Back to the old routine

I'm back home once again after a three-day trip to Baltimore. It was a nice Thanksgiving. I got to have a couple of turkey dinners (one on Wednesday, one on Thursday) and spend time with my family. I stayed down there on Friday and spent a couple of hours hiking through Patapsco State Park, which was a lot of fun. It had been quite a while since I'd been down there, but I still knew my way around.

I took a week off of running after the JFK, but I'm back into it now. I'd love to be able to get up to 40 mpw (or maybe more), but that depends on how well my knee and Achilles hold up. It's been raining all day today, so I may get wet if I go out this afternoon. Oh well.

Thanksgiving plans

I'm heading down to Baltimore in a few minutes for Thanksgiving, so I probably won't post again for a few days. Today will be an early turkey day on one side of the family, then tomorrow will be the same thing on the other side of the family. My parents plan to go home on Friday, so maybe I'll do some hiking at Patapsco and then come home Saturday morning. We'll see.

Bobcats down the Sixers

I was out of town this past weekend, so I didn't really follow any of the basketball action that was going on. When I got back, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Sixers had won their games against Golden State and the Clippers and had attained a 7-6 record. So I had high hopes for them last night when they played Charlotte. Unfortunately, they could not get the job done. I would have understood if they'd been playing a decent team, but the Bobcats were 3-9 going into last night. Very frustrating. I listened to the end of the game on the radio, but there was no Sixers comeback. After being tied at halftime, they fell behind and never caught up. So it's back to a 500 record for them.

JFK report

The JFK 50-mile run was on Saturday, and it was a success. My uncle Duane and my brother Greg were in the race and did very well, finishing in 8:45, which is 2 hours faster than I've ever run. My brother Brian and I went around to some of the checkpoints to cheer them on. It was cold with a biting wind, which wouldn't have bothered me much if I'd been running (Greg and Duane complained about it), but it was difficult to stand around for extended periods of time in that WX.

Duane finished his 30th JFK, and he had a lot of family come out to the finish line to see him achieve that milestone. Only four other people have completed 30 or more JFKs.

Sixers fall in Minnesota

After an encouraging 3-game winning streak, the Sixers took a step backward last night, losing to the T-wolves. MInnesota had put together a 1-8 record leading up to the game, so the Sixers definitely should not have let that one slip away. When I turned on the game in the 3rd quarter, they were trailing by 8. I fell asleep before the game ended, but they were simply unable to close the gap. So now they're under 500 again, and they'll have to try to get back to that mark on Friday, when they take on the Clippers at home. The Clippers are 2-9, so this is another game that the Sixers really should not lose.

I'm out this weekend to go run part of an ultra and to visit with family, so I doubt I'll post again until Monday at the earliest.

JFK coming up soon

Only a few days left until the JFK, and I am looking forward to it! Of course, that is largely due to the fact that I'm not running this year. The race sold out within a month of opening registration back in July, and at that time I decided I was not comfortable signing up that early. I don't regret the decision, as I have a sore Achilles tendon, and it's nice not having to deal with the stress of putting my body through 50 miles.

I'll be going to the race as a spectator. My brother is flying in from California to run, so I'd like to join him for a few miles along the towpath. Should be a nice way to get in a run and also to keep him company. I know some other people who are running, too, so it will be nice to see them all cross the finish line in Williamsport. I know from experience what kind of effort is required to complete that course, so I can appreciate what each runner has gone through to get to the finish.

Djokovic takes Masters Cup

The Masters Cup ended today with Novak Djokovic defeating Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 7-5 to capture the title. So much for my prediction of Andy Murray winning. Anyway, the tennis season is now over (not counting Davis Cup, which is of little interest to me, even if the US is in it, which they're not). The next big event is the Australian Open in January, and that should be very interesting. I'm curious to see if Federer can rebound from an "off" year, and also if Nadal can elevate his hard-court game enough to challenge for the crown. If Federer is able to return to his previous hard-court dominance, he may very well reclaim his #1 ranking. Also, Djokovic and Murray are now knocking at the door, so Federer and Nadal have to worry about them in addition to each other. Djokovic is the defending Australian Open champ, and I'm sure he wants to win it again in 2009.

