Obsessive Runs

Anyone who reads my blog knows that running is a huge part of my life.
And for about 15 years, I have had some good friends who run regularly with me. One friend moved to Louisville, about an hour and a half away, and the other friends and I started running less and less over the years, only meeting occasionally on the weekends.
Toward the end of September, as I finished a run, MapMyRun suggested that I do a "challenge." The challenge was simply to see who ran the most during the month of October.
I texted my friends and asked whether they were interested. The initial response was not enthusiastic, but slowly, they came around.  I thought our friend in Louisville would never agree to join us. She is very private, and the idea of following each other's runs on MapMyRun put her off.
But after a couple of days, she surprised us and joined. All four of us were then on MapMyRun together on the challenge.
I loved that we were all together. It felt almost like we were running together again.
At the beginning, I apologized. I'm obnoxiously competitive. Najah didn't buy into the competition, just enjoying our running time together. Noreen has also stepped it up, but working early each morning, she doesn't have time to overdo it like I do a couple days each week.

Noreen and Najah joined me for a run Sunday morning at my house. 

None of us had been running a lot. I usually ran 3 or 4 miles on 3 or 4 days a week. That would come out to a maximum of about 64 miles per month, but the idea of competing revved my engines.
My friend in Louisville doesn't mess around. She runs 8 miles at a pop. Suddenly, I was having to force myself to run 5 or 6 days a week, and my mileage increased. I stayed in the lead for much of the month, but slowly, her runs caught up with me. Lots of short runs could not compete with her 8 milers.
On Sunday, my Columbus friends and I ran five miles and felt satisfied, but when we closed out the app, my Louisville friend had run 11 miles.
Sigh.
On Tuesday, I ran 10 miles. That had been my New Year's Resolution, to be able to easily run 10 miles again. So by October 24, I reached my resolution. Feeling smug that I'd taken the lead again, I turned off my app.
The next day, my Louisville friend ran 11 miles again.
Twinges in my knee and ankle are reminding me that my body is not used to all this running.
I woke up this morning seeing that I was six miles behind my friend. I decided to run a moderate amount. I couldn't go ten miles again like I had on Tuesday.

This railroad trestle crosses the trail, and you can see downtown Columbus through the bridge.

I walked with my friend Sheila first, waiting for the weather to warm up a bit. Around 9 a.m., I headed toward the bike trail that runs along the river and to downtown Columbus.

I ticked off the miles, deciding at what point I would turn around. Maybe a five-mile run would be enough, although I wouldn't catch my friend.
As the hitch in my left knee caught a few times, I thought maybe I should just concede.

The still green lawn runs right up to the Scioto River

But I kept going. The trail along the river used to be under construction, but now it is finished all the way to Bicentennial Park, which is where cool water fountains offer relief in the summer.

The arched bridge in the background is new to Columbus. 

I looped around at four miles and headed home, planning to stop at a Starbucks as a reward. The trail crosses the river, offering views of herons and a low-head dam.
Should I continue on the trail? Go for nine or maybe 10 miles?
No, I circled around the Starbucks to make sure I reached eight miles, before easing into a chair to relieve my sore feet. Grace met me at Starbucks and gave me a ride home in exchange for a coffee, and some always precious conversations.
I know that it's my dream to move to France, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be moving, but that doesn't mean I won't miss things about Columbus. And mornings like this are worth appreciating.

The LeVeque Tower stands stark against the brilliant blue October sky. 

Right now, my mileage for the month is at 100.85 miles.
I'm currently two miles ahead of my friend on our October challenge on MapMyRun, but I've made peace with not winning. I've promised myself not to overdo it. Resist, resist, I urge myself. Injuries will get me nowhere.
The challenge ends on Tuesday, and I vow not to spend the day running until I go to work in the evening.
Because, you know what happens on Wednesday, November 1?
It's the start of Nanowrimo -- National Novel Writing Month, where I try to write 50,000 words in a month.
From extreme running to extreme writing.

Glorious Morning

This morning was glorious, not just the weather, but the fact that I didn't have to go to work.
I've been teaching six days a week, but one of my colleges just finished until Aug. 31, so I'm only working three days a week.
Don't feel bad for me though; the number of hours I work is pretty pitiful. It just mentally took its toll because I didn't have two full days off.
This morning, I decided to ride my bike to the gym. The bike trail is smooth and safe, but I take my life in my hands a bit getting to the bike trail.

Our town definitely needs to work on that. Part of the ride is along a four-lane road. I figured early in the morning, I should be safe.
After my workout at the gym, I got on my bike to ride back home, but the intense blue of the sky convinced me to keep going.

This low-head dam hasn't been removed yet.

