Ramsayings

Want a marathon pro tip? Have a race plan. It’s the only way you’re going to live to tell the tale.

You know what I did wrong this year? I didn’t have a race plan. Unlike last year, the world intervened, making it harder for me to train at the level I did in 2008. It rained frequently and hard. I had a beautiful baby boy. I came down with a bad head cold at the end of October.  Yes, I did the best I could considering the circumstances, but when I caught a cold after a few too many runs in the October rain combined with a baby who’s just learning to sleep on his own, marathon training kind of goes out the window.

What was the outcome? A completely respectable 3:35 marathon. I didn’t set the world ablaze like I did last year when I ran a heartbreaking 3:13 and just missed qualifying for Boston in my debut, but I managed to maintain my dignity and come in with a time most amateur runners would kill for. I’m not ashamed of that.

I am ashamed of how stupidly I ran. I met my friend Pat at the start. He was shooting for a 3:40 time, and that sounded reasonable to me after taking so much time off. I wish I could’ve maintained that outlook for more than a mile. I took off hell-bent for the 3:30 group just as I hit Delaware Ave. I felt good! I figured I might just uncork a decent run! I was in for a surprise.

I caught up to the 3:30 group by mile 5. I still felt great, but that’s probably because I wasn’t paying any attention to my wildly fluctuating splits. I suddenly believed that I could catch the 3:20 group by, say, mile 12. And thus ended any chance of me recovering any semblance of a race plan.

What happened from that point forward can be summed up pretty easily. I took the fly and die approach. I ran very hard right up until about mile 18, whereupon I realized how difficult the next 8 miles were going to be. Ordinarily, I run 8 miles an hour. Last Sunday, I found myself walking and jogging just to be sure I would finish the run. I learned a hard lesson.

I crossed the finish line in agony, but I finished. I also realized that the OCD level of discipline that I brought to my first marathon is a must if I’m going to achieve that sort of success again. Am I discouraged? Not at all. I’m invigorated. I’m excited to train hard this winter and I plan on entering some spring races. Bring it on!

One of the things I’ve been seeing recently are people saying that music has lost its mystique. I couldn’t agree more. There’s a great line in Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle that applies here I think; to paraphrase, the things that separate celebrities from the rest of us are power and vacations. That was true for musicians, once upon a time, but now that the rock star is dead, how can we still be awestruck by musicians and the music they create? (more…)

I biked the SEPTA strike last week. It wasn’t the romance Philly Bicycle Coalition might have you believe. In fact, it was downright dangerous for anyone who tried to navigate the traffic-choked streets.

How about a recap? There is no safe, reliable route from anywhere north of Spring Garden to Center City. The existing bike lanes are insufficient during normal traffic and were completely overwhelmed by the strike. The number of cars and cyclists was staggering!

My traditional route to work became a warzone. I usually find my way down 17th from Spring Garden. This was nuts. 17th was a parking lot filled with uncertain angry drivers, but I had no choice. Philadelphia needs dedicated bike lanes that protect riders destined for Center City. (more…)

I started reading Michaelangelo Matos’s Slow Listening Movement blog. I’ve seen variations of the argument for slowing down, like the slow food movement, as a means of changing consumption habits, which in turn contribute to a different way of living one’s life. It’s an interesting idea, but I think the notion of “slow listening” should somehow address the music industry’s instistence on treating a problem with demand as if it were a supply-side problem. (more…)

Helen and Charlie NLCS Game 5, originally uploaded by J T. Ramsay.

I’d like to say a belated thank you to the Phillies for making my son’s first season as a Phillies fan an amazing one. Here he is with his mom and my beautiful wife Helen at Game 5 of our triumphant series against the L.A. Dodgers.

It’s sad that they couldn’t go all the way and ensure that they’d be named among the best teams in baseball history, but the 2009 campaign gave us some great moments that we won’t forget.

I can’t wait for April 5th to get here. Bring on woeful Washington!