the underwhelming "Sample in a Jar" opener (as well as an offputting "Taste" which revealed some listening issues among the band as Trey tried for a solid minute to steer into "What's the Use" to no avail), but all is forgiven when the debut of "Seven Below" ushers in the new year. The "Runaway Jim" jam that follows quickly abandons all sense of the song and wanders through different ideas until Fish locks into the drumbeat for Little Feat's "Time Loves a Hero", played only four times before (thrice in 1988 and in 1998) and not to be played again until 2010. 

Phish ends the set with the excellent new "Walls of the Cave", which could have brought some awesome power to the finish, but the jam got oddly mellow.  This would be another harbinger of what would come in 2.0 - the long jams that spiral outward, losing all sense of the song, trying things for the sake of it and letting them stew until you realize 15 minutes have gone by and not much has really happened even though it feels like you had been on a strange journey.  

12/31/12 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

With a golf theme already evident, Phish opened the night with Rick Nelson's "Garden Party", appropriate for the venue and for the stage which was dressed for such an occasion (but hopefully not its sentiment). After that one-time performance, this solid set touched on a little of each of the band's three previous decades, with other fun covers like "Roses Are Free" and "Walk Away"; as well as some big energy in '80s classic "Mike's Song" (which, along with "Weekapaug", had been played at 10 previous NYEs!) and '90s rockers "Sample in a Jar" and "Character Zero".

Apart from the "Ghost" that stays in mellow territory, riding a groove that is largely static even as Trey occasionally drops some pretty cascading notes, the second set is filled with upbeat jams like "Birds of a Feather", a "Piper" that remains more grounded than its counterpart from a decade earlier before bursting into a big climax, and a "Light" that stays fully danceable (and includes the "Auld Lang" tease usually reserved for the previous night). And if you still have your dancing shoes on, stay for the "2001", too. After all that, there is still room for "You Enjoy Myself". None of these jams are extraordinary, but they all play out quite well for a great listen.

Then, of course, there was the third set.  After teeing off with a fun "Party Time", they do the "Kung" chant, which mentions "a runaway golf cart marathon" and that seems to be what we get as golf carts start crisscrossing the stage, which now has two levels. Dancers hop off the carts in full cheesy golf regalia, and swinging clubs with their choreography as the band rocks "Chalk Dust Torture" into midnight for "Auld Lang Syne" and a wild "Tweezer Reprise" with big choir vocals and insane flashing lights. 

After that, they leaned so hard into the golf theme that the rest of the set list consisted of song titles that could be construed as golf references. "Sand" and "The Wedge" were both played excellently, with focused jams (nothing lasting more than nine minutes); Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle" (another first and last for the band) was a nice surprise; and "Lawn Boy" as a barbershop quartet brought a new, fun spin on the tune.  

Even the encore continued the theme with "Driver" (with a false start due to Trey seeming to confuse it with "Summer of '89") and the first- and last-ever true performance of "Iron Man" (the one previous rendition was performed by a marching band on NYE 2003).  

At the end of 2012, Phish was at its most rock solid since the '90s in its ability to execute the technical stuff, jam with purpose and direction while also branching out in interesting musical and sonic directions, and bring silly and engaging ideas to the party.  This four-show run is a prime example of all those things.

12/31/2022 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

The band's 14th NYE at MSG (and a whopping 76th total at the venue) starts with "Tweezer", setting the stage for what was to be a much better night that the previous. The jam stays melodic and focused throughout, settling into a groove and decidedly pushing no envelopes.  The segue from "Halley's Comet" into "Set Your Soul Free" is as absolutely seamless as can be; and though the latter song ends up in pretty much the same Everyjam (thanks, Ali) territory that "Tweezer" did (and then does again when it returns later in the set), it is still a pleasant listen.  "Mike's" returns for yet another NYE appearance, with Fish playing extra authoritatively, especially into the closing section; and a well-executed "I Am Hydrogen" gives way to a dragging tempo in "Weekapaug", the best part of which comes when Trey holds a single guitar note for a solid 45 seconds while Page hammers away on his piano.

In retrospect, we might have been getting teases of the third-set time machine gag throughout the first two sets. In the first set, there was "Tweezer", "Mike's" and "Weekapaug"; and in the second set, we got "Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.", "2001", "Mercury" and "Drift While You're Sleeping". All of those songs were played at or around midnight at previous NYEs, and they all brought a special energy to the show. The only extended jams of the set were "Kill Devil Falls" and "Light", and though neither will make any best-of lists, both were interesting and entertaining musical excursions.

