August 2016 in Review

It's been a few weeks since I've had a chance to post here. The rest of my trip was a whirlwind of research, seeing friends, playing tourist, frenetic writing, and an academic conference. My itinerary took me from Valladolid back to Madrid and then on to Paris, Leiden, Bruges, Gent, Cologne, and Frankfurt before I headed home. One of the major highlights was going to Moulin Rouge, Versailles, and out for a night on the town in Paris with my friend Adeeb, whom I met a decade ago in Mexico City but whom I hadn't seen in person in almost as many years. While in Paris, I got in a somewhat bewildering 9 mile run that took me through my neighborhood, along the Seine, and around the Eiffel Tower. The addition of Leiden into my itinerary was a bit last minute, but it enabled me to see another friend after far too long and to ride a bike along a Dutch canal.

My academic conference was productive and intellectually stimulating. Plus, it took place in Bruges, where I'd never been. In between papers, I explored some of its streets and churches and ate my weight in waffles, frites, and chocolate. And the beer was more than amazing! It was also lovely to see professional friends. I roomed with my friend John, and we were able to get in a short run together and take a quick trip to Gent for some more church and castle exploring before I made my way to Germany and after two days there back to my corner of the Arctic.

Once I got back home, I had to immediately begin to prepare for the start of the semester since classes commenced on Monday. I also have a big deadline looming so I've been working toward that. I have managed to eek out a little bit of progress toward my goals.

I'm eking closer to my mileage goal for the year, but am likely going to fall short of this one, and that's probably okay. In August I ran 64.3 miles. Of course with my traveling schedule I encountered some challenges in fitting in all my scheduled training runs. However, I only missed one long run on the trip and usually managed to run at least two short runs a week. The same can not be said of this week since I've had a nasty cold and haven't run at all.

Like July, August was quite research focused. I finished up my archival work for the summer and wrote and presented a conference paper. I would like to continue the positive momentum and continue carving out an hour here and there to work on my new book project. I also recently received a revise and resubmit for a journal article that I submitted in the spring and will need to find some time over the coming months to deal with revisions.

Because I rarely had an internet connection for my last week in Madrid and then couldn't get my phone to connect to the wifi in my Paris hotel, I kind of fell off the wagon with my gratitude app. I'm hoping to use it more consistently in September. The bright side of not having internet access meant that I didn't waste time reading way too many comments on the internet so that likely contributed to my over all health and well-being in August.

Also because I was on the go, I didn't have much sustained energy or time for other types of writing. However, I did have a piece of non-academic writing accepted for a publication by a local literary journal! Their fall issue will be publishing a poem that I wrote over the summer.

If you're going back to school, how has the start of your term been? What was one of the highlights of the last full month of summer?

Chicago is Not For Me

Before you freak out (or more likely shrug in bemusement) at the title of this post, let me assure you that I still plan to run the Chicago Marathon. But after a week of absolutely horrible workouts I needed to throw myself a bit of a pity party and then cowgirl up and remind myself of why I'm doing this.

First a little background, two weekends ago I decided to move my long run to Sunday so that I could go to Cuenca on Saturday and play tourist. This would have been an ok plan except for a couple of things. One: my phone battery died during the night so my alarm didn't go off nor could I receive the texts from my husband (oops! he forgot to send his, but at the time he got a pass) and from my running buddy Christy urging me out the door.  Two: after I got home from walking around Cuenca all day on a scorchingly hot day, I then went out to dinner at a friend's house where an inordinate amount of cava and white wine was consumed (considering the planned long run for the next day). When I finally made it out the door on Sunday morning it was already in the 80s and my route along the river just does not have much shade at all. Every minute felt like an eternity. By the time I finished logging my run, I was sunburnt and hating my life choices. Why wasn't I sleeping off the cava fugue and then doing something touristy instead of roasting myself on the pavement. Why could I do nothing all afternoon except lay in front of a fan feeling completely zapped of energy? I mean, I could have been at the Mercado de San Miguel eating olives and cheese and drinking wine.

