weekly training summary -- thanksgiving week.

Nick and I ventured out to Boston to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with one of Nick's college buddies and his family. It was an incredibly relaxing and fun trip --- but I definitely went overboard with the eating and lack of exercise. I just got back into town and am going to work hard to get back on the wagon. I feel like I gained weight just from my three days of gluttony! I may have to even resort to another 3-day Blueprint Cleanse just to feel back on track.

My training runs were limited this week, but I'm glad I even got a few in, considering all of the R&R time I put in. My long run for the week was really fabulous. Today was one of those gorgeous NYC fall days that just reminded me why I love this city so much. Running around Central Park (even the Harlem Hills felt really soothing), ending with a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty . . . I'll never get sick of it!

• Monday: 5.5 miles
• Tuesday: 4 miles
• Sunday: 16 miles
  

khmer rouge tribunal - case one update.

The nine-month long trial of Kang Kek Iew (better known as "Duch"), the first case for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, ended this week. Duch is charged with crimes against humanity for his participation in the Khmer Rouge, notably in his role as commander of Tuol Sleng prison ("S-21"), where at least 14,000 people were imprisoned (almost all of whom were tortured and killed). Duch confessed to the significant role that he played in the deaths of many Cambodians.

The NY Times has a concise update of what happened in the last days of Duch's trial. The gist of it is that Duch asked for the tribunal to set him free, even with his numerous admissions of guilt. Duch's lawyers had a very unusual legal strategy in the last week of the case -- although I don't think it was a "strategy" as much as a complete debacle: First, Duch's Cambodian lawyer claimed that his client was not guilty -- even though Duch made many confessions. The next day, Duch's French lawyer asserted that Duch ought to be granted lenience because the S-21 deaths did not account for a "large" number of those who died during the Khmer Rouge's reign.

Despite Duch's lawyer's arguments in the past week, from what I've seen in this trial, there is more than enough evidence to convict Duch for the crimes that he committed. There is no way he should be granted "lenience," not to mention set free entirely. The evidence presented by the prosecutors (and Duch's own confessions, even with his qualifying statements) established that Duch did indeed commit crimes against humanity and he should be punished accordingly.

Although this first trial was a long time in the making (and, in my opinion, way too late in the game), I must admit that I'm pleased to see that the a fair trial even took place and seems well on its way to resulting in a verdict.

The tribunal's verdict is expected in early 2010. The trials of the remaining four defendants are scheduled to take place in 2011.

long time, no blog . . . .

Yikes! I can't believe it's been over six months since my last blog entry. Let's just say that things have been incredibly busy, particularly at work. But I'm back and ready to start doing these updates more frequently.

One big accomplishment over the past months: Nick and I ran and finished the NYC Marathon on November 1st!
I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest challenges I've ever faced, both emotionally and physically. Running the mileage was hard enough, but then to throw in an incredibly difficult course was almost more than we could take. Although we finished more than a half hour longer than our goal pace, we are both really proud to have finished the race at all.

It was especially nice to celebrate post-race with some very supportive friends and Nick's parents, who were in the city from Seattle. I'm already looking forward to running the course again next year (already ran my requisite races to qualify), but this time spending a lot more time training on hills. The elevation of the bridges really kicked my butt on the course. Nick and I are also running the Goofy Challenge in Orlando, Florida this coming January. This race is over the course of a weekend and entails running both a half-marathon and a marathon in two days. The good news is that the course is incredibly flat, which we hope will help us get a much more respectable race time. The bad news is that it's only a couple of months away, and we are only now feeling (almost) physically recovered from the NYC Marathon. We officially start training again this week, after taking the requisite time off. I'm a little nervous about the races, but mostly excited. Nick and I ran the half-marathon part of the race last year and had a fun time -- great weather and an easy course should make the experience extra-enjoyable.

Other than tons of work and some running, I've been keeping busy trying to get out and about around the city. I was really bad about maintaining much of a social life because of work for awhile, but have been back on the social wagon for the past couple of months. I've caught some fantastic concerts (one of which I will need to post about later -- the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary show was ridiculous!), and had great dinners/drinks out with friends. It is so important to maintain a social life even when work is ridiculously busy, which is something I forget when I get too wrapped up with work.

Sorry that this isn't the world's most exciting blog post, especially after a long absence, but I figured it was better to keep it short and simple and let you know that I'm back on the blogging wagon, rather than keep on postponing an entry because I can't think of what the heck to write about. Hope all is well!

Workouts completed this week (borrowing this idea from my friend KB to help keep me on the exercise and training wagon):

• Monday: 5 miles
• Tuesday: 5 miles
• Wednesday: 5.5 miles (speed work -- intervals)
• Saturday: NYSC Boot Camp (this was most difficult exercise class I've EVER taken -- highly recommended for anyone in NYC looking to burn some major calories)
• Sunday: 13 miles