Top o' the morning!
I've been busy as a beaver the past week, and bi-continental to boot. Here's an update on this and that, but not all.
Running updates:
Sunday, 4/3/05
85 minutes, long run. Tried to push pace, rolled out first 30min, then relaxed a bit. Got to tail of Wynman park in 25min flat (usually takes more like 29min). Very windy, bit rainy. Ran up and about Dru Hill in Baltimore. First day really felt back to normal just about. Achilles still sore, though. At least I am icing again.
Saturday, 4/2/05
19 min warmup
30 min 'tempo' run.
19 min cooldown.
Today was torrential rain and wind. I began on the Hopkins track, made it through about 900m at 5:10/mile pace before some buster in a rainsuit kicked me out. There was an impending lacrosse game, or some such fake sport as that. I headed up Charles St., past Loyola College and College of Notre Dame (MD), then ran back. My paced waned and it was hard to keep it honest in the elements and on the road. Nonetheless, nice to get at least something in, and I did feel tired afterwards.
Friday, 4/1/05
Ran 2 hours at 5:40 pace... April Fools! Oh dang, that was awesome. (sarcasm)
The only real April Fools day pranks I played were on Stacy, and she's just too easy sometimes.
60 min, close to 9 miles. Stomach still not feeling so good. Queasy on run, but glad to get an hour in. Wanted to do workout, but Hopkins track closed. Waited all day and ran as daylight was dying.
Thursday, 3/31/05
59 min. Ran out Radnor Trail. Stomach still not tip top, but definitely feeling better than yesterday.
Wed, 3/30/05
22 min, 3 miles. Oh the horror, the horror! (To quote Conrad). Gut bug causing some havoc. Feeling quite depleted. Met the contents of my innards many times today. Got my Econ. of strategy mid-term back, which I Rocked with a capital "R".
Tues, 3/29/05
36 min, 5 miles feeling all right in the morning.
21 min, 3 miles, not feeling so good at night. Feel like me tummy is not pleased. I believe I caught a bug from the man behind me on the Air India flight, who kept going to the bathroom, and for whom the flight attendant queried, "Is there a doctor on board this flight?"
Mon, 3/28/05
35 min, 5 miles. Was working on stupid wine bar business plan late. This budget is quite a drag. Worked on Textbook editing project all day. Had to run quite late, and then did not feel good, so cut run short. Spinning a bit from jetlag.
Sunday, 3/27/05
55 min, 8+ miles. Got in an evening run after flying from London to NYC, and train to Philly. Ran down near Haverford and back to my residence, where I got my automobile and drove back to school to haul back my belongings.
Ah, a sad day. Back to the states after a short, packed, whirlwind adventure. What? It's daylight savings time in London a week early? Yikes, better finish our brunch and catch the plane... We did. I spent the whole traveling time reading my textbook project till my eyes bled. Or something like that.
Saturday, 3/26/05
60 min, 9 miles. Did a nice run around jolly old England. Tried to run to Central London from Acton, but a car-only bridge barred the way. Did find the "Linford Christie Athletics Stadium" (which was locked), and did a couple of laps around a nice, large wide-open park. A nice run, even though I was tired.
In, brief, another busy day. After a relaxed brunch at the hotel, it was off to the Charles Dickens Museum, a house where he lived and wrote "Pickwick Papers", among other works. This was a small, out of the way museum, where you had to ring a bell to enter. Quaint and great. From here, we walked to the British Museum, where we were awed by the spoils of history. From the Parthenon marbles to the Rosetta stone, England's loot blew my mind. One could spend much more time there than we had, because it was off to the Globe Theater, a Shakespeare museum and replica where his famous theater stood centuries ago. Being a bit of a Shakespeare scholar meself, I appreciated this stop. We had dinner at The Anchor, a neat pub on the South Bank of the Thames, where Ben Jonson worked on writing the dictionary. We dined on British fare--fish and chips and meat pie. Then we walked over the Millenium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral where we attened an Easter Service. This 2 hour service began in the dark with candles, before the cathedral was illuminated. Gazing on St. Paul's for the first time, coincided with blaring organ and all the celebrations of an Easter Service was fantastic. After this experience, we wandered around the financial district, checked out the architecture of Lloyd's, rode around the top of a double-decker bus, and finally went to Punch and Judy's a pub featured in Bridget Jone's Diary (not that I would know) by Covent Garden (?) Market, where the streetperformers were hopping. We stayed till last call (actually this is only 11pm). Pubs close early in London ever since WWII, presumably to make sure soldiers would show up for work the next day.
