A very nice day here in New York, it's beginning to feel a little fall like.
A few days ago I decided to upgrade my laptop, so I bought an Acer Extensa from Newegg. Well it arrived at lunchtime, I will take a little time to set it up. I am very happy with just the look of it.
Because of the crazy weather on Saturday, the US Open Men's final is happening today. I am watching it as I write this post. Andy Murray, who is in his first Grand slam final, is not having a good match against Roger Federer. Having lost the first set 6-2 and it's 4-4 in the second.

Tropical storm Hanna, which what was left of hurricane Hanna hit around 3 pm yesterday. It was pretty heavy for a couple of hours. but then became just a steady rain. By this morning it was nice for my Sunday run. However Utpal is suffering from a late summer cold, so we just ran what I call my 5k loop. Which was fine with me since I was still feeling sore from the race yesterday.

There was some rain overnight so of course it was humid this morning ( so what's new!). The race field was small this week, only about 20 runners. I was in fact in third place at one time early on, getting passed by 3 runners ( one of them the first woman finisher) about half way through. I tried to use them to keep my pace. I went through the first mile in 7:08. It was hard to breath with the humidity at 91%, but I held on as well as I could. My finishing time was 14:27, second best this year. So my fitness is still good.

It is hurricane season here in the US, well mainly down south. Last weekend Gustav went through down there, this weekend it's Hanna, which is then coming up the coast towards New York. Today it is already affecting the weather, increasing the humidity, that is counteracted by increased winds that make it feel cooler when outside.
I watched the England U21 team beat the Portugal U21 team 2-0 this afternoon. Gabriel Agbonlahor scored a great second goal and Micheal Kightly of Wolves got to come on for the last few minutes.

I have discovered that I can watch the US Open on my computer. So the last couple of days I have watched some tennis before going out for my run and than watched a little in the evening. So far I have watched 2 Federer matches, 1 each Djokovic and Murray and part of the Williams siste 1/4 final.
It has been much warmer the last few days and today more humid. If it was not so cool in the mornings it would almost be like a regular August.

I don't know why, maybe a throw back to the raw food thing, but I had a salad for breakfast and salad for lunch today. I felt pretty good and the day went by quickly at work.

Part of the process of buying my Grandfather's farm in Croatia was to take citizenship to avoid taxes. Well I was told at the weekend that on January 1st 2009, a new law comes into force that eliminates that need. My original plan was to purchase the farm in the new year, but thought maybe I could do it sooner. Now if I wait 3 months I can save time and bother.

Labor Day here in the US, so no work. This meant that I got to go out for a morning run for the third day in a row. It was quite cool and I just ran a couple of easy miles.
The day has been sunny and warm and unusually quiet.
My friend Sadhak called me late morning yesterday to say he had a gig at the cafe just around the corner from me. So I joined a medium sized crowd around 6:30pm and drank Jasmin tea while listening to about an hours.
Oh by the way did I mention that after winning 5-1 this weekend, Wolves moved to the top of the Championship. It is only 4 games into the season.

It's Labor Day weekend here in the US, but this morning was just Sunday morning. This of course means that Utpal and I went for our Sunday morning run. I was feeling pretty good, but he had a hard time in the marathon last week, so it was his run to set the pace. We did what I call the 10k loop and about 4 miles in he called a walking break, which we did for about 1 minute. So Sunday's are back on schedule.

Early this morning a band of thunder storms came through the area and dropped quite a lot of rain,as a result it was very humid again for the 2 mile race, but at least it was not raining. Since it is a week after the marathon my usual expectation is to run around 16 minutes, but last week I was a little better than that 1 day after the marathon. So this I thought maybe I can match it. I thought I was running quite fast, but was not sure, unfortunately there was no split time at the 1 mile this week. I was really surprised when I started my sprint into the finish and could see the clock reading 14:30. I crossed the line in 14:34, my fourth best time this year!

It is now a week since I ran the marathon and the 2 mile race the next day. I have run just easy runs all week, there is still some stiffness in my upper legs, but I feel OK. I am quite happy with my recovery and now trying to decide what my next races will be.

There are just a few days left in August and the mornings are still so cool. In the 30 years I have lived in New York I do not remember it being this cool in August. I am sleeping really well because it is so nice at night, but even so I was feeling quite tired at the end of my work day and took a nap before going out for my afternoon run.

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the founder of the meditation group ( Spiritual group ) I belong to. So believe it or not it is a holiday from work. I ran early in the morning in the my friend Utpal and later attended a special meditation at the place where he is buried. There will be several events during the day to celebrate his life.
It is the first time we have celebrated his birthday since his passing in October of last year.

