Training Log Archive: PG

A mile flat and then up and down South Sugarloaf, walking several bits on the way up.

Three more days of strenuous exercise (at least strenuous for me), a couple of hours a day, working outside -- Walter gets the trees down and cuts them up, I do the clean-up, haul all the tops and branches into piles (which he slices and dices and reduces to about a quarter of their original size). And then we load the wood into his truck. Not quite finished, but a huge improvement in how things look.

Back seems to have mostly managed. Always a little sore, but not really bad. Arms and shoulders feel surprisingly good.

Though I haven't felt a need to go for a run.

Had a nice outing this morning that brought back a few memories, both good and bad.

The occasion was a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Orange, one of the poorest towns in Massachusetts, the ribbon-cutting being to mark the completion of a long and somewhat tortuous process to transform a ramshackle house in the middle of Orange into affordable apartments for at-risk young adults, at-risk meaning that the alternative would be homelessness.

I was just a spectator, but some years ago I'd been on the Board and Treasurer of the agency that was the instigator of this project. I'd resigned from the Board under difficult circumstances -- not that I'd done anything wrong, but I had reached the limit of my tolerance for the executive director at that time.

Looking back at that experience, an involvement that lasted 6 or 8 years, the regret I have is that I wasn't tough enough, that I was too willing to let questionable performance slide. I think there were two different times when the question was whether the ED should resign, once when I learned after the fact that he had expected me to ask for his resignation (and I hadn't), the other when he asked me if I wanted him to resign and I was either unable or unwilling to say yes. In retrospect, the answer in both case should have been to show him the door.

He wasn't a bad person. He said at some point that he had come to realize that what he really wanted to do in life was to make the world a better place. He just wasn't very good at it. Mainly, he was way to optimistic. Everything would work out. But blind optimism only gets you so far.

So I quit, and then a year or two later (as I heard much later) he was gone too, with the agency on the brink of insolvency. I should have shown him the door many years earlier. Live and learn.

In any case, the new ED is a young fellow, brilliant. I knew him when he worked at the agency under the old ED. And under this guy's leadership the agency has got its act together.

So it was a pleasure to show up today. The usual speeches from the various parts of state government that were involved in making the project happen, also from the local politicians. But the point of my visit was the 5-minute chat I had with the ED, just a reminder to him that if he needs help, he just has to ask.

We had a similar conversation a year ago. It led to a non-trivial contribution (from funds of my mom's that are set aside for charitable purposes only) to get the agency out of the bind that the previous ED had left it in. And, from my point of view, about the best thing I could possibly do in life, helping an immensely talented young man do some really good things.

So I expect we will have another round of conversations this fall. And I expect (and hope) that the outcome will be that he will be able to do even more of the good things that he and the agency are doing.

When you have good people, then the challenge is just getting them the resources they need to do their job. And then the pleasure is being able to enjoy watching as they, for real, make the world a better place.

C • Dial/Self 5k 3

Same short loop, all running this time. A struggle, but done.

Also spent about 3 hours this morning hauling brush. Walter was doing some tree work for us, so I was helping out without getting close to any of his dangerous toys. Got lots done, he is quite the expert. Not yet finished, but the place is already looking much better.

So I guess it's pretty good that my back held up enough to still go for a short run. We'll see how it feels over the next day or two.

Same loop, a little more running.

Same as yesterday. Trying to figure out what level of activity makes sense.

On the regular drives to Litchfield and back to visit mom, the mind often dwells on family matters. Today was no different.

I have often thought, and sometimes said, that my family is somewhat wacko (myself included), and over the years there have certainly been sufficient examples of such behavior to give some credence to the thought. Of course, it wasn't like we had the field all to ourselves -- the phrase "dysfunctional family" seems quite the redundancy. But I did feel that we held our own in the competition.

However, my confidence in this regard took a major blow when we were in Greece. At dinner the second night there, the conversation at some point turned away from our family and to that of my brother's friend (and our guide in Athens). It seemed there were some issues with her in-laws and she wasn't all that fond of them, though her husband seemed to deal with them OK.

