A couple of runs, and a boy returns!

Another beautiful week begins!!!   I can't speak for everyone out on the interwebs, but for me - it was a great weekend.

4 Miles on Saturday, 3 miles on sunday and my son got back from Bermuda!

Saturday:

I went with a simple out and back course, so I didn't have to worry about dodging cars on roads with no side walks.  (My four mile loop has a mile with no sidewalks and very little shoulder!)



I saw plenty of runners..

Last Run of the (choir) Season.

Last night was the end of choir season.  At  the end of the season, the Maryland State Boy choir hosts a festival that draws kids from all over!  Members of the  Newark Boy Choir,  the Ann Arbor Boy choir and many others have come to Baltimore for this year's fun.  While this is an awesome thing, it means that the usual waiting room is unavailable for the parents.  No biggie for the beginning of the evening, as I had plans to go running, despite my ongoing foot pain.  You heard me right.. Foot pain.  My plantar fasciitis has been quite bad lately.  Bad enough that I even tried wearing the odd boot in bed to see if it would help!

[caption id="attachment_2684" align="aligncenter" width="490"] I needed a picture here. I liked this one.[/caption]

Despite that, I was all set to run and had plans to meet up with my running partner! 

Lake Montebello and Herring Run Trail, Baltimore MD

Once again it was my turn to drive the boys up to the Maryland State Boychoir practice.  I have been lucky enough to carpool with another parent - which means I only have to drive every other week!    Since I have a couple of hours to kill - it's the perfect time to go for a run!

I thought I would try something different, and research the areas I was going to run.  I am all to aware, that in Baltimore you can be in a wonderful neighborhood, and two blocks later enter a not-so-wonderful neighborhood.   I did a quick google of crime in Herring Run Park and didn't find any recent murders/rapes/assaults. (Hey, in a city like Baltimore, you expect SOME.)  I planned a quick run up to Lake Montebello and the Herring Run trail.  I thought a nice 3-4 miles would be in order for the night.

It was raining and misty, so I ended up overdressed as I had rain-gear on... Then it didn't rain while I ran.

The run itself felt nice.  I kept with my recent plan, and just let my body determine the speed, although I tried to slow it down a bit for mile 2..  The initial run up to the lake from the MSB center was all through nice neighborhoods (nice enough, I probably couldn't afford a house there) and the people nodded their heads back at me when I initiated it. <-- My indicator of whether or not a neighborhood is friendly.

[caption id="attachment_2582" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Picture from http://abikeinbaltimore.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html[/caption]

Reflections

This is my 300th post on this blog.

Today I'm not going to be posting about running, and not just because yesterday was a Rest Day.  With it being a mile stone, it seems a good time to stop and look at life in general.  I heard a line on the radio (NPR, in "In Which Way, a War Photographer in his Element") this morning that got my mind working.

"You are rich because you have the power to determine your future, and most of the world doesn't."

We are rich.  We have so many choices in life, that even when most of us think life is hard, that we are at a "low" point - we are so much richer than most people in the world.  We have choices and opportunities that most people in the world can't imagine.  We raise our families and can put our kids in programs that our grandparents couldn't have envisioned if they tried.  It isn't just these things that make us rich either.  There are so many things beyond money.

Me?  When I look at the world in general, I have to admit - I am wealthy beyond all imagining.

[caption id="attachment_2560" align="aligncenter" width="490"] My amazing family - last weekend in front of the white house.[/caption]

Running through Baltimore while the choirs sing

Monday nights are normally not a running night for me as my son has chorus practice.   The monday schedule involves ending my work day a tad early, pick the little chorister up from karate, head to his practice in Baltimore (with a side trip of 40 minutes to pick up the car-pooling buddy), sit though practice, then head home (After dropping the car-pooling buddy off.)  I leave for work at 7:45, and get back hoe around 10:30.   Needless to say, I am not going to go run at 10:30 at night.  Call me lazy.

Tonight, I followed through on a better plan than just sitting on my butt while the boys sang.  While I was at home getting some food into the boy (mmmm. Corn Dogs.) before heading off to get the car-pooling buddy, I changed into my running clothes.  I thought that while my son was exercising his voice, I could exercise by  running around Baltimore!  My only real concern was that I didn't know Baltimore.  This gave me a slight level of  fear that I might run into a neighborhood that I had no business being in.  My wife seemed to share this concern as she informed me I WOULD  asked me very nicely if I would call her when I finished running.   Of course I assured her that not only would I do so, but I would also be very careful about where I went. (Though I have to admit, I'm not sure how you tell that you shouldn't be in a neighborhood before you are...)