The Time Machine gag in the third set was an impressive presentation, using "Ghost" as a through-line as they zig-zagged through the wacky gags of Phish's past. Some were only visual, so watch the video on YouTube to see Kasvot Vaxt, Sci-Fi Soldier, the Famous Mockingbird, golfers, clones and more. Musically, the medley mash-up that referenced NYEs of 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2010 almost sounds like the band is gearing up for a Phish Revue residency in Vegas, but there is a certain charm to it now that the band has been around nearly 40 years. In 2004, Trey insisted on breaking up the band to avoid becoming a nostalgia act. To hear him being so comfortable with it now is actually quite endearing. 

That is not to say there were not some fresh jams in the set. After re-introducing "Tweezer" yet again, the band used a surprisingly engaging "Prince Caspian" to launch a segment of fine jamming through "Crosseyed and Painless" (among the many welcome covers in the set!) and "Piper", which were so energetic that the come-down of "A Life Beyond the Dream" felt truly earned. 

In fact, the whole thing felt earned. A band that has been around for 40 years (minus five in the middle) has a right to acknowledge its past; even a band that has always been as forward-looking as Phish. How many other long-standing artists not only continue to make new music, but also believe in that music enough to play all the songs on their new albums live in concert, many of which delight their fans every bit as much as the classics?  Neither Springsteen nor McCartney nor Metallica can do that. 

So why not indulge in a little bit of nostalgia?  Looking back at 40 years of Phish turned out to be a great way to look forward to the future that lies ahead.

Phish on Dec. 30 - 1992, 2012 & 2022

12/30/1992 - Symphony Hall, Springfield, MA

As a contrast to the later years, it is worth hearing Trey as the guitar shredder in these old recordings.  Hear him completely tear it up in "Split Open and Melt" and "David Bowie" in the first set and "Llama" in the second set. 

With the exception of a missed cue (or rather, an imagined cue) at the end of the "Reba" jam, this show is chock full of the classic songs played with precision on the composed parts and free-spirited flying on the jammed parts (see "Bathtub Gin").  Even that "Reba" is worth a listen for the sweet jam, as well as the insertion of "I Walk the Line" before the song's conclusion.  

Any "You Enjoy Myself" from 1992 is worth hearing, and this is no exception, especially as it starts the sort-of tradition of Trey teasing "Auld Lang Syne" somewhere in the 12/30 show.  The bass breakdown before the vocal jam gives Mike a chance to strut his stuff; and the vocal jam gets weird with the band shouting out "Pete Schall" (a member of the crew) before going into the hymnal sounds that they had been perfecting earlier in the month and then calling out "Oh Kee Pa" (which I thought would lead to "The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony", but instead led to "The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday", dedicated to everybody's cousins (?)).

This show also brings out some tunes that were rarities even back then.  As "David Bowie" begins, Trey leans instead into "Timber" (not played since 1990 and not to be played again until 1995), though I am pretty sure he inverted the two-chord progression.  Toward the end of the second set, they play the jazz standard, "Take the 'A' Train" (they probably could not resist since they were playing in an early 1900's concert theater).  And in the encore, "Ride Captain Ride" made its second appearance of the month, after laying dormant for two years, only to hibernate again until 1998.

12/30/2012 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Opening the first set with "Runaway Jim" and closing it with "Run Like an Antelope" seemed more like at '92 thing to do, and though 48-year-old Trey did not do the dizzying flurries of notes that his younger self would have done, he did drop a "Dave's Energy Guide" tease in the former and kicked the climax into high gear for the latter.  Not a bad way to bookend the first half of a top-quality show that played to all of the 3.0 strengths.

"The Divided Sky" suffered a bit from not having the manic Trey shredding of old, but at least the composed half was delivered with perfect execution.  Better on the jam front were the tunes with an easier pace to let Trey do some fancy fretwork - like "Back on the Train" and "Ocelot".  

In an age when covers seem to have gone by the wayside, it is now a treat to rewind a decade and hear "Cities" and even "Ya Mar" ("Play it, Leoooo!").  But even more of a treat was the re-emergence once again of "Ride Captain Ride".  Surely, this could not have been a coincidence (though 2012 does have the distinction of being the year with the most plays for the old Blues Image song). 

That was all well and good for the first set, but Set II is where the action really is - the flow of the set, the selection of songs, the way the jams kept moving and twisting and turning through different themes.  It is not just that I was there (feel free to read that account for my extended gushing) because listening to it again today, it still sounds fresh and interesting and thoroughly listenable.  This is a set that I would recommend listening to as a whole, but if you need just the high-quality meat, "Down With Disease" and "Carini" are essential.

