Miscellaneous ramblings:
Monday: 0
Oddly never left my house / yard at all today. Thought about going at least for a walk after work, but with a downpour and 36°, no I'm all set.
Held our first ever virtual meeting of the WTAC Board of Directors tonight. Presenting materials via WebEx is pretty normal for me at work, but wasn't sure how it would go in this forum. I got feedback that it went well, so that will be the format going forward for a while. The board voted to cancel (as opposed to postpone) the Clamdigger 2020 races in April, and we went through best practices on notifications and unwinding of revenues received.
Tuesday: 6
Yesterday I didn't leave the house at all, and today not until after work. I need to figure out some better boundaries and work/life balance in this new work-from-home pandemic reality that we'll be in for at least the next few weeks.
After work run with Brady in Champlin. A cloudy day in March, and there were about 25 people in Champlin! Weird times, as typically on such day there would be zero people there. I may be overreacting, but I admittedly very selfishly didn't like seeing that many people. Oh, every single one of them was friendly, canines included, but I'm just a little bit freaked out with social distancing these days, and it's obviously near impossible to achieve the recommended 6' distance on single-track.
Wednesday: 10
Woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream that I had contracted COVID-19. It's obviously a possibility but fortunately at present just a bad dream. I'm feeling fine.
After work run in Burlingame, with Matthew and Brady. Started out on the 3-mile fire road run in Burlingame north, but was really dragging far behind Matthew and Brady. Brady would come back occasionally, check that the old man was still breathing, and then sprint back up to Matthew.
Fortunately, the rest of the run south of Buckeye Brook Road was just about all single-track and I felt much better out there. On Lenny Lane, we saw Dave (a/k/a Beth's "imaginary husband") walking Jax and said hello briefly. It was only the 3rd time ever that I had seen him in person, the first being a year ago when Beth introduced me to him when we crossed paths in Burlingame south, and the 2nd being at Beth's memorial/celebration of life service. I took the opportunity to compliment him on doing such a nice job for Beth with the slideshow and speaking, and we were on our way.
On the double-track down to North Camp, we crossed Jonny's path and said hello, but kept going. All encounters from a safe distance, and I try to minimize human contact these days. I don't want to get COVID-19, but I'd feel even worse if I unknowingly had it and gave it to someone else. Anyhow, by the time we got down to North Camp, Brady had jumped into so many mud puddles, that we stopped to let him go into Watchaug Pond and get some of the mud off. Crazy dog; he just loves water.
Finished up the run on Sammy C's, where there were some very deep puddles that we all ran through. Good run!
Thursday: 8
Mystic road / trail mix from the Y, with Matthew. 55°. So weird to see the Y closed and only two cars in the parking lot.
Friday: 8
Local mix, late afternoon between meetings, with Brady. Can't believe the temperature hit 65° today. It was nice to wear short sleeves, but felt a little too warm. Lots of people on the beach today, but fortunately no one in Winnapaug Preserve and very few in Champlin Preserve. By the last mile, Brady was uncharacteristically dragging, and panting in the unusually warm March weather.
Got back just in time for a division-wide meeting where everyone (about 100) was required to turn on their video camera and speak for about 20-30 seconds on how they were doing. Everyone was encouraged to have a drink in hand, and include any of their "assistants" in their video chat, so we saw lots of beer, wine, and one woman broadcast from an impressively large bar in her house, as well as many dogs and kids. Being 65° and sunny, I opted to set up on the deck (thanks Jana for bringing out chairs and cheese/crackers) and included Brady when it was my turn. Never been to a work meeting like that, but it was a fun and amusing start to the weekend!
Saturday: 11
Bluff Point State Park, Groton, with Matthew and Brady. Started about 9:40am, and the parking lot was about 1/3 full. Wow, quite a few people here. First run was an OAB on the Poquonock River Boardwalk. I like to run on there, but in these times, it's troubling (to me) when you encounter people, as with a narrow width, it's hard to get more than 2' away from anyone, never mind the recommended 6' distance.
We ran mostly a CW loop on single-track in Bluff Point, and CCW single-track loop in Haley Farm State Park, and thus largely avoided the crowds. The vast majority of people out walking, running, and biking were on the fire roads, so when we had to pop out on those for a short period, it was too crowded for my comfort.
