the storm passes

Well as most of us in the tri-state area know…Hurricane Irene (or actually was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it made landfall in NYC) wasn’t the Hurricanepocalypse that it was predicted to be.  That said-I feel Manhattan-at least my neighborhood-defiinitely was very lucky and dodged a bullet-I didn’t lose power once and when i took a walk outside later on Sunday to check things out you wouldn’t have known a hurricane hit (though it was extremely windy.)

I do know others weren’t so fortunate, it looked like everything outside the city took the brunt of it.  My parents in northen NJ had their power knocked out for a day, and I know some in Westchester, CT and LI that had theirs knocked out for even longer.  My brother reported that the streets were flooded in Hoboken.  And I’m sure that’s not even half of it.  I guess that’s why I can’t understand why I saw people complaining that the storm was “lame” and “boring.”  Ummmm really?  You all want something more destructive?  SMH…

My office was open yesterday, albeit a delayed opening, and let me tell you I never thought I’d say I’d be glad I had to go to work…guess that’s how much I appreciated some sort of normalcy.  I met up with the downtown Flyer run after work for the normal 6 miles along the Hudson, down to Battery Park and back north…and even though downtown was supposed to have taken a beating, if it did you wouldn’t have known as all the paths were clear.  Was actually a really nice night, with the sunset and no humidity in the air…what a difference from Saturday before the storm when the humidity totally soaked even my shorts. 😛

In non-hurricane related news, though sorta something to do with a rainstorm (har har)…Bolt’s DQ in the 100m at Worlds…crazy!!  Who wants to bet that the “one and done” false start rule gets changed before London 2012? 🙂

week 8 wrap-up

Yeah, I know this is on the early side, but Hurricane Irene has ended my running week as of today.  The park was absolutely mobbed this morning with everyone trying to get their runs in before the storm hit (and/or before the MTA shutdown at noon)!

Obviously, I was cramming all my runs in this week to avoid the storms.  Tempo on Thursday…originally 5 x 1200m (5:20 target) but when everyone was struggling, got modified to 2 x 1200, 2 x 600, 1 x 1200.  Was still a little off (splits 5:27, 5:32, 2:39, 2:39, 5:24) but was glad to get it in.  Friday morning’s recovery was a crawl…legs were definitely tired from Thursday, maybe the timing wasnt ideal but I wanted to give myself a little more rest before running long…

So my long run on tap was 14, with the last 5 at goal marathon pace.  Which was why I signed up for the now-canceled Bronx Half, that would have worked out perfectly.  But the alternative worked out as I ran the first 9 with an friend I haven’t seen in awhile and it was great to catch up.  (and as I joked, I haven’t seen this many Flyers in Central Park on a Saturday morning since the morning of the awards gala!  just like then, no one expects to get any miles in on Sunday.)  When it was time to take on the 5 MP miles, I was unsure if I’d be able to hit it, as the humidity was absolutely deadly.  I was shooting for between 8-8:15 and I wound up on the lower end of that…or maybe I just wanted to get this over with? 🙂

Mile	Time	Distance	Pace
1	8:03	1.00	8:03
2	8:08	1.00	8:08
3	7:53	1.00	7:53
4	8:03	1.00	8:03
5	7:50	1.00	7:50
5.15	1:06	0.15	7:25
Summary	41:03	5.15	7:58

sub-3:30 pace? ummm yeah.  That definitely is not the marathon goal, but let’s just wait and see, shall we?

So now I’m happily indoors on the couch, watching 90210 and DWTS reruns and hoping the power stays on long enough for me to see if Galen Rupp will medal in the 10,000 at Worlds 🙂  I’m all prepared, here are some of my other hurricane supplies:

I WILL tear into the PowerGels if desperate!

Also made some air-popped popcorn to snack on while watching more entertainment…the trainwreck that is the NYRR Facebook page.  Another day, another drama!  Not only was the Bronx canceled, but there was a 5K race up in Harlem this morning (which was also a team points race, but was planning on skipping anyway) that got canceled yesterday when the city revoked all Saturday permits too.  In a way, this was a situation I can see both sides of.  Mostly for those who signed up yesterday to only be told a couple of hours later that it was canceled-NYRR shouldn’t have been accepting new registrations.  That said, given the state of emergency and the MTA shutdown at noon, planning anything on Saturday would be kind of iffy, given the need for the city’s resources elsewhere (after the half was canceled, I sorta had a feeling this 5k would be too.)  And of course everyone is in an uproar.  “Why no refunds?  Its soooo unfair!!  Why isnt anything being rescheduled?  Why is no one answering our questions?”  And on and on and on.  Finally I had it and couldn’t bite my tongue any longer and responded to a post:

Sorry, it just had to be said 🙂

Anyway-once again, hope everyone stays safe this weekend!  And here’s hoping that come Monday morning, we’re all wondering what the fuss was about…fingers crossed…

collectors items

These. From the half-marathon that won’t be. Thanks to some chick named Irene who’s unleashing her fury on the east coast (damn, what did her BF do to her to get her so mad…)

