Training Log Archive: bl

Noon, snowing fairly hard. Luti CW, noisy on Clinton, quiet at SPS. Finally w/o any wind...big lazy, flakes floating down - quite pretty even if pretty much unwanted but not unwarranted. March is like that, a madness unto its own. Wet by the time I got back.

Freedom Trail walk in Boston on a chillier-than-anticipated day. Left two pairs of gloves behind in the car in the Commons garage and no ear warmers etc. Cold in the city canyons but warm pockets elsewhere. Lots of fun to see the sights as well as people. Took the dogs along so as to not leave them inside at home for 11 hours. They were somewhat limiting but fully enjoyed being included. Mocha growled and lunged at more than her share of pigeons. Particularly liked the early spring activity on the Commons, the old burying grounds (Copps Hill, Old Granary), the North End, the Old North Church and the USS CONSTITUTION museum. Did not have time to get to Bunker Hill.

After that, off to a lovely, most interesting dinner in Cambridge with Barb and Dave and their O friends, Katia and Giovanni. Poor Barb was stricken with a backache and occasionally had to stretch or lie down. But that did not affect the creativity in homemade lasagna & apple pie. Dave's crispy fried fish preparation was equally good. A big moon over Boston to the southeast, spring sprung, home after ten.

All said, a memorable day.

State House



A bronze devoted the the Great Famine in Ireland in late 1840s (pigeons everywhere, making sure they had plenty to eat & then poop)



On the Trail

C • I remember a walk on the Fr... 2

Event: Georgia Navigator Cup 2011
 

AM DP, hard to know what to call. Drove up to & under PL. Walked 250m with boots & skis to what was an almost excellent 300m up to 3 days ago. Yesterday's wind put a lot of small debris on the surface but still went thru the motions of skate, back & forth for 10' or so, occ. slowing on a leaf etc but for most part a decent crust. Spring starts tomorrow and the moon is full today or tomorrow. Harks back to first day of winter, full moon as well as eclipse, some 90 days ago.

C • End of ski... 4

Black Brook/Purgatory Brook loop, 39F at noon, bright. Alternating warm to cold & back depending on wind & shadow. This loop is tiring tho nice. On a few hills, I felt I'd passed Purgatory which was true, come to think. Lots of running water and bare slopes to south. Climb copped out, not sure why - more than 84m.... HRM not cooperating either. Need to see if battery is indeed functioning. By coincidence, did this the equivalent Saturday a year ago.

Road side curiosity



March blue, another photo from approximately the same vantage



Saturday, March 20, 2010

Firefox crashed 3 times uploading 305 data.... Not a clue why it finally will upload.

Mouse Chronicles: Mouse Freedom Day!

The Comfort Inn closed for the season after some 100 days of ace hospitality. One guest gave me a parting shot and then, when I wasn't looking, climbed 12" of vertical glass so as to continue living in the larger Comfort Inn at large. Beth, to her credit, never minds my silliness or incompetence re keeping these agile creatures under wraps. The acquiescing pal went to the drop off where life begins anew. The current freeloader will undoubtedly repeat the same mistake that led to a winter's hospitality & then will join his pal. And a babyless winter, no fun:(

A wee creature


Close to being a maus in a haus

PM jog to stay loose. Rest day from running. Temp made it to hi 60s, saw a shirtless jogger in the neighborhood. Windy, windy, sunny. Tried 'pick up stix' briefly this am but snow is too deep, at least 12" - needed SS and wasn't interested. In Concord, a short distance away, there is considerable bare ground.

At the sweatshop where the steady whirring of "wheels" led to thinking of
labor abuse/hard work, spinning machines.

Lovely day inspired a run home, new route. Must have been mid-50s even at 1630. West on Clinton was noisy & directly into sun. Then quiet Albin (have not run on it for years), then briefly Logging Hill & then beginning of hills to Woodhill. First time ever direction of approach to home on foot from work. Perfect temp, cool hollows, sun and shadow, a big moon visible through eastern haze, an occasional zephyr, a Heartbreak hill-length hill & a cold Coke at the end.

Route

Currently prone to looking at last-year-same-month AP log (used to never go bk to archives) - how many road miles for base, any 4 to 5 intensity, snow/any flowers. Should I think to think analytical, there is information for comparison/improvement - but not enough of the analytical stuff. A photo or two for imagery/helping memory works. Beth does not indulge in this mentality. Perusing the past in many ways is a pastime, much less so for her.

1:15 escape into a moderate rain. Drove to SPS so as to not contend w/ traffic. Ran down to the boat house, paused under shelter & returned. 33F and more rain than possibly could be enjoyable - also an inch of slush for wet feet quickly. But broke the day into pieces.

Had brought skis to work noting that a 500m stretch of White Farm nordic looked just fine yesterday and maybe rain would hold off til the pm but was not to be.

Copped out on gym.

PM DP, gray drear but no precipitation. Took the skis, boots, poles out of car for dogs. Got on other side of PL to discover mostly clean, packed snow (300m or more worth) that would have been fine for the skis now in the garage. Feel like winter ended like a light switching off (actually a light came on with winter's demise) & did not get to contemplate end of nordic effort. Plenty of skiing at Great Glen this past weekend.

DP, misty/foggy. Dogs could walk anywhere with supporting crust or nearly bare ground. Mocha generally hard to find at departure time....

1pm Water Tower loop, lovely blue day for a change. Tried to get the HRM to record but couldn't. Assumed battery was present & functioning. Confirmed its presence when I got back and found some spare change. Moved the monitor all over & did all suggested but nothing. Interesting trace saying 6.2 mi. I'm sure I turned it off at 4.6 (at end of run) when the pace drops off the cliff but it goes on to indicate another 1.6 mi, mostly in a bldg where it cannot receive sat signals & if it could, it was not moving about as indicated! Maybe the monitor was in unrecordable afib the whole time....

At least the 305 uploaded quickly - by "killing" history I'm guessing. Sunday's SS trace froze Firefox twice for reasons unclear. Not the first time, maybe was the third.

C • HRM 5