July 4th Run: Commonplace Coffee at 7:30AM

After consulting with PTB we arbitrarily decided to go with the usual Holiday Run - so meet at Commonplace Coffee in Squirrel Hill at 7:30AM and participate in a run chosen by the majority of attendees in celebration of the democratic process.

July 3rd Run: PPG Place, July 4th Run TBD

Thanks to Elaine Mormer for capturing this past Sunday's run:

We decided to embrace the fourth of july festivities and Regatta by taking in River views of the preparations. ….Meet at PPG place for a rivers and bridges run, with views of the sand sculpture at Point Park.

Sunday’s run took a leafy course skimming the upper trails of Frick Park. We visited a robust tree planted by Iain in the Frick Park basin. The group was relatively small, but boldly faced the wooded hilly trails for a 5 mile loop back to coffee.

Thanks to Paula tb for mapping the route…http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/38891580

Watch this space for information on a July 4th run.

Jun 26 Run: CommonPlace Coffee

After two "designer" runs, next week will be local. Meet at the CommonPlace Coffee shop for what will likely be a Frick Park run.

Today we ran on the newest portion of the trail connecting Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. It was classic Pittsburgh: steep wooded hill on one side, on the other a little more greenery, train tracks, the river and Steel Mills on the far bank - that Western PA mix of nature and industry that surrounds us. We ended up on the backside of Kennywood, looking at the abstract sculpture that two of the roller coasters make and wondering if we could easily sneak into the park (we did not).

More iPhone chat at coffee, along with all the other usual diverse topics such as reading cookbooks on the beach.

Jun 19 Run: Lowe's in Waterfront

Meet at Lowe's in the Waterfront for a run somewhere near there that may or may not include Kennywood (discussion over coffee was raucous and I did not catch all the details!). Park in the Lowe's parking lot but close to the road not the store.

Run to the run: 6:15AM at the CommonPlace Coffee Shop in Squirrel Hill.

It must be summer:

• Many people were there
• We hosted out of town guests both at the run and after
• We diverted from the original run plan (a sign of vacation laxness creeping in)
• It was hot and humid
• We saw an exotic flower in Panther Hollow
• We took up all of CommonPlace's outdoor seating and more (it was a little street party)
• Great enthusiasm was showered on a father and daughter who were promoting an Urban Chicken Coop tour 
• Two members have children graduating from high-school today (congratulations Wendy and Virginia)
• Map of the challenging and impromptu run: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/37279906

News of Note:

Our own Virginia Lynn writing in the Post Gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11162/1152816-109.stm

Texture Contemporary Ballet Company Performances: July 8th @ 8pm, July 9th @ 2pm and July 9th @ 8pm

Get tickets at: http://www.showclix.com/search/Texture%20Contemporary%20Ballet

This is the group my son, Edward, will be dancing with.

June 12 run: Schenley Park starting at Wendy Bennett Trailhead

Next week’s run through the leafy environs of Schenley Park, starting at the Wendy Bennett Trailhead (entrance to Schenley Park below the Oval).

So gather round to hear the Legend of the Founding Mothers! Handed down to us today by Elaine, who conferred with her fellow FM, Susie Hall, on Friday night, and hereby confirmed: It was a day in 1992 at the Toy Lending Library, when she, Susie, and Bobbie K. decided to overcome the obstacles to running presented by their young families, and pledged to head out every Sunday morning at 7 a.m.– and soon thereafter were joined by another Susan H., and then Elena, and then Tom, and ultimately… everyone else. And so it began, the Running Group, soon to reach its 20th anniversary! We need to start planning an event: direct flight to Paris, anyone?

That history culminated a delightful though slightly muggy run through the strip, over to Herr’s Island and back, where we ran by, among other things, a leaping woodchuck/groundhog (not sure), the cheery blue and yellow Gran Chapiteau of Cirque de Soleil, and the new path along the river past the Convention Center – at which point we glanced up beyond the eerily dark underground water path to catch sight of more cheery blue and yellow - the Megabus making its stop.

Coffee at La Prima was in fact primo due to the conjunction of: lots of us, coffee aromas, balmy outdoor temperature, and fresh out of the oven meles. And, of course, the Legend.

