Archive for the 'nyc' Category
Barbara Kruger Covers Up the Lever House – ANIMAL.
This looks like a pretty amazing installation– Lever House, at 390 Park Ave, was just a few buildings away from where I first worked in NYC (which I came to refer to as “Dark Tower”). I often sat a cross this building and just stared at it over my food-cart lunch. If I were there now, I’d have something to read.
(Fake) Subway Advisory! – Gothamist: New York City News, Food, Arts & Events.
This probably coulda been funnier, but nonetheless. The real question is why I am still subscribed to so many NYC blogs now that I have escaped. I always thought that the MTA PA system was a catch-22: removing your headphones to listen to the message was always equally as painful as unexpectedly ending up wherever you would if you didn’t listen.
Perfect match on the type and layout, though. I also love the absolutely confounding effective times and dates. Usually those were harder to understand than the service changes.
NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell
Kelly and I recently re-watched Summer of Sam, which I hadn’t seen since I before I ever moved to New York. That was a strange phase for Spike Lee, but a pretty good movie, I think, if a little too abrasive. Anyway, that plus watching Swingtown on Netflix has me once again devouring the 70s. Excited to see the P5 linked to this this morning. Great graphics. The Blackout clip is the must-see:
Kelly and I headed to Madison Square Garden last night to see both Davidson and UT win their games in the Jimmy V classic. Both games were great (especially Stephen Curry’s last few minutes against West Virginia) and got me excited for our next couple of months. UT played Villanova, who seemed to really lose their way in the last 10 minutes of the game. The crowd was mostly rowdy Nova fans, many of whom were incredibly drunk– I saw more fighting in the crowd than at any other sporting event (or rock show!) than I’ve ever been to. Our section of Texas Exes was pelted with ice and drinks as we ended the game with “The Eyes Of Texas,” and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it a little bit when a bigger Texas fan dropped one of the worst offending Villanova idiots on his head in a particularly vicious altercation. This is, I guess, why beer is only sold at off-campus NCAA events. Ugh.
I just hope that the behavior of the Villanova fans is not typical of the Big East– we’ll be at a lot of BE conference games, hopefully, once we move to our new home in Syracuse next month. That’s right, we’re moving: I accepted a job at Syracuse University right before Thanksgiving. I’m really looking forward to it, and we’re heading up there this weekend to find an initial place to stay. I’ll start in early January.
Somewhat unrelatedly, on my way to the Garden to meet Kelly last night, I listened to this week’s The Moth podcast, which featured my hero Joe Jackson telling a story about his early days playing in pubs (a bit of the story is also in his great memoir, A Cure for Gravity). Thanks to J for making sure I didn’t miss it! I bring this up, because I keep meaning to post my top 10 or so albums for 2008… Joe’s Rain is definitely on that list.
Just a quick update. Kelly and I checked out the Banksy show this weekend (photoset on flickr), and also hit the Guggenheim. The Catharine Opie photographs were pretty spectacular, but the museum seemed mostly empty otherwise. I returned from Austin exhausted and relieved, and will take my oral exams by video conference before thanksgiving. We’re looking forward to lots of visitors: my folks this week, Libby and J next week, Bob and Sabia the following week, then down to Charlotte for Thanksgiving. It’s a whirlwind until Christmas.
I’m planning to get back to running this week, at least on the treadmill… the weather is getting perfect for long runs in the park though.
It may only be the recent trip to Texas, but Kelly and I are now addicted to Friday Night Lights.
Not that it was much of a choice. I’ve had to come to terms, over the last 4 weeks, with the fact that I am not able to run the NYC marathon this year. My strained leg is taking too long to heal, and there’s no need to push it. That’s the lesson I learned in Charlotte last year. Better to take the time off now than to risk worse injury just out of pride.
Luckily, I’ll just defer my admission to the marathon until next year. I’ll have to pay again, but I have little choice now. Oh well. I’m not beating myself up about it, just working hard to get back on my feet. Been to a few cycling classes, and have continued consistently stretching and practicing yoga. Sadly, my two favorite yoga classes at the gym got discontinued, probably because I was one of only 2 or 3 who ever showed up. Hopefully those teachers will be back at other times, they were my 2 favorites.
Relatedly, I finally got in to the physical therapist this week. It has been a nightmare to schedule these appointments, since I have to take off from work early to get to the office before they close. Visiting this place is like stepping back to the 70s. It’s basically a railroad apartment, mauve walls and brown trim, divvied up by orange, brown, and green striped curtains. Behind each curtain is a cot and an aged brown-plastic machine covered in dials. It definitely seems like more of a rehab-after-workplace-accident type place than a sports medicine practice. Thanks HIP! If it weren’t so close to my house, I might seek another place.
