Stiles Pond

I hadn't been in the water at Stiles pond since 2013.  Danny V is coming back from a stress fracture and was looking for company.  We'll hit the water for the rest of the month in the afternoons.  Not much has changed here in the last 7 years, and water-running is still really hard!

How do I look?

No one looks like this!

If I had to choose between running in the water in August or October I think I’d take October (assuming that saying “neither” is not a choice). Cold water is tough to run in, heck, just getting motivated to get into the water is difficult. August water runs can be tough as well. It seems contradictory to be immersed in water but sweating like mad. I also like October because you no longer have gawking crowds of beach goers constantly asking what you are doing. Now I have a clearer idea of why they are always asking.

I’ve been in class this week so I had to work later each day. Yesterday Dave and Mike cut out of work early which led to a surprise meeting. I was finishing up while they were starting and I was taken aback when I saw two heads bobbing along. It really is a sight to see! Now I know why people look on in wonder (if not amusement) when we trot by. Pictures don’t really do justice to how funny it looks. I mentioned how silly Dave and Mike looked and they pointed out that “it looks like you are riding a giraffe”. I can’t disagree.

Much more accurate.

A few years back

12 years ago I had my worst injury (so far). A stress fractured Navicular ended up becoming a non-union fracture which required surgery to screw it back together. That was the first time I started running in Stiles pond. Here is my training log from then. The Boxford beach was not built yet so I’d head in via the boat ramp which meant some weedy swimming before it was deep enough and clear enough to run. Later, when I was on crutches it made for some comical attempts to not get killed hopping on one leg. At this point in ’97 I had been out for 5 weeks. The arm bike was fashioned using my regular road bike attached vertically to a pole in the basement. It worked pretty well, but the pedals were not made for gripping and my hands were always sore. I also had to sit with my face about an inch away from the crank. I also did a little “one legged” biking and the same with the rowing. For this week I did 8:15 of Arm biking, 0:40 biking, 0:20 rowing, and 11:45 water running for a total of 21:00 of workouts. Pretty similar to what I’m doing now.

Three hour tour

Set a new record this morning for the longest water run. Dave, Mike, and I spent three hours "running" around Stiles pond. The first 2 hours went by pretty easily, with lots of chatter/singing/cursing/grunting. The last 35 minutes was kind of tough. We stopped at 2:25 or so and got a gel and the legs were a bit wobbly after that. Quote of the day came from a random swimmer who stopped to chat with us. He noted that he liked swimming at Stiles because there were "a lot of chicks".

Meteroids

The coolest thing about running in the water prior to sunrise is how clearly you can see the night sky. I’ve been watching Venus for the last couple of weeks, it is amazingly bright. Of course as always that begs the question “Can I see Uranus”, which never ceases to crack me up. Tomorrow will be a full moon which doesn’t set until 5:09am, so it might still be above the horizon when I hit the water at 4:30am. Then I’ll have darker mornings, which are creepy but give me the opportunity to stargaze.

This morning I spotted two meteoroids. I know that at various times during the year there are peak periods so today I checked out some info online. We are just about to enter the Perseid meteor showers. What I saw this morning is the leading edge of an excellent light show. The Perseid’s will peak on August 12, so if you get a chance check out the show. As a bonus, why not come run in the water with me at 4:30 AM and get a workout in at the same time?

From: Earthsky.org
August 12, 2009 Perseids

And when we say August 12, we mean that morning … not that night. These typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus, and, like all meteors in annual showers, they cover a large part of the sky. The Perseids are considered by many people to be the year’s best shower when the moon is out of the way during the shower’s peak. Unfortnately, this year’s moon is not totally out of the way during the Perseids. The slightly waning gibbous moon rises around midnight – just as the Perseids start to pick up steam. Nonetheless, you should be able to catch some Perseid meteors before moonrise – and even after . The Perseids tend to strengthen in number as midnight ebbs toward dawn. Although not a favorable year, these meteors are often bright and frequently leave persistent trains. What’s more, enhanced activity may be in the works, so perhaps enough brighter meteors can overcome the moonlit glare to make this year’s production worthwhile. From late night on Tuesday, August 11 till dawn on Wednsday, August 12, a decent sprinkling of Perseid meteors may adorn this summer night, despite the pesky moon. Lie back and watch meteors until dawn’s light washes the stars, moon and planets from the sky.

