Day: July 30, 2004

To hook another nutmegger up:

1) How long have you been blogging about running?

Here – for a couple of months. But on my circle of friends blog, I’ve been posting about running for about 15 months. I moved the running to this page since the other was getting a little more political. I’m a Reagan conservative (no wishy-washy compassion attached) with a pretty wide libertarian streak; most of my buds are pretty liberal in the good, old school sense. I wanted to be able to keep this from getting lost in the wash. Running transcends party lines. I also didn’t want to bore them (Though there are a couple of other runners – Becky and Matt did the Austin Marathon again this year.

2) What was the first running blog you stumbled across?

Sean Lloyd’s site

3) What made you seek out running blogs in the first place?

Inspiration. When I was an instructor at Sub School in Groton, it was great to have about a dozen guys with whom to run on a regular basis. When I got out of the Navy and moved into the real world, no-one in my office in Houston ran (or would publicly acknowledge it – sports involving sweating or alternative transportation are kind of taboo in the land of the interstates). Moving up to New England made road sports much safer, and I was able to con a friend into running with me, but it’s nice to keep up with others.

4) What is the best advice you’ve been given thru your blog?

Keep at it.

5) Do you feel that the running blogs (yours and others) have helped you in your quest to become a better runner? If yes, please elaborate.

Yes, if for nothing but the encouragement. Let’s face it – the key to becoming a better runner is “Wake up, slap on shoes, pound out miles, wash, rinse, eat, sleep, repeat.” Knowing that there are others out there repeating the same process is priceless.

Stopped on Jamestown Island and rode again on the way into work. Wow. Just wow. Every turn’s another water view, and there’s enough small rollers to make it a really good workout. There’s also extremely light traffic, and very nice shoulders on most of the island’s roads.

The wildlife was out in force – I almost hit so many rabbits, I lost count. Then there were two deer, and even a coyote at the entrance to Beavertail State Park. Don’t know why, but they always make the ride better.

The best is that I parked both today and Wednesday at Fort Wetherill State Park and was able to take a quick dip before heading to the showers. The Atlantic’s a cold, cold ocean this far north. Bracing, to say the least.