Unbroken

Sorry so quiet; was in LA for business form Wednesday through yesterday and got sick Thursday night. Feel better today but boy - yesterday was an epic slog of a day. Fell asleep on the couch at 8:30, woke up in a sweat in the middle of the night - and then slpet through until around 7:30. Been a while since I've slept 11 hours - and I still feel wiped out.

Anyway, enough bellyaching. I'll be better soon. As I think I posted before, I've been reading like a madman since getting my new Kindle 3 (which I LOVE) and am currently deep into Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. Al I can say is this is one hell of a story and an incredibly captivating read. Definitely add this one to your list; it doesn't disappoint. I never read her previous bestselling book, Seabiscuit, but might need to put that in the queue next, because she is an amazing writer.
Unless anyone has a better recommendation, I think next up is Endgame, a biography of Bobby Fisher.

Monkey Bars

I could watch this kid all day on the monkey bars; they are effortless for her. Not sure where she gets it but she is a natural athlete.

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_2040.MOV (2099 KB)

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Posted via email from Howard Solomon

San Francisco Half Marathon: Race Report

Ran the SF Super Bowl Half Marathon with Coach Phil early yesterday. I trained through it (much as I did with the LA half) with virtually no taper, and was curious how it would go. I felt *really* good for the first nine miles - probably too good, considering I ran a 7:07 mile 4 followed by a 7:07 mile 5 (too fast) and thought I might be on to a good day. And then I hit the Great American Highway (beautiful beyond belief; runs right alongside the Ocean and you feel like you are in a coastal Californian town, not a large City) and out of nowhere, an Orangutan jumped on my back and stayed there for the next 4.1 miles.

Just as it was getting hot, mind you (not to rub it in but it hit 80 here yesterday. We are having a record breaking run of insanely great weather). Anyway the last four miles were a death march and I was in AGONY. I faded pretty badly but still came in under my goal time of 1:40, which I'm proud to say I beat by 8 seconds.

So, that's that. Considering that I have been training hard and again, with no taper, I'm pretty pleased with my first two races of the year. Hope that bodes well for my next big one, Way Too Cool 50k in early March.

This season is officially on like Donkey Kong.

Best.Commercial. Ever

This just speaks for itself. Maybe my favorite commercial ever. The Little Boy and I must have watched it ten consecutive times last night.

Thanks for the Memories, Andy Pettite

So, the news in Yankee-ville is that Andy Pettite is going to call it a career tomorrow. Given the Yankees very thin rotation, I was *really* hoping he'd come back for one more year, but had a pretty strong feeling that this news would come to pass. So, the Core Four ... in no more.

For us Yankees fans this is definitely the end of a terrific era.

It's a bummer, but thanks for the memories all the same, Andy Pettite. I think Yankee history is going to be very kind to you. While you weren't always our number one guy rotation-wise(see: Clemens, Rodger and Sabathia, CC) you were one hell of a gamer and you seemed to always come through when we needed you most. Enjoy your retirement and your four kids and don't be a stranger to Yankee Stadium. Hopefully we will one day see your jersey get retired. You've most definitely earned that honor.

The Perfect Exercise?

Since reading Tim Ferriss' new book over the Christmas holiday, I have been obsessed with kettle ball swings. After doing them somewhat consistently for about six weeks, I can say that I think they are pretty much the perfect exercise. If you want to try something difficult, do three or four sets of 20-25 with just a short break in between and let me know how that works for you. As you will note, they hit every muscle group except for the chest. The key though is good form; check out the link above or any one of the many videos that are on Youtube.

My weight routine which I do 2-3 times per week consists of: 1 minute of core (I rotate between any one of five or six exercises for core), followed by 20 pushups followed by the aforementioned 20-25 kettle swings. I usually take 10-20 seconds in between each of these sets and I repeat four or five times. It takes no longer than 30 minutes in total but man does it do the trick and I am going to need all the strength I can summon -both literally and figureatively -- to run 100 miles.....

Remembering the Challenger

I will never forget where I was when the Challenger exploded, 25 years ago today. I was watching from the TV room in our fraternity house with my boy Scooter and others. Astonishing that it was 25 years ago; it seems like yesterday. That tragedy struck me hard and it's only appropriate that we remember them today. Embedded is the speech President Reagan gave that fateful day. Regardless of how you feel about the man, it's one of the greatest speeches of the modern era. If you haven't seen this, it's worth the four minutes.

RIP, Challenger crew.