Bad Calf!

I think I was a little too anxious to start running again after The Broad Street Run. I was still experiencing a little calf pain when I hit the streets less than a week after Broad Street. After about two & ½ miles, I had to pull up lame with a strained calf. After a week of rest & relaxation, I’m back on the street & feeling good. Although, the good folks at Miller Lite & Turkey Hill Ice Cream are making the 5:00am runs a little more difficult.

My plan is to add miles until the formal marathon training starts in mid-July.
Happy Memorial Day to all,
Pat

The Hills Are Alive

Well, we slogged our way through ten miles of Philadelphia on Sunday. Not the best conditions to run in, but we still had fun. I improved two minutes over last years time, so considering the conditions, I’m pleased. Congratulations to Tommie, Kenneth, Rob Rossi, Tim, Rick, Rob Haney, Ira, Colleen, Jane & Alsair-El Hakem Rossi. The good news is they’ll be no temptation to purchase pictures of myself from the finish line at broadstreetrun.com. Dripping wet & tired does not make for a great photo-op.

For me, the absolute highlight came at the start of the run. We were waiting for the start of our coral (The Orange Coral ROCKS! by the way), and we could see the faster runners taking off down the course. My buddy Rob wanted to point out the huge number of runners that were participating, and said to his wife Colleen (who was doing her first Broad Street) "Look you can see them running up the hill." To which Colleen’s replied "THERE’S HILLS?!?!?!?" It was the only time in recorded history where a divorce was almost caused by topography.

My recuperation started Sunday afternoon during a nice hot soak in Epson Salts (thanks Patrice), and during a First Holy Communion party where the conversation and libations were plentiful & flowing. I’ll take off a few days, but then I’ll be back hitting the mean streets of Haddonleigh in the wee hours.

Thanks for reading,
Pat

Classic Broads

Sunday will be my third chance to run from Central High School to the Philadelphia Naval Yard, also known as The Broad Street Run. I feel more prepared this year than I did in the previous two & I’m looking forward to it. Although, I’m going to miss running with my niece Marie (she’s sidelined with an ankle injury).

I’m reminded of the first time I ran Broad Street. I wasn’t running/training too much, and this was my first run further than a 5K since I was probably in my teens. I felt even more ill-prepared as a group of us headed for the Septa trains to take us up to the start while everyone was trading their training stories. I got the same exact feeling that I did when I would head into an exam that I hadn’t studied for. By the time we got to the starting line at Central High, I was on the verge of a panic attack. As I calmed myself down, taking deep breaths, I remember thinking "Well, there’s only one way to get home. You gotta run the full ten miles my boy." Strangely, the inevitability made me feel a lot better. With that, my buddy Rick walked up to me, leading to this exchange:
Rick: You ready for this?
Me: Yeah, I think so.
Rick: See City Hall? (At this point City Hall looks like a distant blip on a radar).
Me: Yeah.
Rick: That’s about the halfway point.
Me: (Trying not to throw up) Wow.

The other highlight of the 2007 Broad Street Run occurred in South Philly while I was struggling to get to the finish line. I was around mile eight, dead tired & sore. While thinking, "What the hell did I get myself into?" I glanced over to one of the several churches that line Broad Street. As Mass was letting out, an older Italian woman was standing on the steps of this church with a cigarette in one hand & a lighter in the other. She shouted out in a voice seasoned by a lifetime of red wine, unfiltered cigarettes & pasta fagioli: "Keep going hun, you look great! (she takes a deep drag off her cigarette, so much so the clouds overhead move toward her) keep going hun!" It was a uniquely Philly experience & made me laugh & got me through the last few miles.

Last year we had a great idea to do the Broad Street Run, then walk over to watch the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. As fun as the game was to attend with my son Gavin, my sister Mary Pat & my niece Marie, around the third inning, all I wanted was a shower & a couch. This year, we’ll watch the Phillies take on the stinking Mets from home, post-shower.

It looks like iffy weather for Sunday, but still I can’t wait to get to the start with some friends, Rob, Colleen, Rick, Sona, Rob Haney, Kate, Ron, Harry, my brother in-law Joe Fleming & my neighbor Tom Mulligan.

Good luck to all & see you at McFadden's.
Pat

Blame It On The Rain

I promised myself I was going to run seven miles Saturday morning. As I stepped onto my front pouch, I said "Oh…nice morning." Not ten seconds later, the rain hit. If I had started out two mins later, I probably would had bagged the entire run & headed back to bed. But, as it turned out, I slogged my way through every puddle that could be found in the Haddonleigh section of Haddon Twp. Tuesday morning, the same scenario happened & I couldn’t do it again. I wimped out & stayed in bed, and I don’t regret my decision. It was miserable out. This morning was much better....chilly, but at least dry. Five fun filled miles later, I was home a little after 6:00am.

My thoughts turn towards some friends getting ready for the Super Bowl of runs…..The Boston Marathon next week:

My neighbor & friend Patrick Gallagher. Like thoroughbreds, Pat comes from a great family of runners & I’m sure he’ll do great in Boston.

