The beautiful weather in Seattle continued right through the weekend and it truly was awesome. To be in the mid 70s with nary a cloud was spectacular. My appreciation of the Beatle's ode continues to grow. Got out Saturday morning with the group for 10+ miles around town. The three guys I was running with jumped off the prescribed 10 mile course and wandered closer to Lake Washington and around the University of Washington campus.

The path led us behind U of W stadium or as everyone calls it here Husky Stadium. The university has a large horticultural area back there which abuts the lake. The grass and trees were the foreground for a magnificent view of Mt Ranier. I am still utterly amazed by the mass of it. The peak is so head and shoulders above anything else in the area that the view is almost surreal. As usual the view was also fleeting and we soon were passing some wetlands, with a lineup of turtles sunning themselves on nearly submerged mossy log. Apparently the turtles were in the need for a few rays too.

After this is was back across campus and towards Green Lake where the runs start and end. Easy pace the entire way and we finished somewhere around 90 minutes for 10+ miles.

Decided to skip the run on Saturday and spend time with family outdoors. I did have 30 minutes to sneak in a crossfit work out.

30,20,10,5 reps of thrusters with a 30lb dog food bag, 21" box jumps and pushups. The pushups were easily the limiting factor as everything else was completed un-broken. I am going to have find something heavier than the dog food to make this type of workout more difficult. I timed it but not sure where my watch is at the moment. Maybe 9 minutes.

The weather in Seattle is finally matching the brochure. Endless blue skies, warm sun, light breezes and low humidity. Today I was itching to get out of work for a run home. I can't really change the majority of my route home but the section that cuts throughout the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle allows me to mix up the route a bit as long as I don't mind adding a little distance and hitting the hills. The whole of Magnolia sits on a 350 ft high penisular plateau with the Puget sound to the west, the Ballard canal to north and the river like set of train tracks to the east. The middle of the plateau is scooped out, leaving hillsides facing each other across a flat mid-section. The train tracks make it sound industrial but they are way down the hill. It is an extremely residential area with beautiful homes, quiet streets and for many, stunning views.

I attacked from the west on a killer climb which I took extremely slow. I topped the ridge and kept heading north towards the canal. I had peekaboo views of both the cascades and the Olympics completely unobstructed by any clouds. I could definitely get used to this. Eventually ended up on 31st street and that lead me to the foot bridge across the railroad track and to the locks. The locks were bumping with tourists and I gave up any hope of running across them due to the crowds. Took a breather and looked for some migrating salmon on the fish ladder. The little migration chart told me it was early but by July there should be fish aplenty. Maybe I can jump in like a bear and paw away until I nab one mid-air. Sushi for dinner.

After the locks it was the usual hill up to my house which I am all to familiar with. 98% of the run was into a stiff headwind but on a beautiful day who cares. I am running home from work in the time it used to take me to drive home, I should be happy in wind, rain, hail, sleet and anything else thrown at me. 6.8 miles untimed.

Baby update: still no baby

All day I was dreading the run home. I could of taken the bus but I might not be able run Thursday and Friday so I had to run right? Even as I was getting changed in the handicapped bathroom stall I still wasn't sure I was gonna go through with it. But before you know it I was popping open the door to the back alley behind my building and heading down to the Olympic Structure park for my run home.

The dread was mostly due to the incredibly sore calves I have from Monday's workout. Sore to the touch, tight after sitting and I just didn't think they would be up for 6.5 miles home. I was wrong. I quickly settled into the faster end of easy pace and and old G. Love album on the iPhone. The weather was overcast but dry and dare I say it, almost humid. I think an afternoon in Philly would recalibrate my definition of humid but today, for Seattle, it was humid.

My run home takes me through the Interbay section of Seattle which is composed mainly of fishing industry, a huge bus parking lot and an enormous train yard. I run along this train yard for at least a mile and get an up close and personal look at the locomotives and all jockeying involved in getting these trains set. I can only imagine the logistics. Track after track of different train cars and scores of locomotives. I'd like to work there for a day just to get a better idea of how it works.

51 minutes which is relatively fast for my slog home.