Running Away from Home

As we near the end of the summer, everyone tries to squeeze in last minute vacations. Sometimes we have to pick up our training and take it with us.

The last two months, I have been traveling so often that I have been able to do only one weekend long run on my home turf. One Saturday, I woke up, scurried around the dark to find my running shoes, and tiptoed out of a beach house full of my sleeping friends for a solo 7 mile run. Once out on the roads, though, I was certainly not alone. I passed couple pushing jog strollers. Older couples strolling hand in hand. Families on bikes. I felt like I was part of a special club that knows the early hours of the morning at the beach. Despite the heat and incredible humidity (even in the early hours of the morning), I had a great workout. I returned to the beach house to smiling friends bearing coffee and blueberry pancakes. To me, the perfect start to a beach vacation day.

Another Saturday morning, I found myself in Austin, Texas, there scoping out potential venues for the ZOOMA Austin 2009 event. I set out early and parked near RunTex. From there, I found the Lake Austin trail and ran with the crowds of other active Austin-ites and their dogs. RunTex puts out water at a certain point for any-and-all who are thirsty. I saw Desiree Ficker training with two friends.

Yesterday, I ran from my mother’s house in an old neighborhood whose sidewalks I used to frequent quite often, when I lived at home so many years ago. A Team In Training group was stationed at a location about a mile into my run, and they invited me to join their water break – “The bar’s open!” they called out. I made a couple other friends, too – also out running solo and looking for some conversation to break up hour-plus long runs.

It’s funny how running makes you part of a community, wherever you are. To me, that’s part of the fun of running away from your home course. You feel like you are able to touch the energy of a place and experience its flow while cruising through its streets. I never travel without bringing my running shoes with me. To me, there’s no better way to experience a place.