That long run left a bad taste in my mouth so I didn't run again until I had been in Valladolid for a day or two Because the archive I was using is not in the city itself but rather in a small village about 7 or 8 miles away, I was having to get up early to take the bus so as to arrive not too long after the archives opened. Since they close at 2:30pm, it didn't make sense to dawdle, and a morning run seemed out of the question if I wanted to get to the archives early. So I ran in the evening. It was still above 85 or 90 degrees. It was dusty. When I got a mile out, the area where I was running along the river started to seem a little sketchy and isolated, so I decided to turn around and call it a day. I couldn't push the pace at all. My breathing and heart rate were erratic. Why was I doing this when I could have been sitting on a nice terazza drinking a tinto de verano?

The next day I thought it over and decided to skip running in the evening in favor of a morning run. It was something of an indulgence but I opted to take a cab to the archives. This allowed me to log a few miles in the morning and still get to the AGS in a timely enough manner. Although this run did not suck, I have to honestly say that it wasn't great either, especially the first mile. It was disheartening to see how slow my watch said I was moving even though the temps were cooler. Finally, about halfway through the run, I was able to mentally, if not to physically, shift gears. I finally remembered that Chicago is not for me. I didn't sign up for Chicago without knowing how tough it would be to train over this part of the summer. I signed up because of Bryant's story and Team Deere. And while nothing is set in stone, my only real goals for Chicago were/are to fundraise and to finish the marathon. I needed to get over myself. So I did (mostly) (sort of).

Since then running has not been easy - I've been having some hip issues, and the night before and after my 15 miler this past weekend I woke multiple times with cramps in my calves - but it's been easier. This morning I was even able to pick up the pace a little bit and run a couple of faster intervals.

I have two weeks left of this trip. My training goals are pretty simple for the rest of the time I'm abroad. I want to run one more time here in Madrid, once in Paris (a long run), at least once in Belgium, and once in Germany before I head back to Anchorage and hurtle toward the start of a semester.

Postcard from Spain: Running and Picnicking in Retiro Park

I had hoped to stay in a friend's typically empty flat during my trip to Madrid, but because he's having renovations done that wasn't possible this time. As a result, I ended up renting a little attic apartment close to the Atocha train station because I knew that neighborhood would be convenient for commuting out to Toledo to use the archives there as well as allowing for easy walking or public transit to the national library and the archives I'd be using in Madrid. The bonus: being close to the train station means being close to Retiro Park - one of my favorite spots in the city. Although running along the river or in Casa del Campo makes more sense for longer runs, nothing beats a short jaunt just a few minutes out the door.

I ran here one evening during my first week (which was not a pretty run as I was so hot each moment felt like a hellish eternity and I was having trouble getting my heart rate under control) and then on Monday and Thursday this week in the mornings (much better). I hope to do so again before I leave for the next stage of my research trip in a couple of days. I will say that, although I see lots of diversity in the people walking or enjoying time in the park, the runners in the Retiro (unlike the Madrid Rio) do still definitely skew toward the fitter, the faster, and the male. Nonetheless, I have seen a few other women running in the park. Also promising: so far I haven't been on the receiving end of any catcalls going to and from the park in my workout gear. Nor have I heard or seen any other women runners getting harassed during my runs. This all gives me hope that the running culture in Madrid is developing/has developed to a much greater extent than I would have dreamed possible eight or nine years ago.

The Retiro is not just a place for running! I also was lucky to be able to attend the birthday picnic of my friend Carlos in the Retiro after I got out of my yoga class on Tuesday evening. His Retiro picnic is a tradition but one that I haven't been able to participate in since 2007. It was a lot of fun to briefly catch up with an old friend Sophie there and to meet some of the new amigos Carlos has made since I moved back to the states. We enjoyed drinks and food and two kinds of cake to celebrate the fabulous birthday boy.

Have you noticed changes in running culture in a location you frequently visit? When was the last time you went on a picnic?

Race Report: New York City Runs Ice Cream Social 10K

I've been in New York for over a week now, but this is the first chance I've really had to post, as my days have been spent in the archives and my evenings have been spent either catching up with NYC friends or working on a few odds and ends related to a service project. I also didn't have internet access in the apartment where I was staying last week so I am behind on reading and commenting. I'll try to do some catching up in the next few days. Yesterday I ran a 10K over on Roosevelt Island, which was super quaint. After a week of thunderstorms and deluges, we had a day of blue skies and relatively low humidity, so the conditions were pretty much perfect for a day in late May.

