Blog Master G

It was about 30 degrees warmer for this year’s Operation Santa 10k in Hudson Falls, NY. The sun was even shining brightly, a stark contrast to the 20-degree temps and piercing winds of last year’s race (where I also sported the beginnings of my ’stache from the 2nd annual ABMGC – set for a later start this year). As always, my biggest fan, Jen, was there to cheer me on and document the occasion for my 4th 10k.

The nicer weather also brought out a much larger field than last year — 112 total 10k’ers vs. a mere 39 of us last year. A warm day (low 50s) also meant there were more volunteers on the course, so things didn’t seem quite as chaotic as last year, when I almost missed a few turns.

Coming off a week of battling the sniffles — coupled with two back-to-back hard workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday this week — it wasn’t my best race ever, but I did beat my time from last year, and was 45 seconds shy of my Great Pumpkin 10k PR in October.

My official time was 43:00 (though I swear I crossed the line at exactly 42:59, which is what my Garmin said when I hit stop after the line), which was good for 13th overall and 4th in my division (again, better time than last year, but not as good placement, thanks to the bigger turnout). But I can’t complain: I gave it my best today with the 6:56 average pace.

I came out strong (6:31 first mile), taking advantage of the early race adrenaline and the first big downhill through the rolling farm country. The course quickly shows you who’s boss, though, with a series of uphills for most of the first three-quarters of the course, the toughest being after Mile 3. I clocked in Miles 2 and 3 at slower paces of 6:51 and 6:59. In that challenging fourth mile, my slowest of the day (as last year), I clocked in a 7:22 (only 3 seconds faster than last year in the same mile).

With the worst of the hills behind me, it was back to the residential area near the middle school where the race started and finished. This is also the point where things get a little confusing since I was running against 5k’ers coming at me the other direction.

I was feeling pretty winded, but pressed on with everything I had, keeping the #2 female finisher in my sights pretty much the whole race. I thought I might catch her, as I did with the top female finisher in the Great Pumpkin, but alas, she held strong and never gave me the chance.

With a half-mile or so to go, I pushed with everything I had left, and let the cheers of the spectators lining the home stretch pull me to the line (7:02 and 7:03 in Miles 5 and 6). As the clock came into view, I saw that it was inching toward 43:00, so I floored it, and passed with 42:59 on the clock (43 flat was my official time, though):

Santa made an appearance this year, too, but he seems to have lost some weight and dyed his hair from white to black:

This race was even harder than I remembered it. You can also tell it was harder than the Great Pumpkin by comparing my average heart rate from each race – GP: 169; OS: 177. That’s a big difference.

It’s always fun running into people we know, too, which today included a handful of Jen’s book club friends, one of whom was my Green Mountain Relay teammate, Megan.

Good times and another day at the races complete! Congrats to all of my fellow Operation Santa runners, too!

View more pictures on Flickr.

Mile splits (view Garmin data):

Along with the daily status updates to keep up with people’s lives, one of the greatest things about Facebook is when someone digs out an old photo, tags a bunch of people, and reminiscent chatter ensues. This happened to me in the spring this year when a classmate from my 6th grade class at Sutterville posted a class photo, which led to a 20-year reunion this summer in Sacramento. And it happened again yesterday when a couple photos from Vassar’s The Miscellany News editorial boards of the mid-1990s surfaced.

Let’s just agree that I look pretty awesome in both of these photos (see me?) – from my freshman and sophomore years, respectively  — and that in the first I’m sporting some sweet bling in the form of a gold chain, and in the second I look like a strange lipstick-wearing, Woodchuck-chugging awkward punk:

Miscellany News Ed. Board – Fall 1995

Miscellany News Ed. Board – Fall 1996

So what do you think? Does the Gabe of 13 and 14 years ago rock, or what? It’s been fun to reconnect with the other peeps in these photos via Facebook.

Working on The Misc. was a significant part of my college experience. Not only was I an editor with the paper all 4 years of college, but I was Editor-in-Chief my junior year, when a certain girl named Jen (then Deane) applied to be a News Editor. Though we had an English class together, we didn’t really get to know each other until our work together on the weekly (entirely student-run) school newspaper.

Being part of that organization was an amazing experience, taught me lots of sweet skills, kept me on track my junior year when I was at risk of being asked to take a leave due to poor academic performance (I rebounded academically and had the best semester in my entire 4 years at Vassar when I was also spending 40+ hours per week as EIC), and, most importantly, brought me and Jen together.

