Sunday, March 7, 2010

Laps Around Echo Lake

I saw my first crocuses today, at the Ginter Botanical Garden, and I saw some forsythia in bloom as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera during that walk on a pretty early spring day. But I love crocuses and always have. Since I have been a child, I associate them with the end of winter. And this is one year I am ready for the end of winter.

After yesterday’s five mile run for Team in Training practice, I decided to run again today. I need to get into a regular workout habit instead of my two days one week, four the next, one the week after that, and so forth. So I took advantage of warmer weather in the late afternoon to get in a run that was also kind of a hike. It beats getting up at 4:30 AM to do it!

Echo Lake Park is a small park about two miles from my house. People come to walk, fish, use the playground with their kids, have a cookout, and feed the geese. There is a trail of about three quarters of a mile that circumnavigates the lake. It is a pretty little trail, and I often can see wildlife, although today, a kingfisher and the always present Canada geese was the sum total.

I did six laps for a total of about 4.25 to 4.5 miles. I would walk the first quarter mile of each lap and then run the rest. It took me 49 minutes, including stopping for a few photos. I enjoyed being out in shorts and a purple Team in Training tee after yesterday’s cold start to the run. The Monument Avenue 10K is only 20 days away, and I am not in shape for it. I can run that distance, but not in the time I had wanted. So I need to just enjoy the experience of it and not worry about the time. It is not like I would be winning the race.

I know at some point before the Seattle Half Marathon, a five or six mile run will seem easy, but I am not at that point right now. My legs were tired at the end of the run, and I took extra care to stretch out.

The lake is a popular attraction at this park:

I once saw a huge beaver along the shoreline of this stream which feeds Echo Lake, but not today:

The footpath is 3/4 mile long and loops around the lake. It is crushed gravel and easy on the feet, and has some small climbs and dips:

The goose is on the alert as his mate grazed nearby:

3 comments:

  1. We frequently visited this lake when I was a kid, before it was a park and surrounded with homes. We would fish and shoot squirrels.

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  2. Ya, plenty of homes now all around. Plenty of squirrels, too. There is a beautiful farm on one side of it, but even a good bit of that was sold off into homes about five years ago. Part of it is still farm land at least. I hate to see those farms get turned into houselots.

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  3. No sign of spring flowers here yet though we have had some nice sunshine and warm temperatures so it won't be long now. :-)

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