5/15- I got a smokin' deal on a direct flight from Atlanta to Boston for just $152 round trip so I decided to fly from there instead of Birmingham. I had no issues on this flight but a bit of a SNAFU at the rental car pickup. Payless would not take my debit card so I was sent to Enterprise, who accepted it only after I provided proof of a flight out of Boston. Fortunately, I got the car and hit the road to Springfield, Vermont, the site of my first of 2 half marathons this week. I took I-90 out of Boston then some country roads once I got outside the metro area. It was mostly gently rolling terrain with heavy tree cover though it was merely early Spring up there. Lunch was in Concord, Mass at a nice independent pizza place. I also passed through a section of New Hampshire with a quick stop in the town of Keene before arriving at my destination just before dinner. I made sure I knew where to find the race start then had a rather mediocre steak for dinner.
5/16- With a race start at 6 AM, I needed to be up at 4:30 and out the door by 5AM. The day dawned foggy with temps in the mid-50s, which is actually very good weather for distance running. The race is one of the more unique events that I have done. It was part of a 6 day series called the New England Challenge, which consisted of 6 races on 6 consecutive days. Many runners were simply looking to complete the challenge and did not care about their time. I could have won overall if I had been in top shape but even as it was, I still finished 3rd and could have been 2nd if I raced all out.
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| Vermont course |
The race was run on a 4 loop course of 3.27 miles per loop. It was mostly a gravel trail with a long steady incline along with a corresponding decline plus a grassy section with a couple absurdly steep hills. Fortunately, those climbs were short but no matter what the pace, it will beat up your legs. I found a good rhythm on relatively flat and downhill sections but struggled on the grass. Overall, however, the pace was pretty steady in the 8:30 range for each of the first 3 loops. I simply wanted to break 2 hours and save it for Sunday in Massachusetts but my split at 3/4 was 84:xx, on pace for a 1:52. I intentionally backed off on the 4th loop and allowed myself to be passed by the 2nd place finisher. I took my time on the water stop and walked the steep sections. Pride got the best of me at the end however and I posted a respectable last half mile to finish in 1:54:18. I was fine with that and actually wished that I had taken it a bit slower. Hopefully, it would not bite me after a 3 day rest.
I went back to my hotel, showered up and was out the door just after 9:00 AM. From there, it was I-91 South to New Haven, CT. Even with a lunch stop, I arrived by 12:30 and caught a Metro North train to NYC at Grand Central. My room was just 10 blocks away so I just checked in and hit the subway towards Coney Island in Brooklyn. Of course, it was way too cold for a swim but it was still pretty cool to walk on that boardwalk and see those iconic amusement rides. Dinner was a tasty Nathan's hot dog and a slice of pizza. Next, it was a walking tour of Soho and the Lower East side followed by a drink at the famous 230 5th rooftop bar, which offered perhaps the best free views of the NYC skyline. Unfortunately, it was too foggy to see the top of the Empire State building but it was still a lot of fun.
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| Grand Central |
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| Coney Island |
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| Rooftop Bar |
5/17- It was back to Brooklyn the next morning for a quick tour of Prospect Park and some off the beaten path areas of Vincent Gambini's neck of the woods. From there, it was a long subway ride to the Bronx but I was able to score tickets for a Yankee stadium tour and a Top of the Rock Observation. I am not a Yankee fan but I do have respect for what is historically the most successful franchise in all of professional sports. I got a view of the playing field as well as Monument Park along with uniform displays of legends such as Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Jeter.
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| Rock 1 |
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| Rock 2 |
I had waited more than a year to see the top of Rockefeller in the daylight and it was well worth it. Looking north, you see Central Park in full bloom with the lakes clearly visible. Looking south, you get a close up of the Empire State building with the Freedom Tower in the distance. Awesome. My camera would not work on low battery so I stole these pics from the Internet but I promise y'all that I was there. It was now 5:00 and I headed back to Grand Central to catch the train to Connecticut for the night.
