~11 miles @ ~10 min/mi

'Tis the season for cars to stop suddenly, to avoid hitting Santa in the crosswalks as he is out on a tempo run! Or so one might imagine, given the unusual politeness of drivers today. The old right hamstring has been tight for the past week, and its soreness is slightly exacerbated by yesterday's Tai Chi "accident" (attempting to stand on one foot, I almost topple — must work on balance!). Today's run starts off past the locked-shut gates of the University of Maryland track, where two young guys wave and then proceed to climb the fence. I don't feel spry enough to join them in speedwork, so west it is along University Blvd to Northwest Branch, downstream to the confluence with Northeast Branch, then back up to Paint Branch Trail and Lake Artemesia, and thence closing the loop across campus.

At Melrose Skateboard Park on the Northwest Branch Trail in Hyattsville, MD I pause to photograph the captivating yin-yang-curvy decorative images on the asphalt and the three-panel beautiful Hokusai-like mosaic by Valerie Theberge.

Runkeeper and Garmin concur on GPS data.rough splits by the Garmin: 10:39 + 10:01 + 9:34 + 9:34 + 9:32 + 12:05 (photo op!) + 9:33 + 9:24 + 9:30 + 9:24 + 9:30 and final fraction at 9:27 min/mi pace.

^z - 2014-01-01