Hitting my goal...

I hate my in-laws’ alarm clock. It scares me half out of my mind when it goes off. Where do you find an alarm clock to wake the dead anyway?

Since I was awake (and alive), I got up and readied myself for this week’s final run. I left thinking I’d run north and see how close I could get to my friends running at Sedgwick County Park. I knew I didn’t have time to make it to the park, run with the group and get back, so I settled for an out and back and thinking about all those runners enjoying the big green loop.

I started north on Osage, then jogged over to Oak. When Oak dead ended, I turned west and ran over to Seneca where I again turned north after crossing to the west side of the street. Thus began the long trudge. I ran on the west side of the street until it looked like the sidewalk ran out, then ran back over to the east side and kept moving forward.

After I crossed Maple, I started looking for a gas station. I needed a pit stop…now! I made it to the QT at Douglas before an emergency developed.

From the QT, I ran north again and made it up to McLean where I crossed the street and dove down onto the river path. I ran along the path to the west, encountering a couple of cyclists and a lone runner while taking in the wonderful smell of the too-low river. It was not pleasant.

At 4.9 miles out, I turned around and headed back home. I ran back up the trail and was startled just before Seneca by a guy with a backpack stumbling through the trees on my right. I just kept running, climbed up the ramp and hit Seneca heading south.

I ran for a short time on the west side of the street, then ran over to the east side and stayed there for the rest of my journey. I had to dodge low hanging branches here and there and run around a car or two parked across the sidewalk, but for the most part it was an uneventful trip.

I turned east on Savannah when I got there and followed it around to where it turned south and became another street. I never looked at what it was named after the curve. When the street ran into 27^th, I turned west, ran over to Osage and returned to my starting point. I ran on past where I’d taking my first step in anger and hit stop on my Garmin just before my in-laws’ driveway.

With this run, I reached and surpassed my goal of running 60 miles this week. Next week, I think I’ll throw in a few early morning bike rides and a longer run or two. I’m not going to run every day. (garmin data)