Y. Karp? Why Not!

After quite some time in an irrationally self-inflicted exile on the bench, I started jogging again. No, really, it's true. Over the last two years it's been an on-again, off-again affair, but I think I'm jogging consistently enough to consider myself back on track. I recently read through my Jerusalem marathon training blogs from 2009 and 2010. They were very inspiring. I read how I started off on the treadmill at the gym and then progressed to running on the street. I read of how I completed my first 5 km run, my first 10 km run and ultimately how I smashed my PB in the marathon by about 4 minutes. I didn't blog about this, but in September 2010 I took a leisurely 20 km jog around Ramat Beit Shemesh, just for the fun of it. Since then I lost momentum and added weight. Now I'm back at the beginning - I have to do it all over again. For the last few weeks I've been schlepping myself around Ramat Beit Shemesh, trying to recapture my former glory. I'm w...

Technorati Claim Code: CNMGMJN444WT Sport: A battle between players or teams after which the victor jubilates in the changing rooms and the loser is left to nurse his wounds. The promise of winners and losers is what drives hundreds and thousands of fans to stadiums around the world every year. Companies pay top-dollar to get their names in front of spectators. In 2005, it cost $2.4m to run a 30-second advertisement during the Superbowl. $10m to $20m will buy you primary sponsorship of a NASCAR team. In 2006/2007 it cost approximately £20m for shirt sponsorship at top English football clubs. But you can only fit so many people into a stadium, and because sport is now a multi-billion dollar industry with multiple revenue streams (including property, media, licensing/merchandising, and sponsorships), organziers want as much exposure as possible. So how do you attract more people to the stadium and how do you keep fans in front of television screens? Well, one woul...

The day started out cold and wet. Looking out at the slick roads winding their way below my brother's Jerusalem apartment, I imagined that I'd be doing more sliding than running in that day's race. But, as the old Aussie song goes, "Will you tie it up with wire, just to keep the show on the road?" - yep, the show will go on, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure I'm in it. The taxi had difficulty reaching Givat Ram. Thousands of people were converging on the stadium. Some jogged slowly, warming themselves up for the race, others arrived by car, bicycle, and groups in sporty uniforms disembarked from coaches near the entrance. When I arrived inside the grounds at about 8.00am, the festivities were in full swing. A band was playing Israeli tunes, with an unlikely bagpipe accompaniment. At the registration tent, I obtained my runner's pack, complete with a t-shirt, timing chip to strap to my shoe, and an energy bar. Shortly afterward, I met my wife a...

Monday, 15 March 2010 Well, this is it. The moment of truth approaches. The race, scheduled for 18 March, is right around the corner. Here is how I have been preparing: Got myself a knee brace. It is adjustable, so it fits well. I went running with it last night and ran 5km without feeling any twangs or twinges in the knee. Perfect. Last Friday I took a run at 10am. I decided that I really should practice running at the same time of day as the race. Boy, what a different kettle of fish (no carp jokes!) The sun beating down as I jogged impacted greatly on my performance and I was an absolute gonner after only 5km. I hear it might rain on race-day, so perhaps that will save me. In any case, I'd better remember to adequately liquify liquidate hydrogenate hydrate myself before the race. I spent last week camping with my bro in the Galil/Golan, one day of which was dedicated to hiking, climbing, jumping and swimming through a very challenging trail. 7.5hrs of near non-stop leg-workou...

Sunday, 14 February 2010 It was hot, and unexpectedly so. Setting out on a run at 10.15pm might not exactly be the easiest time of day to go for a 10km run, but it should have been cooler. It wasn't. And I was hot. Angry, actually. I shouldn't have been, but I got upset at little nothings all evening and then I let it out on myself. I dressed in a hurry, slammed on my Brooks Adrenaline GT9s and ran out of the house, nary a stretch, my body unprepared for the grueling hour ahead. But I didn't care. I just needed to let off steam. At first I wasn't certain I would go the whole 10km. I was still wary of damaging my knee. But it was self-destruction time. I was in one of those moods. So out I went, into the unnaturally sweltering night. The first ten minutes went quickly. I ran, rather than jogged, and could feel the heat of the sweat gathering ominously under my shirt. My breathing steadied and I climbed the Yarden hill. The wind seemed to push me back at every step. My ba...

