I finished the first loop and decided not to stop and just keep going. It was smooth cruising the rest of the way and I wasn’t feeling tired at all. I didn’t expect the run to go near as well since I had some minor pain in the top of my right foot for about 15 minutes. It eventually went away but had me worried.

Of course today was also the first day I didn’t take my watch with me. Not that I really care about setting speed records, but it would have been good to know what pace I was actually holding. It was probably slower than I think but at least the run felt great.

With the crowds, though, come the road runners. Nothing against them, but it’s just you’re more likely to run into the ones who are hell-bent on getting in their workouts and will not let slower runners get in there way.

On Tuesday of this week, I had my first notable encounter. I had not even gone a quarter-mile when I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming of being in Spain. At first I thought it might be the running of the bulls but then I realized it was just someone trodding very heavily. Not only that, but as he went around me, I wasn’t sure whether to 1) get out of the way, 2) offer him directions to the nearest Catholic church, or 3) point him in the direction of the St. Francis Hospital emergency room. Common sense said just move, but with the amount of “Oh God” I was hearing, I really expected to see him carrying a set of rosary beads. Then again, with the labored breathing and flailing of the arms, I thought he might actually need help. As he stepped over into the parking lot and quickly calmed down, I was comforted in the fact that he was actually just adding a little extra drama to his routine.

The following day, another encounter almost topped the first. I was approaching the section on the north side near where the trail curves back to go behind a baseball field when I heard an interesting mix between a cough, a raspy voice whispering “Help!”, and an asthmatic wheeze (no offense to those with asthma). I quickly realized that this was yet again another runner who was more interested in hitting some goal time than avoiding steamrolling other walkers and joggers in his path. I mean, seriously…on a path barely wide enough for 2 runners to pass comfortably, don’t expect me to utilize the eyes in the back of my head that don’t exist to first notice your dominance of the sport and then to sacrifice myself against a tall chain link fence just so you can get around. Seriously.

Anyhow, I actually enjoyed two great comfortable runs. The course does have a few uphill sections that get the blood pumping. With an abundance of parking and easy accessibility from I-44, I will likely start making this my more frequent route for short distances.