Endorsements:
 Glass blowing classes at the Pittsburgh Glass Center: http://www.pittsburghglasscenter.org/classes/classes-page.aspx
 Trader Jack’s Flea Market in Bridgeville: http://traderjacksfleamarket.net/ - they have plants! But according to many of us, it is practically in West Virginia.
 Rosemary olive oil cake – not sure which recipe was referred to but this one looks pretty good! http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/rosemary-olive-oil-cake-recipe.html

Jun 5 Run: 21st and Penn for a Strip Run

Meet at the Liberty Commons Parking lot at 21st and Penn for what should be a fun run in the Strip. The section of the trail by the convention center is complete and it is the last day that the big Cirque du Soleil tent will be up so lots to see. I am sad I won't be there (first sprint race of the season) so take good notes!

Sunday's run was a fine one - through Frick Park, the community gardens and the cemetery. The cemetery was all decked out for memorial day making the run holiday appropriate. We lingered long over coffee feeling those first drowsy days of summer approaching. The anticipation of vacation dies hard even after years of being away from school.

Some recommendations for area nurseries:

Brenkles Farm and Green Houses in Troy Hille: http://www.brenckle.com/

Amazing variety of annuals, perennials and vegetables spread out over lots of green houses. The plants are very healthy and the prices reasonable. Plus it is worth the little drive to get there - a bit of the country in the city!

McTighes Nursery in Glenshaw (up route 8) - it has a beer distributor attached so you can kill two errands at the same time!

May 29, 30 Runs: Commonplace Coffee

With all this cool, wet weather it is difficult to believe that next weekend is the Memorial Day Holiday. Since many people will be traveling we will save all the interesting runs for later in the summer: meet at Commonplace Coffee on both days for close to home runs.
On holidays we let everyone sleep in so Monday meet at 7:30AM.


As usual, Tom lead us on a thoughtfully planned run - this one was in retaliation for the stadium run that never happened  - baseball was the link that tied the various stops. While it was outrageously hilly, it did mean that we could pause for moments to check out the view or the point of interest. Plus we found some new hidden parts of Oakland that were worth the climb.  Here is the route from PtB:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/35068694
As she said it seemed a lot longer than 4 miles!

Jan's Chiropractor, Bill Marino, stopped by for coffee. He is a runner and is recommended by Jan so if you are looking for this kind of help check him out at 412.421.0783.

New iPhone tip for actually closing applications you don't want running in the background (these would be the ones you don't use often):
Removing the Application from the Recents List There's actually a much simpler approach for quitting apps, and that's to use your recent app list. Double-click the home button to display the recently accessed applications. Press and hold any of the icons shown, then navigate to the application you want to quit and tap the red circled minus button. This sends a signal to the application in question that allows it to quit. The application will be re-added to the recents list the next time you launch it.

May 22 Run: Phipps for a Tom's Special

Meet at Phipps for one of Tom's specialty runs - or at least something mildly interesting.

I got this quick report from Pam Murray about today's run:
we four did the Chatam drizzle to the rock band
Which sounds both cryptic and interesting!


For those of you running the 1/2 marathon - I looked very hard at 32nd and Liberty and missed most of you (I did however see many rowers - strange)! I guess this is not surprising given the amazing number of people that were running at the 2 mile mark. It was inspiring and humbling to watch those waves of people stream by. I hope you all had the race you wished for.

May 15 Run: CommonPlace or something else

The regular run will meet at the CommonPlace coffee shop for a group selected run.  

Note that it will be Marathon Sunday and many in the group are participating. A few of us (well two of us) were thinking about ways we could intercept the 1/2 marathon and cheer everyone on. Unfortunately the 1/2 marathon starts at 7AM making it difficult to run to the course and leave at the regular time. So if you are up for an adventure and an earlier start, meet at the Morewood street parking lot at CMU (one of the few places you can drive to and still be able to get back to the East End) at 6:30AM and we will run down to 32nd and Liberty. This is the 2 mile mark so everyone will be perky.  It will be about 5 miles from start to finish but of course the return will be all up hill :-(. Please send email to me (Anne Jane: annejane@gmail.com) if you think you will be there.

The Race for the Cure was last Sunday so only 5 of us showed up for a quieter but still supportive run. We took a pleasant loop hitting many Squirrel high points (literally - there were lots of hills!), including Frick Park and the cemetery. It really was a lovely spring run with a pleasant chat over coffee where we only talked about 1 iPhone app.

