Hey everybody. I missed posting in what turned out to be a pretty eventful couple of weeks, so let me bring you up to speed.
The bad news: Jews for Jogging is going singular. Jew for Jogging. Unfortunately, Beth had to drop out of training this past week due to a knee injury. You can read more details about it in her post below, but the long and the short of it is, Beth won't be running the marathon. I am, however, pleased to say that she is still coming to New York to help with my charity poker tournament, and she is also planning on going to Disney to cheer for me.
Wondering what happens with the donation you already made? Well, if you donated directly to me, your donation still counts towards my fundraising goal. If you donated directly to Beth and your donation was processed, your donation will become a general donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you used our joint website to donate, half of your donation goes to my fundraising, and half goes to LLS as a general donation. If you've mailed money to Beth that hasn't yet been sent to LLS for processing, you can expect to get your check back in the next few days. At your option, you are more than welcome to keep the money, donate to my fundraising, or donate to LLS. If you'd like to submit a contribution to my fundraising, please mail it to:
Adam Moser
14 Linford Road
Great Neck, NY 11021
or donate online at:
http://bit.ly/moser
So how can there be good news? Well, I'm still running the marathon, and I am still committed to raising at least $3,700 on my own. Of that, I've raised over $2,000, including money that I sent to LLS for processing a few days ago but hasn't yet shown up in my account.
On top of that, while she will not be fundraising, I am happy to announce that my girlfriend, Shelby, will be running the race with me. Don't feel bad that she signed up too late to participate in the fundraising aspect - this will be her sixth marathon, and over the first five, culminating with this month's NYC marathon, she's already raised over $12,000 for LLS.
And, on top of that...I set a new personal longest distance ever today! A few weeks ago, I bested my longest run by breaking through the 10 mile mark, but today I went further than I ever have before, including walking. The previous high was 13.1 miles, set as a run/walk at the 2004 Virginia Beach Half Marathon and matched last week as a run. Last week's run, incidentally, was about 39 minutes shorter than at Virginia Beach, at 2 hours flat. Today I went 14, and I ran the whole way, finishing in about 2:09.
My legs are absolutely killing me.
Last bit of good news - I'm keeping the "grinds my gears" segment. Today, what really grinds my gears is my own perception of distance. I estimated the distance to the Throgs Neck Bridge as 7 miles, and figured I'd just do an out-and-back. I was off by 2 miles. In both directions. Running 4 miles right around my house at the end of a 14 mile run is much, much less fun than you might think.
In closing, I'm very sorry to see Beth go, I was really looking forward to running the race with her. But, LLS will still get some great support from people like you, I'm now really looking forward to running the race with Shelby, and Beth is going to try to compete against me in a triathlon next summer, since I obviously destroyed her this time around. So all in all, it sucks, but I'm still very excited about the marathon.
And yes, I will still be blogging. See you next week.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Jogging Jewsus is No Longer a-jogging
I don't know how many people know this. But I injured myself relatively badly last Saturday morning during my run. Running the marathon looks like a no go. It's extremely disappointing, and I am pretty irritated but I guess my old body just couldn't handle the stress. If you are interested in the details read on.
I was at about mile 3.5 on my 12 mile run last Saturday morning when all of a sudden I felt a pop in my knee. I didn't know what it was but I took another step and felt an immense amount of pain radiating up my leg. I stopped for a minute and tried to walk on it and my knee was in a ridiculous amount of pain.
Unfortunately I was running on the trail and still about half a mile from where the Team In Training people were and there was no place for cars to back up to. I started gimping along and immediately called my boyfriend to come pick me up. It really really sucked cause I had to gimp like half a mile back. But the hero that he is, Jack met me about 100 feet from his car and carried me to the car.
I haven't gone to the doctor yet, but if the pain continues I will. Speculation is that I pulled something in my knee. I would like to push through it and train, but this is my only body and I don't want to screw up my knee more. I have been limping, but my knee is starting to feel better and I have earned the affectionate nickname from my co-workers as "Hopalong Cassidy." I am sorry if I let anyone down, and I guess I am pretty upset. However, I am still flying to Orlando to support Moser and I wish him well in spite of all the crap talking.
