Rest in peace, Rick James

That was spraypainted on the back of a truck I saw on my run this morning. I like urban running - there is always something interesting to look at.

This morning I went someplace new. I headed out, intending to run close to home, in circles around the park nearby. I think it is only a 1/4 mile around the park, so 3 miles would take 12 loops. This can get a little tedious. It was a little hot and muggy this morning, so instead I headed to the river park, where I thought I might catch a breeze, and pass a water fountain from time to time. There is a nice soccer field with a rubberized track around it near my preferred entrance to the park. On weekends, this is packed with kids and soccer matches, but today there were just a few walkers and joggers. It's right by the river and gets a nice breeze. There is a water fountain, bathrooms and a snapple machine. I'll definitely be back. So intead of running alongside the traffic on the FDR (it's actually pretty nice), I ran loops around the rubberized track. It took me 10 minutes to run there, I stayed for 20, and another 10 to get back. So I will count this a 4 miles, even if it wasn't quite.

I walked through the park on the way back. I like to check out the dog run. It was subdued today. Big, furry, hot St. Bernard's were lying in the shade under the picnic tables, while their masters sipped iced coffees above. Another dog stood on one of the tables, surveying his kingdom. No one else wanted to play King of the Mountain.

One last thing: I missed my swim workout last night. Don't really have a good reason, other than excessive comfort on the couch. I'm okay with this, and I know it won't be the last workout that I miss. The weekly plan still serves a purpose! The goal is to improve my ratio of completed to planned workouts. Hopefully to 100%, but I have to start somewhere.