Half-Marathon—On a trail, in a park

On the bus from the parking lot to the beginning of the North Face Endurance Challenge Half-Marathon at Algonkian State Park, I was chatting with my seatmate.

I told her, “this is my first half-marathon.”

She looked at me, wide-eyed, and said “and you chose to do a TRAIL half for your first one?”

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I said, “well, since I am on the bus to the start line, I think we’re kind of past the point for making that decision.”

And so began my day.

When I signed up for the race, they asked “what is your expected finish time?”

My answer: SUNDAY.

After the Tough Mudder, my teammates said to me, “well, you’re already capable of running 9 or 10 miles at once, you can do a half,” and when the opportunity presented itself, I figured I would go for the challenge.

Standing in line for the pre-run bathroom run, we were chatting with a great guy named Bruce who had done a few marathons and 50 mile races. When he asked me why I had decided to do the half-marathon, I told him.

“Wow. Tough Mudder…that is truly hard core.” I’ll take that.

Anyway, it was a trail run and the first 3 miles were slow, but fine.

As the race wore on, the heat and humidity picked up considerably. There were no water stations between mile 2 and mile 8, so it was getting tough, and with no mile markers in the middle of the woods, it was a bit disorienting. You just didn’t know how far you had gone.  I don’t have one of those GPS watches.

So, roughly between miles 5 and 7.5, I was in a total groove. The kind of groove where you don’t even think about the fact that you are running. It was Zen-like.

Then, we hit a creek that was full of mud and a muddy bank (almost Tough Mudder-like) and it required me to slow down considerably and use my hands. Killed my mojo.

About a mile later, we came to a water station and I hydrated. The sign there said “8.4 miles” but all the runners with watches said, “no, it’s 9.2.”

I figured I had less than 4 miles to go and since I tend to run about 5 miles per day, I felt like I had it in the bag.

I counted chickens a bit early as we shortly hit two hills that must have been 50 degree inclines. All along, my goal had been to just not stop running, no matter how slow, but on these hills, I had no choice. I had to walk.

Fortunately, my running partner, Yak, was with me, even though he is much faster. He claimed ulterior motives—if I finished, I’d be more likely to sign up for a marathon with him. Fair enough.

Those hills-at mile 10-took a ton out of me and I was soon relieved to hear someone say “only 2 miles to go from here.”

I mentally calculated how much energy I needed (I knew the last 2 miles were flat) and set off. I ran for what seemed like 12 minutes or so and then came to a water station where I was informed I had 1.65 miles to go.

What?!!!!!

I was basically running on fumes and I still wasn’t done. I had miscalculated the burn. All of that resulted in a pretty long last 1.5 mile of the run.

Yet, that’s the part of the activity that I love the best. In some ways, it’s the reason I do it. The physical challenge is great, but the mental challenge is what makes it special. When your body wants to give up, but you force yourself to go on anyway.

And, so I did.

Then, you hear the crowd (no spectators on the course b/c of the trail) at the finish area and you are uplifted…

They brought me home.

Considering the heat, it was my first time, and the fact that I had a calf spasm that required a house call by a physician friend, icing, and massage on the day before, I am thrilled with the 2.40 time I posted.

Next challenge? Open to suggestions.

A Night at the Ballet

As many of you know, the NFO is a serious dancer. So, it’s no surprise that Tonka and Nadia and, to some extent, Paco, are also fans of dance.

So, it was particularly fun to take them out (on a school night, no less!) to see Ballet Across America at the Kennedy Center.

If you’ve been there, you know what a great environment it is all the way around. The Halls of Nations and States, the huge bust of Kennedy, the river overlook, and the great rooms for the performances (we were in the Opera House), so they really enjoyed that.

We only made it for 2 of the 3 Acts (people were getting antsy), but we were priviliged to see the Richmond Ballet perform a piece that was inspired by the ghettos of WWII.

From the website:

Premiered in the Richmond Ballet (Stoner Winslett, Artistic Director) New Works Festival,Ershter Vals features music based on poems from the Jewish ghettos of World War II. The captivating choreography focuses the ballet on the moments of light that can be found in even the darkest of times, creating a penetrating message of hope.

The music that accompanied it was all Yiddish and I, who would not call myself a ballet aficionado (though I am certainly on the cusp) found myself mesmerized and really enjoying the right brain expansion that was taking place.

The kids had a lot of questions and we had to remind them to hold them until the intermission. All in all, they handled themselves quite well.

The second act was a bit more difficult. There was NO music whatsoever and the moments of total silence were a bit awkward. Still, the movements were graceful.