The in-laws were visiting soon. What were they interested in doing? Well, at least one, a guy, wanted to go shopping, and I believe we were challenged to guess what he might be shopping for. After a few tries, and no correct answers -- you will see why in a moment -- she let the cat out of the bag. He was in search of Nazi war memorabilia to add to his already substantial collection.

That's really not fair. How do you compete with that? You think you have a pretty wacko group, but really you're still in the minor leagues.

We laughed, and laughed, and laughed....

You know, my sister is actually pretty cool, all things considered. :-)

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A conversation yesterday at my PT session. My therapist is a very pleasant young woman, and while she was giving my back a good going-over, she mentioned plans for the weekend, "We're going to Providence..."

I asked who the "we" was.

My girlfriend and another friend.

Are you in a serious relationship?

8 years.

Are you going to get married?

We're engaged.

Cool.

And with that ensued a nice discussion of her family, of growing up in a small town in upstate NY, of her often challenging journey to where she is now. An accepting father but a mother that will never accept, one brother who is cool but whose wife doesn't miss an opportunity to say that she will burn in hell, a couple other brothers who were mostly OK with it.

I said it must be really nice to live in the area (Northampton is one of the most lesbian-friendly places in the country). It was so nice, she said, people are so friendly, so much better than where I grew up.

At some point the appointment was over, though I lingered a bit, the conversation not quite done. Maybe my back was a little better. My soul certainly was. And my family was up another notch in the direction of sanity and respectability.

C • Missed opportunities 3

A mix of running and walking, got to keep trying. At least I'm doing my core exercises every day.

Same as yesterday.

C • Not so 4

Back doesn't seem to like running. So a short late afternoon walk in town.

Once around the loop on Mt. Warner. Some running, some walking. Back a little bit unhappy.

C • running 2

On Pocumtuck ridge, a mix of walking and a little running, just a minute or two at a time. Didn't feel terrible, but wouldn't really say it felt good either.

And the obligatory crash within the first 50 yards of running....

Will see how I feel tomorrow.

Walk up and down South Sugarloaf. Some very sore places after yesterday, perhaps even sorer after this? Body is just going to hell.

To the top of Mt. Toby via the phone line from the gate, back via the jeep road.

A brisk walk. Better than nothing. Back was no worse. To compensate, as soon as I headed down the first steep pitch my quads started complaining, and by the end a blister under my left heel. Can tell I've not been training.

But it was beautiful out, if a bit chilly. Good to be reminded how nice things are around here. Need to get out more often.

And finally the long trip home, though not as long as it might have been as we had a non-stop flight Athens to New York. A smooth trip this time, plane was a little early, and then amazingly efficient at JFK, 45 minutes after touchdown we were on the road heading home, with not a moment waiting -- quick off the plane, no line at passport control, Gail's suitcase was already there, no line at customs, and the shuttle to the parking area was already there waiting for us.

So couldn't really complain about the extra 30 minutes or so due to rush hour traffic. Home an hour earlier than expected, and not even struggling to stay awake even though it was the equivalent of 3 am. Nice.

A great trip. My brother set the whole thing up, wonderful. And such a pleasure to spend some time with his family.

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And though I won't go back and post anything, it seems that I was keeping track of my "training" all along, on my iPhone as Alex informed me. Tap the phone a couple of times and there it is, an average of about 6 miles a day. So I was not a total slacker... :-)

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And a few shots from the last day. The acropolis above Lindos, one of many places fortified centuries ago --





The taxi stand, though they only take you partway up --



There are a couple of swimmers out there for a pre-lunch dip --



And it wasn't far from the beach to the restaurant --

Last day in Greece, still in Rhodes. Down the east coast to Lindos, climbed up the acropolis there, stunningly beautiful. Then a stop at a nearby little town on the shore, lovely bay, swimming for those who wished (not me), a leisurely lunch, another walk, then off to the airport and an early evening flight back to Athens.

This has been a fascinating trip. We have had guides at time, I think 5 in all, mostly excellent. Learned a lot about Greece, both the ancients and the moderns.

