Training Log Archive: PG

Winter continues. Snowed a little yesterday and the roads didn't seem very ride-friendly, so I passed. Today they were fine, so no excuse not to go out. Upper 20s, sunny, wind was N 10-12 when I started, WNW when I finished, so the help I was looking forward to on the way back mostly didn't show up.

Or maybe I was just being lazy.

Or maybe it's just that when you get really old, the rate of decline gets faster and faster, and so every day I lose more and more. And I suppose now that the days are getting longer, the daily decay is even faster.

Ha, happy thoughts. That's OK, takes my mind off the fact that we got sued today, because of this.

C • Sued! 5

Low 30s, light breeze from the south, sunny. Seems like for quite a while I had not much energy in the legs or between the ears, but after a while things got at least somewhat better.

Swung by UMass to see if there were any philosophers hard at work -- actually, to see if there were any philosophers out training when they should have been hard at work -- but no observations to report. Though I'm not sure how you tell if a philosopher is hard at work if you do happen to see one. Do they stare off into space particularly vigorously. Do they work up an existential sweat? Is there a special line of Garmins that they wear that records just how hard they are philosophizing?

That last one would be rather useful, wouldn't have to keep updating the CV....

C • philosophers at work 1

36F, NW 10-15, sunny. Very nice out, especially the first few miles where I was heading towards Amherst and had a nice tailwind. The rest, less so, but still, a sunny day is a sunny day, so no complaints.

Thinking a bit more about yesterday, just as there are those days where I am feeling uncoordinated, or stupid, yesterday was a day when I was just feeling cold. I remember coming in after a morning walk, my feet a little cold, and a couple of hours later my feet were still cold.

I thought about that getting dressed for today's outing. Put an extra shirt on, also a buff around my neck. So, of course, after 10 minutes I was too warm. But that's an easy fix, unzip the jacket partway. And on the way back into the wind, zipped back up and I was glad to have a little more on.

And one more --

37F, S 5-10, sun and clouds, but the road still wet from freezing rain and then plain rain earlier.

Felt chilly the whole time. I guess that happens when I actually carry through on my intention to go at a relaxed pace, but dress for a normal pace when I would be generating more heat. Or maybe it was just my psyche not behaving, looking at the snow all around and the wet roads and already starting to shiver. At some point I was contemplating, a bit unhappily, how far off spring is.

On the other hand, it's easy to get my psyche feeling positive again. In the old days I would tune in the Boston all-news radio station and within 10 minutes there would be the traffic report, and that would always cheer me up, thinking how fine it was not to live in Boston.

That still works, but why wait up to 10 minutes for a remedy, when I can just click on quite a few of my "favorites" AP logs, stories of this injury or that ailment, usually multiple things going on.

And then I think, Peter, be happy with what you've got. It's not going to last forever, but enjoy it for now.

Leverett loop counter-clockwise. 36F, W 10, sunny. Pretty nice out. A loop with a few hills. Had the right attitude, at least for today -- going along OK but not pushing it. So the time and the miles passed easily.

No owls, no falls, no little ones telling me I am 99.

So I asked four first-graders how old they thought I was. One, smart fellow, refused to offer a guess. The answers from the other three, well, the first was 92, the second was 88. At least they're going the right direction, I thought. The third one offered up 99. I was laughing pretty hard, at least internally.

A little while later I was with a few third-graders, 6 of them. Can't remember all the answers, but there was quite a range. On the high side, another 99. What can you do, you just look old? But than out popped a 40. 40? Been 34 years since I passed by there.

All part of a "community appreciation" lunch at the school, organized by an energetic mom, member of the PTO. Superintendent, principal, a couple of us from the school committee, the town library director, the police chief and two officers, the fellow in charge of the ambulance service, a fireman, and our state representative (who lives just down the street from me).

Managed several brief but productive conversations with other adults, but for much of the time we each had a table in the cafeteria, with a rotating assortment of little ones. Something which I have zero experience dealing with. I don't think I made a fool of myself, but if I did, folks were kind enough not to say so.

C • Age guessing 1