Gentlemen Start Your Engines

today was the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Race in Loudon, NH...first time for me at any sort of motor race except for some go-cart racing I did way long ago...had a nice time...it was loud, but not too hot...watching the cars go round the oval had a slightly hypnotizing effect and I almost nodded off at one point despite the noise...

my boy Liam was into it big time...his driver Tony Stewart led most of the race, but had to pit at a most inopportune time right before the skies opened up...the race was called with only 17 laps left to go! Kurt Busch ended up the winner...

in the morning I got another run in through the streets of Lowell...same conditions: cool, gray, and misty...I wonder if it's like that all the time here! this time I ran through the Lowell HS campus on my way to completing 4.2 miles in 35:52...

Legend of Duluoz

I'm based out of Lowell, Mass this weekend to catch my first ever NASCAR race in Loudon, NH tomorrow...before doing some sightseeing in Concord and Boston I hit the streets around my hotel (the name of which involves two trees) for a run through the hometown of Jack Kerouac...

I've read plenty of his books and his descriptions of Lowell were eerily similar to what I experienced on this run...a cool misty/overcast morning, run through mostly deserted streets past a couple of big churches, along a canal, over a bridge, across railroad tracks, through the business district and through the Kerouac park where large stones featured inscriptions of Kerouac's writing...

I ended up going 3.7 miles in 34.09...all in all a wonderful treat!

inspired by this run I came up with the following lame haiku:

running over streets

kerouac resting nearby

misty cloudy beat

10 Miles The Hard Way

walk breaks are really not my thing...but a combination of heat&humidity and tired legs and living the high life of summer vacation reduced me to several of them on today's trek...I hit Jug Bay and ran around the scenic road to the usual trail and then up to the park entrance and back down to the side trail system...managed 10 miles in a woeful 1:52:59...I should break 1:30 if I ever run a 10 mile race...disappointing but sometimes you just have to say a completed run is a good run...off to New England for a long weekend, I hope to run once or twice while I'm away...

Some Runs Are Better Than Others

didn't have my running mojo this morning...a muggy early morning run with lots of lots of open-mouth breathing...nope, not feeling it today...I start to pick up some energy near the end to stretch distance out to 4.4 miles in 44:04...felt OK...

EZ Runner

ran an easy 3.3 miles on the mean streets of mutual estates...legs a bit sore...air was thick and muggy...felt OK..afterwards stopped in the garden to trim some butterflu bushes...

Sad News

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Long Run Blues

got off to a little later start this morning...keeping late night summer hours these days...felt good to start, but heat took its toll...early morning coffee is not agreeing with me today and I'm struggling with some dehydration issues...took three short walk breaks...ran around scenic road to trails up croom airport road and back...one of those days where I was expecting a good long run between 8 and 10 miles...and it turns out I struggle to finish 9...ah well, there will be other runs...

statistically speaking, this week I topped 30m for the first time since October of '06 I believe...also went over the 400m mark for the year...I am 64.2 miles off pace to finish 1000m for the year...i moved up to #100 on the pace bunny 1000m chart...looks like i am going to concentrate on a fall race schedule...more details to come...

First Day of Summer

warmer and more humid for this First Day of Summer run...ran all trails on the camp side of the park...trails not too messy considering all the rain we've had recently...had to contend with one or two downed trees blocking trailway...started sluggish...legs feeling a bit heavy, but ran last half of run at a quicker pace...passed the 400 mile ark for the year on today's run...I was at 288m this time last year...felt OK...

I'll take Saturday off to be ready for Sunday's 10m long run...

Dee-Lite-Full

that's how the weather could be described for my 6.2 mile (mostly) road run at Jug Bay this afternoon...i wasn't feeling as delightful though...kiinda sluggish, but managed to finish in a steady 59:52...

High Honor

George Carlin's acceptance speech should be exactly seven (dirty) words long...

Stormy Weather

did some clean-up work in the library today, then head out for a run...looked like a storm was on the horizon, but thought I could beat it out...ran four miles on the scenic road and trails...skies opened up about a mile into the run...I took a side trail and noticed the treetops were swaying wildly...luckily nothing fell and I made back to the road to head back to base...trails were waterlogged along with my running shoes...may take the rest of the week for them to dry out! ran the four miles in 38:30...struggled a bit, but felt OK...

Eight Miles

for today's long run...first in two weeks...I was feeling a bit off...more than usual for an early Sunday morning run...ran easy and steady out to the merkle fork and back with a round of side trails to stretch the mileage...time: 1:19:51...felt good by the finish...

finished the book about the run-n-gun Phoenix Suns...good read...next up Big Sur by Jack Kerouac...

