Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The past week has been a flurry of travel.

Airplane to Newark
PATH train to NYC, subway around NYC
private car to Long Island
Amtrak train from NYC to Providence, RI (my first time on an Amtrak, I was impressed)
taxi and airport shuttles as well
and finally another flight to Philadelphia.

I started the week off with a 4.4 mile run by hitting the Bonelli Picnic Loop twice. I did the 4:1 walk thing. I took the remainder of the week days off as a way to give my leg some time to recoup.

Saturday morning was a cloudy, humid morning in Providence, RI. I had mapped out a tentative route here before I left home. I took off from the hotel and ended up on Angell St. This street runs near the campus of Brown University. I was headed out to Blackstone St. but I missed it at first but I go a little section along the river and made my way back. Blackstone is a great running destination. It is old town street with a large greenbelt running down the middle with lots of trees and benches. There were quite a few other runners out there. I headed back to the hotel by going down Hope St. Hope is great because there are a lot a smaller, eclectic neighborhood restaurants. I broke the run up with 5 minutes runs and 1 minute walks. I saw a pretty cool looking dog. The owner said he was a mutt, but that he was mostly Sharpei and Dachsaund.

I really enjoyed this run. Providence is an historic city. There are a lot of trees and many varieties compared to my usual SoCal neighborhood. The larger homes on Angell and Blackstone were predominately stone and brick, usually three stories. As I moved to the interior of the town the houses changed noticebly to mostly wood siding, only 2 stories and much less land.

The run around Providence gave me 7.3 miles on the books. I completed them in 1:11 or 9:44 pace.

I awoke to ran in Providence today, Sunday, but I was leaving for Philly. I had no official duties today so I was definitely planning on filling the day with a run. I arrived in Philly around noon. The temp was in the high 80's and very humid. The heat index put it well into the 90's but I couldn't let the free day go without getting in some semblance of a run.

Because of the heat I modified the pace for sure but started to the 5:1. In my research before the trip I realized that my hotel was within 1.5 miles of the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. I headed out at 1:30 in the afternoon. There's well kept trail that encircles Lake Brady in the refuge. The run over was hot and wet. Once I hit the park the first part of the trail was shaded. That helped cool things down a little but the humidity was huge. The second half of the trail is more exposed. By then the heat and humidity were taking their toll. I took some liberty with the 5:1 schedule, even modifying it to 1:1 for the last 0.5 or so. After the completing the loop I decided that I'd accomplished my running goal for the day so I walked the 1.5 miles back to hotel.

The final numbers for this run were >90 degrees between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. I'm giving myself credit for 4.7 miles (not counting the walk back) in a little less than an hour for an 11:42 pace. Considering the conditions and add in the fact that I had little sleep the night before and nothing to eat today, I'll take that.

I won't run again until I return home on Wednesday. As a travelogue note, Providence is a great little city. It is very easy to walk around, although somewhat difficult to drive around. The restaurants are plentiful and good. Saturday night was Waterfire in Providence. It is a very cool experience. I had a great time with my colleagues, but would definitely like to go back with Lisa someday. I wonder if they can make Waterfire and the marathon coincide?