Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Running in Raleigh

It was a long, but fun, weekend. We didn't land in Raleigh until just before 2:00am Friday morning and got back to our apartment Sunday night after 10:00pm. In between there was a lot of driving (I have not been in a car that much in the past 4 months combined), sight-seeing, delicious food and a bit of running, too!


Before we left on the trip I reached out to a few running shops to ask for advice on where to run. Michael from Fleet Feet in Raleigh sent me a long email with great suggestions of neighborhoods and a few restaurant suggestions for post-run refueling!


While we opted to sleep Friday morning, we laced up both Saturday and Sunday morning, checking out different parts of the city. We weren't staying downtown, but the area is really easy to get around so Saturday morning that's where we went. We had driven around the area a little bit Friday morning but didn't explore the Historic Oakwood area, one of Michael's suggestions. We wanted our run to do double duty - explore the city and get in some exercise. We had no real plan of where to go, just a downtown map and some water (it was really warm already at 8am) and set out. The area quickly went from government buildings to older houses and lots of hills! We just ran up and down streets, hit quite a few dead ends, and then made our way back to the car after about 40 minutes. Our legs were pretty tight and the hills were a little tough, but it was a great, sweaty workout and just what we needed to start the day. 


We parked near Morning Times, a little coffee shop Michael suggested, and got ice cold coffee. The place was packed (which isn't hard, but people also spilled out onto the sidewalk) and there were a few other runners so we weren't the only sweaty ones in the place! The iced coffee was delicious and hit the spot.


Sunday morning we decided to do something different. There is a great Greenway Trail System of trails throughout the area - over 62miles of paved and dirt trails for running, biking, walking and exploring. Some are in the middle of town, others through wooded areas, some seem to weave in and out of neighborhoods. It seemed pretty fantastic and we wanted to try out one of the paths so we headed to Shelley Lake, not all that far from our hotel. This was completely different from the morning before. The path was shorter than we thought, so we did a couple laps of the lake, but it was beautiful and peaceful. There were quite a few others out enjoying the morning, but not so many that it was overwhelming. There was even a yoga class on the hill! This run was a great way to start our last day in Raleigh.
In case you didn't know this already, I love exploring new places by running!
  • I'm a day late, so how was your weekend?
  • How excited are you for the 4th of July weekend?
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Saturday's workout -
~40min run
stretching

Sunday's workout -
~40min run
stretching

Monday's workout -
35min elliptical
2x20 leg press
2x14 leg curl
2x17 leg extension
100 crunches
1x35sec plank
2x20 hip raise
stretching

Today's workout -
35min elliptical
150 crunches
1x35sec plank
2x20 cable push-down
2x18 wood chop with resistance band
monster walks
stretching
monster walks

7 comments:

Penny said...

Looks like you had a great time in Raleigh. I am not one to venture off my normal routine. I wish I could it be so much more fun and interesting to run different places. I am just old fashion and home body.

Barbara said...

Glad you finally arrived there. What a long evening ! Sounds like a fun trip.

Anonymous said...

hooray for vacations, no matter how short they are!! Glad you had a good time. And I AM SO EXCITED for 4th of July weekend!

Anonymous said...

So great you had a fantastic time in Raleigh. I live in Fayetteville, which is about 45 minute drive from Raleigh. Fleet Feet is where I go buy my running shoes and they are so awesome there. So glad Michael hooked you up with some great information about the area. I have had the pleasure of running some portion of the Greenway Trail system and it always amazes me the different areas it covers. Again, glad you had fun.

Maria @ Asphalt Tales

Michael said...

So glad you had fun running in the great city of Raleigh. Hope to see you back at Fleet Feet if you decide to move here, and don't forget about the nOg Run Club, www.nogrunclub.com!

-Michael
Fleet Feet Sports Raleigh

Molly said...

what a fun trip! My grandparents used to live in Raleigh, and my Dad went to Chapel Hill....fun area!

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