a remarkably bad book

I really, really wanted to like My Name is Memory.  Mostly because it was written by Ann Brashares, who wrote the Traveling Pants series, which I loved, despite being at least ten years too old for it.  I read her first adult novel, The Last Summer (of You and Me) and thought it was fairly good, particularly in the setup, although the last third was anticlimactic.  I was excited to see My Name is Memory shelved in the Science Fiction category, where I assumed it was languishing because despite its fantastical premise (a character who can remember all his past lives) it's mostly a coming of age and a romance novel.

I had really high hopes, and at first they seemed warranted.  The the man who remembers his past lives is well-drawn, and I enjoyed his narration of his very long story.  The nominal main character, Lucy, with whom he has been in love for fifteen hundred years (I'm not giving anything away here) is far less interesting.  And as the novel wears on - it's 324 pages and doesn't feel one word shorter - her uninterestingness becomes more of an issue.  Sometimes I found myself indignant on her behalf; it wasn't her fault she was boring; the problem was the that author clearly just didn't care about her.

The last third of the novel was where it really fell apart.  As in so many romantic movies, the premise of the story is that these two people belong together, but the two characters spend so little time together that there's no reason for us, or even them, to really believe that.  In a romantic comedy, where the only thing a stake is another, more-annoying, guy or who to kiss at midnight, that's forgivable, but in such a serious novel with such weighty pretensions, you're left with two kids who have a crush, plus some mumbo-jumbo about an unfulfilled crush a hundred lifetimes ago. As they start to make serious, life-or-death decisions based on their grand, centuries-spanning, nonexistent love affair - and as their total unfamiliarity to each other aside from annoying gender stereotypes becomes grindingly obvious - it becomes hard, as a reader, to get on board with the frantic gyrations of the tail end of the plot.

Finally and bizarrely, the novel ends just as it starts to get really interesting.  Throughout the book there are hints at other things going on in the world of the novel, things about reincarnation even the narrator doesn't understand.  There are two characters who remember their past lives, but differently; there are a few characters who recur between lives.  At the end of the book, it seems like the characters might be moving into a space where some of this cool stuff would be elucidated - but then, of course, the book ends, and nothing more interesting happens than <SPOILER ALERT> an unanticipated yet totally welcome pregnancy, and a promising young woman throwing away her life to wait around endlessly for a man.  I feel like I could have found that same not-actually-happy ending, with a lot less of the pretension to depth, two aisles over in the bodice-ripper section of the library.

New holiday: Thankful Things Thursday

A blogger (whom I do not know, but who writes posts about running and 16 Handles and who has debunked the myth of dark chocolate being more satisfying than chocolate in brownie form, so she must be cool) has a weekly Thankful Things Thursday post.  She didn't give me permission to borrow her idea, but I'm going to anyway.  It's been kind of a crummy week - work is crazy, and with only a week and a half before the marathon I've come down with some kind of plague - so I could use some thankfulness.  So, without further ado:

1. The most important thing I am thankful for is the good health of almost everyone I care about.  A very close friend was recently in a serious accident, but she's going to be okay, and I'm thankful for that.  My family is all healthy.  And I don't really have the plague; I have a cold, and stress, and a bit of taper madness.  As long as everyone's skull is intact - or a least on the way - things can't be that bad.
2. I saw a very good play yesterday, Other Desert Cities.  I'm thankful that I live in a city where I can see good theater regularly, and that there are ways to see them affordably.
3. On the way home from work, I stopped by Fairway, which I do quite frequently.  I bought some food for dinner - of the convenience-and-comfort variety - and dental floss and a couple other things, and it cost about $18.  I'm thankful I don't have to sweat $18.  Also, I'm thankful my job provides all the food I eat the rest of the day, or else I'd have to keep proper groceries.
4. I'm thankful it's candy corn season.  I had some candy corn the other day.  Also, I'm thankful candy corn season is short.
5. It's almost Christmas!  Or, anyway, almost the Christmas season.  Definitely thankful for that.
6. I was given two free granola bars today, although with little cards about G-d.  I kept the granola bars, for when I'm having a low blood sugar moment and there's no food around, or to give to panhandlers on the subway.
7. Work may be stressful sometimes, but the people I work with are great.
8. It's Thursday, which means I'm watching Big Bang Theory and planning an exciting evening of Grey's Anatomy (while I work).  Is it bad to be grateful for TV?
9. Tomorrow is Friday.  After that comes the weekend.  VERY thankful for the weekend.

