Six Things You Didn't Know

On October 13, 2008, I was tagged. Tagged by Karen, of the fantastic blog, Mom on the Run (http://momrun.blogspot.com/. Hey, how come I was only number 3? :-) By the way, Karen, congratulations on finishing the Grand Rapids marathon this past weekend. Can't wait to read the full report.)

So, I'm suppose to write six facts about myself. I was tagged previously and thought I had to answer specific questions. (Are there 'tag' rules out there in cyberspace?) I can't say I'm the most interesting person out there (ok, that doesn't count as a fact. Merely an opinion of myself.) Here goes:

1. I have a slight allergy to dogs and cats. I have four dogs and 1 cat. As far as I know, I don't have any allergies to kids. I don't have any of those. My four dogs' names are Einstein, Dillon, Emmett, and Ellie Mae. My cat's name is Fiona. Einstein is a bichon frise whom we got from the local SPCA. Dillon is our Hurricane Katrina rescue. There were groups that went down to the animal shelters in Louisiana after the hurricane to take as many dogs as possible off their hands. We picked Dillon up in West Virginia from one of these groups. When we took him home, he didn't wimper. Didn't make a noise. We thought there was something wrong with him. Turns out, that's his personality. The most laid-back dog you will ever see. Emmett and Ellie Mae are Havanese and are our show dogs. Emmett is a retired champion (even has the little potbelly going to 'prove' he's retired.) Ellie Mae is our up-and-comer. Fiona is a Snowshoe whom we had since 1993. Since we are not parents, we try to focus our attention to animal rescue groups and donate our hearts and time to those causes.

2. I had dinner with Larry Bird. I can't remember what year it was (1986?), I was the backup radio engineer for Boston Celtics broadcasts when Steve (Runner) and I worked in radio. I did this in case anything happened to the regular engineer and he couldn't make it. So, I was sent on the road to Washington, DC. (There is a separate story, that I will tell someday, about what happened during the game and the 'life lesson' I learned). After the game and back at the hotel, I was invited by Coach K.C. Jones to have dinner with the entire Celtics team. I couldn't believe it! The team was already there as I walked into the room. They sat me down right across from Larry Bird! Larry was there with a friend of his who was a WWF wrestler (whose name I can't recall). Larry did talk to me occassionally but I was speechless. I didn't know what to say to him. Unfortunately, my backup engineer gig didn't last long and I never had that opportunity again. (There is also a Danny Ainge story here as well that I will have to tell later.)

3. I can't point my toes. Doctors are always surprised when I point (pardon the pun) this out. As near as anyone can tell, I am missing something in my ankles that allows people to point their toes. The best way to describe how I run is, imagine someone running with flippers on. That's the extent of my flexibility. Considering I have size 12 shoes, it is not a far off comparison.

4. I am a shy person. Some may dispute this, but, I consider myself a shy person. I like to fade in the background in gatherings. I don't like to speak in front of groups even though my job requires it. When I go on business trips, I have no problems eating alone. I don't take compliments well and am very embarrassed when someone does compliment me. I grew up where 'good-natured ribbing' was how we communicated.

5. I LOVE to laugh. I sometimes come across as not a serious-minded person. That's because I try to find laughter in most situations. I have been described as having a 'dry' sense of humor. I had a boss from the UK who once told me he was impressed that I was able to make British people laugh. He said it wasn't always easy for Americans to do that. I am the wise-guy in the room with the quip. It's how I try to break up the tension in the room sometimes. But, I have to be REALLY comfortable in order for people to see that side of me.

6. I went through 'Checkpoint Charlie.' After I graduated college, I saved up enough money to take a bus tour through Europe. I went to many of the capitals in Western Europe including Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Berlin. Back then, it was West Berlin and East Berlin. Part of the tour was going into East Berlin. We stopped at a park to see a Russian monument dedicated to those who lost their lives in World War II. When we got back to the bus, our bus driver was screaming and yelling as someone had just pointed a rifle at the bus drivers lined up in the park while we were gone. From everywhere, the Eastern German secret police (Stasi) showed up. They detained us for about an hour. We had no idea what was going on at the time and were thankful that we got back through 'Checkpoint Charlie' without any further incidents.

OK, except for the 'pointing of toes' one, that had little to do with running. Oh, well.

(Notes: THE PHILLIES ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!! YAHOO!!!!!! I am scheduled to do a 20 miler this weekend in preparation for the Harrisburg marathon. I ran a 10 miler this past weekend and felt great. It was suppose to be a long slow run but wound up doing a 9:30/mile pace, which is flying for me. Must have been the weather. Congratulations to Steve (Runner) for his efforts in the Bay State marathon this weekend. I know he was hurting a bit. (from the marathon and I guess from the Sox loss). Rest up a bit, Steve.

