no blog for a long time. I went to NYC a couple of weeks back and ran a 5K fundraiser with the wife for the 9/11 museum where I am a member and for some reason have a desire relive the pain of that event. I can't explain it but for some reason I feel very moved by this place. Anyway we took the train down on Saturday morning and stayed at the Hilton across from WTC which is where the race ended. Kind of surprised that they didn't have a respectable restaurant in the hotel but we wound up eating both nights at the downtown Les Halles which is where Anthony Bourdain cut his chops in the kitchen. The food was quite good, the first night I had the steak Au Poivre and the wife had the scollops. The second night I tried the filet which was little more than a belt buckle so I would not recommend that. I was kind of hoping for a nice rib eye but perhaps that is not appropriate for what they do. Anyway, hopefully I can get back to the running. Oh and I have a new job. More of the same in the banking industry down in Providence (guess who) but the pay is good so no complaints here. This picture was taken from my hotel room. It really is a special place.

My Left Foot. So this is the state of affairs now, a couple of shiny metal pins protruding from my second and third toes on my left foot. Not nearly as dramatic as the movie but quite painful nonetheless. There are also some fancy screws in there holding the bones inside the foot in place. Apparently the doctor had to knotch them out to move them in a bit from the bunion pulling them apart. I would like to say that this is the end of my running career and that I will stick to bicycling in the future but who knows, maybe I can be a dread miller without doing any further damage to my feet. I somehow wound up with something called a hammer toe and a mallet toe last fall and if I had chosen to take care of them then this might have been avoided but they really didn't hurt so I let it go. 

Anyway, hats off to the doctor who performed this, a one Dr. Leavitt at the Baptist Hospital here in Boston. He has a fantastic reputation and given that I live about 100 yards away I should consider myself very lucky to have access to his care. 8-10 weeks in the cast with no weight on the foot at all and then hopefully back on my feet.

I give up...

It's been a long time coming I guess. I have basically given up on any kind of regular outside running as I am sick of being hurt all the time. Constant pain in the right foot from Plantar Fasciitis, ankle pain, swelling, etc. The treadmill seems to be fine if keep it to once or twice a week but the outside stuff is done. I completed the BAA 5 and 10K earlier this year and I am signed up for the 1/2 marathon this weekend but I am skipping that in favor of a 4 day weekend in the Berkshires with the wife. Sorry to be missing the race but I think I will be better off in the end. The picture below was taken a couple of weeks ago at the Patriot Golf Course in Bedford MA where I played a round with my brother. There was so much fog you couldn't see where your tee shots landed until the 10th hole. The foliage was in full swing around the course given all the swamp maples and the low terrain.

Careful with that Axe Eugene...

Long time no write or run. I have been diagnosed with arthritis in my right ankle and foot along with a wee bit of a heel spur which I hope gets to the bottom of the discomfort that I have had for so long in my foot. Nothing to be done about the arthritis I guess, just a by product of getting old. Doctor has recommended me to a specialist for the heel spur but I just going to see how bad this will get or if it will resolve itself. The outdoor running season is cranking up and I don't want to have any kind of surgery if I can avoid it right now. Maybe in the fall.

I did run a 5k on St. Patricks day in South Boston, it's run a couple of hours before the parade starts and is for a good cause, the South Boston Boys and Girls Club. It sold out right away as Southie is the place to be on St. Patricks day although its not my cup of tea. The atmosphere while tame compared to years ago is still a bit over the top for my liking as I gave up drinking at noon back in college so the crowd is still hard core. The city even makes the bars and liquer stores close early since so many people find a reason to get absolutely hammered on the day of St. Patrick. That should tell you what kind of behavior you get if you should choose to visit with the kiddies to see how it is done in Southie.

I just finished reading the new Whitey Bulger book by Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in Boston, Southie or how our government totally screwed the people of Boston by letting this animal and his like commit every crime in the book from murder to drug dealing. It is a shocking story and one that the government has been covering up for decades due to the misbehavior of of the FBI and the Justice Dept. who are complicit in all of the crimes that he was allowed to commit while the authorities looked the other way. If your not from the Boston area, you might be shocked at how this was allowed to go on but for folks around here, given that his brother was the most powerful politician in the state, this is sadly not real news but it is disturbing nonetheless.

Anyway, I am currently listening to the Pink Floyd boxed set that you can get on ITunes. It has remastered versions of every album they produced and if you take the time to just sit and listen from start to finish it really is quite an amazing compilation of music and gives you a different appreciation of the depth of what they accomplished. I don't think that my cat or my wifes birds appreciate this but it is quite good. The photo comes from Storm Studios who did a great deal of the artwork for Pink Floyd over the years and put together the slide presentation in the box set on ITunes. This picture I lifted off of someone's Tumblr page and is a fantastic bit of art.