Yesterday I was over in Lancaster for a family reunion, and on the way home I tuned in to the Sixers game on the radio. They were playing the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Sonics), who had amassed a less-than-impressive record of 1-8. The Sixers did not seem to have any trouble with them, running away in the third quarter and not looking back. The final score was 110-85. The Sixers have now won 3 games in a row and have a record of 5-5. It could be better, but I don't think this is too bad considering they were 2-5. The next game is on Wednesday at Minnesota.

Sixers win a close one in Indiana

The Sixers were in Indiana last night to play the Pacers, and they got off to a really bad start. At one point they trailed 18-2, and by the end of the first quarter they were behind 38-13. I was all ready to dismiss the game as a loss at that point, but they put together a solid second quarter, outscoring Indiana 36-19 to make the score 57-49 at the half. Eventually they clawed their way back into the game and took the lead with just a few minutes remaining, hanging on for a 94-92 victory. I caught the end of the game on the radio, and the Sixers' announcer was pretty excited about the comeback.

Over in Shanghai, Federer is OUT. Andy Murray sent him packing yesterday, so he will not defend his title. The semis will be played today; Djokovic vs. Simon, and Murray vs. Davydenko. Murray has been playing incredibly well lately, so he's my pick to win. I would guess that Djokovic would be able to beat Simon, but you never know. This late in the year players are tired and worn down, and anything can happen.

Davydenko, Djokovic make semis in China

Action continued today at the Masters Cup in Shanghai. The gold group has now finished playing the round-robin portion of the tournament, and both Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic ended up with a 2-1 record, which means they both advance to the semifinals. In the red group, they'll wrap up round robin play tomorrow. Andy Murray is already 2-0, so he's locked up a spot in the semis, but Federer needs to win tomorrow against Murray in order to advance. Andy Roddick withdrew from the tournament with an ankle injury, and he was replaced by Radek Stepanek. I have no idea how or why they chose Stepanek, but it doesn't really seem fair that Murray had to play Roddick while Federer and Simon get to play Stepanek. It's a moot point since Murray won, but I wonder what would have happened if he had lost to Roddick. Anyway, Stepanek can't advance to the semis, so Federer controls his own destiny. I'm not quite sure why Federer would make the semis if both he and Simon win, because Simon beat him head-to-head. There must be some rule I'm overlooking. Round-robin tournaments are pretty rare, so I'm not up-to-date on how exactly they're run.

Jazz defeat Sixers

I listened to some of the Sixers-Jazz game last night, and it was actually pretty good until the 4th quarter. The Sixers trailed 49-37 at halftime, but they surged back and even took the lead in the 3rd quarter, outscoring Utah 30-14 in that timeframe. Unfortunately, they fell apart in the 4th quarter and were outscored 30-13. So, the Sixers now have a record of 2-5. They play again tonight in Toronto, and I'll try to listen to as much of the game as I can. The Raptors are 4-3, so I don't think it's too farfetched to imagine that the Sixers might win. Only time will tell.

Masters Cup underway

The Tennis Masters Cup started today over in Shanghai. There are 8 players in the tournament, and they're split into two groups. The red group is comprised of Federer, Roddick, Murray, and Gilles Simon, who is a replacement for Nadal, who withdrew due to exhaustion. The gold group is comprised of Djokovic, Davydenko, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Juan Martin del Potro. I believe they play a round-robin format, where each person plays everyone in his group, and then the two best records per group make up the semis. The gold group played today; Djokovic beat del Potro, and Davydenko won a close match against Tsonga. Tomorrow the red group plays; Federer will take on Simon, and Roddick will match up against Murray.

A favorite running loop, part II

This morning I went out for a long run (9.8 miles) and got to do another one of my favorite loops. I don't run this one very often, mainly because I rarely want to go that far, and also because of traffic. The first 6 miles of the loop are without sidewalks. Newportville Road is kind of a pain because there is no shoulder at all. I always have to be cautious when dealing with oncoming cars. On the plus side, that part of the run is very scenic. The road runs right beside Neshaminy Creek, and at this point in the year all the trees are displaying multi-colored leaves. I cross the creek at New Falls Road and then turn right on Bensalem Blvd, which is another road with no shoulder. Once I cross Hulmeville Road, the sidewalks finally appear, but that short stretch is the only part of the loop that's pedestrian friendly. Galloway Road consists of some rolling hills which makes it especially difficult to anticipate oncoming traffic. Needless to say, I never run this loop during the week, unless it's a holiday. I try to go as early in the morning as possible, although this morning I didn't leave until 9:15am, and it wasn't too bad.

