So since my last post about Saturday's team run, we have received a significant amount of snow up here in Boston. I like snow a lot, despite the fact that it makes my commute unpleasant and everyone crams themselves into the T (because no one wants to drive) and I find myself getting rubbed on all sides by wet coats. However, it is significantly more distressing these days because it makes running outside a challenge (not helped by the fact that the city of Cambridge has apparently never heard of road salt, nor do they make any efforts to plow the sidewalks). I do not have a gym membership, mind you, so switching to the treadmill until I can see sidewalk again is not an option. It was bad enough outside for me to have to take Sunday off, and definitely Monday, but today I decided to make a break for it before another snowstorm hit this afternoon.
I was intending to run around TD Garden area where I had spied some well-salted sidewalks during my commute, and avoid the Esplanade (which is never salted). But upon leaving my house at 7:00am, I looked up and saw pink back-lit plumes of steam coming from the stacks at MIT and suspected that there might be something good to see at the river. And amazingly, by the time I was passing MIT, I felt ecstatic and warm despite the 7 degree air, and wondered how I could have felt so grumbly about leaving bed.
There is a spot on Massachusetts Avenue, right past the weird man sculpture at MIT, where the buildings and trees suddenly fall away and the expanse of the Charles is upon you. It tends to sneak up on me, and I was reaching the end of that block when I lifted my eyes and at once the view of downtown Boston opened up in front of me like someone had suddenly flung open a set of french windows. The sky was the palest of blues and the rising sun was perfectly tucked behind the John Hancock building, radiating sheets of brilliant pink and orange light out either side that settled on the roofs of the back bay in a golden sheen, and illuminated the State House dome into a blindingly bright ball of yellow. Even the snow on the trees down on the Esplanade cast a peachy glow that was reflected in smooth swathes of color across the thin ice on the river. When I first moved here back in June of 2012, I told myself that if there was ever a time that I crossed the Mass Ave bridge and didn't think that the view of Boston was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, then it was time to move on and leave. It hasn't happened yet, but today I thought it with more sincerity than ever before. It was breathtaking, and not just because a nasty wind was slicing down the Charles and practically shaving my face off. To top it off, it seems that the cold had put off enough walkers and runners to leave me with the scene entirely to myself. I stopped in the middle of the bridge to throw a loose piece of ice down onto the water, and it merely skidded across the surface. Not that I really needed telling, but when the river freezes you KNOW it's cold.
I had to keep it short because of time constraints, so I just did a 6 mile loop. The ankle is feeling good with the tape, and I apologize to whoever's window I snot-rocketed while coming down Beacon Hill on Anderson Street (I thought it was just a wall, I swear). And in the meantime, I want to send out a HUGE thank you to all of my donors thus far!! With all of your help, I am currently at $3,047, or around 30% to my goal of $10,000, which is amazing! I am starting a new tab (up top) with the names of all donors listed.
ALSO, with the help of my mom and the hard work of Cindy Hodgson, we have produced a mass of printed cards that feature some of my recent watercolor artwork. My hope is to sell enough for it to be a significant portion of my fundraising. If anyone is interested, please contact me at <cnasselin@gmail.com> about getting a set! For more information and pictures of the cards, see the tab above.
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