Busy week, with the usual CrossFit and Fly Fishing Comments

Last week included a 2-day business trip to Boston.  I managed to work out at CrossFit twice before the trip.  Tuesday night, I did heavy squats and Wednesday included bench presses.  Each workout included some additional metabolic conditioning - nothing too noteworthy.

Thursday morning, I was up very early for a drive to Cambridge, MA.  I went there to see some new technology my company is interested in using.  The traffic was terrible as I got close to Boston, and I barely made it to the meeting/demo on time.  After the meeting, I headed across the river to a hotel near Fenway Park.  After settling into my room, I changed into my workout clothes and headed for CrossFit Fenway, about a 5 minute walk from my hotel.

After doing bench presses on Wednesday, they were on the schedule for Thursday at CF Fenway.  It's a lift where I'm pretty weak, so I had no problem doing them again.  Then came the main workout, which was really tough:

25 pull-ups
200 meter farmers walk (I carried a 53# kettlebell in each hand)
15 push-ups
800 meter run
15 push-ups
200 meter farmers walk
25 pull-ups.

There was an 18 minute time limit and I managed to finish in just under 17 minutes.

After a shower, I met my niece and her fiance for some cocktails and dinner.  It was nice to get to see her again.  The next time I see her will be at her wedding in July.

Friday morning, I headed for the JFK Presidential Library for another meeting.  The library itself was amazing, and I got to see the typed pages that JFK used at the lectern to deliver some of his most famous speeches:

• "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
• "Ich bin ein Berliner."
• "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard..."

I still wonder on a regular basis how the world might be different today if JFK had not been assassinated and he had served two terms.

The meeting was interesting and informative, and it let out at just the perfect time for me to get stuck in more Boston traffic.  At one point, I managed only 16 miles in one hour.  The bad traffic continued north, well into NH.

Saturday, I slept in and then went for a run with one of my dogs.  Then, I headed out fly fishing.  I caught two small brook trout in a spot that is always good for 1 or 2 early season brookies, but that was it for the day.  It was a really frustrating day on a difficult river.  There were a few Hendricksons hatching, but no trout showed any interest in them.  I tried my go-to nymph for this situation - the Pheasant Tail - with no luck as well.

Sunday, I slept in again, and after some coffee, did a running interval workout - nothing too long, but very intense.  After cooking all afternoon, I went fishing again.  This time, I chose a large river that was simply not safe to wade at all (I didn't know that until I got there and gave it a try).  The water flows were dangerous.  Plus, it was windy, making casting difficult.  After less than half an hour, I gave up and returned home.

I thought last year got off to a slow start with fly fishing, but this year has been even worse.  I've been out 5 times with only 3 tiny fish for my efforts.  But, I'll start catching fish soon, if we can just go a week or so without a lot of rain.  It seems that all of the really great weather days (today, last Friday) are days where I'm at work and can't just sneak out to go fishing.