Back on my feet...

I decided over the weekend that I was going to take another stab at 100 miles, so I got up and ran this morning. We were having egg casserole for breakfast, so once that was in the oven I was free to run for about an hour. I woke up my beautiful wife, then slipped out the door just after 6:00.

I didn't know for sure what I was going to do, only that I was going to run In the first couple of blocks I was startled by a cyclist who slipped up behind me. I heard a chain rattle or tires crunch grit on the street or something just as he turned onto Lawrence behind me. He had no lights on, front or back. People who ride in dark clothes in the dark are scary. They're just as likely to be hit as seen.

I ran on from Lawrence and made it to Main where I turned north. I thought about running straight north till I hit 2.5 miles so I could turn around and be guaranteed five miles, but I changed my mind as I crossed the railroad tracks. I turned west on Simpson instead and ran past the industrial buildings on the other side of the tracks. I passed a guy out walking. He said good morning. I answered back and kept running.

As I ran past the disc golf course, I thought of my college class. Not sure why other than the fact that a few of them love the game. I will miss teaching when I'm done.

I ran on south past Highway 54 and turned on Fourth Street. I ran over to New, jogged down a block, then turned onto Fifth heading for the western edge of town.

Just after a turn south onto Illinois, I hit 2.5 miles. I decided to continue my loop around town rather than double back on my route. I ran down Illinois, then jumped over to Tenth Street which took me back to Main. I turned south on Main, then east on Santa Fe and ran past Lemon Park. All the Christmas light displays were glowing. I wanted to run through the park, but didn't really have the time, so I turned north and ran to Sixth Street Park where I found a "12 Days of Christmas" light display.

I ran through Sixth Street Park on the sidewalk then turned onto Sixth and headed east. I turned at Parklane and looped around to Parke. At this point, I was running much more quickly than I had at the beginning. Not that I was sprinting or anything. I was running 8:39 miles. I was trying to get my 10K under the skinny kid's time again and 8:52 wasn't going to cut it.

I ran up to Highway 54, ran along the sidewalks, then dashed across the road to the Cooper Tire parking lot and then the Dillon's parking lot. I ran over to Lawrence, ran north and then made a circle around Haskins school yard, hitting 6.2 miles just past our house.

I walked in the front door and straight to the kitchen. The timer on the oven had 44 seconds left on it. Perfect timing. I took the casserole out and went to wake everyone for breakfast. (Firestarter, 42 degrees, 6.2 miles, 53:35, avg. 8:39, garmin data)