The main hurdles the ancients seemed to face were earthquakes, fires, and testosterone (ie. wars, the role of the men being to learn how to fight, and then keep practicing to keep their skills up). I suppose the main thing accounting for the progress over the centuries was also testosterone. Not so much has changed.

Current Greece has its own set of hurdles. On Rhodes, the island's economy is maybe 80% based on tourism, and the tourism season lasts only about 7 months, April through October. We are right at the end of it, best time it seems, not so crowded and not as hot as in the summer. In a couple of weeks the hotels, the restaurants, and the shops will start shutting down, and then for 5 months everyone will just struggle along.

On the mainland tourism isn't as important but it still plays a big role, and certainly brings in foreign currency. But the unemployment rate is over 20%, and maybe 50%+ for the young. Lots of people on government pensions. After a few years of various austerity programs there are fewer government workers, but overall the numbers just don't work. Who knows how it will play out.

So there is the economic disaster. And the migrants (though where we have been has been away from their routes to Europe, so our awareness has been nil). And the nearby war in Syria and various bombings, none of which help the tourist trade.

And my overall reaction, when it comes right down to it, is "not my problem." Seems cold-hearted, but there are things I care about at home that are way more than enough to keep me occupied.

But it is still good to travel a bit, to see what is the same and what is different. Makes you think. And so maybe has some impact on what you do when you get home.

We shall see.

Nice day in Rhodes, with quite a lot of walking. First up to the Acropolis, reasonably interesting, then wandering through town down to the harbor and then the beach, hooked up with Daniel and Nicole who had headed for the beach straight away. Maybe 45 minutes there observing the scene, enough for me, then more wandering back through the old town. At which point, it was time for me to head back to where we are staying -- which is quite a fabulous place -- for a much needed nap.

Because later, of course, more food and drink and laughter, though I still had my wits about me just enough to avoid getting up and trying to dance. I don't mind laughing at myself, but no reason to be a total fool.

A lot of fun traveling with the young ones. Learn a lot.

Crete -- Knossos, massive ancient palace, just a little bit reconstructed --



Crete -- As part of building something new, they excavate to put in the foundations and find something old. So the new gets built and the old gets excavated, all at once --



Rhodes -- not much left of most places, but you still get an idea of how it was --



Rhodes -- at the beach, I am traveling with a bunch of wackos... :-)

A short visit to the island of Crete, highlights (besides the food and drink) were the archaeology museum and the palace of Knossos, the latter a set of partially reconstructed ruins dating from 1,400-1,700 BC, or thereabouts. Very interesting.

And then a late afternoon flight to Rhodes, about the most southeastern of the Greek islands (not counting Cyprus), and just off the SW corner of Turkey. Someone said we should be glad we're not in Turkey, given the bombing, but by that measure I guess we should also be glad we're not in Oregon, Arizona, or Texas.

It is interesting how we are getting rather close to a place like Syria, where things have gone to hell and jets are flying around dropping bombs, and yet where we are everything seems totally normal. It's a strange world.

Staying in the old city in Rhodes (ie. inside the old city walls). So totally different than anything we have in the USA. Buildings, and building remnants, from a bunch of different cultures, history lessons right in front of you. Two days here and then home.

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A few photos from the trip:

Ruins -- temple at Sounion (SE of Athens, on a point overlooking the Aegean), the temple to Apollo at Delphi, Agamemnon's tomb at Mycenae (the best artifacts were found in the tombs), the citadel above Nafplio, the theater at Epidavros --











And also, the lifestyle -- shot glasses of tsiporou, my brother enjoying a chocolate crepe on the streets of Athens, lunch on the way from Delphi to Nafplio --

Back to Athens in the morning with a stop at the canal that cuts across the isthmus at Corinth, chance to take in a decidedly non-ancient part of Greece -- the canal was finished in 1893, and I assume the special platform hung below it for bungee jumping was of much more recent vintage. And as far as I know, there are no tales of the ancients, or their gods, jumping off of high places with an elastic cord tied to their feet. Though I believe a few of them did jump, just made it a one-way trip.

