A DECENT START ON A HOT HUMID MORNING...4 Mile Run at Washington Park
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
It feels like the Universe has been consiring to keep me from running, most recently in the form of a local repair shop that won't have time to work on my car until next Monday. Now theoretically I could just step out my front door and run... but I've been doing so little running for the past months that the concrete sidewalks would beat the heck out of my knees, and I really don't want to risk running in the road. So I came up with three options within walking distance: Washington Park, the Hackett Multi-Use Path next to the school, and Buckingham Pond, with the idea being to walk there as a warm-up, run 3 miles or so, and then walk home.
The weather this week threw in an extra complication - it's supposed to be extremely hot and humid. So that means running either 1st thing in the morning or late in the evening.
This morning I managed to get up and get moving in time to head to Washington Park, the closest option. I walked the 0.6 miles there at a brisk pace and then ran laps around the lake in both directions, on both the dirt path and the paved roads. The good news is my body does remember how to run, albeit very slowly. But I've got a lot of work to do to build my strength and endurance back up. My plan was to do 4 loops for about 5k of running - it was warm and unpleasant enough that I almost cut that short, but then a shady stretch with a cool breeze revived me enough to complete the 4th time around, after which I walked home and was pretty useless until mid-afternoon.