I will get more exciting in a couple weeks, I promise.

It's hard to convince myself to blog when my blog is this boring, because (a) it's kind of supposed to be boring, and (b) my life is pretty boring these days.  As it turns out, "resting up between incredibly long run and even-longer marathon" is not a super-exciting thing to write about.

This Saturday, however, I only had to run ten miles, so I had time for some excitement later in the weekend.  The first part of this excitement was hosting my super for a game of what's-wrong-with-the-electricity-?.  I have no electricity in parts of the apartment, which include a few outlets, the refrigerator, and the stove.  So all of my food is in the auxiliary fridge, which turns out to be plenty big enough for the food of a person who never cooks.  However I am going to need my stove back before the marathon so that I can make pasta.  Other super-thrilling parts of the weekend included why-don't-they-have-the-lotion-I-want-at-Bed-Bath-and-Beyond-? (never fear, I ordered it on Amazon; by "subscribing" to get it every six months, which I can change or cancel anytime, I got a 15% discount on the cheaper-than-NYC-stores price and free shipping, plus I got to buy it with an existing gift certificate, so this was a win), and doing a puzzle of the periodic table, which was fun and educational and, I assure you, only about four times as geeky as it sounds.  

Also I ate two meals in restaurants, of course.  I had an early dinner Saturday at Bocca, in Union Square.  This is a fussy Italian place with a somewhat unusual menu - everything had some kind of twist.  The gnocchi I ordered were lighter and creamier than most gnocchi - ricotta instead of potato - and were served with clams wrapped in some kind of Canadian bacon.  My dining companion had pasta with largish chunks of what I think was lamb, which I've never seen before.  It was a good meal, but the portions were small - obviously we were meant to order appetizers and dessert and so forth.

I also had a late brunch at Spoon, which is in the Chelsea mold of let's-pretend-this-is-a-rustic-farmyard-retreat-instead-of-a-trendy-fifth-avenue-eatery.  Again, everything on the menu was a twist.  I had the bacon, egg and cheddar "panini", and everything in it was really good - great bread, decent cheese, excellent bacon - but it was missing whatever it is that usually ties these sandwiches together (grease?).  Also - this is my pet peeve for brunch spots - the coffee was served in wide, shallow cups, which meant you didn't get much at a time and it got cold fast.  Seems like they should serve coffee in larger portions since refills are always free the server's time is probably more valuable than a tiny bit of wasted joe.

I had two good restaurant experiences that I forgot to blog about.  One was at a restaurant on Columbus Avenue around 72nd (Columbus Tavern, I think).  I was going for drinks with a friend, and we ended up sitting in the semi-enclosed porch in front, which the weather was perfect for.  They had a full menu, but we just had wine, of which they had a fairly good selection (although no vino verde), and the waiter didn't pester us to order more.  Also, I had a quick brunch a couple weeks ago at a nameless diner near Herald Square; the inside of the diner was depressing and gross and the outside was on a loud street, and I was determined to hate it, but the coffee was good (and hot and refilled quickly by the not-hipsterish waitress) and the pancakes were the best I've had in ages.

No, Reader(s), I have not entirely abandoned this blog (yet).  Just, you know, mostly.

