Running During my Travels
Despite a busy travel schedule, I have been trying to keep my running up. Actually, the past week or so has been rather interesting. During that time I have had runs in Orleans, Paris, Houston (on the treadmill and at Memorial Park) and Cancun.
For my run in Orleans I ran along the Loire. It was fairly early on a Friday morning so there really were not too many people exercising. Actually, the most interesting thing about running along the river was how close to nature it felt despite being in such a large city. At one point, I followed a path that took me lower and closer to the river itself. I had to watch for all the rabbits that were running across my path. (Kind of reminded me of early morning workouts with WillHills.) Running here I witnessed plenty of scenes that reminded me of great art works by the masters.
Running in Malaga reminded me of running in Miami except that instead of seeing a lot of retirees from New York I saw a lot of retirees from the UK. For my workout along the beach I ran into plenty of people out for either their morning run/walk but I was probably the youngest one out there. Running here was easy thanks to the mild climate and the great view of the sea.
My run in Paris was my usual run from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre (about a four mile run). This was also done early on a weekday morning. I did not have rabbits to dodge like I did in Orleans but I did have to deal with a sidewalk made slippery by the morning cleaning crews near the shops. Both of my runs in France felt easy because of the “cool” temperatures (at least for those of that are used to Houston’s intense heat).
Back in Houston, I had to do one run on the treadmill and another one at Memorial Park. I used to hate running on treadmills but I guess I have gotten used to it: it gives me a chance to get caught up with news (world news via CNN and my building’s news via my neighbors). While my run at Memorial Park gave me a chance to see friends I had not seen in a while. Of course, running at Memorial Park meant having to deal with the heat! I really struggled with this.
In Cancun I chose to run on a popular trail that starts in “Cancun Centro” on the street that takes you into the hotel zone. Of all the places I worked out, this had to be one of the most crowded with lots of runners, in-line skaters and a few cyclists (but they were paddling at a more casual pace on the trail). Even though this was one of the busiest places to workout, my run went uninterrupted: people always kept to one side and always gave me the right of way (unlike Memorial Park where your path may be blocked by people walking three abreast … with strollers!). Even a few people that were unloading trucks and crossing the path always stopped their work to let you by. I really loved this trail! In addition to those of us getting our work out on the trail, in the park that is the median for the inbound and outbound lanes at the entrance, there were various groups of people doing futbol drills, participating in boot camps exercises and a few running groups doing repeats. I also spotted a few hardcore cyclists racing along on the street (the trail would have been too busy for them) with a support vehicle trailing them. This all took place on an early (8AM) Monday morning – a lot of activity to start the week off.
I was in quite a few different places with very different people and environments. Still, you could always spot the serious runners by their clothing, their watches and their running style. It was comforting to feel welcomed by all these runners with a quick hello, smile, wave or conversation whether I was in Malaga, Paris or Cancun.
I was also approached by people in street clothes during my trip as I am in Houston and asked to run for them. For example, at the start of my run in Paris, I was approached by a local. He was speaking in French and caught me off guard – I was focused on setting my watch. I asked him to repeat what he had said and he smiled and asked me in English to run an extra mile for him.
