Saturday, June 07, 2008

My Long Run...

Running…
Last week I ran 44.41 miles. Why? Why? Don’t you think it might be too far too fast? Not really. I just switched the Sunday run for Saturday. So, last week was long in miles, this week would be a lot better (less miles).

Oh yeah! Training for my running of the Chicago Marathon has begun! I know that training for other events has started for some other bloggers. 5 of those are going to Chicago the same time that I am (see to the right).

Others are D10 and Joanne. If you get a chance, visit these runners and encourage them on!


My Long Run…
The long run was interesting this week. I did take the camera.

It was an exploration run. I ran toward the Harvard Gulch park. In the park, I remembered a sign that pointed out the names of the Rocky Mountains that you can see from the park.
(You can click on the pictures for more detail).

I ran the park and 4 times around track to the north of the park, then headed west. This was the exploration part (finding the Platte River). At about 5 miles in to my run, my left foot caught the edge of an uneven section of sidewalk. I tripped and fell! I caught my fall fairly well, but some damage was done. My hands have some contusions and scratches, but my right calf and right shoulder took the brunt. My camera is also none the worse for the wear. All was minor and not much of a road-rash factor.

After some unplanned for exploring from that point, I found myself at the Platte River.

I found the recreation path and headed south. I found a little park off of the path with a nice sidewalk gamboling through it. It was great! It was also fairly short and ended in an industrial park. I probably should have returned to the Rec path, but ran through the industrial park instead. Please notice that there are no pictures of it!

I like the Platte River Recreation Path. Overall, it has a two-lane nature to it. Primarily used as a bike lane, it does offer expanded width for runners and, at times, a separate path!
I took another way back to house that runs through a drainage area. The area has been made into a park and goes by Englewood City Center. There is an traffic circle/entry area to city hall that has art and a fountain set into it.

Further on, I took a picture of a fountain that graces the side of the path.

Finally, I ran to Clarkson Street for the final part of the run. Why? The Clarkson Street hill. This is the lower third of the hill.

It feeds up to the middle part of the hill. Clarkson Street divides the Craig Rehabilitation Center. It is the bridge above the street that you see.

There is a third part of the hill that continues from there. It is quite a challenge at the end of a long run!

Thanks for visiting!

8 Comments:

Blogger Road Warrior said...

Oh man, my heart stopped when I saw you hit a root. That's exactly how I dislocated my shoulder. Glad that you're OK.

Fantastic running week! Congrats!

5:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shout out! Nice job on the runs. I enjoyed the pictures of your route, it looks pretty yet challenging.

Since there are many of us bloggers out there starting our training this week, we can help each other stay on track and motivated.

5:26 PM  
Blogger peter said...

Nice hill! Too bad you have to go so far to run it. The one time I tripped and fell was in Denver. It was a doozy. I was running along at 4 am (I was still on East COast time) on a new wide sidewalk along a new broad road out by Fort Lowry but there were no lights. You could see the road but not the sidewalk. I had run it the day before and it was a good, flat sidewalk. Suddenly I got to thinking about the construction spot I suddenly remembered on that sidewalk where they were doing something with the adjoining new housing project fence. Bam just then I hit the 3-foot high orange plastic construction mesh erected along the broken up sidewalk panel. Since my feet instantly stopped moving I went down hard in the dark, scrapping my knuckles terribly (I couldn't get my hands up in time to break my fall). Nothing broken but I was pissed that they had left the construction site with not blinking lights or flame podpots to mark it in the dark. Whose fault? Mine, or the negligent construction crew? In the east they mark darkened broken sites with blinkers.

6:32 PM  
Blogger Jade Lady said...

Wow, I wish I could run in more interesting places - great photos!

Tag, you're the new IT guy of CO! Check out my blog for details!

10:16 PM  
Blogger akshaye said...

Charlie - I hope you're doing fine after the fall.

The pictures are great, you have some fabulous scenery to explore.

10:52 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing :)

7:51 AM  
Blogger Petraruns said...

Wow Charlie - take it easy - that's some fabulous mileage but don't trip now!

Lovely photos - what a beautiful place you live in!

10:43 AM  
Blogger LIrunner9 said...

Sorry to hear you fell, but hoping you're all healed by now:)

Thanks for the shout out and the pictures of your run are great. You really have beautiful runs out in Colorado!

8:57 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home