0.9 Mile Walk at Buckingham Pond
Monday, January 29, 2018
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
HOLY $&*#!!! IT GOT COLD AGAIN...
5.2 Mile Run Through the Albany Pine Bush
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
I really should have gotten out on my bike last night... since the temperature was around 20 degrees colder tonight even before the 15 degree windchills...
But at least I did get out for a run tonight. In light of yesterday's quote, I decided to pass on the rail trail and hit the Pine Bush instead. Unfortunately, the deep freeze left all the water and leftover slush from the last two days of warmth and rain frozen, which meant bare stretches of trail were few and far between. Fortunately, I keep my Katoohla microspikes in the car...
I think I need to get out in the Pine Bush more often... at one point it was my primary choice for running, but my visits have grown fairly infrequent over the past few years. Part of that may be all the changes they've made to the trail system, whether in the form of clearing wooded areas to create new meadows or the many trail re-routings and closures that have occurred. But I suppose I just have to get used to that - and it would be good to be more familiar with the trail system as it is now, given that there once was a point where I could run many of the trails in the dark with little or no light.
5.2 Mile Run Through the Albany Pine Bush
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
I really should have gotten out on my bike last night... since the temperature was around 20 degrees colder tonight even before the 15 degree windchills...
But at least I did get out for a run tonight. In light of yesterday's quote, I decided to pass on the rail trail and hit the Pine Bush instead. Unfortunately, the deep freeze left all the water and leftover slush from the last two days of warmth and rain frozen, which meant bare stretches of trail were few and far between. Fortunately, I keep my Katoohla microspikes in the car...
I think I need to get out in the Pine Bush more often... at one point it was my primary choice for running, but my visits have grown fairly infrequent over the past few years. Part of that may be all the changes they've made to the trail system, whether in the form of clearing wooded areas to create new meadows or the many trail re-routings and closures that have occurred. But I suppose I just have to get used to that - and it would be good to be more familiar with the trail system as it is now, given that there once was a point where I could run many of the trails in the dark with little or no light.
JMH
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
I've posted this quote several times before but it has popped into my head repeatedly over recent days... a sure sign I need a change of scenery.
"One recent morning, while running, I had a vision of a bear careening slo-mo through Yellowstone on a National Geopgraphic TV special. Bears are big, but they sure can move. Everyone knows a gazelle is built for running -- and yet you wouldn't want that bear chasing you, would you? Then I remembered that the Colorado Department of Wildlife allocates one hundred square miles for each of our state's brown bears. Any less than that, and you end up with 'nuisance' bears who eat garbage and start fights. I related to this implicitly. If I am prevented from crashing through the underbrush, I too eat garbage and snarl a lot."
-- Robin Chotzinoff, People Who Sweat
"One recent morning, while running, I had a vision of a bear careening slo-mo through Yellowstone on a National Geopgraphic TV special. Bears are big, but they sure can move. Everyone knows a gazelle is built for running -- and yet you wouldn't want that bear chasing you, would you? Then I remembered that the Colorado Department of Wildlife allocates one hundred square miles for each of our state's brown bears. Any less than that, and you end up with 'nuisance' bears who eat garbage and start fights. I related to this implicitly. If I am prevented from crashing through the underbrush, I too eat garbage and snarl a lot."
-- Robin Chotzinoff, People Who Sweat
Sunday, January 21, 2018
SLOW RIDE... TAKE IT EASY...
7.7 Mile Ride Through the Corning Riverfront Preserve
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Yeah, right. If only my slow riding had been because I was taking it easy, instead of being a consequence of a combination of
Regardless, it was a nice day (low 40's and sunshine) and well worth the effort, especially after the last couple of days. The path was plowed out to the pull off on I787 - I rode on the snow and ice for a little ways after that, following ATV tracks - until 4 idiots on ATVs came buzzing and skidding by me and clearly had no interest in slowing down as they did so. So I took that (and the stinking exhaust fumes they left behind) as a sign it was time to head back to the car and called it a day a little bit earlier than I might have otherwise.
JMH
7.7 Mile Ride Through the Corning Riverfront Preserve
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Yeah, right. If only my slow riding had been because I was taking it easy, instead of being a consequence of a combination of
- riding a roughly 50 lb fat bike
- riding on ice and snow for parts of the ride
- 4" wide tires - wonderfully stable, but speedy they're not
- recovering from the flu-like bug that's been kicking my backside for the last few days
Regardless, it was a nice day (low 40's and sunshine) and well worth the effort, especially after the last couple of days. The path was plowed out to the pull off on I787 - I rode on the snow and ice for a little ways after that, following ATV tracks - until 4 idiots on ATVs came buzzing and skidding by me and clearly had no interest in slowing down as they did so. So I took that (and the stinking exhaust fumes they left behind) as a sign it was time to head back to the car and called it a day a little bit earlier than I might have otherwise.
