Amanda a.k.a. MissZippy is hosting a link-up party, where everybody talks about the Best Run they had recently.  I haven’t been running very much since the Chilly Half-Marathon, so I thought I’d have nothing to talk about.

Then Saturday happened.

I had a block of time in the afternoon, but not much ambition.  The Lightning Kid had been running a fever, as we discovered that mid-day.  My wife wanted to take Shark Boy shoe shopping (he ended up with a pair of Saucony’s!).  Taking the Lightning Kid out for some fresh air in the Chariot seemed like the ideal solution: he’d get some rest and some fresh air.  After I strapped him in, and started up, I realized how long it had been since we were out together.

He fell asleep pretty quickly, and with nothing but time on my hands, I figured I would try and turn this into a long, slow, distance workout.  I took my time, and since the Virrata’s are still new to me, I kept my pace easy and my stride as soft as possible.  The weight of the Chariot made it easier to not over-stride and heel strike for the most part.



As I made my way into Centennial Park, I decided to extend the distance a little by trying to complete a circuit around the Ski Hill.  There was still some artificial snow to cross, which was a  little tricky with wheels and light shoes, but no harm done.  Once I had completed the lap around the hill, I climbed up the service road for one of the best views of the city; if I had known I’d be writing this up days later, I’d have taken some pictures.

On the way back down the hill, the Lightning Kid woke up.  I was worried he’d get cranky due to feeling under the weather, but his spirits stayed high, and he babbled a little as if to confirm:”Hey, we haven’t done this in a while!”.

I started taking a different route home with the idea of extending the run some more, but I noticed I had missed a call on my cell phone; I picked up the voice mail from my wife saying she wanted to go grocery shopping and whether I’d want to swap kids with her.  I was just next to the grocery store when I got the message, and when I returned her call, she was already at the store.  So I cut the run short, and joined the rest of my family at the grocery store… I even got some input into a few extras we should buy.  They say you shouldn’t shop on an empty stomach… that goes double for a post-run stomach!