Sponging

It being a crisp and clear Fall day, there was little excuse not to go for another Clunk and Sputter run.  So, once the chores got done, i got my gear ready and drove with Nicki to Civic Field.

Bee'ham is a pretty non-descript place and downtown looks like a run-down model railroad layout.  But the place has its advantages and "Civic Field" is one of them.  

The field is a small football stadium with a completely artificial astroturf gridiron surrounded by an equally artificial spongy-track.  I've always enjoyed spongy tracks and this one has the latest in spongieness; it's sort of like running on a pair of pogo-sticks. 

When i first got it into my head to see if i could start real running again, i had in mind loping down forest trails with a blissed-out ga-loping Nicki at my side.  It may yet come to that, but given my overall creakiness it's probably wise to play it safe to start.  So spongi it is and poor Nicki gets to sit in the car waiting for his turn.

But the existence of a spongi-track is only part of the civic advantage; so too is the fact that it is open to the public  7 days a week so that there is no need to crawl over or under a locked fence.  Not only that, but the track has open rest rooms with a full bank of sinks... And not only that... but the sinks have cold and HOT water!

Now this is the kind of civic-consciousnes that i really like.  It may not seem like much, and in fact it is just a small ammenity, but it makes all the difference in the world.  Young or old, there is a place to run, to pee and to sponge off without having to go home first before doing other things.

So...after sponging around and sponging off, i met up with Nicki and drove up the road to Whatcom Falls were he had his run-around and dog-lope through the forest with some fellow doggies, as i chatted with a pair of tag-along fellow humans.  

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Oh... and for the record: 2:32 a lap (with 220 walk intervals) = 9.28 broken mile  which is pretty awful but better than the 4:00-4:40 per "lap" on the elliptical machine.  Something is not right here.