I went digging around my basement this morning for my Vassar yearbooks, in hopes that I could scan the Ed Board photos from ’98 and ’99, but couldn’t find them… yet.

Man, it’s blowing my mind that I started college nearly 15 years ago. Time flies when you’re having fun.

My Facebook status update last night was the following:

…which pretty much sums it up. I’m stubborn about admitting to being “sick,” though I do get cold-like symptoms maybe once a year, usually around this time. Jen likes to give me a hard time since I like to say I never get sick.

And I’m certainly not going to let some sniffling, sneezing, and coughing get in the way of a good workout – or a good time out on the town.

So sure enough, I put in a hard afternoon workout yesterday: 2-mile warm-up, followed by 6×400-meter intervals @1:26 average time with 200-meter rest in between, concluding with another 1.2-mile cool-down. It was the first I’d run 400s at all since May – and, from what I could find in my training log – I think only the third time since I started running last year. And wow, are they hard. These after a tempo run the day before (5+ with 3 @ 6:58 average pace).

Using McMillan as my guide (and my 19:31 5k PR as my input), I was shooting for between 1:25-1:30 per 400, which is roughly a 5:38-5:58 per mile pace. I ran the first one a little fast (1:24), but was pretty consistent (and a little slower) the next 5 laps. The key with intervals is to run them consistently so that your last one is as fast as your first one.

Here’s what each lap looked like (minus the 200-meter jogs in between each):

I’m also almost done reading a book called Once A Runner, declared by Runner’s World “the best novel ever written about running.” It is a great book – about an elite miler – and my intervals yesterday, though a miniscule workout in comparison to the book’s protagonist, Quenton Cassidy, made me think of the fictitious character as I panted and pushed hard in each lap.

So after a punishing workout, despite this so-called “cold,” what’s a guy to do? Hit happy hour, of course! As James noted in response to aforementioned Facebook update: “That’s the Gabe I know and love – nothing eases a sore throat or cleanses the palate of bile quite like an ice cold beer!” You know it, James!

After work Jen, Jami, and I took the 2-for-1 Wheatfield’s happy hour by storm, followed by a brief coat trying-on session at the Saratoga Saddlery (Jami ever the sales person) – Jen found a winter / rain coat she really likes – and then we hit Max London’s for $9 pizza night, where we enjoyed a delicious tuna tartare appetizer and some shrimp pizzas, with a nightlong of laughs on the side.

Good times, and just another Wednesday in Saratoga!

A couple weeks ago Jen and I made a run for the border, Canadian style. Lisbeth was getting married in Niagara on the Lake in Ontario, not far from Buffalo, so it also gave us a good excuse to visit Johnny; we crashed with him both Friday upon arrival and Saturday after the wedding, so it worked out perfectly.

It was a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time and it was well worth the 5+ hour trek. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to visit our neighbors to the north?

After a quick post-work stop at the mechanic to assure us the WRX was OK for a road trip – the check engine light had come on and we’d just had a pricey repair of a fuel leak – we headed west and were Buffalo-bound. The trip went pretty smoothly and only took about 5 hours or so.

We arrived in Buffalo by 11pm and met up with Johnny and a few friends at Gabriel’s Gate (a fine name for an establishment if I do so say myself), where we had some late-night snacks and drinks before calling it a night.

Saturday morning Johnny fired up the skillet and made us some most delicious apple pancakes and other goodies to fuel our ride across the border. Being a most gracious host, he even busted out the French press to satisfy our caffeine cravings.

That Saturday was a picture-perfect day: Blue skies and warm sun – unusual for Western New York in November. We hopped in the car and headed north for the border. On the way, we saw an old building that was on fire and leaving a hell of a mess in the sky. It must’ve just happened when we drove past since there didn’t seem to be anyone attempting to stop it and a minute later we saw a fire truck with sirens blazing heading the other way.

We hit the Peace Bridge at the border and didn’t have to wait long at all (though we always manage to pick the wrong lane at the border, as we watched a number of cars go through in the lane next to us as we waited patiently in our lane). Either Canadians are a really trustworthy people or Jen and I don’t come off as being too suspicious (unlike a certain friend of ours whose name rhymes with “you” – who once went through a Canadian border crossing in the truck lane 🙂 ) since even though I had our passports in my hand, the border agent didn’t even ask to see them.

Once in Canada, we hit the church for the wedding ceremony – which started a bit late due to some issues with a certain drawbridge at the border some of the guests ran into. The afternoon sun shining through the stained glass made for a brilliant backdrop to the service.

