Preparation H

I gotta start writing these the day of or the day after. I can’t remember any details this far out. Anyway, here goes.

—

Traveled upstate this weekend to take Chris out for a quiet, man’s night out. Just dinner and fruity shots. I don’t know where my compatriots come from, but where I went to school, a shot was poured from a single bottle. It’s not a potion, it’s a shot. But I’m getting ahead of myself… .

Call around to a few places in the a.m. to try to get the car looked at. Turns out the good techs at the Nissan dealership in Bay Ridge decided to leave two bolts loose on the stabilizer. Does that mean anything to you? Me neither. All I can tell you is that it made one helluva clicking noise when breaking, and dealerships are a complete waste of money.

Saturday – 15 miles – Johnstown to Broadalbin

Overcast. Chance of rain but the radar looks clear for at least a few hours. Three pieces of bread with peanut butter, banana and a cup of tea. I’ll be running the ‘Rail Trail.’ Several local communities have gotten together, ripped up the railroad tracks that used to connect the towns and made a nice running/walking/biking route that runs from Fonda to Broadalbin.

Catch the trail on Main Street in Johnstown. The backsides of old factories and large houses pop up between stretches of woods. It’s pretty tranquil here. Pretty deserted too. I go nearly 3 miles before I see anyone. Normally I wouldn’t think twice, but there have been instances of violence and unexplained disappearance on the trail. Jeeze. Who’da thought it’d be safer to run in Brooklyn?

The pavement is close to new. No cracks or breaks, and mostly it’s free from litter. At one point I did see an old plastic swimming pool lying dead off to the side. Who goes through the trouble to cart something like that down here?

As I say, there aren’t a lot of people using the trail. The folks I do pass are very friendly. They actually say “Hi” and “Good morning” and “Are those compression shorts? Can I see?” That type of stuff. Downstate you occasionally get acknowledgment with a weak hand raise or a Clint Eastwood nod.

I’m on the trail till there’s no more trail. I’m still short of halfway, so I cross a busy-ish road and head up a quiet road that is lined with houses on one side. Up ahead a woman is chatting with her neighbors who are gardening. They all say “Hello” and I say “Hi.” I get to the end of this road and decide to double back since I don’t feel like running down the busy road to get back to the trail. On the way back, I pass nosey neighbor who has apparently caught me checking the Garmin. “What’s that? Checking your heart rate?” Nosey says.

“Yeah,” says I. “I ran out of trail a while ago. Didn’t realize it ended back there!” I chuckle.

Nosey laughs. “Hey, are those compression shorts?”

That last part was made up, but you get my drift. If there’s one thing I hate more than being stabbed or forcefully abducted it’s being assaulted with kindness.

2 Gu’s today. One at mile 6 and the other at 11. I was kicking myself when I started out because I had forgotten to bring money for another bottle of water. Turns out I didn’t finish the bottle I brought. Which brings up a point. I weighed myself before and after the run. I had lost 1 pound. I’ve read that you want to try to not lose weight during. I’m wondering if I should be drinking more water?

That said, a good solid run. I had wanted to stay in the 8:40/mile range, and I did a little bit better than that. The only caveat here is that this was a very flat course. Gotta get working on those hills.