Here's what I've been doing for the past month:

1) Running.  A lot, and yet not a lot.  As of today I'm in the taper portion of my training, which means since my last post I've done two very long runs of twenty and twenty-two miles, respectively.  I've also done a number of short runs.  And I've spent a lot of time resting, because it turns out a twenty-mile run takes quite a lot out of me; I definitely haven't been adhering to my schedule of speedwork and mid-distance runs.  They say it's better to be undertrained than overtrained; let's hope that's true.  Also, I've acquired some running accessories, including compression socks (very sexy) and an object called "The Stick" which is basically a skinny plastic version of the famed foam roller.  Both are helpful in recovery, although I'm not sure they actually improve my performance during runs.  My thoughts about running are split three ways right now: (a) "why didn't I train better  / harder / more diligently?  I could have done so much better"; (b) planning for the marathon itself; (c) post-marathon plans, which are to focus on the half-marathon for the foreseeable future.  I like having a goal, and being in training is so much more fun than aimlessly going to the gym a few times a week, but the marathon is just. so. huge., particularly for someone of my limited running abilities.  I think I'll enjoy myself more, see more improvement, and have less negative impact on the rest of my life if I focus on a distance that isn't quite so ginormous.

2) Eating.  A lot.  Obviously, because of the running.  But also I have eaten in some interesting places, including:

a) Tartinery, in Nolita.  This place is fairly awesome, from the atmosphere to the menu.  I ate a Cobb Salad (I'm not a big tartine person, for some reason) and it was one of the better ones I've had, ever; of course not much cheffery is involved, but the ingredients were all high-quality and fresh.

b) Jones Wood Foundry, on the Upper East Side.  I've had two meals here; the food is very high-quality and well-prepared, but you have to actually like British food, which most people don't.  The dining room is attractive and quiet, and you can eat a full meal at the very pleasant bar - the bartender this afternoon was a dead ringer for Seth Rogen.

c) Fatty Crab.  This place is supposed to be great, and maybe the one in Soho *is* great, but I went to the one on the Upper West Side, and I was not impressed.  The atmosphere is midway between pub and beach shack - my dining companion called it "one step up from Chili's".  The food is good (again, if you like that sort of food - it's Malaysian, which to my palate hits midway between Indian and Korean, neither of which I much like) but the portions are tiny and the prices are a bit steep.  It was an interesting meal, but I left the restaurant ready to hit 16 Handles (*never* a disappointment) for dessert.

d) Shake Shack, the original (Madison Square Park).  I think I had something at the UWS location once, but never a full meal.  This was a surprisingly pleasant experience - there are picnic tables in the park, and although the line to order is long, the food is ready pretty quickly and there are plenty of seats.  Very much a fan of the "concrete", and also any restaurant that has a dessert in its title.

3) Apple-picking!  I went to an orchard upstate and picked a bunch of apples of several varieties, most of which I hadn't ever heard of.  Then I came home and mostly didn't eat the apples, because they have much nicer apples at my office.  But I also got to go for a nice hike.  And, on a separate-but-still-out-of-the-city occasion, I went to Orchard Beach, which is in Pelham Bay Park, which is in the Bronx but certainly feels like it could be on a different planet than Manhattan.

4) Shows - I think I must have been to a couple, but the only one I can remember just now is Sons of the Prophet, which I saw during its preview week and which was very, very good - definitely one of the best shows of the season.  It's at Roundabout, home of a wide variety of consistently excellent shows and specializing in this sort of black humor.

5) Going to bed early, when I can manage it, for the sake of my running.  Which is what I am going to do right now.

Happy Monday, Reader(s)!

 

I am trying a new thing, which is being optimistic.  For example, on Friday, instead of going around saying "I have to run eighteen miles tomorrow morning," I said, "I get to run eighteen miles tomorrow morning."  Because, really, it is a privilege.  Lots of people aren't able to run at all, and lots of others don't have a whole Saturday morning to devote to something unnecessary and ultimately self-indulgent like this because they have to work, or take care of children, or they can't afford endless trips to Jackrabbit (um, yes, perhaps running expenditures is one part of the budget I could pare back on?).  So, really, I am lucky to have the physical ability, time, and resources to do this.

 

I have also decided to discard any expectations for myself for this marathon.  I am not a practiced marathoner; I have run this distance only once before, and that was four years ago, in a different city, under different circumstances.  My only goals for myself for this race are to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience as much as I can, and - if possible - to run strong throughout.  Having a time goal - even a really slow, ridiculous-nongoal-for-most-runners time goal - was just stressing me out with the worry that I wouldn't be able to achieve it; I simply am not in the kind of shape I would need to be in to train for any particular pace, and that isn't something that can be changed in the next two months.