Friday, 3/25/05
45 min, squeezed a run in early in the morning. Ran through some quaint London villages on the outskirts of Central London. Houses seemed smaller and there was a different feel to things out here. Need to get used to cars coming on opposite side of the street, so I just look every direction possible before proceeding. Saw a little kid sitting on the left hand side of a truck driving by and it looked like the tike was behind the wheel (to my mind).
Today was quite a busy, touristy day. We got tickets to a show, then made it to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. Pomp, pagentry, trumpets, straight-armed marching and the like, it was all there. Along with about a million bloody tourists. We walked through the scenic St. James Park and swung through the royal Mounted Horse Guard Stables. I encouraged Stacy to go up to one of the royal guards to pose for a photo. She walked under the arch he was guarding, then proceeded to duck under the arch, out fo view, I presume not to block others from snapping their shots. The guard, who we thought was supposed to be immobile, bellowed "Do not stand in the archway!!!" Stacy jumped, but stood still just long enough for me to get a priceless photo. This was one of the highlights of the day for me.
We strolled about this area, where Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, etc. are.
We stopped by the National Gallery and took in some of the great artists of the civilized world. Signing up for a free audio tour headphones helped to paint the picture behind the paintings, if you know what I mean. I dragged Stacy away from her Manets and Monets and naked bathers to go to another Stacy-inspired outing--high tea at the Waldorf Hotel. Lame though I feared it may be, tea was rather entertaining. Finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, and the like complemented our sweet steaming brews. I made a few major gaffes I'm sure, suffice it to say I now know what and how to use a tea strainer.
Following tea, we whirled off to Harrod's, the famous department store, and strolled the aisles. We made it to "Blood Brothers" at the Phoenix just in time for the curtain to open. This was an entertainig, British-themed play about 2 brothers separated at birth, but who have a startling connection!!! Following the play, we had Indian food at a small authentic-looking hole in the wall, and hopped on one of the last tubes back to our hotel. Quite a full, satisfying day!
Thurs, 3/24/05
Big fat zero. Unable to sleep at all on the Air India Flight, had to crash for a few hours after arrival in London. Then, hopped off to Tower of London before it closed. I can run any time, eh? Still a little disappointing, but not the end of the world. My achilles is extremely sore, in any event, from Tuesday and from being tired.
Tower of London was intensely cool. Beefeaters are the special guards that live (or at least used to) in the Tower, wear snappy costumes, and answer tourist questions. They also carry lances or some such weapon. Stacy and I stared at the bling of all the crown jewels, saw some prison cells, other weapons, suit of arms, and so forth. Quite a neat place, sad to rush it, but it was possible because it was uncrowded. Walked across London Tower Bridge, which was iconic and super nift.
We popped into a pub for pizza and hops. Found a pub where Shakespeare used to chill at. Later, I believe we walked around some shopping areas, but called it a relatively early night.
Wed, 3/23/05
69 min, 10+ miles. Run down Radnor Trail and about. Morning of departure, raining out. Sore legs. Train to JFK airport was smooth. Air India was a cultural experience in and of itself, with the flight attendants dressed in traditional wear, greeting us in the Indian manner, and feeding us Indian food. I'd say over half the occupants of the plane were Indians. Unfortunatly, the flight was warm, and they didn't seem overly concerned about providing us with H2O. Couldn't sleep, read Jonathan's textbook all day, which I still had about 400 pages to proofread this weekend. D'OH!
Very happy with our hotel, about 15 min away from Central London on the tube. The tube is very efficient and frankly makes the Philadelphia public transport look embarrassing. More observations to follow as I have time, and photographs.
