Monday, November 26, 2012

Westchester Running Festival half-marathon

Halfway through the Hal Higdon marathon training program, which I have faithfully used for each race, it is recommended to run a half-marathon race as a fitness test. Though the marathon for which I was training suddenly did not exist, I decided to continue the training as prescribed and I found the Westchester Running Festival set for Oct. 7.

Taking place in White Plains, N.Y., around 35 miles from home, it was a mid-sized, well-organized event that also included a quarter-marathon.


Making sure to get there early to pick up my packet and get myself ready, I drove in the dark of morning and got to the Westchester County Center at the crack of dawn, giving myself plenty of time to stretch and take a short warm-up jog.


The course seemed boring on paper - 6.5 miles south then back north again on the Bronx River Parkway. Remembering the Suffolk County Half-Marathon last year (also a highway out-and-back), I was prepared for a boring course.


I was pleasantly surprised. That area of the BRP was almost, dare I say, scenic, with plenty of trees, streams and trails along the side of the road and (duh) the Bronx River. And because it is a divided highway, the return trip was like being on a different road altogether.


Not so pleasantly surprising were the hills. In the second mile there was a long, steep downhill. I said to the person next to me, "Oh great, we have to run UP this hill in Mile 12."


The hills continued to roll and I implemented a strategy I had been testing in training - pushing hard up the hills and easing back significantly on the way down.


Two other new strategies for this race involved freeing myself of two major crutches - a stopwatch and a Gatorade bottle. Instead of obsessing over how close to my 6:24 PR pace I was with each mile, I ran solely on feel. On the flat sections, I trusted myself to know when I was lagging and when I was pushing too hard. And rather than carry my own bottle to hydrate at my own intervals, I took advantage of the aid stations for a change.


The result? Despite the expected hell of the hill in Mile 12, I cranked out my second-best half-marathon of the eight I have run in the past five years, pulling off a 1:26:28. Considering that I was not even specifically doing half-marathon training, I would call it a rousing success. Coming off of a PR from 10 months prior, the fact that I ran my two best half-marathons within a year at 37 and 38 years old, I could not ask for more.


Sore from pushing up those hills, I also took advantage of a free massage, even as it started to rain. Plus, there was plenty of post-race food, not to mention lots of good vibes.


It was an excellent race experience on a (mostly) beautiful October morning in New York.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Twenty years later

This past August was the 20-year anniversary of the first time I ever heard Phish. I think it is safe to say my life changed that summer day when, riding in my brother's car to buy a birthday gift for our mother, my ears and mind were opened up to music unlike anything I had ever heard.

My brother's friend Mike always managed to find new music and pass it along to Ben who would ultimately introduce it to me.  Ben was in college and I had just graduated high school. That summer of 1992 was the HORDE tour with Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler and Phish. It was what the college kids were listening to. Ben had already introduced me to the Docs, to whom I took an instant liking. But on this particular day, he said, "Check out this band, Phish," and popped the 'Lawn Boy' album into the cassette player.


"The Squirming Coil" was interesting enough, but it was "Reba" that turned me into a fan, right then and there in Ben's Dodge Colt. We arrived at the store as the jam section started, so the ride home consisted of the entire jam, leading into the whistling, and back to the refrain. I remember exclaiming, "This is the SAME SONG?"


And so, as it goes with Phish fandom, I needed to hear more. And more. That is how my crazy 20-year continuing odyssey began. And though the Spin Doctors' 'Pocket Full of Kryptonite' spent the most time in the cassette player in my dorm, I was still armed with copies of Phish's three studio albums. It would be another year before I experienced the full thrill of the live show, but I was was hooked on Phish forever.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Phish Dick's

"We love Dick's! We love Dick's!"

I have not laughed that hard listening to a Phish show in a long time. When the band and crowd chanted how much they love Dick's, it made for one of those moments, not just because it was funny in itself but because the band was in the throes of some top-notch playing. Everyone knew it. There was electricity in the air that you can hear on the recording, and that chant proved it.


