Sad way to make the LI Marathon a big event

Tragedy of the commons

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

A few years ago, when I was frequently engaged with the MIT Media Lab, I was fortunate to spend time with Dan Airely who taught economics at the Sloan School of Management. Dan writes books about behavior, honesty and irrationality that are well worth reading. He used to talk about an economic concept known as the "Tragedy of the commons", that describes how the self-interest of a few people can negatively affect the larger society.

This concept is usually tied to selfish actions leading to broader consequences, like over-fishing a lake or poaching endangered animals. In today's world, I see it every time I pass through Penn Station where I see police and National Guardsmen patrolling with large automatic weapons. That has been a common sight since September 12, 2001, but it's still hard to get used to. I'm not complaining - I fully appreciate the need - but it's sad that everyone's behaviors have to change to protect against a harmful few.

This morning, I was watching the local news while Ed Mangano held a press conference. Mangano stated that, "In light of the tragic events that occurred at the Boston Marathon earlier this month, we have put forth enhanced security measures for the safety of the Long Island Marathon participants, spectators, and all members of our community." This involves the use of radiation detectors, K-9 bomb sniffing units and extra police.

If you've ever participated in the LI Marathon Festival of Races, you might react as I did to this. It's a really nice event, but I think the biggest concern the organizers should have is whether they'd rented enough Port-O-Potties. I wouldn't expect this race would be targeted by miscreants, but what do I know? The RXR LI Marathon has always aspired to be a "big race" event. Sadly, it's taken the atrocity in Boston to make that happen.

Heroes at the finish line, cowards on the run

Anger and sadness

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

Yesterday afternoon I had just stepped out of a meeting in midtown and looked at my phone. My wife had sent me a text about the bombs that went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I was stunned by the news and had difficulty with the idea that it happened. I hoped it was a prank, perhaps something innocuous like a smoke grenade, but I had the feeling it was much more than that. I had a little time before my next meeting, so I stopped into a nearby hotel to watch the coverage on CNN. As the story unfolded, it felt eerily similar to that day in September back in 2001 (my look back on that day).

I'm not going to talk about the horrible events themselves, or why some people decided that their twisted view of life was worth the life of a child, along with the deaths and carnage of others. The story that the world is hearing is about how the workers, spectators, police, EMTs, firefighters and residents responded immediately to those who needed help. If there is any justice, the malevolent animals who picked easy targets will be quickly captured and shown to the world as the cowards that they are. I suggest they be forced to run the Boston course indefinitely until they expire.

I had a weird run this morning. Besides having a lot on my mind, I'd gone to an industry event last night that put me well past my bedtime. If you looked at the metrics of the run, it would appear that I under-performed compared to my usual level. The entire time that I ran I couldn't shake the post 9/11-like feelings that resulted from yesterday's news. I think I ended up pushing harder than I normally would have on a weekday training run and, by the end, I was pretty tired.

It wasn't a particularly notable run for me, but I think I processed a lot of thoughts and have come out better for it. I'll bet being a runner would have come in handy on September 12, 2001. I can't go back in time, but I'm happy that I was a runner today.

Running against tragedy

I'll keep this one under wraps

Today's run (treadmill): 5.1 miles

Yesterday's senseless shooting in Connecticut upset me deeply. How can kids ever feel safe at school with the knowledge that sick people, with ready access to guns, can so easily hurt them? Coincidentally, our own town was conducting an emergency dismissal drill at the time of shootings. Let's hope that if anything good comes out of this, it will be a call to action to address the NRA's paranoid and obstructive agenda. Easy access to guns have made these scenarios all too common.

I'll admit that I know very little about the details of yesterday's event. I'm usually on top of the news, but I've avoided watching or reading anything about this tragedy. I haven't even been able to bring myself to take the newspaper out of its wrap. I think I know everything I need to know.

Due to our schedule today, I was kept at home in the morning and couldn't go outside for run. Later today we have a party, so my options were limited. I look forward to weekends, because they usually give me the freedom to run outside for as long as I wish. Since I was place-constrained but not time constrained, I decided to do a longer run on the treadmill.

I'd normally put the news on the TV and watch it as I ran, but that wasn't going to happen today. Instead, I put on one of the music channels at the upper range of the cable spectrum and pumped up the volume. I set the incline at 1% to keep it interesting, and increased my speed periodically in order to get my heart rate to the targeted zone. I had plenty of energy for the run, but I felt very tired when I finished. The good thing about a hard workout is that it lifts your spirits when you're done. I really needed that today.