(Click To see my
Bones in Motion Log for this run with all the data, maps and graphs.)
Today, we took a slow run down to our usual
pre-winter running grounds. This used to be a nice run for us that was quite scenic, picking up the bike path that runs alongside the Rock River. In the fall, we could watch the boats go by, watch the
Water ski Team practice their pyramids, and watch a whole host of birds and critters go by. Quite a different story these days. The river is flooded and much of the neighborhood that the bike path passes is underwater after the snow melt from massive
quantities of snow, followed by the last week or so of torrential rains. Our path is closed from the hospital through Riverside park, our usual turnaround spot to head back towards home. Today, we ran into Riverside Park a different way and this is what we saw.
This first view is from higher ground coming down into the park after going through the Riverside tunnel and turning right. You can see a street branching to the left. Going forward from there you see a house and what used to be a street in front of it.
This next shot is a little closer up of the same area.The part underwater? Yeah,
that's our run path, there along that tree line.
See that line of posts sticking out of the water? That is the spot where the path becomes a run/bike-only blacktop path. If you look closer, you can see the street sign there behind it. It normally stands about 8 feet high, but most of it is submerged.
See Mike crying? This is the spot where the path goes underwater inside the park. Behind him is normally a winding path that goes behind that stand of pines and around to the right, back to the spot where the street sign looks to be about 2 feet tall. Not running there today buddy!
Here is the sign pointing to the start of that Kiwanis trail from Riverside park. Apparently its a true triathlon trail now. You can run, bike, AND swim on it!
Here is a shot of the
pavilion where I normally would refill my water bottles for the first time on my long runs last summer. See that speck in the middle of the picture? Yeah, that's a park bench. We didn't wade out that 200
yds or so to sit on it though. Not today.
Here is another park bench in the middle of the river. No thank you, I'll just stand on shore.
When I took this picture, I patted the pocket of my jacket I had taken the camera out of and had a mini-panic attack that my cell
phone was not in it. We then back-tracked our steps around the park Family-Circus-style for the next ten minutes. Then I patted the pocket of my tights and realized my phone was in my pants pocket. I forgot to take a picture of Mike's happy face ;-)
Looking back through my camera, I realized we never posted pictures of our bike fittings, so here they are. What a difference it makes to have someone make your bike just the perfect fit for you and the way you ride. It was an awesome experience!
And last but not least is a picture of Nick with Mike after picking him up in Bessemer Michigan to bring him home last Sunday. we had just stopped for lunch about an hour back south into our drive home. Notice how high the snow is around them. Did I mention this was in April? Insane. This same day in Janesville, it was in the 60's sunny, warm and beautiful. Best day for a bike ride all year. It's a good thing we like this kid!
Keep your fingers crossed for Nick tonight. We interviewed yesterday for the Rock River Charter School yesterday and we will find out on Monday if he can get in right away. Best case scenario is he can start right away in the self paced e-learning program and he moves quickly enough through it to complete the coursework in time to walk the stage with his graduating class in June. I've been crossing my fingers, toes, legs, arms, and eyes since yesterday, which might account for why I was running so fricking slow today!
