Thu, Mar 5, 2020 - 22K - 02:30:00
22K After-Work Run Home from Work via Plänterwald
A few hours before I took off on my after-work run, I received a message from my Dutch tandem partner that the April 5th Rotterdam Marathon was canceled, which considering the current rapidly spreading Corona virus, was not unexpected but still hard news, especially with only three weeks to go and right at my crescendo of training, in the past weeks feeling stronger and stronger on my 20K-40K training runs. Right after that, I was informed that the 10K Hannah and I were going to run on Sunday was canceled.  
 
In juxtaposition to this unwelcomed news, the weather outside looked promising for another strong run through Berlin, a continuation of my marathon training for a now unknown next marathon, wherever and whenever that will be.  
 
This evening's run was via Plänterwald, and so I took off east for a couple blocks, then cut down Ruschestraße, which is the heart of Lichtenberg and for me, uncharted territory. Gentrification seems to be growing quite a bit in that area, the run down to the Spree being a mixture of new, high-income apartments and towering socialist-style housing blocks.  
 
Crossing over the Eisenbrücke an den Treptowers, I turned left onto Puschkinallee which began a multi-kilometer, straight run down to Baumschulenweg, then turned right and basically ran westward for another 90 minutes until I got home.  
 
The post-sun-down, night-time skyscapes with burning orange along the horizon and the planet Venus prominently in the heavens, were breathtaking. While enjoying these beautiful nighttime sights, I received a message from Gisi that our half marathon on Saturday had been cancelled, a triple whammy for the day. 
 
I kept a good pace all the way home, afterwards crashing on the couch with wonderfully sizzling legs that are getting stronger and stronger for a marathon now only three weeks away that is unfortunately not going to happen.