Friend & Salt Shaker Foundation board member Joe Mahoney. In the Curley household Joe’s name cannot me mentioned without my wife Patrice saying "I just love Joe Mahoney." As a cancer survivor, Joe will be running as part of Team Livestrong Army Runners.

My good friend from York College Lori Z. I don’t know if it’s possible to keep a smile on your face while running 26.2 miles, but I think Lori’s got the best shot at pulling this off.

Good luck to all,
Pat

I logged a lot of miles training for that day. And I downed a lot of doughnuts.

In 2008, I tried to do at least one organized race a month. It was fun to plan out & pick a race months ahead of time. I did a 5K on vacation with my son Gavin & my nephew’s David & Erik (nothing like running a race with teenagers to make you feel old), and I did a 4 miler on my birthday with my sister Molly (yeah, I beat her & yeah, it felt good). This year, I think I’m going to keep it to three races: The Broad Street Run, The Run For Tony & The Philadelphia Marathon. Training has been getting better in the last few weeks. There are a million reasons/excuses to stay in bed at 5:00am, but as the miles pile up, I’m trying to look at my 5:15 runs as "my time."

For this weeks entry, I thought I’d compile the best running scenes in movies & TV. In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:

Will Ferrell as Hank The Tank streaking though campus in Old School.

Dustin Hoffman as Babe in Marathon Man. The scenes in which Babe is running in Central Park & flashing on Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila are great.

Watching the 1500m on TV during the Seoul Olympics, 1988. I was visiting my wife at Mt. St. Mary’s College for the weekend. A student at The Mount, Peter Rono was competing in the Seoul Olympics for Kenya. The thinking was he had no shot at winning a medal, but it would be a lot of fun just to watch him compete. A party was thrown in his dorm room & we all settled in to watch Peter run half a world away. At the wire, Peter wins the 1500m by less than a ¼ of a second & the campus of Mt. St. Mary’s erupts!

Denzel Washington running with the team through Gettysburg in Remember The Titans. Bonus points for the following lines: You drop a pass, you run a mile. You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile. You fumble the football, and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts, and then you will run a mile.

Rocky at The Art Museum, of course

Nicolas Cage running from the cops while trying to pick up some Huggies in Raising Arizona.

Paulie Walnuts & Chris-to-fuh chasing the Ukrainian through the Pine Barrens in The Sopranos.

Tyler Durken running in Fight Club. HUGE bonus points for the line: I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more.

Probably the beach running scene from Chariots of Fire. This came out in the early 80’s, and I probably would have rather gone to mass in August wearing my wool slacks from Al’s than go see an artsy film, so I never saw this movie.

Dumbest movie running scene: Anything from Forrest Gump. Here’s what bugs me. Forrest spend God knows how long waiting on a bench because Jenny told him to take a bus to her apartment. At this point, Jenny knows Forrest has spent three years of his life running back & forth across the country. Doesn’t it occur to her to just say, "Walk the last few blocks to my apartment to see me & meet your bastard child."

Saving the best for last. John Belushi for Little Chocolate Doughnuts. If you grew up in the mid-70’s, you have to remember how often the would show that Wheaties commercial after Bruce Jenner won the decathlon in the ’76 Olympics. To see John Belushi spoof him was just priceless. The funniest part of the entire commercial is that Belushi is sitting at the table with a lit cigarette. Most comedians would insist on puffing on the cigarette to make it more obvious. But Belushi just sits at the table with the cigarette burning while he’s doing his pitch. To me, it’s a subtle move that make the spot so much more funny.

Broad Street Run is a little over a month away & registration for the Phila Marathon opens today.
Thanks for reading, Pat

From The Planet LoveTron

Friday night was the last Sixers game ever played at The Spectrum. Like many kids growing up in the 70’s & 80’s in the Delaware Valley, I have a number of great memories from that arena. Flyers, Sixers, Globetrotters, Ringling Bros. Circus, Phantoms, concerts, the Spectrum hosted them all. In no particular order, here are a few of my best memories there:

Seeing the Globetrotters with my Dad. We had great seats, and this was back in the Curly Neal & Meadowlark Lemon days. You’d see them on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, but nothing can compare with seeing them live. Also, any Flyers game I went to with my Dad. Hockey games are always fun in person, especially with The Broad Street Bullies in their hey-day.

Taking my father-in-law Mac to a Phantoms game for his birthday with my brother-in-laws Karl & Steve. Karl came up with this bright idea for his fathers’ birthday. Blaring music, loud fans drinking too much are (to say the least) not up Mac’s alley, but he was a good sport & we had a nice guys night out.

The Grateful Dead on St. Patty’s day, 1992. Went with my wife Patrice & our friend Jimmy. Box of Rain, Minglewood, Loser, Memphis, Tenn Jed, Cassidy, Way To Go, Truckin’, Spoonful, He’s Gone, Drumz, Miracle, So Many Roads & Sugar Mag. Awesome! Jimmy was throwing green glitter on Patrice & I that we were finding in our house years later. Patrice solidifying her MVP status in finding a miracle.

