Running green

So, by definition, running is green, right? Well, not when you always drive to the place where you run. Add to that the fact that the extra distance I drive effectively doubles my daily commute. Not green.

My problem has been that the usual routes from my house to the reservoir at which I do most of my running include some very heavily traveled streets. This coupled with that when I run I don’t like to stop (at intersections) and I dislike running on concrete (sidewalks) mean that running the route I drive was not an option. Therefore, I had been looking for a way to get from here to there without getting injured or even killed.

It took some time but I found a route from my house to the reservoir that doesn’t include those heavy traffic areas; just crossing two of the streets in question. For the most part, I can run without seeing many cars at all. My route involves residential neighborhoods and a road that is owned by the water company and mostly closed to vehicular traffic. The road alone was a great find. It covers two of the six miles of my route.

The route took me a couple of weeks to work out with some exploring while I was running, some by car and some with Google Maps. The tricky part was that in two areas I have to cross between streets using wooded areas with paths which weren’t obvious at first (or on maps). One is what appears to have been a through street connecting two neighborhoods which was closed to prevent through traffic. The result is that there are heavy trees on one side

and a barrier on the other

Through this process I found that mapymyrun.com was valuable in researching routes and especially this one. On the site, routes are shared by runners and I knew that someone must be running this route that I was searching for. I found a route there that was close and it helped me navigate and locate the cut-throughs.

A little creativity can be a good thing. This exploring sure has helped pass the miles especially on the 10+ mile runs. mapmyrun.com is a good resource if you are into running. I have also used it when I was on vacation to plot out routes of specific distances in unfamiliar locations.

Today I did my last run before my first marathon on Saturday. I feel like I am as ready as I can be. Right now my goal is to stay healthy.