After the ceremony, it was time to get our party on, so we joined a caravan of cars heading for the beautiful Queens Landing hotel, site of the reception in Niagara on the Lake, a quaint town not unlike Saratoga Springs, except that it’s on a giant lake.

We enjoyed some delicious appetizers and meal during the cocktail hour and reception itself, and were seated with our friend Kat’s doppelgänger (though we neglected to get a picture of her to prove it). It’s always fun to hang out with Heather and Saahil, as we got a chance to do before and during the reception. We even got to chat with the bride herself a bit, which is always a treat at a big wedding. And, of course, we danced to some tunes before heading back to the good ol’ US of A.

Back in the States, we met up with Johnny and his friend Dave for some more late night drinks and eats. At Johnny’s place later that night he introduced us to the joy of the drunk Ewoks on the Today Show and we laughed our asses off the rest of the night.

Sunday we went out for a tasty brunch at a cozy warehouse-style coffee shop in downtown East Aurora – a really cool little town with a great main street. We wandered around a huge five and dime for a bit before jumping back in the Scoob and beginning the long journey home to Saratoga.

This is one of those things that’s just too funny not to share:

(Be sure to watch the whole thing; it doesn’t start getting crazy until about 2:05 — with martinis and even the Moonwalk.)

Jen and I first saw it late last Saturday night at Johnny’s place in Buffalo — after returning from a wedding in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. We were watching it on my iPhone around 3am and were laughing so hard that Johnny’s neighbors actually started knocking on the wall to quiet us down.

I’m no Today Show regular, but do they normally drink martinis on the air? Or was it just for the benefit of the Ewoks?

Drunk Ewoks rule!

I’ve clocked in my fair share of training runs in the pouring rain — and even the occasional race — but never before Saturday had I toed the starting line as the rain poured down and lightning shot through the sky. It was a dramatic start to the morning’s Great Pumpkin 10k in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Good thing I was prepared: I was sporting a mullet.

When I ran this race last year (my first 10k at the time; this was only my third 10k), there seemed to be a lot more people in costumes. This year I seemed to be one of only a handful in costume (and I ended up winning the best costume award, which was, fittingly, tickets to a hockey game in Glens Falls! — though, in fairness, they kind of glossed over the adults’ contest since it was so cold and rainy, so I won by default since Jen and I stayed till the end).

And I didn’t care that I was one of the few in costumes. I wore my mullet with pride and was loving all the funny looks I was getting. Apparently some people weren’t sure if it was real or not. After the race, one woman walked past me and Jen, glanced at me, then back at her husband, and said, “See? I told you it’s a wig!”

As for the race, we showed up with only about half an hour to spare, so it was a bit of a rush to register, pin on my number, attach my timing chip, adjust my mullet, and hustle to the starting line, where both 5k and 10k racers lined up in the frigid downpour.

When the clock struck 9:30am, everyone started yelling at race officials to start. The race started nearly on time and we launched forward into the rain, eager to warm our bodies.

The first 5k loop out toward the front of the park, past the Gideon Putnam, down the path toward Route 9, then back down the Avenue of the Pines was quick and incredibly wet. Racers dodged puddles and tried to keep shoes from getting any soggier than they already were. I ran fast, but comfortably so, keeping my pace around 6:40/mile and my heart rate in the high 160s, saving enough for what I knew was a tougher second half.

With 365 5k finishers and 190 10k finishers, I knew that most of the people running in my vicinity were 5k-ers. As the 5k-ers around me turned off toward the finish around 20:47, the pack of remaining 10k-ers really thinned, and I could tell immediately that I was toward the front, which was an exciting feeling.

Like last year, after taking the left just past the finish area and up the hill toward the turn-around near Route 50, I saw the race marshal, dressed as a pumpkin on a bike. I started counting runners and saw that I was in 6th place overall! Rockin’, I thought, and picked up the pace around the turn-around as I slammed back some water from one of the volunteers kind enough to stand in the rain.

The final couple miles were the toughest, with a bunch of gradual up-hill climbs and a quick downhill thrown in that took us into the picnic area. By my count, the runner in front of me was in 5th overall, and she was the lead female runner. I slowly gained on her in the up-hills, then turned it on in one of the downhills for the pass in the final mile and change.

With 1.2 miles to go, I gave it everything I had left, powering up the last steep uphill and around the corner to the finish. I had the runner in front of me in my sights, but I couldn’t quite catch him.