Anyway, they hooked me up to this shocking machine for 15 minutes, then gave me an ultrasound massage on my hamstring, and then I rode an archaic stationary bike that looked like a discarded The Price Is Right prop for about 6 minutes. Two feet from the bike was the receptionist’s desk… she was filing as I peddled. A strange place indeed. Perhaps I’ll get some pictures next time– have a few weeks of this ahead.
Oh, and I went to see My Bloody Valentine last night. They were terrific, and the fact that I brushed past J Mascis in the crowd would have made my 15 year old self ecstatic. Haven’t done much that would impress 15 year old me lately, so that felt good. (I can feel him shudder each time I put on my running tights!) The highlight for me was actually the extended noise break they closed with– it was overpoweringly, sensory-overload loud. Like thunder on pause forever. I was fine with earplugs, but people seemed to be losing their minds a bit. I can only imagine that this event had some negative impact on the Jersey Boys performance in the theatre next door. The highlight for Kelly is that she didn’t go to the show and therefore missed it.
Apart from not playing “Cupid Come,” they covered everything I wanted to hear. Alphabetcityblog documented the show way more carefully than I ever could have, I’m just glad I got their in time for the whole set, had a decent view (though this person had a better spot! — this was more like where we were), and was able to meet up with Jon and Melissa beforehand. Well worth the price.
I had an appointment in Manhattan on Tuesday (for a wisdom-teeth extraction consult– more on that soon), and ended up taking the 11:30 ferry to Staten Island for work. About 80% of the way across the harbour, something strange happened. The boat stopped, and the ferry workers and guards started running around like crazy. Some people started to freak a little, but most just froze. Tourist captured it all on video. I was sure that we’d hit something (though the only jerk I felt was the engine being cut), and I figured we were taking on water.
No one seemed to know what was happening, then the ferry started turning around, headed back to Manhattan. A rumor spread that there was something wrong with the SI slip, and we had to go back. Before that rumour got to everyone, though, the boat started listing heavily to the starboard side. That freaked me out.
For some reason, I went starboard, and noticed that the boat was tilting because everyone else was headed that way as well. Because there was a big Coast Guard boat heading toward us. I figured they were going to try to evacuate us. Then I noticed a smaller boat, with two Coast Guard folks pulling a limp, fleshy person aboard.
Instantly people said someone jumped. Sounded good to me. The loudspeaker came on, told us the rescue operation was successful, and we started on our way again. I wondered how someone could have gotten out of the boat without anyone seeing them (of course, people have been known to). Told a bunch of folks at work about it, and even read about the jumper on the SI Advance website.
Then, a couple hours later, Kelly lets me know it was Hannah Upp, the missing teacher from Harlem. Apparently, she’d jumped off the pier and swam into the harbour. The Ferry captain stopped the boat to save her when someone on the boat noticed her floating there. Strange.
I made a lot of progress on my paper last weekend, and got some very helpful feedback from my doctoral committee chair on Monday night. Tuesday night, I went for another see-how-it-feels run that ended badly. At the 2-mile point, my knee was barely hanging on, so I walked another two (walking is painless) and headed to an easy yoga class. The good news is, every day since Wednesday, the fatigue has been gone from my legs, and the pain is reducing. I still fully intend to run the marathon (8 weeks away still), but I am not going to push the training at all– definitely not going to try and get back up to the 40/50 miles a week range. I ran the last marathon with only about 25 miles a week, so I’m not worried about finishing. Maybe it won’t be my fastest race ever, but I’m going to do all I can to keep from injuring myself.
Paper-wise, though, I’m at the point where I’m putting the finishing touches on this thing. Nearly two years in the making, it’s the biggest milestone I’ve had since starting graduate school. The next step after it is accepted (might have to do a revision or two) is to fly down to Austin the first week of October and take my qualifying exams. Once that happens, and after some relaxing and celebrating, I’ll begin my dissertation proposal.
My accidental 2-mile overage on Sunday seems to have been a bit too much for my tendons– the back of my left knee is very, very sore. Apart from a bit of walking around campus, I took Monday off, and didn’t go running until Tuesday afternoon. I had decided to just run a couple of miles to see how it felt. It was not so good. My outer-calves felt very week, and the back of my left knee was a little… pinchy? I struggled through a mile, walked a bit, and then ran a second mile that felt a little better. But I knew I shouldn’t go any further. I stopped by the gym on the way home to give my legs the big stretch I should have energy to do on Sunday: rolled out my quads and IT band, rolled out my shins and calves, and stretched the front of my legs on that ankle/calf strengthening machine.
Once I was back at home, I iced. I think things are less painful today, and I brought the heating pad to work for some additional therapy. I found a few things online that have me believing that after a few days off, I should be ready to go again. It’s the only thing keeping my spirits up; every day I can’t train bums me out a little more. I just hope that the time I take off doesn’t force me to step down the last several weeks of my training too much.