Just as I predicted, the decision was made for all of us yesterday.  Once a state of emergency was called for New York, was only a matter of time before things would be canceled.  First, the XC race in Van Cortlandt Park, then soon enough…

Sunday Races Cancelled

Due to the cancellation of all NYC events on Sunday, August 28, the Bronx Half-Marathon and the Henry Isola Cross Country Classic have been cancelled. Bronx Half registered runners and volunteers who meet NYRR membership requirements will receive 9+1 qualifying credit toward 2012 marathon guaranteed entry, and registered runners who meet NYRR membership requirements will receive qualifying credit toward guaranteed entry to the 2012 NYC Half. Runners may still pick up their race shirts during registration hours at NYRR. In keeping with our policies, no race-entry refunds will be given.

So there you have it. I’m actually relieved they made the call when they did…another day of speculation was just gonna get everyone more on edge. Plan is to do my long run tomorrow morning, then spend Sunday hiding indoors.

And of course, I see lots of complaining on Facebook, between the NYRR Facebook page and even my news feed. So of course I had my 2 cents.

Yeah, I know I can be a drama queen at times, but seriously some of the complaining I was seeing was getting ridiculous.

So to everyone who is in the hurricane’s projected path…please stay safe.  Do not be a “weather hero” and run in the hurricane, if and when it hits…live to run another day.

random tuesday tidbits

yeah, i feel like being sorta random again. forgive me. 🙂

• how ’bout those Great Danes, the little team that could? anyone else think they could possibly have pulled off the upset of all upsets on Friday nite-and wrecked everyone’s brackets (mine included, I had UConn winning it all!) in the process?
• so, the biggest weather news of the day is that the northeast is due for a Katrina-esque hurricane. Gothamist was nice enough to post the link to the map of the hurricane evacuation zones. My apartment does not fall in an evacuation zone, but my office does. Doesn’t surprise me, considering how many times our office has been evacuated in the last 3 years (plus the fact that we’re pretty close to the Hudson.)
• is it like, supposed to be spring or something? doesn’t quite feel like it. was it canceled or postponed or something?
• for those watching the Apprentice this season-how sweet was last nite’s firing? without spoiling, i’ll just say, long time coming.
• i let my match.com subscription expire. no luck there. so to JDate again or not to JDate again? (although i care a lot less now about finding a “nice jewish boy”…i mean, yeah, he’s got to be nice but i’m not sure i want to let the religion issue limit me…)
• today i got an email giving me a heads up that registration is open for this year’s JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge. i was captain for my company’s team last year…and honestly, morale to sign up was pretty low-between people being away and the historically freaky weather (rainy in ’03, 90+ degrees in ’04.) only 9 people signed up, of those 9, only 6 showed up on race day. so i’m not too sure if i want to be a captain again this year. besides the fact i dont even want to run this “race” since it’s so always so damn crowded…but right now i’m at a point where i don’t want to commit to being either a captain or runner for my company…

now playing: “i wish i wasn’t (remix)” ~ heather headley

sorta puts things in perspective

f*ck it, i’m still gonna blog about work.

so my colleague who was affected by Hurricane Wilma…well he just *finally* got DSL back in his place. for the past coupla weeks, he had to go to a local Starbucks to utilize the wi-fi and check emails, download files, etc…so anyway, here was his reaction to finally getting back internet access:

nyflygirl: so how does it feel to have internet in your own home
co-worker: better than s_x lol
nyflygirl: LMAO

business as usual?

well finally, my pal in Miami partially has his power back after having been without for 2 days due to the hurricane. some things still not working, but it seems for the most part he is back in business. i’m just glad he and his wife are OK. but we had a status meeting earlier this morning to go over everyone’s jobs, and our boss was like “well, this still has to get done, that has to get done”…like he was able to do anything about it. You know-I know you gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done, but I think at times like this, life takes priority. It was the same thing after 9/11-i lost respect for quite a few clients-and a few co-workers as well-they expected everything to be business as usual as soon as 2 days after-when in reality, it was a changed world.

On a more upbeat note, I think I have my outfit for Friday’s Halloween party all picked out…i went to Forever 21 today and got pretty much what completed the outfit…it’s a little daring, I’ll need some balls (and double-sided tape) to pull it off, but I think I can do it…and from glancing who replied to the evite, this will be one interesting nite…

now playing: “runaway lover” ~ madonna

rock you like a hurricane

Wilma, please go back to and stay in Bedrock.

This has been one crazy hurricane season…and apparently it ain’t over yet, this year and in the future. According to “weather experts,” not by a long shot.

My thoughts are with anyone in the southern US in Wilma’s path…or their friends and loved ones!!

So far, everyone I know of that may be affected is OK (knock on wood)…my mother was vacationing in Florida for a coupla days last week, but left before the hurricane hit (though if I was her, I probably would have postponed my vacation entirely.) I spoke to my co-worker in Miami this morning…he’s OK, though his building has no electricity. I begged him to move to a less hurricane-prone area…like, back to NY 🙂