A few interesting things I saw the last couple of days are;While standing outside with some friends the other night a Praying Mantis flew down and landed near one friends feet. I put my hand down and it crawled onto it, allowing me to take it and put it on the grass nearby.
A Sparrow flying behind a Cicada that was trying to fly away from it.
A 2 year old boy walking a Pekingese dog, with his mother walking just in front of him, it was so cute he had a diaper and everything.

Here we are 4 days after the marathon and there is still some stiffness in my upper legs. Of course I did run a 2 mile race the next day so that is probably a contributing factor, though I think it may also help.
It was one of my short days at work, so that wasn't so bad. I have gained back the weight I lost during the marathon. I have had a healthy appetite for the last few days.

I slept very well last night. This morning there was still some soreness, but Utpal and I had arranged for our usual Sunday run and there he was waiting for me ask I came out the door. Of course we were both feeling the marathon, so it was a gentle run. We ran what I call my 5k loop and then stopped to get a drink. Once again the morning was pleasant.

Yes my upper legs felt a little stiff this morning and I jogged over to the 2 mile race not sure if I would run. I did run and expected to run really slow, but as the race progressed I started to feel OK.I went through the first mile in 7:57 so I thought I could finish with a low 16 minute time that I would be happy with. As I approached the finishing line I saw that the clock said 15 something and was surprised to finish in 15:54, with my second mile also being 7:57.

So today was the Marathon. It was in the beautiful Rockland Lake State Park. The weather at the start was quite cool. The first loop around the lake is 2.7 miles and each 1 of 8 more loops is I think 2.95 miles. I felt quite good until 18 miles and then I started to mix in some walking. At that point I was well ahead of my past from last year. With about 4 miles to go I started to struggle a little and my pace slowed. I had been on course to reach my goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes, but I was very happy to finish in a time of 4:45, which is 6 minutes faster than last year. When I got home I weighed myself and I was 4.5 pounds lighter than before the race. I feel really good and if I don't feel too sore tomorrow will try and run the 2 mile race.

The last 2 mornings have been nice and cool with temperatures around 60 degrees F and it promises to be the same tomorrow. The Marathon is upstate and inland a little, so it could be even cooler at the start, which is at 7 am. Ran comfortably this afternoon, so I'm ready to go

Not much to say really, a bit of a quiet day, though I did get a lot done at work. Jogged an easy couple of miles after work

Here in New York you see some interesting phenomena. I quite often see people using a line trimmer to cut their lawns and grass verges in front of houses instead of using a mower.
Or I will see someone using a cylinder type hand mower set at 1/2 inch, struggling to cut grass that is 6 to 8 inches tall. My old teachers in college would go crazy if they saw it.
Ran this afternoon, just enough to loosen up my legs.

Rather than go in and work just a few hours today,since it's marathon week I decided to take the day off and and relax a little more. The morning was beautiful and Utpal and I went out for an easy 3 mile run.

Although it is officially tomorrow. Today is the 13th anniversary of my Mother's death. Yes I miss her, but I remember her very fondly and carry her in my heart always.

So here we are 5 days before the marathon and conditions for the 2 mile race are excellent. I didn't want to run too hard because I only have a few days to recover, but when you get into the middle of a race it's hard not to run fast. Anyway it felt like I was running well and I was quite happy with the time of 14:32, which was still fast for me but slower than previous weeks.I am feeling good about the marathon on Friday.
The GB team are having an excellent weekend at the Olympics, winning lots of medals and moving up to 3rd on the medal table. The first time they have been there in 100 years.

Due to some scheduling problems there was no 2 mile race today, it will now happen tomorrow. So Utpal and I decided to do our Sunday run today. We ran the first 5k together at a nice easy pace, but when I left him to come back I couldn't seem to stop myself from running at a strong pace. A few of my friends have just come into town. Yesterday.
I have been watching on the BBC website how the GB athletes have 7 medals on what is being called "Super Saturday".

Last night we had a huge storm and then it continued to ran for quite some time. The result was that when I got to work this morning there had been some flooding in the basement. I set to with the shop vacs and had pretty much cleared everything up by the time the rest of the guys came in to work. So that they could start their day as usual.
1 week from today is the marathon and I feel pretty good.

While out on my run yesterday I noticed 2 cops in a patrol car had stopped 4 young men ( 2 white, 2 black ), they seemed to be quite cooperative and 2 of them were being searched. This is not of course a typical day in NYC and I am sure not a typical day in most cities.
The weather is getting warmer and more humid, but then it is the middle of August.

They say you should lift with your legs and not your back, that's what I did yesterday. I am feeling it in my legs today. On my way home from work my hamstrings were very tired. I did have a 30 minute nap and when I went out for my run it felt a lot better. With the old method of unloading I would also feel it in my arms and shoulders.