While I enjoyed the dance (really), I really enjoyed watching the kids enjoy the dance and be captivated, wide-eyed, and wondering about not only the dance, but everything…the chandeliers, the orchestra, the lighting, and the steep stairs.

I love the challenge of giving the kids new experiences to help shape their minds into flexible, dynamic, creative organs.

Does the mission change when the passengers change?

I really don’t think this will translate well to the blog, but here goes anyway…
I was dropping Paco off at his friend, Josh Daniels’ house. (names are changed to protect innocent).
Nadia was with me. We had walked over.
When I arrived there, I saw that another family, the Smiths were there for lunch.
The Smiths know where I live and said, “Oh, are you headed back to your house?”
I told them I was.
“Our daughter, Gina (age 8), is going to her friend, Amy King, who lives down the street from you.”
I responded, “I’m happy to take her there now,” seeing as Gina would be able to get to Amy’s house anywhere from 1 to 2 hours earlier than if she waited for her family to finish lunch.
At first, Gina (who has knows me—she’s in the same grade as Paco), indicated she would rather stay with her family, but while I was organizing the return plans for Paco, Gina changed her mind.
No skin off my back, I was headed in the direction of the King’s anyway.
So, Gina, Nadia, and I left the Daniels’ house and headed for my street.
Where things get interesting….
Along the way, I saw my friend, Jon Cole, walk out his front door and, since we were at the halfway point, I turned to the girls and said “do either of you need a bathroom stop?”
I had been walking with Nadia for about 45 minutes and if there’s one thing in which I believe in, it’s pre-emptive bathroom visits.
Both of the girls said no.
Jon said, “hey, you want to come in for a few minutes just to chat?”
I said, “well, are you guys having dessert? Maybe I can hook up the girls with a cookie?”
He said, “yes, we’re having dessert.”
Turning to the girls, I offered them a cookie. Nadia said she was interested. Gina said she wasn’t.
Now, you should know that Gina had never met the Cole’s before, but my assessment of her character was that she is pretty happy, go-lucky (we had been chatting along the way) and that a short detour wouldn’t be a big deal.
We went in, the girls sat on the couch and we were there for a maximum of 10 minutes. We took our leave and I safely delivered Gina to Amy’s house.
The Questions and The Controversy
Here’s where you get to vote/decide/weigh-in.
The NFO thinks that once I accept the responsibility for delivering Gina to Amy’s, I have no right to detour from that mission.
I think that since I am doing Gina and the Smiths a favor (one I am happy to do), that I am able to keep some degree of flexibility in how I get her there.  I would agree that a visit to the Cole’s of 2 hours would be excessive, so there is some point (for me, it was more than 10 minutes), at which point it is simply not right to stay and not fair to Gina. In my view, Gina comes out WAY ahead in terms of when she gets to Amy’s house, regardless of whether I stop at the Cole’s or not.
The NFO, however, disagrees and thinks that the point is 0 minutes. Once I take the job, I lose all flexibility.
Analogous might be….you offer to give your friend’s child a ride to your next door neighbor’s house from soccer practice. On the way, you pass the drugstore and you remember that you forgot to pick up a birthday card for your Mom. You see an opportunity to get it.
Is it ok to park, run in with the 2 kids, get the card, and run out? (assuming it is 10 minutes or less AND there’s no explicit time expectation for when your friend’s child will arrive at your neighbors)
Anyway, as I said, it doesn’t translate perfectly, so fire away.

Going Big in Vegas..

I was in Las Vegas last week for a 3 day group off-site.
On the one hand, Las Vegas represents the worst side of humanity. Yet, I still can’t help but admire the massive engineering accomplishments, the organizational efficiency, the sophisticated technology and infrastructure.
While I was there, some of the younger people on my team were encouraging me to “go big” in terms of partying/drinking, etc. Now, I was up later just because I spent time socializing with teammates (and combined with jet lag and poor sleeping), I already pushed it, but I couldn’t justify going even further. And we’ll leave out the fact that I’m training for a half-marathon.
When asked, I said,
“Look you have to understand something.”
“I could definitely go big here, but let me tell you how the story unfolds.  I go big for 3 nights. Then, I get home and my wife says to me, ‘hi, I’ve been 1 on 3 with the kids for 4 days, so I need a rest.
Now, her position is totally justified because being on point with the kids is the toughest job around (and ours are even at a bit of an easier stage).
So, to be honest, I just don’t see a good result when I say in response that, ‘you know, I went really big in Vegas and partied a lot, so I need a few days to recover.’
As a result, I’m going to bed now. See you later.”

