Half Marathon Man

As I mentioned in one of my last posts, I have been getting back in shape and ran 10 miles three weeks ago – marking my ability to run a half marathon. I jumped at the first chance I had to get back into the half marathon game and ran a half marathon on Friday December 10^th. The run was awesome, the commute was excessive, the scenery magnificent and the trip all in all very worthwhile. Here’s the skinny:

My cousin Anat told me about a half marathon being run near Bet Shean, a small city in the bottom or the northern part of Israel (see map). Bet Shean also houses amazing Roman ruins of an amphitheater and ancient mosaics. The race was the Israel Half Marathon Championships and Israel’s fastest runners as well as 2,500 others would be coming out to race in what I was told was a relatively flat course. It sounded like a great plan. Bet Shean is just under 2 hours from Jerusalem and there are no buses that head that way at 5:30 in the morning, the time I needed to go to the race to get there in time for registration. Luckily, my sister and brother-in-law bought a car from his parents neighbors two days before the race and they were kind enough to lend me their new 11 year old baby (yes the car is a 1999 – its sweet). Before I committed to taking their car, I wanted to exhaust all other options on how to get to the race. I logged on to Janglo (Jewish + Anlgo = a Craigslist-esqu site for English speakers in Israel. Although I did not find a ride, I found another runner looking for a ride – Daniel the 21 year old soldier. I called the number on the ad, which was actually placed by Daniel’s mother and I arranged that I’d drive Daniel and he would pitch in for gas:

On an aside, gas is a fortune in this country. A liter of gas is nearly 7 NIS (New Israeli Shekel), which is nearly $2 ($1/3.6 shekel). That means that a gallon of gas costs more than $6!

Daniel and I before the race

I arranged with Daniel that I’d pick him up – he lived about a mile from me – on Friday morning at 5:30. The weather Friday morning was cool as I got into the car before the sun rose. Once I picked up Daniel and one short wrong turn detour later we were on our way. The drive to the race was awesome. I got to chatting with Daniel whose family moved to Israel when he was a few years old from Chicago – he spoke perfect English. The first leg of our journey took us to the Jordan River Valley which houses the Dead Sea - the lowest place on earth. Once we cleared the mountains of Jerusalem, we were driving towards Jordan on the flat valley watching the sun rise before us. It was majestic. We made a left and began heading north. The road was very scenic – mountains and hills to our left with the lush Jordan valley to our right.

When we arrived, registration went pretty smoothly and before we knew it we were lined up to run. The weather was beautiful – a bit warm though for a half marathon – mid 70s° C – but when its 76° C in December you can’t complain that it’s too warm. Here are some of the observations and thoughts that I had during the run:

·         Here we go – everyone here looks really serious – I hope I don't come in last place.

·         There are lots of groups of soldiers in matching t-shirts running the race.

·         Israelis love brand names. They all had fancy techy running gear.

·         We ran on the road (in this area there is only one road) that the police block all traffic from during the race. The road had a slight lean to it so for a lot of the race I felt like I was running across a gentle hill.

·         The area was pretty barren - we ran past a cow stables – I hope the air doesn’t taste like this the whole run – it didn’t.

·         I started off way too fast – gotta slow down – when everyone around you is going fast it’s hard to let everyone pass you.

·         The scenery is amazing – the race could have been out of a scene from Forrest Gump – more mountains around this huge loop we are running around a bunch of fields and fish ponds (big business raising fish). The course is so flat I can see runners a mile in front of me and behind me.

Pic from the parking lot (didn't run w. my camera)

·         I have a dream that has only been realized once, which is to be in a race and lose track of how far I had gone, only to discover when passing a mile marker that I am actually further than I thought I was – this had only happened to me during the marathon – I thought I was on mile 18 and suddenly boom mile 19 (disclosure it may have been 17 to 18 – I was in the Bronx). That is one of the best pick me up feelings in the world. It’s like getting a huge bonus. Since the race was run in Israel, it was 21 kilometers instead of 13.1 miles – obviously these are the same distances, but instead of 13 mile markers there were 21 kilometer markers. Psychologically I find it harder to run 21 km than 13 mi. whenever I go for long runs I change my running watche’s setting to miles – there is something daunting about running 16 km, while 10 miles doesn’t seem so bad. As I was running the race, I thought I was at kilometer 12 (I had changed the screen on my watch to hide the distance) and as you guessed it, I was at kilometer 11… crushing.

·         The first 8 miles of the run were the flattest 8 miles I have ever run off a treadmill. It is no wonder that the championships are held there. At around mile 8, we entered Bet Shean. I was so upset to discover that there was a hill – nothing to bad, but a hill none the less in Bet Shean. I was really upset – I felt like I had been tricked. After I calmed myself down (I wasn't screaming or shouting or anything), I got to thinking about how people quickly develop entitlement mentalities – there I was running a race that was as flat as a pool table – 8 miles of pure unadulterated speed (or at least potential for speed if one was in excellent shape), and I have become so accustomed to the flat that I felt the course and the race owed it to me – who were they to put a hill in a perfectly flat race like this – it was yet another teaching of the lesson I am continually taught while living in Israel– don’t take anything for granted.