Sunday, 7 February 2010 I'm back! Since my injury on 23 December 2009, I have been training extremely lightly. 3km here, 5km there. Low-pressure jogging to keep the body going, but nothing strenuous. In fact, that was all I could manage for a while. I would run a few kilometers and then my knee would start hurting, so I'd stop. I saw an orthopedist who said my injury is a common one. Just a strain that will sort itself out in time. I don't have time! The marathon is on 18 March and I have to get into shape. But ill patience is what got me injured to begin with, so I forced myself to take it easy. Today I did my first 10km since 23 December. I ran strongly for the first 6km. Heading up the hill where I originally hurt my knee, I started to feel a twang. It got steadily worse. I decided to ride out the pain for just a little bit. Perhaps it will settle down. About 700m into the 1,200m climb, the knee started to steady. The pain was still there but didn't get any worse. I ...

Thursday, 23 December 2009 Injury. I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. Here's the story: Delay after delay, I was unable to leave the house until 10pm, an hour after my scheduled start. This could not possibly be good. But despite that, I began well, getting into the rhythm, finding a good breathing pattern, and running at a good pace. After exactly 11 minutes I reached the daunting incline of HaYarden Street. I sucked it in and pushed my way upwards. Reaching the top, I was surprised to realize that I was in very good shape - no stitch, no ache, plenty of energy. I decided that for the rest of the course I would go for it - If I tried, I was in a good position to smash my time and reach my medium-term goal of "10km in 55 minutes" sooner than expected. Reaching just over the half-way mark, the clock rolled its digits to 29 minutes. I was going to have to put the pedal to the metal on this one. But I felt good. I was going to make it. My body knew that the 1.22km H...

This post includes 3 entries - the latest appears last . Wednesday, 16 December 2009 During the course of the day I neglected to psych myself up for running, like I usually do. In fact, I almost forgot that I was to go for a jog in the evening. I didn't prepare by drinking water during the day, although I did keep to a light lunch and no snacking in the afternoon - but that's become the norm, rather than the exception. At about 7pm I remembered that I was supposed to train that evening. I had that niggling feeling in the pit of my stomach that it really isn't a good idea. I should put it off. But I forced myself to go. Discipline must prevail. Certain that I was not going to do well, I set off at about 9pm. I started off just fine, but a stitch had me in its evil clutches for approximately 4km. It was tough, but I kept working at altering my breathing patterns and doing the other breathing tricks I learned about on the wise Internet. The stitch eventually faded, bu...

I have been dieting really hard, sticking to my no-sweets, no-beer, no-junk food diet with the fervor of a religious fanatic who, very (very) occasionally sneaks a peanut butter sandwich. I have not been training as hard as I should. On average, I do my 10.3km run twice a week, instead of my planned three-times a week. But I am improving. In fact, I completely slashed my time tonight, as you will read in the remainder of this post, which I call: The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. Monday, 14 December 2009 The Good I completed my 10.3km run in a record 58:34. This puts me right on track to complete the Jerusalem marathon 10km event before the organizers finish packing up. I felt absolutely fantastic the whole way (save for a stitch or two, which I worked through and overcame). I ran solidly, and I took on the tough uphills with gusto and determination (I would have taken on the uphills with zeal, as well, but he was too busy flirting with passion and spirit.) How did I manage to fin...

Motzei Shabbat, 28 November 2009 As promised I went for a short run this evening. I wasn't going to go, though. I had decided that I wouldn't and was looking forward to settling down to some relaxing activities, like putting away the dishes. Turns out that my son, Shimi, remembered that I told him he could come along with me on a run. He would bike and I would shlep myself behind him. How could I give up quality father/son time? So we plotted out a route that didn't include so many hills and we set off at about 8.30pm. I pushed myself harder than usual and I did a bit of sprinting, which is something I don't do on a 10km run. I enjoyed the time and Shimi was great. 4.5km and 28 minutes later I put the pedal to the metal and powered on home. I don't think I've ever run as fast as that. It only took me about 20 minutes to recover. The time was a bit disappointing, but I put it down to cholent. Oh, and when I finally recovered, I did put away the dishes ;...