2 Free Hotel Nights in Vegas-Interested?

Read disclaimer at bottom first before going further.

So, I won 2 nights at a hotel in Las Vegas (MGM Grand) and I am not going to be able to redeem them.

However, I want someone to benefit from them.

Here’s the offer.

(I will choose the best entry using my personal judgment and own criteria).

1. What makes Vegas intriguing to you?
2. How will your trip to Vegas benefit this blog community?
3. Are there any other “remarkable” reasons why you should get these 2 free nights?
   Get as creative as you like.

Please note:

• All entries must be submitted as comments to this blog post
• Deadline for submissions is June 9, 2013

 

DISCLAIMER: I am trying to do something nice and fun. I want to give my friends/community a chance to benefit and I don’t want to involve a lawyer or extraneous costs.  If you can’t deal with the fact that you might lose and that I am not going to write a whole long set of terms/conditions, don’t bother submitting an entry. If you’re that annoying, you should find another blog to read anyway. 

Laughing when facing a mortal disease…

This blog post is dedicated to my friend, Tom Siegman. I called him on his birthday the other day and he said, “hey man, keep on blogging.”

A few days ago, a friend of ours passed away. He was young, too young. Blogged on it here.

In the months leading up to this, people had the opportunity to go visit him and spend some time with him, just to keep him company during his time in between chemo, etc.

Last summer, I spent 2 hours with him and we spent the first hour talking about serious things, like American foreign policy, educational systems, the rise of China, etc.

At some point, talk turned to his illness. He couldn’t really eat food. He would get his nutrients through an IV, but he would drink just to avoid feeling parched and then, as I understand it, most of it would just go straight out of a tube in his stomach to the bag he carried around with him.

Now, I’m not sure exactly how we got the idea, but at some point (knowing me, it was probably I who came up with it), we realized that he could drink as much alcohol as he wanted and not get drunk.

From there, the plan we hatched was to go to the University of Maryland and challenge all of the frat boys to drinking contests for money. We saw an opportunity for him to “monetize his illness.” We both had a good laugh at this.

Now, some may think this crass, but what I think it represented for Gordon (and for all of us) is the ability to keep a light-hearted spirit during times of tremendous strain.

The gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on us, but the fact that we were able to have a laugh at the same time is, I think something that is commendable—mostly for him, as I wasn’t faced with the issue, of course.

I do recall reading somewhere (and I can’t remember right now where it was), that people who can laugh when faced with serious challenges are more likely to persevere than those who cannot.

In the long run, the disease got Gordon, but from all accounts, and from what I saw, he was a true fighter all along the way. I suspect this type of attitude had something to do with it.

For the aspiring medical practitioners among you...

In the spirit of bringing hiqh quality medical procedures to the world, here's the latest.

Inspired Design, Hong Kong Style

Now this is simply remarkable.

College Isn't Really Worth It

The joke here isn't the segment from the Daily Show. The joke is that most ppl think the segment is a joke.
Thanks to Mindy Barenblat for the link.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Death of a Friend and the Injustice of Life's Realities

I held the kids a little bit closer this afternoon. The sun seemed brighter and the air felt fresher.

Our weekend had been sent into a very dark place on Saturday morning when we learned of the passing of our friend, Gordon Lederman. Aged 44, 3 kids under the age of 7, and one of the absolute nicest guys you'll ever meet.

A funeral for a new, young widow on Mother's Day brought everything into focus in terms of life's priorities.

The unjustice of it all. The inability to comprehend it all.  Why someone who had devoted so much to his family, his community and his country had to be taken from all of us after a fierce battle with cancer.

I had spent an afternoon with Gordon last summer and his spirits were high, his resolve unwavering.  Yesterday, as the NFO and I processed the news, I berated myself a bit for not having spent more time with him, for letting my petty issues and concerns get in the way.

Last night, one of the funeral organizers emailed and asked if I would be able to organize a livestream of the funeral for those who couldn't attend.

Sensing an opportunity to give to Gordon something that I did not enough when he was alive, I agreed.  During the funeral, I noticed that 27 different viewers were able to participate in the experience. I figured that some were watching with others and was able to take a small bit of comfort that 40 or so people were able to watch as a result.

That's a small aside, of course, to the much larger tragedy.  We spent a great deal of the weekend trying to comprehend it all, feeling sad for his wife, but absolutely heartbroken for his 3 children. That's what had me choked up, more than anything.  It made me hold my own kids a bit closer today and we tried to explain to them what had happened in as real terms as possible.

