That must be for me Bare Lee. I would never laugh at your paved mole hill.
Least you're doing it barefoot. Nice job on the long runs, they are addicting, and even in the city they can be adventures.
To paraphrase Stephen Stills, 'When you can't run the routes you love, love the routes you run, love the routes you run.'
Actually Rick, that wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, although you do seem to be the only trail runner who regularly reports here. Of course, as an avid hiker in my former life, I would love to run trails too, but you're right, there's something to be said about the urban long run. As I've said before, I really love the way it transforms one's perception of city landscapes and geography. In fact, today I'm thinking of running the same damn route I ran Tuesday. It's so cool with the bends in the river, the many descents down from the bluffs to the banks and back up again, and all the surface types (smooth asphalt, sidewalks, mild chipseal, wood, brick, rough asphalt, even a little gravel). My only concern would be running two 11-milers so close to each other, but I kinda want to see how my legs handle it. I might be ready. And if I stall, that route has lots of bail-outs at around 8, 9, and 10 miles.
Anyway, as long as I'm writing this, I mis' well report that yesterday I drove the car instead of run-commuting, because I had to take my dad to the eye doctor in the afternoon, and then had an OK "Back ST" session (Lower Back, Lats & Obliques). (Sorry Sced, took the 'core' out of my core workout again, I felt like too much of a sell-out.) I was a little congested, so the effort level was medium grade, but somehow I got a pretty good pump anyway, which is unusual, because my back has been the hardest zone to work and develop. I think it was mostly the Landmines. Those puppies are fantastic. I can't believe it took me so long to discover them. I'm up to 150 lbs now. I could almost feel my lats adding mass then and there. The first 15-30 seconds of this video show the exercise, then he makes an attempt at talking: