#17 Boston - This is How You Win Medals! Sept 30 2005
How do you win medals? Here's the deal - you sign up for a local road race (there is always one somewhere) with a smaller group of participants - this usually means that there are not too many folks in your age group (we are talking about those of us who are a bit less young) . You hope that a good percentage of those in your age group actually end up walking the race rather than running it, and boom, you are a medal contender! No one was more surprised than I last weekend at the Shape Up! Somerville 5K where I ended up second in my age group and was the proud (slightly embarrassed) recipient of a medal. I also posted my PR (personal record) of 8:42 min/mile, which is not too shabby, I might add. I have had a little tiff since then with the timing company, which posted my time correctly after the race, but made an error on the coolrunning.com website, and of course, I can't let that go. I want those five seconds, darn it! I worked hard for them!!
"Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart, Play Hart" is actually a grant-funded project which involves one thousand children from first- to third-grade who attend public schools in Somerville, Mass., and two thousand children from two control groups in Brockton and Everett. The kids are evaluated to determine their Body Mass Index and participate in an intervention program designed to teach healthy eating habits and increase physical activity at school and at home. http://nutrition.tufts.edu/research/shapeup/
Pretty cool!
Taking advantage of a beautiful late summer Saturday and trying to experience new and exciting ways to get bruises on my body, I grabbed my friends Elaine and Jo and headed for the Quincy Quarries for REI's 2005 Climbfest (http://www.climbfest.com/gallery/index.htm) What fun! After an introductory stint on an artificial climbing wall, we headed for the real rock and attempted to improve our novice climbing skills just like real climbers. Pumped up and motivated by Elaine's cheers ("Climb like a Girl!!") I put up a respectable performance, and returned from the rock with only a moderate amount of skin damage. Highlight of the day was the Tyrolean traverse (http://www.climbfest.com/gallery/index.htm), which involves you standing on top of a rock cliff, all harnessed up, and clipped into a rope. You then proceed to jump off the cliff and sail along the rope to the other side, where you have to pull yourself up a little bit to reach the next rock cliff!! Instructions and the hook-up was performed by a former SWAT team member, who in no uncertain terms gave you instructions on what to do and "under no circumstances" what not do to (Yess Sir!). This was sooooo cool! In particular in light of my well-developed acrophobia, this was no small accomplishment!! Also of note was the speed climbing contest, during which some of the participants appeared to morph into geckos and scale a 40-foot ridiculously steep wall in less than a minute!! (BTW - did you know that there is a Global Gecko Association?? http://www.gekkota.com/ - This is for all those gecko enthusiasts among my friends....)
The Quincy Quarries are a pretty cool place, according to rockclimbing.com they are "Boston's essential cragging experience." Located just a short drive from the center of town, the quarries are a reminder of the once vibrant New England granite quarry industry, and some of Boston's famous landmarks, such as the Bunker Hill Monument, were constructed from Quincy Granite (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/quincyquarries.htm). At one point, Quincy was actually known as "The Granite City."
In weather-related news, fall has won the tug of war, summer has given up officially, and the first signs of autumn are everywhere here in New England. The temperatures have dropped (currently at a pleasant 60 degrees F = 15 degrees Celsius), everyone is drinking apple cider like it is going out of style and first plans to go see the fall foliage are being hatched. None of that 89 degree at 8PM temperature crap! Yesss!! My favorite season is about to begin!
What else is new here in the hub?
**The City of Boston this past weekend celebrated its 375th anniversary - celebrations all day, fireworks, you know that kinda stuff
**The Red Sox versus Yankees - Again! Need we say more!! Thank you David Ortiz!
**I have written my first Letter to the Editor to the local news outlet, the Beacon Hill Times - some of my neighbors are apparently not happy with the new Whole Foods store (the previous supermarket was a somewhat dilapidated Stop and Shop, and I can see how you would miss that). They are apparently not happy with the exorbitant prices - who is?? I am not happy about any prices for that matter....
**Newly discovered resource: Boston Event Guide: http://www.bostoneventguide.com - this Monday Ellen and I will head to the Boston Harbor Hotel for a Cinderella Makeover Party (http://www.bostoneventguide.com/events/cinderella05.htm) - a benefit for the Ellie Breast Cancer Fund). More like salvage therapy in my case.....
**Name change for yours truly from Yee to Loesch officially initiated at the Suffolk County Courthouse. Will keep you posted.
Last, but not least - the answer to last week's Boston Trivia question: "Why is Boston known as Beantown?"