Running updates:
Sunday, 4/3/05
85 minutes, long run. Tried to push pace, rolled out first 30min, then relaxed a bit. Got to tail of Wynman park in 25min flat (usually takes more like 29min). Very windy, bit rainy. Ran up and about Dru Hill in Baltimore. First day really felt back to normal just about. Achilles still sore, though. At least I am icing again.
Saturday, 4/2/05
19 min warmup
30 min 'tempo' run.
19 min cooldown.
Today was torrential rain and wind. I began on the Hopkins track, made it through about 900m at 5:10/mile pace before some buster in a rainsuit kicked me out. There was an impending lacrosse game, or some such fake sport as that. I headed up Charles St., past Loyola College and College of Notre Dame (MD), then ran back. My paced waned and it was hard to keep it honest in the elements and on the road. Nonetheless, nice to get at least something in, and I did feel tired afterwards.
Friday, 4/1/05
Ran 2 hours at 5:40 pace... April Fools! Oh dang, that was awesome. (sarcasm)
The only real April Fools day pranks I played were on Stacy, and she's just too easy sometimes.
60 min, close to 9 miles. Stomach still not feeling so good. Queasy on run, but glad to get an hour in. Wanted to do workout, but Hopkins track closed. Waited all day and ran as daylight was dying.
Thursday, 3/31/05
59 min. Ran out Radnor Trail. Stomach still not tip top, but definitely feeling better than yesterday.
Wed, 3/30/05
22 min, 3 miles. Oh the horror, the horror! (To quote Conrad). Gut bug causing some havoc. Feeling quite depleted. Met the contents of my innards many times today. Got my Econ. of strategy mid-term back, which I Rocked with a capital "R".
Tues, 3/29/05
36 min, 5 miles feeling all right in the morning.
21 min, 3 miles, not feeling so good at night. Feel like me tummy is not pleased. I believe I caught a bug from the man behind me on the Air India flight, who kept going to the bathroom, and for whom the flight attendant queried, "Is there a doctor on board this flight?"
Mon, 3/28/05
35 min, 5 miles. Was working on stupid wine bar business plan late. This budget is quite a drag. Worked on Textbook editing project all day. Had to run quite late, and then did not feel good, so cut run short. Spinning a bit from jetlag.
Sunday, 3/27/05
55 min, 8+ miles. Got in an evening run after flying from London to NYC, and train to Philly. Ran down near Haverford and back to my residence, where I got my automobile and drove back to school to haul back my belongings.
Ah, a sad day. Back to the states after a short, packed, whirlwind adventure. What? It's daylight savings time in London a week early? Yikes, better finish our brunch and catch the plane... We did. I spent the whole traveling time reading my textbook project till my eyes bled. Or something like that.
Saturday, 3/26/05
60 min, 9 miles. Did a nice run around jolly old England. Tried to run to Central London from Acton, but a car-only bridge barred the way. Did find the "Linford Christie Athletics Stadium" (which was locked), and did a couple of laps around a nice, large wide-open park. A nice run, even though I was tired.
In, brief, another busy day. After a relaxed brunch at the hotel, it was off to the Charles Dickens Museum, a house where he lived and wrote "Pickwick Papers", among other works. This was a small, out of the way museum, where you had to ring a bell to enter. Quaint and great. From here, we walked to the British Museum, where we were awed by the spoils of history. From the Parthenon marbles to the Rosetta stone, England's loot blew my mind. One could spend much more time there than we had, because it was off to the Globe Theater, a Shakespeare museum and replica where his famous theater stood centuries ago. Being a bit of a Shakespeare scholar meself, I appreciated this stop. We had dinner at The Anchor, a neat pub on the South Bank of the Thames, where Ben Jonson worked on writing the dictionary. We dined on British fare--fish and chips and meat pie. Then we walked over the Millenium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral where we attened an Easter Service. This 2 hour service began in the dark with candles, before the cathedral was illuminated. Gazing on St. Paul's for the first time, coincided with blaring organ and all the celebrations of an Easter Service was fantastic. After this experience, we wandered around the financial district, checked out the architecture of Lloyd's, rode around the top of a double-decker bus, and finally went to Punch and Judy's a pub featured in Bridget Jone's Diary (not that I would know) by Covent Garden (?) Market, where the streetperformers were hopping. We stayed till last call (actually this is only 11pm). Pubs close early in London ever since WWII, presumably to make sure soldiers would show up for work the next day.
