Running

Thursday Things: New Running Trails+Why I Run

Aaron and I moved exactly 13 miles away from our old house, which means that we now live just far enough away from my old running trail that was located along Allen Parkway. It’s known as Buffalo Bayou – a massive system of running and biking trails located right in the heart of Houston. 

I’ve spent some great times on those trails. I’ve run several of the Aramco Houston Half Marathons, done several Race for the Cures and completed one Chevron Houston Marathon along those trails. They are some of my favorites. So, I was sad these trails couldn’t remain part of my regular running trails. 

Running hasn’t always been an important part of my routine. In fact, I didn’t start running until I was in grad school, and it became a great form of stress release. I started off slow, and my love of running really took off from there. I’m an afternoon or an evening runner. And for me, it’s been a great way to sort of “unpack my day” after a stressful day at work. It’s nice to just sweat it out a bit. I always feel better after a run. Now that I’m working from home, I’ve been using my lunch hour to actually get up and get out for a run. It’s. been. glorious. It’s the small things to look forward to these days. 

I’m not currently training for a race at the moment, but I am running to maintain fitness, so I average about 3 miles when I go out for a run, and I try to run 2-3 days each week. Running used to be my only form of fitness, but now, I like to cross train by going on one long bike ride each week (usually on Saturday mornings), and mixing up several other days with some strength and high intensity interval training. Future house plan: install a weight rack in our garage! 

The gym is one place I haven’t felt comfortable returning to since COVID-19 hit – especially since I’ve found other forms of activity that keep me moving. I’m looking forward to the day I think it’s safe to return, and I know several friends who have started going back and they feel safe, but I’m going to give it a bit more time. 

I went on a bit of a tangent there, but all of that to say that we have several running trails to explore by the house. One I can access just down the street, and the other two are just a five minute drive. 

I had back to back meetings yesterday morning, so by noon, I was ready to get up and stretch my legs. I decided to drive over to Terry Hershey Park to check out the new trail. It did not disappoint, and I didn’t have a ton of time to get some long miles in, so I did about three before I needed to head back home. There are miles and miles of paved trails to explore and run. I need to make it over to Bear Creek Park to check out their trails as well. 

Bonus: it even has its own little free library!

One of things I love most about living in Houston is all of the urban green space that is available in such a large city. If you haven’t been to check out any of these trails for a walk with your dog, a walk with your family, a run – or a way to get up and have a walking meeting – it’s highly recommended!

Happy Thursday, Friends. We’ve almost made it!

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