JMH
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
Feathered & Furry
Monday, January 15, 2018
My bird feeders have been remarkably slow to empty over the last month or two... so much so that I started to wonder of something had happened to the huge flock of sparrows that used to descend on my backyard (30-40 of the little buggers all at once.) I have seen some cats hanging out back there every once in a while, and late in the fall found two dead squirrels. And a couple of weeks ago I looked out at a group of crows that were going after the corn I put out for the squirrels, and I noticed this guy hanging out in the trees.
I'm pretty sure that's a Cooper's Hook, and given that I've seen him once or twice since then it's pretty clear he's figured out that my backyard is a good place to check for a potential meal. I suspect the squirrels are too big for him, but the birds are just the right size. (Too bad I can't get the mice to scurry round out there when he's around.) And apparently the birds have figured out that the backyard isn't as safe as it once was, because they're very jumpy and clearly aren't visiting the feeders as often as they have in the past. Mainly I've been seeing squirrels and mourning doves out there, when thete's anyone at all.
Which is why it was nice to look out the window this afternoon and see squirrels, doves, and a smaller group of sparrows. While I won't begrudge the hawk his meals, I'd be bummed if the smaller birds gave up on my backyard entirely.
JMH
Monday, January 15, 2018
My bird feeders have been remarkably slow to empty over the last month or two... so much so that I started to wonder of something had happened to the huge flock of sparrows that used to descend on my backyard (30-40 of the little buggers all at once.) I have seen some cats hanging out back there every once in a while, and late in the fall found two dead squirrels. And a couple of weeks ago I looked out at a group of crows that were going after the corn I put out for the squirrels, and I noticed this guy hanging out in the trees.
Which is why it was nice to look out the window this afternoon and see squirrels, doves, and a smaller group of sparrows. While I won't begrudge the hawk his meals, I'd be bummed if the smaller birds gave up on my backyard entirely.
JMH
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Disappointing
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Woke up during the night to the sound of sleet and freezing rain, and then the quarter inch of ice got covered over by a very thin layer of snow by the time I woke up for good. Took me about 30 minutes to chisel my windshields free to drive to the store, after which I'd planned to go for a run on the rail trail - except it turns out I forgot my running shoes, and the surface was slick enough that I wasn't willing to risk it without the screw shoes. So no run today, hustled through a short walk instead.
On the plus side, while the bug I've been fighting and the weather conspired to keep me from going to Rochester this weekend (where I'd planned to run the Pineway Ponds 5 miler this morning and the Mendon Winterfest snowshoe race tomorrow) I'm feeling well enough to head north for the Cockadoodle Shoe 10k snowshoe race tomorrow, which this year is doing double duty as the World Snowshoe Federation North American Championships. Which mainly means the race day is more complicated than usual (because of the anticipated larger turnout, parking is 9 miles away and we take a shuttle to the New Land Trust race site) and there will likely be even more people than usual running much, much faster than I am... especially since this is only the 2nd time I've been on snowshoes this season.
JMH
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Woke up during the night to the sound of sleet and freezing rain, and then the quarter inch of ice got covered over by a very thin layer of snow by the time I woke up for good. Took me about 30 minutes to chisel my windshields free to drive to the store, after which I'd planned to go for a run on the rail trail - except it turns out I forgot my running shoes, and the surface was slick enough that I wasn't willing to risk it without the screw shoes. So no run today, hustled through a short walk instead.
On the plus side, while the bug I've been fighting and the weather conspired to keep me from going to Rochester this weekend (where I'd planned to run the Pineway Ponds 5 miler this morning and the Mendon Winterfest snowshoe race tomorrow) I'm feeling well enough to head north for the Cockadoodle Shoe 10k snowshoe race tomorrow, which this year is doing double duty as the World Snowshoe Federation North American Championships. Which mainly means the race day is more complicated than usual (because of the anticipated larger turnout, parking is 9 miles away and we take a shuttle to the New Land Trust race site) and there will likely be even more people than usual running much, much faster than I am... especially since this is only the 2nd time I've been on snowshoes this season.
