On the road again

My wife and I are on a 3 day road trip to her college reunion so I find myself running in new and unique places. My last post discussed my sheer dumb luck at living in a place that is so trail dense. This little session of on the road again will have me running in new and distinctly non-trail areas.

After a delightful miscommunication that led to several more hours of late, late night driving through the beautiful remote farmland of Ohio, by remote I mean no hotels, not the middle of nowhere where I live in West Virginia, we got to the hotel around 130 AM. So, there goes the whole athlete's need eight hours of sleep crap. I managed to sleep about five-and-a-half hours and popped out the door of the hotel a little after 7 AM to get in some miles.

Now, at 130 AM I'm not always at my best so I missed that fact that the hotel was in one of those charming light industrial parks that are so ubiquitous in major cities. I trotted off after crossing six lanes of distinctly runner unfriendly traffic and into the industrial wasteland. We also happened to be near the airport which just added to the ambiance of the whole experience. The best part of my surrounding was the fact that most of the industrial park was deserted so I didn't have to worry about those pesky cars trying to get in my way.

Where I actually was...

Where I wish I was...

Being a birdwatcher amongst my many other geeky habits, and believe me that is a long list, I frequently bird by ear as I run. Through my descent into the wacky, weird world of serious birdwatching I learned to identify the common birds of my area just by their calls. The strange part of my run was the complete lack of bird calls. Even early in the morning in an area that Mother Nature was doing her damnedest to reclaim there were apparently no birds awake yet. All I had to keep me company were crickets and cicadas. Finally, after a couple of miles I heard, “the distinctive descending whinny of the Downy Woodpecker.” That's one of the first calls I ever learned and that description from Birding by Ear, Vol 1 (yes, there is more than one volume) is forever burned into my brain. Later, I did hear a Starling doing an imitation of a Red-shouldered Hawk but I think he just had visions of grandeur.

I suppose I could have driven to a nearby park to run but I really wanted that authentic urban running experience. Well, not really. I just didn't want to wake my wife and explain why I was taking the car. She didn't get her eight hours of sleep either. While any run is a great experience, there are always some that are better than others. Today really drove home the point of how lucky I am to live where I do. The next time you head out on your favorite trail for a romp through the woods remember to thank the fates that you can!

Do you run on trails or roads?

What's your favorite urban running experience?