View from the tram

A friend and I had both signed up for this race so we met on the Upper East Side and took the tram over to the island together. Due to being a failure at being organized, I had to pick up my packet before the race, and my one complaint about the race and/or its organization was the packet pick-up line was probably the slowest moving line I've ever been in, and, since the 5K started 30 minutes before the 10K race, about 20 minutes before the start of the 5K, the organizer let all the 5K runners jump to the front of the line. Eventually I got my bib. My friend and I headed over to use the portapotties and then to the race start, where we agreed to run our own races and meet at the end.

Before the start

The course was a no-frills double loop around the island and was the flattest course I've run in a while. I didn't really have any goals going into this race. I hadn't done any speed work for the past five weeks, as I had tapered for Vancouver, taken a zero week, and had gently eased back into running over the past couple of weeks. I thought that it might be possible for me to break 62 minutes if everything went perfectly, and for awhile I thought I might have it. Unfortunately, my lack of conditioning and the relative heat of the day (I have only run in temperatures above 40F four times since March) caught up to me in the final couple of miles. My splits were 9:31, 9:43, 10:13, 10:17, 11:02, 11:23, and 1:40. After a couple of cups of water and a popsicle and cheering for the award winners, including a 9 year old who had torn the course up, we made our way back to the tram and then headed back to our respective sides of the park.

It was my friend's first 10K and she smoked it. Her goal was to finish in under an hour, and she finished in under 56 minutes. I was impressed! I might even be a little jealous, as just last summer I ran at a faster pace than she typically did. Have you ever been envious of a friend's running improvement? U.S. friends, did you race on Memorial Day?

Race Report: BMO Vancouver Half-Marathon

Yesterday I ran a half-marathon, and it was one of those lessons in respecting distance, respecting hills, and respecting the need for rest. The BMO Vancouver Half-Marathon race course was beautiful, but I was so exhausted and running was such a struggle for me that hardly any of the stunning scenery seemed to register with me and much of the race is a blur.

Friday afternoon Mark picked me up from campus and we headed to the airport. We hopped on a plane to Seattle (the 3+ hour flight passed quickly as I spent most of it grading final exams) and then a puddle jumper over to Vancouver. Fortunately, all our flights were on time and we didn't have to wait too long for transit; unfortunately, we still didn't arrive at our hotel until after 1:30am, and I didn't sleep very well that night. Saturday we did some walking around, met the lovely Materfamilias and her partner for lunch (more on that later), picked up my bib, did a bit of exploring and window shopping, and had dinner at a sports bar so that Mark could watch playoff hockey. I thought it only fair that I watch the Leafs game with him since he was getting up early and coming down to the race start with me. Saturday night I slept fitfully again, and I was feeling groggy and crampy and was suffering from some indigestion when the alarm went off a little after 5:00 am. I downed a cup of coffee, a couple of glasses of water, and some oatmeal, dressed, and we headed out the door just after 6:00 to catch public transit to the race start. I looked for Amber as I made my way to my corral, but I didn't see her. (I was able to meet up with her for a post-race drink later in the day, though!) I lined up just a bit behind the 2:20 pacers and then waited. The race started at 7:00, but I think it was close to 7:20 before my corral began to cross the starting line.

Before the race started my stomach was really bothering me, and I had a feeling that this race was not going to be a good one for me, but I wanted to put myself in a position in the first couple of miles to try to have a strong race if my insides calmed down. Unfortunately, I was never able to settle into a groove and felt miserably and embarrassingly tired by 3 miles into this race. I kept thinking that it was a mercy that I had decided to downgrade to the half because there was no way I could have finished a full marathon yesterday. I was struggling. My chest hurt, I had menstrual cramps, my stomach felt off (though luckily I never actually got sick), the downhills were killing my quads, and in the final few miles my right hip was starting to cramp in the way that led to injury a couple of years ago. Even so, I was hoping to pull off something in the 2:26-2:27 range. I think it might have been doable, but I had to stop to use a porta-john around mile 8 and lost a couple of minutes there and another minute or so to stop at a water fountain in Stanley Park, as 4 of the last 5 water stops didn't have water or cups by the time I got to them (not cool, race organizers, not cool). By the time I rounded the last corner, I had nothing left to give and was just urging myself not to walk through the finish line. My official time was 2:30:18.