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 I must be a masochist. I decided that my previous route, which involved running a particular course and then backtracking, was too boring. If I was running on a treadmill, the scenery would be the same. But since I'm running out on the street, why see the same thing twice? So on Wednesday evening, I sat down in front of Google Earth with my eldest son and we planned out a new course, according to these guidelines: At least 10km Avoid running through certain communities Not too many long downhills Include the killer Nahar HaYarden uphill Include the 1.22km Yarkon uphill Avoid backtracking as much as possible The route we came up with is very complicated, but fulfills all criteria. It is actually 10.3km and involves only a few short backtracks. It is also about 80% uphill! OK, I exaggerate, but there are a lot more uphills than in my previous routes. I completed the course in about 1 hour and 20 minutes, although I'm not entirely sure be...

Sunday, 22 November 2009 I went out for my first run in over a week. The flu kept me indoors, but I was itching to get out there again. I did my first big 10k run, which included nearly 4k of hills, some of them pretty steep. I completed the route in 1:10:00. I didn't start out well. I got a stitch in the first three minutes and my hamstrings decided to make themselves heard just as I headed off. Things settled down in short order, but the niggling pains at the beginning were a little disconcerting. I guess it was the body's way of waking up after a long vacation. I thought that it was a relatively solid run, albeit a bit slow. So far I have been concentrating on distance. I think I've got that. Now I need to challenge the clock. Despite the minor muscle complaints, one thing was for certain: my feet were well taken care of. This past week I purchased a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9s . They are by far the most comf ortable running shoes I've ever worn - no c...

Really Early Morning, Friday, 13 November 2009 Set out on a jog in the wee hours of the morning at 12.20am. I decided to run a more challenging route than my usual 6 times around Dolev, AKA "The Peanut". The route I took ended up being only approximately 7.66km, but it was very hard: 1. From my home to the corner of Ayalon and Kishon (about 0.83km - mostly downhill) 2. From Kishon/Yarkon to the corner of Yarden (approx 1.22km of solid incline) 3. From corner Yarkon/Yarden to the corner Kishon/Yarden (total approx 1.78km - lots of ups and downs plus one huge downhill) Then turn around and do it in reverse (that huge downhill becomes one killer uphill). I did it in just over an hour and five minutes. I'm pretty happy with that, given the difficulty of the terrain. It's a very challenging course, so I hope to improve next time. But my biggest accomplishment so far is that I didn't get eaten by a jackal on the way.

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 I needed a day's break to recover from the 10km I did on Sunday. In retrospect, I should have gone cycling, which is a great cross-training activity. But I didn't. Going out this evening was difficult. I started the run at 10.15pm. I had a stitch for the first 4kms - a minor one, but it niggled at me. I started grunting at around the 3km mark. That's not good. I usually don't start grunting until somewhere towards the end. My feet started to hurt at around 5km - turns out my two smallest toes on my left foot were bleeding. I guess that means its time to hunt for better shoes. I'm certain that all these factors caused me to slow down considerably. But I had to overcome these setbacks and finish the 10km no matter what. I managed my breathing, corrected my posture and rallied over the last few kms to make the run worthwhile. I made sure that, no matter how tired I was feeling, I powered up the one hill on my route each time I reached it. ...

Wednesday, 4 November 2009: As previously blogged, I decided to ditch the treadmill and run out on the road. I was advised to go for distance to build stamina, rather than time, at this stage (thanks, especially to Chaim and Rafi of the Beit Shemesh Running Club - I still intend to join up, I would just prefer to wait until I have a chance of keeping up a little bit with you guys!) I took a leisurely jog to Rechov Nachal Dolev (getting there and back cost me 1.7km). Dolev is a 1500m circular street in Ramat Beit Shemesh (well, it's actually peanut-shaped, but you know what I mean) and is relatively flat, with one hill that goes for about 3 0m-50m. I thought that I'd take it easy on my first time out. I completed my initial lap easily and was getting into the groove when I started my second. I debated with myself the whole third lap and decided to go for a fourth. Why not? I stumbled out of Dolev after four times around and jogged back to my apartment. The 7.7km ordeal took ...