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| Long Island Sound |
5/18- Drive on Beach Road in New Haven. Part of the route was right next to the sandy beaches of the Long Island Sound so I snapped a couple pictures. I made another quick detour on the Connecticut/Rhode Island border but the next destination was Newport, Rhode Island with its cliffside ocean scenery against the rocky coast and nearby mansions. Pictures really don't do it justice. Right next to the Cliff Walk is a sandy beach that looked to have decent surf. Of course, it was much too cold for a dip (Air temp around 60, water in the upper 50s).
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| Cliff Walk |
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| Newport Beach |
Soon, I was back in Massachusetts on my way up to Cape Cod. Because tomorrow's weather looked iffy, I cut this part short so I could get to Boston earlier that afternoon. I stopped at a beach in the town of Barnstable, walked around for a bit then got back on the road. This proved to be a good call because the weather had cleared for the time being and temps were quite comfortable for a walking tour of Boylston Street. I got some nice skyline views from the Prudential Tower and saw the finish line of the Boston marathon.
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| Cape Cod |
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| Boston |
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| Boston |
5/19- I got an early start of my Freedom Trail tour because I wanted to beat the nasty weather that did indeed come in the afternoon. Highlights here included the Massachusetts State House, Sam Adams' grave, statues of Paul Reveve and Ben Franklin as well as Old North Church and the site of the Boston massacre. I did not see any museums because I was pressed for time but it was still cool to see those historical sites. I had lunch with my friend Chase, whom I had connected with online several years on a health message board then it was back to the subway for the JFK library and a welcome stop indoors. This presidential library covered his early life, election and administration with highlights of the space program, Civil Rights efforts and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It did not cover the assassination and conspiracy theories. Overall, I probably would have approved of his job performance if I had been around.
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| Freedom Trail |
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| Paul Revere |
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| With Chase |
5/20- Woke up this morning feeling completely wiped out despite a good night's sleep not to mention a nasty sinus headache probably from being out too long in the chilly rain yesterday. I still had 13.1 miles to run and I knew that it would not be pretty. The course started and ended at Horseneck Beach but the first 10 miles were fairly non-descript mostly through residential areas with gently rolling terrain but in the last 3 miles, the course turned on Beach Road and it was all along the ocean front with the sound and sights of waves breaking on rocky and sandy sections then turned through the sand dunes. The scenery here was spectacular but unfortunately, I felt anything but that. I managed to keep the pace semi-respectable through about 9.5 miles then I had to walk. Once you reach that point, you can't come back. It was a death march to the finish but once again, a finish is a finish and state #34 is in the books. I may be back in Massachusetts down the road for a shot at redemption but that will come after I finish state #50.
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| Sand Dunes |
Despite a bit of traffic, I got back to the Boston airport in plenty of time and enjoyed a seafood meal before the flight back to Atlanta. The flight itself was fine but because of a maintenance issue on a plane at our assigned gate, we were stuck on the tarmac for nearly 2 hours. It was about 11:00 by the time I got back to Birmingham but made it home safely and showed up for work the next day.
People that I met:
I found that western CT sounds more like NYC while RI and east CT is more like Boston. Traffic was a bit of an adventure in spots and I got somewhat rude service at the Vermont restaurant but overall, most people were nice. Whenever I travel, there is always a good chance of a connection when I meet somebody from the South. I got a nice compliment on my accent after asking for "10 on pump 5" in Connecticut. I met a girl from Georgia at the NYC bar and a couple from Miss'Sippy in Boston but a nice surprise came at the Boston subway. I connected with a very nice girl from South Africa, which has long been on my travel bucket list. We had a nice conversation and she even gave me her phone number. I hope that we will keep in contact and I would encourage everyone to seek out friendships with people from different backgrounds and cultures. You will find that there is a lot more common ground that you might expect.
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