Running Around

For our running exercise, we typically just run around the neighborhood  - on the sidewalks, in the community parks. Occasionally we extended our ranges to add flavor to our otherwise routine exercises, to feel different trails, and see different places.

Last year we were made aware of the skyline trail along trinity river at downtown Dallas. That's where many beautiful pictures of downtown skylines were taken. In January this year we ran on the trail in a freezing cold  Sunday morning. It was a new, different and beautiful surroundings  - downtown skyscraper skyline as a backdrop for the run, egrets, grey herons, and many other water fowls in the marsh land around the river. When we ran on the south levee, we also heard roosters' calls from neighborhood by the levee.

We participated the Too Cold to Hold 10K race at White Rock Lake in February.  We ran with over thousand people who participated in the 5k, 10k and half marathon races. We ran through underpass of highways,  on bridges over wetland, along the lake shore. We saw birds flying in the sky, glittering water in the white rock lake, beautiful lake front mansions. A great variations from our routine. A nice check on our running capacity: Lily won her division, and I ran my personal best.

In March, we went camping by ourselves at lake Ray Roberts. We planned to run 13.1 miles, half marathon, on Jordan trail at the park. The trail hugs the shoreline of lake Ray Roberts for several miles. We saw grand egrets, grey herons. On the more inland portion of the trail, bird chirpings followed us most of the time. It was otherwise quiet, it was beautiful. We were the only people on this trail until we nearly finished our run. What we did not expect was that the trail condition was rough from time to time since the trail is shared by runners, hikers, bikers and equestrians. The trail is not good for running. We cut our runs short because of this. We finished 10 mile run, the longest distance I ran thus far.

The Chisholm trail turns out to be our favorite trail for longer distance run, it is in the city, closer to home than state parks. There are two big advantages of this trail than other trails in cities, it is well shaded for a good portion, and it is safer traffic wise since there are underpasses for all major intersections. The trail is parallel to spring creek most of the time, and passes through several community parks and intersects with the blue bonnet trail, it is paved. We first run on the trail in May. It was a beautiful morning, blue sky, bright sun shine and green landscape. We were surprised to see that the creek becoming pretty wide at cross bend, and that portion is called "Big Lake". We have ran there a few more times since.

Eisenhower park at lake Texoma is our alternate default outdoor destination in north Texas. We went there camping, kayaking and running in October for a mini fall break. We ran on the south portion of Ike's trail. The trail is in the woods most of the time, portions of it are pretty "rocky", we had to walk for a couple sections.

I started bringing my running shoes with me on business trips since 2017. My first business trip run was at Chicago.  Last month, November, I went to Salt lake city for a conference. I took my running shoes with me, and run a 5K in downtown.  I ran from my hotel to state capitol, had to stop at many cross sections. The run to the capitol hill was an uphill run, very tiring. The run was refreshing and energizing!

We still run around the neighborhood 90% of the time - the "trail" is right outside the door, we are familiar with many routes for various weather and body conditions, it saves time ( from driving to trail head), and it is safe.

Running in new places provides variations from routine, induces excitements, and make the run more interesting. Planning is the key for a safe and enjoyable run in unfamiliar territory - decide the route before the run, get familiar with the environment along the route.

Salt Lake City - photo journal

I visited Salt Lake City (SLC)  in Early November for ASME annual convention. 

Temple square is the most visited place in Salt Lake city. The center piece of  the temple square is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  Mormon church HQ. It is very beautiful, especially at night. I enjoyed the architecture, garden and the museum. One thing I felt creepy is that there were so many missionaries standing around in black.   

Salt Palace - the convention center of salt lake city (SLC), where I attended IMECE 2019, International Mechanical engineering conference and exhibit. I attended the conference and presented a paper. The main purpose of my visit to SLC. 

State Capitol is about a mile away from my hotel at SLC. There is a promenade surrounding the capitol, great for jogging or running. There are a few sculptures  at the east side of the building, and two memorials at west side, one for police killed on duty, and one for soldiers died in Vietnam war.  I visited there a couple of times - one in the afternoon, one in the dusk

I hiked to summit of Ensign peak - a mountain of religious significance for the Mormon church. The round trip from trail head to the summit is only 1 mile. The peak is not the highest point of the mountain range,

View of the mountain ranges surrounding SLC, where many ski resorts reside. Because of the surrounding mountains, SLC itself actually is frequently in a haze - especially when there is no wind and rain.

Liberty park is highlighted as must go place in SLC. It is actually a big community park, nothing special there.

I stayed at SLC for 5 days, and I brought my running shoes and cloth for my week day run there. After getting familiar with SLC downtown and my conference schedule, I decided to run on the early morning of Nov 13 from my hotel to Capitol hill, There was no early morning session on that day at the conference. It was a freezing cold morning (~ 32F), and the run to the capitol hill was an uphill run, very tiring, and I had to stop at many cross sections. I ran 5 km round trip, and finished in 35 minutes, 5 minutes longer time than my typical pace.