Great Run!!!

Cubbie had too many dogs to run so I got the day off....

Well not really, running is a part of life, like eating and sleeping, right? So I needed to get my run in today. funny I had be dreading my run all day, "It will be too hot. I don't want to run around Ardsley Park" Whaaaa! big baby....

As soon as got the green light for a solo run today my mind started to wander...Where can I run? Rails to Trails? Go look at all of the pretty ladies doing laps at Forsyth Park... Oh, I know, I can run "the bridge"!

We have a very large bridge in Savannah, The Eugene TalmidgeMemorial Bridge to be exact, that connects us to South Carolina. 1.5 miles from base to base, so about 3/4 mile up/ 3/4 mile down. It is a 5.5% grade so fairly steep. They run a 5/10/15K race on it every December, great event.

So I decided to run the bridge today, with a twist. I biked the two miles from my house to city Hall. Locked it up and took the water ferry to the other side of the river. Got off and ran the 4.5 miles back over the bridge and finished at city hall where I left my bike. The run was fantastic. It is about a mile and a half from the water ferry dock to the foot of the bridge. You run along the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa (where I work) and had the chance to watch a fantastic lightening storm roll in towards me. I welcomed the chance to get a little rain today, but it never happened. Got to the foot of the bridge and switched to "climbing mode". Which for me is the same gear as "running mode", it just makes me feel like I have more tools when I call it something different. I go through the paces, "3/4 mile up, about 7-8 minutes of my life. I can do ANYTHING for 7 minutes. Amazingly, I was at the top of the bridge before I knew it and could not believe how easy it seemed. The view of downtown is amazing from the bridge by the way. Going down is so much fun. There is this little mindbender at the end of this run that sneaks up on people at the race every year. Most of the 4000 runners of the bridge run race don't train on the bridge because it is closed to pedestrian traffic. (Notice the reaccuring theme of me running in areas cloesd to pedestrians? I live on the wild side!) So, after you come off of the bridge, you are greated with another, uunexpected climb up Olgethorpe Ave. This hill is one of those silent stalkers that just creeps up on you. "Not today sir!" I cruised up the last hill and then spent the last mile of my run dodging tourist on my way back to my bike...