Today was lumber day at work, this usually involves about 8 guys unloading a truck of 14/16 foot boards of Poplar, one board at a time down 2 window shoots. The new way is with 8 foot boards on pallets, unloaded with a pallet jack. However the shipment came with some pallets double stacked, so we had to break these down which took a little longer. The job did only use 5 guys and we learned some valuable lessons to how to do it better next time. This is the first time we have received a shipment this way.
The cat by the way seemed quite content to stay in the packing and shipping area all day.

Our work cat "Nipples" ( yeah I know) is back. I thought I heard her meowing inside one of our sucking air ducts. After opening it up and not finding her, we realized that she was on the floor above us.She had somehow got trapped in a room on the first floor of the building, we are in the basement. Anyway we got to her and she spent the morning walking all over the shop, she was not thin from not eating, so she must have used her hunting skills.
We had thunderstorms again today and it kept the temperature cool, around 65 F (16 C ). So I had a very pleasant run this afternoon.
I must wish my sister a very happy birthday. I did actually speak to her earlier in the day.

This morning it was around 65 F when I went out for my run. The humidity was a little high, but it felt really nice to run. I am 12 days away from the marathon and although I am still running twice on Saturdays and Sundays, I am running less. I am starting what we call a taper. I ran only about 5 miles yesterday and 9 miles today in 2 runs each day.
I am trying to catch something of the Olympics, which seems quite interesting so far. Happy that GB got a Gold in cycling this morning.

My 2 mile race this week was not as fast as last week, but still probably my second fastest time in a couple of years. My breathing didn't feel so great, but everything else was going well. My time was 14:28 and I am very happy with that. We were very lucky that the temperature was in the mid 6o's F and the humidity was also in the mid 60's. So good conditions and a good result.

Abichal Watkins from Wales, who I consider a good friend finished the Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race race today in a New Welsh and UK record of 54 Days 11 hours 36 minutes. I was very happy to hand him the Welsh flag during his last lap.

My friend Abichal is on his lat full day of the 3100 mile race. He has been out there for 54 days and should finish about half way through the 55 th day. He trained hard all winter for this race and will improve his best time by almost a full day. Pretty amazing!

In my post yesterday I mentioned missing things. Well our cat at work has been missing for 10 days now. She has been known to go away for a while in the past and has been gone as long as 2 weeks, only to return happy to see us and apparently none for the worse. So of course we are hoping she will be back soon.

When I got to work this morning one of my tools was missing, I did eventually find it, but it sort of messed up my day. As a result I made a couple of mistakes, which were correctable, but it kind of unsettles your day when something like that happens.

I have mentioned the problem with my Achilles before and that I thought the real problem was my calf. Well it happens that a friend of mine from Chicago is in town for a couple of days and he is a non practicing Chiropractor. He uses the Applied Kinesiology technique. He diagnosed it as a stretch response problem with the fascia of the calf and gave me a treatment. This is the same guy who fixed my foot problem last year.

The weather was really nice this morning, not so humid and a cool breeze. I ran 8 miles in the morning. When I went out again in the afternoon, it was a little hotter and even less humid. I did 4 more miles. I had enough time to get home and shower, then get back to the 3100 mile race in time to see Pranjal from Slovakia finish. The Slovakian Ambassador and his family came out. It was a nice ceremony

It has become a tradition for the 3100 mile runners to run in the 2 mile race, before and after they finish. So today Aprihanal ran the race after 4 days of rest. He ran an excellent time of 12:42, finishing 3rd amongst the men and 4th overall.
I was also very happy with my race. From early in the race I was running with 2 sisters who usually beat me quite easily. When they passed me as they usually do, I kind of looked inside myself to see if I had the capacity to stay with them and I did. For the next mile we see sawed back and forth, with them eventually opening up a 7 yard gap on me. They had however pulled me along to my best time in at least 2 years. A time of 14:08. Very very happy!

Yesterday was the 100 th day that I have run at least 2 miles each day. I had gone 60 days at the beginning of the year, so this is my longest streak for quite some time.
With my increased training and the summer heat, the extra pounds I gained after stopping my raw food diet have almost all melted away. It is just 3 weeks now to the marathon. I was thinking of running a 12 hour race tomorrow, but decided against it.

I know I keep talking about the humidity, but at this time of the year in New York it's a big part of the day. This morning it was 93% while I was walking to work. It was not quite sauna weather because it was only 73 F, but it was pretty close.
As I write this a 3rd runner in the 3100 mile race is approaching the finish line. Grahak Cunningham should finish at about 12 hours into day 47.

For the last 2 weeks cryptic cardboard signs have been showing up, taped to light poles and street sign poles all around the neighbourhood. There is a small notice on the back of each of them that says "Cardboard Bandits". It is a mystery, but quite entertaining.
2 years ago today I found a large green caterpillar, which I videotaped crawling on my hand. I put it up on youtube and it has now been viewed just over 158000 times.Check it out it's called What a Monster.

