Training Log Archive: bl

Passes for skate at BHS, last night's oval. Hard & crunchy. Cold today, 16F when I was there around 2:30 but, with no wind, only the fingers were cold. Snowing moderately. Didn't see a soul on Turee.

Y after, usual Sat pm quiet.

Token walk, just at "dark" on a Fri eve under a half moon and a white landscape. Went to BHS with Mocha. We walked out on Turee. There were tracks visible from all kinds of users. No one to see, however, on a Friday at 5p. I heard the ice crack once (probably just a 'routine' sound) but after falling thru on the edge of Turee in Jan. about 3 yrs ago, I plead 'stage fright'. It would be OK if I could see others on the pond but not on this eve.

BHS kids were finishing up nordic practice. Some have a race at Gunstock tomorrow. Will give BHS a try tomorrow.

We walked on the Stoneybrook bog yesterday. The ice was thin along the north edge where the south sun makes the greatest impact. We got to the south side, the ice cracked for M and we both made our way back a slightly different way, incl mistakenly getting onto an island with thin ice on the opposite side - all 'good adventure' as the bog isn't > 2' deep anywhere, I think.

Had the Samsung cell phone I bought in NZ in 2014 along, finally charged. It has FM radio which I find a good companion on occasional walks. Podcasts other times on the iPhone but with recent purchase of a Lifeproof case, Apple ear buds seem called for & only today made that discovery.

Followed the walk with the Y.

Walk in Concord's North End - my term for it anyway. Started along the Horseshoe Pond oxbow but the wind was a bit biting so turned back for neighborhoods & relative shelter. Strava again, & gave the walk a name, "North End", I guess for the sake of categorizing by place.

A solitary walker at SPS in December.

At the north campus of SOP. Washed the car & could not cross the divider which led me here by chance. Parked in the NH Supreme Court lot and had this pleasant walk by the court house, F&G, DOT, DMV & Public health labs. The terrain dropped off steeply & impressively to the Merrimack. Many "No Camping" signs, & a few, deep, wooded ravines. Used to run 5Ks here, maybe last around 2010. Around 40F. Rained hard yesterday pm & some in the evening.

At the Y after picking Mocha up .

Have a date for surgery of 2/22 - further ahead than I was hoping for.
Pretty much a passive winter in store & with more recup time recommended than I cared to hear. While the quality of being personable is desirable, it's not req'd. It could be helpful though, when discussing a subject such as how/where to cut a chest.

No snow in in the Boston area - an abundance of traffic but scarce snow S of the border. Very interesting to visit the MGH campus, old & new, steeped in history and achievement. Not so easy to get to for the uninitiated though the campus edge is only 50 yards back from Storrow Dr. at one point. I got away with a $250 "No U turn" on Fenway, after becoming completely exasperated with the lack of adequate signage along Storrow, having looked at gps/sat view etc. beforehand.

At BHS on maybe a 3 day old groomed oval (of 6 lanes) with the settled snow of Sat nite atop. Felt a bit guilty tracking it up but no school today lessened the guilt. BHS nordic could always serve as a close by source of groomed track, after dark and/or when kids aren't using it. The school has a new, dedicated groomer &, last I knew, a Bow citizen volunteer helping out with maintaining groomed tracks.

Had Mocha & walked her on groomed SM track in the woods behind the middle school. The good side of snow mobiles being a source of easy access to the woods for classic on packed surface.

Have an MGH appt in the morning. Decided to spent the night nearby (Woburn) given the icy conditions forecast for the morning commute.

At Memorial Field about 10:45 after NHH. Sunny, mild, good surface with about an inch of new snow. A blue, pleasant NYD.

PM walk with Beth & Mocha along Turee shore. The sun sets so far to the left these days. Encountered Martin M and Mango, and had a chat with Bruce. Could see a nice skate oval on one of the BHS fields. A sliver of new moon and accompanying Venus to end a fine day.

I’m again reminded I forget the zeitgeist of the year-end transition, perhaps not so surprising. It does have “a feeling" to it, as Beth & I were saying last night, born from the historical charms of the year as viewed by calendar. Yet it’s nothing more than the next day of the Earth’s revolution.

Options are few.

Stealth Time

When We were young
We could fly like the wind.

And "fly like the wind"
was beyond rescind.

Or am I getting ahead of myself?
I can't keep up.

Now, with Stealth Time on our backs,
We slow and then stoop.

No matter how fast We seem to go,
Arrogant youth weighs in: "you're too slow".
And more so:
"You've not much more to go."

A step or stride at a time,
No matter the rhyme...
It's a matter of stealth time.