Golf, Running and Aleve

Well I went off to the doctors today for a quick look at the right foot that has never quite healed from the plantar injury a year and a half ago. I have scaled back my running to essentially nothing over the past 2 months and it is still most uncomfortable and the discomfort has now snaked it's way up into my ankle. I was sent off for an X-ray and directions to take 2 Aleve a day for the next week to see if this helps at all. We shall just have to wait and see although the doctor was certain that I had not reinjured my plantar which was a relief. Nothing like that one let me tell you.

I was quite impressed with the technology in the medical office where I had my X-ray. I probably should have assumed it but apparently they no longer print X-ray film as it is all viewed on-line on a computer screen. I still had this picture in my head of all the X-ray pictures in black and white stuck up on a backlit screen as it was done in the past. I guess I should be glad that I had no need to see the newest technology in play which means I have been somewhat healthy and have had no need for many visits beyond my yearly physical.

The picture attached is one from our trip to Ireland last September as I had a few quite nice jaunts in the country side early in the AM while everyone else in our party was still sleeping. Beautiful place and my wife is going back again this summer with a few co-workers for 10 days so I am quite jealous of that. My only console is that I am very, very close to purchasing a new set of golf clubs and may do so this weekend at the golf show here in Boston. Can't wait for the weather to break so I can get back at it again. My wife gave me a golf pass of sorts to 5 different courses here in Massachusetts for Valentines day which was quite nice of her. I will take that as the go ahead to buy new clubs.

Snowed in

So now that the Blizzard has passed us and we are on to the clean up phase, it is quite remarkable how only 2 feet of snow can shut down and paralyze a city. There are plenty of places that get much more snow than this and continue to function but I guess once you dump this much on such a congested place with people and cars, trucks and buses it really messes things up big time. We hunkered down from mid afternoon on Friday to late yesterday afternoon. It really is a non event for us now that we don't own a house and live in a condo. I could barely hear the snow plows from our unit which is on the inside of our building facing the courtyard. If we were back in Holbrook, I would have been stressing over the weight of the snow on the roof of the garage and having to clean all my elderly neighbors driveways. I did enjoy being able to help them once I broke down and purchased a snow blower and I can only hope that the people who bought our house have continued to assist them.

After listening to the talking heads on the local news ad nauseum about how historic this snow fall was and blah, blah, blah, we finally emerged after 24 hours. The main roads here were passable but most of the side roads had yet to be cleared and we even saw a couple of plow trucks that were stuck and had to be pulled out. We walked down to JP center and then detoured back to the Jamaica Way where we had to walk in the road to loop back as the sidewalks were no clear yet. The roads were barely passable so I am guessing that the sidewalks will wait a bit. We did stop off at Canary Square for a beer on the way back and even though the Kitchen was closed, there was maybe 20-25 people hanging out around the bar enjoying the break from shoveling thier cars out I would imagine. After seeing cars that were under 8-10' drifts and people struggling to dig them out, it made me appreciate my indoor garage spot that supposedly cost around $30,000 as part of my purchase price of my condo.
The forecast for tomorrow is rain so that should make things real interesting for the morning commute, can't wait for that one. Here are a couple of pictures from our walk yesterday.

Not so warm out...

Well the running is getting back a bit. I did 6.5 miles on Wednesday evening and the wife and I are heading back to the gym this afternoon. Way to cold to run outside for me. It was something like -15 with the wind chill the other morning on the way out to the train. Stuck on the dreadmill for the time being. On a warmer note, I managed to get registered for the B.A.A Medley races. You sign up for the 5k, 10k and the 1/2 marathon at one time and you get a unique number and medals for each race. Can't wait.  The picture is from St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The view is overlooking the Carambola beach resort where we stayed this past July. The Island itself is a bit rough and impoverished but I highly recommend the resort. We have stayed there twice and it's been a great experience each time. Wishing I was there right now given the temps outside here today.

Neil Young rules

Harvest is most likely the greatest album of all time...

Taylor Made soon

Toyed with a set of these yesterday. Just waiting a few more weeks before I pull the trigger.

Baby it's cold outside...

This picture was taken last year (2012) at the Coba ruins on the Yucatan, just about an hour west of Tulum. It was hotter than hell that day and we found this unexcavated ruin in the jungle just off the beaten path. I thought it was appropriate to post this as it is absolutely freaking cold here today and it is supposedly going to be at zero tomorrow morning when I head to the train with the wind chill.

Anyway, I did manage to get to the gym today and bang out just over 5 miles on the dreadmill. I am going to try and make the five mile mark my minimum now when I run. Lets see how that works out. I am already sick and tired of the dreadmill, I much prefer to be outside running but I am not running in the dark around here with it so cold out so I guess that will have to wait a while until we spin this earth place around a little closer to the sun. 

