Big mountains with little snow

I met my brother S__ to ski for a couple of days in Wyoming.  This was a trip I could ill afford from a schedule perspective, but my rule is never, never to miss a family weekend.  (It's a rule born of living 3000 miles from my closest immediate blood relative.)

The snow was pitiful for the second year in a row.  Trees and rocks sticking up all over the hill.

Jackson Hole mountain is extraordinary.  Big, wild, and scary.

A few observations, in no particular order:

1.  I can tell I'm getting older, and enjoying it, when I like standing on top of the hill and admiring the view as much as I like skiing down the hill.
2.  S__ observed that skiing technique has passed us by, and he's right.  I grew up learning a turn that is basically a skate-step combination, permitting me to accelerate into the arc of the turn and ride the ski's rebound into the next turn.  Modern skiing appears to be a process of throwing one's weight to initiate a turn.  When a skier does it well, it's pretty amazing to watch.
3.  I can tell I'm getting older, and enjoying it, when I get as much pleasure out of watching S__ ski as I do out of skiing myself.  Partly it's because I appreciate good skiing (and he skis well).  (Here too.)  Partly it's because over 35 years of skiing -- a rough guess says 350 days in that time frame -- 95% of my turns have been within 200 yards of S__.  I am pretty sure I can feel his skiing nearly as tangibly as I can feel my own.
4.  You know you are skiing in Wyoming when you find yourself two valleys outside of the ski area boundary and you are skiing moguls.

Putting the "S" in LSD . . .

Okay, it hit me the other day that Rome is soon -- less than two months away.   That means that the serious long runs have to start now.  I usually like to log four 18-20 milers before a marathon.  That's just not going to happen.  I did 15 last week.  Seventeen today.  Next week is the Manhattan Half, so I have time for two 20s before March 1.   Today was just one of those days when the idea of running a marathon seems inconceivable.  The weather was great.  I had company for the first 11 miles, which helped, but still at 9 miles I was feeling pretty much cooked.  When my colleague peeled off, I just settled into the survival shuffle and slogged it out.  I still don't feel completely recovered from November.  Or is it that I'm not fully recovered from Christmas?

Maybe Max was right.  Maybe it does all end at 50 . . .

Third Year of Law School

Okay, we're mostly law professors here, and I've mostly avoided weighing in on the various debates going on about the changes in the legal profession and the effect those changes are going to have on legal education.  Most of my reticence has had to do with my faith in the business cycle.  The current downturn is not the new normal, and my sense is that the bigger risks come from "oversteer" than from the current state of the market.

But, an op-ed in the Times and a conference at NYU have driven me to break my silence.  The conference is to discuss whether New York State should allow law students to sit for the bar after their second year of law school.  It's not a crazy idea, but the devil is in the details.  There are a lot of good reasons to do this.  None of them are mentioned in the Op-ed.

The driving force behind the change derives from a bit of "lore" about the third year of law school.  The third year is described as "those famous semesters in which, as the saying goes, law schools “bore you to death” and student attendance drops like a stone?"  I remember this view of the third year.  It prevailed back in the 1980s when I went to law school.  It was prevalent at elite law schools where most students had their post-graduation jobs lined up after their second summer.  This was indeed a problem, but not a problem caused by the third year of law school.  It was a problem caused by the competition for top law students during a boom.  

This has not been my experience with regard to third year law students.  I teach at an excellent law school, but it is not a top ten law school.   Many of our students get big firm jobs, but a large chunk of the class is hired during or after completion of the third year.   In my experience, this has meant that our students remain engaged through the third year.  This is because their grades still matter, but more importantly, they use many of the advanced upper level courses to develop saleable expertise.  They take advanced courses in bankruptcy, securities regulation or tax, if they want to be business lawyers.  They participate in moot court teams, clinics and trial advocacy classes if they want to become litigators.  In short, the third year matters to theses students.  It matters a lot.

Now letting students sit for the bar after their second year does not necessarily meant that students would leave law school after their second year.  First, New York is the only state considering this rule change.  Without a three year degree, the students would be immobile.  Second, a law student who has passed the bar can do some interesting things.  Externships might be more valuable if the student lawyer could engage in the practice of law.  Medical education does not end when med students pass their boards. Internship and residency continue the educational process.  

This does not mean that getting rid of the third year of law school is a good idea.  It was bad for the profession when students checked out during their third year.  It would be bad for the profession to turn out badly educated lawyers as well. 

  

New Bear's Head Coach

He's in his 50s, Jewish, a lawyer, and used to live in Canada.  If I had known those were the criteria, I would have applied!

Entrepreneurial Athleticism

My buddy D__, with whom I used to work and with whom I have spent countless hours running, riding, and racing in recent years, is truly turning his hobby into an avocation.  With a group of top DC-area triathletes he has now founded Ignite Endurance, a triathlon racing team with sponsors ranging from an area bike shop to energy gel providers to clothing manufacturers to, well, a winery.  All this while holding down his full-time job as appellate counsel in a litigating division at the Justice Department.  Rock on.

Decisions

So, now that NYRR has decided what to do about the NYC Marathon cancellation, I have to decide what I want to do about it.  Do I want to claim a guaranteed entry in 2013, or wait until 2014.  I'm of two minds.  With Rome coming up soon, the idea of recovering and then gearing up for a Fall Marathon is feeling a bit daunting.  Also, I'm a bit concerned that the 2013 might be even more than the usual mob scene as they try to accommodate all of the guaranteed admits.  Then there's my current affinity for smaller races that has me thinking about another out of the way race like Brooklyn or the Hamptons.  And then there's Loch Ness.  Take a look at that race profile.

 

  

  Loch Ness Marathon Profile

Max, but for the hill at mile 18, this would be a great race to take another stab at 3 hours.

Longish Run

So, I'm starting to crawl back.  I ran 14 and change today, beginning the ramp up to Rome.  It hurt.  I was slow.   I'd be more concerned if I hadn't run a pretty hard 7 miles yesterday.  Still, I'm wondering when my October form is going to return . . .