Crossing that Bridge

Is there anything more satisfying than working up a sweat?

I just got back from an OUTDOOR run. I was a little short on time, so only ran 3.6 miles, but at the end I ran up a big hill, so that should count for something. The weather was a little cold, due to the wind I was running into, but a tolerable 36 degrees.

In the spirit of Running the Other Way (see Jeanne's post of Jan 21), I took a different route. I usually run around the lake because:

a. it's near my house
b. there are no cars
c. it's flat

but today I needed to shake it up. So I ran to downtown, through the sculpture garden, across the wooden bridge and through the local park.

I stopped along the way to take pictures with the CrapCam(TM) and enjoyed the Westminster chimes ringing from the nearby Protestant church. The church had been around for almost 100 years before they finally were able to put bells in the bell tower. That was around 1998. I enjoy hearing them--real bells! Where I grew up in So. Calif. the "church bells" were actually recorded music. Not quite the same thing. Ironically, around the same time that the Protestant church got their bells, the Catholic church a block away also got real bells for their bell tower. I actually like the Catholic bells better because they just ring away instead of playing a tune. But they're both nice.

My running has been sporadic lately, but I was reading Naomi's race recap of the Miami marathon and was inspired to get out and run. Nothing like having the reality of a marathon in front of you to remind you of the importance of training! She's a pretty inspiring young woman even when she's not running marathons.