Woah! We're half way there!

We're officially 1/2 way trained to the half-marathon. I stole Danny's picture - I really need to figure out how to turn gmap into a pic.

So, I know that I am a day late, but I got busy with my 2 other posts yesterday, so it's only tonight that I got around to writing about yesterday's run. This was another milestone for me - my longest run in my life. The day was a perfect day for running - it was cool, Danny and Sara were a little cool when we started and Sara was also half asleep. I was pumped - I had been talking all week about the 7 miler that we were going to do today. My only hope was that my knee would hold up. I had been doing some extra stretching and my knee had felt really good after the 4.5-miler on Wednesday.

As we started walking to our starting point it started drizzling a little bit - thankfully Danny was like of course we are going to run. The run started off well - we were doing about 10 minute mile pace - my knee started aching a drop about 1.5 miles in - the same that it has on other runs - but nothing too bad. We continued over the bridge and headed towared city island. At about the 3 mile point the trail switched to concrete right before we hit the bridge to city island, which I am thinking wasn't so great for my knee. We continued for another 0.3 miles or so on city island concrete sidewalks. City Island, a place very close to me where I have spent very little time, is so quaint. I never realized what is was. It seems like this fishing town - there are shops that are full of fishing equipment. We must have gotten there about 8:15 or so, maybe a few mintues after, and the place was so quiet. It is so different than the Bronx and the rest of NYC where I have spent all my life. Not sure the pace would agree with me long-term but it certainly was cute in the middle of an earlyish morning run.

Anyway - we reached our halfway point, turned around headed back over the bridge and were 4.1 miles into our run when my left knee all of a sudden really started hurting me - I took another 10 steps or so when my knee totally gave out and I couldn't support any more weight on my left knee. I tried to walk it off for a couple of seconds and Danny and Sara stopped with me. I tried running again, but couldn't. I sent them on ahead. I walked for the next 3-4 minutes, interspersed with attempts to run and couldn't. I finally changed my stride a little bit and began running a little faster and tried to catch up with D&S. I never quite let them out of my sight, I guess it was good that it's a relatively straight run, and after a couple of minutes of painless running I caught up with them. I told them that the quicker pace that I was doing (I have no idea how fast I was going) was easier on my knee and I was going to finish up the run and wait for them at the end.

The rest of the run was relatively painless. Don't have an exact time - probably about 10 minute miles. Couple of points where my knee ached a little, but otherwise no problem. The only thing that was hard about the run was that for most of the run back the wind was blowing in my face - which certainly made the run harder. I can't wait for the rest of the fall and winter runs when I am sure the weather will be just dandy - any suggestions are welcome.

I took a couple more aspirin on Friday afternoon and since have been pain-free. I have no explanation for what happened in the middle of the run and I am definitely greatful that my knee has been in good shape since. A couple of weeks ago I had a lot of pain after a run - and had to take the rest of the week off.

One note: I bought a fluid belt last week and had a chance to use it on Wednesday and Friday. Friday's run I used all 4 bottles, 2 of them I froze halfway and filled the rest in the morning before the run so I could have cool water for the way back. It worked well and I definitely was happy for the water.

Not sure when my next run will be - definitely going to try to run on Tuesday and Thursday (maybe 5-milers each). Have to see if I feel like a run tomorrow morning - but I got Yom Kippur ahead of me with hours of standing in synagogue - so I have to see if I think that's a smart idea. I am leaving for Israel Thursday afternoon for 6 days. Going to try to get at least one run, maybe 2 in Israel - maybe I can do a 7-8 miler next Sunday morning (I only observe one day of holiday in Israel).

To all those fasting tomorrow - have an easy and meaningful fast. And to the few people who have come to my blog who I don't know (Darrell - good luck on your 50 marathons, I will be happy if I ever make it to 1) thanks for coming and dropping me posts. I feel lucky to have joined the RBF family - hopefully soon my blog will be listed on their official list.

Happy running and fair winds.

OMG!!!!

I just saw this and I had to post about it - I still have yet to post about today's run - see danny's blog for a picture of the run.














Apparently Swanson came out with a breakfast meal - called Hungry Man! They have these commercials with overweight-obese men say things like: "I know what I like and I like a lot of it" Now granted I will never eat one of these, nothing to do with health, but rather because they are not kosher - but I always wonder about commercials for food that show huge men.

I went to the Swanson website which has a huge picture of their "HungryMan salisbury steak dinner." It doesn't even look good - but those peas and carrots sure look healthy.

