Abishag

Greetings!  In more than one post on this blog site I have referred fondly to rituals.  The Streak, is one of my many daily rituals.  It just happens to be the one that takes place every single day no matter what else is going on or where I am in the world. Today, I exercised very early in the morning as I am want to do, especially when I have a busy day scheduled. The first item was a trip to the vet. Abishag, the cat who has lived with us for 16 years, just one year shy of The Streak, was having some trouble.

I soon learned the trouble was far worse than we imagined. We had to have her put to sleep. This sort of thing is never easy.  Shannan is devastated and I am having a heck of a struggle.  It hit me really hard when I arrived home.  We have all these rituals related to life with the cat. I expect the rituals will be as hard as anything as we move on without this precious little creature in our lives.   

We buried her on our property.  Digging the hole was a great physical release for my wide range of emotions.  I am seriously considering going for a run this evening, rather than sitting around avoiding regular rituals.

Abishag, aka, Abbey, was a pure delight in our lives. We will miss her sorely, but will always remember the beauty and joy she brought to us. For that, I am extraordinarily grateful. Thank you, Abbey.

Rest well, my friend. Rest well.

Tom

More than I expected in Baltimore

I knew we were staying in the downtown area of Baltimore. Other than that I didn't know what to expect from the 30 hours we'd spend in the city. What a delightful time we had! We poked around on the Johns Hopkins campus before a visit to the world-class Baltimore Museum of Art. We enjoyed a delicious brunch at Miss Sadie's Cafe, milled around the Inner Harbor, toured the Museum of Industry and had a particularly moving experience at Fort McHenry. As you may know, this is the place that inspired Francis Scott Key's Star Spangled Banner in 1814.

Prior to our next day of experiencing, learning and exploring I set out for a lengthy run. I traversed some of the ground mentioned above, as well winding though the city streets and along the waterways. The weather was mild, the morning clear. Both helped in the making of a perfect run. Baltimore is a great town for jogging. The downtown area is mostly flat and there's plenty of sidewalk. The scenery changes with ethnic neighborhoods, interesting architecture, a goodly amount of sculptures, street art and the natural beauty of the Patapsco River. I wish I had planned more time to run. It was truly magnificent. Writing about it reminds me of how energized I felt in the moment.

Baltimore has a lot of incredible history and culture to offer. Plan a visit and RUN!

Tom

Sooner or Later

Surprisingly, I have been working in the same town for nearly six years and have never run within the city limits. Granted, most of those years were spent as a part-time adjunct faculty member working two nights a week. I know, that’s a lame excuse. Nonetheless, there is a stream near the college, so I have often imagined I would run by it sooner or later.

This morning I intentionally set my schedule so as to have a mid-day run. However, rather than exploring the stream I've ventured into a large city park. It's a very nice recreational facility with fields and nature trails. To my surprise there is a fantastic stretch of the trail along a lovely creek. People of all ages filled the park around lunch time. Children from school groups scurried around on the ball fields. Adults played tennis and lots of other outdoor activities. The run was worth the wait. I’ll get to that stream before the next five years pass.

Here. There. Where you are. Run!

Tom

Unforgettable runs

While heading to the airport, Shannan and I chatted about previous trips and unexpectedly delightful runs. In the mix we discussed some times when my runs went badly. A couple of them are worth noting. We took a trip to Fairfax, VA early on in my experience as a runner. At this point I had never run more than a 10K (6.2 miles). While Shannan attended a meeting, I went out to run on a magnificent path system through a big park and around the Fairfax. I found myself lost. I kept running trying to find our hotel, of which I did not know the address. I did know the name of the hotel, so I started asking walkers and other joggers. This didn’t prove to be helpful. Being the person I am, I kept jogging, two hours and forty minutes later I managed to find my way back to the hotel. My legs were spent. That night we went to a banquet. I was so stiff it was very difficult to move.

