Day 3 February 14, 2008
It’s quite a bit colder than my last outing. The temperature is back to the more seasonal low 20s F. People waiting for the bus on State Road are wrapped in scarves and bouncing to keep warm. There is a brisk wind blowing and my chilly cheeks are burning from the wind. One nice thing about running is, that no matter how cold you are starting out, you’re sure to be warm in fifteen minutes. Of course this only holds if you are properly dressed and if you are not running in International Falls, Minnesota. I’m wearing long running pants, a jacket over my long sleeve top, gloves and a hat. I’d be cold if standing still; but, as long as I keep moving, I’ll be generating plenty of heat.
Today’s route is to Upper Darby’s corner bounded by PECO’s golf course and Haverford Township. West Chester Pike forms a third side to the triangular area known as Kirklyn. Running the perimeter first, I pass Havertown’s 19083 Post Office. My section of Upper Darby is 19082. Neither 19081 nor 19085 is adjacent to these areas. This reinforces my suspicion that zipcode allocation was determined by a map, darts and a drinking game. Since 19084 doesn’t exist at all, it must have been the dart that was lost.
While I had hoped to cover this entire neighborhood today, as soon as I enter this warren, I know that I can’t complete it in one run. Because the section is triangular, its streets intersect irregularly. I have to backtrack several times. I pass the same long expanse of white picket fence from two directions. Then an unforgettable double set of blue garage doors surprise me around a curve, which I could have sworn I had already passed. There is a house on Cloverdale Avenue that I pass twice which looks like it is from Los Angeles in the 1920’s. Back in these streets I know there exists what my sons called “The Hidden Playground” but I don’t come across it on today’s trip.
Along West Chester Pike there is a large apartment and commercial property with its own weave of parking lots and driveways. I conveniently decide that such byways will not be included in my thru-run. Likewise cemetery drives, footpaths and alleys will not be counted though some see more daily traffic than the regular roads. If they don’t have a PennDOT and USPS approved street designation, I’m not going to consider them either. I don’t need even more tally fodder.
Distance: 5.51 miles Time: 52 min 15 sec Pace: 9:29 min/mile
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