I walked a bit once I got outside just to make sure I was actually awake before I started running in the dark. When I realized it wasn't all a bad dream, I hit the "go" button and sped up to a slow run. I was not overly motivated. I just wanted to cruise.
I ran over to Meridian and headed north. I paid close attention to the sidewalks especially when I was running in shadowy spots. No sense in tripping and hitting the deck two days in a row.
I'm not used to running from Maple, so I was surprised when I got to Central so quickly. It was only about a mile from my starting point. I turned onto it and ran toward Zoo Boulevard. The sidewalks were a bit narrower than I like, but at least I wasn't running in the street.
At Zoo, I turned and headed toward...well...the zoo. I ran on the wide, wide sidewalk all the way to where I ran under I-235. There I cut across the road, dove down through the ditch and picked up the bike path bridge over the flood control waterway. That traversed, I crossed over to the zoo and ran along the shoulder all the way to 21st and Ridge where I ducked into the QT for a pit stop. I talked with a few runners who had done the same before heading back the way I came.
I felt good for most of the return journey. I saw a lot more runners and cyclists out than I had earlier. I greeted them with all with a cheery good morning. Just before I crossed over the flood control ditch again, I heard someone say, "Hi, Mike!" It was a friend who serves in the Air Force. He and a bunch of friends were out for a run. It was great to see Lou if only for a second or two.
I hit the parking lot across from the dorm where we're staying just as my Garmin clicked over to 10.5 miles. I stopped it and walked my way over to the back entrance. I let myself in, woke up my wife and sat down to a big glass (or two or three) of Gatorade. Running is sweaty business when it's 80 degrees out and humid! (garmin data)
No comments:
Post a Comment