·         As the race came to an end, I felt elated to be back in half marathon shape – it had been 9 months since my last half and I am glad to be back. After a race, there is usually a water table, a food table and a fruit table. Here there were none of them. Until the end of the race, things were run very well. The end could have been a little better planed out.

o   A short walk passed the finish line runners were handed two liter bottles of water. While it was hot and people sweat a lot, 2 litter bottles may have been excessive – they cost more than cups of water, they end up getting left all over the place and very few people finish the bottle.

o   The food given out immediately after the race was about 400 meters (a quarter of a mile) down the road from the finish line – a man standing on top of three giant bins was handing out grapefruits. There were also pomelos and pomelites (small pomelos). I am pretty sure they have pomelo in the States, but in case they don't, pomelo is a large citrus fruit with a thick peel and very large pulp… they are amazing. Generally the fruit given out at the end of a race does not need to be peeled… the peels end up everywhere and it makes the food less accessible – none the less, Daniel and I stretched and ate citrus (he met me at the finish line – ran a really impressive 1:47 for his first ever half marathon).

o   After we snacked on the fruit we had to go return our bib numbers. I was pretty upset about this. The bib number is the paper number that is pinned to each runners shirt. I collect all my bib numbers and have never not kept one from a race that I ran – in this case, the time chip of the bib number that records each runners time was imbedded in the bib. In order to get my race medal, t-shirt and bag of treats (dates, Nature Valley bar and other goodies) I had to return my bib. Briliantly, the bib return area was inside a gymnasium with one door – picture 2,500 people pushing in and out of the door to return their numbers… not well arranged – the traffic was worsened by the fact that right inside the gymnasium, where everyone was pushing to get either in or out of the building, the race organizers were rapidly posting all the race results as runners finished. In theory this was really cool – in practicality they should have posted them somewhere else.

·         After we got our baggies, we headed to the car, stretched a bit and got on our way. The drive back was difficult – we were both really tired. Thankfully only Daniel nodded off on the way home.

The half marathon all in all was an awesome time and I hope to run it again, only next time I want to be in killer shape – it is definitely a course to set a PR (personal record). Oh by the way, I ran the half in about 1:58 – not too shabby – my 3^rd best time ever. In March I ran a 1:52 – that's my time to beat.

Oh and of course:

The Water Situation

I’m sorry blog readers – I have been really naughty – good thing Christmas isn’t a thing here or I’d be getting a lump of coal – I haven’t posted a blogpost in a long time. I written them, just not posted. So along with my sincere apologies, here is a post that I wrote on December 15^th. I have not changed the dates because I wanted to get it to press. I have written a short update below.

Written last week:

Let me start off by saying that before this week, I had not seen more than a strong drizzle in nearly four months since I arrived here… it does not rain a lot in Israel.

I have written in the past about the dire water situation in Israel. The country is under a constant water shortage and is heavily reliant on rain as its water source. Growing up in America, I have always taken for granted the simple things like a constant supply of fresh water. Israel, in its innovative style is the world’s most advanced nation at water recycling and management. Israel treats, purifies and recycles 80% of its waste water before it is discarded as final waste water. Spain trails Israel in the standings – it recycles about 12% of its water. I also wrote in one of my first posts about how Israelis wash their dishes – soap up a sponge, wash each dish with the faucet off, then quickly and efficiently rinse each dish under the faucet, all the while using as little water as possible. The system is rather efficient and should be adapted worldwide. In a similar vain, it is important to turn off the faucet while brushing teeth, which all too many people in the US don’t do. I think the textbook move is to use a cup of water, rinse your mouth out and use the remaining water to wash the brush.

Israel is dependent on the winter rains for its water supply. The Kineret, the fresh water lake in the North, water levels and depth-which are used as indicators of Israel’s water supply are at record lows. Every year, Jews around the world alter their prayers seasonally to pray for rain. The timing of our prayers are based around the rain season, as it was determined inappropriate to pray for rain during the summer months, at a time when we know it will not rain in Israel. We made the switch a few months back and our prayers went largely unanswered for several months. The rain season in Israel in a good year starts in October.

A bit over a month and a half ago, a public day of fast was declared – a day when people were encouraged to pray for rain in the hopes that our heightened prayers would be answered. The idea may sound crazy to some, it did at first to me as well. However, after giving it some thought, I think there can be meaning to a fast to even those who do not believe our prayers or fasting efforts are heard by G-d. I should mention that the fast was generally observed by the orthodox portion of the population, but I do not imagine that was completely the case.