12/30/2022 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Dec. 30 shows rarely disappoint. As the penultimate show of the year, the excitement is in the air and the band delivers with gusto. 

Not so with the gusto this year. In the first set, "Down With Disease" and "Foam" were choppy, if not sloppy (same goes for the "Chalk Dust Torture" encore); and "Pebbles and Marbles", "Reba" and "Run Like an Antelope" were functional. The jams all did stuff, but none of it seemed particularly inspired. And why the hell is Trey singing "The Moma Dance"? 

Even the unusually extended jam in "Theme From the Bottom" felt directionless. It did things, but none of them were terribly interesting beyond the fact that things were being done. The only time the set felt like it had the energy it needed was during "The Howling", the show's only song from the 2020s.

The second set was reminiscent of the 2.0 era - a five-song set with sloppy or weak execution of the composed parts but long, winding, spiraling jams that may or may not have a direction. These are the kinds of jams that make non-phans wonder what all the fuss is about. 

The one to enjoy is "No Men in No Man's Land", but doing so requires patience, a good listening ear, and a willingness to surrender to it and take the long ride - like a road trip where the feeling of merely riding in the car and watching the scenery is enjoyable enough, even if there are no big roadside attractions.

Unlike 2.0, the jams stay rather grounded, with none of the wild abandon of that period; but at least they know how to stick the landings these days, so you are provided with some sort of climax, or at least an arrival, each time. 

While the noisy bits usually reserved for "Split Open and Melt" show up in "Sand", they seem to work better this context. That said, give me a late '10s "Sand" over this one any day. 

Notably, the second set contains the first cover song of the run ("Golden Age") and only one song that is under 14 minutes (a well-played, if not quite climactic "If I Could").

Dec. 30 shows rarely disappoint, but this one, sadly, did.

Phish on Dec. 29 - 1992, 2012 & 2022

12/29/1992 - Palace Theater, New Haven, CT

If you want big guitar climaxes, look no further than "Llama", "My Friend, My Friend", "The Divided Sky" and "Stash" in Set I.  And "Wilson" is worth a listen as it continues the interesting pre-"blap-boom" excursions from earlier in the month.

In Set II, "The Curtain -> Tweezer" is an interesting segue, though the latter does not stray too far out of the song's formula.  Later, rather than go full burn, "Mike's Song" plays around with themes, with Trey landing on "On Broadway" and Page doing "Blue Bayou" (which Mike continues in his "Weekapaug Groove" intro), but there is good usage of dynamics and I suspect something visual must have been happening. Near the end of the show, Trey promises the slowest "Terrapin" ever and delivers.

There are two "Big Ball Jams" - one in the second set, as a segue out of "My Sweet One", and one supposedly a capella in the encore (though it does not really come through on the tape). They finish with a "Rocky Top" that is so ridiculously fast, Fish can not even keep up. 

For some rare lyric flubs from that period, check "Guelah Papyrus" and "Tela" (the latter providing an instance of the '22 version being better than the '92!).

12/29/2012 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

I do love a "Crowd Control" opener, setting up some good energy. That energy made its way into "Rock & Roll" and "Gin", the highlights of Set I - the former is an ass-kicker and is nice to hear since '92 was too early for it and '22 seems not to have any covers; the latter takes some time to get there but once it starts peaking you're happy you stayed.

For Set II, "Golden Age" (see "R&R" above) and "Waves" make for some good 3.0 jamming, "Boogie On Reggae Woman" provides some excellent bass action from Mike, and "46 Days" rocks out a big ending. Sadly, I recommend skipping most of the encore - "The Squirming Coil" is cringeworthy and "First Tube" doesn't really smash as hard as it should. But "Grind" is always fun to hear, so at least the encore is not a total loss.

12/29/2022 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
This show comes out swinging with an excellently executed "Fluffhead" that extends the coda into a jam where new themes are explored as it moves into the territory of a 3.0 Everyjam (thanks to aLi for that phrase). Eventually, it teases "Dave's Energy Guide" before it melts into a segue to "Your Pet Cat" which, along with "Hey Stranger" and "Blaze On", is a refreshing change after listening to '92 and '12 shows all month. 

The Everyjam comes again during "Tube" and again in the second set's "David Bowie".  That is not necessarily a bad thing.  While they are rather interchangeable from song to song, they are perfectly enjoyable when they do it well (and they usually do it well).

The oddest thing about the first set is the "Slave to the Traffic Light" that clocks in at a mere 6:41. That's got to be the shortest "Slave" since the 1980s, right? Someone needs to look into that. 

Things really heat up in Set II with the trio of "Everything's Right", "You Enjoy Myself" and "Ruby Waves", the essential 51 minutes of this show. When Trey decides it is finally time to shred, hold on to your hat.