May 8 Run: CommonPlace Coffee or Race for the Cure

This coming Sunday, Mother's Day, those not running in the Race for the Cure will meet at our default event location, CommonPlace Coffee for a "whatever we choose" run.


While today was not meant to be an adventure run it turned into one. It started out innocently enough, we ran through Squirrel Hill all decked out for spring and down into Panther Hollow to Greenfield. As always we blithely ignored the "Stairs Closed" sign at the foot of the very long staircase (good exercise for the quads and butt) up the hill to St. Rosalia's Academy. About 1/2 way there were no more stairs! Granted the steps that had been there had some gaps but they were still claimable. Faced with retracing our route (yuck) or moving forward, this intrepid band scaled the very steep hill-side studded with glass with not one injury or pulled muscle. Look for a link to photos commemorating the climb.


Sharon, PtB and Iain joined us for the usual rowdy coffee hour. Discussion topics ranged from the Royal Wedding to a recommendation for the very long series of novels, Game of Thrones: enough reading (or listening) to last a long time.


Finally a reminder that Sunday, May 15 is the Pittsburgh Marathon. Quite a few of the members are running some or all of it. 

May 1 Run: CommonPlace for a Panther Hollow Greenfield Run

Meet at CommonPlace Coffee in Squirrel Hill for a longish run through Panther Hollow, Greenfield lower and upper (we will climb those fun steps by St. Rosalia's) - our first run of May!

We dithered around enough this morning that the rain stopped by the time we finally set out, pleasing those who had considered going home and running later (or not). It was a Chatham, dead-end, all uphill, really spring run. Yes we ran through Chatham and explored several dead-ends including one above 5th Ave where we stopped to admire the Mansion at Maple Heights. We ran back up lovely Murray Hill Ave, deciding beauty trumped our desire for a more gradual up-hill route. Trees are now in full flower and we even spied a dogwood starting to bloom. It was an appropriate run to welcome spring.

CommonPlace was closed for Easter so we once again invaded the Sunday morning quiet at Coffee Tree. At one point there were at least 3 discussions happening at one time several across the tables - amazing! 

In a blatant display of parental pride I wanted to let the group know that my son Edward will be here this summer to dance with Texture Contemporary Ballet Company. This is a summer company comprised of current and former dancers at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as well as  former and current PBT grad students several of whom are now dancing professionally with other companies around the US. They will be performing July 8,9 at the New Hazelett Theater on the North side. They don't have a website but you can find them on Facebook. I will send out more information as the time gets closer.

April 24 (Easter Sunday) run: Commonplace Coffee to start

Next up: April 24, Easter Sunday – will start at Commonplace Coffee and go somewhere, depending.

Today’s running weather was like Baby Bear’s porridge – not too cold, not too hot – and the route took us from Pt. Breeze to Regent Square – almost close enough to Virginia’s house to smell the coffee – and then back again through Frick Park and the cemetery, where the new leaves are just a green haze in the distance. Continued grumbling was overheard regarding the failure several weeks ago to circle PNC Park on Opening Day – it’s clear it won’t stop until we correct this outrage - and some more, though not nearly as much as you would expect, on the seemingly endless uphill stretches. We asked group scientist Jan how it is possible to go up so much more than down, and she assured us that Pittsburgh geological conditions are unique in this regard. However, she was adamant on the point of handwriting analysis, which is COMPLETELY unscientific. By the time we got to that, we had settled down to coffee, where – probably to make up for last week – iPhones were laid down on the table like revolvers in a John Wayne film, and the tip of the week is: use some app (ask Aimee) to let you read .pdf’s on it, and then transfer all your recipes! You can also see the Taylor Allderdice yearbook for Max’s Dad’s class (he is 95) from cover to cover. BUT can you watch Breaking Bad on it? More grumbling surfaced about how you can’t do anything these days that doesn’t involve Facebook or Groupon – but then it became clear that the latter was instrumental in getting some of our runners into rowing, about which they are pretty psyched, so hey, it’s not all bad. Just so they don’t jump ship!

Apr 17 Run: Entrance to Frick Park at Reynolds and S. Homewood

Hoping that the warm weather brings out the leaves, we will run in Frick Park next week. Meet at the entrance across from the Frick Art Museum at the junction of Reynolds and Homewood Avenues.

