Boxed in by Malls and asphalt I was pleased to find this old alfalfa field to turn perimeter laps. It’s gone to weeds and the developers are closing in on what may be the last of the old Dobson Ranch.
Category Archives: jogging
26.2 with Donna The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer
The 26.2 with Donna Dede Marathon was streamed LIVE on a webcast so it was thrilling to watch and listen as my sweetheart began a 1/2 Marathon on Jacksonville Beach.
Also thrilling that I could track her progress as the athletes were wearing RFID chipped ankle bracelets. When the race was started they ran across an RFID wire stretched over the road. The wire powers the device with a high frequency signal picked up at the antenna which transponds its unique serial number. Everyone’s time is tracked by running past the wire. At strategic choke points they passed a different wire which marked time. Using T and D formulae one can derive ET, Pace, and ETA statistics. I’m streaming tears and cheers of joy for her!
… data at the 7 mile marker
OBX Marathon 2008
Did the 1/2 with #4108 and had a grand time. The Wx gods provided a light quartering tailwind and mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine for the early A.M. start. The course route ran a closed lane of the main highway with occasional forays into the scenic outlying neighborhoods. What an experience! Event organization was terrific and to the cheering spectator folk: thanks for coming out.
race ready
Testing the asphalt jungle outside my Smyrna, GA hotel I ran the Cumberland Connector. Extra wide bone pounding concrete sidewalk links to the Silver Comet Trail system. The Silver Comet would be a fun bike ride journey as it extends 61 miles clear to Anniston, AL. The connector is marked with painted lines but direction becomes unclear at traffic intersections due to lack of signage. The connector sometimes flips from one side of the street to the other and without a birds eye view one has to guess which crosswalk to take. Plenty of vehicular noise until reaching the Silver Comet trunk.
LIT
Could have enjoyed a rinse off / cool down after this summer day Little Rock run. Escaped suburbia to find an undocumented there and back trail along Rock Creek. The trailhead is obscure behind a strip mall dry-cleaners. The unspoiled area is watershed and part of the Fourche Initiative. (I wasn’t pronouncing it right either) It is wide crushed rock path through woods.
MHT
Stuck at an airport perimeter road hotel and not seeing anything exciting on the satellite map or encouraging from the Google Street View, I stepped outside anyway. The loop that I ran, thankfully, offered protection from the traffic with consistent asphalt sidewalk and granite curbstone. I did spy an isolated abandoned railway bed at an apex on Goffs Fall Rd. in which an adjacent foot path appeared to trail in the direction of downtown Manchester. Next time.
Thin Air
Crossing the Roaring Fork River before sunrise on the Stein Trail is a beautiful thing. This section joins the Rio Grande Trail, named from the railroad that used to follow the river. Despite the mountainous surroundings the trail grade never exceeds 3%. Looping back through residential completes the circuit on the Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trail system. My route began across the hiway from the Aspen airport on ABC road in the Business Park. Even in August the early morning air has a chill and a pair of gloves
would have been useful. The trail surface is hard packed crushed rock and sand. The multi-purpose greenway is concrete. 5.5 miles.
Irvine
The irvine Co. Salt Works circa 1934 to 1950 in the backwater head of Newport Bay, is now the Upper Newport Bay Estuary and habitat. Many trail signs to point out the ongoing rehabilitaion but nothing that some rain won’t cure. The trail traverses high ground (dusty dry) or low path (marshy bog).
oasis in White Plains
The Presbyterian Hospital is an expansive country club (ish) campus which I endeavored to explore with my running shoes. It is secluded and nearly devoid of automobile traffic. I felt the trespasser as a guard gave me the eye. The south end, Bryant Avenue, exit was gated and this was a let down because the Ridgeway Country Club beckoned on the other side of the wrought iron. Century old hall and lodgings with massive trees ring the boulevard route.
difficulty: severe
Having found the new White Oak Creek Greenway extension on a bike ride I was anxious to try it out on foot. The afternoon temp made this difficult. The asphalt path was heat soaked with peak sun. Without shade or breeze I was just able to run this section and return to the cooler tree canopy protected bits before the effects of heat stress became a major issue. It is beautiful unspoiled country scenery and seeing other people on it is sufficiently rare that a wave as you encounter and pass is typical. (It may be that other users are smart to take protective cover during the summer which is why I had the place to myself.) A master plan shows an eventual hook up with the ATT, another fine trail system. I will be back on my bike for that one.