Going to a Phantoms game with my son Gavin. I think Gavin was three at the time, and had the attention span of a gnat. We walked every around inch of the Spectrum that night.

George Michael: Not proud of it, but yep, I saw him there. I had just met Patrice & we went with friends of hers. There is no truth to the rumor that my daughter Faith is named after his song.

Flyers game with my girlfriend in high school, Liz Eife. Liz was ill for several weeks during our senior year & was basically confined to two rooms in her house. Her Dad gave us Flyers tickets & Liz was well enough to go. It was her first time out of the house in over a month. To put it mildly, it was a big deal.

7th & 8th grade Hawks Basketball. We got to play a game at the Spectrum before the Sixers game. I don’t even remember what took place during our game…my head was spinning from being on the same floor where Dr. J played. After the game, Dave Hall, Vinnie Marone, Pat Lamb, Gerald Thomas & the rest of us dressed in the Flyers locker room. Coming out of the locker room, we ran straight into Daryl Dawkins wearing a full length pink fur coat. Outstanding!

A Valentines Day Flyers Game with my wife. Nothing like a stay in a suite at The Rittenhouse Hotel & a Flyers game to chase away the winter blues.

My sister Suzanne taking me to a Flyers autograph session during the Flyers Stanley Cup years. I’m sure she wasn’t allowed to be driving to South Philly on a school night, but she did anyway to avoid disappointing her little brother.

Kentucky – Duke ’92: I wasn’t there, but it was the night of my wife’s bridal shower. Since guys were verboten at the shower, my Dad, Uncle Jack, and a bunch of my buddies went to the Pennsauken Country Club to watch it. Wildly considered the best college basketball game ever, it happened at The Spectrum.

David Bowie, The Serious Moonlight Tour. My first concert. Rockhead, Gary, Boone, Brown the afore mentioned Jon Martini & a bunch others took the train over to see an incredible show.

Since this is supposed to be a blog about running, I’ll end with this: The Broad Street Run in 2007 & 2008. The Broad Street Run goes right past the sports complexes in South Philly. After running around City Hall, there isn’t much to look at to take your mind off how tired you are: Italian restaurants, Korean nail salons, funeral parlors, gas stations. Once you catch sight of The Linc, Nova Care Complex, The Spectrum & The Whatevertheircallingitthisweek Center, you know you’re completed 9 & ½ miles of a ten mile course. The first year I did the Broad Street, someone had set up an amplifier in front of The Spectrum & was blaring the Rocky Theme towards all the runners. In 2008 I ran with my niece Marie. Once we caught glimpse of The Spectrum, we knew we had only about half a mile until the finish line.

Broad Street Run is in seven weeks. Training starts in earnest on Monday! (Maybe Tuesday).
Pat

Dawk

Again, I’m copying from my buddy Rob’s format & occasionally delving into topics other than running. I had to write a little something about former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins leaving the Birds for the Denver Bronco’s. I was thrilled when my beloved Eagles drafted B-Dawk out of Clemson in the second round of the 1996 draft. My sister Mary Pat had also graduated from Clemson, and we both looked forward to seeing what this Clemson Tiger could do for our team. We had no idea how many contributions B-Dawk would make in his 13 years in Philly. His bone-jarring hits, his pass coverage, his sacks & tenacity made him a joy to watch each & every game.
In my lifetime, there may have been a few players in Philadelphia that were more talented than B-Dawk. (Mike Schmitt, Dr. J, Steve Carlton, Reggie White). But NOBODY understood the Philadelphia fan more than B-Dawk. What do we what from our players? Simple: Everything you got & do it with class & all your heart. That’s it. No great mystery. Do that & you will never pay for a drink in the Delaware Valley in your lifetime. No "For who, for what?" No giggling with the other team after a playoff loss. No blaming the fans or media. Give it your all & care as much as we do. That’s what B-Dawk did each & every time he strapped it up.
During this years improbable playoff run by the Eagles, all I wanted was a Super Bowl victory. Not for me, not so my family & I could squeeze on to the Speed Line to watch another parade, not so the entire city could recapture the joy of the Phillies World Series (times 10). All I wanted to see was B-Dawk hoist that silver football over his head while tears streamed down his face. Apparently, according to Joe Banner, this was too much to ask for.
Some will blame Eagles management for throwing around nickels like they were man-whole covers & for always looking to win the coveted "Salary Cap Bowl". Maybe they’re right. It’s just so rare in this day & age to find a player & city that fit as well as B-Dawk & Philly did for the last 13 years. And we just let him walk out the door. I look forward to seeing the ovation B-Dawk gets when the Broncos come to Philly this fall. I guarantee #20 will shed a tear, as will many Eagles fans.
Thanks for your effort Dawk. It was our pleasure to have you on our team.