Runner's World has this feature called "Rave Run" that highlights a really beautiful, scenic run somewhere in the world. One month, the Chicago Lakefront path was the featured rave run. It's true, the Lakefront is a brilliantly beautiful place to run. But, of course, I had to drive there, which added an extra 40 minutes to any of my long runs once I drove there, parked, ran, then drove home.
But that was last winter. This winter we live .6 miles (by my Garmin) from a beautiful forest preserve path—my very own rave run. Crazy as it might sound, proximity to a good place to run was on my house wish list, along with good schools, a fireplace, and two full bathrooms. After nearly six months of having such easy access to this unadulterated beauty, I still can't get over it. Most days, it's like having my own private forest, as I'm more likely to see groups of deer than I am to meet another person on the trails. Of course, since I had my camera with me for Saturday's easy three-miler, I did not encounter any deer (I had a stare-off with one on Friday though). I did see another runner though, which is worth noting only because the path was snowy. Really quite snowy. Running in the snow is fun. I love winter running. But I hardly ever saw other people running in the snow in the city. [Yesterday Dean and I ran on the streets because he doesn't have the snow traction thingies I use to run in snow/ice and saw about a dozen other runners braving the snow and cold.]
To fully appreciate how much I love living this close to the woods, you'll have to imagine my typical city run. Both my three-mile and four-mile loops involved at least six busy street crossings. Some of those didn't have crosswalks, and the time I spent waiting to cross streets sometimes totalled five minutes or more. By comparison, I cross one busy street to get into the woods, then a few more busy streets depending how many miles I'm running along the path. But in between, there are no cars or dirty streets--just trees and deer and the occasional runner or biker. It's running nirvana. If you don't believe me, see for yourself. The first three photos are of the bridge I cross over at the start of the running path. It's so pretty.
But that was last winter. This winter we live .6 miles (by my Garmin) from a beautiful forest preserve path—my very own rave run. Crazy as it might sound, proximity to a good place to run was on my house wish list, along with good schools, a fireplace, and two full bathrooms. After nearly six months of having such easy access to this unadulterated beauty, I still can't get over it. Most days, it's like having my own private forest, as I'm more likely to see groups of deer than I am to meet another person on the trails. Of course, since I had my camera with me for Saturday's easy three-miler, I did not encounter any deer (I had a stare-off with one on Friday though). I did see another runner though, which is worth noting only because the path was snowy. Really quite snowy. Running in the snow is fun. I love winter running. But I hardly ever saw other people running in the snow in the city. [Yesterday Dean and I ran on the streets because he doesn't have the snow traction thingies I use to run in snow/ice and saw about a dozen other runners braving the snow and cold.]
To fully appreciate how much I love living this close to the woods, you'll have to imagine my typical city run. Both my three-mile and four-mile loops involved at least six busy street crossings. Some of those didn't have crosswalks, and the time I spent waiting to cross streets sometimes totalled five minutes or more. By comparison, I cross one busy street to get into the woods, then a few more busy streets depending how many miles I'm running along the path. But in between, there are no cars or dirty streets--just trees and deer and the occasional runner or biker. It's running nirvana. If you don't believe me, see for yourself. The first three photos are of the bridge I cross over at the start of the running path. It's so pretty.
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