Bethlehem

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  The above is a picture of the outside of the hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. A life long friend got married on July 4, 2013 and the family and friends from Long Island invited to the wedding stayed there. 

      The town of Bethlehem where we were had a very cosy feel to it. It is a very historic town, similar to Port Jefferson. In fact one of the things they promoted in our hotel was that it was haunted years ago. I left after work on that wednesday with my suit, mountain bike, and running gear. When I arrived and got settled I went to the local brewery for a victory beer for making the long trip after work. I then proceeded to wander around as usual and get my bearings. After settling down I awoke to see a text message saying some people were down at the hotel bar. So I strolled down in my pajamas to watch the mets play and hang out. 

      The next morning I got up early despite the lack of sleep and went for a run. I never really noticed how tough it is to run being sleep deprived until this morning. After struggling through the run the busy day could get started. It involved a lot of running (not literally) around. Going here, going their, getting changed, waiting for this person or that person. When we finally got to the reception at the restaurant called melt could we all relax a little. It was really nice cause there was no sit down dinner. It was mostly a buffet on the bar, basically like an extended cocktail hour. If I ever get married I would definitely do that. So after the festivities we all went back to the hotel to just hang out and enjoy each others company a little longer. 

     Before the reception I stopped at a l.l bean to find a nice trail to run on for the next day. The morning after the reception I got up early, as usual and drove to the town called new hope. The town is right by the Delaware river and runs the length of it. I would love to say it was a good run but as far as runs go it sucked. The trail was as flat as a pancake and not as scenic as I hoped. There was also a heat advisory that day which drained the life out of me. But I got my run in and the light mocha frappachino was heaven afterwards. I also had a nice chat with some cyclists that were sitting outside the Starbucks. I can't help it I'm drawn to bikes. 

      After chatting it up with the cyclists I wandered around a little bit to get a better feel of the town. It was a really nice town probably since it was right next to the river. Anything by the water gets enhanced. I wish I stayed and hung around longer but wanted to get home cause it was a bit of a drive. It was also a crazy couple of days. Along the way I got my celebratory healthy pizza and coffee at some pizza place in Jersey. That seems to be my post race/long run reward. So worth it. It seems every time I go to Pennsylvania I have a great time. I'm really beginning to love it their. All and all it was a great mini vacation and it was equally as great to watch someone I consider my sister get married.

-Barton-

      

Ghost

  

   So discovering the potential of road riding is a new and exciting undertaking I recently have discovered. I nicknamed her (my bike) ghost, due to the fact that the Sette Vitale is all white and it is very fast so I'm sure I look like a blur when I'm riding it. I've only been accustomed to riding mountain bikes so the transition to having a lighter and faster bike is a thrill. Climbing is still one of the things I love when being on a bike and that hasn't changed. The one thing that's different is the speed you can generate going downhill. 

      I was going down to cedar beach in Mount Sinai one early morning and hit the endorphin maximum. The contrast between the effort from climbing the hills coupled with the shear thrill of feeling like you have wings on the downhills was almost overwhelming. I really don't necessarily like going to fast but this morning was different. I like to have control and flying down some of these hills realizing that it would not be a good thing to crash can be a little unnerving. 

      Later on that day I saw the new superman and could relate to that feeling of flight. At first he was uncertain of what he could do. He started jumping, then after getting use to his new found power started flying. It took time to build to that level in order to fly consistently. Same with anything we do. We need to build slowly but also be consistent with it. I'll try to be in control as much as possible and not do anything out of my ability. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

-Barton-

      

Melting on sports

     

 

 

      You can learn a lot by learning to listen. I've come to learn this a number of ways but  ill specify one which I think has been beneficial. I was never a big sports fan, just not the way I was raised. I would rather be out there playing the sport rather then watching it. However, many of my friends are big sports fans and its always nice to talk and share opinions about things of common interest. If I come across someone who runs I can spend the whole day talking to them about there training, heart rate, shoes, and anything else related to the sport I love. So for my friend's sake I started listening to a sports radio podcast called the Dan Patrick show. This is some information about him according to Wikipedia;

Dan Patrick

Born Daniel Patrick Pugh

May 15, 1956 (age 57)

Mason, Ohio, U.S.

Occupation Sportscaster

Years active 1979–present

Website

danpatrick.com

SI.com/danpatrick

Daniel Patrick Pugh (born May 15, 1956), professionally known as Dan Patrick, is an American Sports Emmy-winning sportscaster, radio personality, and actor from Mason, Ohio. He currently hosts The Dan Patrick Show which is broadcast on radio on Premiere Radio Networks, and on television on NBC Sports Network as well as The Audience Network for DIRECTV subscribers, co-hosts NBC's Football Night in America, and serves as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He previously worked at ESPN for 18 years, where he often anchored the weeknight and Sunday 11 PM edition of SportsCenter.

