The Very Heart of It: 2017 New York Marathon Training, Week 11

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

There’s one universally acknowledged rule all marathon runners adhere to: never do anything new or different on race day.

During training, though, it’s good to experiment and learn from your trials and errors, especially when those experiments are conducted during a long run — the bedrock of all marathon training programs that often becomes a dress rehearsal for the main event.

But what if a long run experiment is so radical that failure could jeopardize the program and threaten success on the big day?

Continue reading →

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These Little Town Blues: 2017 New York Marathon Training, Week 9

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

46 days to go. The intensity of the training is ramping up. Two 16-mile long runs are already behind me, and my tune-up half marathon is in the books. I am still healthy and, for the most part, running fast and pain free, but fatigue levels are high, and the upcoming weather — unseasonably hot and humid until the end of September — does not bode well for future training.

So does that mean I’ve got those little town blues? Let’s hear the tune those long runs are singing. Continue reading →

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I Wanna Be a Part of It: 2017 New York Marathon Training, Week 5

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

Hard to believe, but it’s now less than 80 days until the 2017 New York City Marathon. I’m back on the Hanson’s Training Method once again (with a few alterations, which I’ll explain below). It’s still early yet, of course, but I am encouraged by the current results that I can achieve my twin goals of (1) running under four hours and (2) enjoying every minute by running without pain or suffering too much.

As usual, though, training has become that delicate dance between intensity and protecting an ever-aging body. Which makes this post for week five a tale of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Continue reading →

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Vagabond Shoes: The 2017 New York City Marathon Training Blog and ER&D Fundraiser

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

C’mon. You know the words. Sing along with me. Betcha end up sounding like Ol’ Blue Eyes by the end …

Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today.
I want to be a part of it, New York, New York.
These vagabond shoes are longing to stray 
Right through the very heart of it, New York, New York.

I wanna wake up, in a city that doesn’t sleep.
And find I’m king of the hill, top of the heap.

These little town blues, are melting away.
I’ll make a brand new start of it, in old New York.
If I can make it there, 
I’ll make it anywhere.
It’s up to you, New York, New York.

New York, New York.
I want to wake up, in a city that never sleeps.
And find I’m A-number-1, top of the list, king of the hill, A-number-1… 

These little town blues, are melting away.
I’m gonna make a brand new start of it, 
In old New York

and…

If I can make it there, I’m gone make it anywhere.
It’s up to you, New York, New York!

Continue reading →

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Not With My Body, But With My Head and Heart: Boilermaker 2017

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

I’ve documented my love affair with the Utica Boilermaker extensively in these pages. I’ve written about my 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 runs in various posts, devoted entire posts to my participation in 2015, and 2016‘s races, and even written the locally viral 15(K) Reasons to Love the Utica Boilermaker to celebrate my favorite road race.

Usually, I run the 9.3 miles with a smile on my face, high-fiving little kids, exchanging banter with spectators and fellow runners, and profusely thanking the first responders all the way round the course.

But don’t let the photo — taken before this year’s run — fool you.


For me, the 2017 Boilermaker run was all business.

Continue reading →

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Review: Iron Maiden (Budweiser Stage, Toronto ON. July 15, 2017)

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

It wasn’t until the third song of Iron Maiden’s set on Saturday night that it finally dawned on me what I had taken for granted for so long about this band.

It started the moment I zeroed in on Steve Harris as he began the bass intro to “Wrathchild.” I’d heard the song a million times, so I wasn’t super excited to hear it again. I’m pretty sure he’s played it several millions more, yet here he was, running round the stage playing it with the hunger of the twenty-something man he was when he first recorded it.

In 1981. Continue reading →

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Review: Caravan Palace (Rochester International Jazz Festival, June 31, 2017)

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

I am such a bad progger.

I mean, here I was, just two blocks away from the Eastman Theater, where King Crimson was playing, and I was on Jazz Street watching the free entertainment, eating poutine and drinking beer.

OK. Judge all you want. Because in the process of not seeing the iconic Mr. Fripp and his musical entourage (including  Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison, two of my personal musical heroes), I stumbled upon another, different kind of big band that brought a smile to my face and some pep to my (dub)step. Continue reading →

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Life Gets in the Way (Part Two): The 2017 Flower City Half Marathon

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

Nine marathons. Nine half marathons. Eight Boilermakers.

You might say I’m an experienced runner, but I would say I don’t feel like it most of the time. You might say I’ve seen a lot, but I would say that I haven’t seen enough. You might say I’ve learned a few lessons, but after the 2017 Flower City Half Marathon — my tenth half — I would say there are times when I don’t feel like I’ve learned a damn thing. Continue reading →

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Life Gets in the Way (Part One)

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

If April, as the great poet T. S. Eliot maintained, is the cruelest month, then March, for me, was its polar opposite–blessed, munificent, generous to a fault. But as that other great poet, Bruce Springsteen, has observed, “you can’t walk away from the price you pay.”

Only in my case, he should have sung, “you can’t run away.” Continue reading →

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Review: Tool (Blue Cross Arena, Rochester NY. May 30, 2017)

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Bruce Pegg

Cutting-edge lighting? Check.

Laser array? You bet.

State of the art animation? Of course.

And overzealous security guards? Oh, go on if you must.

Continue reading →

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