Training Log Archive: CleverSky

Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield. There were certaily closer places I could have gone, which might well have been better, but my friend Keith said he was going to be out there with his iceboat.

That's Brooks in the iceboat and Keith next to it. Iceboating turned out to the the one sport that didn't work out. I had a fine time skating, I chatted with a guy who was riding a bicycle out there with homemade spiked tires, there were a couple of two-seat powered paragliders, etc. Not enough wind for the iceboat. The lake unfortunately had a lot of patches of snow, but there was also enough open ice that it was okay, albeit a little bit rough. No problem with the thickness; there were dozens of volunteers who came out to drill holes all over the lake for my benefit. Nine inches. Temperature was probably in the lower 40s F, and by the time I was done, the surface was on the verge of becoming slushy. I had considered looking for another lake on the way home with smoother ice, but I saw at least 51 F on the way home, and some of the lakes were developing puddles. Had a very pleasant scenic drive back, through bustling urban centers like Plainfield and Buckland.

Watatic parking to Cushing Academy, with Patti. Since we've got essentially no snow on the ground down here in the tropical part of Massachusetts, I wasn't expecting footing to be an issue, but up in the border towns, things are different. Very icy in spots, slow going. Spikes would have been a really fine idea.

60 situps.

30 pushups, 50 situps, 14 ring pullups.

50 situps. Almost forgot.

10 ring pullups, 50 situps. Could have done more pullups, but I did them on my way out the door and was more heavily dressed than I usually am for these. And it's possible that I lost count on the situps and did 10 extra.

14 ring pullups, 50 situps, 30 pushups.

Nice moon, very tempting to go out for a skate. But it really hasn't been very cold, so I don't have a lot of confidence in the ice.

50 situps, 30 pushups.

Over to Mom's to retrieve my car. This was on the mountain bike, but all on paved roads. I'm suspicious of the outdoor thermometer in my house, which was claiming it was 26F when I headed out, but an hour later when I was coming home, the thermometer in the car said 21F (and when I got home, the house one still said 26F). Maybe slightly underdressed, could have worn warmer shoes, and of course cold fingers are always an issue for something like this, even with two pairs of gloves. The first part of the route is all downhill, which didn't help. And maybe a neoprene face mask would have been good. But overall, I felt fine, and at least I got a little exercise.

Had the intent to do some sort of exercise, but I was a little out of it all day from general anesthesia in the morning and never ended up doing anything.

50 situps, 30 pushups.

14 ring pullups, 50 situps, 30 pushups.

13 ring pullups, 50 situps, 25 pushups.

First day on the new job at Bose (just welcoming and HR stuff today).

C • Bose 2

Snow dealings, round 3a: 15 minutes or so shoveling most of Nancy's driveway, not worth logging.

Snow dealings, round 3b: snowblowing my driveway, easy peasy. Less than 2" overnight, pretty fluffy.

50 situps, 14 ring pullups, 25 pushups.

50 situps.

That wasn't particularly helpful. But I have another idea I'm trying that might be.

50 situps, 25 pushups.

My foot has continued to hurt even with my resting it, so it's time to try a little running to see if that does in fact exacerbate the problem. I had in mind a road loop around the neighborhood, but since the pavement was pretty much clean, I decided to throw in a traipse through the Lane property to justify the spikes I was wearing. Just a leisurely jog, with very minor wheezing.

C • a little running 2

13 ring pullups, 50 situps, 25 pushups.

Snow dealings, round 2b: my driveway. Snowblower had an easy time with this, though the stiff breeze kept blowing it back in my face, or sometimes back onto the driveway. Good enough.

Snow dealings, round 2a: 1"-2" of fluff on Nancy's driveway, no big deal. While I was out there, I also cleaned up most of the accumulated ice crud from the side space that was there courtesy of Stephen's lackluster shoveling job from the previous storm. Driveway is in pretty good shape now.

50 situps, 25 pushups.

50 situps, 25 pushups.

50 situps, 25 pushups.

13 ring pullups. Kept banging my knees on a snow shovel that I had hung in an ill-favored spot.

50 situps (I think it was 50), 25 pushups.

50 situps.

Okay, well, another rite of passage done, several years behind schedule. And I don't need to get screened for that particular nether regions malignancy for another 10 years.

C • Rite of Passage 2

25 pushups.

50 situps.

50 situps.

50 situps.

50 situps.

50 situps.

Brisk walk back to the inn from the car rental place at the airport, after returning the RAV4 that we had rented for a day to go visit lighthouses and stuff (including driving out on the beach to Great Point).

The earliest things in my head that really qualify as memories, at least that I have any time reference for, are from a trip with my parents to Nantucket, probably in 1965. I specifically remember a couple of things that happened at the hostel where we stayed. Nancy and I stopped by the hostel (closed for the season), but nothing looked familiar.

However, at another location, I was able to get a before and after picture. After 200+ years, the windmill doesn't seem to be changing much. (The vanes are still there, stacked on the ground, I'm assuming they get removed for the winter.)


There was another weird thing, too. Early in my life, I acquired a notion of what "cobblestones" were. But then later on, I encountered "cobblestones", and they looked different than the image that was stuck in my head. The ones I have generally encountered look more or less like this:

But now I know that my original image of them must have come from that Nantucket trip, because Main Street (and some other streets in town) consists of this insanity:

Imagine trying to negotiate that on a tandem with a toddler hanging off the back. You need a big pile of quaintness to get away with this kind of infrastructure.

At least now I know what those ACK stickers on cars mean. I had always thought they were a Bloom County reference.

Nantucket is a weird little place.