Tag: beach

Triathlon and Pride: this week’s long run

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, a huge, fun street party sort of affair, which I missed because I was with my mom in hospital. She got released home on Friday afternoon, but has to go back for more tests on Sunday, which makes none of us happy. And when I’m not unhappy or stressed I go out for a run.

Started out at 6:20, hoping to get 7k in before the sun started blazing (wear sunscreen!), but I forgot that my usual route was going to be partly blocked because of the Tel Aviv Triathlon. It made for a challenging and interesting run at least.

6:20AM and look at that sun already blazing:

Some of the decorations for the Pride Parade were still up on the beach, and some of them will stay here permanently:

The sprint category of the triathlon was just about to start as I tried to run past them and into the TLV port and park:

Here I was forced to go on several diversions before finally making it to the park for the halfway point of my run.

Whenever life sucks, go for a run. I guarantee that you’ll feel better.

This Week’s Long Run

Started out a bit later than I planned, but got going anyway.

The tide receded so much that you could see the treacherous rocks usually hidden under the waves in the dog beach.

The gulls were out in full force again, taking over the river.

A moorhen paddled in the shadow of a boat.

Halfway point:

Gulls and night heron enjoying the boats.

A cormorant swam in the river, in search of fish.

A pied kingfisher was on the lookout too:

All in all it was a great 10k run in beautiful weather.

This weekend’s runs

Ran a 4K yesterday and a 7k today. Getting back on track after a November of travelling, and feeling pretty good about it.

Last night there was a photo shoot at the deserted beach. It wasn’t particularly cold, but it was windy. Must have made it an interesting time for the photographers, with all that sand blowing about.

Went on an early run this morning, but because of the cloud cover I couldn’t get any good shots of the sunrise.

This evening…

… I didn’t feel like going for my scheduled 5k because it was hot, and I spent most of the day on my feet at a friend’s wedding, so I was tired and pretty sore. But I dragged my ass to the gym, put in my 5k (I hate treadmill runs), and was rewarded with this view on my way back:

There’s never a run that’s not worth it.

The State of Affairs

  • I’ve been running 25k per week for a few weeks now, with a 10k long run included.
  • I’ve started doing daily push-ups for the past week (30 per day). I still need to get back to doing strength exercises.
  • I’ve been reading a lot more and writing a lot more. After a bit of a slump, I decided to give the Streaks app a chance. It’s been helping keeping me on track so far.
  • My second draft has been going in some ways better than expected, in others worse. I hated rewriting my university papers, and I thought that rewriting a 120K word novel would be a pain, but for some reason it isn’t a hassle at all. The first four chapters were simple fixes, but I hit a giant plot hole that I hadn’t noticed once I reached chapter 5. I trashed chapter 5 and chapter 6 completely, writing them from scratch (on the bright side they’re much shorter and better now), and it looks like chapter 7 is going to have to undergo the same treatment. Writing a novel is a process, and I’ve learned a few things about writing since I started, which means that scenes that I wrote almost two years (!) ago just don’t work right now. At least I’m enjoying the process so far, though it is a rather lonely one.
  • Gratuitous photo of a gorgeous Tel Aviv summer sunset from yesterday’s 7k:

    This Week’s Long Run

    Started out extra early (before 6AM), since it was going to be a super hot day.

    Sunrise over Gordon Beach, Tel Aviv

    The sun had just come up, the promenade was practically deserted (early morning on a Saturday will do that for you), and the air was relatively cool, though still humid.

    Waterfowl on the Yarkon River Bank
    I wasn’t the only one enjoying the early morning breeze — these little guys were taking cover from the sun by the time I ran back.

    Sun rising over the Yarkon River, Colouring it in gold
    The sun made everything seem gloriously golden… A breathtaking sight.


    You can just make out the Night Heron looking out at the ducks. He was still there when I ran back.


    Ducks having fun in the sun, around the 3K mark.


    Making my way back, around the 7K mark. The park had come to life, and the sun was starting to blaze away.


    Night Heron still there, standing like a watchman, keeping an eye on the river.


    Last view of the river and the birds, before the final stretch home.

    10K run, and well worth setting the alarm for. 

    This week’s long run

    This week’s long run wasn’t very long at all (see here for the reasons). It ended up being just a 5k (my third 5k this week), because I set out pretty late yesterday, and I don’t feel very comfortable running alone in the dark.

    On the positive side of things, I did change up my route, which made for some pretty nifty photos of the Tel Aviv skyline.


    Started out as the sun was just setting in a glorious pink, purple and orange. 


    Tel Aviv’s Marina is small but pretty. 


    Boat in the sunset. Also, you can see just how crappy my iPhone 6’s camera is when it comes to low light photography.


    Tel Aviv’s “hotel-front”, backdropping the Marina.


    Terrible photo, but that’s Tel Aviv’s port twinkling in the distance.


    Sunset. I don’t know this guy, but he knows how to enjoy life.


    Tel Aviv’s port, now an outdoor shopping mall of sorts. 


    A single remnant of the port’s old day’s as an actual port. 

    This week’s long run

    Yesterday was blistering hot, so I ran this morning instead. A lot of rowers were out on the Yarkon.


    At the Daniel Center for rowing, stopped for a moment to admire the sky.


    The sun was out in full strength, which made for some pretty dramatic lighting, with all the clouds.


    Ducks and rowers (this was taken on my way back).


    This cheeky little egret was waiting by a group of pretty terrible fishermen. They would toss it all their small fry, which is much more convenient than having to go fish for them itself. 


    Monthly antique market at the port.


    My cat, totally unimpressed that I ran 9K this morning. 

    This week’s recommendations

    Podcast: The Daily, by the New York Times. A 20 minute daily podcast that doesn’t sum up the news of the day, but instead gives interesting insights into a few top stories. There’s a very good reason that this podcast has become so popular even though it’s so relatively new.

    Book: If you’re looking for an easy summer read, try M.C. Beaton‘s Hamish Macbeth or Agatha Raisin mystery novels. They’re dirt cheap, even in dead tree format, short, not too trashy, not too violent — the beach books.

    Tea: if you haven’t watched this delightful YouTube TED Ed video by Shunan Teng, I highly recommend that you do. It briefly goes through the history of tea: youtu.be/LaLvVc1sS20

    And also: Monument Valley 2 is out and it’s as awesome as the first one was. Really taking my time to enjoy it.

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    Summer is here. Get thee to the beach.