So I went online to find out more about what's in this breakfast and the nutritional contents of this breakfast delicacy. From the picture I saw - it would appear that 3 pancakes, 3 pieces of sausage, a couple of strips of bacon, 2 huge home fries and some sort of fake scrambled eggs. Now that certainly is a lot of food. The box proudly advertises "Over 1lb. of food" - hmmm....does one person really need that much food?


But what really blew my mind was the nutritional contents. 1,030 calories for the whole thing. To put that in perspective - the average male is 5'9". If we assume a weight of 180lbs (giving him a BMI of 26.6 - in the category of overweight) then he will burn off about 2050 calories per day - so he will have consumed >50% of all his calories by the time he finishes breakfast. Now granted the guys in this commercial may have been 5'9" but they were more like 250lbs (BMI=37 = obese), but even so their basal metabolic rate will only burn 2350 calories/day. But let's imagine that I didn't keep kosher and I ate one of these - I could burn off all the calories by doing an 8 mile run. So I could stay skinny, not bad.

But wait! it gets better - it's like one of those late night infomercials. Nearly 100% of one's daily fat intake and >100% of their saturated fat comes from this one meal. 231% of the daily cholesterol - which we know is a risk factor for heart disease. So I guess it's not all good!

But to be fair - It does have 25% of the daily iron and 20% of the daily calcium.

So for all you hungry men out there - go eat!

But wait again! I just had a brilliant idea - I am a very hungry man - what would my day be like if I had the HungryMan breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am going to have the hearty breakfast, the HungryMan buffalo style chicken strips for lunch and look what I found! a HungryMan XXL (1.5 lbs of food - if 1lb wasn't enough).















Here's the totals:
Calories: 1030+920+1450 = 3400
Total Fat: 64g (98%) + 53g (82%) + 58g (89%) = 175g (269%)
Saturated Fat: 21g (105%) + 14g (70%) + 26g (130%) = 61g (305%)
Cholesterol: 230% + 50% + 55% = 335%
Protein 36g + 34g + 47g = 117g

Well at least it's got a lot of protein.

And I wonder why people are so fat! I think I am going to go vomit now.

Before God You Shall Be Purified

I have been telling myself for the last few days that I was going to post some thoughts about the high holidy season that we are in now, it starts with the Jewish New Years - which is actually two days (last Saturday and Sunday) and spans 10 days. The culmination is Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) which is on Monday. This is a time during the year that is set aside for repenting from sins that one has committed during the course of the year and to commit oneself to improving in the coming year. There are extra prayers that are added during this time of the year and of course the services on the New Year's Days and Yom Kippur span close to the whole day. It is a somber time, one in which we recognize how much we have sinned and how those sins have caused us to become distanced from God. It is a time for evaluating goals and priorities.

The Yom Kippur day is spent mostly in synagogue in prayer. In addition it is a 25 hour fast, that spans from sunset on Sunday to sunset on Monday. Prayers are led by the "Chazzan" or cantor - and in many synagogues each of the different prayers during the day (there are 5 on Yom Kippur) are led by a different individual. I will be leading the morning services on Yom Kippur and Danny has an even more difficult job will be leading the longer services that follow. While this is a huge honor - it is also a tremendous responsibility. During the times of the Jewish Temple - the High Priest would do all the services of the day - which included many different sacrifices. The cantor is considered almost the equivalent of the High Priest during the leading of the services. It is the responsibility of the cantor, so to speak, to bring the prayers of the entire community before God.

I asked the Rabbi of the community where I live to talk for a few minutes on different thoughts that the cantors should have while they are leading prayers. I didn't get any specifics, but he certainly impressed upon me what a huge responsibility I have. I have been preparing for a few weeks now - didn't prepare as much as I would have liked last week because of a rough schedule in the hospital, but I think I caught up this week. I think that the words of the prayer that Danny will recite completely express what I am feeling: "Here I am, impoverished of deeds, trembling and frightened from the dread of Him...I have come to stand and supplicated before You...although I am unworthy and unqualified to do so...Accept my prayer like the prayers of an experienced elder, whose lifetime has been well spent...whose voice is weet and who is genial with other people."

May this coming year be a year of peace in the world and prosperity. May we see great advances in science and medicine and a decline in illness. May we all be blessed with good health and happiness.

Over the river and through the woods....

On the schedule for today was a 4.5 mile run. I was worried, since the last run on Monday night - my knee was really not happy with me - as I think I blogged a few times it felt like it was totally giving out underneath me.

