The Longest Run

Had the chance with the ladies out of town for the weekend (visiting Cousin Laura in North Carolina) to head down to the Lower East Side on a culinary excursion. For some time now I have wanted to try the restaurant Porchetta , whose specialty is a roast pork sandwich - beautifully roasted natural pork on a tasty, crusty bun. Based on the recommendation in this New York Magazine r eview of the restaurant , I also had the crispy potatoes with baked ends (crusty stuff from the outside of the pork roast). All I can say is YOWZA! The food rocked and I suggest anyone who is a fan of sandwiches and/or pork head down to give the restaurant a try. The only downside worth mentioning is that the place is TINY - as in there is barely room for 6 stools and a narrow countertop. While I was at the restaurant I had the chance to check out Sara Jenkins' cookbook Olives and Oranges: Recipes and Flavor Secrets from Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Beyond which looks tasty and has great customer reviews. T...

Dear Mrs. Longest Run: there are others who know your pain: For Those Not Running, Training Can Be Just as Taxing .

Had a nice run this morning after thinking I wouldn't run at all. I did a double yesterday - a fast 7-mile run in the morning followed by an evening run. I guess evening run is a bit of a misnomer since it was actually the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, where I joined 20,000 or so fellow New Yorkers in a 3.5 mile journey through Central Park. With all the miles logged yesterday followed by a late dinner out with a friend, I figured I would take this morning off. That said, since Thursday is typically a training day and since it was another beautiful morning with temps in the high 50's, I figured running with tired legs would ultimately be good for me. I returned to the Reservoir in the park for the first time in a while and did two loops - one fast and one slow. The race last night was quite an experience. I'd not run in the Corporate Challenge for many years, and for the first 1.5 miles last night, I was pretty sure I'd never run in one again. Having grown accusto...

Illustration used with permission from Quickhoney Who out there hasn't heard the lament of the typical New Yorker magazine reader? You love the magazine but find it impossible to get through issues within a week's time; back issues pile up and lead to guilt and cognitive dissonance until you come to your senses and throw away the pile. Well, it's Friday night, and with one daughter at a sleepover and the other hosting a sleepover here in our apartment, it's clean up the desk night. In 'processing' old issues of the magazine, I came across Idolatry , an article from the May 19th issue on the American Idol phenomenon. Having missed the show a lot since the stunning conclusion a couple of weeks back (go David Cook!) it was nice to have an excuse to revisit some of the highlights of the season.

As I ramp up the weekly mileage in training for the Brooklyn half-marathon (which takes place exactly 7 weeks from tomorrow), I've been concerned about whether I'd end up with sore knees or some other malady. There was a great article in the New York Times Play Magazine last week (link here ) about the phenomenon of overtraining. As my training has been going really well and I've gotten into a good groove, I do feel a bit of a tendency to want to do more - whether that's running longer or running faster. I'm happy to have read the article now as I think it's a great reminder that there's such a thing as overtraining. Registration opened this week for the NYRR/Nike Half-Marathon and I've entered the lottery. I won't know until late May or early June whether I've got a spot. I'm not completely sure I want to run the race - it would make 6 half-marathons this year and the race is in July (hot hot hot!). On the other hand, it would be fun to use ...