I was one of those obnoxious people saying "Morning!" to anyone I passed. Most of them were on their way to work, however, so their greetings were not as effusive as mine.

My attempt at an artsy photo of downtown Columbus. 

On my way to the gym, I passed a family walking on the trail. A mother with a little boy, maybe five  years old, and a grandmother. When I rode my bike to downtown Columbus, I passed them again. They had walked all that way. I can't imagine my kids able to walk that far when they were little. People have lives that we know nothing about. They greeted me with a cheery hello each time I saw them, because I turned around from downtown and rode back home.

On the bike path near Confluence Park, which is where the Scioto and Olentangy rivers come together, I saw a love lock. Etched on the lock were the names Chris and Sara. Then the date, 7/13/09. Since it's the only lock attached there since 2009, I guess this bridge isn't going to become one of those "love locks" bridges that becomes weighed down by locks.

Here's the lock on the bridge. 

When I returned home, I convinced Grace to get out of bed and to walk to the coffee shop with me. Usually, in August, the air in Ohio is heavy with humidity, but the past few days, the humidity has dispersed and that makes the sky sparkle.
We enjoyed a bonding mother/daughter time before she had to get ready for work.
Then Tucker came into the kitchen,  ready for work, and we actually had a good talk. He's going to consider maybe going back to college. I'll take that little sign of hope.

Entertaining Out-of-Town Visitors

Our friends' son, Nicolas, 27, came to visit for two evenings and we needed to figure out how to entertain him. He came to Columbus in between New York City and Chicago, so obviously we were never going to live up to either of those.

The problem is that Columbus' motto is "It's a great place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit."

I had only one secret weapon to make the stay worthwhile -- a 21-year-old daughter. And I do think he enjoyed the stay because he and Grace went out on the town both nights.

During the day on Monday, we ate lunch at Dirty Franks -- it's a hot dog place. We figured that was pretty American. 

We visited an Indian Mound and explained that they dot the countryside around Ohio. Some of them are much more exciting, like Serpent Mound, but is more than an hour away.

I wanted to take Nicolas to a place that no one else would, so I drove to the Field of Corn. Only in Ohio. It's a field with statues of giant corn. I plan to post a panoramic photo on Saturday, so don't miss it.

Next we visited Chief Leatherlips, which is a statue built into the bank of the Scioto River. Chief Leatherlips didn't even do anything that exciting, but he is memorialized here and you can walk on his head. 

The highlight of the day for me, was the soiree we planned that evening. In addition to eating and drinking, my friend Pam busted open the piano and there was singing too. I served goat cheese pasta with shrimp and a green salad. When Nicolas saw the salad dressing, he offered to make a vinaigrette, but I said it was an American meal so he had to eat the bottled salad dressing. I promised that it had no GMOs and only real ingredients without chemical sounding names. 

I was most worried about the wine, but I had a chardonnay from Italy (bought at Trader Joe's for only $4.99 per bottle, don't tell!) and he proclaimed it good wine. 

For dessert, turtle cake with a layer of chocolate cake, a caramel and butter layer, then chocolate chips and another layer of chocolate cake. We had a New York Riesling with dessert.

When everyone left, Grace and Nicolas headed down the street to the local bar again. Apparently he was quite popular there with people buying him shots and guessing where he was from. No one guessed France, although someone guessed Belgium. "How could they guess Belgium and not France?" he raged. "Belgium is so small."

A lovely visit.  

Saturday Snapshot -- Union Station in Columbus

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post on Alyce's blog At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.
On Thursday, I walked home from work because all the cars in the family were busy. It gave me a chance to take a picture of the Union Station arch in the Arena District of Columbus, right across the street from the arena where the Blue Jackets hockey team plays.

I never got to see the actual building. This was all that was left when I moved to Columbus. 

Saturday Snapshot -- Sunrise

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The color in the sky this month has been lovely. Here's a sunrise over the Columbus skyline taken from my front porch.

Tour de Columbus

In honor of the Tour de France (remember emphasis on France for July), I took a bike ride this morning.
I was sick yesterday, sore throat and aches, so when I tried to run this morning, I didn't get far. Instead, I walked to get coffee. I tried some P90x exercise. I made some French toast for Tucker before he went to work, still my mood was zooming south. I decided to try to pull up from my plunging mood with a bike ride.
I have to go about a mile on the road until I get to the bike path. Once on the path, I tried to live in the moment. I felt the cool wind on my arms and cheeks. I heard the sound of traffic in the bridges that passed over the path.
The sky was a beautiful blue, fighting the haze that will come as the temperatures rise today.

This is a shot across the Scioto River of an old high school that now houses our Science museum called COSI.

