Japan Nuclear: Wednesday Workout Update

Last Thursday I needed to drop by the library to pick up a book that I'd requested (recommended by Laurie - thanks!). I got to thinking...why not walk there? I mean really? I've run 13.1 miles - surely I can walk to the library and back.

I laid out my supplies:

Not pictured is my camera, which was busy taking this picture. Everything either fit into the zippered pouch on my water bottle, or in the side pockets of my running - er, walking skirt. And yes, the phone was in case I needed to call someone to come pick me up. Hedging my bets and all that. ;)

Put on some sunscreen (not enough, as it turned out), drove to the park where I usually start my walks, and set off.

Good bye, Wolf Pen Park - I'll see you in a couple of hours!

Walked by the place I used to work - still happy with my decision to leave that job. :)

I discovered one thing as soon as I turned onto the first major, busy street - holy moly, traffic is LOUD! And except for the tire-screeching-near-accident that I witnessed (and nearly had heart failure watching) in the first big intersection, I felt pretty safe.

I took a detour through the cemetery. I turned off my music and walked through...it was really quiet, considering the busy street that it faced.

I left the cemetery and continued my walk. Here's a pretty water area of an arboretum that was on my way:

I came to the side street I had to take to stay on a sidewalk - and looky here - a lighthouse!

It's in front of a scuba store - eye catching, for sure!

I made my way over to the busy four-lane road that the library (and post office, and high school) is on. The city has just put in a walkway - about time, as for years, many high school students had to walk on the busy road...not safe.

See the dirt? This section was just finished about a week ago!

Here's the high school that my kids attended - I had to walk past it, to the intersection, so I could cross over to the library - almost there at this point!

In the parking lot, I spotted a sweet classic car:

At last! My destination - the public library:

Ricky Bobby read 3.3 miles, which was a little more than I expected...but I did take that detour through the cemetery.

Can you believe the clerk at the library wouldn't pose with my book as I checked it out? How could he pass up the chance to be featured on my blog?!? LOL. He looked at me like I was crazy for asking. Anyway, I refilled my water bottle and set off. It was getting pretty hot, and in the parking lot of the Exxon station that I had to walk through to get back to the intersection to cross the street (no sidewalks on that side), I was sorely tempted to get a refreshing treat:

But no...I had Red Mango on my mind. I chose to wait.

Since I was so close, I decided to pop over to the post office and buy stamps for my son Sam's graduation announcements. Walked up about half a mile, crossed the street again (please read in Forrest Gump voice) and tada - post office!

Obviously built during the ugly, austere, government-buildings-shall-not-be-pretty era.

I was shocked to find no line - that was a first for me at this post office! Bought my stamps and set off. The only hinky part of the walk came here - I crossed back and thought, oh, I'll stay on this street for a while. Guess what? It was a dead end - too bad I didn't notice the sign until I was backtracking. But I digress...once I realized it dead ended into an apartment complex, I saw a bridge, and baseball fields in the distance, so I figured I could make my way through the park and get back on the street.

Bridge to the baseball fields, I thought...

Nope...the bridge led to a dirt area, and the only way I could see to get to the baseball fields was through this "path":

See that path in the dirt, through the brush and trees? I'm sure some people have used that it, but this area was deserted and my Spidey-sense said no, so I turned around and walked quickly back to a more populated area, where I THEN noticed the dead end sign. Oops.

It was all fine. Only problem was that I was getting hot. I'd just about gone through the water in my bottle, and I started to imagine I was in the desert...that was confirmed when I came upon this cactus:

OK, it's a little green to be in the desert, but it was getting hot!

I finally made it back to my car. Whew! It was 76 degrees when I started off, and 82 when I returned. My sunscreen didn't last through over two hours in the sun. But you know what? I walked 6.7 miles, all by myself! I'm quite proud of that. Not something I would have ever considered doing a few years ago - heck, even a few months ago! I'm getting brave, and I like this feeling.

Ricky Bobby showing how far I walked!

And then, I drove to Red Mango:

Did I mention that I was stomach-growling hungry about 45 minutes before I finished my walk? Might have overdone it on the yogurt and toppings, but oh well. I enjoyed every bite!

What I picked up while on my walk: