Lion In A Coma

Friday: AM 6 Miles, 37:50, Blvd Saturday: AM: Tempo Run 6 Miles, 32 Minutes, Central Park (13 Tot.) Sunday: PM: 11.75 Miles, 1:11:40, Fruit Loop, Blvd.

Its not like I have a mass amount of readers but for those few who happen upon Fitter, Happier, More Productive every few days I apologize for the missed updates. I was down in NYC with my Irish crew and I had no Internet until now. So there is so much to talk about. Kicking off with training. I ran a solid 6 mile morning run early on Friday before we hit the road. After a long ass day and a few pints in various watering holes around the city I hit the scratch at 3am. I was surprised to feel quite bouncy on Saturday morning so I hit central park and ran a hard lap, right at threshold. It was very cold and windy so I just ran in training shoes and bundled up. Francine and I warmed up and cooled down together. Lovely. Another long day and late night called for a lie in today. I saved the run until I got back to P-Town and again I felt extremely bouncy. Maybe I should have should have more late nights!

Week 13 Ended As Follows:

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: AM: Tempo, 6 miles 32 min, wu 20 min, cd 11 min. Tot. 11 miles (63 Min)

Wednesday: AM: 12 Miles, 1:15:20, From BSC followed by Core Work

Thursday: AM: 10 Miles, 65 minutes, Blvd, Fruit Loop
PM: 4.2 Miles, No Time, Blvd
Friday: AM 6 Miles, 37:50, Blvd
Saturday: AM: Tempo Run 6 Miles, 32 Minutes, Central Park (13 Tot.)
Sunday: PM: 11.75 Miles, 1:11:40, Fruit Loop, Blvd.

Week Total: 68 Miles, 7 Runs, Core Work

With all that has been going on and having friends in town this week ended up being fantastic. I really expected a few days off and with Jimmy "My Iron Lung" Rohan in town I assumed late nights every night. Everybody is getting a little older and with Grace expecting in April it seems that Sups Rohan has toned down the late nights, although not many can hang with the red fella, even now. Next week will be a brilliant week of running and job searching.

On Saturday night I saw M83 in concert at The Fillmore in Irving Plaza. As far as gigs go it was OK. It could have been amazing but some people really get me down. Why spend $38 bucks to see an amazing band only to talk and laugh and get drunk the whole way through the gig? This is what was going on around me. Full conversation over the music. It was infuriating but fortunately it did settle down by the half way point and the remaining part of the show was exceptionally moving. I was blown away by the energy and quality of the show. Emotional is what I expected and it is what I got. After the show we hit the Beauty Bar on 14th street. It is one of my favorite bars in the world and Saturday night served up hours of amazing Nu Wave and cool people. We danced hard and had a great time. The Beauty Bar is a converted Salon with a late 60's vibe. The bar retained all the aspects of the 60's and the fixtures that adorned the beauty salon. The head ovens line the wall and there are manicures available for donations! The back room plays 80's nu wave and has a very retro feel. Jimmy was buzzing and reckons it was one of the best bars he has ever been too. Expect hipster, pretentious people but its all good. It suits the place and the vibe is uplifting and creative. I love it and on a Saturday night it is a place everyone should check out.

Ian O'Riordan wrote this piece in the Irish Times the other day. I thought it was great, not only because he included my own predicament as an example but because it hit the nail on the head as to what is happening in athletics sponsorship today. I appreciate the shout out very much so thanks Ian! However the article is serious stuff. Athletes are loosing their contracts and additional sponsorship deals. Milton Friedman talked about how the social/moral responsibility of corporations is to increase shareholder profits. Unfortunately it is this attitude that got me my marching orders and many athletes too. In order to achieve the 2009 financial targets for shareholders these companies have decided to get a leg up by freeing up a lot of salary expense. Marketing expenses usually follow and the case of Derval and Gillick do not surprise me. It was nice that Ian pointed out this additional stress that is placed on athletes to make a living. The sport is top heavy and very fickle. Its far from the glamour of the Premiership or NBA and I truly hope this period of uncertainty passes so we can get on with selling lots of running shoes and supporting athletes to endorse the various brands. Maybe then I'll get a Job out of it.

Martin Fagan ran 61:05 today in Austin, TX. He lead from gun to tape and missed John Treacy's Irish record by a few seconds. It is great to see him find his range. I have no doubt he will challenge Johns marathon record in the coming years. More to come on this.

Anyway, I'm tired so peace and much love,

Kel