New Running Buddy?

Monday Nights my son has his choir practice for the Maryland State Boychoir up in Baltimore.  Its not too bad of a hike from Crofton

[caption id="attachment_1971" align="alignright" width="278"] Bryce in his Choir Robes[/caption]

(where I live),just about a 40 minute drive (in the 5:30 traffic.)  I spend the two hours that he is practicing, hanging  out in a comfy room with couches and I get to read for 2 hours.  I have tossed around the idea of going running during this weekly block of time, but I don't know Baltimore.  This becomes VERY important due to an interesting quality that the city has.  You can be in a fantastic neighborhood, nice houses, nice cars, etc, yet when you walk two blocks you can find yourself in a neighborhood where you fear to stop for a red light, let alone travel through on foot in the dark!

I would like to keep "not being mugged" on my bucket list, so this has kept my Monday runs to being a nice morning run, rather than using my evening time

So Christmas has come and gone...

Christmas was here and visited with its mass amounts of children's toys - and has moved on!This has affected my running (And my weight), but I can't complain - only two pounds up.

We headed up to my folks (apparently its now "The Neidhardt Center" - and I had every single intent of running up there. Honestly.  I even posted on Facebook that I was going to - so that means it has to be true (Everything on the internet is true right?)  The family was definitely happy to see each other!

[caption id="attachment_1970" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Sigh. Gotta love Gramma.[/caption]

But (don't all the best excuses for why we didn't run - start with "But?") with all of the "Must See" people - it wasn't meant to be. Saturday and Sunday were reserved for the final Christmas Shopping, with my son's Maryland State Boychoir Concerts on Saturday and Sunday.

Peanut... Peanut butter! Blossoms!

[caption id="attachment_1940" align="alignright" width="280"] Picture from Hersey's Website[/caption]

Ok, Seriously.  I think the person that invented Peanut Blossoms was attempting to figure out how to give people the same warm feeling inside as THAT activity (if you know what I mean.)   I totally think they came as close as humanly possible.

Everyone loves a peanut butter cup - but somehow with these delectable cookies, you get the joy of peanut butter AND chocolate - combined into a wonderful treat that takes multiple bites to eat (multiple bites extends the enjoyment time!)  To top it off, they are ever so easy to make!

I may have mentioned a few times (and I'm sure I will mention it many more times as well,)  But my son is in the Maryland State Boychoir.  One of the things that my ever-so-lucky child gets out of this, is a 9 day cruise to the Bahamas where they are performing.  THis doesn't come cheaply of course.  Well, they offer various opportunities to help make a little bit of money toward the cost of the tour (anyone want to buy a raffle ticket?) - one of which was being able to bake cookies that could be sold at the concert. 

Monday is Rest day.. Because Mondays aren't bad enough!

So monday is my standard rest day.  Once upon a time, this was simply so I wouldn't have to get up early on Mondays.  My thought was that they were bad enough due to the start of the work week - why make it worse with less sleep?

Since I do the majority of my working out now in the evening, this is obviously not a reason.   In fact, I have to admit that NOT working out, usually lowers the quality of the day on the Bad-------------------------------------Good scale.     The thing is - Mondays remain non-stop running.    In fact, the day runs so hard (which is why I don't) that I have to leave work early in order to get my son up to the Maryland State Boychoir practice in Baltimore!  The kids love it, as it becomes a "Junk Food" dinner - as we do takeout from some where.

Do you have a chosen rest day?  Is it due to scheduling reasons, or some other factor?

Productive Weekend!

Not a bad weekend, especially running-wise, although it was all treadmill based running.

Friday evening I hoped on the treadmill and turned my Battlestar Gallactica on.. Well, it seems it was a season premiere - so it was not the usual 35 minutes in length.  After watching the first half, I decided I wanted to see the whole episode, so my nice 2 mile run turned into a 5 miler!  I will be honest with you (after all, this is the internet and everything on the internet has to be true) - it was not just the show.  I also wanted to see if I still COULD run five miles.  Not only did I run it, but I wanted to go further.  discretion being the better part of valor - I did not.  (That and the fact I was fairly certain walking was going to be a problem on saturday, simply from being a moron and running 5 miles instead of the usual 2.)

I went up stairs and did the first 20 minutes of the Yoga program, just to stretch everything out.   I am VERY happy to report, that I had no out of the ordinary tightness the next day!  GO YOGA! I put out another 3 miles on saturday, followed by a brief stint of yoga afterwords (my wife walked by and accidentally kicked me... Combined with my being a bit self-conscious about doing yoga in front of her