Elevene

Early January, I received my NYC Half Marathon Entry confirmation. Instead of running it in the dire heat of August, they’ve moved the race to March this year. Same course (around the park and down to the battery), but a new date brings the challenge of training through the winter months and wondering what will happen with the weather on March 21st. In New York, it could be 20 and snowing or 50 and sunny.

The Half last August was my last big race and with the new job, baby and holidays, I did little running during the latter part of 2009. So, I kicked off a pseudo-training program on the 11th of January using this program, and so far I’ve been getting in three days of running. The fourth day of any activity is tough with my life schedule.

So far, I’m doing OK intentionally starting slow to get the rust off and try to regain some kind of form of past performances. I’ve found I get to about 32-35 minutes and my body and systems slow down dramatically. Typical tightness and some aches here and there – more from doing sit-ups and push-ups than miles – and my quads are typically tight. Most notable is my fatigue level is up so rather than feeling energized by exercise, I’m in the “I’m just more tired’ phase. This too shall pass. I hope.

I do need to push my endurance. Two weekends ago, I did my South to Battery-Up the East River run (a 6 miler) and had to run-walk the second half. I might have started too fast and was grateful the sun was shining and temp about 30 as slowing on winter runs is when I get cold. I am hopeful for March though I haven’t really set any expectations and don’t expect any super fast times. I am running the 4 miler Sunday (decided NOT to go to Miami for The Game) so that will help raise the bar and keep me going into the second month.

On March 22nd, we depart from a week-long stay in Mexico, near Puerto Vallarta.

Here we are again, on the brink of an AFC Title and I’m as nervous as ever. Living in New York, every conversation, sports or otherwise, this week was Jets, Jets, Jets. I was a bit surprised at the number of Giant fans now cheering for their in-town rivals especially since Yankee and Met fans or Ranger Islander followers would never, ever cross lines, not even for a Ring or a Cup. Yet, New Yorkers are loyal people, so the few of us for The Blue are left alone to cheer in the quiet of our homes rather than the ruckus of the local sports bar (the one closest to me is a Charger bar, of all things, and I was seriously out numbered there last year for the Divisional game).

The Game – one side of me says the Colts dominate and reveal the 8-8 Jets. The other side of the brain is worried sick as this year’s Jet team reminds me a lot of the 2005 Steelers. Quick, Fearless Underdogs that Blitz like mad and have gotten the upside to a lot of good, solid play from all their units. The Colts make me nervous in games like these where they’re heavily favored, but this year it’s a bit closer. Should be a dandy and I hope we have to struggle with the “Do we go to Miami or not?” decision come Monday.

In the free world.

When I was younger, oh, way back when, I knew a lot about music. A lot. I moved from AM radio into the new world of FM rock, passed through Rolling Stone and Spin and kept up for a while. Today, I know nothing. Sure, I’ve heard of Taylor Swift and know of bands like Grizzly Bear and Andrew Bird, but just discovered The Big Pink, Wild Beasts and The xx.

Fear not, using my annual holiday wind down and, post break, wind up I’ve been snagging lots of (free) tunes from a few of my favorite tune sites. Despite the fact that many are moving to podcasts and embedded players, probably to avoid litigation as they gain in popularity, I was able to grab about 60 holiday songs and today my “Best of 2009″ collection hit 183 songs.

For no other reason than to show my support for keeping the information free, here’s a thanks and some linkage to those supplying the music to those of us in demand. I can’t even recall where I got all this stuff, but here’s a few of my favs: Cover Me, Done Waiting, Muzzle of Bees, MP3 Hugger, and WakeUpAndSmellTheMusic

If you have some as well or want to swap songs, let me know.

Turn it Up!

Let’s start the New Year with a smattering of bit and bytes from around the Elevene world . . .

1) There’s a new blog amongst the In/Complete Publications family – Nanacooks.com. Our dearest, motherly grandma has been sending elaborate emails about her cooking adventures – she’s breaking away from Betty Crocker – and we decided to launch her into the 21st C. with a writing tool of her own. The next Julie/Julia project? Hey, ya never know where these things can take you.

2) Best idea of 2009 – taking our little girls to Indiana to have Christmas with The Cousins. Upon arrival, skip took off for the basement and I think we saw her for about three hours of a five day visit. Christmas Eve was Rockwellian in its traditions and cuteness. All of them had a blast and Bubby was the main attraction at all family gatherings. Typically, she ate it up and performed with aplomb.