As I cruised across the finish line, the announcer declared, “And here we have our first mulleted finisher: Gabe Anderson from Saratoga Springs!”

There was a mix-up about my time (42:15, a new 10k race PR) — for some reason I was showing up in the 5k results… so instead of placing near the top of 10k finishers, it looked as though I had placed near the end of 5k finishers. I talked to the guy working the scoring computer about correcting it.

When it came time to announce the official results, though, they were reading from the wrong sheet, so they never announced me as having won 2nd in my division (and it looks like I was 4th overall). Technically, though, if you go by the way every other race I’ve run works, I was 1st in my division since overall awards go to the top 3 finishers, then the division awards begin. I’m not sure why the race organizers chose to give overall awards only to the #1 male and female finishers.

Overall, it was a really fun race. As I say after most races, I felt like I could’ve pushed harder. But I had a great time and that’s what counts. I’ve also been taking it easy the past couple weeks since the Mohawk Hudson Marathon, so I was really relaxed and fresh going into the race, and wasn’t really worried too much about my time. I just went out to have a good time, and that I did.

I was also powered by Guinness and the handful I’d had the night before at Wheatfields happy hour with Jen and Jami. Normally I don’t drink the night before a race, but maybe all the iron in the Guinness helped me run faster! 🙂

Major props to my biggest fan, Jen, for braving the storm to cheer me on and to document yet another race!

Garmin splits:

I ran my 4th marathon yesterday, where my goal was to qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon. I fell short of that goal, but learned some important lessons along the way.

My legs are really sore today. Weather was perfect yesterday and the course was beautiful for the Hudson Mohawk Marathon – cool at the start, some gentle sunshine at the finish – but overall, it just wasn’t my day. I held a strong 7:16 average pace through Mile 18 (and a solid 7:15 through 12), then just completely fell apart, slowing to an 8-minute average pace in Mile 19 through Mile 26.

Official time: 3:17:09 (link to Garmin data) – new PR by 2:25. Missed my BQ by 6:10 (better than missing it by 61 seconds).

Lessons learned in this marathon:

1. Running 2 marathons within 3 months may not be the best idea (trained for this one with a 10-week schedule after SFM).
2. Not running a single 20-mile long run in a training cycle isn’t a good idea (maxed at a couple 17-milers, and 3 weeks out I raced a half-marathon followed by 3 easy miles in favor of 20).
3. Shoes that may be fine as trainers aren’t always a good choice for races (stick with what you know), and I have some new blisters to prove it.

Lessons  1 and 2 may be the most important: Even though I set a PR by 2+ minutes, I didn’t feel good about the race yesterday, and hit the Wall at only Mile 19. My previous PR was set at CIM — an equally fast course — last December, when I had trained with three 20-mile long runs, and felt fresh going into the race (hadn’t run a marathon before CIM since my first one in June 2008 in San Diego). I didn’t hit the Wall at CIM until Mile 24, and finished strong.

I also felt much stronger 3 months ago in San Francisco when I ran a 3:20:07 on a MUCH tougher course (link to Garmin data) and had trained with two 20-milers in that training cycle. Interestingly, though, my average heart rate at SFM and at HMH yesterday was identical: 163, which is 88% of my maximal and exactly the high end of where my marathon HR should be, according to Advanced Marathoning.

I’m faster this year than I was last year at CIM and should have been able to run a faster race yesterday with smarter training and more time between marathons.

Another possible factor: Did taking Ibuprofen to ease the swelling in my sore knee a few days prior have an impact? I didn’t feel dehydrated, but maybe I was and that could have impacted my pace. I only took 400 mg of Ibuprofen 24 hours prior to the race (and more for a couple days before that), but I wonder if it had an impact. The good news is that my knee didn’t bother me at all; it was the least of my worries.

I completely ran out of steam in this race. I guess every race is a learning lesson, and that some days just aren’t your day…. even if you’ve just set a PR. 🙂

As for the race itself, I came out strong and settled into a nice, consistent 7:15 pace with a group of about 8 or 9 other guys for most of the first half. The group dissipated on a hill leading up to the halfway point, where I hit the split at 1:35:45, so still felt good about holding on for a 3:10:59 or better. I spent most of the second half running by myself with only the occasional runner in front of or behind me — one of the drawbacks of running a smaller race if running in a pack is your thing, which I think it is for me (even though I do 98% of training by myself).

