Another 5K, another useless t-shirt

Seriously, is there really ever time I can wear this? (Maybe next year's event.) I like the recent trend of giving out tech shirts. That makes running the race a better buy than going to Target. But these silly shirts? I'm not sure why I still take them...

I left pretty early today, but just could not find a parking spot. Sometimes I see other bloggers running races where you can just park right by the race site. I'm sure they don't have 2,781 finishers like today's race, but not having to look for parking must be a joy. I ended up parking about a mile away, and taking a cab to the race! I got there with six minutes to spare, got my number and chip on, and was back out in the throng a full minute befoe the horn. (Good thing I did some stretching at home!)

After the tough time I had in my last race starting too fast, I started this one closer to the back. Turns out, I was too far back. It took me two miles to really feel in the clear, and I think I had actually run 2.5 miles by that time, if you count all the lateral movement I was doing. I also had to keep changing my pace, and that was really affecting me. After a while, the race course had a bunch of hills. I was really passing people here. Don't get me wrong, they were tough. But I think I started so far back, that I was better prepared for the hills than the people with me at that time.

In any case, I did start to get a good rhythm going after the second mile. While I had spent the first part of the race thinking I was going to slow, it was catching up to me now. I was pretty sure I was getting faster and faster the way I like it, but I was breathing really heavy. (Of course I screwed up on the Garmin, so I can't confirm my splits. But they felt "negative".)

Anyway, while I was struggling away over the last mile I started to notice a lot of kids around me. I was passing some of them, but others were passing me. I'm not talking about teenagers, I'm talking about little kids. For example, look at this 7 year old who finished 12 seconds ahead of me! (For the record, I had a better net time. So there!) I wasn't sure whether to be annoyed at all this. I'm not sure if when I was 7 I was faster or slower than I am now!

Finally, the end was in sight. I didn't really think I had it in me, but I did kick it in for the last tength of a mile. I finished in a net time of 26:18, or an 8:29 pace. Not a PR, but pretty good. I'll take it.

Now I'm going to sidetrack for a little story. This past Thursday I was looking at this site called TheKnish.com. For those of you that don't get the reference, this is a Jewish spoof on TheOnion.com, itself a parody of the news. Most of you probably won't get the humor, but it's quite funny, and I've seen it before. There was a link on it to the author's hompage, MartinBodek.com. I've known about Martin for a while, particularly because my brother set Martin up with his wife, who was my sister-in-law's former roommate. Because of that fact, combined with having seen his websites before, I've always know about Martin, but I'd never actually met him. Anyway, I'm looking at his website, and he says that he's a 10 time marathoner, including the NYC Marathon. That's interesting. I wander over to the NYC marathon website, and look up his pictures from this past year's race. Now I'm stunned! I actually remember passing this guy during the race!! If you didn't click on that link, he's wearing a superman t-shirt. I distinctly remember passing a guy in that shirt, who had a sign on his back that said "If you see me walking, pat me on the back." He was wearing a kippah, so as I passed him I knew he was Jewish. I patted him on the back and said "Hi", but in Hebrew, for camaraderie purposes.

So here am I looking at this picture, amazed that I remember him. The next day I send my brother an email, who emails Martin, and with a bunch more emails it turns out that he remembers me passing him as well. We're all laughing at how small the world is. Cool story, huh? That was this Friday.

Fast forward to today's race. 2,781 finishers. After I'm done I stop into one of the local coffee shops to pick up a coffee. There were two other guys in the store, one wearing a hoodie. As I'm putting sugar in my coffee, I see this guy's face in the mirror. Could it be?

DF: "You're not Martin, are you?"

MB: "Why, yes I am." (Surprised)

DF: "I'm Danny Farkas."

MB: "Wow!" (More surprised)

DF: "This is so going in my blog!"

How crazy is that? It was really cool meeting him, and we actually had a lot to talk about. Both about running, as well as non-running things. I am always amazed at how small this big world is.

So... what else can I tell you? Still not much new at work. I went to a third office where I might see patients, although this is not clear yet. Here's a few pictures, including one of the examining rooms for Flatman.



This is the view from my office window:



That arrow is pointing to this street corner:



Don't worry. I've already called up the city to let them know they spelled my first name wrong. ;-)

One week to the Colon Cancer Challenge. For those of you who don't listen to Steve Runner's Phedippidations, he was kind enough to mention my cause and my blog in this week's episode. It was a little longer than I expected, but cool. (Because of the race I haven't listened to the rest of the episode yet.) For those of you that don't listen to him, I suggest you give it a try. It's really entertaining, and a good listen while you're running. For those of you who have come here because of his mentioning my blog, welcome. Drop a comment and let me know what you think.