Run & Ride

I meant to get to the pool yesterday, but time got away from me (at least the time that the pool is staffed) so I had to change my plans. Instead, I decided to run to Summit to pick up Willa, and then make an attempt to take public transit back home. We tried this once last fall after running club, but we missed this bus.

This time, we made it work. I find the bus schedules and maps difficult to decipher, but we now know the Route 3 bus hits Old Marion Road/Regent Street stop around 4:40PM. Unfortunately, this is an outgoing bus, so we ride the route all the way up around Target before heading back downtown. It was about a 20+ minute ride to get back to the stop at Franklin/27th, about four blocks from our house. Willa loved it!

A friend recently sent me a link to Velo Routes. This is a great site! Plot your bike or your run; or like me, plot it afterward to see exactly how far you ran (now I know that it was a 2.6 mile run from my house to Summit). You can save your routes, or you can download them and import them into your GPS unit if you're lucky enough to have a toy like that.

Now that Willa and I feel like city bus experts, we're excited to do it again. I'll plan at least one more run there before the end of the school year.

Bike Route: North

I've been riding the Cedar Lake Trails as my training route. On Monday, I took the route South, starting at Coe, and turning around a few miles past C Street. Yesterday, I went North, starting at Coe and turning around at the head of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Here's the route I took with my commentary about the route (click the pin icons, zoom in to see the route):



View Bike Route North in a larger map

Training and Temptation

Yesterday, I did some interval training. The track was open and empty. Intervals on the track would do two things for me, 1) ensure even intervals (sprint the straight-away, walk the curve...no slacking!) and 2) the rubber track would give my knees a break from pavement. So I proceeded...

Hurdles. Set up in lanes 4 & 5 for 400m hurdles. Set up in lanes 6-8 for 100m hurdles. It has been 17 years since I've competitively hurdled, or stepped over any hurdle for that matter. Oh, but the temptation was so great, I so wanted to run them. Just one, even. My body could feel the stretched extension of the lead leg,
the tight tuck of the follow leg,
the quick downward spike of the lead leg as it cleared the hurdle,
then the stretch of the follow leg...stretching for the next step.
Yes, this is what my body could feel, but my head, my head was another story.

My head said "don't do it!
Don't be ridiculous.
Don't blow out a knee for a small moment of flight.
What are you thinking?
That leg won't pop like it used, that knee won't follow as high as it should...you'll end up on the ground."

So, I listened to my head. But my body continued to protest as I passed every single hurdle. I think for now I'll avoid running on the track until the hurdles are put away.