3) NFL – I’ve finally come to a conclusion about the Colts. Despite all the “big picture” discussions and “look what happened to Wes Welker” musings, I find it annoying that a professional sports team, the true epitome of competitive spirit mixed with entertainment would “back off” for any reason. I think the fan response has been a bit overstated, but I do think the Owner and GM have an obligation to the fans to put the best, most compelling and competitively driven product on the field each and every week. The one trait that many could take from Bill Belichick and the Patriots, is that you must win. No matter what. Records, playoffs, injuries, whatever reasons you muster, the object of the NFL and any given football game is to win. I think that regardless of what week it is or what your playoff scenario is, you go out to play the best damn game ever and win. The Colts didn’t do that and we could argue they undermine their approach and appearance with apathy over aggression. If they take the Super Bowl, it may make a moot point of the 12/27 loss to the Jets. But if they don’t, then the fire-less approach to the last few weeks will only mirror the same failed approach form years past. Perhaps, this time, you do it differently.

To that note, how is it the Jets make the playoffs and the Giants don’t. Very odd.

4) Saw Avatar (in 3D). As much as it pains me the like a James Cameron film, I have to say it was pretty good. His writing isn’t the most elegant (but beats Mr. Lucas) but the technology, screenplay and sound design were incredible. As is the immersion 3D experience. A good see, even for the extra $4 for recyclable glasses.

5) Still trying to decide what’s on tap for 2010 … I’m not going to say I’ll read more books, watch less TV, try to shed some pounds or write more posts – those are all done, failed and trite. Need something new … a brainstorm list:

Complete Elevene redesign
Be ‘a runner’ again
Celebrate the little things
Not change jobs (is that possible!)
Watch F1 race in person
Listen to more music
More motorcycling
Less sugar
More analog
Less Facebook
. . . suggestions, anyone?

By now you should have received your annual Elevene Holiday Photo Card. (If not, please leave advice in the comments and we’ll drop one in the mail for you.) This year brought a new addition to the photos and we decided to go with postcards over envelopes, repetitive return addressing, dying printer cartridges, paper jams and all those other DIY error messages we’ve encountered in the past.

We did not, however, forgo the annual photo shoot – organized, produced, shot and managed by The Girl with The Girls. Hopefully, you’ve seen the end result masterpiece. It is my duty and pleasure to present you with out takes from the photo shoot; a true test of patience, manipulation and limited success. Luck for us all, The Girl persevered and not only got the things put together but captured some great moments between new sisters.

Enjoy the photos and your new year celebration, whatever and wherever that may be. Peace.

I work with an amazing group of artists, animators, copy writers, designers, developers, directors, technologists and generally very talented people. “My” group put together an animated holiday card from the Studio and, most kindly, asked for something from me. This is my rushed and, compared to theirs, rather and tame attempt at animation. Thanks to all of them for making me look much better at my job than this would represent and to Photoshop for making animated GIFs so easy.

(Ed. I know, I know. That didn’t really work. I think about things to write, I write them in my head, but it’s no good if you don’t just do it. So, here’s something, if not a daily prose.)

Two weekends ago now, we built our first ever Gingerbread house (Photo Album). Skip provided tons of enthusiasm, and as the main Contractor, I learned three important lessons in Gingerbread construction. 1) Reduce the steep slope of the roof whenever possible; 2) the instruction to roll the dough to a “scant quarter of an inch” are there for a reason (weight!) and 3) build the house first THEN tell the kids so you can go straight to decorations and they don’t have to suffer through the dough-making/baking/building/drying cycle prior to gluing every possible candy onto the house.

Last weekend, we got the tree up. Again, testing the patience of a 4 year old. She did well as we got it into the house one day and lighted and decorated the next. So far, Bubby’s stayed away. I think it’s general size (“a bit too big, maybe”) has her intimidated. Skip, of course, touched the light bulb the moment I told her not to and got a little burn on her finger. Lesson learned.

The Elves keep moving around and the Cousins Countdown run in conjunction with the Advent calendar openign every morning. This weekend we’re hosting a holiday brunch with ham and biscuits, Egg McMuffin casseroles, donuts and beverages (just don’t ask The Girl about buying a Ham). Whew.

Now, we just need to get some shopping done!