Rather than do 3 laps in Prospect Park for my 11 miles on Sunday, Kelly and I decided to head to Central Park (about a 3 minute ride on the Q train) for a change of pace. I did alright, staying between 45 and 90 seconds over my marathon pace… fastest mile was 8:02 (#11!), slowest was 9:18 (#8). It was only about 74 degrees, but the general lack of shade and the intense humidity really took its toll… I think the fast final mile was just me trying to get it over with.
Kelly came along and ran for about an hour, then greeted me with a cold lime Gatorade at the end. I wore a cotton shirt again, and ended up regretting it as I had to wring out about a gallon of sweat and ultimately finish shirtless. It was a while post run before I fully dried off.
Since it was a bit of a treat to go to Manhattan for a run, we decided to find a bagel for breakfast afterward, but being in midtown, it was ultimately expensive and unsatisfying. Why can’t everywhere be Brooklyn– land of delicious, cheap, and convenient bagels?
The change of pace was nice, but thinking I may hit the shore in Bay Ridge for next Sunday’s 8 miler. At least I can be certain to find great bagels there. Looking forward to the trip to Fredonia, though, in August, where I have at least on 10+ mile run scheduled.
So, my 5 miles on Saturday is supposed to be at my marathon pace. I’m aiming for about 8 minute miles, based on my performance in Buffalo and to get my PR in NYC. I’m planning to do these at around 7:50 just for safety’s sake and to learn what that pace feels like. Somehow, though, today I went way too fast because I wasn’t paying attention. I averaged 7:20 per mile, with mile 2 at 6:33. Way too fast. I can’t remember running a faster mile than that. Ever. The good news is that it didn’t feel that fast, but still. Heart rate was up pretty high, which is also good news… I’m usually a little fearful about getting into my higher zone at the beginning of the run, and I kept it up.
Once I realized how fast that mile was, I tried to slow waaaay down; eventually by miles 4 & 5, I was on track, but it felt like I was running 10 minute miles at that point. I don’t know if it had something to do with the heat, or with the low-key music I was listening to, but I lost all sense of speed. I’m going to research how to get more comfortable with my pace. I think a piece of duct tape over my watch display would be a good start…
Another 7 miles in Prospect Park this morning, and I couldn’t be looking more forward to my upcoming change of venue. I ran late enough this morning that there were cars in the park… don’t think I’ll do that again. It totally freaks me out, and, on top of that, the morning drivers seem a bit more preoccupied with getting to where they’re going than those in the early evenings.
The run itself was ok; a little slow, but consistent. Slowest mile (8:35) was right smack in the middle. I felt pretty good, and had no trouble getting up, but the run was a bit of a drag, possibly because of what I listened to. This week’s This American Life was both a rerun and a bummer (though a great story) and just didn’t get me motivated. I actually remember listening to it before running the exact same route a couple of years ago. This is why I’ve been concentrating on making mixes and playlists and things, it really does make a difference for me.
On that note, I have to recommend the new pay-what-you-want Girl Talk album, Feed The Animals. It’s a hyper-ADD mix of bits and pieces of all sorts of songs. I’m not really a fan of mash-ups, but this album is perfect for exercising… I strongly recommend it to Beth for her spinning classes (at least the ones that don’t mind some dirty words). It’s this album (and specifically the masterful sampling of VU’s “Sunday Morning”) that really got me through the muggy run Sunday evening. It’s an album that keeps you listening for what’s next– great for running, but perhaps a little too distracting for real life. We’ll see.
Oh, and happy birthday, Bethy! I wish I was there to celebrate with you.
Next run, and probably next report, will be from sunny Southern California. I’ve got another 7 to finish up this week, then it’s on to week one of my NYC Marathon training.
Embarked on my 21-mile week last night at 7:45. We had an early evening storm, so I went to a 90 minute yoga class before I ran, counting on the rain to cool things down. All it did was make it unbearably humid. My 7 miles were sluggish, but pretty unremarkable otherwise. Probably as much due to the North Carolina overload we engaged in at the Birds of Avalon/Polvo show the night before as much as the weather. I took it pretty easy, but still managed to nearly reach my heart-rate ceiling. My splits were pretty consistent. My lower legs were a bit weak for the rest of the evening, and kinda sore when I woke up this morning.
Luckily I ran into Kelly before she left the park so I could change my pizza order for dinner. The Grandma and Sicilian slices she brought me were exactly what I needed.