Bringing the sweet "Lonely Trip" into the mix offers a well-deserved cooldown before closing out the set 1990s-style with "Back on the Train" (sounding fuller and shinier when Page moves from the clavinet to the piano) and "Character Zero".

For the encore, "Guyute" gets rather bungled and "Possum" mostly falls flat, but Trey saves it at the end by getting goofy, and who doesn't love when Trey gets goofy?

Phish on Dec. 28 - 1992, 2012 & 2022

12/28/1992 - Palace Theater, New Haven, CT

The four-show New Year's Run tradition begins!

Prior to 1992, Phish played a few NYE shows, even doing groups of two or three shows.  But 1992 was the first four-show run, setting the standard for every future holiday run to the present day (with the exception of 1999). 

They picked up where they left off on fall tour with mostly solid playing and big energy, but with nothing new or reveletory, and set lists not deviating from the formula they had been perfecting.  The opening "Maze" and Trey's banter in "Buried Alive" in Set I are definitely must-hear, though.

Set II has a "Melt" done right, to which you will want to listen before the inevitable '22 "Split Open and Mess" (thanks to aLi for that one).  The second set also has a hot "You Enjoy Myself", renditions of "Harry Hood" and "and "Reba" that are great even by the high standards of 1992, and "Fire" that burns up the encore.

12/28/2012 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

In Set I, "Army of One" and "Nellie Kane" are nice to hear considering they do not get played much.  Mike's bass is surprisingly bouncy in "Stash", "Kill Devil Falls" has some good energy into the finish, and the "Wolfman's Brother" jam takes a little time but finally swerves into a fun "Little Drummer Boy" theme for the holidays.

Set II opens with a "Tweezer" that also takes its time.  I was at this show, on the floor and pretty close to the stage so I had all my time and attention to give; your results may vary.  It is worth hanging with, especially as it ends up in the key of E and sounding like a "Wolfman's" jam in its original, proper key.  "Maze" does all my favorite early-'10s things with Trey provided awesome, clanging counterpoint during Page's organ solo; "Twist" continues the "Drummer Boy" fun; and "Bowie" has an interesting and playful jam that is worth a spin.

12/28/2022 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

"Buried Alive" is a bold opener for the old guys, and while it is awfully choppy, there is a good energy that continues into "Wolfman's Brother" and "Maze" (but not as good as a decade earlier). "Sigma Oasis" settles more for pretty and that is fine. "Tela" was surprising to hear and executed quite well.  The "Stash" jam goes into a major key and stays in the '20s wheelhouse where the jam uses chord structure, phrasing and counterpoint rather than guitar heroics, until Trey finally unleashes a flurry of 32nd notes just to let you know it is, indeed, the climax and he is still the Ernesto Giuseppe Anastasio that we all love.

On the negative side, "NICU" is sleepy; "Steam" is OK, but never really feels locked in to the slinky groove, which you may know is very important to me; and "Melt" is...well, you know.  "Free" gets a good groove going, but Mike's bass is criminally low in the mix and you can hear Trey doing things with his voice to overcome his old-guy limitations (though it is nice that he is putting his vocal coaching into practice). 

"A Wave of Hope" is the star jam of the night, with the kinds of twists and turns they tend to do these days in place of shredding (see "Stash" above).  And I would be remiss if I did not mention the relatively new "Leaves", which manages to do gorgeous things in the unlikely setting of a hockey arena.

"Plasma" and "Twist" do a nice job of building jams like that, too.  They do not melt your face, but are fun and pleasing to the ear.  Sadly, the former neglects to go to the ending and the latter shits the bed at the end. "Hood", however, does a good job to close.

As an added bonus, the encore of super-oldie rarity "Esther" and "46 Days" (the lone 2.0-era song of the night) is definitely a go-home-happy treat.  I like my 2022 shows full of variety, with every decade and era represented, and this one had it all.

Terri Roemer Paramus Run - Marty Roemer Memorial 10K Run - Oct. 16, 2022

Maybe the 5K win gave me a boost of confidence.  Maybe I was thinking about how I had not done a 10K in a while.  Maybe I plain lost my mind, but for some reason, I signed up for a 10K that took place exactly one week after my 5K.

During the week in between, I repeated the previous week's pre-race training, but with a 40-minute tempo run on Wednesday, instead of a 30.  I rested on Friday and Saturday and showed up at Paramus Park Mall bright and early in the mild, sunny morning.  I had written down turn-by-turn directions, but as the parking lot got more and more crowded, it seemed I would not need it.  This was a much bigger race than the previous week, I felt ill-prepared, and I was not comfortable with the size of the field.  