JMH
Friday, January 12, 2018
RUNNING IN THE RAIN IN SHORTS
5 Mile Run Around the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Friday, January 12, 2018
60 degrees at 8:30 at night in January... if not for the rain I would have been running in shirt-sleeves. But it was just as well I had a jacket on, since the temperature dropped roughly 15 degrees while I was running - winter will be back by morning.
JMH
5 Mile Run Around the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Friday, January 12, 2018
60 degrees at 8:30 at night in January... if not for the rain I would have been running in shirt-sleeves. But it was just as well I had a jacket on, since the temperature dropped roughly 15 degrees while I was running - winter will be back by morning.
JMH
Thursday, January 11, 2018
10.6 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Yes, that says 48 degrees (and an hour after sundown, no less.) But it was damp and breezy, so it felt colder than that, at least until I rode up a couple of hills - pedaling my 50 lb fat bike uphill warmed me up pretty nicely.
The drawback to such warm temperatures was the snow was pretty slushy, which makes for tough going even with 4" wide tires. I mostly rode the bare bike path and Lock 7 Rd - tried a short bit of snow covered path near Lock 7 and rapidly gave up, and there was still some snow and ice on the path between the Lions Park and the start of the Colonie section.
I briefly considered doing a 2nd lap out to the Lock and back, but I just had too much work to do tonight to stay out for another 30 minutes. Oh, well.
JMH
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Yes, that says 48 degrees (and an hour after sundown, no less.) But it was damp and breezy, so it felt colder than that, at least until I rode up a couple of hills - pedaling my 50 lb fat bike uphill warmed me up pretty nicely.
The drawback to such warm temperatures was the snow was pretty slushy, which makes for tough going even with 4" wide tires. I mostly rode the bare bike path and Lock 7 Rd - tried a short bit of snow covered path near Lock 7 and rapidly gave up, and there was still some snow and ice on the path between the Lions Park and the start of the Colonie section.
I briefly considered doing a 2nd lap out to the Lock and back, but I just had too much work to do tonight to stay out for another 30 minutes. Oh, well.
Sunday, January 07, 2018
Friday, January 05, 2018
NATURE SCOFFS AT MY PLANS
No Frozen Assets or Winter Warrior for the Turtle 😡
Friday, January 5, 2018
I refuse to call this weather by whatever overly dramatic name the Weather Channel has come up with to get people panicking and visiting their site more often for updates... but after swearing all week that I would be out in Rochester tomorrow come frozen hell or high snow banks - I'm not going, and it's all due to the weather.
The conditions for the two races are intimidating (-25 degrees in the morning with the windchill, -15 degrees in the evening) but not insurmountable - the snowshoe race would only take around an hour and involves plenty of hard work, and if worst came to worst I could stop early at the Winter Warrior, which is a 4 lap course. Unfortunately, Ann said the roads are also pretty bad - lots of blowing snow and icy surfaces - with lots of accident reports. So when I put it all together I concluded that it made more sense to stay here this weekend... which is very frustrating, given that I signed up for and skipped these same two races a year ago. And I was also looking at this weekend as my first foray into more consistent longer distances in 2018.
So it goes. At least I have a "local" snowshoe race to go to on Sunday (about two hours away in VT, but part of the WMAC series I help organize) though I'll be taking an unconventional approach to that - I'm going to be race photographer while everyone else runs, then run the course and pull down whatever markings are out there after everyone is finished.
JMH
No Frozen Assets or Winter Warrior for the Turtle 😡
Friday, January 5, 2018
I refuse to call this weather by whatever overly dramatic name the Weather Channel has come up with to get people panicking and visiting their site more often for updates... but after swearing all week that I would be out in Rochester tomorrow come frozen hell or high snow banks - I'm not going, and it's all due to the weather.
The conditions for the two races are intimidating (-25 degrees in the morning with the windchill, -15 degrees in the evening) but not insurmountable - the snowshoe race would only take around an hour and involves plenty of hard work, and if worst came to worst I could stop early at the Winter Warrior, which is a 4 lap course. Unfortunately, Ann said the roads are also pretty bad - lots of blowing snow and icy surfaces - with lots of accident reports. So when I put it all together I concluded that it made more sense to stay here this weekend... which is very frustrating, given that I signed up for and skipped these same two races a year ago. And I was also looking at this weekend as my first foray into more consistent longer distances in 2018.
So it goes. At least I have a "local" snowshoe race to go to on Sunday (about two hours away in VT, but part of the WMAC series I help organize) though I'll be taking an unconventional approach to that - I'm going to be race photographer while everyone else runs, then run the course and pull down whatever markings are out there after everyone is finished.
JMH
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