As I cycled down the trail, I smelled the earth and the trees damp still from last night's rain.
The sun was slowly rising from the east making shadows of trees on the black bike path.

I saw traffic standing still as the city closed streets in preparation for the July 4th celebration. I saw families camping out in their tents to save their spot for firework viewing. The temptature is supposed to be in the 90s the next week. I can't imagine the celebration is that appealing, to camp out for two days before the fireworks.
The families who were not camping had cordonned off spots in the grass with yellow and orange caution tape.

I swerved through a family of geese and they hissed at me.
I saw city worker after city worker preparing for the celebration.
Then I biked south of the city past the fountains

 to the Audubon center where the sounds of birds mingled with the far off drone of traffic.

Hoping to leave my bad mood behind, I biked home again.
No sprints. No mountains. No winners or losers.
 Just me and my bike on a lovely, breezy day.

Saturday Snapshot -- Great Blue Heron

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While riding my bike along the Scioto River to the Columbus Audubon Center recently, I stopped to take this picture of the skyline with this cool new arching bridge in the foreground.


If I hadn't stopped for the photo, I would not have noticed the fearless hunter in the lower right corner of this picture. A great blue heron.


I didn't disturb him. He didn't move the entire time I was there. He stood and watched the falling water, ready for any stunned prey that toppled over the dam.

He must not have gotten the report about the Audubon Center downriver, or I'm sure he would have stopped there.

Saturday Snapshots

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post on Alyce's blog At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.
Columbus just opened a new park along the riverfront. It's call the Scioto Mile.
Along the mile are columns with pergolas above and some metal porch swings. Fountains of fish spewing water line the walkway.

And large shallow plates overflow with flowers.

I wondered where everyone was going, until we came to the end -- filled with fountains that shoot up from the ground and spritz down from above. On this hot day, the park was filled with people. All I could think was "Oh, the humanity!"

I caught these girls with the sun behind them enjoying relief from the heat.

Cloudy City

Today we've had rain and storms.
I had to teach at 3:30 and as I drove downtown the tops of the buildings were wrapped in clouds.

I took the picture with my phone (not an iPhone, obviously).
When I sent the picture to Grace, she thought the buildings were on fire. Nope. Just wrapped in low-hanging clouds.

Biking to the Birds

Today the weather turned cool after a week of mid-90 degree days. Earl and I decided to go for a bike ride. We realized that we didn't need to limit our bike rides to trips to Monet's Garden -- our last recreational bike ride. And, lest you forget, that trip was full of mistakes, like missing a train and following the wrong man down the road. You can read about it here: http://paulita-ponderings.blogspot.com/2010/04/jai-trompe.html (I don't know why my links won't work in my posts, but it is frustrating.) .
From our house we rode to the bike trail that follows the Olentangy River. Workers are fixing the highway over the trail and I caught a picture of the sparks cascading down the concrete.
The bike trail leads to the confluence of the Olentangy and the Scioto rivers before it heads toward downtown Columbus. The bike trail is like a tourist guide. It leads past COSI, the museum of Science and Industry. It also goes past the Santa Maria, a replica of the ship that Columbus took on his first trip to the New World. The trail also streaks past the Ohio Supreme Court building, which has some gorgeous painting and architecture.
Unfortunately, that's where we ran into trouble and had to take to the streets instead of the bike trail because the city is building a promenade along the river. We had to ride through a construction zone then a busy street in the brewery district before we got to the park.
Earl rode on to the Audubon building while I checked out the park. If my kids were still little and we were homeschooling, this place would be my new hangout. There are sand volleyball pits, a climbing wall and playgrounds over rubber surface. I walked up to the third stage of a tower to survey my kingdom, well, the park around me.
While Earl waited for me to catch up, he sat in a chair in front of the Audubon building. That is him waving wildly. I told him it looked as if he was being attacked by the giant bird statue.
The audubon building is full of photos of birds that have been spotted along the river, wetlands and fields of wildflowers in the area. This section of the river has been known by bird watchers for a long time because migrating birds stop here every spring and fall.
The park has started growing fields of wild flowers, and birds flitted among the plants. The park also had some more orderly flower gardens, again not quite rivaling Monet's Garden, but it is the first year for the metro park.

We found a less circuitous route home and managed to avoid much of the road construction. Here's the new Main Street bridge that is not open yet, but has a sleek look to it in front of the skyline.
Trying to keep the whole vacation motif going, we stopped at a coffee shop before we returned home. Earl had an iced tea and I had a lemonade, squeezed fresh and so bitter that it made me pucker.
It wasn't a vacation day for either of us, but I'm glad we got to snatch some of the enjoyment that we find as tourists in other cities.