Remember last year's "S" show (also at Dick's), in which all the songs began with the letter "S"? They were at it again the first night of this run - the first letter of each song spelled out "F-U-C-K-Y-O-U-R-F-A-C-E" and then the set culminated with their 1980s goofball song  of that name (which is about a guitar that will figuratively do so, nothing dirty).


How about that "Undermind" (the second "U" in the sequence)? As the song continues to elude me (I have been to 27 shows since they started playing it and STILL have not seen them perform it), it gets better and better. And longer. And funkier.


The "E" was "Emotional Rescue" - a welcome rarity in keeping with the bust-outs of Leg One of the tour. First time since Vegas 2000!


The second show had the first "Run Like an Antelope" opener since 1990 and was a knockout. Every song, short and long, was a killer. When "Tweezer" is only one highlight, you know it is a damn good show. And "Mike's Song > No Quarter > Weekapaug Groove" to close Set Two? Crazy awesome!


And night three was solid in every way. The huge "Sand" that opened the second set shone brightly at that show. "Sand" was definitely a contender for MVP jammer of the summer.


But the clear winner was Dick's "Light", which will probably go down in Phishtory and a must-listen for every fan - 20-plus minutes of glorious jamming. It was Phish at its best. Even as an old fan, I will put that up against any jam from the 1990s. "Light" has definitely been the Number One jam vehicle this summer and it all came to a peak at Dick's.


What a way to end the tour, but it almost feels as if they saved it all up for those shows, only teasing and hinting at the greatness to come in each show leading up to it. That is nice as a story arc, but I do feel for the Midwestern and southern folks who maybe went to the one show in their areas, catching well-performed but unexceptional concerts.


My advice to the casual fan and the curious listener - skip the entire second leg up to Dick's, but get all three tour-ending shows.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Phish Summer Tour Leg 2 - Not Much New on the Road to Dick's

Though I did not attend any of the shows of the second leg of summer tour (which took the band through the south, midwest and west coast), I did listen to every single show.

Many other fans have offered their dissertations on the individual shows and song performances, but I want to offer my summation of the whole thing in one shot, expanding on an observation I made at the beginning of the first leg, back in June.


It seems like so long ago that I was at Bader Field in Atlantic City celebrating the beginning of Phish's 2012 summer tour. Through the excitement of dissecting those three shows in this blog, I mentioned that Phish has been relying on older material and noted that they may be seen as the nostalgia act that Trey Anastasio feared in 2004 (leading to his termination of the band). I also said that this was not a bad thing as long as their playing continues to evolve as it has.


Phish has debuted only a handful of new original songs since their last album 'Joy' was released in September of 2009.  Of those, some made one appearance and disappeared (does anyone else remember "Dr. Gabel"? I loved that song!) or shown up on solo albums (Trey's "Pigtail" which, admittedly, is much, much better with his band).  Some seemed like they had some legs ("Halfway to the Moon", "My Problem Right There" and the New Year's Eve show-stopping "Steam"), played through 2010 and 2011. But only one ("Show of Life") gets continued play.


In addition, 2009 and 2010 were teeming with new covers, some one-offs ("In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"), and one that has become a jamtastic standard ("Golden Age").


This year has so far not only brought no new original songs, but no new covers either. Do not get me wrong, the clear motif of the first half of summer was to bust out covers they have not played in years, even decades ("Skin It Back", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", "La Grange", "Head Held High"), and I absolutely loved it. And Fish's "tucking" theme was a great running gag. Those shows were all the more special as a result.


Still, I have hungered for some new music so I was relying on the jams to bring it. Phish has a way of making the old new again by bringing new melodies, sounds, and vibes to the jams. The first half of the tour showed promise with some songs stretching out in new ways.  A 2012 sound began to take shape in the first half, but my impression of the second leg was that it was simply more of the same.


Or even less of it, because the bust-outs stopped coming and the "tucking" was given a bit of a rest.  Sure, there was the awesomeness of every "Crosseyed and Painless", "Rock and Roll" and "Light" - each reaching and pushing and pulling in glorious jamming directions.  Aside from those, though, not much stood out.


