XC Does XC

So members of the championship Lowell High School XC team traded in their sneakers for skis today and tried out a different form of XC, out on the maze of amazing trails at Carlisle's Great Brook state forest.

Here they are in a chillin' moment, complete with LHS XC gear: The rest of the photos pretty much speak for themselves. Great day, great landscape, and no broken bones.

In the background, that's Barry just taking a little timeout, waiting for his friends to catch up to him:

Nate's used to going downhill, but can adapt to any terrain:

What's next for LHS XC?

Why I Love Snowdays

I write this blog post at great risk to my personal well-being, you see, I've got a number of friends, especially among my co-workers *cough* Rebecca *cough*, who despise these snow days that have been burying us with increasing frequency of late.

I could break out the tired mantra of "you live in New England, move to Florida if you don't like the snow," but that's too flip and overused.

Instead, I'd just like to throw out a few of the reasons why I savor, hope for, and and celebrate a good old fashioned, New England snow day.

1) DVD catch-up: There's nothing like a snowbound day to plop in a DVD collection to catch up on some of the previous seasons of your favorite show. I've currently got Smallville, the X-Files, Dexter, the Big Bang Theory, and Doctor Who queued up at my house. Today's choice happened to be a terrific run of David Tennant's Doctor, complete with Martha Jones:

2) Coming in out of the cold into a nice warm house makes you realize all those things that need fixing that you fret about the rest of the year seem pretty insignificant when you can just appreciate having a roof over your head on days like this.

3) A home-cooked meal, especially the soups among my wife's repertoire, just seem to taste better on days like this. And judging from the posts of my Facebook friends, culinary adventures seem to be a true pleasure for lots of other folks as well.

4) I can't lie, I love shoveling. Yeah, I've got a snowblower for the big stuff, but shoveling is great exercise, and just great fun, especially when you've got quality tunes cranking on the ipod.

5) Let's face it, we work hard. At least most of us do. So the occasional snow day breaking up a work week is just God's way of giving the kids and by extension, us, a mental health day. There's literally thousands of work days looming in front of us still. Can't we just appreciate the occasional time-out?

6) Admit it: the snow looks beautiful out there. Not so much when it's mixed with mud, dirt, salt, etc. and sloppily piled up along the busy roadways. But take a glance around your neighborhood. Isn't this one of the reasons you chose to live in New England?

7) But for me, hand's down, the best thing about snow days? Getting to spend more time with the kids, and over the course of years, capturing moments like this:

Haven't gotten fresh pics from today's storm yet, but there's still time, with snowzilla looming on the horizon.

So go ahead, tell me why YOU love/hate a good old fashioned New England snowstorm!

Derry Kings

It seemed like a good idea at the time... Somewhere along the line one of us idiots suggested running the Boston Prep 16 mile race in Derry, N.H. in January. Of course, the suggestion was probably made when temperatures were within survivable norms.

And also of course, that was before we knew this weekend would be starting the coldest spell in New England in years, with temperatures flirting with sub-zero, not to mention a painful wind chill factor. Oh, and did anyone mention the most ridiculous freaking hills to be found in any race south of Mt. Everest? No? Apparently that part of the missive got lost in the mix somewhere. Truthfully, we needed Mother Abbess:Anyway, here's some frigid photos from along the race course, thanks to Anne Scanlon, uber cheerleader and wardrobe manager. I'm surprised the camera even worked in this weather.

Here's Tommy, early on, he hasn't broken a sweat yet.Even though there's hundreds of runners in front of me, I still have enough energy to muster the number one bravado to our intrepid photog. (That energy would quickly dissipate.)

Scott, running his first Derry, is undaunted by the temps, going for the unzippered look at the six-mile mark:

Yes, Sean really is as cold as he looks:

Barry looks surprisingly happy. Either that or he's delirious from the cold.

Tommy doesn't realize the worst hills lie directly in front of him, ergo the smile:

Here's me, in bank robber mode, still able to flex some muscles:

Barry, in post-race celebration, on the wrong side of the chute:

Sean, just happy to be done with the damn thing:Tommy, joining my bank robber posse:

Post-race, we're smiling because soup is just a couple of moments away. But as you can see from Barry's expression, apparently the chili was damn hot!

Post-race, I heard at least two "never again" comments from within the ranks of the E Streeters. And this blog will provide the documentation the next time that stupid email suggestion makes the rounds. Next up? Kilimanjaro.

The Icemen Runneth

So, somewhere along the line, we E Streeters thought it would be fun to do an eight-mile run in sub-zero temperatures this morning. Needless to say, we were quite the spectacle for the Westford families who, instead of driving through an animal preserve, opted to take their kids for a ride to see the stupid-ass runners.

Here's the result (forgive the quality of the pics, electronic devices tend to malfunction at -4 degree temperatures, which it was at our East Boston Camp start.)

Here we are at the start, joined by Scott Graham, who decided to add seven miles onto his already-completed seven-mile loop: Preparing for the hills of Chelmsford:
Scott Spence had a clear advantage out front:

Here's the course, map complete with elevation, courtesy of John's runkeeper:

And the satellite pic of our course, because NASA likes to keep tabs on the E Streeters:
And finally, at the finish, Barry was a little worse for the wear:

And just think - next weekend we get to run twice the distance, only with more hills!

Frozen Bananas

It wasn't a fit morning out for man nor beast. Here's the (men AND women):and here's the beast: Yes, come rain, shine, or freezing cold, icy, sloppy, chilling slush, the No Bananas racing series surges on. This morning, brave and hardy New Englanders (known 'round some parts as E Streeters) ventured out onto the Bruce Freeman Trail in Chelmsford for a 5K race under anything but optimal conditions. Cheers once again to race director Ruth Whalen Crockett.

As usual, photos courtesy of John Piekos and his Runcam.

Here's Andrew, taking the early lead: Tommy, watching his chance to defend his second place standing vanish into the fog:Sean and Scott, in town line racing form:Here comes the leader, undaunted by the wolf pack rushing toward him:The lonely life of the winter runner: Scott, choosing the path least travelled:The banana bunch, marking the turnaround:E Streeters thrive on punishing conditions: She's smiling on the outside. Inside, she's gonna kill John: I got out of bed for this??? Expanding monthly, No Bananas now boasts an official timer:The Lone Wolf: The male E Streeter contingent:Buoyed by her first place finish in the women's division, Karen basks in the adulation of her fans:Another photo finish, eerily mirroring the December No Bananas thrilling finish: And somehow, they still manage to look great after a grueling Iditarod: Finishing with Grace: Ready to kill the guy who talked her into running the course:But after all the slush and slipping, there they stand, the top 13. Mysteriously missing, though, is one stalwart E Streeter. Could it be? Was Scott Spence a DNF? Racing pundits will be talking about this one for a long time to come... See everyone in February!