Where I ran in Boston

Some pictures to illustrate the places I've been talking about:

This view of the Charles River is where I ran when I went to the right.  You can see that the beginning is hectic for traffic, but there are paths on either side (with lovely, shady trees).

Boston University Bridge, about 0.7ish miles into my run when I was going to the right.  No Smoots on this bridge.

That bridge in the distance is the Smoot Bridge (aka the Mass Ave Bridge).  Boston skyline in the distance.

Actual, authentic running path next to the Charles.  Not a bad place to run!

Today I took a right

For some variety, today I ran to the right (toward MIT-Cambridge/Boston) and for even more variety, went over to the Cambridge side.  This was a good plan on two accounts.  First, there is less Turnpike/Storrow traffic, so it's not as hectic to start.  Second, you get the best views of the Boston skyline from this side.

There is only one slight difficulty.  From my hotel to the Mass Ave bridge is very slightly less than 2 miles on this run (I was doing 4 miles today).  One choice is to wait out the intersection to run, like, 0.1 mile, which is stupid.  The easier, non-trafficky solution is to run some of the distance over the Mass Ave bridge, then turn around and head back.  Apart from the fact that bridges suck (since they incline), this is your best solution.  And what makes it even better are Smoots.

A Smoot is a measurement that was designed as a MIT frat prank -- yes, this is what MIT students do for fun in their spare time, they design systems of measurement.  Smoot was an actual guy who was about 5'7".  To measure the bridge, Smoot lay down in each spot, then his frat brothers counted how many Smoots were required to get across the bridge.  The measurements can still be seen and are commemorated with markings on the bridge.  The really fun part of this story is that Smoot himself went on to chairman of the American National Standards Institute and the International Organization for Standards.

One way on my run wound up being approximately 1.9 miles and 84.4 Smoots.  But I could be slightly off on that, so please don't report me to the American National Standards Institute.

Also, here is a tip for eating healthy while traveling: grab the CSA share of a friend who is going out of town.  I picked it up yesterday and it became quite the conversation item, with several people asking me what was in the box.  My favorite was a somewhat laconic guy who I walked by near the CSA pick-up place:

Laconic guy: CSA share day?
Me: Yep.  Yummy melons.
Laconic guy: Whoo hoo [in a completely laconic tone]

Oh, and if you're curious about the why eating salads when you're out might not be your best plan, check this article out.  Amazing.