Random Acts of Running

Another outdoor run, another productive day. And another odd mix of treasures. Anybody have an explanation for the 2XL men’s vest lying in the road on Academy Street? It must have been one hell of a wedding reception! Or maybe it was an accidental loss after Sunday’s bridal and prom fair at Sandburg Mall. 

I decided to follow up on that possibility and called Sabrina’s Bridal and Formal Wear and Ducky’s Formal Wear to see if either carried the Umo Lorenzo brand. Nope. But the woman who answered the phone at Ducky’s was appreciative of my effort at least. "That was very nice of you," she said. See, I'm not such a bad guy.

In fact, I think I'll take the vest, and future findings if they seem appropriate, to Prairie Players for their costume shop. Maybe they’d have some use for it; the vest was in fine condition and bore only a couple of small mud spatters, which came out neatly in the wash.

Where Seminary curves around to the South Street
underpass.

My route today was determined at random, on a whim as it were. I simply headed west on Ferris Street and kept going. Ultimately I decided to head south again and hit the W.C. Jackson Bridge that takes Third and Fourth streets over the BNSF rail yards. Yes, you read that correctly, two streets. From the west it’s Third Street that mounts the bridge; from the east it is Fourth – just a little jog in the road.

I’m no wild train aficionado, but I enjoy the view from the bridge and watching the operations in the yard. I really should carry a camera with a zoom lens, even a point and shoot, rather than just my cellphone. Anyway, I enjoy the little climb over the bridge and view – it’s a nice route. 

It was along South Seminary Street, near an access road into the rail yard, that I found a green Knox County 4-H visor with a practical terry cloth lining for a sweaty brow. Maybe I could package it with the tennis ball I picked up on Ferris Street across from the Nissan dealership and present them to tennis-playing D2 Amanda.

Near the access road to the BNSF yard off South Seminary Street.

One final note: Got off to a great start with the two best songs George Michael ever made, one from his solo career and one from the Wham! Days. Nice.

Today's Stats

Temp: 43 degrees F

Distance: 3 miles

Treasure: 1 Men's suit vest (black, 2XL, by Umo Lorenzo); 1 Knox County 4-H visor (green); 1 Penn tennis ball; 1 America's Best Value Inn key card; 21 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

I Want Your Sex(Parts 1&2) - George Michael

Careless Whisper - Wham!

Turpentine - JJ Grey & Mofro

You're My Thrill - Joni Mitchell

Crucifixion - John Debney (The Passion of the Christ soundtrack)

Never Gonna Give YouUp - Rick Astley (Did he grow up and become David Caruso?)

Walk This Way - Aerosmith

Lately - Greg Brown

Probably too small to tell in this photo from the eastern slope of the W.C. Jackson Bridge (Fourth Street),
but near the base of the trees are a baby carrier and a child's booster seat. I found that odd.

The Great Outdoors

So, yeah, what’s with this weather? Late January and we’ve got temperatures in the upper 30s to lower 40s. This week’s forecast says the mercury will climb into the 50s!

Well, I finally took advantage of the anomaly and headed outdoors last week. I already told you that last Monday, but Friday was the big bonanza day. It’s just that I had such a busy weekend that this is the first chance I’ve had to write about it. Really!

I don’t suppose it’s all that exciting actually, as I returned to literally running errands – two credit unions to visit, including one to make my car payment (delicious irony that). But, oh, the goodies! Another pair of shorts (too big this time I’m afraid), a shopping bag, a lumbar cushion and loads of cans. But why was there a set of plastic fangs – vampire teeth – like kids wear at Halloween lying on the sidewalk?

Anyway, it was an adventure. Monmouth Boulevard, where I was running anyway, is a wide street that leads to the town’s former manufacturing district. The sidewalks along there are narrow and the minimal housing and remaining businesses means no shoveling is done. While the snow is rapidly melting (hardly any remains as I write this) there was enough crowding the sidewalks on Monmouth Boulevard that it was something of an obstacle course. As I dodged snow piles, dancing like a football player hopping through the tires, my feet periodically found gushy patches of mud where the snow had melted away. I never slipped, but my shoes were a mess at the end.