I think that in addition to strengthening our prayers for rain, a communal fast can have a strong unifying impact on a society. The idea of fasting for a cause is not exclusively a religious notion. Gandhi’s hunger strike for instance was to raise awareness and support. In a similar vain, the communal fast for rain can have a unifying effect. It reminds everyone that we are in this together and in addition to praying or hoping for rain– depending on your religious beliefs – it is important to remember and show each other that we need to conserve for ourselves and each other. No mater any Israelis religious or political beliefs, everyone is serious about water preservation and understand the importance of rain. I think the fast strengthens that unification and can function as an impetus for unifying Israel as a nation on other fronts as well.

I missed the first rain fast – I didn't hear about it until after the fast had past. Two weeks ago, a second fast was called–it still had not rained. I fasted, it was a short fast that ended at 5:30. At first I did not feel all of the unification that I had hoped to feel. two of the five people in carpool that morning were not fasting – one forgot and one had a nephews bris – circumcision (which involves a festive meal that trumped the fast). At the office, there was little talk of the fast and the few people I spoke to about it were not partaking (by not partaking). It was not until Mincha – afternoon services – that I got a sense that I was not the only one who had skipped breakfast and lunch that day. In the service they recited the special prayer we add on communal fast days. Oddly enough, although I knew that the fast was not so widely observed, I could not help but feel like I was somehow doing my part – I put in as much effort as one could put in to bring about rain.

In the beginning of last week, I heard a new water saving measure that is apparently nearly as widely followed as washing the dishes with a sponge and a rinse – many Israelis shower in the same fashion. This was hard for me to stomach – the move goes like this: Once you have been in the shower for a little bit and are totally drenched, turn off the water, soap yourself up with the water off and then turn the shower back on to rinse off. When I heard the idea, I was not thrilled, but was more than willing to do my part in preserving water. I can say one thing for certain about the Israeli shower method – it increases efficiency big time – when you are soaping up without water, you get cold and a shower just does not feel the same. When you turn the water back on, it is all business – after all, if you did not care you would not have turned it off in the first place. I now take very fast showers, especially considering the surface area I need to cover (I’m 6’5”).

As the end of last week, the water situation got even more serious. A fire started in the north. Experts believe the fire started from a discarded hookah coal that sparked some brush and spread to the point that 15,000 people needed to be evacuated from their homes. Tragically, 41 people died in fire – 40 of which were police cadets on their way to evacuate a prison from the fire that was spreading. The winds changed and the bus they were traveling on was engulfed in flames. Israel was caught off guard and unable to control the fire. International help was requested and received from all over - Europe, America and the Middle East including Greece, Bulgaria, America, Egypt, and despite very tense political relations Turkey (to name a few). It took over four days to contain and stop the fire. One of the reasons the fire spread so quickly is that everything was so dry – since there had been no rain.

Thankfully, last Monday, our prayers were answered – the same day the fire fighters up north extinguished the fire, Israel was blesses with its first real rain of the year. Everywhere I went – the talk of the town was the weather – and not just to cut through awkward silences. The popular line is – oh man it is raining – I wish it wasn't right now or right here. One thing is for sure, no one straight up complains about the rain here.

Since arriving in Israel, I have really learned to appreciate what I used to consider the little things like a water supply and even some annoyances – like rain.

Update: Since the rain storm we haven’t seen much precipitation action. We are still hoping for more and conserving water as much as possible. The rain situation has got me thinking – kids, like cats, generally hate to shower and bathe. I wonder if they use the water preservation argument here as a rationale to get parents to let them go coast to coast

Cribs - The Oracle Edition

Hey readers. Happy Hanuka. In honor of the holiday, and because this post was a long time coming, I present to you the Special Edition Oracle of Jerusalem Cribs Blog Post.

For your viewing pleasure, I have recorded a tour of my (now not so) new apartment. Last Thursday night my roommates and I hosted our apartment’s annual Hanukah party. You all have the opportunity to step into the place where it all went down just hours before the jelly doughnut eating madness began. I hope you enjoy. You will also now get to see a little more of what it’s like living in one of (if not the) greatest cities in the world.

For the New Yorkers out there who saw my old place on the West Side, for reference and benchmarking purposes, you should know that my apartment here in Israel is on about the same level as my apartment was on the west side in so far as quality and relative rent costs go, but I am paying about 35% of the rent I was paying in New York. Don’t let that deceive you though – people make a lot less here.

Enjoy.

Baby I'm Back

When I got to Israel, I was in bad shape – my last months in New York had been very hectic, filled with goodbyes, weddings, trips and fun times. Unfortunately, during those months, I fell a bit out of shape and had cut back on my running.

I have now posted several times about my return to fitness. I am proud to report that last Tuesday, I completed a 10 mile run around Jerusalem. 10 miles is a significant distance, because it implies that I am now in half marathon shape. I am hoping to run my first half marathon in 9 months this coming Friday-assuming logistics can be worked out—the race is 2 hours away.

Below is my 10 mile run video. If you are wondering what you can see in 10 miles of running in Jerusalem, I can tell you – a lot. I was all over the place. If you watch the video, you best pop some popcorn because it’s quite a show.