Today felt like the first official Spring run of 2011. There was a slight mist on the river, the air felt milder and daffodils were blooming along the S. Side trail - it was a welcome change after what seemed like endless gray days. We ran a big loop along the Mon: down on the Jail Trail, across the Smithfield Street Bridge, up the S. Side Trail and then back across the Hot Metal Bridge - a route full of scenic views and interesting sites. We even raced (well race might be too strong a word) a barge up the Mon and beat it before we had to turn off.

As a sign that Spring has come, talk at coffee included gardening but also consignment stores. Wendy recommended: Designer Days Boutique on Ellsworth Ave. And because we can't go too long without discussing iPhones, Teri captured our attention on the run with her experiences at an iPhone workshop at the Apple Store.

Today's route, thanks to PtBrit:

 

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/31385554

 

April 10 Run: Jail Trail/South Side from Hot Metal Bridge/2nd Ave. side

Meet at the parking lot near the Hot Metal Bridge - 2nd Ave. side - for a Jail Trail/South Side run. Coffee place TBD - Big Dog on Sarah St.?

It was a grey day later on today, but not for our valiant and irrepressible band (many of whom awesomely started in Squirrel Hill) who got the benefit of a glowing sunrise over misty rivers from three (count 'em!) bridges this morning. This had apparently been billed as an Opening Day run, and since we only got a distant glimpse of PNC Park, we heard some grumbling from Tom about being brought to this run under false pretenses. We hope there will be no legal action. Speaking of which, we once more were guilty of flouting the law as we slinked past and clambered over various barriers trying to reach Pt. State Park but were turned back as the City Works employee drove his truck directly at us making threatening hand gestures. This did allow us to give a second greeting to a friendly man camped out overnight on the overpass - he was rather forgiving of our disturbing him.
Other things of note: three spots where we were provided with some decent party music; patterned river sludge on the Mon Wharf; special appearances of Virginia's lovely daughter Abby and of Sharon who is in between trips to Africa. And nobody looked at their iPhone during coffee!

Now this from our foreign correspondent: PtB:

"For Tom we were looking at flotsam and jetsam and there is a difference - a legal difference - so Tom worthy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotsam_and_jetsam

And I came across a recipe for a British fruit jelly which is different to a jam but reminded me of that great evening at Wendy's when we were "canning". And what to do with windfall apples. Rose Prince wrote a great book called /The New English Kitchen/ which looks at what we buy, cook etc and being more careful, having less leftovers, what to do with the leftovers, buying different things to create good meals, with less money etc. So a recipe specifically for windfall in the book she talks of adding a teaspoon of chili to one jar for with sausages (ask Paula & Jonathan about good British Bangers). Or spreading the basic jam with blue cheese in a sandwich....mmmmm: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/3346058/Cooking-with-apples-I-demand-a-windfall-tax.html#
Please don't judge me by the google-pages I find.... The Telegraph is the most right wing of British papers but c'est la vie - apples is apples."

Apr 3 Run: PPG Place for Three Bridges Run

In celebration of baseball's opening day, meet at the Tomb of the Unknown Bowler (the plaza at PPG) for a run around downtown that will pass the stadium and as the title says cross three bridges.

Run to the Run starting at 6:15AM at Phipps - it's all downhill to downtown.

It was not exactly spring weather but it was sunny and fairly dry making us glad to have an excuse to be out on such a lovely morning. We ran through Schenley Park and at several points happen to see the very place, Oakland Square, we stood last week looking out over the pond. In fact because of the lack of leaves we often were looking at where we had been or where we were going - I wish life was that clear!

I am not sure if it is just me but our coffee gatherings have been particularly enjoyable these past weeks. Perhaps it is the CommonPlace vibe, the shared bake goods, or the larger than usual group that showed up today but the rich conversations make it difficult to leave and get on with the day.

Thanks for Paula the Brit, who rejoined after her travels, for the route map:

 

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/30414336

Mar 27 Run: Wendy Bennett Trail Head

We will look for signs of spring in Schenley Park next week - meet at the Wendy Bennett Trail Head  (aka entrance to Schenley Park below the Oval) at the corner of Bartlett and the Boulevard.

People who would like to run to the run and a little more should meet at CommonPlace Coffee at 6:15AM.