3100 mile finisher
Asprihanal Aalto the Finnish runner was the first runner home today in the Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race. He finished just after breakfast in a time of 44 days 2Hrs 42 mins 15 seconds unofficially.This is I believe his 7th finish in his 3rd best time. Congratulations !!!

Yesterday we had a lot of thunderstorms throughout the day. Then in the evening it was so nice and cool. When I left for work this morning it was just 66 F which is good for the last few days of July in New York.
I have been taking my Slovenian lessons over Skype, I think I am progressing slowly. Time will tell

About 30 minutes before I went out for my run this morning, thunderstorms passed over the area. Needless to say when we went out it was quite humid. With my second run yesterday afternoon I had completed 9 miles. This morning I ran another 8 and will go out again this afternoon. Not too long after I came back from my run more thunderstorms passed. So I had managed to run between them, however I was so wet from the humidity, it would probably have been nicer to be in one.

I said I was feeling good this week, but as I warmed up for the race I felt some pressure in my neck and shoulders. Once the race started however I felt good. An old friend of mine was running just behind me and told to keep the pace. I felt I was running fast and was really feeling it when she passed me with 1/2 mile to go. I tried to stay as close as I could and came in with a time of 14:20. My best time this year and only 4 seconds slower than my best time last year.
I jogged 2 miles as a warm down and was very happy with my race today.

During the week I was feeling tired and my running was a bit of a struggle, But today that all seems to have changed and I felt quite light and lively on my run this afternoon.
The photo was taken during our visit to the Serbian restaurant Kafana last weekend.

I think I have mentioned before that one of my workmates has been battling Cancer for some time now. Well this week he was told that after 12 different types of treatment, it is spreading and basically there is nothing more they can do. Needless to say it is a bit of a bummer.

This by the way is my 1000 post since I started this blog, it's been just about 3 years since I started, so not bad.

On my way to work in the mornings I pass an area where someone has planted some Mint. It is actually growing through the fence near to the sidewalk. So for the last few mornings I have been picking some of it and making tea at work 2 or 3 times a day.
The copy of my Birth certificate that I ordered came today. They said it would take 3 weeks, but it came in 9 days. I am getting closer to Croatian citizenship and purchase of the farm.

A much cooler day, about 10 degrees cooler than they predicted. It feels nice and there is a nice breeze.


It's not such a great shot and it's a week late, but this is Beth Orton performing at the Celebrate Brooklyn concert I went to 10 days ago.

It is a little too hot and the Sun is a little too strong to do much today. Of course it is Monday and it is a perfect day to do washing, there is even a bit of a breeze to go with the sunshine.
Two of the stores near to the apartment building have been closed for a short time and 6 families have been found temporary housing by the red cross. It seems the landlord had a building inspector say the building was safe 3 weeks ago. So I guess some heads will roll.

As I approached the place where we were to meet to go to Kafana, I saw that the street was blocked off. There were about 10 police cars and 7 fire engines. It seems that in the old apartment building there, the ceilings of 2 apartments had collapsed.
Finally after a few cell phone calls the group of 7 did meet up.There were 2 Americans, 2 Bulgarians, 2 Serbs and me the mix of English Serb.
We got to Kafana a little early and had to wait about 20 minutes. It was the first time since they opened that they were opening for the lunchtime period. We ordered a range of items to get a feel of what they had. We spent 1 1/2 hours there the food was good. Besides us there was a family of 5 and 2 couples in a place that holds around 30.

This morning it was already 78 F and 85% humidity when Utpal ( who just got back into town ) went out for our Sunday run. I ran 6 miles then added 2 more on the 3100 mile race course, I will go out this afternoon for a few more miles. The last few days the high has been 93 F ( 33C), so it's been kinda warm.

This week it was still quite hot 77 F, but not so humid 66%. I was feeling good both when I woke up and as I ran over to the race. I actually felt good when the race started, but seemed to be struggling in the second mile, though some of the faster runners were not that far in front of me. My finishing time was 15:07 which was 5 seconds faster than last week, so I stopped slowing down.
I went over and ran an additional 4 miles on the 3100 mile race course. so a decent day.
I will not be going out again today because I am going with a few friends to a Serbian restaurant in the East village, I mentioned it earlier in the week. We decided to have a late lunch there.

The humidity has not been too bad all day, but it's been quite hot, with a temperature of 87 F ( 31C). The heat index was about 90 F and there is a heat advisory until tomorrow evening. There is a nice breeze which is a saving grace. When you are in the Sun it is very strong and you can feel it burning very quickly
My running is good and I hope that the humidity will not be too high tomorrow for the 2 mile race.

