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October 1, 2005
The Magic Acorn Run
This morning's long run was anything but boring! Mary and I had great weather (sunny and probably in the high 50s-low 60s) for the second week in a row and we explored a new route, seeing lots of interesting sights and scenery along the way. We started out by going through Havard Square and crossed the river near the Harvard athletic fields. Exactly as we were crossing the bridge, the Harvard marching band (which I must say pales in comparison to the Big Red Marching Band) was heading to the football stadium, I guess to practice before the game since it was still pretty early. Mary and I both enjoyed the music and the fact that the band was holding up traffic, making it easy for us to cross the street.
After that, we ran through Allston (and over an overpass that Mary commented was probably good training for the (ING NYC) marathon) and into Brookline. We passed an older man with a think Eastern European accent who sang to us a little. In another mile or so, we got onto the Jamaicaway, which is a bike path that is part of the Emerald Necklace. The BAA Half Marathon, which I should be doing next weekend but forgot to get a number for, goes around here. The Jamaicaway connects to the path around Jamaica Pond, which I have only been to once before. Since it was so nice out, there were tons of people there, but it was still nice to run somewhere (relatively) new for both of us. We went about halfway around the Pond and then headed to Arnold Arboreteum for a loop there. There were even more runners there, but it is so beautiful there, especially in the fall. I didn't even mind the dogs. We took a little break to try a new kind of gel (CarBoom Apple Cinnamon) which was tasty but I only had a little bit and had some of my energy bar pieces to supplement. After our snack, we retraced our steps through the Arboreteum and finished the loop around Jamaica Pond.
Coming back along the Jamaicaway, Mary picked up an acorn top because she wanted to show me how she learned in grade school to make a loud whistle noise by blowing into it. Wow, impressive. We brainstormed about an idea for a children's (?) book about a magic acorn that would allow you to run at any pace you told it without thinking of it. I think the acorn top is our new mascot and I took a picture of it so everyone can enjoy the power of the Magic Acorn.
We made our way back to Somerville a slightly different way and ended up coming over the Mass. Ave. bridge, where we saw a large group of people walking and carrying signs. At first it looked like some sort of charity walk, but we decided it was more of a protest or something. We were both too blind to be able to read the signs from across the bridge, though, so we had no idea what it was about.
We ended up running for a little more than 2:20 and we both felt pretty good the whole time. (It felt short compared to last week!) Another one down in the books and just a few more long runs to go before the marathon--time flies when you're training.
Posted by becky at October 1, 2005 2:28 PM
Comments
Sounds like a fun run with lots of sights to see and scenery changes! I like the acorn book idea, but do kids really care what pace they run? Hey, what do I know...
Posted by: Alison at October 1, 2005 8:02 PM
Even though you can't run the BAA Half, you should still come. At this point, Alison, Mary and I will all be there spectating. We could all meet up.
Posted by: Caitlin at October 1, 2005 10:45 PM