Between this race experience (which I could see easily could have been wonderful if I had been more rested coming into this) and the one I had at the Capital City Half last May, I have decided that it's just really stupid for me to schedule a race right at the end of the academic year. Last year I thought I was so exhausted at the Capital City half from oral surgery a couple of weeks before, and I'm sure that was part of it, but I think it was also the burn out and fatigue that accompanies the end of the academic year for me. I seriously underestimated how physically, mentally, and emotionally tired I would be for this race. I feel bad that I was hardly able to concentrate on the lovely scenery, the awesome spectators, and the numerous bands and entertainers. Yesterday was one of those days when it was all I could do to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I don't want to be a total whinger, though. I finished a half marathon, and it wasn't even my slowest one. Also I got a nice little vacation with my spouse in a beautiful city. Have you ever felt like you were too tired to enjoy a beautiful race course? Is there a time of year that you have discovered to not be conducive to strong race performances?

A Summer Itinerary

Last summer I think I changed time zones something like fifteen or sixteen times (not counting the ones I flew across in a single flight) between the end of the spring semester and the start of the fall semester. It's starting to look like this summer might rival last summer, as I am planning several trips and starting to iron out some of the more specific details. Apart from the fact that I'm going to miss my spouse and dog like crazy, I'm pretty excited about my trips!

May will take me to Vancouver for a long weekend for some downtime with my spouse and for a half marathon. Then later that month I will fly to NYC to spend about two weeks there doing some final database work for the project I was working on last summer. I'm also planning to do some research of my own while there and to visit some museums -- the Met's PUNK exhibit is seeming a pretty likely destination -- to do some running in Central Park, to hit up a yoga class or two, to do a bit of writing in the amazing New York Public Library, and to try to stay out of Century 21.

I'll spend most of June in Saint Louis, as I'll be participating in a four-week long NEH Summer Institute that's being held at a university in that city. I'm psyched to have the chance to hang out with and collaborate with a bunch of other early modernists, as I'm the only one in my department here in the Greater Whiter North. I'm definitely excited to explore a city that I haven't spent much time in up to this point, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to meet up with the fabulous Joanna before her big move. I also hope that Mark might be able to come out to join me for one of the weekends. From Saint Louis I'll head to Spain. I'm planning on spending four or five weeks there and splitting my time between archives in Madrid and Seville. I'm not sure if it will work out yet or not, but I'm considering a weekend trip to Burgos and possibly one to London or Amsterdam to visit friends. I still have to figure out accommodations for the Spanish portion of my travels, but I'm hoping that Madrid friends will let me stay with them for part of the time to help my budget stretch a little farther.

After I leave Spain, I'll probably meet up with Mark in Toronto for about a week to visit his family and to use the rare book collection at the University of Toronto Library. We'll head back home together and have about a week or so before classes start. What does all this mean for my running plans? I'm not yet sure. However, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to maintain higher mileage this summer than I was able to last, as I'm registered to run the Big Wild half-marathon here about a week after I plan on getting back into Anchorage.

Do you have any summer travels planned? What strategies do you use for getting in your runs when you're doing a lot of traveling? Also, I'm definitely taking recommendations for restaurants and coffee shops in Saint Louis, so if you have suggestions please do let me know!

Race Report: San Diego Half Marathon

On Sunday I ran the San Diego Half Marathon. After a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee, I donned my running gear, pinned on my bib, and walked the few blocks from my hotel down to the start of the race in the Gas Lamp District. It was a beautiful sunny day and in spite of the time changes (hour difference from Alaska and the beginning of daylight savings time) I felt pretty well rested. My only real concern going into the race - aside from whether or not it would feel a bit warm after running in mostly teens and 20s over the past few weeks - was the fact that wearing flats around the city the previous couple of days had given me a minor case of shin splints.

Miles 1-3
I was in corral 9, and I wondered if it would be a lengthy delay between the start of the race and when those of us in the later corrals would finally get across the start line. However, the race organization was excellent and each wave started less than 2 minutes apart. Before too long my corral was off and I was on my way. I had hoped to line up with the 2:25 pace group, but there was only a 2:20 pace group in my particular corral, so I let them get up ahead of me a bit but worked to keep them in sight and to find a pace that seemed a tad challenging but maintainable. The miles clicked by in 10:18, 10:23, and 10:31.

