Steve - 5.17

Well I didn't win any races like other esteemed posters, but I do have a story to tell. It all started with my desire to run at the park near my house for a nice steady state run. If you'll recall from previous posts, the park has been fenced off so I have to hop the fence in order to get in my run. There is a big area adjacent to the park where people hold parties and other gatherings. Today there was a big party there so there were lots of people milling around. So there was an additional element of risk of being caught today since someone might actually see me running loops over and over in the gated area. I've never been discouraged by such odds before though. I hopped the fence in an area where a lot of people wouldn't notice and proceed to start running to my 10 laps around the park. On about the third lap, some guy called out to me and said: "Hey you're going to get a big fine if you get caught"! I said "Yeh?" and just kept running. I still had a lot of ground to cover. I completed my 10 laps without further incident and started walking toward a nice clandestine spot to exit. Only 100 yards from freedom, I notice some guy kind of looking at me standing next to the fence. He's pretty far away so I'm not sure what to think. I just keep walking and then jump the fence in an area where he can't see me. Not be outsmarted, he dispatches his son of about 4 or 5 years to investigate my whereabouts. In order to get out I have to cross through an area where some kids are playing. Lo and behold, he comes walking toward me. As he gets closer he starts shrugging his shoulders dramatically and then says "What are you doing? The park is closed." I say, "I was just running. I run every week. This is public property. There aren't any signs that say 'no trespassing' or 'this area is closed'." Befuddled, the crusading defender of Los Angeles Parks then proceeds to say, "Do you know how much poison is out there?" My response is an unpersuaded "No. There's no signs that would indicate as such." Dismayed that he has been unable to scare me straight, the portly park watchdog then says, "Well there will be Monday." At this point I am getting pretty bored. Luckily some woman asks the both of us if some building is open today. I start walking away because I could really care less about anything this jackass has to say or ever will say in his life. Then in one last gasp effort as he watches me walk away without a care in the world, the rotund defender of all that is holy has one final thing to say. "It won't be open again until December." I turn around momentarily and then continue my walk of disobedience. If this mound of righteous incredulity has any further plans for engaging me in any way, I'll just start sprinting and leave him in the dust. I take a slightly circuitous route back to my house to avoid any chance he follows me and arrive safely. Now I guess I just have to wait until all that "poison" starts to wreak its havoc.

Total time was 41:14 for a distance of 5.17 miles. The steady state portion encompassed 4.22 miles in a time of 33:09 (7:50), near the faster end of my steady state range. Since my Nike Plus is usually off when I run this pace, it was probably more like 8:00 min/mile, which is fine. It was a pretty smooth effort but definitely more difficult than an easy, slow run. Stay tuned for further updates as I continue to skirt the law in my quest for running glory.