Half Century Celebration

Saturday, July 19, 2014

The 50th anniversary of my birth.  My busy day started at 3:27AM, when I could sleep no longer, due in part to anxiety of the run and day as well as not yet adjusted from European time.  Here is a quick picture essay of the highlights of my day:

Start of the "50K on my 50th":
Solo start in the dark at Weekapaug Breachway

Along my run just before sunrise:
Yeah, we live in a really ugly corner of the world, but somebody has to live here

At least my run was completely flat, like
Buckeye Brook Road, Shumankanuc Hill Road, Burdickville, Chase Hill, Potter Hill

5 points for correctly guess where this is.  (I truly did see this on my
50K run; it wasn't one of those ethereal hallucinations you get on marathon  runs)

Mile 9:  I saw two runners heading my way, but couldn't make them out
with my poor distance vision.  At first, I thought, "Wow, these look like
really good runners", but then as they got closer, I saw it was just these two characters.
(This was the actual photo taken on Buckeye Brook Road, Charlestown)

Mile 15:  Meeting up with my trusty support crew to run me the
rest of the way in.  Grills Preserve, Hopkinton, at base of Chase
Hill Road.  Can you believe the first thing these two slackers did
was complain about the hill climb on Chase Hill Road and how hard it was?

I made it!  Mile 31, run finish line before a dip in the ocean.

Longest run of my life, and a pretty long run for FiveK as well.
Thanks, guys, for getting me there.

Although I truly wanted no gifts, I did receive some gifts of distinction
that fit another skill set that I have worked hard at acquiring:  fine spirits.

... and some funny gifts for my apparent urinary and constipation issues of a man my age!
(Don't laugh, Mike B, you'll be asking to borrow these from me soon!)

... and finally many funny b-day cards, interspersed with an anonymous
gift certificate to Camire's (hello new shoes!) and a RoadID engraved
with age listed as "Over the Hill" - only 1 guess allowed on who did that.

Had such a blast on this 18' high waterslide.  When I called to rent it, the company asked me
the age of the kids that would be using it.  Um, 50?  (My 53-year old cousin also jumped in.)

I'm splashing my way towards the bottom of slide above, while Muddy is wondering
if this is slide is really age-tested for me, and Jonny is at front of slide wasting no time to take
another run.  (My son Mark's remark upon seeing the slide was "Wow, Dad, I figured
you were going to rent something really lame".  He also said he was really surprised that Jonny
was so good at basketball; apparently not only is his Dad perceived as lame, but anyone
else by association.)

Running friends catching up

The best part of the day for me was spending quality time
with 50+ friends and family over the house.  Thanks everyone for making my
day so special!

(If you missed the party for any reason, I do plan on holding these every 50 years, so
plan to join me on my 100th.  If you ask Mike B, that's just around the corner!)

Weekly Log 14-Jul to 20-Jul-2014: England to Home to Half-Century Celebration

Monday:
15 miles.  England canal run.  Just outside our hotel is the end of the Union Canal.  The canal system was built in 1829, includes a path alongside the canal, and goes on for over 140 miles! In fact, there an annual 145-mile canal running race held every year.   Crutch, can I sign you up for this one?

I started on busy concrete walkways in downtown areas, past train stations, etc.  However, within two miles, the path had changed to dirt (there was still an asphalt section for another mile or two so runners like B and FiveK could feel comfortable, but after that it was all dirt).  Leaving the city limits, the path turned into quiet countryside.  Saw a few runners and many cyclists.  The beauty of a canal run is canals never cross roads, so it's a continuous run.  I ran reasonably hard non-stop, with an average pace for 15 miles of 6:43.

Tuesday:
5 miles.  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, northern England.  Took a three hour train north out of London, and spent the night here. 

The former (Quayside) is where we ran today;
the latter must be a very important place in England.

Early morning run with Jana along the waterfront at
Quayside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Again, pictures do not do this justice, but today's outing, scenery, and history was just awesome.
Even the boys were impressed, and that's not easy.
Hadrian's Wall, originally 15 feet high and 73 miles long, built in 122 AD to
demarcate the boundary of the Roman Empire.  This is inside Northumberland National Park.

Left past the wall is looking into Scotland, home of my Walker ancestry,
also on my bucket list.

Wednesday:
5 miles.  Overnight sail crossing the North Sea, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England to Ijmond, Netherlands, before train to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport for the return flight home.  Ferry was actually quite enjoyable.  We had a cabin with four beds, a nice buffet dinner and breakfast, and shower before departing.

I took this shot from the stern of our ferry on our overnight crossing of the North Sea.
 This was just after 10PM local time, and there was still plenty of light.

We were all very surprised to see Seth Acton dining on our ship!

Arrived Westerly 9PM bleary-eyed, as it was 3AM European time.

My synopsis and opinion only, although it was unanimous in my family that UK by far was the best country we visited.

Most of us would like to return to a full trip to the UK only and explore the far northern and western parks.  Glacier National Park (Montana), southern CA and Quebec were also thrown out as 2015 vacation options, but maybe Dad should find a job first?  Got lucky this time to cash in 4 free round-trip tickets to Europe (frequent flier miles from India business trips); won't be so lucky next time.

Thursday:
11 miles.  Ran in this cool oceanside community called Westerly, Rhode Island!  Woke up at 4:30, a little confused at first.  Which country am I in today, what currency and electrical adapter do I need to use?  Oh, I'm home!