There is another, shorter version of this loop that I've run many times when I don't want to go the full ~10 miles. After crossing Neshaminy Creek, I turn left on Bensalem Blvd, take that down to Byberry Road, and return home that way. I believe that shortens the loop to 7.4 miles. Either way, it's a great weekend loop and gives me a change of scenery from the usual routes I run during the week.

Sixers fall to the Magic

Last night before I got into bed, I turned on the radio to listen to the Sixers game. I haven't listened to any of their games so far this season, but I'm trying to follow them as closely as possible. They trailed Orlando 54-43 at halftime. I listened to a little bit of the halftime show but fell asleep before the third quarter got underway. The Sixers ended up losing 98-88, dropping their overall record to 2-4. I realize it's still very early in the season, but losing 4 of the first 6 games is not encouraging. Their next game is against Utah on Tuesday, so I'll try to tune in to that one. The Jazz right now are 4-0, although they'll play a couple more games before they play the Sixers. Actually I was just reading that the next Jazz win will be Jerry Sloan's 1,000th career win with that team, making him the first NBA coach to ever achieve that feat. Other coaches have won 1,000 games, but not all with the same team. Quite an accomplishment.

Long Way Round

The other night I finished watching one of the coolest miniseries I've ever seen. It's called Long Way Round and is a documentary about a couple of British actors (Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman) who ride their motorcycles from London to New York, heading east. I believe the trip happened in 2004. With the exception of a portion of Siberia traveled by train and the distance between Magadan (in Siberia) and Alaska, which was flown, Ewan and Charley rode the whole way on their bikes. It was not easy, of course. There were areas in Kazakhstan and Mongolia where the roads were nearly impassable. And in far east Russia they had to get their bikes across more than one river without a bridge. The North American section of the journey seemed tame by comparison.

Along the way, the duo had quite a few adventures and misfortunes. They stopped in many towns and cities to soak up the local culture and visit popular landmarks. The countries they saw were France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Canada, and the U.S. They actually passed through Russia three separate times. There was not a boring moment in this documentary, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys travel or motorcycles or even adventure in general.

Election day

I voted today. It actually could not have been more convenient, as my polling place is the middle school right outside my front door. It didn't open until 7am, so I voted as soon as I got home from work. There was about a 30-minute wait, but I still had plenty of time to head out for a run afterwards. WX was really mild, probably in the 60s with a little bit of rain here and there.

Tsonga wins in Paris

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated David Nalbandian to win the BNP Paribas Masters event this morning. I certainly did not expect those two to be playing in the final and was amazed that all 4 quarterfinals were upsets. Nadal lost to Davydenko, retiring after dropping the first set. Federer pulled out of his match against James Blake, citing some kind of injury. Andy Roddick lost a close three-setter to Tsonga, and Andy Murray was ousted by Nalbandian. What a strange tournament. This was the last of the Masters Series events for the year, and the only remaining tournament left is the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Traditionally, there are only 8 players in that one, but I have yet to see the list of who's in. Surely Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic are locks. Now it looks like Tsonga is in. Also maybe Murray and Roddick? I'm not sure. I guess I'll find out soon enough. The tournament gets underway in about a week.

A favorite running loop

I had the day off work yesterday, so since I was able to run in the mid-afternoon instead of early evening, I decided to do a favorite 7.4-mile loop that takes me into Philadelphia. I've posted a map of the route, courtesy of MapMyRun.com. As with a lot of loops from my apartment, this one involves some stretches with no sidewalk and heavy traffic, which is why I choose not to run it in the dark or during rush hour. Yesterday was not too bad. The length of Brown Avenue that goes past the country club is without a sidewalk or a shoulder, but I encountered relatively few cars, and the ones I did see were attentive. Knights Road has a wide shoulder, and the rest of the roads after that are easy to traverse. Shortly after mile 5 is an old stone bridge that marks where I pass the Philadelphia city limits and re-enter Bucks County. I love that part of the loop because it's wooded and isolated with very few cars. Overall, it is a really enjoyable running course, and I would definitely run it more often if not for the safety concerns.