My Sunday

Got up Sunday morning and decided to go for a run. I have a fave run that I do quite a bit . . . you start off down the block and I'm always suffering immediately because it takes me awhile to get in a rhythm. I try to distract myself by looking at the houses in the neigbhorhood . . . look for which student rentals had a party the night before and look at the landscaping on the nice houses. Next thing you know you're going up the hill to the Vilas Circle where I never get tired of looking at the beautiful homes. Once you're up and past the circle then you're in the "other" part of Vilas Ave. You know, the nice part where there aren't any couches on the porches or broken beer bottles in the yards. Once I get to Vilas I'm usually feeling better and part way down I cut onto the bike path that goes along the park and run on the gravel on the side of the path. Off the path and onto Edgewood Drive where I like to duck onto the trail that parallels the road. Down the stairs, onto the wood chip path, watching out for the roots and tree stumps. Up and around the fallen tree, duck under another tree, say hi to the dog walker. Up the tree branch stair steps and eventually back onto the road. Then it's up the hill to Monroe Street and running in the grass still wet with morning dew. Wonder why I run this hill so much but it's actually not too bad a hill as it's very gradual. Then it's finally to Monroe Street. Pound the concrete sidewalk and realize that it only feels like I'm still going uphill and finally to the top and around the bus stop. Take a turn and there is a little downhill before the annoying uphill to the top of Edgewood. It's short but feels steep and it's a weird intersection where you can't see the traffic easily. Then it's down, down, down. Decision time . . . which way back home. Today it's down to the park, across the bridge. Along the lake. Watching out for goose poop. See all the people fishing. Pass another runner and smile. Check out the lake and see a couple of canoers but no swimmers even though the lake is calm. Over to the zoo where people are waiting for it to open. Back onto the sidewalk and wondering why I took the longer of the possible routes as it no longer feels like a good idea. Cross the street to the hospital. Watch out for crazy, lost drivers there. A few more blocks, must keep moving. Almost there. Finally the last intersection and it's my block. Stop to chat with the neighbor and then check in on the progress of my flower garden. Nice run!

A good start to a day . . . .then it's on to chores and errands. Like laundry. Boring but necessary. Stop off at A Stone's Throw to see what just came in and chit chat with the staff. Pull myself away and finally get on with my day. Which basically means heading off to Hayward and driving, driving, driving. Grow weary of the 3 cds I brought but keep driving, driving, driving.

Running late as always I arrive at the AmericInn with storm clouds looming and darkness all too close. Throw on my bike clothes and sprint off towards the Hatchery Creek trails. My legs are opposed to the lack of warm up but I try to ignore them as the dark clouds move closer. Pass by Rosie's field of Chequamegon fame and keep pedaling to the singletrack. Finally arrive but there's no time to slow down as the clouds loom.






Remember why it is worth it to rush as the Hatchery Creek singletrack is the perfect post-long drive ride. No big climbs and lots of fast swoopy turns bring a smile to the face. Too bad the rain starts up all too soon. In the woods it's just a sprinkle so I push forward and get to the second junction and turn back. I keep the pressure on as I don't want to be stuck out in a downpour. It's not that warm and the rain is making it dark faster and I already didn't have too much time. All too soon I'm back to the trailhead and out of the trees it is obvious that it is raining harder than I thought. Put it in the big ring and pedal furiously back to the hotel. Arrive wet but happy.




Dry off and then decide to get wet again . . . head to the pool and practice my swimming. It's the first time I've been in a pool all by myself. No other swimmers, no instructors, just me and the water. It's a little weird at first but the max pool depth is a generous 5 ft. Definitely a shallower 5 ft than my usual pool. Wonder if I'll ever be comfortable swimming. Keep trying going back and forth doing my drills trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing. Try not to choke on water too much. Relax.

Now it's late . . . and it's still the off season in Hayward so the brew pub is closed, pizza place closed, even Perkins has closed. Off to the grocery store for a salad, chips and cookies. I'm
starving.