Ran very short distance through Champlin, short enough to break up the monotony of Shore Road and just long enough for a reminder that deer flies rule the roost for the next month or so.  Ran to and through Weekapaug, and then a very pleasant beach run back at low tide.  When I got to New Town Beach, I saw people waving at me.  Turned out to be Schon and Kathy Robbins, comparing OCY Tri and trying to plan for Rhode Warrior swim portion.  I think both are planning to swim with us tomorrow.

Friday:
0.7 miles.  Open ocean swim with the usual suspects, plus Kathy Robbins and a few I didn't know
3 miles.  Run to Weekapaug and back to Town Beach with B, Five K, and Steve


Saturday:
31 miles, an ocean dip, followed by an afternoon of fun with family and friends.  Write-up to follow shortly.


Sunday:
5 miles.  Beach recovery run.

Weekly Tally:
76 miles!!
0 miles
0.7 miles

Weekly Log 7-Jul to 13-Jul-2014: European vacation

Looking forward to a week of vacation and running/exploring!

Monday:
10 miles


Yes, I'm in Holland!

Along the many canals and footbridges that I ran today

I would need Hammett help to identify this one



My run took me along Dutch countryside

Tuesday:
First ever visit to Italy didn't start off on the right track when I was swindled out of 40 Euros by an unscrupulous taxi driver with a sleight-of-hand trick with my bills that I didn't realize until later.  At first, I was angry for a few hours, but pickpockets and con artists are notorious in Rome, so it could have been worse and I just have to be more vigilant and move on.
5 miles.  Evening run on local narrow roads near hotel (I miss the extra wide roads in Amsterdam with bike path lanes and pedestrian lanes), but it got better once I got into a local park.
500 yards.  Outdoor pool swim with Mark & Matthew, until Mark ditched us to use the Roman Baths at the hotel!

The highlight of the day today was inside the famed Roman Coliseum,
completed in 80AD, where many gladiators met their demise

Back at the hotel, Matthew gets some Crabman
practice and fun in the outside pool

Wednesday:  0
(no running today, busy on long travel day in coastal Italy)

Amazing history here!  I think we have neat historical sites
in the USA when I visit something a couple hundred years old.

Well, we took the picture above when walking through the remains of the
famous city of Pompeii, buried by Mt Vesuvius eruption in 79AD,
and remained buried until excavated last century.  Nearly 2,000 years old,
room after room (including a brothel!) - what a gem!

On the way back, got off the train in Naples and had our best dinner yet
(mine was spaghetti w/clams) in this open air restaurant.
Matthew (on my right) is actually talking to me; Mark took advantage of
a rare wi-fi spot to connect his iPhone; Jana as usual snapping the pic.

Thursday:
6 miles
Late night watching Netherlands-Argentina game; after all that Netherlands lost on penalty kicks.  Slept in and went for a run before more city exploration:


In sharp contrast to Amsterdam, running on roads
 outside the hotel here in Rome is a tad precarious
due to narrow congested streets.
 



Fortunately, after less than 1/2 mile, I can turn off into a park
that goes on and on with many trails (dirt trail in foreground).



 

Surreal to see this statue inside a cave
on my run

This stunning villa (Villa Pamphili) replete with Roman
 statues  built into its walls was inside the park as well.
(Note the park is runner-friendly with 3 coming towards me)

Friday:
11 miles.  Villa Pamphili park run.  Hot sweaty run.  Tried to go for a couple of Strava segments, but it's tough to know where trails line up, and my choices didn't align.
0.3 miles.  Final outdoor pool swim, before catching a late night flight to London.

Kids enjoyed climbing through Castel Sant Angelo:
Lower portion a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian (138AD);
upper portion built in 6th century

Hard to find things that aren't "lame" for teens and you
never know what will be a hit, but this catacomb with 7 miles
of tunnels 27 feet underground with thousands of human burials
from 2nd century was a hit with them

Saturday:  0
Slept in after late flight, then busy day sightseeing.  Pink Floyd blasting in the subway system before departing London.  Cool!  My kids asked me who Pink Floyd is.  Not cool.

Spent the afternoon walking through light rain and sheep poop
in the English countryside

The guides here consider Roman history in England (starting 43AD) to be
"modern" history!  Stonehenge dates to 3000BC and we visited burial mounds
dating to 3700 BC.

Most visitors to Stonehenge see it from behind a barricade, but after Stonehenge closed to the public
at 7:30PM, we went inside the inner circle of stones on a special access tour.  Pictures just do
not do this justice.  Now how did they get the 6 tons rocks lifted on top of the standing
40 ton pillars, years ago in the stone age with primitive tools?

Sunday:
11 miles.  65 degrees and light rain.  I'll take this weather for running anytime.  Ran past the major sites in London, mostly inside parks.  Along the Thames, there were barricades along the roads as they were preparing for 15,000+ runners in the British 10K.  I just ran in the road before the start of the race.  British police were everywhere, but they just smiled.  Cool, I get 2 - 4 lanes of primary roads in downtown London to myself for running.
Funniest point was when I came up on a water stop staffed with dozens of volunteers and thousands of water bottles (yes, bottles, odd).  A boy about 7 or 8 yelled out "We have our first runner coming" and sprinted out into the middle of the street to hand me a water bottle.  How could I turn his offer down?  Later in the day, I saw a runner wearing a really neat British 10K technical shirt emblazoned with the Union Jack.  I would have loved one of those, but I ran most of route alone, avoided 15K+ plus people and a whopping entry fee of 50 pounds! (~$90).


Weekly Tally:
43 miles
0 miles
0.6 miles

Week recap:  Not a huge mileage week by any means, and obviously no biking, but a really, really fun week of running and exploring in neat places.