Monday Means Portland

I have a standard run for Mondays and Wednesdays. Since I have to be in Portland while Sam takes classes, I've settled into a routine that I really enjoy. Today I was going to cut it a little short though, from 11 to 8 miles, to have some extra time for errands. I normally start at the back cove, head along Eastern Prom, thru the Old Port, and then across the bridge to S. Portland. There's a Hannaford at my turn around that's great for buying Gatorade and/or peeing.

It turned out to be nearly ideal running conditions today - bright sunshine, low 40's, crisp breeze. When I'd run about 3.5 miles, I was leaning toward running the whole 11. Since it's an out-and-back, I'd really only go 1.5 more before turning around - that's nothing! I guess I really was supposed to run 8. The bridge was up. I knew it had the capability, but had never seen it before. Ok. That meant I'd get to order my new Inov-8 Roclite 282's after all!!!

On my return trip, I stopped to talk to an old man watching the newest cruise ship approach the dock. I petted his cute white pooch and he told me that this was the 18th cruise ship this season. He'd counted them all. I was happy with myself for stopping to talk. It brought to mind a John Prine song called "Hello in There". In less than .5 miles, I ran into another older man walking an even older (in dog years) Irish Setter. I commented on his beautiful dog and asked if I could pet her. We had a wonderful conversation about his pup, my Spot dog, and the joys of pet ownership. Before I set out, he made my day by telling me that one of the best things about walking his dog was having people like me stop to talk!

I did .25 mile pick-ups for the last 1.5 miles. Maybe it was because I was fresh from cutting the run short (and coming off a very low mileage week) or maybe cause I just was having such a great run. it felt good to push it a little.