New England, Day 3

Saturday was homecoming day. I woke up at 7, drank half a liter of water, and got dressed. I had my headband and wristbands on, taped the Breathe Right strip across my nose. I hadn't run an actual race in 18 months, I really didn't know how I would hold up. I knew this race was going to have some hills and it would go through the woods at times too. 

I drove the 15 minutes to Gordon College for my 20 year reunion. Well, I didn't expect to see anyone I knew from my class. But I guess I still wanted to go. The campus still looks great as ever, as I figured it would. I stretched out, did a short test run for 3 or 4 minutes. Unfortunately, I forgot the pre workout supplement in the hotel room. Not my finest hour.
 
The race began with the 1 mile run for the kids around the Quad. For our race, there were about 100 of us and we indeed had to go through the woods. The first mile was pretty good and I knew not to try to race too hard. For one thing, there were running groups doing this thing, and I know one of the runners finished in under 17 minutes. But also, I had another 5k the following weekend, it wasn't worth going all out. And as we went into the woods, it got a little tougher, I even rolled my ankle at one point, probably about halfway through the race. But I was able to push through and got one last sprint in to finish at 23:55. I know I'm capable of going faster. 

So at the finish line, I had my banana and water. Sadly, beer is not an option at a Christian school, but that's ok. I did see one kid wearing a Brady shirt and man I wanted to chastise him for supporting evil. I guess I did, just kind of under my breath. 

I didn't really have any need to hang around the runners anymore, so I went off to Lane Student Center to work on my computer a little and get some food. Dining services was serving brunch and I took full advantage. Steak and eggs, potatoes, veggies for plate 1. Then some sliced turkey, a slice of cheese pizza, salad, and roasted veggies. Finally for dessert, I wolfed down six apple cider donut munchkins, a cinnamon roll, and an amazing cup of spiced cider. '

I do have to say something about the pizza. I was well known in college for my ability to make pizza. I was even given a student service award for it, which in retrospect was really crazy, but it was very nice. So I had to have one slice of pizza and it was fine. But gone were the old conveyor belts that I used, now replaced by a Turbo Chef oven. They even moved the pizza area from the front right to the back center area. Where I used to make pizza, that is now the vegan area. And the grill area I'd work, which was on the front left side, that's now the nut allergy and gluten free spot. Things sure have changed in the last 20 years.

I decided to walk past Ferrin Hall, my old dorm for 2 years and over to Bennett Center, which is the athletic complex. Some of the kids were using the indoor climbing facility. I walked past the Gordon Hall of Honors. Quite a few people that I remembered. There was no one around that I knew, which was fine, like I said, I didn't expect anything. I didn't know a single runner, didn't know anyone while I was eating. I actually did recognize an old science teacher of mine, but it was not a situation where I thought she would remember me. But anyway, I thought I passed by Carter, the women's basketball coach. And I knew his wife Rebecca had to be around. And she and I had been high school classmates in Chicago a quarter century prior. I saw her in the gym lobby trying to keep control of her kids and it was awesome to see her again. Now I had told her I would be coming and I was hoping we could make something work out. Of course she had forgotten her phone, which explained why she had not texted me back that day.

But anyway, I got to hang out with her and her kids, while watching the women's soccer game on the Quad. There was a bounce house set up for the kids, and that kept them mostly occupied. Her oldest, Micah, had just come from a soccer game, he was the last of her 4 kids that I met, I think he's 7 or 8 years old. Another one of his friends joined him. And when the three of us revealed to each other that we all hated the New England Patriots, we began chest bumping. Micah was screaming that finally someone else felt the same way he did! Rebecca was nearly peeled over in laughter. One of the definite highlights of my trip.

The only person from Gordon I saw who I knew was Chris, who was in my class and now works for the school. He and I were more like acquaintances really, but it was cool to see him again.

By 2 pm, I was ready to go and the temperature was dropping a little. The skies were gray, but at least the rain had not started falling. I decided to drive east to Rockport, a small coastal town that I always enjoyed visiting. It's at the very end of Route 128, which is a super fast highway, but you have to remember to slow down once you get off of it, because it's a great speed trap. Truth be told, the cop I passed could have pulled me over, but I did get a little grace.

I always liked Rockport for the small independent shops crammed closely together and also the walls of rocks. One of my favorite things to do is walking those rocks out to the very edge and breathing in the salty air. then to see the waves crash against the rocks is pretty fantastic. 

By now I was hungry again and I stopped in a local restaurant called the Fish Shack. I took a seat at the bar and ordered a local IPA. It was the 1620 from Ipswich, absolutely fantastic to the point that I ordered a second. I figured I would just get some seafood, only an appetizer. I saw the fried clams and asked for an order. The menu said they were market price, I guess I should have asked. They cost 29 freaking dollars! Yes I got a large plate, but for that price, I expect a lot more than just clams.

I think I purchased my usual cheap sticker for my trunk and drive back to the hotel, which was about a 30 minute drive. It was 4:30 or so, and I just felt like relaxing. I did get one glass of wine to go with my leftover Bertucci's pizza. But I really had no desire to go out again that night, maybe it was the $29 clams! 

Oh and thankfully the hotel gave me a free toothbrush. I had packed the case for my Oral B electric, except I forgot the actual toothbrush! It's amazing, I always forget something when I travel.