Another Impromptu 5k, Shades Creek Greenway

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. Earth Day. Beginning of International Dark Sky Week.
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Either the area got way more rain than we did, or the path is so low that it floods if you sneeze at it.

The Numbers

Shades Creek Greenway/Lakeshore Trail
3.21 miles
1:03:20 hours
Saturday 16 April 2022

5K is 3.1-something miles. [Disc Stroll]

Not 3.14, that’s pi.

3.17 miles? That didn’t sound right.

Aimed for 3.2 to cover it.

Note to self. Five kilometers is = 3.1068559612 miles. Call it 3.107.

Mnemonic, 5k is 3.1 plus .007. Ooh, I can remember that.

Belated note to self. I could have looked it up. On the phone. That I was carrying.

The Water

Check out the flood line of leaves. My first hint of the water to come.

Can’t go around it. Can’t go over it. Gotta go through it.

Stomp. Splash.

Repeat from above because many parts of the path looked like this. Few footprints in the multitudinous mud. This had all happened the night before.

The Walk

Rain the night before. Muddy. Didn’t want to walk in the field, or at least my knees didn’t. This trail was in the area that errands were being run. Since the path is 2.8 miles, a little futzing at the end would bring it up to a 5K.

Let’s do this.

Straight. Flat. Let’s see if I can maintain 3 mph and finish in one hour. I tried to pick up the pace, but not to the exclusion of all else. [In Which I Set A PR]

The idea was to allow the brain to ponder while the body maintained a slightly faster pace. Worked on taking big, fluid steps, walking softly, and taking notes while moving. No choice but to stop for photos, with the one exception, above.

Reasonable success in the pondering department. No deep thoughts achieved but then neither did I spend the entire time fixating on form.

Made 3 mph. Almost made one hour. Met up with our dog at the end. Guess what, Basset Hounds do not mosey at 3 mph.

What No Medal?!

I know, right!?

Was planning to do a self-awarded medal, as I did with Charlie Brown the last time I walked this trail. [Impromptu 5K]

Probably VRE: Year of the Tiger to match the Year of the Ox. [Repeating The River, scroll down for medal photo]

The walk would have a label and I’d have something to post about. Due to the storms the night before, my computer was off, so I didn’t buy the medal beforehand. Turned out that the weather was story enough.

In Other News, Too Much Metal