Miles 3-7
Much of the first half of the race was really quite beautiful with views of the harbor and city. I loved running with thousands of other people and seeing the ocean and palm trees. I might have stopped to take photos, but I had a feeling that I could surpass my goals, so I wanted to focus on running instead of stopping and starting to snap shots. Then there were a few less scenic patches, like the airport, where the exhaust from the rental car buses did not make for the most pleasant running conditions. I was feeling pretty good. At around mile 6 I took a GU at a water stop and just as I was tearing into it I spotted my friend from grad school, who had come with her 2 year old son to cheer me out on the course. I got high fives from them, walked for about a minute to let the GU settle and was off again. My splits were 10:21, 10:31, 10:43, and 11:09.

Miles 7-10
The GU and support out on the course gave me some energy, but I was starting to need to pee. The next couple of miles were some of my slower ones as I did stop to use a biffy and then there was the one serious hill out on the course. This hill was long and one that had the potential to crush the soul and shred the calves. I opted to walk up the steeper parts of it and run the flatter portions of it. It was also not as scenic as somewhere around here we also passed a glass recycling center. I finished these miles in 10:31, 12:10, and 12:42.

Miles 10-13.1
After I crested the hill, I had my second GU at the next water stop and felt reenergized. I looked at my watch and realized that the sub 2:20 that I thought I might be able to pull out a couple of miles before was probably out of reach, but I was going to be damned if I didn't achieve my goal of finishing in 2:25 or less. I told myself to pick the pace back up. The last mile or so of the course was down hill and I let that do some of the work for me. My splits were 11:00, 10:18, 9:23, and 2:11 (my cuts and weaving around other runners had added about .20 to my total distance). My official race time was 2:22:07.

Reflections
In general, I am really pleased with my performance at this half marathon. I'm still working back to PR-level speed, but I did run this half 8 minutes faster than my fastest half marathon in 2012. And that gives me a fair bit of confidence moving forward. I know that working more consistently on speed work helped me in my final miles of the race. I know the downhill was a big part of it, but pulling out 9:23 and 8:28 paces at the end of a half marathon is definitely a marked improvement for me. This race and this trip was good for me mentally and emotionally. I would definitely consider doing this one again, as it was incredibly well-organized, the volunteers were great, and the atmosphere and scenery were truly excellent.

It was also really great to reconnect with my friend. She very generously had me out to her home for dinner twice. We spent some time doing a bit of hiking out at Point Loma, had a girls' night out that ended with post-drinks visit to Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy, and spent part of Saturday afternoon out with her son exploring at Balboa Park.

Vancouver Marathon Training: Week 7 and San Diego Half Marathon Goals

This past week was another doozy. Between grading midterms, attending an all-day diversity workshop, celebrating Mark's birthday, and Fur Rondy, running slipped down on my list of priorities. I have to admit that I'm considering switching from the full to the half in Vancouver, as the demands of higher mileage don't seem to be meshing well with other things (read: work) right now. But I'm putting off making the call at least until after I get back from San Diego. At any rate here's how last week went.

Monday - scheduled rest. Actual rest.

Tuesday - scheduled 4 miles easy. Actual 3.25 hills in my hood. My pace averaged out to 11:18. I probably should have sucked it up and got in the extra .75 mile, but I forgot it was garbage day when I headed out so I had to alter my route a bit as I went.

Wednesday - scheduled rest. Actual rest.

Thursday - scheduled 4 miles speed work. Actual 4 miles. I did 4 x 800 repeats with jogging recoveries. The pacer per mile averaged out to 9:47, and the good news was that I felt consistently strong through the last repeat.

Friday - scheduled 4 miles easy. Actual 20 minute walk. I spent all day at a professional development workshop and then took Mark out for a belated birthday dinner in the evening at Kinley's. Their blueberry lavender creme brulee is where it is at. That is all.

Saturday - scheduled yoga. Actual some walking around and the shortest race of my life. (See the Running of the Reindeer Race Report below.)

Sunday - scheduled 15 miles LSD. Going into this run I felt like I wanted a bit more of a taper for my upcoming half than 15 miles the Sunday before would give me so I decided to run 10 miles instead. My average pace worked out to 11:19 min/miles.

