Virginia is for... runners

So, when I arrived in my brand-spanking-new hometown of Alexandria, Virginia last night, I did what any good runner would do. I ditched my bags at the hotel, and headed out for a run.

Running down brick-lined sidewalks is an aesthetic pleasure (but not ankle-friendly). That said, I was one happy runner when I got to the Potomac. I swear a runner designed the parks here. Long, gorgeous, well-groomed gravel trails wind alongside beautiful landscaping with a view over the river. Throw in a little springtime sunshine, and you have the ingredients for a perfect run.

A girl could get used to this.

This morning, I followed up with a visit to Pacers, a local running store, to get the inside scoop on group runs, races (at which you'll find me handing out cups of water and cheering on the sidelines for most of the 2013 racing season...), and other events.

And I saw this...

"Virginia is for runners" t-shirt

I haven't bought one of the Virginia is for Runners t-shirts.

Yet.

It won't fit over ,my expanding baby-belly.

But.

I'm glad to know I'm in good company here.

What's the first thing you look for when you move to a new neighborhood?

Postcards from Austin

Sometimes postcards get lost in the mail and the sender returns home before the postcard arrives...

Greetings from Austin (and Happy New Year)!

Ringing in the New Year at Wine Dive in Austin

There is an abundance of good food, good running, and good recreation in Austin. Trying to pack all of that into one postcard would be like trying to shove an oversized suitcase into the overhead compartment on a regional jet. It just shouldn't be done...

(Read: You can expect more than one postcard from this trip.)

So, first, let's talk about the running...

Run 1: Covert Park at Mount Bonnell

Covert Park, at Mount Bonnell, is the Highest Point in Austin!

Plaque at the parking area

It is (please don't laugh) 775 feet above sea level.

So... perhaps calling Bonnell a "mount" is too strong a term, but the views of the Austin city skyline and of the lake/river are worth the many-stair climb to get to the "peak."

Some of the many stairs to get to the top of the "mount"

Full disclosure: I didn't run this trail, I hiked it, but the route would make for a nice, short, hilly course or a useful location for hill repeats. I did spy runners among the photo-taking tourists.

Trail to the top (alternate route if you want to skip the stairs)

View from the peak

The view of lake-side real estate made me wonder what it's like to live in a house in which thousands of strangers can look straight into your backyard every day...

The views take in the lake and sprawling real estate below

Run 2: Lady Bird Johnson Trail (aka Town Lake Trail)

The Town Lake Trail is, far and away, the most popular runner, biker, hiker, dog-walker spot in the city.

Trailhead at Congress Ave

We went for a run at dusk, thinking we'd need to hurry to make it back to our hotel before dark. But the trail was surprisingly busy, even after sunset.

North side of the Town Lake Trail through downtown Austin

More Town Lake Trail

The trail goes under, over, around, and through a series of bridges...

Crossing under a bridge on Town Lake Trail

View from one of the bridges along the trail

View of downtown Austin from a trail-side pavilion.

And past some unique art...

Artists are very creative with the scenery.
Old pilings become a sea monster in Town Lake.

Call it street art. Call it graffiti. Either way, keep your eyes open for whimsical messages, social commentary, and random acts of art.

"The only magic I still believe in is love"

Pac-Man graffiti tells you "don't give up."

"Don't give up" graffiti seen in the distance (middle right) from the pedestrian bridge. Click here for closeup.

Ghost bikes remind people (especially drivers) about cycling safety.

Ghost bikes

And there's art every runner could love. (The sculpture is cool, but I suspect the artist wasn't a runner. No runner has ever bent in quite that way... Trust me. I tried.)

Running man statue near Town Lake Trail

Run 3: More Town Lake Trail and an accidental 5k

On our last day in town, Hubby and I headed out to explore the other side of the lake.

Crossing the bridge at Congress Ave

The view from the south side is pretty impressive...

View of the city from Town Lake Trail

As we were running, we heard the distant crackle of a loudspeaker.

Then we heard the national anthem.

We paused.

And when the song ended, we both said "There's a race!" So, we did what any good runner-tourist would do, we bandited we ran over to the starting line of the Commitment Day 5k to take photos and cheer on the runners.

Yes, that's me looking like a bandit.
No. I did not bandit the race.

When the runners passed, we took off to finish our run.

We said hi to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at Town Lake

We crossed back over the race course on the Pfluger pedestrian bridge and cheered some more.

... and we finished our run at 24 Diner.
(More on that later.)

Rhode Island running

Welcome to the state where I grew up!
Today's post is a long-overdue addition to the running travel guide series.

Image source

The tiny state of Rhode Island, which is the smallest state with the longest name,* is a runner's paradise with miles of bike path and hiking trails. (I suspect the state has more miles of bike path per capita than any other state, but I'm still digging up the data to verify my hunch.)

Here are just a few of my favorite places to run in Lil Rhody.

Coastal Communities

• Barrington, Bristol:
• The East Bay Bike Path is a 14.5 mile route that hugs the coast between Providence to Bristol. The route is flat, with plenty of views out over the water, but is less shady than other bike paths in the state.
• Colt State Park is another local running favorite.
• Kingston, North Kingstown, South Kingstown:
• One of my favorite places to run in the southern part of Rhode Island is the William C. O'Neill Bike Path (known to locals as the "South County Bike Path"). The route is shady and flat, with plenty of varied scenery (from woods to marshes and through tiny, quaint New England towns).
• Narragansett:
• No run in Narragansett would be complete without a run along the sea wall, past the Coast Guard House and under The Towers. The local newspaper, the Narragansett Patch, offers several suggestions for specific running routes.