Had a nice quiet new years eve with the wife and my grandaughter. We went downtown for the parade and fireworks but they were cold so we blew off the fireworks and came back for the traditional Chinese food feast. On to 2013, lets hope that I am not on the layoff list next week. It's coming, we just don't know who is up for the pink slip this time around.

Another Christmas gone by

Again, have not had much to say of late and I have not been running much either due to some lingering, minor injuries. I did get 5.5 miles in Christmas morning. Actually went out and hit the road in some minor snow and rain but it did feel good to get off the treadmill and get some fresh air for a change. After that my wife along with 2 of my sons took in the new movie 'This is 40' and then retired to Smith and Wollensky's for a very nice meal. The movie was pretty funny I must say but it did seem to lack direction. You really didn't know where it was going at most times but there were some very funny moments. I would not recommend taking your kids to this unless as the content is way to adult and it would be embarrasing as hell to have to sit through some of this with them. Anyway, I actually laughed the hardest at the blooper reel they posted while the credits were running. I was crying it was so funny.
Dinner was fantastic and expensive as to be expected at Smith and Wollensky. I think the total with tip for the 4 of us was about $525. We did do the Oysters, Lobster cocktail and some pretty amazing steaks and desert. Oh, the chocolate cake slice was as big as your head and could have fed a family of 4. It was ginormass.
I did catch the Stones pay per view event a few weeks back even though it was $50 freakin dollars. You used to be able to by 4 tickets to a show for $50 bucks never mind just pay per view but it was worth it I guess. I don't know if I will now need to shell out the coin to see them live if and when they come back around on tour. It's kind of remarkable the tours that have passed through Boston of late, The Who, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
I am missing the warm weather, not just from Tulum, just south of Playa Del Carmen earlier this year. God how I love that town.

The needle and the damage done...

And I did miss the Neil Young and Crazy Horse show at the new Boston Garden last night. The Herald review is that the show was excellent and as expected, loud. I have already blogged about Psychedelic Pill, their new album which is great.

Highway to Hell...Sort of

Not sure that I have to much to say other than the running has been way down given the back injury and the turn to cold weather which just makes it more difficult to get motivated to get off my ass and get to the gym or outside for a sprint or two. I think I am down to less than 20 miles this month vs. the almost 90 that I did last month. There was a nice development in the world of music last week as AC/DC finally published thier catalog on iTunes after being one of the last holdouts. I instantly downloaded about 12 songs that are must haves. I have never been a huge fan other than their classics. I am currently contemplating how to complete my Neil Young/Crazy Horse collection. That will most likely push aside any other major purchase for a while. I have about 10-12 albums now but there are many more I need to purchase. I did download Stars and Bars the other day just to get Hurricane and it was worth it. I saw Neil Young in 2009 I think on the Rust Never Sleeps tour at the old Boston Garden and from what I remember it was quite a show. From what I remember.

Perhaps the Greatest Album Of All Time!

Ok so I downloaded Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Psychedelic Pill last weekend and forgot about it and then remembered a few days later. After listening to this piece of art for about the 4th time in as many days, I can say without hesitation that this might be one of my all time favorite albums. It is full of fuzz and feedback and hard ass rock and roll that you would expect from the band but the tone and lyrics will just set you on your ass and make you think a bit. It's full of melancholy and plenty of retrospect I think and it's just an absolute thing to behold. I can't stop listening to it. It made me go back and listen to Cowgirl, Down by the River, Powderfinder and a few other favorites that he really rocks on but this is clearly his BEST WORK EVER!

Anyway, I had to take a week and a half off from running as I managed to tweak my back really bad playing golf two weekends ago. I just got back to the gym this week and I have managed to put in 2 5ks and a 5 miler. I have been trying to alter my running style and get off my heels which hopefully will stop the pain in my heels and achilles. I stumbled across a book that I think most real runners have already read, Born to Run. I won't go into detail now but it was an eye opener on many fronts and I would highly recommend you read this book, even if your not a runner. It is quite the story and quite inspirational. Oh, and Psychedelic Pill is even more amazing in that the beat to most of the music is very metronome like and easy to adapt to a long or short run. I even found on my 2 short runs this week that the music made me want to keep going.

A great album and the iTunes download comes with video versions of the music as well which I have yet to view but can't wait.

Last golf of the year. I think...