 

Saturday's run was eighteen miles.  When I set out in the morning, my legs already hurt - from the seven miles I ran Wednesday?  from the gentle yoga I did Thursday?  in anticipation?  who knows? - but I'm getting used to long runs that start out difficult.  As the run proceeded, I worked to keep my focus on the present rather than the future (or, if possible, off the run entirely).  Every time I started to think about the big hill at the top of the park, or how the previous hill would feel on the next lap, or how many miles I had remaining, I consciously brought my attention back to the ground I was currently running on.  This really helped with the toughest element of a long run, which (at least for me) is the intimidation and fear that sets in as soon as one starts to feel tired but realizes that there are five or ten or fifteen miles still to run.

 

And it actually wasn't bad.  The weather was a bit warm, but as last week, I wasn't too bothered.  I stopped to refill my water bottles every few miles and didn't get too dehydrated.  I didn't push myself to run fast.  About halfway through the run I actually started to feel good (for about two miles, anyway).  I didn't walk at all.  The only really bad part was that every time I stopped to refill my water bottles, my muscles tightened up and made it difficult to resume running.  I didn't start feeling bad until about mile sixteen, and at no point did I feel as bad as at the end of last week's run.  Best of all, although of course I was fatigued, sleepy, and hungry when I got home, at no point did I feel as physically miserable as I have frequently been feeling after long runs.  So this was a big win.

 

... And that's pretty much all I have to say.  I have not been doing much in the way of exploring the city the last couple of weeks because I have not had much in the way of energy.  Instead, I've been running, sleeping, and eating, and that's pretty much it.  For the first time in years I'm getting eight hours of sleep most nights, although it doesn't seem to be nearly enough, and I'm eating an unimaginably large amount of food, of which there is no such thing as enough.  This is to be expected on both counts, of course.

 

I have had a few interesting meals (this would be inevitable, what with the continuous eating).  Most notably, I went to Bryant Park Grill for brunch on Sunday.  The two highlights of this meal were (a) it is outdoors, and the weather was nice, although threatening rain, and (the much bigger highlight) (b) best bread basket ever.  I am not a big bread basket person, because usually it is just dumpy italian bread, but this was all kinds of stuff - cornbread and little scones and mini muffins and lemon pound cake.  It was exceptionally awesome.  Also, I had a nice omelet with very fancy mushrooms and a very small amount of cheese that was supposed to be cheddar but seemed more like provolone.  And now thinking about this meal has made me hungry again.   

 

in which my long runs cross over into insane (>15 miles) territory

Well, there are certainly worse things to come back to, after a fun but highly exertive two-week vacation, than a two-day week followed by a three-day weekend.

War Horse, which I was complaining Thursday about having to go see, was incredible.  I didn't think I'd like it because I'm not particularly interested in horses or military history, but it was a sufficiently good play to transcend its subject matter.  The stars of the play were really the horses, which were - this is going to sound weird, but it's the best way to describe them - puppets.  Or maybe you'd say actors/dancers (generally pairs) in horse costumes?  Anyway, their movements were amazingly realistic, to the point that I flinched when one of them was hit with a whip, because the horse - the inanimate paper puppet - was being hurt.  Also, the production was quite good - the acting, music, and lighting made a so-so story (simultaneously dry and melodramatic) really affecting.  I found myself quite caught up in the plot, despite myself.

Friday I took a rest day.  I had planned to practice yoga or lift weights in the evening, but I felt sick all day and by the time I got home could not imagine lifting myself off my couch.  I had mentally postponed my long run from its usual Saturday-morning slot because of how bad I felt, and consequently didn't do any of my usual preparations (i.e. eating lots of carbs and salt and drinking extra water); in fact, I felt so poorly that I didn't eat much dinner at all.  I told myself that I'd sleep late Saturday, rest all day, and hopefully feel better by Sunday.

