One fish, big fish

I continue to slog out the miles. Easy four on Monday and then some speed work on Tuesday. I figured I would head over to the MIT track, since it is the only one remotely close to me, to make the mile repeats easier to pace and control. Of course there was a nice cloud cover and some rain, why change that? The track is about two miles away so I ran over and then began the workout. All in all pretty good but unfortunately I had wildly underestimated the total distance I would cover and my 6 mile workout ended up at over 7 miles. Yikes, not sure I will be doing that again.

Today I managed to mangle another workout. It was scheduled as an easy four but I decided to run over to a part of the Charles that has exercise stations so I could so some pull-ups and stuff instead of trying to cram them in tonight. Turns out it was a little over 2 miles just to get there but no big deal. Worked out a bit and then took off back to work. But now I was tired (being out late last night to see the Sox win didn't help. Nor did the several beers consumed at said game) so I figured I would mix it up, go over the Fiedler Footbridge and up Beacon street. Somehow that turned into me choosing a route through Beacon Hill that hit the steepest grade of every street I chose. So my easy 4 miler turned into almost 5 miles with a workout in the middle, an initial two miles that were more tempo pace than laid back, and some hills. A mash-up workout.

As I ran along one of the pools that line the Charles I caught a glimpse of some ripples and thought it was odd, no dicks or geese anywhere. Then I saw it again so I stopped. As I was watching a gigantic fish, trout I believe, started jumping out of the water. This thing was huge! It did that a few times and then was gone. It must have become stuck in the pool because there is only one way in and out. Totally random but very cool. The funny part is that I had just passed a guy sitting by the river with his fishing line in the water hoping to catch something. He chose his spot poorly.

Yesterday I went on a race frenzy and signed up for the Attleboro 5K this Sunday, the CVS Downtown 5k, and wait for it....the Bay State Marathon! I made it official and am locked in. Of course I managed to screw up the registration but what else is new? So I will be joining the five other members of the club who have registered thus far. Let's hope I can actually stay healthy enough to make it to this one.



What the fish may have looked like.

Fun-filled Fourth

What a great weekend. Started it by heading down to the Cape on Thursday night to visit Nana and just kick back for a couple of days. After the obligatory delay at the bridge (see my last post which should be renamed "Morons On High") we made it to Harwich for some relaxation.

Woke up Friday morning, managing to get a few more hours of sleep after a 4AM wake up call from the kids, and kitted up for a long run. With everything in place I waved by to the family and headed out for a couple hours of alone time. Just me and my podcast soaking in the beauty of the Cape. And the tourists.

A fog blanketed the peninsula that morning, keeping things cool but limiting the panoramas. I ran down to Chatham in hopes of some nice stretches along the water but the weather just wasn't ready to give up its grip so the best I could get was some glimpses of the waves. Beyond that was all grey. Anyways, to make a long run short I put in a great 14 miles and spent the rest of the day with the family having some fun. The weather turned great and a trip to the beach ensued.

Saturday, it was time to get serious. Pack up the car and head for home because it is race time. Made it to Norwood in plenty of time and got ready for the big Firecracker 5K.

Everyone got lined up at the start and soon enough the gun went off! Well, it was actually a bullhorn and it kind of whimpered a bit at the beginning instead of a really loud siren, but you get the point, it was go time! I settled into a nice brisk pace for the long stretch down the main street and was feeling great until we started to head into South Norwood. Suddenly before me there was a platoon of WWI soldiers, or so I thought. As I got a little closer I realized that they were actually German WWII soldiers. Oh no! The Germans are back! I thought. But then I ran by them and got back to thinking about the race.

Made it to the halfway point and on the turn back passed the guy pushing the baby stroller. Ha ha! Take that! As I turned around there was Maria right on my heels. Yipes, she was flying! Back through South Norwood, back up the hill, past the Germans who were not as amusing to me this time by, and heading towards the center of town. Just after mile 2 I got passed by the lead female. This spurred me along to pick up my pace a bit and try to keep her close or even pass her. I had been getting progressively closer to Keith but he was way too far out for me to catch so I focused on staying with the lead female. We blazed through the town down the final stretch and she had enough to fend me off and finish a few seconds ahead. I looked down at my watch and saw 18:48, that tied my PR! Unfortunately the official time came out as 18:49 so a new PR was not to be but nonetheless, I was very happy with that time. If I hadn't slacked off during the second mile I could have broken my record. Next time.

