A Busy Saturday

On Saturday morning I joined several coworkers to run the Somerville Homeless Coalition 5K Road Race. (A 5K race is 5 kilometers/3.1 miles long). I was up at 6, and in Davis Square doing warm up runs by 8:30. The fall morning was sunny and crisp, just perfect for the race, when we took the starting line at 9 o’clock. I am proud to say that I completed the race in 23 minutes and 55 seconds—surprised myself by finishing well under my personal goal.

More pleasant surprises awaited me at home. A shift in the planets as well as the beautiful fall weather made Nick take a break from work, and we went for a walk around the city. We browsed through some shiny old cars on exhibit at the City Hall Plaza, strolled through the North End, and headed for Charlestown. What better way to complement my early morning sub-8-minute-mile run then to climb 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument.

Bunker Hill Monument was completed in 1843 to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War. The battle took place on June 17, 1775, and most of the fighting actually occurred on Breed’s Hill.

The platform at the top of the stairs was crowded. People squeezed by one another trying to take photos and look outside. Small windows cut through the monument’s thick walls let in little light, but provided bird’s eye views of Boston, Charlestown and the ocean.

Back at the bottom of the Bunker Hill Monument, standing at the top of Breed’s Hill we were exhausted. We tracked back to North End and shared an enormous slice of incredibly good pizza at Ernesto’s.