Left Athens, 30 minutes later we were in Crete, a place famous for two things -- one the Minoan culture in the second millennium BC, the other JJ's role in the development of human-powered flight. Hard to say which was more important, though there do seem to be more brochures about the former.

Wandered around Heraklion a bit, then after a while off to dinner. So far I would sum up the culinary aspect of this trip by saying that I have eaten more weird things in a week than I would eat in a year (or a decade?) back home. And I haven't come close to sampling everything that ends up on the table. But my brother is quite adventurous when it comes to ordering, and his daughter even more so, and everything is shared, so I just go with the flow. My one contribution is to make sure there is a basket of bread arriving, just in case nothing else is edible. But so far I have managed just fine.

Though maybe that is because my blood alcohol level has been elevated for most of the trip. :-)

The other item worth mentioning is that there has been considerable progress in determining what should be on our tombstones when the time comes.

In my case, after I'd expounded on how at various points in my life I'd made decisions that in retrospect had been really good decisions, just should have been done sooner, it was suggested that my epitaph should be, "I should have done it a year earlier." Which, if you think about it, might be a really good idea.

My brother's, of course, will be, "Shall we get more wine?"

Nicole's (she my nephew Daniel's wife of a couple of years), with the assumption that she will end up right next to my brother, will be, "Absolutely."

Daniel's, suggested by Nicole, will be, "She told me not to."

Still working on the other three....

Oh, and one more thing, I am getting quite the reputation for being an oracle, especially as relates to predicting the weather. We got off the bus at Epidavros yesterday, the sky was darkening, and Alex asked me if I thought it would rain. I looked toward the heavens, pondered for a moment, and then announced, "Just a light sprinkle in 25 minutes."

Which is exactly what happened, I kid you not... :-)

Does one have to be Greek to be a Greek god?

Another day, a little more of Greece behind us.

Started off with a climb up the citadel perched rather high above town. Wonderful views, interesting fortifications, and so far the second place that has offered some orienteering potential.

Athens was the first, normal street-O with the bonus of a loop in the Royal Gardens and one hopes without the idiocy of a loop up on top of the Acropolis. Delphi wouldn't really work. And the rest of the Greek countryside that we've seen so far hasn't much to offer unless you like steep rocky scrub, or olive groves, or orange groves.

Anyway, back to the citadel, a good stiff climb, unfortunately didn't count as training under the Alex rules because I forgot my Garmin. (Note that the Alex rules don't apply to Ali because Ali forgets her Garmin so often she'd loose a big chunk of her training.) There were several places where plunging to one's death would have been very simple because the Greeks don't believe in fences, or anything similar -- I mean, why should they, they have so many gods to take care of them? -- so yours truly, the chicken, stayed well back from the edge. In the time we were up there, I wasn't aware of anyone dying, so maybe their approach makes sense.

And then back on the road. First to Mycenae, an ancient Greek city, lots of fancy things were dug up about 150 years ago. This was the home of Agamemnon, who at some point sailed off for 10 years to capture Troy, but, as is so often the case, all good things come to an end, and when he returned home, he was stabbed to death by his wife and her lover. Family relations were so much simpler in those days, no counseling, no divorces, no custody fights.

Note that I may not have this story quite straight, but then it was a very long time ago and even the experts probably don't have it straight.

So Mycenae was pretty cool, although we'd already seen a lot of the cool stuff (gold and silver and pottery and statues) which had been carted off to the National Museum in Athens. Though that's not so bad as at the Parthenon, where a lot of the cool stuff was carted off by a Brit, a certain Lord Elgin, and now resides in the British Museum in London. The Greeks want it all back, but it doesn't seem like the thieving Brits are in any hurry to comply.

And then one more stop, Epidavros, highlight was the amphitheater, still in good condition, would seat about 15,000, and the acoustics were remarkable. Yes, we tested them out, and no, we did not makes fools of ourselves. Very dignified, as you would expect.

