Two Runs

Tuesday, December 29, 2009:

Stillwater Bubble this morning, just trying to get in some quality miles. No sprinting, no walking, just running. I measured the pace twice, and both times it was about 104 seconds for a full loop, which calculates to a pace of about 9:11. So I say the overall pace was probably about 9:20, and I ran for 73 minutes, for a distance of about 7.8 miles. I was shooting for 8 miles, but time ran out. This was close enough! No pains, no soreness. It’s a masterpiece.

Then it was 10:00 am and the softball guys’ turn to have the bubble. I watched a little as I cooled off and did my stretches, and was surprised to see that it took more than three outs to get a side out. Turns out that they play two innings per side, just to save the time required to change teams on the field. If a batted ball hits the ceiling of the bubble or one of the wires that go across the middle, the ball is playable nonetheless, but very difficult to catch and therefore good luck for the batter. "Just a bunch of old guys having fun," said one of the players. They sure were enjoying themselves, and not all of them were old. What a great use of that facility. I’ll just have to get there early enough to finish my run before 10:00 am.

The outdoor temperature Tuesday morning was about zero, but the bubble is partially heated and I suppose it was between 40 and 45 degrees in there. Someday I’ll bring a thermometer. I was comfortable in shorts and two technical shirts, one of them long-sleeved, plus gloves. Most of the runners wore tights, and the walkers were mostly dressed in their winter coats. The temperature got boosted a bit for the softball games, to maybe 55-60 degrees.

Saturday, December 26, 2009:

St Croix Valley Runners after the snowfall. We got about a foot of snow, mostly Christmas eve and Christmas Day. So we ran the normal "old" route, which is mostly on plowed roads. No problem. I picked up Jim and we ended up running together, with Gauss and Dave following behind at a much slower pace. Five miles in 47:25 for us, which comes to a pace of 9:29. I thought it would be a little faster, actually, because it seemed like a lot of work, but it’s hard to make good time in winter clothing and on ice and packed snow. It will do.

These days we get to watch the sunrise as we run, and this was a pretty good one. It’s a masterpiece.


Would you believe mac n' cheese?  Gluten-free and mostly organic.