We recently went on a little road trip to Barnsley Resort near Atlanta! We originally wanted to check it out as a possible wedding venue, but their director of weddings was very unpleasant. We decided to go on the trip anyway, and I'm so glad we did! The resort is breathtakingly beautiful and it has a fascinating history. As it turns out, everybody else there is incredibly friendly, and they also have the most delicious pecan pie ever! After a few day trip, we had almost an eight hour drive home and decided to break it up by stopping for a short run in a few cities! Georgia - Barnsley ResortWe started with a short run around the resort for one last view of the Ruins before we got on the road! Tennessee - Trail of TearsOur first stop was in Chattanooga for a mile on a paved trail that ran along the Trail of Tears. The run was a little hilly, but absolutely beautiful! Kentucky - ArboretumNext stop, the University of Kentucky Arboretum! This was our favorite run of the entire trip!! It was a two mile paved loop through a park with a little shade and of course some hills. We walked through the rose garden after our run, then stopped for Goodfellas pizza and Crank & Boom ice cream before getting back on the road. Ohio - Smale Riverfront ParkWe had planned on our final run of the day being once we got home, but we made a stop just over the Ohio border to feed Emerson and decided to do our run there too! I ran a mile, past the Bengals stadium and on the path along the river. This ended up being a fun way to break up the long drive, and we got to run in some new places! I totaled 5.13 miles for the day at an average 9:35 pace.
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After I posted about where we ran in Vancouver and Seattle, I was planning on continuing to blog about the wonderful places my running adventures take me. Last weekend, we took Emmy on her first weekend trip to Grandma and Grandpa's and went to our go to running trail in the area, Mill Creek Park. I grew up nearby and tend to forget how much of a gem this place is, but luckily I have Jamie to remind me! It's a really gorgeous park along the lake with some neat spots to look at along the way. We started our run on the paved trail near the golf course, and after about 1.75 miles through the woods, the trail crosses the street and runs along Newport Lake. There are some nice rolling hills and it reminds me of running at Griggs Reservoir in Columbus. This section has quite a few Strava segments which meant lots of trophies for me since it's my first time running there not pregnant! Around mile four, we passed Lanterman's Mill, where I have so many memories of playing with my dad and my sisters when we were little!
Just after the mill, there is a gigantic downhill that leads to a fancy silver bridge that was my turn around point. Jamie had gone out a bit further and met me here on our way back.
J is still dealing with bursitis in his hip and is forced to slow down until it heals, so he ran over three miles with me and helped me to run my goal marathon pace, even on the uphills! We passed back through a daffodil meadow straight out of Wordsworth's poem, and Jamie thought it was funny that I can still recite that entire poem. #dork We took a different way back to the car for the last few miles, along the side of a winding road through lots of trees and past the golf course. Every time I've run this way, I always see quite a few animals, especially deer and chipmunks!
I finished with 10.51 miles at an average 9:56 pace! That's my best postpartum long run, and I'm so glad it was in a place with such pretty scenery. We will definitely come back here for our runs when we're in the area!
The absolute best part about going on vacation is exploring new places to run! This past week, we were lucky enough to do that in two different cities, since we were in Vancouver for Seawheeze Half Marathon, then spent a couple days in Seattle after. I ran with my phone out the whole time because there was so much to look at and I didn't want to miss anything! So... these are our favorite places that we found to run in those cities: Vancouver - the Seawall in Stanley ParkThe fact that I ran here three times while we were in Vancouver should tell you a little bit about how much I loved it :) I mean, just look at these views! We ran the entire length of the Seawall at some point while we were here. I ran three miles on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday, and two miles on Sunday. The lake in the middle of Stanley Park reminded us of Antrim Park in Columbus - one of my favorite spots at home. I loved watching the waves crash into the rocks and seeing the mountains in the distance. I also got to see many famous landmarks in the park, including Inukshuk, the totem poles, Girl in a Wetsuit, and the lighthouse. It was especially a great place to run at because of the flat, paved trail and I felt safe with so many other runners and walkers around! I'd run here all the time if I lived in Vancouver!! Seattle - Green Lake ParkOn Tuesday, we discovered this flat, paved trail around Green Lake just north of Downtown Seattle. One loop is almost 3 miles, and this place was gorgeous early in the morning! The weather was in the low 60s (about 15-20 degrees cooler than what I've been running in), and the sunshine peeking through the trees made this a perfect place to run! Bonus -- Mighty O Donuts is nearby and very delicious ;) Seattle - Discovery ParkWe noticed this park had lots of segments on Strava and decided to go for our run here Wednesday morning. If you stay on Loop Trail (the main loop around that park that is just under 3 miles), you'll have yourself a challenging trail run with plenty of hills, rocks, and tree roots. However, if you venture off to the South Beach and North Beach trails, you'll also be running millions of stairs (two days later, my quads are still burning). Once you get to the beach, the views are so incredibly worth the struggle to get there. We ended up doing 4.5 miles and were completely exhausted for our plane ride home later that day! Despite how difficult this trail was, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a challenge or to switch things up. It was such a great workout and we had pretty things to look at while we struggled through it! :D I'm so glad we had the opportunity to run in both of these beautiful cities! I'm also very happy to be home, especially now that the weather seems to be cooling off. I can't wait to see where our next running adventure takes us!!
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Hello, my name is Alyssa!I'm a momma to Emerson Lilly and two fur babies, a distance runner, and just a girl full of sparkle and quirks. I love traveling to races and exploring new places to run! I started this blog in 2014 as more of a journal to keep track of training for my first marathon, and I've continued to post about training, races, and other things happening in my life. Also, I'd like to be your best friend. :) Categories
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