Time for one last you know what grinds my gears: You know what really grinds my gears...training for a marathon and running miles and raising money for a great cause and then having your supposedly young body crap out on you. Please continue to donate to Moser and this is an amazing cause that benefits so many people. Anyways, at least for now... Jogging Jewsus out!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Chocolately Sickness
Not as much has happened on the Beth front as on the Moser front. Last week I thought I hurt my knee so I essentially only did the elliptical one day. However, Sunday I was signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k. For those of you not down with our friends the metric system that's about 9.3 miles. I really did not want to run Sunday but I woke up and dragged myself there.
It was actually pretty cold Sunday morning, but I knew I would warm up during the run. Therefore, I wore sweats there and figured I would wear a long sleeve shirt and shorts to run in. So, I was sitting there freezing and waiting for the race to start with my sweats on. Approximately half an hour before the race starts I checked my "gear." This essentially means I decided to stand around in shorts and a long sleeve shirt in 40 degree weather for about half an hour. For those of you thinking...that sounds cold...yes it was.
According to the offical time I wound up finishing the race with about a 9 min 8 sec mile pace. However, I am pretty sure it would have been a lot faster, but I stopped for a potty break and I think the people in the port o johns were having stomach problems because although there was no line, it took me about 3 min to get into the stall. Therefore, I give myself the benefit of the doubt and say my time was actually much faster if not for my pit stop. :)
Needless to say, the race is the gift that keeps on giving and I am now pretty congested. I also got to enjoy watching old people blow by me while I was running. I know we compete against ourselves when we run, but it was somewhat demoralizing to have the 60 year old guy blow past me. Since I am so fast, I am guessing he was a former Olympian. I have been taking it wasy since Sunday, but I inted to get back in the saddle and go for a run tomorrow....yeah.
On a side note, congrats to Moser's lady who ran the marathon last weekend and set a PR.
It was actually pretty cold Sunday morning, but I knew I would warm up during the run. Therefore, I wore sweats there and figured I would wear a long sleeve shirt and shorts to run in. So, I was sitting there freezing and waiting for the race to start with my sweats on. Approximately half an hour before the race starts I checked my "gear." This essentially means I decided to stand around in shorts and a long sleeve shirt in 40 degree weather for about half an hour. For those of you thinking...that sounds cold...yes it was.
According to the offical time I wound up finishing the race with about a 9 min 8 sec mile pace. However, I am pretty sure it would have been a lot faster, but I stopped for a potty break and I think the people in the port o johns were having stomach problems because although there was no line, it took me about 3 min to get into the stall. Therefore, I give myself the benefit of the doubt and say my time was actually much faster if not for my pit stop. :)
Needless to say, the race is the gift that keeps on giving and I am now pretty congested. I also got to enjoy watching old people blow by me while I was running. I know we compete against ourselves when we run, but it was somewhat demoralizing to have the 60 year old guy blow past me. Since I am so fast, I am guessing he was a former Olympian. I have been taking it wasy since Sunday, but I inted to get back in the saddle and go for a run tomorrow....yeah.
On a side note, congrats to Moser's lady who ran the marathon last weekend and set a PR.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Laziness pays off
For a week with almost no working out, I have a surprisingly large amount of stuff to talk about. First, the no working out. Yeah...that was a little disappointing.
After doing that 11 mile run last Saturday morning (at a surprising sub-9:00 pace), I kept slacking off, until Wednesday, when I was determined to get to the gym and do hill repeats. I did...sort of. I guess you can't really call them "repeats" when you only make it through one before you stop to cough half a lung up.
Methinks I may have overestimated how fast to run in a hill repeat.
After that I again slacked off until the sun went down Saturday night. Only then was it dark, cold, and rainy enough to really enjoy a 12 mile run in Central Park. There's something oddly serene about being one of only a few people running in Central Park the night before the NYC marathon takes over. There's also something a little terrifying about it. It's a good thing cops drive around often. I'm pretty surprised I got through a 12 mile run with virtually no working out the entire week up to that point, but I'm not one to question miracles.
In an effort to avoid another week like the last one, I've already gone out since this past Saturday's long run. Today I ran a 9:00/mi 10K around my neighborhood.
Speaking of the NYC marathon...it was pointed out to me this week that I have a wedding to go to the night before the 2010 marathon. Unfortunately, that means that I cannot run the 2010 NYC marathon, as I had been planning to do for some time. Instead, I'll finish the races that I need to guarantee entry, and I'll defer the guaranteed entry to 2011. In the meantime, I plan on attempting a triathlon or two in 2010 to stay in shape.
