Galapagos Costars

Greetings! Like most passengers on our Galapagos Island cruise we expected to muse about the Beagle expedition that brought Charles Darwin to the area in 1835, and to be amazed by the magnificent plant, animal and marine life of this unique place. On all fronts the trip did not disappoint. However, an unexpected costar, or several thousand of them, stole the spot light after sundown.

The Galapagos Islands have very little light pollution, which makes the night sky a glorious sight to behold. Our position at the equator gave a stunning view of the stars as they wrapped around the horizon. I felt like I was in my own personal planetarium. The Milky Way was distinct and the bright lights of the sky seemed close enough to reach up and pluck them. Stars majestically twinkled and Shannan saw two meteoroids entering the atmosphere, and thus becoming a meteors, or as most folks say, “she saw two shooting stars.”

Seeing the starry nights ranked high amid my favorite parts of the trip. Make no mistake, the Galapagos Islands are among the great wonders of the world.

Shine like the stars. Run.

Tom

First Few Hours

International travel always brings numerous and wonderful opportunities. Sometimes our travel schedule creates situations such that I have to run between connecting flights, or as soon as arrive at our destination in order to preserve The Streak of daily exercise. It’s no hassle for me as I love running in the first few hours in a new place. The new environment generally gives off many signals we have arrived somewhere different than our own, the types of vehicles on the road, the smells in the air, the landscape and the climate.

My first run in Quito, Ecuador, only a few hours after we landed, fit the bill. Our guide told me about a park close to our hotel. In the few minutes before I reached the park, I had taken note of crowded public transportation and the mass of people out preparing for the run-off Presidential election to take place later in the day. Police and election personnel blocked streets near voting stations. Meanwhile vendors set up shop anticipating a good day of business with long lines. Voting is mandatory in Ecuador.

The park itself proved a new experience. At 6:00am 20 or more adult men were playing pick-up games of basketball. Carolina Park has something for most, fields for a wide variety of sports, open green space, art, refreshment stands, walking paths, playscapes, water features, and a big blue running track.  Yes, blue.  Inside the blue track were the typical track and field accoutrements along with oversize tires for cross-fit style workouts. I’ve never visited a park like this one anywhere. It’s a great asset to the area.

The run prepared me for the many other distinctly Ecuadorian encounters we had on our city tour and visit to the Middle of the World Museum.

Don’t Wait. Run

Tom 

Apple Airpods

Greetings and Happy Spring! The temperature in the Atlanta area has been a sheer delight for exercising outside. We really enjoyed trying out new (to us) trails at Kennesaw Mountain this past weekend.

I couldn’t help raving about the official arrival of spring. However, this post focuses on wireless earphones. Last year I purchased a pair at a VERY low price. In quick order, I determined I’m not a fan of the short cord going around the back of my neck. I found it nerve racking. At present, the earphones are sitting in a box. The Apple Airpods held appeal as they are truly wireless and will play nicely with my other devices. However, as you certainly know, the Airpods do not have a very low price. Though it goes against my general philosophy, I purchased a pair.

Out of the gate I have been very pleased with the product. It was never my intention to wear them while running as I am adamantly opposed to running with a phone. I rarely carry my phone, I can’t image lugging the thing along for one of my sacred activities, exercising.

Many folks keep asking if the Airpods stay in place while running. I wondered as well. So, I ran 4 miles on a treadmill with them. For the record, I watched a learning company lecture with my IPad during the runJ. The Airpods worked perfectly and never budged. Just for fun, on another occasion I wore them and completed a high intensity cardio workout, which included a lot of jumping and burpees, for 45 minutes. Again, the Airpods stayed in place and the sound worked well.

I imagine people who are phone and music power users will really like the Airpods if the price point is within their budget.

Wired or Wireless. Run.

Tom

Hello Alexa

Greetings! Last year I posted a blog about completing other tasks while dealing with a procedure on my left foot.  In that post, I discussed a short story, Good Night Alexa. It’s a take on the Classic Good Night Moon with the addition of Amazon’s Intelligent Assistant, Alexa. For fun, I made the story available through Amazon for the Kindle.  You can access Good Night Alexa at this link.

Have Fun. Read. Write. Run.

