Fresh Pond Park

Last weekend, we went to Green Bay, WI to watch the Packers - 49ers game.  And no, I did not run while in Wisconsin.  I raced from heated building to heated building, ate, drank beer and watched football as a good mid-Westerner should.  I did, however, run my 5 miles Friday after work to get the training in before we left.  I ran from my house to Fresh Pond Park and back.  It's a pretty decent run, nice and flat, and the route goes right past Chipotle.  So let's just say I "got hurt" or "hit the wall" and needed some delicious guac to get my strength back, wonderful Chipotle is right there.  Not this run, though.  Micah and I ran the five miles without a hitch.  No runner's knee to speak of.

Fresh Pond Park is a fairly popular place to go.  It's got a nice little path around a pond (it’s fresh…get it?) and people bring their dogs and strollers and walk around.  Which is fine.  Great, even.  Only problem is, everyone at Fresh Pond seems to think they are the only ones at Fresh Pond.  This is a popular place to take dogs off leash and let them run, which again, is great.  I'm always looking for another place to take my dogs where I can let them run and play.  Typically, however, when my dogs are off leash I try to have at least the vaguest clue as to where they are in the park.  In between dodging feral dogs (and hearing in the distance "oh, he's normally really good with people, I don't understand what happened") you have to also weave in and out of the hordes of people who, from what I can tell, are playing the "who can take up more of the sidewalk?" game.  Everyone wins at this game but me.  Here's what happens:

We are running, la di da, down the sidewalk.  Up ahead we see a young lady taking a nice stroll around the Pond.

She hears the pitter-patter of our feet coming up behind us.  It's clear we're going to pass her.  I'm looking very athletic with my running gloves, runner's knee strap and reflective gear, so it's pretty obvious I will be moving at a much faster pace than she is.  Her reaction?

Where did that come from?  Did the baby and the dogs just appear?  Maybe she was hiding them in her awesome white peacoat that was probably recently purchased in Montreal (underground, no less).  Is she just going to leave that poor baby naked on the sidewalk?  More importantly, her yoga pose is in really poor form.
 
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little.  There was no baby.  I photo-shopped that in.  From my run I learned I need to steer clear of parks or any other place that encourages people to “stroll.”  I’m better off on the sidewalks of busy streets shared with my fellow runners or other pedestrians who have places to be and are far too busy to purposefully get in my way.

On another note, this post has taken about 2 weeks to complete.  Between starting and finishing I have been to Montreal and completed my first semester as an MBA student of Arizona State University.  Going out of the country and getting a 97% on my Accounting final should make up for the missed posts, right?  I am currently on my way to Newburgh, IN and Louisville, KY to visit the family.  And yes, I brought my running clothes with me.  Training doesn’t stop just because it’s Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!