Instead, I woke up at 5:50 a.m., legs raring to run.  I tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use; my body had decided it was time for a long run and all the sensible arguments of my mind were useless.  I figured, well, if I wasn't going to sleep, I might as well give it a shot.  I did get a later start than usual because I had to do things like assemble my belt (which I usually do the night before) and eat a bit extra (I'd woken up quite hungry, and you don't want to start a long run being hungry), but I was in Central Park starting my 16-miler around 7:30.

I felt bad.  My legs were tight and sore, apparently still from the slow five miles I did on Thursday.  It was cool when I first went outside, but the sun was already fairly high and in the park it was plenty warm.  The first three miles were a struggle, but then - as usually happens - it got a little better.  My legs loosened up a bit, and I stopped worrying so much about how bad I felt and what it might mean for later in the run.  I didn't feel significantly worse at mile ten than I had at mile one, and although the last two miles of the run were tough - I ran very, very slowly and had to walk briefly - I finished much stronger than my last Central Park run, the 14-miler I did a month ago, during which the last four - despite being on the bottom loop of the park rather than the up-and-down west descent - were an even more pronounced struggle.

I feel okay about this run.  Not great - the marathon is ten miles longer, and there's no way I could have run another ten, or possibly even two, miles.  But the marathon isn't for another two months.  And the marathon will have better weather (the heat didn't bother me a lot compared to some previous runs, but I'm sure it slowed me down and dehydrated me) and better facilities (I ran out of water for a couple miles, maybe 11-13, when the water fountain at a planned stop wasn't working; I'm guessing being thirsty this late in the run didn't help, especially because I'd just taken my gu and had very little to wash it down with; also, I could have done with a portapotty in the last third of the run), and I'll be more prepared the day before.

After the run, I laid about for most of the afternoon.  As seems to be typical, I spent a couple hours feeling more or less horrible before perking up in the late afternoon.  I went to dinner at Kefi, the very popular UWS Greek restaurant, which was good as always (although I seem to always get pasta there) and then took a very long walk (recovery, right?) before stopping off at 16 Handles for dessert (fuel, obviously).

Today I have done, basically, nothing.  I spent some time planning What I Could Do Today - go to a museum?  take in an independent film? - before realizing that I did not want to do anything.  I just had a vacation in which I did lots of stuff, so during this long weekend I just want to do ... nothing.  So I've been lying around on my couch, catching up on blogs and watching old Star Trek episodes and reading the New York Times.  I am educating myself about the culture, right?

yes, this is going to be a marathon-training blog for a while

So this morning's run was not awesome, which was not really a big surprise.  It would be nice if taking 2.5 weeks away from running resulted in feeling fresh and fast, but it rarely does - especially when instead I spend that time gallivanting around a foreign country on foot, bus, and bike and not eating balanced meals or sleeping enough.

 

I ran five miles on the treadmill.  It took me forever, partly because I was running very very slowly and partly because I had to take breaks.  (Treadmill runs have been uniformly unpleasant ever since my gym switched out the treadmills; the ones they have now, I swear, absorb half the energy from your leggs every time you step on them.)  Then I stretched.  I did not do any strength training, on the grounds that it was getting late and I would do it tomorrow (sadly, I cannot do that or anything else productive tonight, as I very stupidly made plans to go see War Horse, which was highly recommended but which I don't actually want to see... fortunately tomorrow is Friday, so maybe I can get some stuff done then or over the three-day weekend, if I can get out of my ill-conceived semi-commitment to go to the beach with my family).

 

So.  At least I did the five miles, right?  It would have been nice to do it fast, but at least I did it.  Now that it's getting cooler, at least in the morning, maybe I should consider doing some of these workouts outdoors, especially if I'm not actually going to lift any weights - but then what's the point of my gym membership?

 

The way I felt today - tired, leaden, but not actually sore anywhere - was typical of how I've felt through much of the training season.  I think the issue here may be inadequate sleep/rest and perhaps improper nutrition.  I'm lucky enough not to have serious stomach issues, so I don't need to avoid dairy or meat or anything (lots of runners do), but I should definitely focus on good-quality fuel and getting enough sleep, if such a thing is possible.  Again, the three-day weekend should help with this.