Speaking of having to cancel on marathons, Jews for Jogging endured a pretty big scare this week. Seems Beth's firm has been working on a big case for a couple of years, and the trial date is currently set for January 11, the day after the Disney marathon. For a couple days, we didn't know if Beth would have to skip some of the event weekend or bail altogether, but now it looks like she will be participating.
Also this past week, I submitted my recommitment form to Team in Training. It showed that I've met at least 25% of my fundraising goal, and binds me to raising the rest of the goal in exchange for reserving spaces for me in the marathon, at the hotel, on a plane, and at the various TNT events throughout the weekend. The Illinois chapter's recommitment deadline isn't for another couple of weeks, so Beth hasn't done hers yet.
Finally, today's pet peeve: drivers who keep their brights on in the face of a pedestrian. Don't get me wrong, I understand the substantial benefits of increasing a driver's field of vision with an oncoming pedestrian. Still, once you've established that there is a runner/walker in your way that you need to avoid, keeping the brights shining directly in their face is more than a little annoying.
Anyway, that does it for me. Look for the next post, when I will (hopefully) have some information about an exciting fundraising event you might be interested in. See you next week.
After doing that 11 mile run last Saturday morning (at a surprising sub-9:00 pace), I kept slacking off, until Wednesday, when I was determined to get to the gym and do hill repeats. I did...sort of. I guess you can't really call them "repeats" when you only make it through one before you stop to cough half a lung up.
Methinks I may have overestimated how fast to run in a hill repeat.
After that I again slacked off until the sun went down Saturday night. Only then was it dark, cold, and rainy enough to really enjoy a 12 mile run in Central Park. There's something oddly serene about being one of only a few people running in Central Park the night before the NYC marathon takes over. There's also something a little terrifying about it. It's a good thing cops drive around often. I'm pretty surprised I got through a 12 mile run with virtually no working out the entire week up to that point, but I'm not one to question miracles.
In an effort to avoid another week like the last one, I've already gone out since this past Saturday's long run. Today I ran a 9:00/mi 10K around my neighborhood.
Speaking of the NYC marathon...it was pointed out to me this week that I have a wedding to go to the night before the 2010 marathon. Unfortunately, that means that I cannot run the 2010 NYC marathon, as I had been planning to do for some time. Instead, I'll finish the races that I need to guarantee entry, and I'll defer the guaranteed entry to 2011. In the meantime, I plan on attempting a triathlon or two in 2010 to stay in shape.
Speaking of having to cancel on marathons, Jews for Jogging endured a pretty big scare this week. Seems Beth's firm has been working on a big case for a couple of years, and the trial date is currently set for January 11, the day after the Disney marathon. For a couple days, we didn't know if Beth would have to skip some of the event weekend or bail altogether, but now it looks like she will be participating.
Also this past week, I submitted my recommitment form to Team in Training. It showed that I've met at least 25% of my fundraising goal, and binds me to raising the rest of the goal in exchange for reserving spaces for me in the marathon, at the hotel, on a plane, and at the various TNT events throughout the weekend. The Illinois chapter's recommitment deadline isn't for another couple of weeks, so Beth hasn't done hers yet.
Finally, today's pet peeve: drivers who keep their brights on in the face of a pedestrian. Don't get me wrong, I understand the substantial benefits of increasing a driver's field of vision with an oncoming pedestrian. Still, once you've established that there is a runner/walker in your way that you need to avoid, keeping the brights shining directly in their face is more than a little annoying.
Anyway, that does it for me. Look for the next post, when I will (hopefully) have some information about an exciting fundraising event you might be interested in. See you next week.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
41 miles later...
My last post was on Oct 11, and since then, I've logged over 41 miles running. That includes two long runs (10 miles last week and 11 miles this morning), 2 sprint interval runs (this week's sucked), and a 5 mi run, along with some cycling and strengthening. I am pleased to say that it looks like I am now a sub-9 minute mile runner, having completed today's 11 miler at an 8:51/mi pace.
Beth said she's doing 10 miles tomorrow. Not bad. It's no 11, but hey, that's alright. It doesn't mean she's a bad person. There are plenty of other things she does that mean that.
Two weeks ago I ended the post by saying I planned to stick to the workout schedule that week. That didn't so much happen. Instead, I ignored all but 2 days of the schedule. Good times.
This week, I was much better - I did every workout except one (which I made up for by doing more than scheduled today). I'm pretty pleased with that. That's 5 days of working out this week, probably a new record for me.