Total scheduled miles: 27
Actual miles: 17.35
Cross training workouts: 0

So what are my goals for Sunday's race in San Diego? My biggest concern is that the heat will have an impact on my performance, but there hasn't really been anything I can do about that here in Alaska. I will really only be able to get in one acclimating run before the race, but I'm hopeful that I can still have a solid performance. My goals are pretty simple:

A) Have fun! Enjoy running on a non-icy or non-treadmill surface and with lots of other enthusiastic runners!

B) Finish in 2:25 or under. Last year I ran three of my four slowest half marathons (all over 2:30), but I know that I have improvement in terms of speed in me still. This is my chance to establish a benchmark for future half marathons.

Wish me luck, dear readers!

Race Report: Miles for Hope 5K

A month or so ago, I started poking around on the internets to see if I could find a local race to run while I was in NYC. My dates were, a bit constrained, but I found a 5K in Riverside Park that was part of Miles for Hope's fundraising efforts and registered for it.

Bib pick up and race day registration started at 8:00 and the race was set to start at 9:00 yesterday morning. I got up early, drank some water, got dressed, and then went to my local Starbucks to have a small coffee and a small breakfast. At about 7:45 I started heading down to the race start location. I picked up my bib without incident and walked around a little bit in the park. I used the port-a-pots and grabbed some extra tissue to blow my nose about a hundred times. The day was nice and cool - more like an early May morning than a day in late July - and I was hoping that my sinuses (which have been completely jacked since Wednesday) would miraculously clear up and that I might be able to PR or at least hit a time under 30 minutes. My only real goal for the race, though, was to give a hard effort so that I could get a sense of exactly where my conditioning (or lack thereof) is right now after a summer of low mileage and lots of disruptions.

 Soon we were lining up, only to be told we had lined up in the wrong direction. After a few minutes of introductions and instructions, we were off! The course started and ended in the same location, but it wasn't a straightforward loop. Riverside Park is terraced with three levels, and we were almost immediately faced with a steep hill up to the second terrace. It was a little frustrating because I don't think most of us runners had found our flow yet - the faster runners were still trying to pass people and a number of people started walking on that hill, which caused a bit of a slow down and a bottleneck situation. I remembered my goal of a hard effort and took the hill steady but strong and vaguely wondered how many more steep inclines there would be, as before the race I had overheard another runner telling his friend that there were a few hills in this race. I tried to keep myself running at a pace that was hard but sustainable and finished the first mile in 9:50.

For part of the second mile we were running along the river. I kept my eyes trained on some runners just ahead of me and tried to slowly close the gap between them. I was having some trouble regulating my breathing as I couldn't fully breathe through my nose and drainage was causing me to have trouble breathing through my mouth. I finished the second mile in 9:38.

We looped back into the park and I lost a few seconds hacking up some crud. I kept challenging myself to put forth a hard effort. The finish line was in sight and it seemed like a flat straight shot to, or so I thought, until one of the course marshals directed us back up one of the terraces. This is where I blew up. It was the fourth or fifth hill in the course and I just was not getting enough air to sustain my effort. I walked up the hill. I started running again, but had to hack up some more crud before descending down the terrace and giving it my all the last .12. My last mile split was 10:41.

I finished with a chip time of 31:21. I was a little disappointed in the last mile, but the first two miles have given me some hope that my conditioning isn't as bad as I thought it was. If I can shave two minutes off my 5K time, I can have a new PR. It was a beautiful day to run a race and a beautiful place to do it. The Miles for Hope volunteers were friendly and cheerful. There was one water stop during the race and plenty of water, sports drink, fruit, bagels, and coffee at the finish. I just had a few grapes and water, though, because I had brunch plans for a bit later.

Now if I can just get any runs in at all over the next week with the moving and cross-Canada drive, I will be satisfied.

Greetings from NYC

I arrived in New York yesterday evening after a very fun weekend in Madison to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend. I found my "B&B" (which is a very cute room in an apartment in Harlem) and got settled in without difficulty. I went out and grabbed a slice of pizza for dinner and walked around for a little bit, but I was tired and sweaty from a day of traveling after a pretty late night the night before so I didn't stay out for long.

