Correction: sunny and crisp, but still a little weird

I accidentally just ran 9 miles.  It turns out there are only so many bridges that cross the Charles River, so if you miss one, your run might end up longer than expected... but that's great!  I planned a route of about 8 miles, apparently missed a bridge somewhere, and instead wound up with 9 miles, which was just about perfect.  Napa Valley is coming up in exactly 4 months, so I'm feeling good about the fact that I can still do 9 miles perfectly comfortably.  There are some things I had kind of forgotten about marathon training though...

1) Running in the cold.  The first 1-2 miles are a little uncomfortable, but then you get nice and warmed up, and it feels fantastic.  45 degrees is perfect weather for shorts and a t-shirt, if you can believe it. ;)  After 5 or so more miles, though, it's like my body finds a new equilibrium and remembers that it's 45 degrees out.  So then I usually alternate between feeling perfect and being a little chilly for the last few miles.  If I'm going longer than 10 miles in the cold (which hasn't happened in several years, so I had forgotten this), I really have to wear running tights and/or a long sleeve shirt, though.  10 is about my limit in shorts and a t-shirt once the temperature starts dropping.

2) Chafing.  Ok, I didn't forget that chafing happens, but I sort of forgot the reality of chafing.  When you're starting to get a little tired and feeling like you'd like to be done running now, please, it's not much fun when some part of your body is getting raw from rubbing against some piece of clothing.  A reminder that Body Glide is your friend.

3) Getting ready for a marathon is all about training your legs to deal with the stress.  I never, ever have cardiovascular difficulties during longer runs; it's always my legs that do the complaining.  Today it was my left hamstring a little bit (because I ran a 5K in San Diego this week, and am still a little bit sore, embarrassingly) and then my right calf a tiny bit (probably because I was a little dehydrated).  Things I have learned about my musculature from running so much is that my hamstrings are perpetually tight, they only get more so unless I stretch a little bit, and if I don't stretch an adequate amount, I end up with a back spasm at some point.  I have also learned that my calves threaten to cramp up if I'm not hydrated enough.  And if I get really dehydrated, they do cramp, and that is mi-se-ra-ble.

Enough running talk.  You know, Boston is very nice.  I did my 9 miles up and down the Charles River, and it was quite pretty.  It still feels somewhat weird and foreign, and I can't really imagine living here, but the sun was shining and it was such a quintessentially fall day today that I found myself scooting along with a grin on my face.  The fall leaves are gorgeous, and the buildings are all red and brown brick, and I really like cities that have a river winding through them.  It's very Old World, in a very nice way.

Well.  I'm going to try to get some grading done before the plenary talk at 5:45, and I am going to sleep so well tonight.  (I slept great last night, too.  Now that I'm adjusted to the 3 hour difference, it's time to go back to the west coast.  At least I'll have the end of Daylight Saving Time helping me out on the way back.)  Tomorrow I've got a full morning of talks again, until 12:30.  Then I think I'll walk around Boston a bit and take some pictures before I catch my flight around 6:00 tomorrow night.  And the magic of time zones is such that I'll get back to San Francisco at 9:40 after a 6.5 hour flight.

And so I bid you adieu, until tomorrow when I'm killing time in an airport, most likely.