Dave Runs Manhattan!

First things first. I just received notice that I made it through the lottery system for entry into the New York City Half Marathon! This is not a big deal in that I had to qualify or anything - it's purely random - but tons of people apply for this race, and only a small percentage get in. The reason so many apply is that it's not every day you get to shut down a city of 8 million people to run around central park, down Broadway/7th Ave through Times Square to 42nd Street and then all along the waters of the Hudson to the very tip of the island at Battery Park. Yeah, you heard me right :)
Almost as importantly, as you may or may not know, this is the last season for both Shea Stadium and Yankee's Stadium. There is a lot of history in both of those parks. So I'm going. And, as if the fates knew something I didn't, Major League Baseball happened to schedule the Yanks at home that weekend against none other than our beloved Baltimore Orioles! My buddy Sean is comin' up with me. We're biting the bullet and staying at the Marriott on the Upper East Side. Just 6 blocks from Central Park. The New York Road Runners (NYRR - who turn 50 this year), who are putting on this race, arranged for discounts at hotels in Manhattan and it turns out this is actually one of the best deals I could find. Short of staying in a hostel, of course.
Lots of other news, I'll try to be brief. I checked this morning after receiving an email from the Dublin folks: 145 days 23 hours 5 minutes and 45 seconds until the marathon. Yikes! I ride - daily, it seems - a roller coaster of sentiment. Sometimes I want this thing to be upon me, that I'm ready. Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough time! Sometimes I feel like I'm in great shape. Sometimes I wish I had another month to get in shape. (Right now I feel great, btw).
150 Miles in the first calendar month of training (May). This is not a high, by any means, but it's certainly a high for a first month. I owe it all to consistency. I've only had one other complete 31 day month of consistent training and that was during a 4-day-a-week training cycle. I was doing the math on my run yesterday. If I stay completely on schedule for June, I will set a personal high at 190-ish miles. July and August would both be significantly above 200, which is uncharted territory for me. But I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. One day at a time. One run at a time. One recovery at a time.
The Men's and Women's Olympic Marathons are both set: Aug 24th and August 17th, respectively. If you didn't already know, I am ridiculously zealously over-enthused about this year's Olympic Games and, of course, the Marathons are the centerpieces. These two people are legitimate shots at medaling or even gold in the marathons this year. Seriously. If you need motivation to get pumped to watch the Olympics this year, watch the VISA "Go World." videos. They are insane. I am more excited about 8.8.08 than I am about... well... I dunno, anything. Ever.
Corre, Mundo. Corre.