City of Boston finally pulls the approval from Filene’s pit developer
November 17, 2010
Taken from the Boston Herald:
“The city has closed the book on the former Filene’s project known as One Franklin, telling the New York developer that its approvals will not be extended.
In a letter today to Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust and local developer John Hynes, the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s director John Palmieri said the city is “tremendously disappointed with the lack of progress made on the project . . . we have heard from the public who overwhelmingly felt that your disregard for the economic health of Downtown Crossing had a negative impact on the area.”
Hynes could not be immediately reached for comment.
Digging Deep – The red or blue pill?
July 10, 2010
Lake Placid Ironman is now two weeks away and today is my second to last relatively “long” workout; a three and a half hour ride in zones 1 (easy, base), and 2 (elevated, tempo), followed by a steady 1 hour run. I only bring this up as it seems as though everyone else on my team is racing somewhere today and tomorrow from sprint races to half ironman distances and I have to go out and slog through the boring miles on my own. I say “relatively long” as the past month of training with consecutive weekly rides of 8 hours and 6 hours respectively makes 3 1/2 hours of riding feel like nothing.
I suppose this is where the digging deep comes into play. When you really don’t feel like doing something but you know that you have to just move forward and get it done. I also think this is what it will feel like come this October when preparing for Ironman Florida in the beginning of November. Add to this my new, nagging condition of what appears to be both arthritis in my neck with some sort of spur growth (from extended time riding in the “aero” position), as well as some sort of pinched nerve in my right elbow which has left me with the feeling of having just slept on my arm (when it falls asleep), but having that all day long, and you’ll know why getting motivated becomes harder and harder to achieve.
Ironman training I’ve learned over the past nine months is really about pushing limits again and again. Steady, methodical and with a purpose, this training gets you to (as Morpheus from the Matrix asks Neo when he offers him the red or blue pill), free your mind and focus on the end prize time after time. It’s what you have to think about when you’re out for your z1 (base), run and people are passing you or on your ride when you just want to stand up and shout “I’m riding by my base heart rate, I normally would be riding much faster!”
I’ve done a complete 180 degree turn in my training protocol since attempting this same Ironman race back in 2002 and 2003 when I finished in 13:43 hours (walking most of the marathon), and not finishing due to a crash, respectfully. THIS is how you’re supposed to train for this type of distance and I honestly can’t understand how anyone would attempt Ironman without putting in these hours. It all will come out on race day, however, and I can only hope that the protocol I’ve been following now for so long (Qt2 Systems), gets me through to reach the goal I would like to achieve; breaking 12 hours.
