Sunrise on the towpath

Slowly, slowly, I’m building up to something.

This morning, I ran the beautiful towpath behind Butler University and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The sun was rising over the trees and sparkling on the canal and river.

It was a picture-perfect morning. So I had to stop and snap one or two pictures.

I started at Hinkle Fieldhouse. I ran a wide loop of the Butler campus and the neighborhood, and swung down Michigan Road hill to pick up the towpath. From there, I turned south to run to the I-65 overpass.

Once I hit the bridge, I turned around and headed north for a few miles to 52nd Street. Then I trotted back up the campus hillside alongside the soccer and football fields.

This was the longest run so far of my comeback, about six miles. I felt nice and strong, and probably could have gone a few more miles. But I don’t want to risk another flare-up to my IT band. And my weekly mileage is now at 28, compared to 20 last week.

So it’s probably better to stop feeling good than to stop feeling miserable, clutching my leg and hobbling back to car.

During the run, I saw ducks, turtles and even a blue heron. I could have stopped every few feet and snapped another photo, but this was a run, not a photo shoot. I limited myself to two.

*****

Another fun season ends

Congrats to the North Central High School cross country team for another good season.

The boys’ team ran in the state championships yesterday in Terre Haute. They were one of 24 teams around Indiana. They finished seventh in the state.

My older boy, Steven, is a senior at North Central. This wraps up his ninth year of cross country. His mom and I coaxed him into running as a fourth grader, and he has stuck with it ever since.

Steven, age 9, pounding out the miles in grade school.

Steven, age 17, taking a corner at a meet.