Pavement to Park

I decided to take a different approach yet, today, and used Google Earth to locate the closest green space to my son's home in Chicago. As a result, I headed straight down Division along some of the widest sidewalks I've ever been on and ended up at Humboldt Park. Similar to most urban parks, there is a combination of paved paths and green space. There's also several ball fields and a tennis court.

So I was able to run the perimeter and criss-cross the center staying mostly on grass, passing beside some wetlands with ducks and geese. It was quite pleasant considering how depressing it was to pass through the totally urban landscape along the street route through the city. There was an interesting sculpture in the park inscribed with two words that caught my eye and imagination...breathe oxygen...(photo to be posted later).

I also took a dedicated walk with Cory's dog, Buck, so got some additional time out on my feet!

7 miles

Solitary trail running in the Windy City

So it's more difficult to post while in Chicago because of limited computer access and no good way to get any photos downloaded. Yesterday was a bit of a bust for real running because even the short run on pavement on Sunday left my legs kinda trashed. But I got out for some steady distance at slower pace for a total of 5 miles.

Today, I decided to, again, make it easier on the legs and believe it or not found an abandoned, elevated, train line that runs between block after block of apartments and homes...but is dirt and gravel and seldom used by the general public. I had to sneak through a break in a fence as there is very limited access. In fact, it is probably considered trespassing! There's evidence of dog walkers, clandestine beer drinkers, and a few mountain bikers but otherwise it's like being lost in the middle of the big city. No hassles for street crossings or store fronts and miles of open "trail"! You basically feel alone even though you constantly hear the police sirens, auto horns, and very loud rumble of trains on active tracks. I'll post some photos when we get home to Mason City.

4 miles so far today with a good chance I'll get out again this afternoon.

2 additional miles before dark

Unscheduled Trip To Chicago

Late Friday we talked with my son, Cory, and decided to drive to Chicago to help him out. We'll dogsit Buck and be around the condo while Cory's on business in New York. So after the 6 hr. drive, I headed out for a run before the Super Bowl start.

I hadn't run this much pavement in a very long time and could really feel the extra shock. I was surprised during the run at one point, while running along a high, steel bar fence with the sun setting...there was the bizarre effect of a strobe-light...very disconcerting and raised havoc with my running rhythm.

During dinner at a local neighborhood restaurant called Frontier, we were watching the start of the game (with many New England fans) and one table had an entire roast hog delivered table-side,head and all. I wish I'd had the camera.

4 miles today and 36 for the week

Hilltopper Invitational

Traveled with the NIACC track and field teams today to Mt Vernon for another indoor meet. We're still in the process of trying to get as many athletes, individual and relays, qualified for the indoor national meet in Illinois.  We arrived early enough for me to sneak out on the local roads for a run of my own.

It was a bit icy to start so safer to run on the gravel beside a county blacktop. Then the walks were better as I came back into town so the temperature must have been rising.

Again, there were some good races today.

Samoane Waddy and Caila Jones are running in blue in this shot.

4 miles

The Old Brewery Loop

I grabbed the trail shoes and headed out to Lime Creek hoping for some true running mileage, only to find the trail conditions to be absolutely crappy.  Frozen slush, glare ice, snow, bare dirt...I might have had better luck trying the route on snowshoes.  But I had committed to the workout and had the time with plenty of podcasts along for entertainment so I trudged onward, albeit a lot of walking to be safe!

At the junction near the old brewery, I was surprised to find that the recent mild weather has allowed the county employees to open up the view of the old place that had been slowly become hidden amongst vegetation.

There is info in the kiosk near the site that explains a bit of the history of the brewery and even some reference to my ancestors that originally did some greenhouse and truck-farming on what is now part of Lime Creek Nature Center property.  I have slipped into the woods to find the old foundations of the greenhouses and the house where my great-grandparents and grandparents had lived with my dad and siblings.  Perhaps I can post photos of the old place sometime before spring .

(Sorry for the reflection of my Dion Snowshoe jacket in the photos!  It is high-vis which is a good idea when winter running but not so good for taking photos with reflective surfaces.)  I remember my father telling a story about taking refuge in the brewery one night during a tornadic rainstorm.

Further down the trail, where I had previously seen (and even heard one night) evidence of river otter activity, I found where an otter or two had feasted on a fish...scales and blood in the snow beside the bank.

River Otter on display in the Nature center

The tracks out in the snow on the ice are unique in the way the otters step and then body-glide to form the tell-tale trail.

10 miles total but had to mix running and walking to match the trail conditions.

Road Trip...Not To Run But For Beer

The morning was supposed to be foggy but dawned sunny and quite nice.  So my wife convinced me it would be fun to head to Minneapolis on a quick shopping trip.  I enjoy the Twin Cities and it's where I've been able to run most of my marathons so...off we went.  Unfortunately, there was fog as we approached Faribault and we saw fog the rest of the day.  It did clear up during the drive home after dark.  Best thing that happened today...I scored some brews that I can't buy in Iowa!

0 running today but tomorrow looms big...as I've decided to commit to a 50 miler in June...Black Hills here I come!

And So It Goes

I guess my posts for the past few days have been whining about the "good" weather.  The local paper even printed an article and photo about the winter that isn't winter with a couple of bicyclists (whom I also know to be snowshoers) biking out on the road yesterday. Today continued the snow loss and melting...with associated fog!

The afternoon traffic yesterday and continued slush conditions on the trail made for more difficult running today.

I did find the run/walk today to work well for additional learning about running form and the current trend of information regarding minimalist footwear. Listened to another podcast and the referring website leads to more form videos.

5 miles