Ungulate

Did another long run with the Q-brothers at Stiles Pond this morning. Not quite the epic of last weekend but over 2 hours (2:06). Even prior to the beach being open, the water was full of swimmers. That can be a bit tough for us as the swimmers move a lot faster than we do and apparently that can't see us (????). I got hit by one earlier this week, but no collisions today.

I did not realize that Mike was an Ungulate, but he now has special shoes for when he runs in the water.

Dark in the water

We've been running in the water at 4:30 AM and finishing just as it is getting light. It looks like we won't even see the sky get bright by the end of the month. Is that depressing?

Long Run

Long tough "run" today in the water at Stiles. I headed out with the Quintal brothers and 2:25 later we finished the Magellan loop around the pond. I mapped it on USATF's running routes:
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=309505 and it came out to 1.5 miles. It was a heck of a lot of work to cover that amount of "ground".

Here is a progression of my water runs:

04-12-97 - 1 hour U-Lowell pool (first time running in water at UL)

07-26-97 - 1 hour Walden pond (first time running in water at Walden)

07-30-97 - 1:02:30 Stiles pond (first time @ Stiles)

07-31-97 - 1:08:00 Stiles

08-02-97 - 1:25:00 Walden

08-09-97 - 1:30:00 Walden

08-11-97 - 2:00:00 Stiles

08-15-97 - 2:03:27 Stiles

07-26-09 - 2:25:00 Stiles

Long run

This morning I met up with Michael and Dave Q and we hit the water at Stiles pond at 6:30 AM. the plan was to do an hour together then I was planning on another hour. We did a nice loop - Dock, Blair witch house, Dock, Dock, and in. that took us just under 70 minutes. We headed for the cars and all had a hammer gel. I was surprised (and pleased) when they both decided to join me for another loop. We did an out/back and tried not to disturb all of the fishermen. It was hard to not sdisturb hem as we were pretty loud during most of the run. It was about as much fun as 2 hours in the water can be. Lots of laughs with the Q-brothers. It looks like they'll be joining me for some more water running over the next five weeks.

Foggy morning

It was foggy out there this morning in the water, but that also kept down the number of spectators.

Thanks to Dave and Mike who helped pass the time yesterday. Both are on the Injured Reserves and decided to give water running a try. We did 45 minutes together and I did another hour plus on my own. They both seemed interested in coming back for more.

This morning Petey and Dave La (Pictured above) joined me for an early morning jaunt. I got in 45 min with them at Hart Pond in Chelmsford. We all had wet suits and more importantly water shoes. Hart is a bit overgrown with weeds at the begining and the bottom is a bit slimy. I hit Stiles Pond (Boxford) afterwards and did another hour plus. My rotator cuff is sore and triceps/biceps are sore from the additional arm work. Hopefully I'll get used to the extra workload quickly.

The water is too cold

The water temp is now under 60 degrees and I've officially put my wetsuit away for this year (and hopefully for a long time). I've added additional time on the bike and I'm walking on the treadmill during all of my breaks at work. My bum is not quite used to the biking and I'm sore from 2 hours in the saddle. I recall that I never got used to biking and even when I biked for almost an entire year I'd be sore. That fact that I was doing over 4 hours a day on the bike may have been part of that. I'm working my way through the DVD collection and reading at the same time to get the time to pass.

48 degrees in Hawaii

Can you believe it, it was only 48 degrees on Wednesday....of yeah that was at the summit of Mauna Kea (13,796 feet and State Highpoint). Spent the day looping the island including a trip to the Black Sand beach, the Rainbow Falls, and some caves. The high point of the day (pun intended) was the drive up to Mauna Kea. It was 87 degrees at sea level and 60 degrees when we got to the visitors center at 9,000'. Just before the 9,000' mark our bag of Doritos burst! It was pretty funny and loud, it was also a cool science experiment (we did it on purpose).