Back to Athens tomorrow morning, then to Crete to see what we might find there. And perhaps there will be an opportunity to train?

Though, it should be noted, I have been doing rather regularly the core exercises my PT babe has assigned. So while my conditioning may suck, I am by all appearances quite buff. Just like those studly guys in the statues all standing around with no clothes on. I believe in their case it is called art.

C • ...in their case it is called art 4

Continuing our tour of ancient Greece, everything first-class. We now have a 19-seat van, seems enough space for the 7 of us, plus a driver who seems to know his way around. Only bad moment when when he nailed a cat on the way to Delphi. He was clearly very upset, one had the sense that he felt he had offended the gods.

Perhaps some offering or sacrifice may be in the works in an attempt to mollify them, but as yet no goats have been slaughtered. I'm trying to do my part by wearing a shirt with several goats on it, and I'm willing to sacrifice it if that would help.

Delphi was fabulous. Can imagine what it might have been like 2,500 years ago.

And then a longish drive (broken up by a longish lunch, of course), now in Nafplio, about to head off to climb up to the old citadel overlooking town. Perhaps could even be called training?

C • Citadel 2

Morning in Athens, another fine museum, National Archeological Museum, with Stephanie again as our guide, wonderful again. Then a round-about amble back to the hotel, lots of sights and sounds and smells, then a lunch with more booze, some down the hatch again.

We were due at the airport at 7 pm to pick up Daniel and Nicole (nephew and his wife) so enough time for a trip southeast down the coast to a temple right at the tip of land. Pretty cool place. Then the airport, then to Delphi, finally dinner at 10:30 and eventually to bed. All just fine.

Someday I assume I will have to do a little training. Don't know when that might be. :-)

Never so old, it seems, that I can't have new experiences. Something I'd seen in many Westerns.

Dinner last night, nice Greek place, very good food. First thing to arrive was a shot glass for each of us filled with some sort of colorless tasteless liquor. I was clueless, took a sip, whereas my niece knew the routine, down the hatch it went.

At which point it clear what I needed to do. :-)

And I must say, just as I've seen in the movies, it would have been very easy to order up another (and another?) round. But I behaved myself.

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Tour today of the Acropolis Museum and then the Acropolis itself. Private guide, friend of my brother's, classics expert. Whole day was wonderful.

C • liquor 6

Overnight flight Friday night to Athens for a family trip with my brother's clan. Bit of a bumpy ride, and for about 20 minutes way too bumpy, can't remember ever being tossed around as much, and needless to say, I was not too happy. But it passed.

Never been to Greece before. Did some looking around the city the old folks way, from the top level of a sightseeing bus, just to see what was around. Rather pleasant. And then found a nice Greek vegetarian restaurant for dinner. And then slumberland for about 10 hours. :-)

My brother arrives this evening. He's the one who organized everything, since (ancient) Greece is his area of knowledge and he's been here lots of times. Athens for a couple of days, then Delphi to see what my fate is, then south a bit, then Crete and Rhodes. Should be interesting.

Missing the A meet this weekend, also next weekend. But since we are both ailing, would be missing them anyway. So the timing of the trip turns out to be fortunate rather than unfortunate as I had expected.

C • Greece 11

Forgot one thing about the flight over -- actually it was pre-flight. The gate agent at JFK looked looked a lot like Ross. Not so much physically, though he was the same siza and shape, but he had the same vibe -- same smile, same weird hair which I'm sure Ross has featured at some point (shaved on the sides, longish and slicked back on top, about a three-day-old beard). I mentioned it to Gail as we were getting on the plane. Her reponse: "Yup, he was really cute."

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Tourist time today. A museum, lots of stuff about ancient Greece. Then to the top of a nearby peak for the view (fine but also smoggy, too many clean diesels). Then to the old Olympic stadium used in 1896, pretty cool. Then ice cream and nap time....

Also checked out first of what I assume will be many demonstrations, but this was not Greek vs Greek as I expected but Pakastanis against some visiting Pakistani minister. Rather small, maybe 40 people, but very loud. Miss this sort of thing living in Sunderland.