Neighborhood 5K

Ran the mean streets of Mutual Estates this morning...planned to do a 5K time trial, but the garmin lost satellite reception about a mile in, so I estimated the rest...finished in 26:24...

They're Back!!!

first run today since being stricken by a nasty ol' stomach virus last weekend...first run at Jug Bay in ten days...and the first appearance of the dreaded deer flies!

I brought my cap today anticipating the suckers would be out, but forgot the OFF!...I took a few bites and pulverized a few...they'll be my running partners the next couple of hot summer months...

my running was pretty good even though I've been thrown off my training schedule...with end-of-the school year work getting in the way too...I was eagerly anticipating getting a run in today...did 5.1 miles in 48 minutes flat...the heat and humidity were on in addition to the flies, but I felt energized and ran well...I'll try to get as many miles in as possible this week, then try to get back on schedule full time next week...

I'm thinking of holding off on any races until August/September...not feeling motivated...don't want to spend the money for gas...excuses, excuses...

The Week in Entertainment

kind of a slow week for me on the entertainment front...

movies: I watched Bobby; enjoyed it...the story of a dozen or so characters who work at the Ambassador Hotel in LA on the day/night of of RFKs assassination there...reminded me some of Robert Altman's movie Short Cuts with the stories of the characters overlapping...surprising to see at the time of the shooting that some of the characters turned out to be shooting victims as well...effective use of Kennedy's words at the end...I liked the use of actual news footage too...seeing old Walter Cronkite live on air was a trip...funny scene involving two campaign workers tripping...

tv: recorded "Swingtown" but haven't watched it yet; Jimmy Kimmel had some good shows this week, including the return of celebrity photographer Yehya Mohammed who interviewed "celebrities as they walked the red carpet at the mtv movie awards...funny!

music: Radiohead finally has their catalog added to iTunes, so I downloaded some of their tunes...

reading: still progressing through the book about the Phoenix Suns; reading an article about RFK in the June Vanity Fair...

The Bug

I caught it...and now it's rearing it's ugly head...I had been feeling slightly queasy and fatigued during the week and this weekend I've pretty much been moping around and lying on the couch...

I did four miles plus in the neighborhood Saturday morning...ran slow so as not to upset my stomach further...I was out of it Sunday morning and had to pass on getting in a long run...I'll probably need another day or two to recover and with end-of-school year work my running will be inconsistent for the next week...I'll get as many miles in as I can, but I have a feeling I'll fall a little behind in my training...

Run in the Sun

ah, June and the sun is shining! starting Week 2 in fine fashion with a brisk 5.1 mile trek around the Jug Bay scenic road...the run was pretty uneventful and finished in 47:27...

Weekend Running

Saturday morning I struggled to rise out of bed and contemplated (not) getting one last month of May run in...put on my running attire and convinced myself to do just one "fun run" mile in the neighborhood...once my blood got pumpin' I hung in there to go 4 miles and change...speaking of change, I found a not-so-shiny quarter in the road which I pocketed...also saw a lonesome turtle making its way across one of the side streets...I fell a little over 7 miles short of 100 miles for the month...I could've pushed myself this last week, but didn't...still the most monthly miles for me since last October when I was training for the OBX half-marathon...on to June!

Sunday morning was interesting...the previous afternoon the area was hit with some pretty strong T'Storms...

at home we got a lot of rain and thunder/lightning...the wind was about normal for such storms...

but on the drive to Jug Bay...on the back roads near and leading up to the park...I could see plenty of wind damage to trees with limbs down all over...there were reports of small tornadoes touching down in upper marlboro and it certainly looked like the case in croom...

anyway, I stuck to paved roads and farm roads for 8+ miles...a big limb was blocking the road near the bridge and a tree was down across the goose music hill as well...

in fact some park workers were blocked from delivering a bunch of canoes to the water, calling for help...

wildlife sightings: four turtles...two smaller ones and two huge ones (maybe diamondbacks)...

I easily met my Week 1 mileage goal...it was a good week of running!

That's Entertainment

here's my week in entertainment:

started reading :07 Seconds or Less by Jack McCallum...it's nba finals time, so a good basketball story sounds right...

watched the hbo movie Recount...good performances all around by the ensemble cast...especially by Laura Dern as the dimwitted Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris...watching this made me mad all over again...how could our democracy be hijacked like that and people not take to the streets with pitchforks and shit?!?

saw the Chris Rock movie, I Think I Love My Wife...sort of like a chick flick for (married) guys...it was OK...parts of it were far-fetched...Chris Rock is really funny, but the movie seemed bland...

didn't really watch much tv this week, save for basketball and political shows...

downloaded these from iTunes

"Obama" by Pistol Opera

"Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)" by Led Zeppelin

"Go Away" by Elvis Costello

added these to my run mix!