You may say I am being too picky, that this diminishes the consistently high-quality of playing by the band; or that I am one of those old fans from the 1990s that wants a return to the 20-minute monster jams in five-song sets  with insane segues. (OK, I do miss those, but that is not the point).


But I see this as a testament to how amazing they have been. Up until now, I had been holding the 3.0 era to much lower standards, that have been raised with each subsequent tour.  In 2009, I wanted Phish to just sound like Phish again.  In 2010, I wanted to get through a show without hearing flubs. In 2011, I wanted to start hearing more songs and more consistent playing.


They have done all this so well, meeting and exceeding every expectation. Phish sounds better than ever; flubs are as rare as they were in the 1990s; "Steam" became the NYE highlight and "Show of Life" became an encore staple; and the cover song bust-outs have been unbelievable.


But what happens now? Until the three-night end-of-tour stand at Dick's Sporting Goods Arena, not much did. But oh, how they they brought their A-game to Commerce City, Colorado...

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Marathon plans go south

On Sept. 30, I received an email from the director of the small Mangrove Marathon in Cape Coral, Fla., informing its registrants that, due to a family illness, the race was cancelled.

And that was it.


Imagine my surprise - I have never heard of a marathon being cancelled!


Imagine my shock - But...what about all this training I have been doing?


Imagine my anger - I spent more than a thousand non-refundable dollars on plane tickets and a hotel room for my mom and me.  That money is now gone, down the drain.


Imagine my confusion - What the hell do I do now?


So I sent an email back to the director stating exactly those things, but after a day or two, I had a thought.


I am already resigned to going to Florida, I am already training to run a marathon, and I can not really change my plans - so I asked the director if I can take over.


And why not? It is not like I would be starting from scratch. Certain things should already be in place - the course is certified and the people are registered. Maybe I can simply pick up where she left off?


Unfortunately, things were in greater turmoil than I had suspected. Apparently, the director made the decision to give up the race long before she sent the email because she told me that a race-staging company had already been on board to take over, but they pulled out at the end of September.


Somehow, I was still undeterred. I called other race companies in Florida,  trying to find someone willing to take on a race that now seemed only a small fraction of the way to completion. I would need timers, awards, a start/finish line, clocks, volunteers to work Gatorade and water stations, and the all-important post-race food. And I would need it all in nine weeks (or less, because with every call I made, the clock was ticking).


It proved to be impossible. No company could do it and I could not do it by myself. It was over.


So I am left with a four-day trip with my mom to Cape Coral, Florida, to visit my grandfather, aunt and cousin, and that is still something to which I can look forward.


Oh, and before the website for the marathon was removed, I saved a copy of the marathon course route, so I am thinking of running it anyway. Why not? It would still make for a great long run!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Marathon plans to go south

After the first leg of summer Phish tour ended, it was time to start making marathon plans again.

I was not traveling west and south for the second leg of the tour, so August was strictly about starting my training for a December marathon. I had already picked it out - the Mangrove Marathon in Cape Coral, Fla.

Cape Coral is a city on Florida's Gulf coast, just south of Fort Myers. My grandfather moved there more than thirty years ago when it was still small and up-and-coming. Today, it is a rather large and booming city.

The plan was to run the marathon and have a nice visit with Grandpa, as well as my aunt who also lives in town. Gramps turns 89 this year and this would be the first time for him to see me run a race. Not only that, but judging by last year's times, I could possibly be a contender for Top Three. That would make him proud of his grandson, no?

My mom and I bought our plane tickets and reserved our hotel room, and I registered for the race. In the meantime, I spent August and September training hard. That 3:04 PR of mine is now three years old and I am ready to break it. I did a 17-miler in 2:02 and a 2:32 20-miler, so my long game is intact; and I have been doing 2:55 800-meter intervals, so my short sprint game is still on point, too. I was keeping Gramps posted about my progress and he was excited about me coming down there for the event.

