Running in new cities

One of the things I love about traveling is running in new places.  Now, many of the places I travel to are not particularly conducive to running (India, Nepal, Ghana, Egypt to name a few).  Also, the way I typically travel is not conducive to running (everything has to fit in a small backpack; showers tend to be inconsistent).  However, on domestic trips, or the occasional trip to a more developed country, I love to run around a new place.  It is a great way to get a feel for a place, and it usually results in a great run because of new scenery and, often, great weather.

On a trip to Europe with my dad several years go, jet lag had me needing a nap at 4 in the afternoon, but on the upside I was wide awake before 6 every morning.  It gave me a perfect chance to run around places like Frankfurt and Amsterdam before the crowds filled the streets.  On a trip to Norway one summer, Karin and I got to do training runs for our first ever half marathon along forested paths around beautiful lakes at 10 pm, since the sun never really sets there in the summer.

Amsterdam

Running path on outskirts of Oslo, Norway

A couple of days ago Karin and I went to Portland, OR for my birthday.  Our hotel was on the waterfront of the Willamette River, and as we were walking to the hotel, I was already excited to go running!  (Non-runners tend to be baffled by this impulse.)  There was a beautiful path right along the riverfront, and there were multiple bridges crisscrossing the river, all with pedestrian/bike paths.  I didn't get in a run on my birthday because I was too busy sampling the culinary delights of Portland...

Who needs birthday cake?! Waiting in line at the
famous Voodoo Donuts.

Happy Birthday to me!

Getting pad Thai at one of Portland's many food trucks!

                                                                                 
Fortunately the next day, once I recovered from my birthday food hangover, I got in an awesome 5.5 mile run along the Willamette River.

Riverfront running path

Running across one of many bridges that cross the river.

I felt great the whole run, no doubt due to the temperature in the high 40's and lack of withering desert sun, as well as the fresh scenery.  It felt great to run on "fresh" legs...actually, fresher than they should ever be during Ironman training...I had planned to take my birthday off from training, but I accidentally also took the 2 days before my birthday off from training as well.  Oops!  Worse yet, I certainly did not take those days off from eating!  My diet has been atrocious the last few days, and consequently I was surprised I felt so good on the run.

Now it's back to regular training in Phoenix, but there are plenty of runs in other cities in my future.  Thanks to my job with the airline it is actually completely realistic for me to fly to another city just to go for a long run.  So once I start doing long runs over 10 miles, which will be right around the time thermometers in Phoenix stop going below 90 degrees, even at night, I will be heading out of town for the long runs.

Some favorite running cities I hope are in my future:

Seattle

 

San Fransisco

San Diego