Danny directed me to a great site last night Sports Injury Bulletin where I read an article about Runner's Knee leading me to diagnosis myself with Iliotibial band syndrome. So I started doing some extra stretches, even found an article which demonstrated a couple of stretches. So I stretched last night and this morning and lo and behold today's run was much better - and my knee feels much better today than it did on tuesday, but it could all be in my head.

So Sara and I set out on our regular route across the bridge (Danny had an early case this morning - we missed you, conversation is just never the same without you). The weather was absolutely beautiful - so far, hopefully not to jinx it, but the fall weather has been spectacular. We continued for an extra 1/4 mile to push our round trip to 4.5 miles. The only part I regret now was that a large chunk of that last extra 1/4 mile was uphill - which was tough at the midway point - but at the top we got through some trees and we could see the road ahead which we will take on our 7 mile run on Friday. The way back was good - got into a groove, stopped talking so much as I concentrated on finishing the run - which I guess made me not the best running partner.

We finished in just under 45 minutes, roughly - 10 minute miles - a little bit faster than we had been running, guess I was pacing this one a little faster. Didn't sprint at the end, but broke into a run. It's amazing how good a run feels - especially at the end of the jog. I wish my stamina was up enough that I could run the whole way (it might be easier on my knees).

I am gonna try to get a picture of the route up when I can figure out how to do that. Until then Map.

More later on preparing to lead services on Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement).

Nite all - here's to a 7 miler on Friday!

New Haven Road Race

My - I look kinda pathetic...running out of steam. Thanks for the pic Danny.

Finally back on the road

So last week was a tough week for me - really long hours in the hospital, though I saw two really cool cases on Thursday, and my knee was a total wreck after the six mile run last Sunday.

But...it was a new year - and my commitment to make the LV half is still there - so I needed to get back on track - need to figure out how I can replace my knee :). Anyway - so today was a Jewish fast day - we fast from sunrise to sunset (which was about 7:30 tonight) - I convinced my running partners that we should get our running week started. I kinda wanted to do a six-mile run - but they convinced me that was overly ambitious and too much this early on - especially since we have a bunch of weeks until the half (though SQ is hoping to run the half in Philly - maybe if I am off I can come and cheer you on - we shall see).

I started out and I was feeling really good - my knee was a drop tender but held up well through the first mile. I felt myself holding back - but I didn't want to overexert. At about the 2 mile point - my left knee just decided to go to absolute hell. I started getting shooting pain in the lateral part of my knee and there were points were it buckled and I almost lost my stride because of the pain. But I persevered on and made it back (maybe it was stupid). I think a lot of the problem with my knee had to do with all the stairs I was running up and down in the hospital - so hopefully since I am not working in that hospital anymore it will be better. As we were nearing the end - with about a quarter of a mile to go - one of my partners decided that it was time for her to sprint. I couldn't hold back anymore and sprinted to catch up with her and then ran the last bit. Though I didn't time it - it definitely felt like the fastest that I had run in the last few months. Amazingly, my knee felt better when I was sprinting/running than jogging - maybe I need to pick the pace up.

I don't know an exact time - I am guessing we did the 4 miles in about 41:30 maybe less, the last 2 miles i paced at about 19:30, way off my treadmill pace. It felt so good to be back running, I think I am reaching that point where I feel addicted. It is really fun to run with friends and thanks Danny and SQ - without you guys I would be much less motivated. I know you think you hold me back - but the truth is you keep me going. Thanks. So, if my knee holds up I would like to maybe another 4-miler, maybe shorter on wednesday - and a 7-miler on Friday assuming the body holds up.

In good news - I think it's time for new shoes for me - I think I have put close to 200 miles on them so far - in addition to a lot of other wear and tear. I have really enjoyed the GTS 6 that I have been running and will probably continue in a new pair - but I would like to go try on some others.

On a different note - a patient that I had been seeing for a few weeks had gotten transferred to a palliative care hospital (where she could live out the rest of her life in comfort, with her family being able to visit her whenever they wanted) last week. The hospital is across the street from where I live and I had decided to go visit her. Unfortunately, after she went there last Monday I didn't have any time last week - so I walked over this afternoon. When I got to the front desk they didn't have any record of her. I spoke to the admitting office only to find out that she had passed on two days after arriving there. I feel bad - I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, I didn't think that she would pass - I wish I had known - I would have gone last week. However, she is in a better place - she was in so much pain. You will be in my thoughts and prayers - I am sorry I didn't get to say goodbye.

Time to go to sleep - lots to accomplish tomorrow.

