Double Black Diamond

I stood at the top of a vertical drop off on the Tolt pipeline in Woodinville, Washington, feeling a little bit like a beginner skier who accidently took a lift up to the top of a double black diamond slope. The difference, however, was that I knew I could get down, but I was not so sure how I would make it back up.

I was trying to do a 10 mile out and back run, and I still had almost 2 miles to go till my “turn around” point. As I stood at the top of this hill, I could see the Burke-Gilman Trail snaking through the valley below, shielded by tall poplar trees. I wanted to be down there, running along the creek between the poplar trees.

So I took the plunge and ran down this hill. And it was steep, and it was fast, and the next thing I knew I really was running in the poplars, pretending to be a Burke-Gilman “regular”. Of course, less then an hour later I was walking up the “steep” and “fast” double black diamond “cliff”, but it was worth every tilted second of it.

8 on the 8th Challenge

Actually for me the run was a little over 9 miles, but I think it still counts towards the challenge. Yesterday was a beautiful day—sunny and warm (above freezing!). I ran to the Esplanade and headed for the Science Museum bridge.

Many people were strolling along the Charles, enjoying the day. The Cambridge size of the river was even more crowded. The Canadian geese were showing in greater then usual numbers amongst the white geese by the BU bridge. And the parking lot was full of shoppers by the Trader Joe’s.

Back over on the Boston side I bravely ignored the “Sidewalk Closed” sign after crossing the River Street, and quickly found myself running in a trench. The pavement was gone, and evenly cut mud on the sides made me think of Honduras and digging up the grass for a new sidewalk at the Amarateca Technical Institute. Snow, puddles and mudd continued all the way to the BU bridge. I would like to avoid trench running next time, but I also will not deny the sense of adventure that it added to my run.

Who Won the Tickets to the Nutcracker?

Thank you so much to all of you making donations to Dana-Farber supporting my Boston marathon run! The winner of the opportunity drawing for the 2 tickets to the Boston Ballet performance of the Nutcracker at the Opera House has been selected.

The winning ticket number is:

6857015

If you have the winning ticket, please contact me as soon as possible, so that I can present you with the ballet tickets.