I don't know if it's because of the increased humidity, but I was really sleepy this afternoon. I somehow managed to get through my work day, but it was a long slow walk home.
I think maybe I need to take an early night. Fortunately I only have to work a few hours tomorrow.

A few days ago I read a review of a new Serbian restaurant in the East village. They said the food was just like in Belgrade. So last night one of the guys from work went in and checked it out, giving a favourable account of things. Right now we have about 5 guys who want to go in on Saturday and have lunch there.

I seem to be feeling all the running I did this weekend. My legs felt a little heavy when I went out for my run this afternoon. That is all part of the running game we play. My right achilles is a bit sore, though I think that comes from the fact that my right calf is also a bit tight. This should all get better as the week progresses. It's 86 F ( 30 C), with the humidity at 61%.

With a short day at work, some rain in the morning and it being laundry day. I had to have something to do during the day. So I played this computer game Mafia War. I have only been playing it a couple of days and don't have any "Family" members yet, but I'm up to level 3 and I have some property and a few weapons. I have won a few fights and lost a few, but I'm doing OK.
In other news. A couple of weeks ago I got a pimple on my left knee and now I have one on my right knee. What's going on I'm not eating chocolate!

We had a great night . First we took the Long Island Rail Road to Brooklyn, which is only $6:50 round trip for a same day return on weekends and only takes 15 minutes. Then it was a 5 minute subway ride to Prospect Park and a 15 minute walk across the park to the Band shell. It only cost $3 for the concert, we got great seats and Beth was really good. She did songs from all 3 of her albums and played for about 90 minutes.
I got about 5 1/2 hours of sleep and went out early for my run this morning. Utpal has gone north of the border to visit with his family this week, so I ran alone. I ran my usual 6 mile loop and added 1 more mile on the 3100 mile race course. I will go out again this afternoon.
A note to Utpal, the berries were great this week

For the last couple of days the humidity has been low, so of course on race day it would be 76%. I knew I wasn't running so fast and my finishing time was 15:12. My slowest in 2 months. Three running friends from the 10 day race had come out to see the 3100 mile race. Bob Oberkher ran the 2 mile race, Luis Rios and Shishaldin decided to do some laps around the 3100 mile course, I joined them later and did another 8 miles, giving me a total of 10 miles for the day.

I am going into Prospect Park, Brooklyn tonight to see Beth Orton, with my friend Sadhak. She is giving a concert as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn series

I saw 2 interesting things on the way to work this morning; First I saw a beetle on the sidewalk, upside down waving it's feet in the air. I flipped it over and was amazed at how big it was, about 2 inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide. A real monster.

Here in New York drivers have this tendency to keep driving on a flat tire until they get to where they are going. I saw a minivan this morning where the driver had obviously done this and when he made a turn near his house, had stripped the tire off and driven on the wheel rim. It was an alloy wheel which a piece had then broken off and gauged into the road surface. Only in New York!

I have tried calling the warranty department at Circuit City a few times and always get a busy signal. Maybe this is their way of making people accept what ever warranty they want to give and then not have to deal with any problems that occur.
Today was hot 88F ( 31 C ) but the humidity was a low 26% so it actually felt quite nice. Well to me at least

I think the 2 nights of bad sleep finally made me tired enough to sleep well last night. What a difference it mad, because I felt so much better today.
When I got home I had to call Circuit City to ask about an international warranty for my cousin. After making it past a phalanx of recorded messages I finally spoke with a live person, who couldn't answer my question. She said she would transfer me to the warranty department. After 2 more recorded messages I got a busy signal. so I hung up. The "product assistant" had given me the number before she transferred me so at least I can try later.
My barber friend says that people have been taking photo's of my Clivia that is on display in his shop. That's nice eh.

For some reason the last couple of nights I have not been sleeping that well. It is probably because of the high humidity. Anyway I came home from work today feeling like I need a nap.
Another thing I have noticed this summer is that the Sun seems to be stronger. With my skin type I usually go straight to brown when I burn, but this year I seem to be burning red. I usually do not notice it though because it is not so

Yet another humid day, though there was some Sun today. I only had to work 3 hours today, so it was like my holiday continued.
It is looking like I am going to have to take Croatian citizenship to make it easier to buy my Grandfather's farm, I don't think it's a big deal, but it will save me quite a bit of money in taxes. We will see.
I have now gone 76 days when I have run at least 2 miles each day

So for the first time this summer I went out to run twice today. First in the morning I went out with Utpal, I felt kind of heavy the whole run, but stayed strong the full distance of 6 miles. It was very humid and I was quite wet when I finished.
Just after 2pm I went out again and felt surprisingly strong, it was a little less humid so I stayed out a little longer and ran 7 miles this time. some of it on the 3100 mile course while chatting with a couple of the runners.

