A Switch from the Usual

Yesterday, I went on a boat ride. It was awesome. The most exercise I did was walking from T stop to T stop. That was awesome. Students are allowed to play their music as loud as they'd like on Fridays and Saturdays. Maybe not as awesome.

This morning:the chirping of the bugs. A sound I haven't heard since moving to New York. And a sound that, in the North anyway, is easily drowned out by any sort of human noise.

There were two people eating breakfast in the cavernous dining hall when Suave and I strolled in at a very late 7:30am. Maybe they were all at Mass or at Meeting or something.

The neighbors did play rock band until 3:00am, however. Abductive reasoning says they were all still asleep.

Good and bad for my run this morning. Good: Suave had sent an email out to all of his advisees, stating that I'd be running at 10:00am and to meet me outside the Lampoon if they were interested in joining. Hopefully, no one would show up! Bad: still tired and it would be nice to run with someone - anyone - to mask that tiredness. Hopefully, someone would show up!

Wandered out the door and the best of conflicting desires was fulfilled. A lone, hardy student, looking waaaaaay to chipper for 10:00am on a Sunday, was there to meet me. No one else arrived. Didn't wait very long: no one else was likely to arrive. It was 10:00am on Sunday, after all.

This gentleman led the way. We ran down to the Charles, by the river. Then, we ran off over through Watertown, running up the equivalent of Heartbreak Hill through the neighborhoods.

I had to stop talking about graduate school and what the best letters of recommendation to get were as I struggled up the hills. New York: flat. Last week, I somehow ran three hill workouts in a row. I hope this is not an auger that the situation will repeat itself.

He was chatting the whole way up.

Then, we ran through Brookline, where I again stopped yammering to gaze at some amazing houses. Went down to Route 30, ran through Auburn, I believe, and then up past BC, over the water, and back into Cambridge. I timed the run at 1:32 something. At least 10 miles.

Maybe more. My legs were still a bit tired from Friday but I had taken Saturday totally off. Of course, I had to keep up the pace that the young whippersnapper had set, even though it was clearly for the benefit of yours truly.

He appeared to finally break a sweat in the last ten minutes.

I felt like I was running a pace that Gorgeous and I might do when both of us are feeling ok and that natural competitiveness kicks in.

Gorgeous weather. A polite college student well-versed in "how to talk to someone that is much older than you and that you don't know at all". DIscussion of philosophy, math and graduate school advisement.

What more could a person ask for in a run?

I just hope the holiday tomorrow doesn't extend the parties. Darn kids. With their music.