November 2 Run: Meet at Tom's House- on Aylesboro near Forbes- and turn your clocks back

Next Sunday, we'll meet at Tom's house (on Aylesboro just before Forbes) to run the "alternate Sunday run."  Don't forget to turn your clocks back Saturday night for the end of Daylight Savings!

This past Sunday, a small group of us patiently waited for the sun to come up so that we could enter Frick Park and enjoy the beautiful fall colors.  Until it was bright enough, we ran through Summerset at Frick Park neighborhood, then linked up to the trail in the valley, past the Irish Center, and into the park.  The trails were gorgeous, and we crossed a new trail that we will have to run sometime when we're feeling a little adventurous: the Rollercoaster Trail.   Tammy, who has toured it before, assured us that there are lots of downhills to make up for the uphills!  After considering an exit from the park down a leaf-covered trail onto Forest Glen, we decided to continue on and exit near Blue Slide Park.

Post-run coffee was at 61C because, honestly, we love the baked goods there!  We facetimed Roye in Uruguay and chatted with her, as she regaled us with stories of the slower pace there, as well as the locals' favorite transportable drink, mate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage), where everyone is carrying around thermoses of hot water to refresh their mates!  Roye seemed to be equally enjoying and frustrated by the slower pace of life there.  We miss you, Roye!

October 19: 61B Cafe in Regent Square for a Frick Park Run

Next Run, we will meet at 61b Cafe on Braddock Avenue. We might head down into Frick Park to enjoy the fall colors!

Thanks to our newest runner, Tammy, for summarizing the run!

Homewood Cemetery run

Started at Commonplace Coffee in Squirrel Hill, cutting through Smithfield Cemetery, where we admired the sunrise, before heading over to Homewood Cemetery. In Homewood, we observed graves and tombs of individuals Pittsburgh streets are named for such as Baum and Negley.

Stopped at a grave with a lengthy humorous epitaph and proceeded toward the North where we paused again at the pyramid memorial for Robert A. Woods and his wife. A quick search online turned up this article: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19361212&id=EHwtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aHEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3652,3841637

Because I'm a sucker for a good pun, I have to mention Chris's explanation of the next tombstone on the tour enscribed with the surname FRIED. Apparently, this is what you get if you're not good. heh.

Afterwards we scaled a hill back up to a line of mausoleums (Tomb Alley) where moguls in Pittsburgh's steel industry were laid to rest, including Peacock and Frick. Peacock was a sales manager at Carnegie Steel Co. Frick took over after Carnegie left and was so unpopular that the Fricks are actually buried under an extra stone slab to protect them.

We passed a couple of beautiful sculptures in this area: Schoonmaker and Mellon. I couldn't find information identifying any special meaning of the angel other than it being a guardian angel. Link to info about Schoonmaker himself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Martinus_Schoonmaker

A number of us were struck by the sadness of the Mellon sculpture entitled "Motherless" but in this article under the question, "Is there one thing on the tour that people react to the most?" reveals it's not what it seems.
http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/a-conversation-with-jennie-benford/Content?oid=1335700

After admiring the sun illuminating the apex of the pyramid tomb of successful coal shipper William Harry Brown, we jogged around the outside, observing the Jewish and Chinese sections (with a herd of deer in betwixt!) and launched up a hill for some hill work before getting back onto Forbes en route to Commonplace.

Coffee Convo:
How long the running group has been around (~22 years!) and how cool it would
be to create a map of participants and who brought them in, etc.

Book recommendation: Women Don't Ask by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever

Teaching: KWL defined. What do you KNOW? What do you WANT to know? What did you LEARN? (Quiz next time)

The importance of a good night's sleep and that it's totally ok to go to bed at 9 or 9:30 to make it up super-early for a great workout!

Lots of good lucks given to Sarah who will be heading to Columbus, OH for her marathon this weekend and to Aimee and Kristen who will be running the Buffalo Creek half marathon.

Oct. 12 Run: Meet at Commonplace Coffee for a special run led by Chris Horowitz

Next Sunday (Oct. 12), meet at Commonplace for an unprecedented run led by Chris Horowitz.

Last Sunday, we enjoyed a run around Wilkinsburg led by Aimee's friend, Michael Lefebvre.  We started and ended at the lovely Biddle's Escape and enjoyed the crisp fall morning, which made for perfect running weather.  Because the route was similar to the run he led a year ago, here is the summary from last year:

Borough Councilman and Third Ward resident Michael Lefebvre led the group on a wild and hilly adventure through the streets of Wilkinsburg, that brought us to hope, despair, and hope again!  Running past abandoned, dilapidated structures with broken windows, we also ran past beautifully renovated historic residential and commercial buildings, community gardens, and many, many churches, all glimmers of hope in a borough with a shrinking tax base.  The borough was historically known as "The Holy City," with its unusually high concentration of churches, seceding from the City of Pittsburgh in 1876 to maintain the religious integrity of the community.  http://www.wilkinsburgpa.gov/about/history.aspx
Efforts by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation have transformed both residential and commercial buildings in the central part of the borough.  We marveled at the dramatically restoredCrescent Apartments and Wilson House:
http://www.landmarkspreservation.org/work/wilkinsburg/the-crescent/
http://www.landmarkspreservation.org/work/wilson-house/
Scaling a steep hill, we found ourselves admiring the Singer Mansion, which has been continuously occupied since it was built for $75,000 in 1864.  See page 20 for a picture of the mansion. 
  After returning to the Regent Square part of Wilkinsburg, we found a house that was recently featured on the inaugural Wilkinsburg House Tour a few weeks ago.  It was originally purchased for $6,600, fixed up, and resold a year later for $363,000!!!  While the house was purchased through a Free and Clear sale, "flipped" and re-sold, good tax opportunities exist for those who occupy the house for at least 10 years. Here are the details on the borough's TaxBase Expansion Ordinance (which provides a nice tax abatement).

An addition to the route this year was a jaunt along the Linear Park:
http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_35381.html#axzz3Fbd6tQbC

Since I had to log a few extra miles, I didn't stay for coffee.  Here's what Wendy had to say about the coffee discussion:
Endorsements: digital pianos, advantages of being an employee rather than a boss, jewish-hindi funk music, sweating vs. not sweating while running, missing people who are out on injured list, where was Sandy?!, big welcome to Tammy; hoping Molly can join us soon.