A lot of things can go wrong in the weeks leading up to a marathon. In 2010, I pulled a hamstring three weeks before the Boston Marathon. In 2008 and 2009, I got very ill, with a high fever and flu-like symptoms the week before the New Jersey and Eisenhower (in Kansas) marathons.

In all those cases, though, I still managed to get to the race and do my best, and even make something great out of it (like my short movie "One Man's Boston" and the PRs in New Jersey and Kansas).

But on Sept. 30, while everything was going along perfectly, the one thing I could have never fathomed would happen, happened.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Back to back at SPAC, July 8


Karen stayed behind at the hotel for the Sunday show, the last of that leg of Phish's summer tour before a month-long break.

Left to my own devices, I find myself searching for that special spot on the lawn that offers good sound and room to dance. And if I can get a good view of the stage, well, that is a plus. One thing I learned at the Arts Center in New Jersey is to check the front corners. There is a sweet spot at that venue that, for some reason, is often not crowded, yet offers excellent sound and a decent stage view.

The same held true at SPAC - I settled in to a front spot on Page-side (Rage side!) that had plenty of boogie room. And not only did I have a mostly unobstructed view of the stage, but I was directly under a screen, too, so I could look up and see the close-ups at any time.

I am a bit weary of "AC/DC Bag" as an opener, but I will admit it gets the job done. As for "My Soul" I liked it back in 1997 when everyone seemed to hate it, but now I can really do without it.

The show kicked into gear for me with "Camel Walk" which is always welcome. It took me more than 70 shows to finally get one; and even though I have seen a few since then, it still feels special.

Sometime during "Sample in a Jar" or "Wilson" someone I had met in Atlantic City saw me and came over to say hi. I was so happy to see her and catch up, but am a little sorry I only paid half of my attention to what was clearly a kick-ass "Party Time". I definitely need to hear that one again.

With my attention back on the show, I reveled in the bass bombs of "Gumbo" and the classic Phishiness of "Foam", as well as the bluegrass of the once-rare "Nellie Kane" and the quietude of "Driver", which I have always liked despite fan grumblings.

The kick-ass close of the set was a great "Split Open and Melt" followed by yet another bust-out - the first time they played ZZ Top's "La Grange" in almost 13 years!

Oh, how I loved the second set. It had almost everything I want in a Phish set.

Rock? How about a blast-off "Axilla" opener, a "Woo"-inducing "Twist", a "Cavern", and a raucous climax to "My Friend, My Friend"

Jam? Check out the way they stretched out in "Kill Devil Falls" and the always reliable "Light". How about "Piper", "Free" and "Harry Hood" while we are at it?

Mood? See the aforementioned "Light" jam, but also "Swept Away" and the 3.0-era improved "Steep"?

Goofiness? Look no further than "Kung"!

And to top it off - a set-closing "David Bowie" which, like "Light", has been consistently fantastic this year.

As I did the day before, I started moving toward the exit before the encore, but was stopped dead in my tracks when they played "You Enjoy Myself" to end the night. I had shivers because the last time I saw Phish do "YEM" as an encore was the excellently bittersweet final show before their 2000-2002 hiatus, in northern California.

This version stood up to it. When Mike brought the funk while Trey danced around, it was one of those "oh yeah" moments.

On the way out, I gave a gal a lift into town. I had not picked up a Phish hitch hiker since January 4, 2003, coming home from the Hampton show in Virginia. This gal was walking out of the lot, carrying a guitar in the silence of the night. So, while I sat in the traffic, I rolled down the window and asked her to play while we all waited to get out. She would not, but she asked for a lift, so I obliged.

After dropping her off in downtown Saratoga, I headed back to the hotel in Glens Falls to spend another night with Karen and get some sleep. The next morning, I did a three mile run before we headed out on a road-trip adventure the next day to northern Vermont to visit the Vermont Teddy Bear and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factories.

My seven-show summer Phish tour of the New Jersey and New York was over and it was another amazing experience. People ask how I can still enjoy it so much after 85 shows, but that is the beauty of Phish - they keep bringing it, so I keep going.