It's been two weeks since the Boston Marathon. One of the most thoughtful things I heard in the aftermath of the bombings was by Ambry Burfoot, editor at Runners World. He was 0.7 miles from the finish line when they stopped the race. At first he didn't know what to think but after hearing the details he offered his perspective, "every mile out there was a gift". How true. Just to be able to walk or run is a gift that a few people had, at least temporarily, taken away from them by a couple of cowardly idiots.
This mornings run was a make-up from the one I tried on Friday–and failed at–and missed on Saturday. It's finals week and my only final of the day is at 12:30. Plenty of time of a morning run. It was beautiful morning and great run. My first 14 miler in some time. I ran an out-and-back route along the old rail road bed north of town that spans 12 miles from east of Charleston to the center of Mattoon. I started my run at mile 3.
The beginning of my run at mile marker 3.
Mile 1 of my run.
My mile 2. This section of the trail cuts through the Charleston Golf and Country Club. You can see two grounds crew workers (my dream job) approaching in their red work cart.
The buildings in the background are the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center campus. Nice to be so close to an Emergency Room, just in case.
My mile 5. The mile markers are handy but they don't agree completely with the GPS in my phone. Oh, well. They were likely installed as part of an Eagle Scout project.
A good example of what Illinois looks like without corn or soybeans. Boring
My mile 6. I'm not sure why I including this picture.
Nearing my mile 7. Passing over the bike trail, is Interstate 57 or, as I like to call it, the Blues Highway since it runs from Chicago to Memphis. (Others call it the Cocaine Corridor for the same reason.)
My mile 7, turn around point. To the south are the hotels and fast food chains catering to the I-57 travelers.
Heading back eastward towards Charleston. The sun is in my face but the wind is at my back!
Oh, look. A cemetery. Avoiding those for as long as I can is one reason I run. Stress reduction is the other main reason.
On the trail, near mile 8, is this gazebo build by a local prairie grass organization that grows, what else, prairie grass along side the bike trail. This guy in the military and says he walks the trail with a backpack for training. Good for him!
It's been a wet spring. That "pond" is really farm land and need to dry out before it can be planted. I don't know how farmers live with Mother Nature. Last year it was too much rain in April and not enough in August.
That's a dead skunk on the side of the trail. Keep moving.
And there's trustworthy Raja waiting for me back at mile 3 or my mile 14.
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