Running at Penguin Park

I ran three loops today around Penguin Park, a local landmark in the Kansas City northland. The total damage in the 110-degree heat index was 4.5 miles, and it felt like 15 miles of running in the mid-50's. This is a path I used to run when I first moved to KC back in 2003. I rented an apartment at a complex right next to the park when I was tired of living in a hotel, and I remember walking across the parking lot and running around the park one to one-and-a-half times. Those were the days when I struggled to run three miles. I also recall trying to run in the cold and ice and wind of that winter. I wasn't real fond of that apartment, and it's funny that today is a Thursday. On most Thursdays the girl upstairs would have people over and I would be kept awake to the sound of chairs scraping above the ceiling and people talking and laughing past 3 a.m. No, I don't miss that apartment at all. On the upside, it looks like they painted the buildings so they look a little better.

I've determined that it doesn't matter how much shade there is, because running when it's this hot and humid just sucks the life out of you. I was going to run 6 miles, and most of the path was under the cover of trees. But three times around was plenty. At first I thought it might go a little better than my outing at Happy Rock Park a couple of weeks ago, but hot is hot. I hate winter so much that I'm not going to complain, though.