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« January 2012 | Main | March 2012 »
For today's 5:1 adventure, we headed down to the waterfront. It was a really wild weather day with some sun breaks, but mostly it was cold, windy, and rainy. This is the furthest I've gone in a really long time. I'm trying to start building stamina to increase my miles since I'll need to do walk double this amount for the half in May.
I started my walk checking on the demolition happening for the future MAX line. 4 buildings have now come down and it's just fascinating to see how fast this process has been.
I crossed the Brooklyn pedestrian bridge to get a better view of all the construction that is happening. It's so interesting how far down 17th you can see now that buildings have been removed.
It's crazy to see daffodils in full bloom.
This is such a great garage door. I love that Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx are on a fanciful car trip.
A very happy and fat squirrel was munching on this asian pear. He is a lucky guy.
I usually walk along this stretch of Powell to get back to my house. With all of the construction happening, I had to find a new route home.
This was a super soggy walk. It was so rainy, that I only took two pictures the entire time. I was grateful for this walk, because work continues to be very stressful. Walking in the rain and letting all the stress just wash off of me was such a great feeling. My brain was much more at peace by the time I returned home.
It was definitely a rainy day for a walk. It wasn't raining when I headed out. At the very last moment, I grabbed a hat. I'm so glad I did because about a block from my the downpour started. I really haven't walked much in the rain this year, because of our unusually dry winter. It was nice to just enjoy getting wet even if that meant I had to keep my phone in my pocket during the heaviest parts of the rain. The robins were back in the neighborhood and I followed their sound until I found them. I wish they were easier to photograph.
It really felt like Spring is here. So many flowers are starting to bloom. I loved seeing all of the crocuses starting to pop open.
It's not unusual to find cords like this around the neighborhood. I often see a car plugged into this one. One day I'll have an electric car.
I was about a mile and a half into my walk when I realized something. I had no pain in my legs. None. It was almost a surreal experience. I can't remember the last time this happened. I spent the rest of my walk focused on this and enjoyed every second. I'm sure I'll have pain again, but this was such a positive sign that I'm getting stronger that I really want to just savor the moment.
A new horse! This one was only 2 blocks from my house. It's so interesting that the more I walk around my neighborhood, the more new things I see. Even if I never walk beyond a half mile radius from my house, I will always see something new.
Today my sis, husband, and I continued our 1/2 marathon training. We headed south and looped around the Westmoreland Golf course. I like this course because there are some challenging hills and beautiful views along the golf course.
The last 2 weeks has been sheer chaos at my job. I worked long hours and it's been a pretty stressful time. I just didn't have the time or energy to walk last week. My big project ended today and I was able to leave work before noon. When thinking how I could treat myself since I had a gloriously free afternoon, the first thing that I really wanted to do was walk. Just the idea of it sounded so nice. Which, I have to admit, I surprised myself with this idea.
It was a dry, almost sunny day. I decided to head North to Belmont. I hadn't ventured past Hawthorne all that much and decided I should spread my wings a little. It was really just a great walk.
I think one reason my walk was so pleasant is that I started listening to an audio version of Atlas Shrugged. I read the book last year and just fell in love. My mom-in-law got me the audio version for Christmas. Listening to a book while I walked let me turn my brain off. I didn't think about work, or really anything else for that matter, and it was so nice to get caught up in a story. I can't wait to listen to more.
I looked up and realized I was on Taggart street - which is the last name of the protagonist in Atlas Shrugged. What a funny coincidence!
This is hands down my favorite Kanye sticker so far. I was so surprised by all the street art I found on my walk today. Definitely more than in my hood. I had to stop myself from taking pictures of all the cool things I found.
Eek! 1904! I couldn't believe I found this. I am still looking for 1906 and 1905.
I had just watched a news article talking about Portland's 39 community gardens. I passed 2 of these gardens on this walk. I can't wait for Brooklyn to get our community garden which is currently in the works.
I love walking down alleys. It's so peaceful and I never know what I will find.
I love this garage door.
It is well established that I'm a bit obsessed with moss. This is in the perfect shape of a horse shoe.
I found this on the Brooklyn pedestrian bridge. I had seen it before, but my picture didn't turn out well. I finally got one that I liked which is good because I had to stand precariously on the steps which was giving me vertigo. Kind of scary, but worth it.
With all the MAX construction starting to happen, I'm afraid that riding the bus will be a bit harder for awhile. Last week I didn't realize that my bus stop was closed, because I catch the bus in the dark and I didn't see the sign. Luckily, the very cranky bus driver did stop for me, but gave me an earful.
Speaking of construction, I put up a picture of this building that had been boarded up a week or so ago. Now it's coming down! Change is definitely happening fast!
