TRAINing

Who can resist a good pun? Or better yet, a bad pun? Not I, for sure.

This morning I went out on my bike to run an errand so I thought I'd extend the ride for fun and for exercise by heading south to Emeryville and then cutting back through Aquatic Park on my way home. I got as far as the railroad crossing at 65th Street, where I encountered this rather sinister looking freight train at a standstill on the tracks. These black tank cars stretched for as far as I could see up and down the track. Luckily I'm not paranoid enough to have dwelt too long on what they might contain, but nevertheless I flipped a u-ey (yewee? you-ee? eweiee??) and headed east in search of an alternate route. I finally headed uphill, ending up at the Berkeley Library, downtown. Sometimes I could swear it's the library, not Rome, to which all roads lead. Anyway, I got in a bit of a bike ride (maybe five or six miles) and as a bonus scored a fresh book to read.

This update on my current state of not-especially-training is brought to you by my Bowflex, which was Z's Christmas present to me, a finger-touch heart monitor/watch. Thanks to my favorite nephew for showing me his Bowflex last time he was in town. I haven't figured out all the bells and whistles on mine yet, but was able to ascertain that I arrived at the library with a heart rate of 90 bpm. This beautiful blue gadget has many functions. Among other things, it's a watch, a chronometer, and a pedometer. Pretty sure it has a popcorn popping mode if I can just find it. At any rate, while I am not running I'm sure I'll enjoy tuning into my heart rate as I do other activities that are fine except for their not being running. No, I'm not whining. Much.

Okay, okay. I just took a few moments out here (real-time action at Running Commentary central!) to call Kaiser and schedule an appointment for next week. My gimpy knee has been sore on and off for years, but this time the pain seems more persistent than usual. Some physical therapy may be in order. Just so no one tries to get me to stop running.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
5:14 AM
Sunshine said…
I keep deleting anonymous but he keeps showing up.

Anyway.. about your run.. I'm not really familiar with the area.. but I think there is a pedestrian bridge over the tracks at the train station in Berkley. Is that anywhere near where you were?
12:33 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trying to Make Lemonade

Image
What am I meant to learn from the challenges being thrown at me these days? That I am strong. That I am loved. That life goes on and can be good. My favorite nephew congratulated me for making lemonade when I'd been handed lemons--not sure his belief about me is justified, but I deeply appreciate the notion. Plus, I have an actual lemon tree in front of the house, so I've been practicing my tangy-beverage making. My ribs have healed up well. I'd say I'm at about 95%. I'm glad my minor medical matter is clearing up so I can turn my energy to a more major one: Z is scheduled for big-time surgery on March 31. He is calm; I am calm. Aaaaaaack! Oops, I meant of course I'm serene. The procedure he faces, which involves patching up some crucial circulatory parts, is a common one, and the success rate is high. But still. Send good vibes our way, if you'd be so kind. In other matters, I did run 10 miles Saturday. The run itself went well--I went down to the Bay Trai
Read more

By the Numbers

Image
10.62 -- Number of miles run (per MapMyRun) 16 -- Number of Miniwheat biscuits consumed for pre-run breakfast 3 -- Number of red lights waited for 159 -- Number of days since hip injury 5.5 -- Number of backyards along trail being eaten alive by morning glories 2 -- Number of couples arguing as they walked along 1 -- Number of chocolate Clif Shots slurped on run 12 -- Number of dogs being walked 4 -- Number of songs playing in my head at various times 10 -- Number on a scale of 1 to 10 representing my happiness over being healed
Read more

Where's Elizabeth West?

Image
Elizabeth will be back someday, perhaps as the author of a best-selling novel. As part of a New Year's campaign to be more accountable, I've decided to abandon my nom de guerre for the purposes of this blog. Yep, Elaine is me--now you have the Full Monty . To borrow from Stephen Colbert , may this be the beginning of many posts of truthiness. As your reward for reading this post, here is the special gift of an image I captured today from one of my favorite webcams . Note that in the image the time is 9:13 am. I believe I've posted a Chita image previously (maybe a couple of years ago?) but I wanted to do it again. Chita is in Siberia. Chita is always cold and usually dark. Its citizens, who carry on their daily lives as if they are living someplace reasonable, are for me the embodiment of courage, so I love watching them lurch around as the camera updates the scene every eight seconds. As you enjoy our current chilly weather, just realize that if a Chita native came here t
Read more