This was a very good run, in contrast. It was quite cool out, and I felt pretty good through the whole run. I was keeping my heart rate considerably lower than usual -- I usually target to 160, and this time I aimed for 150. So I expected to be slower than usual, but instead it was my best run of the year, 28 laps in 89:59.

At last I spotted Venus in the evening sky, where in theory it has been lurking for about three months already. I was in Lafayette Square, Cambridge (which people think of as part of the Central Square area, but is really its own thing) and the skyline was low enough on the Western side of Mass Ave that I could see it glinting above the buildings. ( Read more... )

I ran last weekend, I think on Sunday. For some reason I had a really hard time finishing the run, and wound up with a time of 96:29 for seven miles. It was weird, because the first four miles or so were very smooth and nice.

On Labor Day, last Monday, I went running again, just to celebrate having a new monitor and an extra day off. I only ran four miles, though, because I didn't want to hurt myself; having slacked off a lot lately I know better than to overdo it. So that run doesn't officially count as bloggable. But this morning I did my real Seventh Run, seven miles ( Read more... )

I am still making slow but steady progress through Hume's late-18th-century History of England; now I am in volume 5, just after the death of James I (and VI), and reading a digression about What England Was Like during his reign. This is OK in small doses; it's what modern historians have given themselves over completely to, at the expense of the ( Read more... )

I know that Venus has been visible, in principle, for half an hour or so after sunset. But I haven't seen it yet. At this time of year (I think this is right) the ecliptic lies rather flat to the horizon around sunset, so by the time it gets dark enough Venus is very low, and I don't have convenient places around here with a clear view to the West ( Read more... )

Yeah, this is just not a very runny summer for me. I guess it's been three weeks since my last go. I decided that I really really needed a new heart rate monitor, and after fruitlessly banging around various stores (Best Buy, mostly) the nice overworked guy at Greater Boston Running Company sold me exactly the right thing, and I am happy. It's nice ( Read more... )

I had a slow start, but it was an OK run; 7 miles in 93:54. I still haven't managed to get out regularly during the week, and I'm pretty convinced that my heart monitor is counting my footsteps, not my heartbeats. I think I need a new one.

Yesterday I finally managed to get out to the track for the first time in, I think, about three weeks. My performance had suffered from the furlough, and I did my seven miles in 97:36While I was there, the running track was invaded by a pre-teen playing Pokemon Go. On a bike. On the track. Not looking where he was going. Yes, I understand that ( Read more... )

Just before we went to England, Microsoft's free upgrade to Windows 10 was about to expire, so I bit the bullet and started the upgrade. The effort cost my four-year-old Gateway its motherboard, so yesterday I went to Micro Center and got a new machine, an HP. I have mostly got it doing what I want it to do, but have yet to figure out how to import ( Read more... )