It's something that the NFO and I do a lot. I feel good about the non-sugar coating approach we take. Life has realities and we're not trying to scare them, but we do need to prepare them.

However, for something like this, I just don't think it's possible to be truly prepared.

I sense I'm rambling and a bit all over the place now...I just feel the need to get it out, even though I can't really understand it. I am sorry for that.

But it is nothing compared to the sorrow I feel for his family.  I truly hope that they have the strength to persevere through this horrific experience and flourish nonetheless.

(If you knew Gordon and are motivated, here's the video of the funeral. Apologies for the ads and poor audio.)

Gender Discrimination in Loan Docs?

We just refinanced our mortgage.

I was surprised by the language in the first sentence. A relic of a different era?

Running the Dish

As is my custom on any business trip, I make a point to do something unique to the area.

Proud to report that I “ran the Dish” at Stanford recently. A great-almost 4 mile course-around a huge radio telescope.

The experience provided fantastic vistas combined with great hill work.

I don’t usually drive to do a run, but since 2 different people recommended that I do it, I figured it was worth a shot…and it was.

Biased or Fair?

I read this article,  Montgomery County workers took $30,000 hit since recession,  in our local newspaper and I was so taken aback by its one-sided nature that I wrote a letter to the editor and the reporter.

What I wrote is below. Tell me if I'm wrong.

To the Editor,

I read Ms. Alexander's article, Montgomery County workers took $30,000 hit since recession, and the first thought that came to my mind was, "I wonder how much the County Employees Union paid her to write this?"

No one enjoys a pay cut. No one enjoys having to cut back or facing financial hardship. However, in your numerous stories of County employees who have taken a financial hit, nowhere did you mention the alternatives to the pay freeze.

• Would it have been better to raise taxes on the citizens of the county so that the employees didn't have to make the sacrifices you covered?
• Were there services that should have been cut instead?
• What about layoffs? Maybe it would have been better to fire the worst performers in the workforce and allow everyone else to keep their salaries at the level they wished?

I don't know what the better answer is or would have been, but your article didn't even present that topic for consideration. As a person, I share their anxiety. As a taxpayer in the County, I am entitled to have that information and make the best decision.  Your article had an agenda. "It's not fair what has happened to the employees of MontCo and you should be upset about it."  Maybe yes, maybe no, but you didn't give us that option. You tried to force our hand.

In the private sector, if a company does poorly, employees sometimes sacrifice. Either in pay freezes, reductions, or lay-offs. It's unfortunate, but these are the trade-offs inherent in our economic system (or any economic system, for that matter).

By not painting the full picture of the trade-offs, you do a disservice to your readership, particularly one which is immediately impacted. I'm not reading about a company that didn't sell enough and had to lay people off, I am reading about a situation where I am being asked to either directly pay more in taxes so that others don't have to sacrifice, receive less services, or accept the fact that some fellow citizens may get laid off from their jobs.

Regardless of what is optimal, if you want an informed citizenry, you should focus on presenting the full story, not what appears to be an advertorial.

Tough Mudder #2…in the books

Not sure exactly what it is about running 12 miles on a cold, windy day through the hills of West Virginia and stopping every so often to deal with one of 22 obstacles that I enjoy, but whatever it is, I like it.

Maybe the rush, the mental challenge that is required to run through electrified wires and crawl through mud (as well as the physical), but I gave it another whirl this past Sunday at Tough Mudder Mid-Atlantic.

Here are the pics. Videos below.

This one was tougher than Tough Mudder #1 for me because

1. it was about 1.5 miles longer
2. whereas NJ is flat, West Virginia isn’t
3. it was colder
4. it was windier
5. it had more water involved

Still, the team performed beautifully (and I liked the fact that this time I had a group of people to do it with).

 

Lack of Sleep. Lack of Perspective.

The last few weeks have been hectic, more so than usual. If I was lucky, I was getting 5 hours of sleep a night.

I know. Not enough, but such was the scenario.  As you know, you can only go so long at that rate before it catches up with you...in many ways.

One, was particularly unfortunate.

One of my trusted service providers (whatever she says, I'll pretty much do) emailed me to discuss a situation. I called her. It was early in the morning. I was exhausted and trying to help the NFO get the kids out the door to school.

She started listing Option A, Option B, Option C...doing her job, giving me all the scenarios.  I replied, perhaps a bit too sternly, "Look, don't tell me the Options, you're the expert, just tell me what I should do. I trust you and I'll do it!"