Sunday: 8
Burlingame in light rain, with Brady. Felt relieved to see only one other person (and her dog) the entire 8-mile run. With the overnight rain, lots of puddles and streams for Brady to jump in today. He skipped most bridges and ran into and through the streams instead. He seemed to be having so much fun, that on the final bridge on our run, I joined him by bypassing the bridge and running into the stream instead. That water was COLD!
Weekly mileage: 52
Weekly synopsis: Pretty happy with that mileage, especially given all near-term races cancelled now, and I'm no longer training for anything.
Weekly highlight: Probably today's run in Burlingame. I really didn't mind the cooler rainy weather, and it was neat having the place (nearly) to ourselves.
Weekly lowlight: Two actually: 1) Overcrowded conditions at Bluff Point State Park on Saturday; just so many people going to parks and trails now, 2) first few miles on Wednesday's B-game run, where I was panting like a dinosaur, especially on uphills, just trying to keep Matthew in sight.
Need to counteract above, respectively, by 1) seeking out less popular trails and/or going earlier in the day, and 2) getting some occasional hill workouts in.
--------------------
That's all for this week. Stay safe out there.
- I'm trying to keep supporting local businesses during this pandemic when they need you most, but it's getting harder and harder. Got a family takeout dinner from Vetranos Saturday night, and that all went well waiting, standing on the series of taped Xs on the floor for social distancing. Coffee shops are getting harder to support (e.g., The Bakery is now closed, Dave's Coffee only allows 1 person in the shop at a time, Vault [Mystic] had a long line outside so we left).
- The more I think about the prospect of running Boston in late summer this year, the more I'm inclined to just skip it, even it means I can't defer to 2021 and have to lose the $205 entry I paid. Maybe I'll look for a mid to late fall marathon instead.
- I was signed up to run the Eastern States 20-Miler today (March 29), but that has now been postponed to late summer. Not thrilled with summer long runs, but I'll consider it.
- One other race I'm signed up for is Mt Washington (using my goat status from last year). I received notification this week that they have set a "Plan B" date of August 22 in the event it can't be run in June.
- I absolutely loved running Sleepy Hollow last year (even in the pouring rain!), but didn't sign up this year as it was too close to Boston. Yes, it's sold out, but now that it's moving to November 15, they stated they will re-open limited registration. Hmmm ... opportunities abound.
Monday: 0
Oddly never left my house / yard at all today. Thought about going at least for a walk after work, but with a downpour and 36°, no I'm all set.
 |
| My chuckle of the day. We need them. |
Tuesday: 6
Yesterday I didn't leave the house at all, and today not until after work. I need to figure out some better boundaries and work/life balance in this new work-from-home pandemic reality that we'll be in for at least the next few weeks.
 |
| Yep, it's pretty much jeans or shorts and a running shirt everyday for me now, with shaving every few days, although unlike this snippet, I have my camera background directed towards the windows looking outside instead of on the interior of our unkempt room. |
After work run with Brady in Champlin. A cloudy day in March, and there were about 25 people in Champlin! Weird times, as typically on such day there would be zero people there. I may be overreacting, but I admittedly very selfishly didn't like seeing that many people. Oh, every single one of them was friendly, canines included, but I'm just a little bit freaked out with social distancing these days, and it's obviously near impossible to achieve the recommended 6' distance on single-track.
Wednesday: 10
Woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream that I had contracted COVID-19. It's obviously a possibility but fortunately at present just a bad dream. I'm feeling fine.
After work run in Burlingame, with Matthew and Brady. Started out on the 3-mile fire road run in Burlingame north, but was really dragging far behind Matthew and Brady. Brady would come back occasionally, check that the old man was still breathing, and then sprint back up to Matthew.
Fortunately, the rest of the run south of Buckeye Brook Road was just about all single-track and I felt much better out there. On Lenny Lane, we saw Dave (a/k/a Beth's "imaginary husband") walking Jax and said hello briefly. It was only the 3rd time ever that I had seen him in person, the first being a year ago when Beth introduced me to him when we crossed paths in Burlingame south, and the 2nd being at Beth's memorial/celebration of life service. I took the opportunity to compliment him on doing such a nice job for Beth with the slideshow and speaking, and we were on our way.
On the double-track down to North Camp, we crossed Jonny's path and said hello, but kept going. All encounters from a safe distance, and I try to minimize human contact these days. I don't want to get COVID-19, but I'd feel even worse if I unknowingly had it and gave it to someone else. Anyhow, by the time we got down to North Camp, Brady had jumped into so many mud puddles, that we stopped to let him go into Watchaug Pond and get some of the mud off. Crazy dog; he just loves water.