Played 18 holes this morning with my youngest son at the Lynch Municipal course in Brookline, which is right next door to THE COUNTRY CLUB in Brookline but a wee bit cheaper in price and a bit further down in the bogs. It's a very pleasant local muni that can score easily which is kind of nice given the time of the year and it was most likely the last round of the year as the weather peoples are forecasting snow at the end of next week. As usual I found a way to shoot my usual game of bogey golf which all in all isn't that bad given that I don't play regularly and only get out about 8-10 times a year if I am lucky. Made some great shots and made some bad ones but it was a nice day out and great to spend some time with one of my sons.

Do Do Do

Banged out another 6.5 miles tonight on the treadmill listening to the Stones Brussels Affair or at least part of it. This is a nice compilation from the tour supporting the new Goats Head Soup album in 1973. Goats Head Soup is one of my favorite Stones albums and what is kind of odd about this recording is that Mick Taylors playing does not stand out like it does in Get Your Ya Ya's Out or the Classic Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones from the 1972 tour which is an outstanding video in which Mick T's guitar work is front and center. Anyway, if I remember correctly, this was the tour with a lot of very creepy inflatable penises and such with Billy Preston on keyboards. Not sure I get all that but I was only 14 at the time so maybe the 70's were that fucked up.

Hurricane Sandy Douchebags, Chia Seeds and Stop the Madness!!!!

The running has been excellent over the past few weeks. I am almost at 90 miles over the past 30 days so I am very pleased with that but my right ankle is a bit squirrely so that hasn't changed. I am in the middle of reading 'Born to Run' and I would highly recommend this book to anyone, not just runners. It  is a great story so far about long distance running, hidden Mexican tribes out in the middle of drug country. I had no idea that there was this tribe of ultra long distance runners. It's a very interesting story. and I will be buying some Chia Seeds to see if these are truly magic beans.
Anyway, the only thing worse then the political adds on TV right now is the local news coverage of this storm. I realize they have to fill air time but jesus christ, stop acting and talking like we have never seen water, waves and flooding. Fucktards. Given the inclement weather, I will be on the treadmill this afternoon. Oh, and if you didn't know already, a vote for Mitt Romney or Scott Brown will send the U.S. into an apocolyptic hell with tax breaks for millionaires and baby eating indentured servitude for the rest of us. STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Only Rock and Roll But I Like it...

So the Stones have announced 2 live shows in London and 2 in Newark NJ. Not sure I get the Newark angle but whatever. I checked the premium ticket prices as I would only go if I could sit up front and center and the tickets for London in rows 6-12 are about a 1,000 Sterling so that is around 1,600 USD if my memory serves me right. Put on top of that the 1,000 USD to fly over and whatever you would get raped for a hotel in London those nights and it is clearly not in the budget. Would have been nice to see them over there but hopefully they will tour the states and another opportunity will come up again. I had the good fortune of sitting in the front row when they played Gillette Stadium here just south of Boston in 2004 and I would do almost anything to get that kind of an experience again. I was amazing but as I just came back from London 4 weeks ago, not dropping that kind of coin any time soon. Too bad.

Anyway, the running is going ok, post marathon. My right ankle is a bit swollen and tweaking after I run now. I did a 5k 2 days after the 1/2 and then banged out 6.5 miles last night. I should back off a bit so I don't injure myself but it is so hard not to run. The wife and I biked about 30 miles on Saturday. The weather was fantastic, cool but not cold, around 55 degrees but bright sunshine. Biked the length of the Minuteman trail starting in Cambridge all the way up to Bedford and then jumped on the Bedford/Billerica spur. The Minuteman is all pavement and can be crowded in places as it runs through Arlington center and then Lexington as well. The second half is nice as it is mostly dirt but in great shape with virtually no one on it. Especially those douches racing at breakneck speed pretending to be Lance Armstrong amongst the walkers, skateboarders and kids. Some of them are real assholes.

BAA Half Marathon

So I finished my half marathon last Sunday without sustaining any major injuries. Some soreness in my right ankle but other than that unscathed. I was hoping to come in under 2 hours but I clocked in at 2:03 so all in all it wasn't to bad as my time was 12 minutes faster than last year. The weather was fantastic as it was in the 60's the entire race and cool overall. Much better than the 80+ degrees from last year. Now the quandry is whether or not I sign up for the Boston Marathon with one of the charity groups. I would have to raise almost $5K to join so I am thinking that I need to pick another race to enter and hopefully qualify at some point. Not sure I want to be on the hook for $5K if I can't fundraise it or get injured in training and don't even compete. Anyway, the pictures are from the start of the race, unfortunately I was running alone this year so no after race pictures.

Nothing new to say

Nothing new to say. Glad I made the decision to go to bed at half time last night. Anyway, here is another picture from our trip to Ireland. Didn't run at all Sat or Sun but did get 6 miles in Friday night which is probably why I never made it to the Big Dog 5K on Saturday morning that I was signed up for. T-minus 13 days now for the BAA 1/2 Marathon.