Crossing Cobbs Creek
Was all ready to run this morning at 8:30 and didn't get out the door until about 11.
I spent most of that time decrappifying the laptop I am writing this on from adware and spyware. The problem is that once its on, there really is nowhere to turn to to get the shit off your computer quickly. So I took the time and educated myself and found various software programs on the web and kept at it. So I don't know if all of the stuff is off now, but all of the popups and error messages that prompted me to go on this quest in the first place are now gone. It became an obsession this morning, but a productive one.
I was talking to my mom this evening and the topic turned to the recent terrorist events. Meditating on this, on top of the spyware experience, leads me to realize what a talent this species has for developing extraordinary things and then finding ways to screw them up. Its like we're in competition with ourselves.
Having waxed philosophical, I will recap my run. Obsessing for three hours meant that it was a bit hotter when I got out the door, but the edge is definitely off of this heat wave and the conditions weren't bad. I headed due west for Cobbs Creek, wanting to close the loop that E and I had run on July 4. On that run we went through a cemetary and ended up climbing over a fence to get out of it. Today I went around the cemetary and continued on the loop.
But I get ahead of myself. There were numerous elements of the run that made it a great loop. Starting with the recently reasphalted Addison St., which was wonderfully soft and spongy to run on, and then crossing 63rd St. to go on the track behind the Cobbs Creek pool. Its a wonderfully oddly shaped track that needs some TLC, but looks to be 400 meters in circumference. I did a loop of that and hit the trails along Cobbs Creek, leading me through wooded areas alternately shady and in bloom. Past the horse stables I crossed Cobbs Creek and ventured into Delaware County. Hence the title of this post.
Doing this expanded the vistas of my runs, as I could branch out through Upper Darby, Darby and Yeadon for some extended mileage in the future. For today and navigated around the edge of Fernwood Cemetary and hit Church Road, which brought me back to Baltimore Pike and then the Cobbs Creek bike path. This path again ducked into a wooded area, where I saw goldfinches, nearly stepped on an adolescent Robin, and saw a heron fishing by some old tires in Cobbs Creek. I've said before that this is a great path to run on, although there was nary a runner or cyclist on the path. Lots of folks playing basketball and setting up picnics, however. Folks in Muslim garb in particular seemed out in force picnicking.
The bike path is also shady until I veered off at 70th St. to catch Woodland. Here, in the commercial center of SW Philly, Sunday morning was alive with gospel music flowing out of church services, reggae music from speakers set up out of stores, and a bustle I don't see on the early mornings I usually run this route. Woodland is also either up or downhill most of the stretch, which I took at a progressively faster pace.
10 miles in 75:09.
I hope this blog catches some of the energy I captured from this run. I missed this, and feel the momentum coming back. I also feel in an evangelizing mood, wanting to turn folks on to running along Cobbs Creek. Maybe as a site for the second Guerilla 5k.
I spent most of that time decrappifying the laptop I am writing this on from adware and spyware. The problem is that once its on, there really is nowhere to turn to to get the shit off your computer quickly. So I took the time and educated myself and found various software programs on the web and kept at it. So I don't know if all of the stuff is off now, but all of the popups and error messages that prompted me to go on this quest in the first place are now gone. It became an obsession this morning, but a productive one.
I was talking to my mom this evening and the topic turned to the recent terrorist events. Meditating on this, on top of the spyware experience, leads me to realize what a talent this species has for developing extraordinary things and then finding ways to screw them up. Its like we're in competition with ourselves.
Having waxed philosophical, I will recap my run. Obsessing for three hours meant that it was a bit hotter when I got out the door, but the edge is definitely off of this heat wave and the conditions weren't bad. I headed due west for Cobbs Creek, wanting to close the loop that E and I had run on July 4. On that run we went through a cemetary and ended up climbing over a fence to get out of it. Today I went around the cemetary and continued on the loop.
But I get ahead of myself. There were numerous elements of the run that made it a great loop. Starting with the recently reasphalted Addison St., which was wonderfully soft and spongy to run on, and then crossing 63rd St. to go on the track behind the Cobbs Creek pool. Its a wonderfully oddly shaped track that needs some TLC, but looks to be 400 meters in circumference. I did a loop of that and hit the trails along Cobbs Creek, leading me through wooded areas alternately shady and in bloom. Past the horse stables I crossed Cobbs Creek and ventured into Delaware County. Hence the title of this post.
Doing this expanded the vistas of my runs, as I could branch out through Upper Darby, Darby and Yeadon for some extended mileage in the future. For today and navigated around the edge of Fernwood Cemetary and hit Church Road, which brought me back to Baltimore Pike and then the Cobbs Creek bike path. This path again ducked into a wooded area, where I saw goldfinches, nearly stepped on an adolescent Robin, and saw a heron fishing by some old tires in Cobbs Creek. I've said before that this is a great path to run on, although there was nary a runner or cyclist on the path. Lots of folks playing basketball and setting up picnics, however. Folks in Muslim garb in particular seemed out in force picnicking.
The bike path is also shady until I veered off at 70th St. to catch Woodland. Here, in the commercial center of SW Philly, Sunday morning was alive with gospel music flowing out of church services, reggae music from speakers set up out of stores, and a bustle I don't see on the early mornings I usually run this route. Woodland is also either up or downhill most of the stretch, which I took at a progressively faster pace.
10 miles in 75:09.
I hope this blog catches some of the energy I captured from this run. I missed this, and feel the momentum coming back. I also feel in an evangelizing mood, wanting to turn folks on to running along Cobbs Creek. Maybe as a site for the second Guerilla 5k.
w
posted by seebo | 11:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home