by Monica on November 14, 2009
The Boston Marathon closed today. I am sitting on a deferred (last year) guaranteed entry and have until the December 11 deadline to get it to them. I am coming off an injury that has sidelined me for many months this year. I am finally back on the road again and so happy just to be out there. It is definitely still sore, yet seems to get incrementally better as the days go by…but Boston in 5 months? I would love to run it this year…but I have a fear of commitment. There is so much info out there on coming back after an injury it’s hard to decipher if it’s possible. What’s a girl to do? I say “Get engaged”! I found this article from Running and FitNews (from the American Running Association) that actually puts percentages (something I can understand) to mileage build up after an injury. I decided engaging myself in a plan and taking it one week/run at at time is the best therapy for my injury issues.
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by Jamie on September 28, 2009
Running in Philadelphia is great fun; eating there, even better. A perennial favorite, The Philadelphia Distance Run, took place on Sunday, 9/20. Next year, the race will be “rebranded” as the ING Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. Even road races are beginning to resemble suburban malls……
The Race Expo takes place at the Philadelphia Convention Center. We listen to a panel of marathon winners (they muse over the concept of luck in racing). I have my picture taken with Catherine (the Great) Ndereba, currently the 7 time winner of the Distance race, an Olympic medalist! The lovely Ms. Ndereba radiates serenity and benevolence.
Kismet! Monica wins a pair of Sir Isaac Newton sneakers (the next, big thing in running). Newton’s are engineered to mimic the advantages of barefoot running. We try the sneakers on and my feet are immediately transformed. I rue my 2 newly purchased pairs of Asics. We find KT Tape in the goodie bag. I try it out and experience immediate relief from a nagging sore knee. Crazy!
We have lunch across the street at the Reading Terminal Market. The market is the heart and soul of Philadelphia; gritty, urbane and comfy with a European flair. So many choices: Amish roast chicken and soft pretzels, Thai salmon, Italian Market cheeses, remarkable breads and hearty turkey sandwiches. We enjoy our Pakistani kabobs while catching up on the world, big and small.
On Sunday morning, Kerry, Kim, Ann and Jill are poised to run their first half marathon. They are at once apprehensive, bubbly, confident and ready. Last minute decisions abound: we mull over iPods, sore knees (I decide to wear my magic tape and feel good throughout the race-and afterwards!) and throw-away clothes.
What is it with the pre-race porta-potty scene? We arrive at the start 45 minutes early and line up. The line is eternal. The wheelchair racers start off. We inch forward. Kerry remains optimistic; line anxiety takes our mind off of pre-race panic. Goal finally accomplished, we enter our corral with seconds to spare.
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by Jamie on April 7, 2009
courtesy of www.fairmountpark.org
When it’s time for a long run, my long distance friends and I head out to Philadelphia: Kelly Drive and the Wissahickon Park. We start out at Lloyd Hall on Kelly Drive. At 6:20 am, there is usually free parking nearby. Lloyd Hall is located on the east side of the Schuylkill River, next to stately Victorian boathouses. We pass grand sculptures (Saint-Gaudens and Frederick Remington are represented), blooming cherry trees in the spring and old stone bridges. Regattas, races and triathlons are a welcome distraction.
After Kelly Drive ends, about 4 ½ miles later, we cross Ridge Avenue into the verdant Wissahickon Valley Park, part of Fairmont Park (one of the largest city parks in the world, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted also created Central Park, NY and the Emerald Necklace parks of Boston). The Wissahickon Creek runs through the park’s entire 7 miles length. At the fork in the park, bear left onto the Forbidden Drive.
The Forbidden Drive is fairly quiet and easy on the feet. The trees provide the respite of deep shade against those muggy Philadelphia mornings. The light is quite lovely. Often, we see fly fisherman toiling away in the creek.
Midway through the park is the Valley Green Inn. We stop here for a drink and GU. There is an excellent buzz; running clubs and spirited friends begin and end their runs at the Inn. Depending on the length of the run, we continue on to a covered bridge or to the stables. We bide away the miles debating if the park ends at the road or at the stables down yonder. I don’t think we truly want to know.
We run back out the same way that we came in. Distance running brings out my latent OCD tendencies. I inevitably stop at the same place each time for a drink. I tell myself to avoid the mile markers on Kelly Drive and then end up reading each and every one of them. The numbers are rarely comforting.
On Kelly Drive, near the rowing grandstands, is a bronze sculpture, The Rower, in honor of triple Olympic gold medal winner John B Kelly, Sr, father of John B Kelly Jr, a 4 time Olympian oarsman and Philadelphia councilman (hence Kelly Drive) as well as Grace Kelly, Oscar winning actress and princess of Monaco.
Once we pass the Playing Angels statues, another Saturday in the park with friends has just about come to an end.,
by Jamie on March 12, 2009
"In the Summer House" - George Tooker
George Tooker – A Retrospective:
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA)*: 118 North Broad Street (near Cherry), Philadelphia, PA 19102
When: Now through April 5, 2009
Cost (“Special Exhibit” fees): Adults $15 ; Seniors and Students w/ I.D. $12 ; Youth (5 – 18) $8
George Tooker’s first museum retrospective in 30 years is taking place at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA.) Tooker’s paintings are, in turn, droll, luminous and dead serious. You can’t miss the social protest, as well as the technical mastery. Tooker worked with egg tempera (popular in the Renaissance, an arduous medium.) He is known for his 1950’s uber doom, gloom and alienation paintings Subway and Government Bureau.
Paintings I loved:
In the Summer House (1958): those resplendent lanterns!
Game of Chess (1946-1947): A young man reels in the face of a chess piece wielding young woman and her hideous mother. Back-story: Tooker was lovers with the painter Paul Cadmus; they were part of a gay circle of creative types in the 1940’s. He lived with the painter William Christopher (they had a home in Vermont) until Christopher’s death in the 1970’s.
Birdwatchers (1948): Central Park in the center of a Renaissance painting: John Currin immediately comes to mind.
Don’t miss the original Frank Furness designed PAFA building next door: The Victorian gothic design is at once elegant, ornate, warm and inviting.
*PAFA has educated Mary Cassatt, Maxfield Parrish, architect Louis I. Kahn and the filmmaker David Lynch.
For more info, see in-depth review by Edward Sozanski at philly.com