Tom

Memorable Moments At Stone Mountain

Greetings! I’ve had so many memorable moments as a runner.  Being on the road at odd times allows for experiencing all manner of interesting life events. I recently posted about our stay at Stone Mountain. As noted on this site, I get up early in the morning.  While staying in a yurt at Stone Mountain, I woke up and went to the campground pavilion to read and whatnot. A friendly black cat has taken up residence in the pavilion.  Another fixture in the facility is a television that seems to be on all the time. While I was in there, a newscast reported the old archives building in downtown Atlanta would be imploded at 7:00 am.

I went about my other morning activities. Rather than starting breakfast, Shannan and I went to watch the demolition of the iconic building in real time. The destruction of the structure happened very quickly. We agreed experiencing the moment held value to us as lifelong Atlantans. Later while hiking around the mountain we talked about how the morning reminded us that in 2001 we had a reservation to camp the weekend of September 14, so I could run in the first of the Atlanta Track Club’s Grand Prix series Singleton races around the mountain. As you know, the events of that Tuesday, September 11, had a profound impact on all other activities that week. We refused to acquiesce to terrorism and stayed the course. The campground was not packed, for sure. At check in, the attendants offered campers a small American Flag. We like others placed the flag in an outward and obvious place on our little tent site.

The race happened as the Track Club, too, took a position of standing strong. A small group of folks showed up to run five and ten-mile races. It was surreal and moving all at once and by far one of the times I was very proud to be a runner.

Experience memorable moments. Run.

Tom

20 Years Of The Streak And A Lifetime of Running

Greetings! “I’m a runner.” This sentence gets used often when I’m asked to describe myself or talk about my personal interests. Long before The Streak, running proved an interesting and recurring theme in my life. My mother used to lecture me about spending too much time out “running the roads” with my childhood friends. My buddies and I would wander as many as five miles from our neighborhood. For the record, I’m describing school nights. In the summer, we’d find ourselves as far away from Atlanta as Sandy Springs, Riverdale, Forest Park and other remote suburbs. Then there was school, starting in the second grade, around age seven, I began walking a mile to school. Walking two miles a day to and from school, playing pick-up sports in vacant lots and “running the roads” all over the neighborhood, it’s a mystery to everyone that I managed to spend much of my youth overweight.

As a teen, I spent a little time “running” from the law. For too many years I was running from somebody or somebody was running from me. Life was a mess in my every direction. I didn’t want to die, but I was unquestionably scared of living. A pivotal moment in my life came from being introduced to Bruce Springsteen’s song, Born to Run. I certainly was tramp on the run, more importantly, I resonated deeply with these lines:

Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back

It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap

We gotta get out while we're young

'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

I knew I had to get out of my little death trap, not walk, but run. It was songs like this and most from John Mellencamp that gave me the three minutes of rebellion I needed to keep forging on the road. Time to time, I listen to some of those old songs, and I struggle to believe that all that anger and fear only exist in the past. The reality that they do, is a great truth in my life. I can’t pinpoint the moment when such radical change happened for me, but I’m delighted not to re-run those tired old roads to nowhere.

As you many of you know, The Streak began with a goal of running every day for a month. I missed that mark four months in a row. Since March 10, 1997, though, I’ve been so very fortunate to run miles and miles of road all over the globe. As I reach this milestone of exercising every single day for twenty years, I am delighted to know I am not running from trouble anymore. These days I’m running for health and fun. Mostly, I’m incredibly grateful that I am still running on this side of the sun. 

Enjoy the Road. Run.

Tom

Rock Running

Greetings! Over the years I’ve been running around Georgia’s big rock at Stone Mountain in races, while camping and during day trips. Recently, I had a wonderful new experience. As I was running back to the campground the sun was coming over the horizon. It’s radiance and the reflection from the lake bathed the mountain in a rosy hue. Rather than protruding grey granite, Georgia’s popular tourist destination resembled Australia’s sacred Uluru, commonly known as Ayers Rock.

We had a number of other delightful firsts during our weekend stay. Though we are not new to camping in a yurt, this was our first time to do so at Stone Mountain. In fact, the yurt we had was brand new. That was neat given Shannan and I have used the primitive sites for nearly twenty years. We also visited the quarry exhibit and for the first time went into the Evergreen Conference Center located on site. It’s very nice. Of course, we trekked up the mountain. That feels like a requirement of every visit. In addition, each day we enjoyed hikes on paths we have not used previously. Our favorite was the Song Bird Trail. It’s fabulous. The weather was perfect and the birds were singing.

Visit Stone Mountain. Run.

Tom