Friday, 3/25/05
45 min, squeezed a run in early in the morning. Ran through some quaint London villages on the outskirts of Central London. Houses seemed smaller and there was a different feel to things out here. Need to get used to cars coming on opposite side of the street, so I just look every direction possible before proceeding. Saw a little kid sitting on the left hand side of a truck driving by and it looked like the tike was behind the wheel (to my mind).
Today was quite a busy, touristy day. We got tickets to a show, then made it to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. Pomp, pagentry, trumpets, straight-armed marching and the like, it was all there. Along with about a million bloody tourists. We walked through the scenic St. James Park and swung through the royal Mounted Horse Guard Stables. I encouraged Stacy to go up to one of the royal guards to pose for a photo. She walked under the arch he was guarding, then proceeded to duck under the arch, out fo view, I presume not to block others from snapping their shots. The guard, who we thought was supposed to be immobile, bellowed "Do not stand in the archway!!!" Stacy jumped, but stood still just long enough for me to get a priceless photo. This was one of the highlights of the day for me.
We strolled about this area, where Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, etc. are.
We stopped by the National Gallery and took in some of the great artists of the civilized world. Signing up for a free audio tour headphones helped to paint the picture behind the paintings, if you know what I mean. I dragged Stacy away from her Manets and Monets and naked bathers to go to another Stacy-inspired outing--high tea at the Waldorf Hotel. Lame though I feared it may be, tea was rather entertaining. Finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, and the like complemented our sweet steaming brews. I made a few major gaffes I'm sure, suffice it to say I now know what and how to use a tea strainer.
Following tea, we whirled off to Harrod's, the famous department store, and strolled the aisles. We made it to "Blood Brothers" at the Phoenix just in time for the curtain to open. This was an entertainig, British-themed play about 2 brothers separated at birth, but who have a startling connection!!! Following the play, we had Indian food at a small authentic-looking hole in the wall, and hopped on one of the last tubes back to our hotel. Quite a full, satisfying day!
Thurs, 3/24/05
Big fat zero. Unable to sleep at all on the Air India Flight, had to crash for a few hours after arrival in London. Then, hopped off to Tower of London before it closed. I can run any time, eh? Still a little disappointing, but not the end of the world. My achilles is extremely sore, in any event, from Tuesday and from being tired.
Tower of London was intensely cool. Beefeaters are the special guards that live (or at least used to) in the Tower, wear snappy costumes, and answer tourist questions. They also carry lances or some such weapon. Stacy and I stared at the bling of all the crown jewels, saw some prison cells, other weapons, suit of arms, and so forth. Quite a neat place, sad to rush it, but it was possible because it was uncrowded. Walked across London Tower Bridge, which was iconic and super nift.
We popped into a pub for pizza and hops. Found a pub where Shakespeare used to chill at. Later, I believe we walked around some shopping areas, but called it a relatively early night.
Wed, 3/23/05
69 min, 10+ miles. Run down Radnor Trail and about. Morning of departure, raining out. Sore legs. Train to JFK airport was smooth. Air India was a cultural experience in and of itself, with the flight attendants dressed in traditional wear, greeting us in the Indian manner, and feeding us Indian food. I'd say over half the occupants of the plane were Indians. Unfortunatly, the flight was warm, and they didn't seem overly concerned about providing us with H2O. Couldn't sleep, read Jonathan's textbook all day, which I still had about 400 pages to proofread this weekend. D'OH!
Very happy with our hotel, about 15 min away from Central London on the tube. The tube is very efficient and frankly makes the Philadelphia public transport look embarrassing. More observations to follow as I have time, and photographs.
posted by MDB at 11:36 PM
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