What a showing the club had. The highlights include:
Don, Keith, and myself all finished in the top ten as well as capturing first in our age groups.
Maria was the third female overall! (and I would like to point out that the two girls in front of her were both in their twenties. Go Maria!)
Maureen and Tracey were second and third in their age group.
Michael was third in his age group.
10 club members finished in the top 35!
Great job everyone. What a great Fourth.

How bad could it be?

We decide to head down to the Cape to visit Nana for a couple of days. How bad could traffic be on a Thursday afternoon? It's not like it is the day before the 4th or Saturday.

Oh, it's this bad. Dang. But I still remember when a 6 mile backup was considered a good day. Ah nostalgia.

Happy 4th.

Update: it was all because of a minor fender bender. Two cars stopped in the right lane of the bridge. No visible damage. Thanks for wasting an hour of my life. Idiots; move off the bridge.

Away we go

Week one of the four month schedule is barely half over and already I'm looking to cut out workouts. I switched up today's scheduled 4 miles for 6 miles instead and may take off tomorrow to let the legs settle before the 14 miler I have planned for Friday. That got moved up because of the 5K in Norwood on Saturday. Gotta make sure I rest up for that so I can put in a good showing for the club!

Tempo run on Tuesday went well, nothing too crazy just 7:35 pace over four miles. Problem is I went out and did 6 miles today that averaged out to a 7:46 pace. I either have to slow it down on the easy runs or pick it up on the tempo runs. What to do...

At least I managed to get in a good run before this hit!!!



It was only a mild sprinkle while I was out, not this end-of-the-world hail and brimstone storm.

Got to see the fireworks barge put into place on the Charles yesterday. Not very exciting but that whole area is already turning into a mob scene. I swear I ran by cameras set up already for the news channel. Not the ones that will be filming the concert or fireworks, the mobile ones used for on the scene reporting. What the hell are they reporting on already?

"This is Chucklehead Ramsey on the banks of the Charles. Behind me you can see the workers putting up scaffolding and running wires for the concert in three days from now. Out on the water you can see the fireworks barge has been put in place. Nobody is on it at the moment and won't be until at least Friday. So here is some footage of the geese found here by the water. Ned, Julia, back to you."

"Thanks Chucklehead for that riveting report. We will keep you up to date on all the latest news coming from the Hatch Shell as they get ready for the pops concert, three days from now."

God I hate the local news.

Oh, hello knees

A fun twelve miles on Saturday all by myself. Got to catch up on some talk radio podcasts during the run and the weather was quite nice, for a change. Other than the first mile during which I swear I could not get my legs to move any faster than a sloth in molasses it was all good. Right on pace, no issues at all, and a nice day to be out and about.

Unfortunately my knees have been a little achy since then. Interesting. They normally don't do that unless I have been inactive for a long time. After today's four miler they continue with their low-level nagging. We shall be keeping an eye on that situation.

Scaffolding, speakers, and all the other good stuff has started springing up all around the Hatch Shell in anticipation of the big Fourth of July holiday. It's that exciting time of year again. Let loose the cannons!

Today marks day one of my 16 week training plan and I already think I am being a bit ambitious. It's never a great idea to start a new plan with creaking knees knowing that not only will I be increasing my mileage but I will also be adding extra days to the schedule. But we train to get stronger so more training will result in fewer aches right? I didn't think so.

Relax, enjoy

Ah. Day off today. Let those legs rest up for tomorrow's long run. Hmm; think I'll go for a walk at lunch.

The Corporate Challenge 2009. 3.5 miles. As I said earlier, I got to the front for the start this time instead of being stuck behind gangs of walkers (move to the back!). The start went off great with only a little bumping and jostling for the first 100 yards and then it was easy to settle into a rhythm. I pretty much hit my stride right on target. The first mile came in around 6:20, the second around 6:25 and the third around 6:35 (I know, slacked off a bit there) for an average of 6:26. Slightly faster than planned but just about where I wanted to be for a finish of 22:36. A new PR.

And the best part is that I was the first from our company to finish so I got to plunder the snacks for the best stuff before anyone else showed up! Good to be a front-of-the-packer.

Stuck in traffic

I got to the front of the pack to start the Corporate Challenge. First time in three years I got a good start.

Now I'm sitting in traffic on the way home.

Damn you karma.