Narragansett Towers seen in the distance from Narragansett Beach

• Newport:
• The 3.5 mile Cliff Walk is a tourist attraction that also brings out plenty of locals. Just beware that while the path is flat and easily navigable in most places, there are a few spots with uncertain footing. Walk, don't run, those spots. This route is best early in the morning or on weekdays when tourist crowds are light.

  

  View from the Cliff Walk in Newport

• Also, consider meeting up with the Fun on the Run (social run club) group or the Newport Run & Chug Club.

Inland

• Cranston, Warwick:
• The Tuesday Night Turtles meet every week for a run, starting from Pawtuxet Park. The group also hosts weekly Sunday runs.
• Cumberland, Lincoln, Woonsocket:
• The Blackstone River Bikeway is my go-to spot for running in northern Rhode Island. Nearly 50 miles in length, the path offers flat and shaded out-and-back run options of any distance.

  

  Bridge over the Blackstone River

  

  Blackstone River

• The 2.5 mile route around Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods is another local favorite and offers a hillier workout.
• Providence:
• If you're going to be in Providence, Waterplace Park is a tempting place to run, but the cobblestone walkways are rough on the ankles. Save the park for a stroll during one of the summertime WaterFire events.

  

  Waterplace Park during WaterFire

• Instead, hit the East Side for a hilly run through historic residential neighborhoods and the Brown University campus.
• For a less hilly but equally beautiful run, the locals head to Blackstone Blvd, a tree-lined street with a wide pedestrian path that runs the length of the oversized median.

Other Rhode Island Running Resources:

• The Rhode Island Road Runners organize weekly workouts in Smithfield and Johnston, and host a series of races throughout the year.
• You can find a detailed list of Rhode Island running clubs from Running in the USA

*The official name of the state is "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." And while we're talking about names and trivia... No matter what they tell you on Family Guy, there is no town of Quahog (but there are plenty of similarities between the cartoon and real-life places).

Image source

Are you involved in a Rhode Island running group, or do you have a favorite running route that is not listed here? Send me the info and I'll add it to the list.

For more reviews of running routes and other travel information, see Places I've Run.

Word of the day: Gallivant

Do you get word of the day emails?

I signed up for the ones from Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster a couple of years ago. Truth be told, I just trash the emails when I'm on vacation, or over-busy (like now, with the two jobs and the travel), but more often than not, I read them. Occasionally a word becomes an excellent addition to my repertoire, or strikes a chord given the circumstances in my life on that day.

Today's word falls in the latter category:

gallivant \GAL-uh-vant\
verb
1: to go about usually ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex
2: to travel, roam, or move about for pleasure

OK - Definition #1 doesn't suit me at all, unless going for an evening run with Hubby counts as ostentatious "going about" with a member of the opposite sex? I will have to ask him about this when he gets home. Heaven forbid he ruin my sterling reputation!

But the second definition - traveling, roaming, or moving about for pleasure - suits my lifestyle, especially for the next few months, perfectly. This word-of-the-day showed up in the same pile of emails that contained travel reminders for trips I'm taking over the next three months plus a boatload of race registration suggestions for 5k, 10k, and half marathons to run in the fall.

The travel definition fits.
And maybe running should be considered "mov(ing) about for pleasure?" Certainly hiking must be gallivanting.

This is where I was a year ago this month: Gallivanting in Olympic National Park.

I suppose this mountain goat was gallivanting, too?

In conclusion: I gallivant!

Have you done any gallivanting lately?

Run San Diego

My recent trip was the inspiration for a series of travel-run posts about San Diego. Here is the final installment of gratuitous commentary about running in So Cal:

Having to pick a favorite run in San Diego is like having to pick my favorite wine: sometimes I want something bright and floral, sometimes I want something more intense. So here, in no particular order, are runs that I keep going back to over and over again:

Ocean Beach, from Dog Beach to Sunset Cliffs

6 miles that encompass the hippie/gritty OB seawall, urban alley running, trails so close to the bluff edge that you sometimes wonder whether or not you'll fall off (and at least one runner has, so be careful, folks!), and it's all topped off with view from the top of Ladera St hill out over the Pacific that is worth the effort expended to get up there.

Balboa Park
On-road in Balboa Park there are endless variations for runs ranging from a couple of miles to a dozen. Off-road, there are well-groomed dirt trails with shady scenery and some killer hills. (See here for more details.) The scenery and people watching in the park are fantastic, too.

The only downside to the park: I am certain I have spoiled more than my fair share of wedding, engagement, and quinceanera photos by being "that sweaty runner" in the background. If you are one of those people who has been sweaty-runner photobombed: I'm sorry!

Torrey Pines
Oh, that hill... One quarter mile and 400 feet of elevation change with some of the most break-your-heart beautiful scenery in the 360-degree view from the top. In all my travels, I have never found a prettier place to do (painful) hill repeats.

Photo courtesy of: SDR