FB10: Week 43

An overall down week saved somewhat by one day that kept me above the 30,000-step plateau for the fourth week in a row.  The week got off to an excellent start on Sunday as I ran around Boston watching Angelina finish the Boston Half marathon before flying home, leaving me 14 steps away from 9500, my second straight day over goal.  A day off on Monday to recover dropped me down to 3600 steps.  Returning to work on Tuesday powered a nice improvement, falling 40 steps shy of 4700.  Wednesday was the low point of the week, falling down to 2900 steps.  Another improvement on Thursday pushed me back up, needing just 28 additional steps to get to 4100.  A slight decrease on Friday dropped me down to 3800 steps.  The week puttered out on Saturday with just 3900 steps.

Total steps: 32,476

Daily average: 4639.4

FB10: Week 42

Yet another good week, as I managed to stay above the 30,000-step plateau for the third week in a row thanks to a trip out east.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday as I finished the day with 3000 steps.  A week full of morning training started with 4000 steps on Monday.  Tuesday was better, going up to 4700 steps.  A small decrease on Wednesday left me 23 steps shy of 4500.  Another slight decline on Thursday dropped me back down to 4100 steps.  A flight to Boston after work on Friday pushed me up over 6600 steps.  A night out to celebrate birthdays with Angelina on Saturday put me at 7900 steps, my first time finishing above goal since my trip to Amsterdam this summer.

Total steps: 34,950

Daily average: 4992.9

Ballpark Tour: Red Sox

With the offseason underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we look at the Boston Red Sox, owners of the oldest stadium in Major League Baseball. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Fenway Park.

Stadium Name: Fenway Park

Years in Service: 1912 – Present

Visits: 1

In 1911, Red Sox owner John I. Taylor purchased the land bordered by Brookline Avenue, Jersey Street, Van Ness Street and Lansdowne Street and developed it into a larger baseball stadium, which he named after the Fenway neighborhood where it was located.  The first game was played April 20, 1912, as the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders, who would become the Yankees the following year, 7-6 in 11 innings.

I attended my first (and, so far, only) game at Fenway Park in August of 2017, cashing in my birthday gift from the year before.  The hope was that Angelina would be moving into Boston University around that time, but her gap year put a kibosh on that.  The ballpark was… a little underwhelming.  From the outside, you could barely tell that it was a stadium.  Michael even asked where it was as we were standing outside it.

The game went about as you would expect.  With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight.  We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster.  The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as Danny and my knees were smooshed into the seats in front of us.

I would have added an additional game or two in 2020, as the plan was to take Michael to Boston for his birthday and enjoy the monster seats, but a little global pandemic got in that way of that.  Now that Angelina is done with school and working full time in Boston, there is still an opportunity to increase my number of visits in the years to come.

FB10: Week 18

A pretty good week, leading to my highest step total since September.  Angelina’s graduation and the following activities got the week off to a good start on Sunday, coming a mere 10 steps shy of 8400 and finishing above goal for the second consecutive day.  Lunch in Boston on Monday, followed by a flight back home left me just 7 steps away from 7600.  A Cubs game Tuesday night helped push me above goal for the fourth, and final, day as I surpassed 7500 steps.  I crashed on Wednesday, as I managed only 2800 steps.  An improvement on Thursday pushed me back up to 3800 steps.  Friday saw another slight increase, going over 3900 steps.  An afternoon ballgame at Guaranteed Rate Field left me with 5400 steps, ending the week on a high note.

Total steps: 39,509

Daily average: 5644.1

FB10: Week 17

A pretty good week which started and ended strong but dipped in the middle.  Post-graduation gift giving, followed by an exciting White Sox game, got the week off to a good start on Sunday, ending up with 5200 steps.  Things fell off a bit on Monday, coming 35 steps shy of 4300.  Things cratered on Tuesday, as I needed another 19 steps just to reach 3000.  A very slight increase on Wednesday managed to push me back up over 3000 steps.  Another improvement on Thursday left me at 3600 steps.  Friday saw yet another increase, putting me within 17 steps of 4700.  A flight to Boston on Saturday for Angelina’s graduation pushed me up to 7900 steps, ending the week on a high note.

Total steps: 31,808

Daily average: 4544