The summit was great! We got there before most of the tour vans and Rose and I did the 1/4 mile hike to the high point while Cath took pictures. Then we all gathered and took a bunch of sunset photos. Probably the most spectacular scenery we'd seen. I'll add a slideshow soon.

Ran 1:30 in the pool on Wednesday then 1:30 in the morn on Thursday before we headed for Kuaii.

Hot and Sunny

Well I'm in Hawaii and it is very warm and sunny. Not too bad for running in the water. It took nearly 23 hours from when we got up on Sunday until we arrived here Sunday night. The hotel is very nice and the pool is big enough to do very small laps. I did 1:30 yesterday and each lap took about 2 minutes. I reversed direction every 30 minutes to keep it interesting. This morning I did 1:30 and I'm planning on hitting the water again this afternoon. There are a ton of triathletes in town for the Ironman which takes place this weekend. We'll be off the Island and over on Kuaii by then.

Pictures and more later.....

Cold water, colder air

It was chilly this morning at Stiles but as I arrived at 7:20 AM half a dozen guys were just finishing their swim. A hardcore group indeed. It was 48 degrees as I dressed in my new wetsuit and the water was 62.8 degrees. I was quite comfortable as the new suit has arm coverage and I also got my aqua gloves. Ran 1:06 this morn then went to the USATF NE office to do some research (old Stu's 30Km results), then back in the water for another half-hour. A couple of fisherman asked me how I was touching bottom in the middle of the pond. They laughed when I told them I was running but not touching bottom.

Slideshow

I added a new slide show at double-j's request. Just a bunch of the different versions of the CMS singlet.

40 minutes in Hart pond with Petey this morn then 50 more in Stiles on my own. A bunch of swimmers at Stiles. I asked a couple of the guys how late they have made it and one said he has gone until the last day of October.

Injuries suck

Flashback to 2002, I was injured just prior to Mt Washington and pretty bummed about not being able to run. We went to the Spaghetti shed for dinner and Francis B drew a picture of me in crayon on the paper tablecloth. I liked it so much I framed the drawing (and made t-shirts out of it).

Injuries still suck, but at least I'm not on crutches or in a boot. 1:20 in the water this morn at Stiles pond. The water was dead flat which makes the running a lot easier. Air temp was higher than water temp and it was very foggy. No one else in the water this morn.

Monkey?

Boy was it chilly at Stiles today. Only did 45 minutes. The rain wasn't bad, just made it harder to see but the waves were tough. Add to that no music due to the wet conditions and it made for a less "fun" run than usual. I've been listening to Dropkick Murphy's and The Offspring this week. Lot's of fast tunes! I've ordered a new wetsuit with arm coverage and a pair of gloves. That should help for the next couple of weeks. Coming up on four weeks without running and four to go.

Read about password security in the Globe yesterday. Very surprised by the top 10 passwords, especially #6. What the heck is that all about?

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. link182
10. (your first name)

Mass town bagging on hold

Did an hour in Stiles today. I also looked at some new wetsuits and gloves. Thinking ahead to late October in the water.

My goal of running in every town in Massachusetts is on hold for a little while. Here is a map with towns I've completed.

Harts Pond

Ran 30 minutes in Hart pond with Petey this morning, then another 30 minutes on my own at Stiles. Running with someone definitely makes the time pass quicker.

Hart pond is posted "No Swimming" but I think technically we are okay as we are running....

Weekends are tough

It is harder to not run on a weekend than a weekday, just too much free time on weekends. I filled some of the time by going with Double-J to the Ogunquit for the Lobster Dash. I took some video and a ton of pictures.

Then off to Stiles pond for a water run. Only went 45 minutes today as the hour-plus yesterday has left the back of my knees a bit raw. The wet suit I'm wearing is not really designed for running motion and it bunches behind the knee.

Other than that, all systems go....