Aimee led us on a tour of North Oakland this morning that included places we had been before but not in that combination. We took a longer look at Oakland Square than usual and for the first time noticed it looked out onto Panther Hollow. Then on to the Parkway Shrine, which we have not visited for a while. It looks like it has been lately renovated with new benches and a little grotto. All of this was tied together with a few jaunts into Schenley Park.  Aimee used the neat iPhone App from MapMyRun to track it so you can see our exact route here:
Here is the route. It starts at my house, so the group run part would be 0.5 miles less. Next time I'll start it from the coffee shop.
I thought you'd like this:
Click here


Those that were left after this lovely but longish run, enjoyed a leisurely coffee which included an iPhone app session - something that is becoming a regular part of our discussions. The fear is we might abandon conversation and just check out our phones - not really! But it is fun to find new tools. Along with the afore mentioned MapMyRun app, two food apps were recommended: Cake Love and Mark Bittman's app.

Mar 20 Run: CommonPlace Coffee for a S. Oakland Run

Next week Aimee will lead us on a new run that will include the Parkway Shrine, Oakland Square AND Schenley Park - sounds great, yes?

The time change got in the way of several people's run this morning, leaving Wendy to run solo to the S. Side and shiver while she waited for 5 more of us to show up. With a few clothing additions, Wendy was good to go and we had a calming run along the river-side trail past UPMC, toward Sandcastle. I think it was the lack of other runners, the flat trail and silvery/gray/brown landscape that felt soothing. Roye and I saw and heard seagulls, a summer sound in a winter scene...

Some of the late sleepers joined for coffee and chat. Today's topics ranged from iPhone apps, dress size expansion, personal shoppers, gift giving strategies (or how to get what you want) and a place to stay on the Island of Vieques where we all immediately wanted to go: Sea Gate Hotel.

Mar 13 Run: Hot Metal Bridge for a S. Side Trail Run - Again

*Editing this note to remind everyone that this Sunday starts Daylight Savings Time. Don't forget to "Spring ahead" or you will miss the run (but get a little extra sleep)!

Since the weather kept almost all be 3 hardy souls (who opted out also) from showing up for the run today we will do a repeat - but hopefully not the rain/hail/snow part. So meet at the parking lot next to the Hot Metal Bridge (on the downtown side). The entrance to the lot is at the intersection of Bates and Second Ave.

There will be a run to the run starting at Common Place Coffee at 6:15am.

I did manage a run in the snow a little later in the morning and saw 11 deer in the cemetery - amazing.

March 6 Run: Hot Metal Bridge for a run down the trail to Sandcastle

Hopefully the trails will remain clear next Sunday as we head away from town on the South Side Trail. With no leaves on the trees it should provide many good views of the river. Meet at the parking lot next to the Hot Metal Bridge (on the downtown side). The entrance is at the intersection of Bates and Second Ave.

There will be a run to the run starting at Common Place Coffee at 6:15am.

While I was not on the run today, I did meet up with the group for coffee and heard it was good, as always - the group did the "bird run" meaning lots of hills. Most impressive were the runners that met at 6:15 to do additional miles! As a treat, Paula the Brit brought English digestive biscuits to coffee - the chocolate kind - yum!

Feb 27 Run: Commonplace Coffee - unless someone has a better idea

We were all so stuffed on pastry and coffee this morning that no run was set for next week. Given that, I am going with the default meeting place from which we could go to the cemetary, Chatham, Frick Park or any number of East end destinations. After several weeks of designer runs, it might be nice to stay close to home, so meet at Commonplace Coffee in Squirrel Hill. Of course, if someone has another run they want to lead please feel free to send mail - we can be flexible.

We had a good group and a nice morning for the "President's Day" Loop - the upstream version of our downtown run. While there are no big buildings and dramatic vistas - this run has its own points of interest - notably:  the nice bit of new trail along the channel, a chance to see both TRRA boat houses, the 40th Street bridge*, and Butler Street in Lawrenceville. Of course the very best part of any run that starts in the Strip is the coffee and Meles at La Prima. Today we hung around salivating as we waited for the pastries to come out of the oven and they were worth every minute!

* Here is the bit about the seals:
The balustrade which runs the length of the bridge includes metal reliefs of the Great Seal of each of the 13 original United States plus the County of Allegheny. Each measures approximately 2 ft wide by 3 ft high. They appear in the following order (north to south): Allegheny County, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. This order is roughly the same order as the states appear in the map from north to south, with Allegheny County providing a divider to restart the series. The series repeats just over 10 times per side with a total of 290 seals on the bridge. Photos

And here is the map of the 5.3 mile run:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_route?r=477129821334839961