It rained through the night and was trying to rain lightly before the start of the 2 mile race. As I started the race I didn't feel like I was running fast, but I knew from my position in the field that I was doing ok. The last 1/2 mile I seemed to be labouring a little, but kept my form and finished well, with a time of 14:51. Some said the air was a bit heavy, but when I got home and weighed myself I realized that I had gained 2 lbs since yesterday. I ate too much on 4th of July.

It is Independence day in America. When I went for my run this morning it rained lightly, which was quite refreshing.
Later I talked with my cousin in Rijeka, Croatia. He has sent me the first edition of the contract for my Grandfather's farm. Through the magic of Skype we talked about the details of me purchasing it. It is quite exciting to think that I will own the farm which was owned by my grandfather Nikola Jakovic and will once again be owned by me Nikola Jakovic.

I just got the last poem to complete my newest collection, it goes like this;

Simply put
the end
has come
when everything
we do
is done...

The collection is called "From a Joker". It is my 8th book of poems.

I saw a headline in the paper today that said, the average price of a gallon of gasoline ( petrol) in NYC is $4:33 and the average price of a gallon if milk is $ 4:37. It's amazing isn't it? They say the economy is slowing down but not in recession, oh well!

I Think I mentioned before, that for the first time this year I have a second Clivia from my collection that is flowering. This year I have chosen to display them in my local barber shop, the barber is an old friend of mine. Over the next few days I will post 2 or 3 photo's from that location. Here is the first one.

This is the last day of this years raw food diet for me. I am very happy with how it has gone, my weight is just about the same as it was last year at this time. Just like last year I have decided to take a few days and then start to build up my running training.
This past weekend the weather was hot and humid, today it is much drier and not so hot, but the Sun is very strong and one can burn quite quickly if not careful.

OK so I am nearing the end of my raw food stint for this year. When I went out for my Sunday run with Utpal my legs felt a little tired, partly from the race yesterday and I think partly from not eating enough protein the last couple of days. The fact that it was also 84% humidity may have helped to make it a bit of a struggle.anyway I managed and near the end I stopped and bought myself, my new treat for my Sunday run, a bottle of Perrier water.

So once again it is Saturday morning and time to run a 2 mile race. Once the race got started I didn't feel so fast. Maybe it was the very humid conditions, because some of the fast runners that usually beat me easily, were only just in front of me for most of the race. In fact I just beat out one runner that I had not beaten for 2 years. My time was 14:55 which is 13 seconds slower than last week, but now I have gone under 15 minutes 2 weeks in a row, so that's good.

The humidity by the way was 84%, so yes it was a little sticky !

Along with a sore back I had a sore neck last week before the 2 mile race. The back got better, but the sore neck kept coming and going during the week.Finally a couple of days ago I realized that the source of this problem is the small fan I have blowing on me while I sit at the computer. It is blowing cold air into my left ear and this somehow is making my neck ache. It has never happened before and I am wondering if in some strange way, the fact that I am on this raw food diet has made my ear sensitive. It only really bothers me for a time after I wake up

For some reason starting this morning and going on all day, I have the the "Smith's " song "Girlfriend in a coma", going through my head.
Today was really humid but wasn't that uncomfortable. One of the guys at work is on vacation, he is the one that does my old job, so I have been covering it and someone else is doing my current job. It's a nice change.

On my way to work I walk past these 2 EMT vehicles parked on a lot behind a padlocked fence. If you look closely you will see that they are supposed to be on call 24 hours a day. So for them I guess there is no emergency.

Well it turns out the sewer was broken, which is not surprising as it is about 80 years old. Fortunately they don't have to dig up the pipes anymore, they insert an epoxy lining and then put a bladder in the pipe, to hold it in place while it sets. This did however mean that we could not any water down the pipes or flush the toilet, for 24 hours. After that we should never have another problem with it, plus it has a lifetime warranty.

I have seen this window decal a few times as I walked home from work and finally decided to take a photo of it. My brother in law is a volunteer fireman so I found it interesting to see.
Our sewer is backed up at home and we have someone here fixing it, but it is taking a long time and we can't use the water while he is doing it. So I am still waiting to take a shower after my run and am not able to do my laundry.

My back is still sore but it doesn't seem to bother me when I run. This morning it was really humid as we went out, but the temperature was nice. I decided to run only 6 miles and Utpal continued on when I turned back. I stopped by the 3100 mile race and everyone seemed to be doing well. I was sweating so much that one of the guys said it looked like I had been for a swim.

Well when I woke up this morning I had a sore neck and a sore lower back. That combined with the fact I ran 50k last week and have been on my raw food diet for 6 days, left me wondering how my race would be today.When I started out to run over to the race my back was so sore that I was not sure if I should run it.
However once the race got under way I felt good and I knew I was doing OK, because I was with runners that usually beat me easily. It actually felt like I was running well so I just tried to maintain my pace. I had to hang on for the last 1/2 mile, but finished with a time of 14:42, my best time this year so far.

