Going the TransAmerican Distance Sidenote

I went for my first run today in 2 weeks. I've been sick and have been itching to run, but with a test every week at the moment, I figured it'd be better to focus on studying and rest my body. I've had my slowest run in a while, but I was just happy to finish my course. It's funny how quickly the body falls out of shape. I guess it's a sign that I'm getting old.

Anyway, I just tried to upload my data to the nike website to see just how much I've regressed in my progress, and MY DATA WAS GONE. I freaked out! I've mentioned how I am an obsessive progress tracker, and I didn't know what to do. I found a phone number to call on the website. I spoke with a laid back representative who said that they've been having technical difficulties with their servers all morning and that all the calls coming in have been freaked out runners who thought they lost their data. In a very calm tone, he reassured me that my data was not lost and that the disconnect was between the servers housing the data and the information coming in from my ipod. Everything should be up and running, with no data loss, by COB. I was so relieved.

It hit me though that there are others out there who share the same data-tracking obsession, if not more passionate. I didn't think I sounded freaked out on the phone, but the representative sounded like he'd gone through this sort of call several times already today with people who were more upset. He kept reassuring me that everything would be ok, even though I only asked once if my data were lost. Nice to know I'm not the only obsessed person out there, and hopefully not the worst either. :)

New England Adventures

When living in Boston, one of the best feelings Lawrence and I experience is leaving it. (Of course one of the worst feelings is returning to it. To quote our good friend and neighbor, "My heart sinks a little everytime I come back. I can't believe I live here.") As such, we've made a concerted effort to get out of Boston nearly every weekend, even just for a day, and explore what else New England has to offer. We've been pleasantly surprised with what we've found.

A little over a month ago, we took our same neighbor friends, whose hearts sink upon returning to Boston, camping in Freeport, Maine. We had a great time, camping on the shores of Freeport, doing a little shopping, and cooking fresh-caught lobster over a campfire.

Three weeks ago or so, Lawrence and I took a day trip to Northeastern Connecticut. We had a great time going through a corn maze (a maize maze if you will :P), eating outside along a river lined with great foliage, exploring a dam, and enjoying a wine tasting.

Two weeks ago we went rock climbing for the first time at the quarries in Quincy, which is still on the red line. I've never used my fingers and toes to support all my weight or to scale a vertical rock. It was cool. Afterwards we had a BBQ and watched the sunset.

This weekend, we went apple picking, wine tasting, picnicing, and camping in Northeastern Massachusetts. Grant it the weather got to below freezing on Saturday night, leaving us quite chilly, but nonetheless we still had a great time building a campfire and grilling hot dogs, burgers, and sausages over it. We were camping basically on the beach, and Lawrence and I went for a walk along the serene shore shortly after sunrise. I never realized how calming and peaceful beaches can be in colder weather. It's probably beacause no one is silly enough to be there. :)

Throughout the summer, we've also enjoyed various activities in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and the Cape. (I think I've written about it before.) Honestly, although I love summer weather, the fall is really the best time to explore New England. The weather is pleasant, with a crisp, cool air all around and the beautiful foliage just blanketing the landscape. I'm sad the winter is lurking, waiting to pounce, but I suppose that does make for some good ski trips. :)

Don't worry, I'm not being enticed by New England- I'm just biding my time until I can return to my beloved City. Boston itself doesn't have much to offer (except the joy of leaving it), and collectively, ALL of New England does have something to offer. I figured I might as well it enjoy it while I'm here because I'm certainly not coming back once I leave.

Going the TransAmerican Distance

Since class began on the 18th of September, I've been trying to keep in shape and maintain an exercise regimen. It's sort of like a New Year's resolution, but more like a new life resolution. I'm starting over with my career, schooling, and now exercise discipline. I've set a goal of cycling 12 miles per week and running 12 miles per week as well. I know that's not much, but it's the best I can do with my aging body and crazy class schedule.

To motivate me to stay the course, I've bought a nike+ pedometer that attaches to my iPod nano. So far, it's been a great tool. It measures not only the distance I run, but also the speeds at which I'm running throughout my run. The data is stored on my iPod, which when connected to my laptop transmits the data to the nike website. The website then stores all the data and allows me to compare all my runs. It's great for people, like me, who are obsessed with keeping track of things and tracking progress. And it's finally let me use something other than my beloved excel to do so. :)

I've also signed up for a free account with the Lawrence Berkeley Lab at exercise.lbl.gov where I can enter the distances I walk, cycle, and run to keep track of how far I've travelled along the TransAmerica route, which begins in Virginia and ends in Oregon. This is a particularly great motivator for me; everytime I exercise I look forward to logging the miles on the website and see how much farther I've gotten. Needless to say, I haven't made it out of Virginia yet, but I'm getting there. I've gone 107 miles to date since classes have started. My goal is to make it across the country before MCATs next summer. At the rate I'm moving though I'll make it across the country well into medical school.:)

Both the nike+ pedometer and the LBL website have really helped motivate me to exercise regularly. This regular exercise has been great for me. I start the day with a run, and afterwards I just feel fantastic. I have so much more energy and my body feels lighter. I feel less restless as I sit for hours a day reading and doing problem sets. I then bike to and from Harvard for class to cap my physical activities for the day.

I think I may actually be addicted to the high I get from exercising. I had a physics problem set due today and an organic chemistry test earlier today, so I had no time to run. I found myself completely restless all day and CRAVING a run after I got back from my test. Sadly, the sun had already set and Lawrence was unwilling to accompany me for a night run. At least this is a healthy addiction/obsession. :)