After doing a mile warmup and walking around trying to find somewhere to put my car key (finally settling on my back pocket), it was time to line up.  I went up front but stayed to the side a bit, sizing up the other runners and putting myself near the first bunch of ladies because my race is usually comparable to theirs.  We were given the signal and we were off.

I had given myself a reasonable goal - finish this thing in the 40-minute range and be happy with it.

If for no other reason than to escape the crowd, I pushed off as quickly as possible, running south along Ring Road, with the mall to my right and the Garden State Parkway to my left.  Crossing under the parkway onto Midland Avenue, I hit a 5:57 - my first sub-6 mile in a year.  Off to a good start, but I knew there was no way to sustain that.  And that was OK because a sub-40 suddenly seemed quite doable.  

The leader pulled away and there was a cluster of guys behind him, then another small cluster, a couple of stragglers, then me.  From what I could tell, I was maybe around 10th place.  There were so many turns, it was hard to tell - two rights, and then a left on Elmwood, where there was enough of a straightaway that I could push the speed into a 6:06 second mile.  

More turns - left, right, then a loop around a block.  Thank goodness the turns were clearly marked and there were people ahead of me to chase.  Unfortunately, there was also one person right next to me.  Every time I tried to move away from him, he moved with me.  I would try to drift away and he would drift right with me.  He would not pass, he just stayed glued to me.  Is this guy drafting me?  Is that even a thing at the amateur speed we are going? 

Look, I just started dipping my toes into public road racing again.  My personal space boundaries since covid started have gotten huge.  I started freaking out inside.  And then, outside...

"Get away from me!" I yelled.

"What?  It's a race," said the guy.

Realizing my outburst probably seemed insane, I tried to apologize through the huffing and puffing that came with the combination of my weird rage and trying to sustain this difficult pace.  

"Just keep running," said the guy.

So I did.  And on the next straightaway on Wedgewood Drive, I passed him, never looking back.  I was angry at both him and myself and I was now determined to use that energy because my third mile was 6:34 and I was losing that cushion I built up.

Halfway through...math time.  If I did the first three miles in 18:37, that means that if I can do the second three, plus the extra two-tenths, in 21:22 and get in under 40.  Buuuuuuut, if I were to do it in 20:22, that would get me in under 39!  When was the last time I did that??  Is that actually possible today???

After four more turns there was another straightaway, then two more turns around another block and another straightaway.  I used those to pick up the pace to a 6:17 fourth mile.  That is 24:54 for four miles.  I would need about 75 seconds at the end for the last two-tenths of a mile, so I had just shy of 13 minutes to do two miles in order to finish under 39.  In less than 25 minutes, my crazy brain radically shifted my goal downward by more than a minute.

After going back up Elmwood, I was in a solid ninth place.  A couple more turns led to a small but significant enough hill to feel jarring after all the previous flat terrain.  Just as I was thinking how rough that was in the fifth mile of a 10K, a female voice from behind me said it out loud, "Well, that's just rude!"

I had already known that the first-place woman was trailing me because I heard people cheering for her behind me.  And, I expected she would pass me because she was coming in hot.  What I did not expect was that as she came up to do so, she said, "Dan?!"

I turned my head to see the one and only Sarah Schillaci, an old co-worker with whom I ran many races in the late '00s and early '10s.  Well, I did not so much run races with her as much as I ran races chasing her.  And after hitting mile five with a 6:22, here I was again, like old times, trailing Sarah and eating her dust.

Most importantly, though, all I had to do was get around the last few turns and onto that straightaway home stretch on Ring Road, and I needed to hit that sixth mile with no more than a 6:20 if I had any chance of busting that 39 barrier.  Time to make like it was 2011 and try to catch Sarah.

With a 6:19 at the six-mile marker, I had around 80 seconds to get to that finish line, which was already in sight, if I wanted a 38 on that clock.  

I pushed hard as I watched Sarah cross the finish line, breaking the tape they set up for her as the first female finisher.  And then, I could see the clock ticking away the last few seconds of the 38th minute. Somehow, I managed to cross the line at 38:59, making it my fastest 10K in seven years, and my third sub-39 ever.  Unreal.

Of the 245 total runners, I came in 10th, taking 9th among the 138 men and finishing first of the 21 guys age 45 to 49.  For that, I received a lovely medal in addition to the nice long-sleeve t-shirt.

Oh, and that guy I yelled at - I found him after the race and apologized again.  We chatted for a while and he turned out to be a really nice guy.  This is truly the sport with the best people.