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

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

Sunday, January 07, 2018

Weekly Activity Summary
12/31/2017 - 1/6/2018

running (1) - 4.5 mi
riding - 0 mi
snowshoe - 0 mi
walking/hiking (5) - 7.2 mi

outdoor activity 7/7 days

DDPY -

JMH

Friday, January 05, 2018

COLD & WINDY
4.5 Mile Run Around Albany
Friday, December 5, 2017
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

Monday, January 01, 2018

2018 Starts With A Whimper, Not A Bang
Monday, January 1, 2018

Sunday, December 31, 2017

SO LONG 2017
Sunday, December 31, 2017

2017 Overall Totals

RUN 748.5 mi
RIDE 1766.6 mi
SNOWSHOE 34.8 mi
HIKE/WALK 404.0 mi
PADDLE 5.6 mi
XC SKI 1.9 mi
DAYS OUTDOORS 359/365
MONTHS BIKED 12/12


2017 Event Totals
Run 395.6 mi, 104 hr 46 min
Bike 80.2 mi, 6 hr 32 min

Snowshoe 33.1 mi, 11 hr 5 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min

states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT

12 road races
31 trail races
6 road/trail races
8 snowshoe races
7 duathlons
COLD! COLD! COLD!
0.6 Mile Walk on the Walkway Over the Hudson
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Weekly Activity Summary
12/24/2017 - 12/30/2017

running (1) - 3.1 mi
riding - 0 mi
snowshoe - 0 mi
walking/hiking (7) - 6.5 mi

outdoor activity 6/7 days

DDPY -

JMH

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Disappointing
Saturday, December 30, 2017

One of my favorite places to visit in Nyack is Nyack Beach State Park, or rather the trail that runs north along the Hudson River shoreline from the park. Towering cliffs, the river, views of the Tappan Zee Bridge (or the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, as the new bridge is officially named) - what's not to love? Well, one thing - apparently the access road is closed in the winter, and there's no parking nearby... so after the race this morning Ann and I drove to the park entrance, stared at the closed gate, and then sadly drove away.

Another favorite place is Minnewaska State Park Preserve. We got back to New Paltz around 3:40 and reached the park around 4, and were happy to learn that we could stay until 5. Unfortunately... the majority of the trails are closed to all use but skiing when there's sufficient snow. We drove to the upper lot but then didn't even get out of the car because there was nowhere we could walk without breaking the rules. I understand that it's a lot of work to groom the trails for skiing but really, they could at least allow snowshoeing along the sides. So no Lake Minnewaska in the snow for us today, either.

JMH
VERY CHILLY HERONS
1.2 Mile Walk at Rockland Lake State Park
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Slow Going 2017 - Race #54
Snowflake 5k Road Race
Saturday, December 30, 2017


2017 Event Totals
Run 395.6 mi, 104 hr 46 min
Bike 80.2 mi, 6 hr 32 min

Snowshoe 33.1 mi, 11 hr 5 min
Kayak 0 mi, 0 hr 0 min

states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT

Friday, December 29, 2017

YUP, STILL BITTERLY COLD
1.1 Mile Walk at the Crossings of Colonie
Friday, December 29, 2017

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

STILL REALLY FREAKIN' COLD
0.9 Mile Walk at Tinker Nature Park
Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

TOO #&!@%ING COLD!
0.9 Mile Walk at Tinker Nature Park
Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Too Icy For A Ride 😞
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Weekly Activity Summary
12/17/2017 - 12/23/2017

running (2) - 14.2 mi
riding (3) - 47.1 mi
snowshoe - 0 mi
walking/hiking (2) - 4.3 mi

outdoor activity 7/7 days

DDPY -

JMH

Friday, December 22, 2017

A BIT OF SNOW
9.1 Mile Run in the Albany Pine Bush
Friday, December 22, 2017


Thursday, December 21, 2017

WELCOME WINTER SOLSTICE!
14.5 Mile Ride Through the Corning Preserve & Schuyler Flatts Cultural Park
Thursday, December 21, 2017

WELCOME WINTER SOLSTICE!
5.1 Mile Run on the Zim Smith Trail
Thursday, December 21, 2017