Phase One: week 3 of 5

Running while traveling is one of my favorite things. Yes, you can get lost - or wander into a really bad neighborhood - but, i don't think there's a faster way to get to know a city or a place than running in it. The plan was to run in the Smokies on Friday - but, a delayed plane messed that up - fortunately I found a pretty cool trail just a little ways off of I-85 on my way to Charlotte from ATL. It was a surreal scene of bright colored fall leaves muted by a cover of fog in the foothills of South Carolina. The last two days I've run in Atlanta - which is a cooler/funkier city than I remembered. Once you get away from the city center there are plenty of leafy residential neighborhoods to run through. The topography is slightly gentler than Baltimore - but, there are plenty of hills if you look for them.

About 12 hours after I get home tonight - I get on a plane for Minneapolis. Our company headquarters is on the west side of the city, which has plenty of parks connected by a series of bike paths. Of course the problem this time of year is the weather. It's only supposed to get down to the mid-20's this week - but, there was the same forecast when I was there last November and I woke up to single digits one morning. This time I'm going to be prepared for anything.

This week is about the same mileage as last week except I'm taking a day off.

Last week
Monday: 6 miles
Tuesday: 7 miles 6X100m strides
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 14 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 9 miles
Total: 56 miles

This week
Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 8 miles 8X100m strides
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday: 7 miles
Friday: 7 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 16 miles
Total: 54 miles