Using Public Transporation to Help My Running

While I was fiddling with gadgets to add to my blog today, I played with the Kansas City links thingy, and started looking at bus schedules. I've never gotten very far in thinking about riding the bus, because the public transit system in Kansas City is pretty sucky. (For example, I would like to take public transit to the Country Club Plaza or UMKC. It would mean a couple of transfers, taking about an hour longer than it would if I drove, and the buses leave no more than once an hour, and not at all in the evening. So it really isn't practical.)

But I noticed that there is a direct line that goes from where I live to one of the places I work five miles away. Again, it's only one bus per hour, but if I don't miss that one bus, it would work with my schedule most days.

On Mondays I was not able to schedule any piano students, so I only need to be there during the noon hour to accompany the choir. I had been pondering running the five miles, accompanying the choir, and running back home. I think splitting the run would be kind of hard, and I would be all sweaty at the piano, but it would be a way to get my running in. When I told my colleague the idea, she looked at me funny.

So tonight, I was running, and I had a brilliant idea! I could take the bus to work (wearing my running clothes), and run home after work! Yeah, I'd still be at work in my running clothes, but I think people would understand. I'd be setting a good example for health and fitness. As the weather gets cooler, it wouldn't be such a bad thing, because I'd be wearing long pants instead of shorts.

And, expanding on the brilliant idea, what about taking the bus just to help me with some of the longer runs? I could get on the bus, and get off at some point, a certain number of miles away, and run home! I think it would be a nice change of scenery, and a way to support public transportation. (If lots of people would use it, maybe it would get less sucky.)

So I think I'll be taking a closer look at bus schedules.