Jon Kinne Half Marathon Deux!

September 26, 2016 jonkinne Leave a comment

Hey Kids!

Sunday, I defended my title at the Jon Kinne Half Marathon and finished a strong first dominating the field once again!:-)

I was a bit faster this year because I did not just have surgery. I had to get out early because we were due up in Norwalk CT for a festival at my in laws church so I headed out around 8 am, which is early for me. The day started out pretty cold actually but It was nice to run in the cool dry weather.

I have found that there two camps in running, Music runners and NO music runners, with very few in between. I inquired from my sisters old time friend Peyton

Dec 22, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) gives a thumbs up to cheering fans against the Houston Texans during the second half at Reliant Stadium. The Broncos won 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports — ” Doing great Jon, lets hang out more!”

Nah, actually this Peyton (here with my Sis Ashley

Who is a long time accomplished Marathon runner and has done NYC Marathon a few times before about NYC and she recommended that you leave the ear buds at home for the NYC Marathon. So being a music listener I was curious so I tried running without music on Sunday. I only lasted about 4 miles…

As I have said before I love the solitude and meditative aspect of running. But just my thoughts and my breathing were a little too much for me. I guess since Im a music teacher and I have to concentrate and think intensely while music is happening every day my mind is very accustomed to focusing while I’m actively listening to music. So needless to say the next 9.1 miles had music going:-)

I did see some interesting stuff as usual on this one. Remember that house with chickens I saw last week? This week, Ducks, Big white ones!

And a there was a large group of men, who looked Indian but Im not sure, who were playing Cricket! I tried to watch as I ran by, I found it to be equally as boring as American Baseball:-)

So it was a rather mundane run. Quiet on the trail. Time was good and I felt OK, not my best.

Random thought wile running:

“Im glad I don’t have a lot of interactions with eels, they freak me out…”

Word of the day:Zanzibar |ˈzanzəˌbär|

an island off the coast of East Africa, part of Tanzania; pop. 1,207,500 (2009, with Pemba). In 1964, it became a republic and united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania.

DERIVATIVES

Zanzibari |ˌzanzəˈbärē|adjective& noun

Unicorn of the day:

Running it up with my soul mate

September 18, 2016 jonkinne 3 Comments

Greetings all, quick one today:

I guess it’s the time of year when our local wildlife gets ready for winter. Lots of road kill, Deer and Extra Crazy squirrels

The Saddle River Trail is no exception. I did a 15-er last weekend and saw some cool stuff, mostly animals:-) It was the usual cache of dogs and birds with some new comers. Saw chickens for the first time in the back yard of a house I have run past 100 times. One cool thing on the trail is that the Deer are very, very calm around people. You can run within a couple of feet of them and they barely lift up their head to notice you.

I actually saw a woman hand feeding a little guy 🙂

This week was busy so skipped my Tues and Thursday runs. I only did an 8-mile on Wednesday.

Not that 8 Mile…But if it was, I’d take that sucka down and Mekhi Phifer and I would be in my crew. Chedda-BOB!

Anyway, My wife Eileen and I both had big runs on our schedule for today, I had a 16 mile and she had a 9 mile. I was debating doing my run at all since I have not been feeling well lately and I think it’s because I’m running too much. But we decided to go out and do a 6 or 7 mile run together.

So me and the ol’ soulmate headed out and felt great so we tacked on a few extra and completed a 9 mile-er! We both ran well an the rain stayed away:-)

I usually don’t like to run with other people. I enjoy the solitude and the meditative qualities but I’ll always make an exception for my wife. Don’t want to end up here…

I kid ;-)We had a good run around Oakland. She is doing great with her training and she is definitely ready for the SONO half on 10/15. Even though you can not talk too much when your running it is just nice to get out and do stuff together that does not involve cleaning, working or chasing after kids.

Word of the Day:

soul mate(also soulmate )noun

a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.

Unicorn of the day:

Dogs and Birds, NYC Week 10!

September 4, 2016 jonkinne Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

As you all know I love to run on the Saddle River Trail. If you look back through my blogs I did a detailed report on why I like running there. As I said in that post there are a lot of dogs and birds that motivate you. Now if you’re like most people and just said, “Dogs and Birds to Motivate? Have you gone mad?” If you did not just say that try it now in your best High Society English Accent…

…you’re welcome 😉

YES Dogs and Birds! When your doing a long run and getting tired they can be there to pick you up. I have found one of the best things for me is seeing a large dog, usually a lab or Golden Retriever just Tearing into a body of water!!!!

If you’re lucky you get a party!

Dogs are how people would be if the important stuff is all that mattered to us.
—Ashly Lorenzana

It makes me smile and reminds me to “Ama Audaciter! “= Love Fiercely!

Birds:

Now not as fun as dogs but equally important. For those of us who have grown up here in the greater NYC area you can agree that the abundance of wildlife that surrounds us today was not always present here. The current amount and variety of fowl, water birds, birds of prey, foxes, deer, bears, coyotes etc. is pretty amazing. When I was a kid Canada Geese ruled the day and a deer sighting was rare. This increase in wild life is something to be proud of. It means that we are creating and maintaining a healthier environment for our children to grow up in. Seriously, I saw a Bald Eagle perched on a log in the Passaic River in Paterson, twice! Good job all!

Any way, I have seen a variety of birds flying and hanging out in the Saddle River as I run. Usually Blue Herons and Egrets, or king fishers (pictured Below)

They are very calm and stoic. On a few occasions they silently glide in gracefully at eye level from behind me on the river. It’s awesome.

Without waxing poetically about the mental health benefits of running, (I’ll save that for another post) I have learned to be mindful in every day situations and try to learn lessons from these seemingly mundane experiences. On my last long run I was thinking a lot about our current topic of dogs and birds and I wondered why my mood and demeanor is instantly elevated when I see them, even while running a ridiculous amount of miles?

Dogs and birds are the quintessential example of balance in personality, at least for me. The dogs I see bounding into the river remind me to be fearless, playful, mindful, true, honest, accepting, inclusive, sincere, alive and free. Carpe Diem! The Birds remind me to be committed, patient, stoic, vigilant, noble, quiet, strong and steadfast. So what I will be mindful to strive for is the balance of the two:

Not to be confused with a real bird dog, that is just ironic.

Jon Kinne's

Monthly Archives: September 2016

Jon Kinne Half Marathon Deux!

Running it up with my soul mate

Dogs and Birds, NYC Week 10!

Mundane Adventures & Marathon Training