Another time I lost my way on the streets of Istanbul, Turkey. Once, again I did not know the address of the hotel. To make it a touch more fun, I didn't even know the name of the hotel, not mention I don't speak Turkish. It only took about an hour to find my way back. Albeit my legs were much stronger on this mishap, I missed breakfast and had only 10 minutes to towel off and get dressed to meet our tour bus. After this I learned to take hotel information with me when running out of town.

The other stand out was a 2:00am run in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. There is absolutely no light pollution there. Hence, the dark of night is pitch black. I couldn't see anything. I fell down three times trying to gingerly have a three mile Streak preserving run. The funny thing is I didn't trip over anything in particular. I was so disoriented by the total darkness that I simply fell over my own feet.

Make memories. Run.

Tom

Mexico City Day 2

Greetings!  Day two of running in Mexico City went much better. I ran along Paseo de la Reforma, the longest street in town. The sidewalks still presented a number of problems, however the large divided roadway was well lit which allowed for enjoyment of the surroundings. The road took me past museums and the very big and very nice Chapultepec Park.  Other people seemed to know this road made for a better route. I encountered a number of folks out for a morning jog at 5:00AM.

The morning was a little cooler than the previous one. I might have worn gloves had I ventured outside prior to running. Many of the other runners had on long sleeves, pants and a few had hats. I think most of my friends from the American South would have found the temperature quite pleasing.

Like any mega city, construction and traffic remained constant through most hours of the day and night. Many businesses touted signs noting round the clock service. Given the high number of people out at any given time, Shannan and I felt comfortable walking to dinner and others destinations, and I had no concerns exercising before the light of day. Today, caused me to rethink my previous, and a bit more critical post on running in Mexico City.

Run around the world!

Tom

Running in Mega-Cities

Greetings! Over the years I've had the opportunity to run in cities with serious air pollution, at high altitude, as well as some with very heavy traffic. Today's outing provided some of all three. Given the large number of commuters in Mexico City I planned to get in my run first thing in the morning. I had been advised drivers begin the daily road war as early as 4:00 am. Also, it had been suggested to me to wait until sunrise to run for safety's sake.

I had been reading near a window in the lobby starting around 5:00. Indeed, the number of vehicles on the road grew steadily. In fact, they appeared so fast I became nervous. So, I decided I'd rather risk the dark than a horde of cars. It was a difficult run. The sidewalks in the Zona Rosa area are uniformly uneven. To add to my distress I didn't have a clear sense of the direction of cross streets. Also, I had to focus as pedestrians, dog walkers and shop keepers kept appearing out of nowhere. Along with all that there was my first concern, the many drivers hurrying about the thoroughfares. 

Of course with all that said, I thought it would be a “good idea” to cross a very large roundabout to get a closer look the Angel monument in the middle of a very busy interception. It was here I learned cars split sides and some even go against traffic in the roundabout. Scary! Getting back to the sidewalk was a perilous endeavor.

Even with a myriad of obstacles I chalked up four miles. The air quality presented no problem, and running at nearly eight thousand feet didn't create any noticeable breathing issues whatsoever. Yet, the sidewalks and traffic put Mexico City in league with Damascus and Cairo as the most difficult runs in my experience.

Be careful. Run.

Tom

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Shannan and I recently completed What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by, Haruki Murakami. I think it’s a good read for runners. Folks who don’t have a long standing commitment to the sport may disagree. Many times I found myself in complete accord with Murakami, however, his abiding love for the marathon is greater than my own. Many times in the book he reminded me of experiences I had while running. Many proved so important that I chose to talk or write about them. It is sort of odd that a solitary sport like running leads to many conversations and communal activities.

Here in GA, our wacky winter weather appears to be behind us now. Spring has me excited about increasing my time on the road. Luckily, pollen doesn’t present a problem for me. I don’t have races or events in mind for this year. Perhaps something will present itself to me. At present, I am just excited about being outside, running, thinking and later chatting about the experience.

Find something to talk about. Run.


Tom