Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Philly photo essay

A good friend and I recently spent a weekend exploring Philly. I was surprised by how much I liked that city. It's very walkable, with great character, and lots of history. We found some good food, too!

All photos here were taken with my iPhone 6. This is the first time I have brought my camera and not used it at all.



Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sunday morning volunteering

I had a great time this morning at the local wildlife/estuary where I volunteer. It was busy enough but never too crowded. The folks who came in were so nice, and the adults took care in supervising their children and helping them be respectful of the live animals in the touch tank.

After my shift, I took advantage of the location and enjoyed the boardwalk that leads down to the bay. I let nature and the fresh air inspire me, and sat on a bench to enjoy a snack and read a few chapters of my book.

Life is good. 


Sunday, August 21, 2016

Run to Home Base

My university sponsors a 9k race every year that benefits a local hospital that provides services for military personnel returning from combat. It's called the Run to Home Base and I was very proud and excited to have the opportunity to participate in this event.

This was my first big race in a number of years, and my first in my new local city of Boston. I was happy to take advantage of the university shuttle bus where I rode to/from with my 80 coworkers and teammates. I only knew two or three of the people on the bus, and I knew them only in passing, so this run had the added benefit of helping me acclimate a bit more to my new job. There are 1400 people who work in my office building, so getting to know people outside of the half dozen or so with whom I work on a daily basis has been a challenge. Signing up for events like these are steps in getting to know people a little better.

This race was also my first time at Fenway Park, and what a fun opportunity that was! We had the run of the concourse during the pre-race ceremonies, so I had a chance to scope things out and get a feel for where I might like to get a ticket for a game in the coming months.

Because the race benefitted the military, there were many men and women in uniform both running and supporting us along the way. There was a trio of soldiers who were running with their packs on their backs. They were a hoot. We kept passing each other throughout the race, and one of them had a radio that was blasting 80s tunes, and they kept yelling out encouragement to each other. My favorite was when one of them starting yelling at his own legs: "Come on, legs, GET A JOB! Do some work!"

At one point, about 4 miles in to the 6 or so mile race, in the 95 degree heat, everyone was getting a little delirious. One of the guys said to the others, totally deadpan: "I want you guys to know something. I love you. I really do." He saw me grin and said to me, "That includes you! You're in this, too!" I said, "I love you, too!" and he gave a little cheer.

At the end of the race, while waiting to have our picture taken on home plate I asked if I could take their picture. Here they are:
After the race, a local pub hosted us for some food and respite from the heat. It was nice to get to know a few coworkers and then head back to New Hampshire, where most of us promptly fell asleep on the ride back.

My first glimpse of Fenway...
Opening ceremonies...

Me on the warning track after my finish.

What Fenway looks like from the field. No big deal.

That guy ran the entire race in full gear, including a vest.

A local nonprofit, called Neads, brought service pups in training. They were too cute.

Hooray for average!

There is a nifty infographic circulating on Facebook that compares speeds of certain Olympians (Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt) with speeds of other things, such as a human walking or bicycling, or a cheetah running. You can see it here.

The chart lists the speed of an "average" biker as 10mph. I looked at that and thought, that's my speed!  After 24 miles of biking today, that's exactly where my average speed hit.


This is exciting for me because it means that I can finally consider myself a person who can ride a bike. This was a long time in coming. I didn't start to learn until I was well into my 30s. Every summer I would practice a little more, and every summer I seemed to hit new milestones.

One year, it was going down a hill that scared me. Another it was being able to make a turn. I still am not good with sharp turns, but I can turn onto another street without completing riding into the path of oncoming traffic.
I love this kind of thing. 


This summer I have found that, after only three rides, I am far less nervous every time I push off to start, I can slow waaaaay down, almost to a stop (to look for cross traffic) and not have to completely dismount to pick speed back up again and continue on. I still can't let go of the handlebars and ride at the same time, but I have gotten used to going over bumps without decreasing speed. There are many tree roots popping through on the path I have ridden on the last two rides, and I navigating them all, without stress.
After the turtle crossing sign,
I was treated to this. Turtles
know how to live. 


Today, there was a plastic water bottle on the ground, right in my way. I saw it at the last second and knew better than to swerve. I hit that thing right on, and I didn't fall! This is huge progress.

A little later on, sadly, I encountered a dead chipmunk, right in the middle of the path. Again, swerving was not an option. I really didn't want to hit the poor creature, but man, did I. Two times, one with the front tire, and one with the back. I am so sorry, little chipmunk. I know you were already deceased, but I still did not wish to dishonor you that way.
The Nashua-Ayer rail trail is
beautiful. 


The upside is that my chipmunk post-mortem experience has helped me realize just how far I have come. There was a time when I would swerved and probably taken a dive, but now I know better.

You live, you go places, you learn new things, mostly about yourself.