Because the archives are closed on Mondays, I slept in a little bit this morning and then headed out for a run in Central Park. It was around 8:00 but it was a cooler day today and the temperature was quite pleasant compared to the oppressive heat of last week in the Midwest. There were quite a few other runners out in the park, but it wasn't yet crowded with much tourist traffic. It made for a very enjoyable easy 2.5 miles. As this was my first run in over a week, I kept the pace slow and threw in a couple of walk breaks to take a few photos with my phone. I was thrilled that my neck and shoulder felt back to normal  both before and after the run. It's both a relief and a luxury that I can now plan on running a few times a week while I'm here.

After my run, I got cleaned up, had some coffee, and headed out to do a bit of exploring. I ate an early lunch of a sandwich and a banana in the Conservatory Garden since I hadn't made it there on my run. Then I went to the Guggenheim Museum. I had actually planned to go to either the Cloisters or the Museo del Barrio but realized that they, like many of the museums here, are closed on Mondays. I hadn't been to the Guggenheim previously (at least not the one in New York), though, and, while abstract expressionism isn't my favorite, it was well worth the trip. After a couple of hours in the museum, I decided I needed a snack and headed to Magnolia Bakery for a treat.

I've had sushi for dinner and am back in my B&B with a novel on my kindle for the evening as I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. If you have any (relatively economical) restaurant recommendations for NYC, I'd love for you to leave them in the comments.

Weekend Adventures: Museums, Eurovision, and Running in Parks

This weekend was a fabulous one that recharged me for a final week of work in the archives. On Saturday I got up relatively early and went for a 5 mile run along the Madrid Rio. After getting cleaned up, I sought out a cute bakery and cafe that I had noticed one day when I was on my way to the archives and had a napolitana de chocolate and a cafe con leche. Then I went to Lope de Vega's house. I have tried to go a couple of times in the past to the Casa de Lope de Vega, but each time it had been closed. This time I was successful and managed to get inside and take a guided tour with a group of Spaniards. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside the house, but it is allowed in the lush gardens behind the home.

In Lope's gardens

After visiting my second favorite Spanish playwright's house, I spent a couple of hours meandering around an art museum in Madrid.

Saturday evening my friend C. and his partner J. invited me to join them and some of their friends to have a Galician feast of food and to watch Eurovision. Being an American who doesn't pay too much attention to singing competions, this was my first time to pay any attention to Eurovision at all. I had a blast, as we also scored the entries and came up with our own top 5. However, it was incredibly cheesy, and the Bjork-wannabe from Albania got way too many votes....

Intent on tabulating our scores

On Sunday morning I slept in a bit, and then headed to the Rastro (a big weekly flea market in Madrid) to buy another pair of harem pants and to do some looking around the other stalls. I meandered for a while around Madrid, had some lunch, and then spent a couple of hours reading a novel. Then I headed out to find the Parque de la Dehesa de la Villa to go for a run. While I'm glad that I explored a park that I was unfamiliar with and that I got a second run in this weekend, I'm not completely sure that this was worth the 3 euro in metro fare that it cost me to head up to the northern part of the city. The park was crowded with couples and families strolling around and kids playing soccer. So I didn't run for long.

Do you watch Eurovision? Readers who run, do you drive or take public transit to places where you run or do you just run from your door?

Perceptions on the Running Culture in Madrid

When I lived in Madrid five or so years ago, I ran inconsistently. In part, this was because I was a smoker at the time and not really in the best shape for an activity that can burn even healthy lungs at times. In part, though, it was because I always felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb when I ran in Madrid. I almost never saw other runners out on the streets and even in the parks there weren't all that many runners. Those who I encountered tended to be fast guys. It wasn't exactly encouraging.

Well, I'm happy to report that something has changed in the five years since I have moved away. I see runners everywhere now, and it's obvious that they're not all tourists. I still see more men than women running, but I no longer feel at all self-conscious about running in Madrid. Since my arrival last week, I have seen runners of various genders, shapes, sizes, and at various times of day in various places. I've seen them in the narrow streets near my apartment. I've seen them in the parks. I've seen them along the wider avenues leading to the museums and the business districts. I've seen them along the river. This heartens me significantly. The city that I love so much has given me yet another reason to love it.