I hydrated often — with Gatorade and/or water at every aid station — and hit lots of GU, one nearly every 30 minutes (is that GU overkill?). But it wasn’t enough to keep me going as fast as I’d hoped after Mile 19, when I simply had nothing left.

One of the things that kept me going in the second half was running past a spectator just as I overheard him say to his young son, “See these people? These are people who never give up.” That really motivated me, and I kept saying that to myself as I pressed on toward the finish line.

Mentally and psychologically, I felt fine and focused; my body was just wrecked. No matter how hard I wanted to push, my body just wouldn’t do it.

The final 4 miles were the worst. I watched my Garmin in frustration as my pace sometimes slowed to 9:00 or slower. The funny thing was to be so close to a 3:10:59, yet so far away. I watched my clock count to 3:10:59 and beyond when I was at about 25.4 or so miles. Strange how that final 0.8 mile can feel like an eternity — and make all the difference in your Boston qualifying hopes.

I was disappointed not to qualify for Boston, but less so than I expected I’d be. I still had lots of support and cheering friends along the course and at the finish line, and there’s no feeling like crossing a finish line and seeing your wife and good friends waiting for you (even if it’s not your strongest finish). Big props to Jen and Alexis for waking up so early and cheering me on throughout the course!

A 3:17 is still not too shabby, and I want to try to be happy with my new personal record for the time being, and not beat myself up so much for not hitting my goal. Not even 2 years old, my racing career is still young… and this is just one race.

View all photos on Flickr.

Mile splits by Garmin:

On Saturday Jen, Alexis, and I headed west from Saratoga Springs, while Johnny headed east from Buffalo. We met somewhat in the middle: In the Finger Lakes region of central New York, where we left the rain and fog of Saratoga that day behind and enjoyed a picture-perfect day at Seneca Lake.

We met at Belhurst Castle, overlooking Seneca Lake, posed for a few photos, then got the wine tasting underway. It was our first of seven winery stops of the day.

As the designated driver, my tasting consisted of only a few really tiny sips throughout the day, but from what I sampled – and from what Jen said – the region has come a long way since just a few years ago when we were last there (for the first time): There was more variety and the wines seemed more complex.

Five or so years ago, most of the wines were really sweet and the wineries and their wines seemed less mature somehow. In just a few short years, it really feels a lot more like Napa Valley East, complete with big groups of people going from winery to winery in giant limos. The beautiful views of the lake are a nice differentiator from the California wine tasting experience, too.

We laughed our asses off all day long (and even visited a winery called Pompous Ass), did some photo shoots in a garden, soaked in the sunshine, and enjoyed a picnic with all the delicious cheese, fruit, and snacks we brought along.

We squeezed in three tastings in the final hour-and-a-half, concluding at the fun Arcadian Estate Winery at the south end of Seneca Lake, which doesn’t take itself too seriously and the wine descriptions invoke famous actors and set the mood for how the wine might be enjoyed (“Seal and Nicole Kidman dancing in the vineyard under the stars”), rather than getting caught up in things like “earthy tones” or “a nose of citrus.” They also have a super-friendly dog who wanders around, chocolate to clear the palate after tastings, and beads in exchange for jokes (or perhaps other creative expressions).

For dinner we headed the 30 or so miles back to Geneva and hit the cozy Red Dove Tavern, which features delicious and affordable dishes chock-full of local ingredients. It was the perfect end to an awesome day in New York’s wine country.

The drive home was nuts: As we got within an hour or two of Saratoga, the fog was so thick, I could barely see 20 feet in front of me. More than once I slowed way down on the Thruway and had to turn on the hazard lights. But we made it home safely by midnight or so, exhausted and sated.

View more photos on Flickr.

A week ago Sunday I ran my 5th half-marathon, and second of the year: The Saratoga Palio here in Saratoga Springs. I loved this race last year and I loved it again this year. It’s definitely a tough race since there are a few hills throughout the Spa State Park, then mostly uphill in the final 5k (the sprint down North Broadway in the final 7/10ths of a mile aside).

Coming off a 1:34:24 at the Lake Placid Half-Marathon in June, and just a few weeks out from my next full marathon in October, my aggressive goal, knowing the hills would slow me down, was 1:30:xx. I was also pretty confident I could set a PR, bettering my 1:34 Lake Placid time.