Nike + vs. Garmin

Thought that maybe I could get some input here. The new ipod nano just came out and i considering getting it with the nike + and the cool case that allows me to hook it to my regular sneakers without buying nikes. The other option is to get the garmin 301 which I have seen for as cheap as $147 + shipping.

Any suggestions?

Which should I buy - the Garmin Forerunner 301 or the Nike + / Ipod Nano?
	Garmin Forerunner 301
	Nike + / Ipod Nano
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Scotchie...scotch...scotch

Will Ferrel (Ron Burgundy) professes his love for scotch.
I too love scotch - though I must profess my love for scotch is shared by my love for vodka. But getting back to the scotch - I am a scotch snob - single malts only for me. So I am going to try to keep a log of the scotches as I taste them. Friday night - I had the opportunity to go back to one of the basics of single malt scotch - the 10 year Balvenie. For those of you who know the Balvenie distillery this is basically the youngest that comes. From my limited understanding of scotch - each year the distillery needs to decide what percentage of the casks that they have they are going to open and sell and what percentage they are going to keep. Scotch matures only in the cask - so a 15 year old bottle that you have had in your basement for 15 years - is still only a 15 year old bottle - not a thirty year old bottle. So anyway - I can't recall seeing a single malt scotch less than 10 years old - but I am sure that there are.

Anyway - I prefer the smooother, non-peaty, non-smokey scotches so Balvenie is usually a good choice for me. I had Friday night dinner with some friends and enjoyed about 3 fingers of the 10 year Balvenie with some chicken and noodle pudding. It was good - a little harsher than I remembered it - but it was generally smooth. A slightly woody taste - don't I sound sophistimicated now - otherwise I didn't taste any flavors that jumped out at me. Not nearly as good as the 21 year Balvenie that I have sitting in my apartment. For those who don't drink single malts often - apparently the proper way to drink it is to let it sit for a few moments (like a glass of wine - "to open it") and then swirl it in your glass. Then sniff the scotch to please your olfactory buds and then take a small sip - single malts should not be downed. Anyway - I still prefer the 12 year double wood - but in lieu of it the 10 year will suffice, especially since I didn't pay for the bottle :).

Enough scotch for now. Until later this is kivster with your scotch update for the week.

My first post - and my longest run to date.

This is my first attempt at a blog - so you will have to bare with me. Anyway, I got started on running again about 2 months ago - inspired by my running partner Danny who ran his first marathon last year. So - we had been running shorter runs - see his blog for most of those runs - and then we decided to run in the New Haven Road Race, which was a fun run through New Haven where the people are great. I met a bunch of Danny's blogger friends who are all really cool and really inspired me to take my running to the next level.

Danny and our other running partner Sara decided they were going to train for a half marathon, I think in Philly - but alas, I didn't think I would be ready - and since I am in my 4th year of medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and will be playing doctor that month wasn't realistic for me. So after some web searching I found the perfect answer - the Las Vegas Half Marathon - 13.1 grueling miles - enough to grind my knees and menisci into dust. What an awesome excuse to go to Vegas for the weekend.

And so began our training - it's been really hard for me to run the last couple of weeks - as I am doing an elective at NYU Medical Center in Gynecologic Oncology - meaning specializing in cancers of the female pelvis and working crazy hours - really rewarding but hard work. But have managed to get a couple additional runs each week in on the treadmill besides my longer Sunday run.

So today - I proposed a loop of Central Park - 6 miles - longer than any of us had done in a long time, longest for me and Sara - not nearly Danny's longest :). And today I found out that I am halfway to being a real runner! Thanks to my chafing t-shirt I had 2...not 1...but 2! blooody nipples! Woohoo! I have arrived. No runner's toenail yet - but hopefully soon. My left knee has been bothering me a lot - I am sure that I will post many posts about it - not fun going up and down stairs - but it held up well throughout most of the run. I really got into it towared the end and kicked up the pace in the last mile or so - I felt really good at the end - just in time to finish. I finished in about 64 minutes - just over a 10minute/mile pace - I had been doing about 8:40 on the treadmill, but I think that the last mile for me was much faster. I think I need to get my speed up a little bit - my supreme goal is 2 hours for the half marathon which is a 9:10 pace, we will see.

After a long winded breakfast in the city - we went back to the Bronx...home sweet home...for some well deserved rest. Here's to long runs!

Thanks Danny and Sara for making it an amazing morning - back to the hospital bright and early tomorrow morning. Hopefully at least another 10 miles this week. Time to consider buying a second pair of sneakers.

Cheers!