Someone told me that today is the summer solstice, though I am not quite sure that it is. Anyway it was a beautiful day, I have noticed that some local produce is starting to come into the stores, so I get a tasty choice for my raw food meals.
My run this afternoon felt really good, I am down about 5 lbs at the moment, but still a few lbs above what I was at this time last year.

So the government here has given out stimulus checks to those who deserve them, to apparently encourage them to buy something to help improve the economic state of the country. Though I have heard that some people will just put it into savings accounts I plan to spend mine. I have a nice Laptop computer picked out, just have to decide when to purchase it.
I have adjusted my protein intake and that seems to have helped my legs when I'm running

For the last few days we have been experiencing normal temperatures, although here in New York normal is actually the average temperature based on past records. After the warm humid temperatures we had, these "Normal" temps actually feel cool.
I have noticed that while I am on this raw food diet my legs take a few minutes to get warmed up when I go out for my run, but once they do I feel like I have a little spring in my step.

I have noticed this before, but when I am on my raw food diet, my sense of smell seems to be really good. This of course can be good and bad. It not only makes the sweet smells of flowers and trees so much better, it makes the noxious smells of the city that much worse.

I'm on the second day of my current raw food diet and I feel pretty good. I did however feel quite sore still from my race on the weekend. I am not sure if this is also partly because of the raw food thing. Anyway I think it is just a matter of allowing myself the time to adjust. At least the weather has turned cooler

yes I felt some soreness this morning, but other than that I'm OK. We had thunder storms over night, but it was still quite warm and humid this morning.
The world's longest race started this morning in New York, it is 3100 miles long. In the photo you can see some of the participants. I jogged out there to the start and back. I will be going out there everyday for the next almost 2 months to see how things are going on. They run around a scool that is about 10 minutes from my house

Just too hot I woke up nice and early and walked the 3 1/2 to 4 miles out to Flushing Meadow for the 50k race. I got there just in time to see the 100k race start. It was already warm and the humidity was high, but as we started the 50k race an hour later it didn't feel too bad. I was mostly running on my own, though there was almost always someone not too far ahead of me. The weather seemed to be getting quite hot and the Sun was feeling quite strong, but everything seemed to be going OK. At 21 miles I was on pace for a sub 6 hour time. Then I started to really feel the heat. I had been drinking a lot and making sure I was well hydrated, but then I started to feel a little dizzy, then nauseous and in the space of 3 miles I had lost it. As I completed 24 miles I knew it was a mistake to carry on. I discovered that 3 other runners had become sick and on medical advice, the 100k race had now been reduced to a 50 mile race. I spent a half an hour sitting in the shade and drinking lots of fluids and started to recover, but I had no feeling to go out and try to complete the 7 remaining miles. I had a problem with a heat related sickness about 20 years ago and have tried to be smart and avoid that problem since.
Once I felt well enough I packed my bag and walked the almost 4 miles back home very casually, getting more drinks on the way. When I got home 1 1/2 hours after I had stopped and after consuming about 50ozs of fluids, I finally went to the bathroom. When I weighed myself I was down 4 lbs even after re hydrating myself. So a lesson learned.

This guys car was still there today, the plates show that it's from the state of Georgia.

Shortly after leaving my house this morning someone walking in the opposite direction wished me a good morning. This simple act really added a spark to my day. On arriving at work the security guard for the building did the same.
On my way home I stopped in to my bank and as I came to the door 3 separate women were walking also to the door, I promptly held the door open for them and was rewarded with a smile and a thank you. I think it made my day and theirs.
My run this afternoon was comfortable and I feel as though I am ready for the 50k race tomorrow, I hope the weather is good, it's supposed to be a little warm, but I remember that it was a little hot last year for my 50k at the end of May.

This happened a couple of blocks from my house. I feel sorry for the person who is going to come home from work and find this surprise waiting for them. I am not sure if this is considered an act of God by the insurance company, or if the insurance covers it. This car is not going anywhere in a hurry.

Walking out the door this morning into a beautiful breezy cooler morning, almost quiet and peaceful. Only to have the quiet broken by the sound of a Police helicopter flying suddenly near by. After walking a few blocks I crested a hill and came around a corner, to see several police vehicles and several police. Standing with some people in front of a house. Everything seemed quite calm,but the people looked a little disturbed. I continued on, not finding out what had happened. This was a reminder that I live in New York City.
With a temperature in the mid 80's F and 33% humidity I had a pleasant run this afternoon. It happened to be the 50th straight day I have run. My streak is starting to become something.

