Birthday of Champions: The Baskin-Robbins Year

(It's a cake of legend. The mint chocolate cake by Gracie. A cake worthy of the Birthday of Champions.)

"Birthday of Champions!
BIRTHday of CHAMPions!
NOOO time for LOOOOSERS!
It's Birthday of Champions... of the world!"

- Birthday of Champions, sung to the melody of "We are the Champions" my annual birthday anthem.

Today I turned 31. I'm cool with it. I actually like the #31. It's prime. It's a number connected to Halloween and New Year's Eve. I like to think of it as my Baskin-Robbins birthday, for BR's famous 31 flavors of ice cream. It really ain't so bad at all.

30 was a good year for me. I had my first play produced, went on a solo adventure in Paris, ran my second marathon, was in a very meaningful relationship, and as corny as it might sound, really learned a lot about myself. If 31 brings the kind of opportunities that 30 presented, I'll be a happy guy. Through it all, I felt an immense amount of love and support from my friends and family. I value that above it all.

I've got new goals for the next year, and I had some fun wishes in my heart and mind when I blew out my birthday candle. Here's hoping I can make 'em come true. :)

Owen's 2010 ING NYC Marathon Run for Lauren's First and Goal!

So in less than 2 weeks, I'll be running the 2010 ING NYC Marathon! This will be my 3rd year in a row! It will be my ninth official Road Runners race this year and my fifth 13+ mile race of the year as well. No wonder my legs are always tired.

(This is me finishing up my last race a couple weeks ago. That was such a good day. If Marathon Day is like that day, I'll be in great shape!)

I'm very excited about this year's race, because this time I get to run in support of Lauren´s First and Goal, a 501(c)3 charitable organization started in 2004 by my cousin Marianne Loose and her husband John Loose in honor of my cousin Lauren, a 13-year-old pediatric brain tumor survivor. The Loose family started the foundation as a way to help other families who are battling childhood cancer. And they all happen to rock.

(Ms. Lauren, looking lovely.)

Since its inception, LFG has raised more than $1 million toward its mission to provide financial support for brain tumor research and cancer services, to offer financial and emotional support to families living with pediatric cancer, and to increase awareness of the disease. These goals are made possible through the funding gained through LFG Football Camp and charitable contributions.

I'm so thrilled to be raising money for this organization and I hope you can contribute to my fundraising efforts!

Please support me by donating to the cause at this link.

http://www.crowdrise.com/owensnycmarathonforl/fundraiser/runowenrun

When you get to my page (which features a picture of my headshot since that's the only pic I had that didn't horribly stretch and distort the uploaded image), just click the big orange DONATE button. It's for a great cause and I will definitely appreciate your support!

You can also join my facebook group "Run Owen Run! Rock that 2010 ING NYC Marathon! Part III - Dream Warriors!" to cheer me on. It's a long group title, because it's a long race.

Nanny No More! RIP Barbara Billingsley

This weekend Barbara Billingsley passed away. This sort of news is to be expected. She was 94. Her iconic TV role was that of June Cleaver, of course, but she lives in my heart for her cameo in Airplane! which is undeniably amazing.

The thingsthat I didn't realize though, was that she was also the voice of Nanny on Muppet Babies. She was the loving but firm voice behind the striped socks, people. The fact that the voice of Nanny is dead really bums me out.

(The voice is gone. The socks live on.)

You rocked, Barbara Billingsley. If spirits can google alert their names in Heaven so that they know the living are blogging about them, I thank you for your artistic contributions to my life.

Rafa Takes Tokyo!!

(This is the coolest looking trophy. Well done, Japan Open.)

Congrats to Rafael Nadal on winning the Japan Open in Tokyo earlier today, for his 7th title of the season. He beat Gael Monfis pretty handily in the final 6-1, 7-5. It's a bit of a rebound for Rafa after he uncharacteristically lost to his compatriot Garcia-Lopez last week in the semi-finals of Bangkok, and then again almost lost in the semi-finals this week to Vicktor Troicki, having to erase two match points against him. Still, it's been a long season for Rafa and lapses in concentration this late in the season certainly happen. Ultimately, he was able to recover in Tokyo and win the tournament. Hooray!

Rafa now heads to the Shanghai Masters to finish up the three-week ATP fall tour through Asia. I hope after that he gets another well earned rest before dealing with the Masters Cup in London this November.

Nadal currently holds an outstanding 66-8 record for the season across 15 tournaments, and improved to 7-1 in 2010 finals. His victory in Tokyo marks his 43rd career title and his seventh for 2010. Great work, Rafa! Best of luck in Shanghai! Vamos!

One Month to the 2010 ING NYC Marathon!

(This is me running my latest half-marathon through Central Park last weekend. I finished strong! Bring on the 26.2!)

Thursday marked the one month mark to this year's NYC Marathon. It will be my third consecutive year running it. I'm very much looking forward to it. Honestly, over the summer it was very hard to find the time and motivation to get really intense about marathon training. Time was an issue as I was focused in my off-work hours on my play and motivation was an issue because it was the hottest, most humid summer ever. Who wanted to move at all for the months of July and August?

But thankfully in the past two weeks, things have improved. The cool fall air has finally settled in, and with it so has my renewed determination to run faster and stronger. I'll post more info about what race group I'm in and how you can track me online as the race gets closer. You can also join my FB group that's now titled "Run Owen Run! Rock that 2010 ING NYC Marathon! Part III - Dream Warriors!" I'll send info about Race Day through that group as well. (I was very pleased to name this year's race after my favorite movie sequel - Nightmare on Elm Street 3.)

If you're in NYC on Sunday Nov. 7th, you should come out and support all the runners in person. The NYC Marathon is an amazing New York tradition and the spectator support throughout the race gives all of us runners such a boost. It's simply incredible. I hope to see you on the course!