Perhaps one of the causal factors in the boost to running culture is that there is now a relatively new space for running, cycling, and rollerblading in Madrid. About 10 kilometers of paths intermixed with playgrounds and basketball courts now stretch along the Manzanares River in Madrid. I went on my first little run on this new-to-me route a couple of days ago.

When I went hiking this past Saturday, I fell into conversation for a while with a runner from Madrid. He had a Madrid medio maraton technical shirt, and we got to discussing distance running. He said that he and a group of guys run together every weekend. I told him that I'd love to run the Madrid Marathon some day, but it probably won't be in the near future because it falls on a date in the middle of the academic term. I'm going to keep it on my bucket list, though. And hopefully during the interim the running culture in Madrid continues to flourish.

Runners, have you ever lived in a city where there was no running culture or have you ever been pleasantly surprised to find a lot of runners in a place where you didn't expect them?

Weekend Away: Toronto

This past weekend, M. and I flew to Toronto for the first two nights of Passover. We had 48 hours with his family before we had to head back to the airport and fly home. We hung out with our niece as much as possible (hard to believe how much she's grown in the past 9 months!) and ate some massive quantities of food at the seders we attended. It was really great to spend time with my spouse's family and to do a little walking around one of my favorite North American cities.

On Saturday, I got in a run in a 6 mile run in the morning. I ran from my in-laws to a nearby cemetery and did a few miles in there before heading back. It was a bright and crisp morning, and I saw lots of other runners out doing their thing. During the afternoon, we spent some time down in the Distillery District. I had a beer at the Mill Street Brewery, a coffee at Balzac, and picked up some Easter chocolate at Soma. It was a little surreal to be back in the Distillery District with my spouse's sister, her husband, and their kid because the last time we were there was for the jack & jill social that they had the night before their wedding almost three years ago.

My older niblet. She, too, likes to run!

We returned home Sunday afternoon to class prep and stacks of grading, but it was so nice to take a little holiday in Toronto. I feel like I was able to recharge my batteries over the weekend and now am ready to tackle the last weeks of the term.

Did you do anything special to celebrate Pesach or Easter this past weekend?

A Long Run in Boston

On Saturday one of my good friends and I went for a long run in Boston. He is training for a May marathon and it was a step-back week for him so he wanted to do 12 miles. I had decided that I would do 8 miles. Rather than do an out and back where we would only run a few miles together, we did an 8 mile loop through Somerville, Cambridge, toward downtown, along the Charles, and back again. While I showered and relaxed with a cup of coffee, he tacked on another 4 miles or so at the end.

We kept the pace nice and slow. I had awoken twice during the night before with charley horses (probably from wearing flats that have no arch support for the 2-mile walk to my conference site and back the day before). My left calf was still feeling pretty tender in the morning, but I really wanted to run in Boston. So much so that we made a quick trip to a nearby Target earlier that morning when I realized that I had failed to pack a sports bra for the trip.

In spite of our slow pace, the time flew by. We chatted about work and husbands and running and upcoming trips to Europe, and I paused occasionally to take a picture with my phone. This particular friend and I used to live in the same city and had run a lot together during the summer that I was training for my first marathon, but we hadn't had a chance to hit the pavement together for a couple of years. I honestly couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than running with a dear friend.

Chicago Highlights

I was in Chicago for several days this past week for the annual meeting of the American Historical Association. I stayed downtown, saw good friends, went to panels and meetings, ate some delicious food, drank some delicious local brews, and enjoyed being in a big city with lots of museums, parks, shopping, and cabs.

Rather than regale you with a recap of my entire trip, I'll just say that the highlights included hearing a couple of fantastic papers, meet-ups with blogging buddies, Anne and Courtney, eating Thai food and having a couple of rounds at the Goose Island Brewery with grad school buddies, sharing in Twelfth Night festivities and a King's Feast with my good friend M., finally meeting the daughter of one of my dearest friends, and running along the Navy Pier and Lakefront Path. I'll let the pictures do the talking for me.

the view from my hotel room

Chicago by night

the organic arugula salad at La Media - delicious!

old friends

King's Cake

unwitting partners who became blogging casualties

my running route on Saturday morning

breakfasting with a baby

I hadn't been to Chicago for several years, and it had slipped my mind how much I love the city. While it's not a quick drive, it's not all that far either, so my friend M. may find me on her doorstep again before long.