Oh by the way the photo is of a deer in Italy that was born with one central horn, kind of like a Unicorn. It apparently is quite rare for a deer to be born with one horn and usually they are to one side or the other, amazing !

Such a different day from yesterday. Although the temperature in the mid 70's F when I left for work this morning it felt much nicer. It's nice to work in the basement though it is starting to warm up down there too.
I could feel the difference in the air as I walked home in the afternoon, it was 90 F , but there was a cooling breeze. After a short nap to kind of break the day, I went out for my run. By this time it was down to 86 F ( 30 C), but it only felt a little bit better than yesterday. I was trying out my new pair of Addidas Urahu, which I knew would be good since I had a pair before. Yes they felt comfortable on my feet

After what seemed like a cold Friday night the days began to warm up and the weekend was a little un-comfortable. I guess I adjusted a little and last night seemed to sleep pretty well, but when I woke up this morning it was already 79 F ( 24 C). Fortunately I work in a basement of an industrial building and it was nice and cool down there when I got to work. Un fortunately I only worked for a few hours and had to come out into the heat. By the time I got home it was 91 F ( 32 C ). At the time of writing this post it is 94 F and with 44% humidity they say it feels like 98. This would probably be normal for July or August, but this is just the second week of June and it comes after much cooler temp's last week.
Yes it is hot out there. Maybe this is getting us ready for some hot August nights.

The temperature was already 74 F ( 22 C) when I went out the door this morning and the humidity was 85%. So yes it was a hot run. I had decided to continue following my paln and only run 6 miles today. Utpal is training for a marathon in August so he wanted to run longer, so after about 3 miles we parted company. Shortly after that I had a drop in energy, even though I had eaten a granola bar about 45 minutes before we left. I ran through it and later regained my energy, I was in fact feeling quite strong at the end, though I was sweating a lot.
I like my new Addidas Duramo shoes!

Keeping to my idea of tapering for the race next week, I did not run the 2 mile race today. Instead I went out a little earlier and ran about 3 miles nice and easy. It actually felt good not to run hard and near the end I could feel myself running at the start of the race next week.
It is supposed to be really hot today, but I think it got a little bit cooler in the night than expected, so we will have to see.
The European Football (soccer) Championships has started , so we get to see if Greece can defend there their surprise title from 4 years ago.

Last week I mentioned that I got a pair of running shoes. Well while I was there I saw another pair that were on sale, they were also a model that I like, but I decided not to get them at that time. So I went there today and they had been reduced for clearance, they only had 5 pairs left and one of them was my size. So by waiting a week I got just what I wanted and at a cheaper price. I have to say though that it usually works out the opposite way, I go back and they have sold out, so I was kind of lucky this time.
Today has been very nice, there is a quite strong breeze and the temperature has stayed in the 60's F. It is however supposed to be quite hot this weekend.

I got a message from my agent manager about an opportunity to submit my Dilly and Dally books to a new publisher that is looking for authors. I have to fill out a submission form and then we wait and see what happens. I also have to deal with them directly, but Beth my agent manager will help me out with any advice I need or any questions I might have.
So my plan to run easier this week seems to be going well. I guess I have started to taper before the race next week.

There is a song I remember called "Summer Breeze". Well this morning as I walked to work in the rain, I started singing this song to myself. Though I did replace the words Summer Breeze with Summer Rain. When the temperature is pleasantly warm and it is raining, it is actually kind of nice. Of course I was wearing my rain suite and my wellies. on the way home in the afternoon however, my feet did get a little warm .

The last 2 summers I have followed a raw food diet, I have found that it seems to detox my system and re-energize me. Last year I started at this time, but with the 50k race coming up in 11 days time I have decided to hold off until after the race.
However with the warmer weather coming around, I was inspired to stop at my usual fruit and veg' market and get some nice salad things, so as to start eating a few more salads for lunch at work.

I had a feeling today that maybe the combination of running a hard 2 mile race on Saturday and a long run on Sunday, may be too much. It did feel like my legs were tired today and it has been taking me 2 or 3 days to recover. The only way to really know, is to not run the race the 2 mile race this week and not run too long on Sunday.. I have recovered from 24 hour races and then run 50k races in 6 to 7 weeks, but never tried it after a 10 day race, so maybe I have to adjust something.
I ahve been walking around in my new Addidas Duramo's for the last couple of days. This afternoon I ran in them. They feel very good, I am happy with them.

This morning was the first time this year that it has been quite warm when we went out for our run. It was already 65 F when we started at 7am. Since it had rained during the night it was also quite humid. The run as usual went out to Shea Stadium and back. During the run however we covered about 80% of the course that will be used for the 50k race I will be running in 2 weeks. After about 9 miles I started to get a numb feeling in my left foot, similar to that I had 2 years ago when I developed my foot injury. It did however go away and was fine for the rest of the run.