Jumblerant (good one, Mr. G.) challenged me to post about my progress with training for the Jerusalem Marathon 10k event in March 2010. So here we go: Sunday, 1 November 2009: Started training. Knowing that I have never run 10k before, I decided to concentrate on distance rather than speed. My usual run is 4.5k and I wanted to start with something easy. I ran a comfortable 5k at a constant speed of 13km/h. I got off the treadmill and felt really good. I figured that next time I'll go for 6k and build up from there. I also decided that 13km/h is a good pace so I'll try and maintain it, even as I increase the distance. Tuesday, 3 November 2009: I hit the treadmill at about 9.20pm. I was tired and fighting a cold. I read on a website today that to start seriously training for a 10k race you have to be able to run 30 minutes without stopping. I had previously promised myself to run 6k, so I decided not to alter my plan - I psyched myself up all day for the 6k and I didn...

Why don't people quit while they're ahead? When the late-great Michael Jackson was the King of Pop in the 80s, he should have hung up his glove and become an accountant or something. Look what happened to him. Not to mention Elvis Presley and Judy Garland, among others. What makes people so ambitious that they feel it necessary to attempt to revive their glorious past? Unless you are Rocky Balboa, comebacks are rarely successful. Tastes change and the competition gets younger, more agile and more energetic. There comes a point where you have to say, "Look buddy, don't push your luck. You've had a good run, you've achieved fame and fortune, you've given it your all. Now go and do something else." In an amazingly unprecedented feat of brilliance, last week I smashed my 4.5k record of 20:00, running the distance in 18:31. That's an average of 14.6km/h. About seven months ago I started out running 4.5k in 30 minutes, so reducing it to 18:31 is an amazi...

I had an email exchange with a co-worker today about Aussie Rules football. I have worked with him for over 5 years and so it wasn't a surprise when he replied to one of my jargon-filled emails "I even understood some of that". He then asked me if I would like to learn about baseball. I replied with a list of all I know about the great American game: Create a World Series competition and only invite North America. Wear tight-fitting, striped, knee-length pants. Eat peanuts and crackerjacks. Sing the American anthem. Cover yourself with padding, wear a vision-obscuring helmet, and signal rudely to the pitcher. Shout "Strike One!", "Ball!" and "Safe!" at random moments during the game. In a gravelly voice, saliva spitting from your mouth, yell the words "you're" and "out" so that it sounds like "YEROUT!" while pointing to any player. Wear one oversized glove. Chew gum, spit generously and swear at the umpires. ...

I went kayaking the other day. Although the circumstances around how the boat capsized may be entertaining, I will keep them aside in my dubious collection of heroic stories to tell my children and grandchildren. But the truth of the matter is that the kayak overturning took me completely by surprise. One moment I was quite happily paddling along in a boat with a crew of four and the next moment I found myself under the water. Thinking back on that event, I realize that when accidents happen you really are quite unprepared for them. Let's analyze my little dip in the river. Firstly, I remember very clearly that the boat was suddenly no longer underneath me, the place where it was supposed to be. In a few microseconds my brain processed the fact that I was under water and so my eyes shut automatically, like "shields up" on the Starship Enterprise. I held my breath and I kicked my legs, expecting to surface. I shot myself upwards, my head colliding with the upturned boat. T...

According to this article in USA Today, the Dolphins' Cam Cameron, was fired from his position as coach. Why? The team finished with one win and fifteen losses. They fired the coach? Don't you think they should have fired the players? Let's see, was it the coach who zigged when he should have zagged? Was it the coach who dropped the ball? Was it the coach who tripped over his shoelaces at a critical moment? Certainly, the coach has overall responsibility for the players. He directs them where to run and what plays to make. He is the decider. He tells you when to play and when to sit on the bench. He sure does have a measure of responsibility. But if the players stink, they will lose the game matter how good the coach is. Think of sports as a war. You have the General sitting safely in a tent on friendly territory (the coach). A superior officer (the team captain) directs his men (the players) to carry out the General's orders. If the on-field officer doesn't do a go...