Finished up the run on Sammy C's, where there were some very deep puddles that we all ran through. Good run!
Thursday: 8
Mystic road / trail mix from the Y, with Matthew. 55°. So weird to see the Y closed and only two cars in the parking lot.
 |
| Second run in my 890 v7 shoes. Typically each version has only subtle changes, but these are so different from v6. Reviews were mixed, but so far, I'm loving these! Light and responsive. |
Friday: 8
Local mix, late afternoon between meetings, with Brady. Can't believe the temperature hit 65° today. It was nice to wear short sleeves, but felt a little too warm. Lots of people on the beach today, but fortunately no one in Winnapaug Preserve and very few in Champlin Preserve. By the last mile, Brady was uncharacteristically dragging, and panting in the unusually warm March weather.
Got back just in time for a division-wide meeting where everyone (about 100) was required to turn on their video camera and speak for about 20-30 seconds on how they were doing. Everyone was encouraged to have a drink in hand, and include any of their "assistants" in their video chat, so we saw lots of beer, wine, and one woman broadcast from an impressively large bar in her house, as well as many dogs and kids. Being 65° and sunny, I opted to set up on the deck (thanks Jana for bringing out chairs and cheese/crackers) and included Brady when it was my turn. Never been to a work meeting like that, but it was a fun and amusing start to the weekend!
Saturday: 11
Bluff Point State Park, Groton, with Matthew and Brady. Started about 9:40am, and the parking lot was about 1/3 full. Wow, quite a few people here. First run was an OAB on the Poquonock River Boardwalk. I like to run on there, but in these times, it's troubling (to me) when you encounter people, as with a narrow width, it's hard to get more than 2' away from anyone, never mind the recommended 6' distance.
We ran mostly a CW loop on single-track in Bluff Point, and CCW single-track loop in Haley Farm State Park, and thus largely avoided the crowds. The vast majority of people out walking, running, and biking were on the fire roads, so when we had to pop out on those for a short period, it was too crowded for my comfort.
 |
| By the time we finished, the parking lot was pretty much completely full, even more than you'd see on a typical beautiful summer day. Had to be several hundred people out there today. |
 |
| I totally understand the physical race being cancelled, but not sure I understand or appreciate the virtual race option. Is one supposed to run and record a marathon solo? No way I'd have the tenacity to pull that off. I barely finished this race in 2018, and that's with much credit to Tommy for running with me for 21 miles. |
 |
| I really need to stop reading and watching the news so much. I get concerned when I read about the number of positive cases, deaths, job losses, etc., but then just get angry when I read articles like this where absolute scum exist that seek to prey on people in these challenging times. |
 |
| While not rising to the same "scum" level of scammers, I find it incredulous that the NRA would tie up court and financial resources in these times to fight efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and deem gun shops essential businesses. Obviously, I'm jaded, not a gun owner, and don't live in CA, but I hope this gets tossed for frivolity. |
Burlingame in light rain, with Brady. Felt relieved to see only one other person (and her dog) the entire 8-mile run. With the overnight rain, lots of puddles and streams for Brady to jump in today. He skipped most bridges and ran into and through the streams instead. He seemed to be having so much fun, that on the final bridge on our run, I joined him by bypassing the bridge and running into the stream instead. That water was COLD!
 |
| Sign of the times, during our weekly Sunday grocery shopping. |
 |
| Good to see that Marty is still healthy and roaming the aisles, and didn't come down with COVID-19. |
 |
| Fortunately, the seafood department is still open; you just need to stay outside the taped off lines and stay on the Xs for social distancing as you move up to the counter. |
Weekly mileage: 52
Weekly synopsis: Pretty happy with that mileage, especially given all near-term races cancelled now, and I'm no longer training for anything.
Weekly highlight: Probably today's run in Burlingame. I really didn't mind the cooler rainy weather, and it was neat having the place (nearly) to ourselves.
Weekly lowlight: Two actually: 1) Overcrowded conditions at Bluff Point State Park on Saturday; just so many people going to parks and trails now, 2) first few miles on Wednesday's B-game run, where I was panting like a dinosaur, especially on uphills, just trying to keep Matthew in sight.
Need to counteract above, respectively, by 1) seeking out less popular trails and/or going earlier in the day, and 2) getting some occasional hill workouts in.
--------------------
That's all for this week. Stay safe out there.
