Weekly Activity Summary
1/28/2018 - 2/3/2018
running (1) - 4.5 mi
riding - 0 mi
snowshoe - 0 mi
walking/hiking (7) - 7.9 mi
outdoor activity 7/7 days
DDPY -
JMH
Saturday, February 03, 2018
4.5 Mile Run on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Not as far as I was hoping to run, but so it goes... the trip out to Scrafford Lane was very pleasant, with parts of the path covered in a thin layer of snow that added a little extra cushioning and made a soothing crunching sound underfoot. Then, on the way back my guts got cantankerous, so when I finally got back to the car I decided to play it safe and headed home instead of running a couple of miles in the opposite direction.
JMH
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Not as far as I was hoping to run, but so it goes... the trip out to Scrafford Lane was very pleasant, with parts of the path covered in a thin layer of snow that added a little extra cushioning and made a soothing crunching sound underfoot. Then, on the way back my guts got cantankerous, so when I finally got back to the car I decided to play it safe and headed home instead of running a couple of miles in the opposite direction.
JMH
Friday, February 02, 2018
Ending the Week on a Positive Note
Friday, February 2, 2018
I spent most of last night on the road, driving to Syracuse for visiting hours at a funeral home and then a bite to eat before driving back to Albany. Right after I left the restaurant my car's computer decided that it was time to switch from "oil change needed soon" to "oil change needed right now", at which point it starts recording how many miles I've driven since it told me that. So after driving back through rain and sleet (fortunately, the temperature never really dropped below freezing until I got home) I had to schedule an appointment at Saratoga Honda, and managed to get one for 4 PM tonight.
So right after work I drove up to Saratoga and dropped off the car, figuring at that time of day I'd have about a two hour wait. No big deal, I had plenty to do while I was waiting. But I got a really nice surprise - they took the car in immediately and 45 minutes later I was driving out of the lot.
I would have liked to go walk around Saratoga Spa State Park a bit and check out conditions for Sunday (currently, a trail race with spikes because of the ice) but the temperatures were in the low teens with a strong wind (so probably around zero after the windchill.) So I settled for driving home instead.
I was pretty sure I would freeze during my short walk later in the evening but that was the 2nd pleasant surprise, while it was cold the wind had died down and it was a fairly nice night, with an almost full moon in the sky. It's too bad I wasn't so tired, it would have been a nice night for a run.
I'm definitely not going out to Hammond Hill State Forest for the Loomis snowshoe race - really don't feel like driving 6+ hours, especially for a race that the RD has said has barely enough snow. I had considered going to the Beer & Chili 10k in Newport, NY (put on by the Kuyahora Kickers, the same group that did the Towpath Trail Run I enjoyed running last May) but that's a 3 hour round trip and I don't even feel much like that, especially since it would mean leaving at 7:30 AM. So it looks like I'll just go out for a run somewhere around here tomorrow - probably for the best, given how little I've run recently.
JMH
Friday, February 2, 2018
I spent most of last night on the road, driving to Syracuse for visiting hours at a funeral home and then a bite to eat before driving back to Albany. Right after I left the restaurant my car's computer decided that it was time to switch from "oil change needed soon" to "oil change needed right now", at which point it starts recording how many miles I've driven since it told me that. So after driving back through rain and sleet (fortunately, the temperature never really dropped below freezing until I got home) I had to schedule an appointment at Saratoga Honda, and managed to get one for 4 PM tonight.
So right after work I drove up to Saratoga and dropped off the car, figuring at that time of day I'd have about a two hour wait. No big deal, I had plenty to do while I was waiting. But I got a really nice surprise - they took the car in immediately and 45 minutes later I was driving out of the lot.
I would have liked to go walk around Saratoga Spa State Park a bit and check out conditions for Sunday (currently, a trail race with spikes because of the ice) but the temperatures were in the low teens with a strong wind (so probably around zero after the windchill.) So I settled for driving home instead.
I was pretty sure I would freeze during my short walk later in the evening but that was the 2nd pleasant surprise, while it was cold the wind had died down and it was a fairly nice night, with an almost full moon in the sky. It's too bad I wasn't so tired, it would have been a nice night for a run.
I'm definitely not going out to Hammond Hill State Forest for the Loomis snowshoe race - really don't feel like driving 6+ hours, especially for a race that the RD has said has barely enough snow. I had considered going to the Beer & Chili 10k in Newport, NY (put on by the Kuyahora Kickers, the same group that did the Towpath Trail Run I enjoyed running last May) but that's a 3 hour round trip and I don't even feel much like that, especially since it would mean leaving at 7:30 AM. So it looks like I'll just go out for a run somewhere around here tomorrow - probably for the best, given how little I've run recently.
JMH
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
