I had a great experience taking public transportation today. And no, I'm not referring to the verbally abusive woman asking for money on the Blue Line train this morning (raise your hand if you think calling someone -- no it wasn't me -- a b**** will get you a free handout). No, it's because I saved time and killed two birds with one stone by running part of my commute home.
At 6 p.m. I changed into my running clothes, put my bus pass, ID, credit card and some emergency cash in my back zippered pocket, grabbed my cell phone, iPod and keys and headed out the door, feeling light and unencumbered. The distance from my office to the Red Line station is three miles so I ran through the neighborhood streets of the mid-Wilshire district, into the tree-lined streets with million-dollar homes in Hancock Park, then into Koreatown, turning down Western for the last quarter mile to the Red Line station at Wilshire. It took about 30 minutes but I saved time because I'd gotten my exercising out of the way. And it put me in control of my commute because I didn't have to wait for the bus and be at its mercy. I know the Red Line train comes at 6:41 and by changing up my pace, I can make sure to get there in time.
I took the Red Line to downtown, where I switched to the Blue Line and pretty much slept until my stop. But it didn't matter that I was tired or that it was late (7:45) because I didn't need to find motivation to run or go to the gym. I parked my car at my apartment at 8:01 p.m. and felt so good. I had plenty of time to cook dinner (not reheat a meal or nuke a veggie burger, but actually cook) and even treated myself to a beer.
This is a good option for me in the summertime, when it's still light out when I'm running and it feels safe being on the train a little later than I normally would be. Sure, I would have preferred the city planners to have some foresight and extend the Red Line farther west when it was originally built, but this isn't a bad backup plan.
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