I'm adding this article I read that was posted on sfgate.com. This past weekend, San Francisco hosted the Nike Women's marathon. The 'elite' runners had a 20 minute headstart. But, a woman from the 'non-elite' pack had the fastest time for the race. And, didn't win. Because she didn't think she was an 'elite' runner. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL

I always wondered what would happen if someone had a faster chip time than the first person who crossed the finish line. Answer: Tough luck.

October 22, 2008 Update from story mentioned above: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/22/BACI13MAIT.DTL&tsp=1

It's an interesting debate on whether we need to start recognizing chip time as the official time or at least have separate awards for gun and chip times )

I've Been Tagged!!!

Awhile ago, I was tagged by Eric, author of the great blog, Running for My Life (http://ruralrunnere.blogspot.com/). As I understand the rules of being tagged (actually, I don't really KNOW the rules of being tagged but I did see evidence in other blogs), I have to answer specific questions. Here goes:

1) How would I describe my running 10 years ago?
Nonexistent. I just moved back into the Philadelphia area having lived in central New Jersey for about 10 years. I was running in the Corporate Challenge 3.5 mile events in the spring but I would only train for a few months at a time to get ready for a single event. I was playing basketball on Sunday nights at the local church for about 5 years. I also played a little softball. When I moved back to Philadelphia, there wasn't a place to be able to do that. I wound up not doing any sports or regular exercise for a few years.

2) What is your best and worst race experience?
I think, by far, my best race experience was the Disney World marathon. And, I'm not sure if it will ever be topped. For that race, I had to do 2 long runs in England--a 12 miler through London and a 16 miler on a path from Hatfield to St. Albans. DW marathon takes you through the 4 theme parks there, so it was never boring. It was also my second 'official' marathon but the first that I was fully healthy. The whole experience, from getting up at 2AM to the finish outside of Epcot, was a great thrill and one I will never forget!
The worst experience was the Yough River Trail Council Half-marathon. It is held in Connellsville, PA. I made too many assumptions that day and all of them were bad. I wore the wrong shirt (long sleeves on a day that turned out to be in the 60s), didn't bring my own food (doesn't every town have Clif Bars?), went out too fast, no Gatorade on the course, only water, cramping in my legs on an out and back course so HAD to finish to get to my car, on and on and on. I learned so much that day. A very humbling experience.

3) What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?
This is difficult as I'm sure I've been given lots of advice through the years on running but I'm too stubborn to listen to it. Someone gave me advice on proper nutrition before a race and when you should take gels during a race. I followed that advice and was happy with the results. Another piece of advice, which I have heard from different sources, is about the mental aspect of running. When I am finishing up a race or a training run and know I only have a mile or so to go but too tired to go on, I tell myself, 'You can do anything for 10 minutes'. I've gotten through some tough runs and races (and meetings at work) with this thought in my head.

4) Why do you run?
I first began to run because of stress in my life. I continued to run because of the challenges in presents me. I still believe that if I can run a marathon, I can handle anything in life. It feels like a long time but there is an endpoint where you can relax. What I didn't anticipate was the friendships I forged. Running is a big part of my social life. Seeing Steve twice a year for races, meeting up with the Blue Dawgs when I can, running the Holiday 8 in Doylestown, races in the area, 'meeting' people on the internet whom I've never seen or even heard their voices before but feel I know about their lives, and, especially, being able to share time with my wife in something we both enjoy.

5) Tell us something surprising about yourself that many people would not know.
Hey, I'm an open book! I have nothing to hide!!!!!
Maybe one of the most surprising thing is how many celebrities I knew around when I graduated college. (But they weren't real celebrities back then). I was the manager for the Boston University basketball team for two years. (Head manager for one of those years). The coach of BU was Rick Pitino, who is presently head coach at the University of Louisville but was head coach at the University of Kentucky when they won the national championship in the 1996. Coach Pitino hired me for the position and gave me an athletic scholarship to be the head manager. I also had to babysit his son in the San Diego Sports Arena during a practice session with the team.
Out of college, I was a producer for a radio station in Boston. It was during the baseball strike in 1981, when I worked with Jon Miller, who was the color analyst for the Boston Red Sox. Jon Miller, now, is the play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants but also does the same role for ESPN Sunday night baseball. To give Red Sox fans their baseball 'fix', Jon would play Strat-o-matic baseball games using Red Sox players and would do the play-by-play for these pretend games. These games were taped and played back later. I was the producer and engineer for these games.
I also worked as a producer for the Massachusetts Attorney General, who, from time to time, would have a weekend show to take calls from listeners. That AG was John Kerry, Democratic nominee for president in 2004.

(Notes: Thank you all for your participation in the most recent poll. 8% said yes, you wear sunscreen, 33% said yes, but only on long runs and the majority (58%) said no, you don't wear sunscreen at all. I may be running in the 'For the Hill of It' 5 miler in Chestnut Hill, PA on Saturday. I'll post as I know more. I ran 7 miles along the Delaware River with Eric on Sunday morning. As everyone knows by now, it's freakin' hot around here!)