The weekends are busy, especially now that I'm training. Add Kids, Kids Activities, The Neighborhood Pool and a Husband to that running, and it's hard to keep up with what's going on around me.
On Sunday's training run with SNOT I tried to settle in and think about what I was seeing on the run. I dressed for the part today, and wish my camera had cooperated with me... let's just say, I was feeling the green... but tossed in a touch of pink. (That said, I went with a LIME color, not a SNOT color.)
The run today was 6 miles and took us on a loop down through the city of Richmond. We stayed to the West side of town. The first few miles were upscale residential, aged town homes that gave way to the hip and trendy row houses that have been modified into a 10 block shopping area, complete with a Spa that J Lo is reputed to visit when she's in RVA.
Once through that part of town, we looped through a park. I have fond memories of this park, as it's where I started an 18 miler with Jackie P, TMB and Fay. The Park also over laps with a course I raced two years ago where I felt confident and awesome, not to mention powerful and SpeeDee. As we wound through the course today, I saw the Pink Team running toward us, and reached out to say Hi to Jackie P. I keep hoping he can make the jump to SNOT. I just can't imagine not having him on our 20 milers.
After we passed the last of the PINKs we wound down through a genuinely old part of Richmond. Parts of the historic Confederate Capital passed under my Brooks as we stepped over the aging red brick peaking through the potholes in the black top. We passed an alley named "Mule Barn Lane". At some point we toured right past The Sauer Spice Factory - a castle if you will, built in the mid 30's I'd guess. Then an old Smithfield Ham Building, and then, a huge brick furniture warehouse that is being converted into LOFTS.
Finally, about a mile from the finish, the past and present slammed together in a telling moment. With the Baseball Diamond of our marginally professional team in sight, we... stepped over a used hypodermic needle on the street.
Yup. Welcome to the "other side" of RVA.
7 comments:
I knew from the first sentance that this post was ending with the dirty needle. Too funny!
LOL TMB!!! Of COURSE it was ending with the needle. How often does one see a needle on a training run? I guess that will be something to keep track of this MT Season.
So is The Fan still as it always is? My sister went to VCU, and I had a friend who owned one of those rowhouses you mentioned. Loved remembering Richmond through this post - thank you!
Sounds like most of it was a lovely run. Also sounds like here where you can go from gentrified to falling apart in a block. Can't say that I've ever stepped over a needle though.
Sounds like an awesome run, minus the gross dirty needle, yuck!
sounds like a great run!
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