Normally, that's a sign of confidence, but in this scenario, it rubbed her the wrong way and she laid into me. She, too, was exhausted, but for a different reason. Aside from the relentless demands of her job, her husband had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the last thing she needed was for me, anyone, to speak roughly to her.

I felt about 1 inch tall and, naturally, apologized profusely.  Had I not been so tired, I probably would have been more calm about it, but it as the proverbial wake-up call (pun not intended, it just came out that way) that, no matter how much you think you get done, you can't avoid the need for sleep.  

I felt terrible.  

That night, I went to bed early and got 8 hours.

Gratitude to my Son

About 4 months ago, Paco came to me and told me he was in the middle of book #3 of the Harry Potter series.

I had only read the first one...about 14 years ago, but he seemed pretty excited about it.

He also proclaimed quite clearly, "I think I am going to beat you."

"In what contest?" I asked.

"I am going to finish all of the books before you do."

I realized that he would--he has a bit more time than I do--but I also sensed an opportunity.  I saw that he was very excited about Harry and Voldemort and that it provided a chance for me to bond with him.

So, I devoured the final 6 books over the course of 3 months, savoring the chance to discuss them with him as I did, but realizing that I really enjoyed the books in their own right.

Without his prodding, I never would have read them, so I am just grateful for his encouragement.  Looks like I have a lot to learn from the kids.

The taxi driver from Jeremy

Well, turns out he is really from Jérémie, a city in Haiti, but we had a fun moment in New York City the other day.  

I had been calling a few people and when I was done, I started chatting with the cabbie (as is my custom).  I asked where he was from and he said "Haiti."

"Port au Prince?" I asked, trying to sound smart.

"No, from Jeremy."

"What?"
"Yes. And when I heard your name, I thought it was funny."

After I chided him (playfully) for not saying something sooner, I shot this video.  Now, I have a travel destination (since I've already been to Epstein!).

Running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Washington is definitely one of America's most beautiful cities and on Sunday morning, April 7th, I was reminded of that.

I ran in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler which began at the Washington Monument, over Memorial Bridge to Arlington, past the Lincoln Memorial, Kennedy Center, MLK memorial, Jefferson Memorial and all along the Potomac River and Tidal Basin.  

It was a glorious day and I was shooting for a time of 90 minutes. Inspired by the weather, the crowds, and adrenaline, I managed to complete the course in 1 hour 24 minutes, so I was thrilled. I was even more excited that I ran the 2nd 5 miles at a faster rate than the first 5. (For details, see JEREMY EPSTEIN Results:)

All of those mornings running in the freezing weather had paid off. It's great when hard work does that.

There's something special about races (and I don't do that many), but I love the camraderie of the runners and I love the random kindness of the audience.

People will read your running bib and yell "Way to go, Jeremy!" and it's fun. The signs are great too, such as "Hey Random Stranger, I'm proud of you!"  and the folks who were (unofficially) handing out Oreos and Beer. 

A big thanks goes out to my friend, Dr. David Taragin (some ppl think he is Will Farrell's doppelganger) for the VIP parking and access to the medical tent for safekeeping of my belongings.

It's a great event, a great way to spend a Sunday morning, and a great way to appreciate the beauty of the Nation's Capital

A Great Golf Story

I am not a particularly big fan of golf. I don’t play it and find it boring to watch.

Yet, somehow, I was drawn into reading a phenomenal book called The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever and I couldn’t put it down.

It describes a little known event involving 4 of the game’s greatest players and how they fought it for the pure sport of it.

Written by the same author who wrote Greatest Game Ever Played, the story is riveting and raised my appreciation of the sport about 100-fold.

When I lived in Europe, I fell in love with soccer (er, football) and realized that just because I didn’t understand a sport didn’t mean there wasn’t something beautiful about it.

What this book showed me was how beautiful golf is.

And the storytelling is world-class.

Devoted Parent Example...Non-Parents should avoid reading

On the way back from Chicago following Passover, Nadia got car sick. Unfortunate. Smelly. Messy.

A total of 3 times.

The first one was all over her. We stopped, cleaned her up, and proceeded.

The 2nd time she managed to get it into a plastic bag. Well done!

The 3rd time (poor girl), she knew it was coming and tried to stop it by putting her hand in front of her mouth.  Because she had spaces in between her fingers, this had the effect of creating a greater force on the projectiles which did get past her.

She was sitting right behind me.

Travelling at 80 mph on the Interstate, all I could do was stay focused on the road as the bits and pieces of vomit landed on the back of my head and neck.

Got a wipe, cleaned it off, and moved on.