Speaking of personal records, I've never run 11 miles before. I've done 10 three times - once in the 2004 Virginia Beach Half Marathon, once in the 2008 Soldier Field 10, and once last week (last week's was the fastest by about 15 minutes). I did go more than 11 miles in the half marathon (that's 13.1), but I walked the last three miles or so, so I don't count it as my longest run.
I'm ripping the "grinds my gears" bit off from Beth, since she ripped it off from Family Guy. Things that grind my gears: people who don't move out of the way even though I'm saying "excuse me!" The last few miles of my run today were up 1st Ave from 34th to 90th. At one point I came across a group of people walking 4 abreast with giant umbrellas, taking up the whole sidewalk, and ignoring me. As I passed, I made some comment thanking them for taking up all the available space. Their response: "The sidewalks aren't for runners." Really? Are there wheels attached to my feet that I'm not aware of?
Anyway, it's quarter to 3 in the morning, and I'm going to sleep. See you next week.
Beth said she's doing 10 miles tomorrow. Not bad. It's no 11, but hey, that's alright. It doesn't mean she's a bad person. There are plenty of other things she does that mean that.
Two weeks ago I ended the post by saying I planned to stick to the workout schedule that week. That didn't so much happen. Instead, I ignored all but 2 days of the schedule. Good times.
This week, I was much better - I did every workout except one (which I made up for by doing more than scheduled today). I'm pretty pleased with that. That's 5 days of working out this week, probably a new record for me.
Speaking of personal records, I've never run 11 miles before. I've done 10 three times - once in the 2004 Virginia Beach Half Marathon, once in the 2008 Soldier Field 10, and once last week (last week's was the fastest by about 15 minutes). I did go more than 11 miles in the half marathon (that's 13.1), but I walked the last three miles or so, so I don't count it as my longest run.
I'm ripping the "grinds my gears" bit off from Beth, since she ripped it off from Family Guy. Things that grind my gears: people who don't move out of the way even though I'm saying "excuse me!" The last few miles of my run today were up 1st Ave from 34th to 90th. At one point I came across a group of people walking 4 abreast with giant umbrellas, taking up the whole sidewalk, and ignoring me. As I passed, I made some comment thanking them for taking up all the available space. Their response: "The sidewalks aren't for runners." Really? Are there wheels attached to my feet that I'm not aware of?
Anyway, it's quarter to 3 in the morning, and I'm going to sleep. See you next week.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Oy my knee!
So much has happened since my last blog. I will start by clearing the air. Yes, I did compliment Moser. However, in my defense it was his birthday and I was delirious with exhaustion. I probably also complimented his couch and told his lamp I loved it. Who knows what went down. Anyways, Moser and I did run the 7 miles in Great Neck. They have ridiculous amounts of hills. Thank goodness IL is flat.
So in addition to running with Moser I have been going to my running club and socializing with my fellow good looking runners in the greater Wicker Park area. However, the running club will now thin out seeing as how the Chicago Marathon occurred this last weekend.
I attempted to run for 60 minutes on Saturday. I was in fact doing amazing *pats self on back* and approximately 8 min 30 seconds miles when about 48 minutes in I felt intense pain in my knee. So, as all good runners would do I stopped running. Unfortunately, it was a windy Chicago day and I was in mere running clothes when without physical exertion the weather would require a coat. So, I started to freeze. Therefore, I started to run to avoid the cold and before I knew it I fell over from pain. I once again stopped and hobbled "igor-style" for the last mile of my run. Not my most promising moment and I am letting my knee recover.
This past weekend was also the Chicago Marathon. Although I didn't run it I did sell my soul to Nike for about 5 hours and hock their overpriced goods in a tent. I got to see the first guy finish who was of course from Kenya and he set a new course record of 2 hours and 5 min and some odd seconds. To break it down that's like 4 min and 45 second miles for like 26.2 miles. That is insane and when the guy finished he looked like you or I would after a somewhat rousing game of racquetball and didn't look nearly as tired as I do after even like 8 miles. I guess that's why he's a pro. I also heard people talking after the marathon, and upon inquiring how one guy was feeling after the marathon, his exact words were "My body feels like shit but in my head it was amazing." I guess that kind of sums up the marathon experience.
Now for another installment of you know what really grinds my gears. You know what really grinds my gears: People that have no problem letting their dog crap on the very narrow running trail, and when you look at them like um..aren't you going to clean that up, they act like they have places to be and can't be bothered. If you have time to stroll your dog down by the lake...you have time to pick up his poop.
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