Sure enough, I hit right smack in the middle and finished 35th overall and 4th in my division with a new half-marathon PR of 1:32:09 – average pace of 7:01/mile (view details on Garmin Connect) — just 70 seconds shy of a 1:30:59 (damn hills). Even now as I check out the course elevation, I’m surprised to see just how hilly it was, which makes me appreciate my time even more:

I was pretty happy with the time and feel psyched to hit a 3:10 at the Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in 2 weeks. Running a 1:30 half is the rule of thumb to be able to run a 3:10 full, and the MHM is a much faster course than the Palio course. Plus, my August 5k time says I can do it.

The weather last Sunday was perfect running weather: Overcast and foggy. It was a lot like the weather the day of my last marathon in San Francisco. We didn’t really get much sunshine until well after I’d finished the race — quite a bit different than the sunny 2008 Palio.

(Speaking of last year’s race, I took nearly 8 minutes off my time — and 2+ off my Lake Placid time.)

The race started late –  a little after 8am – and I chatted with a woman at the starting line who had scaled back to “only 70 miles this week” (she’d run 90 the week before). I also saw TnT friend Kim and her dad, along with Green Mountain Relay teammates Megan and Jess.

I did a good job resisting the urge to come out too fast in the first mile – I hung back a bit with the initial starting surge and cruised to a 7:00 mile. As we ran into the pine-covered paths of Spa State Park, I picked it up the next couple miles, clocking in a 6:57 and a 6:53.

One key thing I’ve learned about racing as I’ve gained more experience – this was my 24th race since I started running last year, and my 11th this year – is that it’s important not to fall into pace behind another runner or group of runners going slower than you… or who are temporarily running your pace, but are slowing. This happened early in the race and then again toward the end around Mile 8 past the Racino. You have to make your move and go for the pass to maintain your own goal pace.

All the way through the state park, back into town, into Congress Park, and toward the final 5k ascent – the first 10 miles — I managed to maintain an average pace of 6:59, so I was feeling good, despite running low on steam.

I hit my first GU in the state park around the 30-minute mark (between Miles 5 & 6). It gave me a much-needed boost to maintain the quick pace. I hit another GU just before the 1-hour mark, as I recall, and that was it for the day (only 3 total, including the one pre-race GU).

Miles 11 and 12 – up Excelsior, across Route 50, then up North Broadway onto the Skidmore campus – are the killers – so that’s where my pace took the biggest hit of the day, slowing to a 7:48 in 11 (slowest of the race) and 7:12 in 12.

In the final mile I dug deep and gave it everything I had to clock in my fastest mile of the race in 13 – a 6:37 (the downhill helped). I also flew past the dude who had passed me going up the North Broadway hill.

My heart rate had climbed to 176 (from the high 160s/low 170s where it had been most of the race), and I poured it on in the final 0.1, hitting a blazing 4:48 pace as I cruised across the finish line for my PR:

(What’s funny is watching the above finish line video as compared with my finish line video from this race last year – note that last year I’m clearly struggling a hell of a lot more.)

Jen was at a bachelorette party in Manhattan that weekend, so she missed the excitement and the Palio 5k she’d planned to run. But we did go out later for a late lunch with Alexis at Bailey’s Cafe:

Big thanks to Alexis for being the official race photographer and videographer, and to Sarah, Eric, Ellery, and Bodie for cheering me on at the finish:

View all pictures.

Mile splits by Garmin:

On Wednesday I took the day off work and joined Justin, his bro Mike, and his friend Charlie for a (really long) trek to New York City (well, technically, New Jersey) to see U2 at Giants Stadium. It was the earliest I’d ever arrived for any concert — about 11:30am — and the longest I’d ever waited in line — about 6 hours until the gates opened at 5:30pm for the 7pm show. At times, though, we could reach right out and almost touch Bono, so that was pretty cool.

It was a long-ass day in the sun, but I came prepared with a hat, an umbrella, and food (yup, I was so prepared that the other dudes said it was like going to a concert with their mom; I just have a lot of practice from going to the Saratoga Track, as it was much like picnicking). Shortly after the below shot, Larry Mullen, Jr. looked right at me during his little drum walk thing and I shot him some party horns.

The show was pretty awesome and we secured a sweet spot right at the front — against the rail of the outer circle ramp that wrapped around the stage. We could’ve been in the inner circle, as it was called — we were there earlier enough – but thought the position we staked out was better since we could see the giant video screens and get the whole experience of the show.

You can view my full set of photos and video clips here, and Justin set up this blog where we may post other stuff.

A few full-song videos I took: