This whole being okay with where I am business is a lot easier said than done. While I’m glad that I am able to get out the door most days, it’s been hard to swallow the fact that this is going to be a long process to get back to form. If it was just that, just working to get back into shape or back into race shape, it would probably still be a little frustrating. Unfortunately, since it’s working back from injury, there is an additional element of concern over re-injury. Ultimately, that’s probably a good thing though because it’s forcing me to be smart. It’s forcing me to slow down.
When I am able to remind myself that where I am is okay and I just need to relax and slow down I’ve actually been able to find ways to enjoy it. For example, we’ve taken two-weekend getaway trips recently, one to Asheville and one to Chattanooga. Normally, those trips are centered around some adventure run that I’ve concocted. Those runs usually take up most of the morning and our day together starts a little late. Slowing down has allowed me to enjoy these trips in a different way.
In the fall when we went up to the Smokies, I was so bummed about not being able to do a big run that I almost forgot to enjoy the trip. That wasn’t the case with these trips.
Asheville, NC
Our first weekend getaway was a quick trip to Asheville, North Carolina. Normally on these weekend getaways I am up early and out the door for some kind of run or race. That ends up being one of the highlights of the trip for me. In my current state, that hour and a half or two hour adventure run isn’t in the cards so I took a different approach.
Instead of being out the door early to run, Amanda and I took our time the in morning and decided to grad coffee and breakfast then walk around town. The change of pace was definitely a welcome one. In the fall, I wasted so much energy worrying about what I couldn’t do that I didn’t take the time to appreciate what I could do.
We hit Vortex Doughnuts, which are among the best you’ll find. After grabbing coffee we walked around and popped in and out of a few of the local shops. After a few hours of wandering up and down the quirky streets of Asheville, I ventured off to the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor’s Center. I got a few miles in on the trails to quiet my restlessness. Nothing crazy or overly adventurous, but a solid run on really nice trails. The parkway was closed due to the government shutdown, but I met a really cool local guy that was walking his dog and he gave me some solid advice on what breweries to hit that afternoon/evening. We decided on Highland and Wicked Weed.
Chattanooga, TN
We originally planned an early February trip home to see family and ski, but some unforeseen work things forced us to stay local. We went with the old standby, Chattanooga. I really enjoyed the mellow approach we took in Asheville, so we did the same with this trip too. We started things off with a trip to our favorite coffees shop, Mean Mug, and then found donuts at Koch’s Bakery. The theme to slowing down seems to be coffee and donuts in the morning.
Following our coffee and donut walk, I drove over to the Guild/Hardy trail head on Lookout mountain. I ran up to Craven House before turning back and heading down. Even though this run is on a mountain, it’s really light work. The trail is an old railroad bed that wraps it’s way around and up the mountain. It would be a cool place to take the Slate sometime.
After a easy run, Amanda and I walked all over Chattanooga hitting our favorite spots. We decided to catch a showing of Free Solo at the Aquarium IMAX theater, which turned out to be great call. That movie is incredible and was well deserving of the Oscar for best documentary. Nat Geo is currently airing it, so I recommend checking it out – but if you can see it in IMAX do it.
North GA & Western NC Waterfalls
It’s been unusually rainy as of late here in Georgia. I saw a graphic somewhere, maybe the news, maybe twitter who knows, but it said that Atlanta had more rain than Seattle in 2018 and that hasn’t slowed down at all in 2019. Undeterred, Amanda and I decided to head north on a couple different occasions to see how the swelling rivers impacted the waterfalls in north Georgia and Western North Carolina. This turned out to be a great move as they have been raging lately.
What I’m Reading/Listening to/Liking
Runner’s World | The Most Popular Routes in US Metro Areas
These top running route lists seem to pop up in one of my social feeds every now and again and I almost always get pulled into reading them. Given how much I travel, it’s usually fun to see how many of these routes I’ve run parts of. They also give me good ideas for the next time I’m in a new city. I found this list particularly interesting because it was compiled using Strava data. Scrolling through the list, I’ve done all or part of 14 of the 40 that are listed, including a couple in the same run. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Atlanta | Beltline Eastside Trail
As soon as the weather starts to get nice in and around Atlanta, the Beltline is the move, so if you are going to run it you better get out there early. Even if you don’t run it, I still recommend checking it out if you’re in the A.
NYC | Central Park
I ran this loop when I was up in New York last fall and it was part of an epic 17 mile tour of the city. This is definitely a great place to get away from the city block running. It’s also a fantastic people watching run.
