mileage

to make room for the Run 100 days goal, but loved doing this – it made for a great running log.

Somebody needs to join our dear pcyclepath now and keep her company!!! And thank you to Trauma Junkie, from whom I adopted it.

Though I intended to do more, I ran 9.14 miles in Davenport. Awfully hot and humid, and I had a sore foot, but it was great anyway. It was a reconnaissance run, checking out the LeClaire Park band shell, to see if it looked as if it will be recovered by the flood damage in time for the annual Riverfront Pops concert. Alas, it’s still a wreck, and the heavy equipment working on grading and scooping dried muck was parked there still. I doubt they’ll be able to host it there this year, which is sad. They’ll probably use the ball park right next to it.

This is a close-up someone took of some of the architectural details on the band shell.

Something weird happened with my alarm clock, and it got re-set from 5:00 to 5:29. So I only logged 4.21 miles this morning. Better than nothing, I guess!

I ran 10k this morning, but felt like I had lead in my arse. Hmmm, could it have been the huge dinner salad and nicely potent margarita at Chili’s last night before the movie? The 4 1/2 hrs. of sleep? The fact that I’m just a slug anymore? Whatever, I hope tomorrow is better! And thank God for the i-Pod!

Back to running this morning – yay! 10k along the river; beautiful weather and surroundings. The cranes are back, the thistle flowers and all the creatures that feast on them, and I’ve even seen a caterpillar already.

I ran 7.25 miles this morning, and the weather was perfect, had a beautiful sunrise, and all was great—until I didn’t beat the s l o o o w, long train to the tracks and had to stand waiting for it to pass. _{this was my first clue it was going to be a frustrating day} :)

I ran 6.5 miles and caught a gorgeous, bright orange sunrise. It felt sooooo good! As I ran past the site of a former IH farm implement factory which was razed a year or two ago, I noticed how it is already beginning to return to a wild state. It reminded me of that old Pink Floyd song, Take it Back.

Then I started reflecting on the fact that now the 2 largest employers in the area are John Deere (headquartered here) and the Rock Island Arsenal. Which reminded me of that Bible verse about beating swords into plow shares. So our livelihood here depends upon swords and plow shares, I’m afraid!

Haven’t had a chance to run yet, but I spent my lunch hour walking on the river bike path. I probably only walked 3 – 4 miles; the slower-than-usual pace due to talking & texting on the ol’ BlackBerry and just trying not to get overly hot & sweaty in this heat and humidity. _{I should have worn something a little looser-fitting, but just really wanted to wear my ever-so-cute new red shoes today!}

This riverboat, the Casino Rock Island, is only a couple of blocks away – for now. They’re building a replacement in some nearby swampland and next year will begin turning this space into a new greenspace/dock/concert venue. Yay!

I rode 51 miles, as I needed to train for the upcoming RAGBRAI. What a pathetic wuss I am! Took me a long time, and my thighs were pretty sore toward the end. A nice headwind at times, but the upside to that is it keeps you cool. It was a beautiful day here!

I ran 6.55 miles, and ended up re-routing myself about halfway through, due to the runner’s sworn enemy – a redwing blackbird. I usually ignore the little pricks of the bird kingdom when they swoosh down at me, but this one actually touched my hair, so I didn’t want to go past him again and press my luck.