Finished a 7-miler yesterday evening just in time to meet Kelly for a picnic and the Metropolitan Opera in Prospect Park. Split-wise, it was an interesting run; I don’t know that I’ve ever had a non-race run with 2 sub-7-minute miles. Mile 2, which I thought I was running at about 8:30 pace, was actually 6:55– a testament to how good I’ve been feeling lately, I guess. I also had a 6:55 mile at mile six, thanks to an anonymous stranger.
Somewhere during mile 5 I heard a weird sound, and turned to see a kid on a little training bike careening toward me and a guy close on my tail. Usually, the few people who pass me totally smoke me, but I eventually heard this guy’s steps steady behind me. Once there was room (lots of walkers on the path due to the opera) he caught me, and we kept pace with one another, non competitively, for the next mile and a half or so. It was great. He really kept me going. About halfway into mile 6, right at the base of the hill, he chirped “thanks!” and headed off out of the park. I’ve never really run with anyone before, but it was really nice to have someone keeping me honest through the part of the run I’d likely have slacked on were I alone.
This was one of those moments where I felt like an actual real runner, which is rare. Nathaniel mentions being treated badly at running stores until he reached a certain level of fitness and running acumen, and I’ve experienced the same thing. I guess this was a more positive one of those moments.
My plan was to do about 50% of my normal mileage this week, so my 4 milers on Wednesday and Friday filled that out for me. I was a little sluggish on Friday, after the Katrina Benefit (feat. Neko case!) we went to Thursday night, a long day at work, and an incredibly heavy diner lunch. My shins have been a little sore, so I’m taking it easy today. Standing and sweating at the Belmont Stakes all day yesterday took it out of me as well. I may go to a yoga class tonight, though, just to stay streched out.
I went to 2 spinning classes this week, and realized, with the help of my heart rate monitor, that I never really my blood pumping on the bike as much as I do running. I had always thought it was the other way around, but apparently it’s all in my head. I usually top out at near 181 or so on my runs, and I’m lucky if I get to 161 on the bike. Strange.
I counted out the weeks to the NYC Marathon, and it looks like I’ll be starting the Hal Higdon program during the first week of July. I’ll be in Southern California that week, so I should have a few nice runs before I come back to the city to run in the brutal heat. I’m thinking I’ll be getting up pretty early to avoid the sun this summer.
Ran another 4 on Sunday, this time quite a bit faster. It was about 81 degrees when I went out, which wore me out a bit, but didn’t seem to mess with my speed or breathing.
After seeing my marathon splits, I’m convinced I need to go out and figure out my PRs for various events. I’m certain that the first half of the marathon was my fastest half to date. & at the 3.2 mile mark on this run I think I probably got close to a 5K record. Funny how avoiding races for a few months causes you to lose touch with your times. Here are some PRs from my NYRR races last year. I’ll work on breaking them over the next few months. I also wan to see what I can do on an all-out mile, but I’ll save that for a cool day.
5K: I’m shocked– haven’t run an official one in at least a year.
4mi: 29:20 (Run for Central Park, July 2007)
5mi: 38:41 (WABC Fight/Prostate Cancer, July 2007)
10K: 47:34 (Healthy Kidney 10K, May 2007)
Half: 1:46:40 (Brooklyn Half, April 2007)
Marathon: 3:44:15 (2008 Buffalo Marathon)
I’m pretty sure I beat all of those records in my first 13.1 miles, but I didn’t pay too close attention. Hopefully I can beat most of them before I start my official NYC Marathon training in a few weeks.
John Schafer had a nice, long interview with Anton Corbijn yesterday about his new Ian Curtis biopic Closer. Apparently, and I wasn’t aware of this, Corbijn’s cred with the Joy Division crew is incredibly legit– wait, he took THAT photo?wow. Plus, he moved from Holland to England because of Unknown Pleasures. All I ever did because of Unknown Pleasures was explain a tshirt to other 8th graders.
The audio clip they played during the interview restored the goosebumps I got when I saw the trailer at Film Forum a couple weeks back, before we saw Turturro’s Romance and Cigarettes. The trailer had me transfixed and dying to see the movie, then I looked over at Kelly for her to mirror and vaildate my feelings, and she was all “eh, want some M&Ms?”.” Ouch. I’m gonna make her see it with me.
Incidentally, it’s been a very Joy Division/Factory recent past– the anniversary new balances, RIP Tony Wilson, the Factory graphic design book (so cool it has a podcast, the Hacienda desginer’s Hacienda-like tire stores, and now this article referenced in the SoundCheck interview that I had to track down and read.
My sister Beth was here this weekend, but, for some reason, there is no photographic evidence to support that claim. I really need to start bringing my camera around more. We were having so much fun, though, I kept forgetting it. Highlights included the great pizza at Lucali’s and John Mulaney‘s hilarious set at Union Hall. Also, Beth let us take her on our errands and treated them like it was all part of the tour! That is the mark of a great house guest.