Sometimes, the slightest excuses make good opportunities to run. I took a vacation day tonight so that I could attend my daughter's dance recital in Paterson, and that freed up my entire day for a good run. Add in some traditional Jeff Cummins procrastination, and I started my run at 2 p.m. at the Ridgewood Duck Pond, knowing that I had to be back in North Haledon by 4. Admittedly, not a lot of time for a long run, but I made the best of it, going 6.2 miles on the precisely measured County Park bike path. There was a time when I'd do 6.2 miles in my sleep, and with little hesitation or planning, but I'm in rebuilding mode these days, so 6.2 isn't a distance that I sneeze at anymore. 

I immediately discovered the beauty of training at County Park during the middle of the week. The bike path, which is packed to capacity on the weekends, was wide open in the middle of the day on a Wednesday. Add the threatening clouds that never materialized into anything, and it made for a nice, easy day of running. If only I'd gotten out there sooner!

But I'm not about to complain. The path at County Park is arguably the best running trail in North Jersey, surpassed only by the bike path around Rockland Lake State Park in Congers, N.Y., which happens to be a half-hour drive from where I live. Rockland Lake offers a 3.1-mile bike/running path, which is perfect for long training because it allows the runner to run numerous loops for very long distances, all without traveling very far from where his or her car is parked. The Ridgewood Duck Pond is 15 minutes closer, though, and that's an important distinction. In the good old days, I used to run the roads where I lived. That was a breeze in Hackensack, where there was a perfect three-mile loop near my condo building, and every inch of it was covered by a sidewalk. In North Haledon, it's not that easy, largely because very few roads have good, reliable sidewalks, forcing the runner into the road. North Haledon isn't crowded at all, but at my age, I'm not inclined to compete with automobiles for space to run, hence the reason I landed at County Park. 

With any luck, I'll be able to get in a full day of training on Saturday, and I'm still debating whether I'll run a traditional favorite, the Ridgewood Run, on Memorial Day. It may just make more sense to bypass the Ridgewood Run and put in another 12-mile run at County Park. But it's a decision that can certainly wait until tomorrow. 

Oh, my daughter's recital? Outstanding! She's taking the Hip Hop world by storm!