SF | Embarcadero
A few years ago I ran from the Embarcadero out to Golden Gate Park which has you pass by all of the famous SF piers and gives you some great views of Alcatraz. This was one of those runs where I felt like I could keep going forever. When I reached the Golden Gate Bridge, I was 5-6 miles in and still had to run back to the train. I’d never been there before though, so of course I had to run across the bridge. Nothing like an accidental 15+ miles to kick off a weekend.
LA | Santa Monica
Another great people watching run. This one follows the bike path from Santa Monica pier all the way down to Venice Beach. I’ve done this one a few times and it has a very California cool feel to it. It feels like you are in an episode of Baywatch or the OC or maybe playing GTA.
Philly | Schuylkill River Trail
Philly was the first city I lived in outside of home or school and while this might not have been my favorite run when I lived there, it’s my favorite run in the downtown area. You run up past boathouse row and trace the river as far as you like. My favorite version of this run crosses the river at the falls bridge and comes back down Kelly Drive on the other side. No matter how you do this run, you have to finish with a sprint up the Rocky steps.
Seattle | Lake Union
Over a handful of trips to Seattle, I have come to really enjoy the PNW vibe. I’ve run part of the Lake Union loop a few times and I particularly enjoy the seeing the house boats and Gas Works Park. Seattle is another place that I’ve been fortunate to stay in a few different parts of town, so I’ve done some great runs, but it’s hard to go wrong with Lake Union if you are in the downtown area.
While we are on the subject of running while traveling, I’ll give a quick plug to Great Runs. It is a website that compiles all the best running routes in cities around the world. As soon as I know I’m traveling somewhere, it’s my first stop. It features all the popular local spots, as well as some more off the beaten path places to run, so they cover all of your options whether you are in town for a day or a week.
REI Co-Op Journal | The Great American Rail Trail
It is no secret that I am a big fan of rail trails, greenways, and bike paths. They are a great way to get outside and get some miles in, whether you are biking, running, or walking. I’m a huge fan of being able to get off of the road, especially when biking. I consider myself to be a fairly confident cyclist when it comes to road riding, but every time I roll out the door it seems like I have at least one close call with a car. Maybe I’m overreacting but I just don’t trust drivers.
We’re fortunate to have access to a few really nice bike paths in the Atlanta area. I’m talking about destination rides/runs. On a Saturday or a Sunday we are heading to areas that we otherwise wouldn’t really have any reason to go to, and through that we have found some other cool stuff. Looking at you Dutch Monkey Donuts.
Given my proclivity for rail trails, I just about stopped in my tracks when I came across this article on REI’s Co-Op journal. It is a 4,000 mile multi-use trail that runs from Washington DC to Washington state. Bucket list ride anyone?
One of the most interesting things to come out of this story is the fact that nearly 50 percent of the proposed route is already complete. At first glance, I thought that this would be an incredibly cool idea, but one that would remain that way for a long time. To see that they have already made some headway is much more encouraging.
Who knows when and if it will ever be finished, but I am 100 percent behind any plan that is going to get people out and moving, make them feel safe while doing so, and give them an opportunity to visit places that they otherwise might not. Yes, yes, and yes.
Rhone – The Pursuit | Ryan Petry Q&A
Ryan Petry has become one of my favorite follows on Instagram (@rypetry). He is a pro mountain biker based in Boulder, Colorado which is cool, but I really enjoy following him because he has this great sense of adventure. For example, in this Q&A with Rhone (one of his sponsors) he talks about ride he did from Boulder to Crested Butte. I don’t know much about the geography of Colorado, but I remember seeing his chronicling of this ride on his IG stories and it took him two 12 hour days to complete. The epic gets thrown around a lot. I would say that deserves it. I wish I had the balls to go for something that big.
“Since I have been going there I had this idea that one day I wanted to ride my bike there. Last fall I went for it.”
Ryan Petry to Rhone
I am also a fan of seeing companies support athletes that are doing things like this. It’s easy to sponsor people that bring in the wins, but it’s cool to see different companies start to embrace athletes that have a personality and seem to genuinely enjoy what they are doing. I’m not saying that I’m going to go out and by a bunch of Rhone apparel because they sponsor a cool guy that I saw on the internet, but anytime a company is supporting someone like this, I’m usually more likely to give it a look.
Check out the full article on Rhone’s blog.
I’ve fallen off the pace a little bit with writing, but I’m hoping to get back on track over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I’ll have something on a recent trip to Arizona and the build up to Ragnar coming soon. Until next time.
Certified Rollers 