Run All The Hills

The heat has really been terrible for me for the past few summers. It's either from age or is worse due to the anxiety medication I take. (Read into SSRIs and heat tolerance) It can get so uncomfortable for me that I need to cover my face from the sun so I added a hat with more coverage. This one has ponytail access! Hat:
Also hills in background bc I'm so happy I found some in a relatively low traffic neighborhood nearby.

Found some new hills!

Las Colinas Runnin’ on the Trail

Staying motivated after the Tokyo Marathon was challenging, especially during the summer, but even more so with all the other life things that happened this year. While I am not sure I want to do another full marathon, I do know I need to keep moving. So I signed up for my first Duathlon (Run-Bike-Run) in March. Nothing crazy, but something to focus training on. Happy New Goals to you all for 2024!

Finally some mild weather. So I took a little drive to run Horseshoe Trail along Grapevine Lake. It got dark real fast though! Reminded me of McAllister Park in San Antonio.

Dear City of Irving, Texas - City Hall , I'm not a long time resident, and honestly I only see myself here for one more year mostly because I haven't found my next stop yet. However, as someone that has been here for almost two years, I have questions...

1. What's up with all the sidewalks that don't continue or connect? Why should people have to continuously cross roads just to stay on some sort of safe walkway?

2. What's up with all the road island dividers on almost every street?

3. Why does the "Urban Center" only have .25 miles of bike lanes? (Don't give me the campion trail as the only alternative, there aren't even any street bike lanes that lead to it in the urban center area)

4. Why are we putting more office buildings and apartment complexes but no actual work on walkability or pedestrian safety?

5. So far, for new construction, valuable sidewalk or even "dirt walk" is blocked for a considerable amount of time... Why?

I'm attaching pictures with specific comments:

I have quite a few examples of sidewalks that do not connect.. (a)

This "dirt walk" was terrible before as I've seen people in wheelchairs try to navigate it with much struggle. On the other side of road, is the Toyota Music Center complex where the sidewalk only exists inside the complex between parking and the actual businesses.. why wouldn't you have made the developers put a sidewalk along the street? (b)
Now that there's a new development, it's blocked so all people need to be on the street for a brief moment... For me as a runner, unsafe yes, but my main concern are disabled people... (b)
Also see the apartment development on Las Colinas Blvd - the sidewalk has been blocked at numerous points throughout the construction - there are people in scooters and wheelchairs that live near the lake. This isn't safe. (no picture)

Horrible island dividers all over the place - is there a use here? Seems like a waste of valuable space that could be used better for more bike lanes and wider sidewalks. (c)

We could probably also use some major speed enforcement along roads in the urban center and surrounding areas especially if you continue to require pedestrians to cross roadways to get to sidewalks or cyclists commuting or training. Reason being, these are residential, workplace, entertainment, and recreation destinations...

I tried to find a plan on the city website but I couldn't find one. I will keep searching.

In the end, you have a very diverse community here and so far the current infrastructure is a huge diservice to the people who live and work in the area.

Anyway, I know nothing will change during my remaining time here but I hope you realize that you have plenty of opportunity to make it a desired place to live and work safely for all residents. Thank you.

I needed a major break from road and concrete. Back to trails!

It’s finally happening. I’m running my Tokyo 2020 race in 2023! I hadn’t posted much during this training period mostly because it was HARD. I moved to a new city, with a new job, and it’s been a long three years. I wasn’t as motivated to train for a full marathon and not having my usual support from home (long time friends and family) made it much more difficult. I couldn’t hold my attention for long runs so I went back to listening to music every so often. I couldn’t stay consistent with running so I switched to 2/1 intervals. I did what I could training wise but I feel very unprepared. The strict cut off times are intimidating as well..
However, whether I finish or not is not the point anymore. It’s the experience. It’s the journey that I have taken since I started long distance running. Running is a blessing. The friends it gave me, the memories, the accomplishments, the learning more and more about myself every run - every time. I would not be here in this beautiful country of Japan participating in a World Marathon without running. I would not have the confidence to do hard things without running. I am here to enjoy every step and push forth even when it hurts. I am here to Run All The Hills.

Some pics from my run. The bubbles made little stars in the water 😄

Chilly 10 this morning with the - another sidewalk that ends but at least there were hills and some pretty trees!

Got some miles done with the this morning! A lil dark to take pics but it was a great route and I was finally shown where there are some hills!