Today's Stats

Temp: 39 degrees F

Distance: 4.86 miles

Weekly Total: 10.86 miles

Treasure: 1 rubber-palmed work glove; 1 child’s mitten (pink, knit); 1 black magic glove; 1 pair gym shorts (gold, extra large); 1 reusable grocery bag (Humana); 1 CD-R; 1 lumbar support-style cushion; 1 set plastic vampire teeth; 26 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

The Red Strokes – Garth Brooks (Trouble finding the original, award-winning video, but this one's cool)

Summertime – New Kids on the Block

Hey You (Live) – Roger Waters

Rosanna – Toto

The Scientist – Coldplay

Ya Ya – Lee Dorsey

More Than This – Roxy Music

Roll With the Changes – REO Speedwagon

Veracruz – Santana

Broken – Tears for Fears

Rock of Ages – Def Leppard

Searching for a Heart – Don Henley (cover)

Wide Boy – Nik Kershaw

Prove Your Love – Taylor Dayne (... was so freakin' hot!)

Bad Enough – James McMurtry

Hey Jude (Anthology version) – The Beatles

Still running, still lazy

Too lazy to get out of bed and run this morning. Too lazy to dress and run outdoors. Too lazy to think of anything worthwhile to write. I really gotta turn it around.

I do have a couple of ideas in the works, but they’re not quite ready for public consumption. Soon, I think. I realized tonight as I labored through 3.5 miles that I have to get my rear in gear if I’m going to do the Bix again this year. I haven’t done even 5 miles at a clip since August. Bix, for those of you who don’t know, is 7 miles, with some significant hills, in the heat of July.

I have running friends who do half-marathons, marathons, 50Ks, ultra-marathons (we’re talking 50 miles!). I’m not comparing myself or measuring against their yard stick. But I’d like to reach my own goals, which include doing the Bix again. I think I’ll shoot for the CASI St. Patrick’s Day 5K again, too.   

Today's Stats

Temp: 33 degrees F outside

Distance: 3.5 miles

Weekly Total: 6 miles

Treasure: Nada.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes

Slipstream - Jethro Tull

Seasonal (Acoustic) - Ryan Patrick

Heartbreak Warfare - John Mayer

Caught Up In You - .38 Special

Father, Son - Peter Gabriel

(I've Had) The Timeof My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (I'm man enough to admit I like this and suffer your slings and arrows. Screw you, "Dirty Dancing" haters!)

Love Comes to Everyone - George Harrison

Running To StandStill - U2

One Lonely Night - REO Speedwagon

"Positively no one allowed on playing floor with street shoes!"

Timing Is Everything

Again I couldn’t drag my butt out of bed with the alarm this morning. I knew I should. I wanted to. Perhaps it was the looming day shift and a noon blood donation (platelet pheresis) that left me lacking the necessary motivation. Or maybe it was my aching legs.

I'll try to remember to share a pic of the goodies after they've been washed.

  Whatever it was, I delayed, figuring I could hit the track after D3 (my youngest daughter) came for dinner and some time with Dad. As it turns out, the outside temp seemed comfy enough that I decided to hit the streets again – finally. Boy did it feel good. OK, so the watery eyes and runny nose from the crisp night air weren’t the greatest feeling, but it was refreshing to be outdoors and I found some cool stuff. That’s got to make everyone happy.

I headed out the door about 9:45 p.m. The cans came quickly, with the first appearing just across the street from my apartment. The second was noteworthy, though, because as I banged it on the ground to knock the dirt off it regurgitated a stash of used insulin syringes. I figure most insulin users are responsible folk who dispose of their syringes properly, so these were likely repurposed for illegal drug use. Nice.

Pepsi, choice of a doper generation.

Through the course of the next 2.25 miles or so I picked up a stocking cap, a mitten and a couple of stuffed toys. And some more cans. But that’s not bad after a month and a half of zilch. I call it the Broad Street Bonanza. Everything was found along Broad Street from Ferris to Fremont.

All in all it was a pretty good run.

Today's Stats

Temp: 33 degrees F

Distance: 2.43 miles

Treasure: 1 black stocking cap; 1 Spider-Man stuffed-toy football; 1 stuffed-toy chipmunk; 1 United Facilities employee ID tag; 1 black and grey mitten (fingerless conversion); 9 cans (1 stuffed with 5 used insulin syringes).

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

Right Here Now – James McMurtry (This guy is great!)

I Want to Know What Love Is – Foreigner

Everywhere I Go – Willie Nelson & Emmylou Harris

Hold On Loosely - .38 Special

The Night Is StillYoung – Billy Joel

Lawyers, Guns and Money – Warren Zevon

Best of Times - Styx