      I have learned much about sports by listening to him and the Danettes, his co-sports casters. More importantly I have learned about life and friendship. Even though I never met any of them I consider them friends. Listening to the commroderie among them is like being part of something special. Immersed in conversations about sports really has helped me draw the connection of how sports and life go hand in hand. Being part of something is what we all crave. Whether its part of a sports team, as a fan, or just having the same passion on a particular topic. Sports teaches you about life and also adds to life's enjoyment. One lesson it teaches is to play by the rules or suffer the consequences. Another is working as a team in order to accomplish a goal, a necessity in daily life. The over competitive nature is not something I like but having a balanced, healthy competitive spirit will help you strive to do you best in any area of life. The list of comparisons between sports and life go on and on. The most important comparison I have made is that sports, just like life, should be exciting and shared with friends. I thank the friends I have now and those I will make in the future for helping make my life exciting and full. 

-Barton-

Lake placid 2013

      

      The initial frustration and stress almost made me turn around. While Sitting in traffic I blamed some advice I received and followed for my current present state of turmoil. I was advised to take a hotel for the night instead of just driving up the night before the race. I like to drive late at night when there is no traffic and rest up a bit before events. This event stemmed from my ultra marathon. I had all this fitness and wasn't injured so I decided to do the lake placid marathon on Sunday, June 9. 2013.

     I finally settled down when the traffic subsided and I hit the open road. The drive up to lake placid took around six and a half hours, which provided ample time for me to listen to some baseball games while observing the beautiful scenery on the ride up. The scenery was worth the trip alone and glad I decided to drive during the day. 

     When I finally arrived to the town I felt like I had 5 cups of coffee. I was so excited seeing all the bikers and runners everywhere. I immediately wanted to go explore the area and take it all in with what little time I had before resting up for the race.

      I first had to check in to my hotel. I stayed at the golden arrow which overlooks beautiful lake mirror, not far from lake placid. While I was checking in, the girl at the front desk said that if I wanted to go swimming there are no life guards. I respond, "In the lake?" Usually places I go would warn you not to go swimming or suffer fines or penalties. This place I guess they expect all us crazy athletes to not be able to control ourselves and just say do it at your own risk, my kind of town. 

      Once I got settled I took off exploring for some food. After talking to some people around the town I stumbled across the lake placid pub. I got their I.P.A while I waited for some pizza. After chatting it up with some of the guys at the bar I got my pizza and went back to my room to do the task of getting everything perfect for the morning. That usually takes me around 2 hours cause I'm particular about where everything needs to go. The pizza and wine helped me relax during this pre race ritual. Other necessary fuel I brought up were pop chips, zevias, and sobe 0 cals. (Think I've been overdoing it with the stevia)

      In the morning I got suited up in the usual marathon gear which include an under armor heat gear shirt, Adidas shorts, and my Nike shoes with the addition of arm warmers for a change. I pinned my bib on (without poking myself for once) and had some coffee while reading and waiting for the fun to begin.

     Out of all the questions I asked people I met the day before about the race I forgot one very important one. So around mile two I ask the women running next to me, "hey, do you know if this course is hilly?" She looked at me like I should have known before I started running, which I probably should have. Turns out the answer was yes but not until the very end did i realize how hilly. Love those hills! Like always I formulated my running strategy based on feel. Eat this here, slow down there, speed up at this point. At the end of the race after the big climb, the finish line was on the Olympic skating tract. Afterwards I immediately went for food. What do you know pizza again. One good thing was that I got a late checkout. So after finding myself I went back to my room, showered and hit the road cause I knew I had a long drive ahead of me. 

      Before I got into my driving mode I wanted to fill up the tank and get something cold to lower my body temperature. So i pull into a gas station with bikers all around. Not cyclists but the guys on Harley's with all the tattoos. I filled up my tank then went inside and grabbed some frozen yogurt with the works on it. I'm talking about sprinkles, syrup, nuts, you name it and it was probably on it. I walked outside and saw one of the bikers staring at me. Now I would have fought to the death for this yogurt if he was looking to take it. Take anything else just not my frozen yogurt, not after a marathon. But he just looked at me, noticed the shirt I just got and said, "good job." Disaster averted thankfully cause I was ready to defend my yogurt to the death.

      On the drive home I again listened to more baseball games while taking in all the scenery. In my opinion the race was surprisingly easy. I credit the easiness, and i use that term loosely, to the fitness I got from doing the ultra marathon the month prior. For my next race I think I'm going to try and P.R. and really give my best effort. All in all the trip was well worth it even if it was short and a last minute sort of thing. Sometimes that is the best way to plan things! 

-Barton 

"Step outside your comfort zone"