The correct answer was: Because molasses was plentiful from Boston´s trade routes. Boston´s trade routes meant that there was a ton of molasses being stored and used in the Boston area. Molasses was a primary sweetener back in colonial times. Beans were cheap, plentiful and easy to store. The combo was natural!
First prize goes to our beloved Joan Bossart who was the first to answer this correctly. A can of Boston baked beans is on its way!!
Happy Weekend everyone!
pet:)
"Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart, Play Hart" is actually a grant-funded project which involves one thousand children from first- to third-grade who attend public schools in Somerville, Mass., and two thousand children from two control groups in Brockton and Everett. The kids are evaluated to determine their Body Mass Index and participate in an intervention program designed to teach healthy eating habits and increase physical activity at school and at home. http://nutrition.tufts.edu/research/shapeup/
Pretty cool!
Taking advantage of a beautiful late summer Saturday and trying to experience new and exciting ways to get bruises on my body, I grabbed my friends Elaine and Jo and headed for the Quincy Quarries for REI's 2005 Climbfest (http://www.climbfest.com/gallery/index.htm) What fun! After an introductory stint on an artificial climbing wall, we headed for the real rock and attempted to improve our novice climbing skills just like real climbers. Pumped up and motivated by Elaine's cheers ("Climb like a Girl!!") I put up a respectable performance, and returned from the rock with only a moderate amount of skin damage. Highlight of the day was the Tyrolean traverse (http://www.climbfest.com/gallery/index.htm), which involves you standing on top of a rock cliff, all harnessed up, and clipped into a rope. You then proceed to jump off the cliff and sail along the rope to the other side, where you have to pull yourself up a little bit to reach the next rock cliff!! Instructions and the hook-up was performed by a former SWAT team member, who in no uncertain terms gave you instructions on what to do and "under no circumstances" what not do to (Yess Sir!). This was sooooo cool! In particular in light of my well-developed acrophobia, this was no small accomplishment!! Also of note was the speed climbing contest, during which some of the participants appeared to morph into geckos and scale a 40-foot ridiculously steep wall in less than a minute!! (BTW - did you know that there is a Global Gecko Association?? http://www.gekkota.com/ - This is for all those gecko enthusiasts among my friends....)
The Quincy Quarries are a pretty cool place, according to rockclimbing.com they are "Boston's essential cragging experience." Located just a short drive from the center of town, the quarries are a reminder of the once vibrant New England granite quarry industry, and some of Boston's famous landmarks, such as the Bunker Hill Monument, were constructed from Quincy Granite (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/quincyquarries.htm). At one point, Quincy was actually known as "The Granite City."
In weather-related news, fall has won the tug of war, summer has given up officially, and the first signs of autumn are everywhere here in New England. The temperatures have dropped (currently at a pleasant 60 degrees F = 15 degrees Celsius), everyone is drinking apple cider like it is going out of style and first plans to go see the fall foliage are being hatched. None of that 89 degree at 8PM temperature crap! Yesss!! My favorite season is about to begin!
What else is new here in the hub?
**The City of Boston this past weekend celebrated its 375th anniversary - celebrations all day, fireworks, you know that kinda stuff
**The Red Sox versus Yankees - Again! Need we say more!! Thank you David Ortiz!
**I have written my first Letter to the Editor to the local news outlet, the Beacon Hill Times - some of my neighbors are apparently not happy with the new Whole Foods store (the previous supermarket was a somewhat dilapidated Stop and Shop, and I can see how you would miss that). They are apparently not happy with the exorbitant prices - who is?? I am not happy about any prices for that matter....
**Newly discovered resource: Boston Event Guide: http://www.bostoneventguide.com - this Monday Ellen and I will head to the Boston Harbor Hotel for a Cinderella Makeover Party (http://www.bostoneventguide.com/events/cinderella05.htm) - a benefit for the Ellie Breast Cancer Fund). More like salvage therapy in my case.....
**Name change for yours truly from Yee to Loesch officially initiated at the Suffolk County Courthouse. Will keep you posted.
Last, but not least - the answer to last week's Boston Trivia question: "Why is Boston known as Beantown?"
The correct answer was: Because molasses was plentiful from Boston´s trade routes. Boston´s trade routes meant that there was a ton of molasses being stored and used in the Boston area. Molasses was a primary sweetener back in colonial times. Beans were cheap, plentiful and easy to store. The combo was natural!
First prize goes to our beloved Joan Bossart who was the first to answer this correctly. A can of Boston baked beans is on its way!!
Happy Weekend everyone!
pet:)
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