Cubism

I now work in a cubicle. There are three other staff members in the office with me, each with their own cube. I used to have my own office...with a door and two desks. Now I have a cube. Librarians should not be in cubes. We need to be surrounded by books. I love ordering new books, opening the boxes, being the first to touch them, open the cover and browse. Maybe that's why I was sent to a cube, someone was jealous I was touching the books first?

I do have three chairs. They all have issues, or, really, I have issues with them. Two are twins, nice purply color cushions for my butt and back. As a normal chair they are okay, but for an office/desk chair, not so much. They don't adjust, there are no arm supports or wheels. Not good for computer ergonomics.

Then I have the "office chair". It has grey cushions, which match the grey walls of my cube. It also has armrests. Except the arms don't adjust. The chair leans to the left. Really. It does have wheels, but three of the five don't work. It groans whenever I switch position. My officemates think this is me, but really, it's the chair.

How about the space of the cubicle? Maybe 6x6 with the "door" opening four feet wide so I am on display whenever someone walks in the office. I'm thinking of making a fancy sheet to hang across the opening, but the bosses might not appreciate my sense of privacy.

You may be asking what this all has to do with running? Well, these chairs destroy my right hamstring. If I don't get up to wander around every thirty minutes, or be weird and stand inside my cube (forget the stretching when officemates are here, that would really freak them out)by the afternoon my leg barely moves. I miss my old office and chair.

Some other things I've learned about cubism:
1. Body sounds and smells - it would be rude to burp, pass gas, crunch food with officemates so close.
2. Talking on a phone. No matter what everyone in the office area can hear you. There is no such thing as a private conversation.
3. Germs. Does a four-foot wall really suffice?
4. Changing clothes - in my private office at DCC I used to change into my bike or running clothes in the office. It was nice. Now, this wouldn't be welcome by the three women I share the office with. Well, maybe it would, but I'd be uncomfortable. This is where my privacy curtain could help?
5. Watching. At least three people know when I come, when I go. Be ever vigilant.

Governor Cuomo!

Well, my choice for new governor, my real choice, Andy Cuomo, won in convincing fashion. The unfortunate part of this is the mayor of Rochester, Robert Duffy, who himself is a multi-marathon and 13.1 mile finisher, will be the Lieutenant Gov. Why is this bad? Because Duffy believed in Rochester, turned things around, or at least got them headed in the right direction, and worked tirelessly to promote the city and surrounding areas.
The odds of us getting someone as good as the Duffman are low. His support helped get the Snowcheap series of races, the Flower City Challenge (duathlon and half-marathon) and other events off the ground. The Duffman, a former police chief, was able to help get police to support and understand the importance of these events.
He will be missed. Let's hope he doesn't forget Upstate now that he is moving on up to Albany.

Governor of New York?

No, I'm not turning this into a permanent political blog, but after watching the recent New York State Gubernatorial debate, I have to comment.

This show was the most entertaining debate I have ever seen! It was better than any SNL skit or reality show. From the right wing comes Carl "I hate gays" Paladino, from the left, our self-proclaimed protector, The Kid, Andy Cuomo. Throw in a southern speaking Green Party candidate, backed by none other than Ralph Nader (how can he still be alive, he was running for office when I was a mere child?), Howie Hawkins, the former Madam Kristin "I love fake tans, facelifts and cue cards" Davis, Jimmie "The Rent is 2 Damn High" McMillan, Warren Redlich of the Libertarian Party, Charles Barron of the Freedom Party and we have a circus like no one has seen, except possibly California.

The media's current topic of choice seems to be the Frederick Douglass lookalike, Jimmie McMillan.








But my choice may be Kristin Davis. Let's examine her credentials;
1. millionaire businesswoman who started with nothing and created an empire - I believe in entrepeneurship.
2. based on her business choice, must be a good communicator one-on-one or small groups, so she could handle the backroom politics of Albany.
3. Strong supporter of the medical profession based on the facelifts and body part adjustments.
4. Only candidate who won't cut jobs to save our state. In fact, she will create jobs and money by making gambling and pot legal.
5. We don't have to worry about a sex scandal ruining her credibility.
6. She can read well, obvious by the use of cue cards in the debate. This bodes well for libraries!

So, who is your candidate?

Racing Fears

Hammer Nutrition's September 2010 magazine has an interesting and well-written article called, "Embracing the fears of racing" by Shane Eversfield, a Total Immersion Master Coach. Here are some quotes from the article, along with my own comments;

"If we knew ahead of time exactly how the race will turn out, or how our lives will progress and end, we probably would not bother training-let alone get out of bed each day".

"...we are drawn to racing-at least in part-by the wonderful elements of mystery and uncertainty".

"on race day, a great asset for transforming fear into acceptance and peace is gratitude". Be grateful for ..."family, health, this day, arriving at the starting line safe after training for however long to complete this distance".

The other common fear in racing is pain. Through your training there is self-discovery that takes place in whether the pain felt during hard sessions is detrimental or a stressor that will make you stronger. You also learn how to deal with the pain that may develop during a race, hold the pace longer through some distress and carry on to the finish line. Pain can be an ally in a race, ..."remain calm physically and mentally in the presence of pain, without complicating it. It is a powerful asset for our most challenging races and our lives".

Let's see if I can remember some of this for the rest of my races this fall.

Chicago Marathon

Our Chicago Marathon heroes, Jennifer and Lou Katz, finished the 26.2 mile tour on Sunday. Temperature at start time was about 60 and rose to 80 by mid-day. Jennifer finished in 3:53:13, good for 1594/15,997 females (top 10%) and 183/1548 in her age group.
Lou completed the course in 4:26:24, 9754/19,777 men and 309/865 in his age group. Congratulation to both.
The overall winner was Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya in 2:06:24 and the top female runner was Liliya Shobukhova of Russia in 2:20:25. Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic champion in 1984, qualified for another USA Olympic trial with a 2:47.

Upstate NY XC @ Beaver Island State Park

MW kicking butt, about 120 yards ahead of me, 2+miles into race.

About 2.3 miles into race and I'm suffering. Terry went on to beat me by 7 seconds.
Our Fleet Feet men's vet team earned one point in the series. A nice flat course, perfect day for cross-country running. Complete results are here.

Chicago Marathon

Best wishes to Lou and Jennifer Katz who are competing in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday!

Top Reasons to Run the Chicago Marathon:

1. You get to run with 45,000 of your closest friends.
2. The 10k water/food stop has slices of Chicago Style Pizza
3. The 20k water/food stop has Chicago Hot Dogs-fully loaded
4. At 30k you get Chicago brewed beer in a collectible Bears Mug.
5. The finish line post-race food includes a Chicago style grilled steak.
6. When you come home you can brag to co-workers and friends about competing with Joan Benoit Samuelson, Steve Jones, Melissa White, Ethiopians who run 2:06 for a marathon, and other world class runners.
7. It's going to be 55 degrees and partly cloudy at the start, perfect weather to run 26 miles!
8. You'll finish the race, get recovered in the hotel hot tub, take a nap and be ready to watch the Yankees beat Minnesota at 8pm eastern time.