North Creek Trail in Mill Creek, WA

A couple of days ago, a church friend and I ran along the North Creek Trail in Mill Creek, Washington.  This 2.5 mile-long trail runs behind the Mill Creek Town Center, a large outdoor shopping & dining complex that is very dog-friendly. 

The trail is relatively flat (except for just a few spots of incline), wide enough to run 2 or 3 people wide, or to run with a dog or two.  The trail feels secluded because it's nestled on the shadowy edge of woods.  This is quite probably my new favorite trail, and the best part is:  it's only a mile or two away from my house, so it's very convenient! 

I was born & raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and there are not many easily-accessible trails.  If you want to find a path or trail to run or walk on, you need to use a high school track, or go to some sort of state or county park.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, there are a tremendous number of easily-accessible trails, parks, and scenic paths to enjoy.  Living here certainly makes it easier to pursue an active, outdoor lifestyle! 

And let's not forget another one of my favorite things about this area:  how mild and wonderful the weather is, so it's much more enjoyable to be outside in the summer and winter.  In Ohio, it's way too hot & humid to be outside for a large part of the summer, and it's way too cold, icy, and treacherous to venture outside in the winter.  I love living here in Seattle!

Come On, Punk, Make Me Run!

There's nothing like an upcoming race to kick my booty into running mode, and inspire me to get back into running! 

I'm running the upcoming Iron Girl 5K race here in Seattle, around the beautiful Green Lake.  I'd gotten out of the habit of running, so I'm very thankful for this opportunity to get me out pounding the pavement again!

I've realized something about myself:  I love the great vibes that running gives me, and I love that it's doing great things for my body (like preventing Diabetes and Heart Disease), but I don't really love running while I'm running. 

I've gained weight recently, so running hurts everything.  My foot arches hurt, my back aches, my shoulders hurt from pumping my arms, and my hips hurt (I think my hips are out of alignment or something).  And I only have 1 single running outfit that still fits me after all the weight gain.  I can barely squeeze into my running outfit, and this makes me self-conscious. 

Because of all these reasons, it's super easy for me to just stop running and not really miss it.  But deep down, in some primal area of my being, that same area where there is a strong, fit gal crying out to be let free, I realize that I do enjoy running.  Sort of.  Enough to keep running, anyway. 

Since I don't obsess about running (like a lot of the more "hard core" runners out there) and I don't particularly enjoy it, if that means I'm not a "true runner", then oh well.  At least I'm still running faster than all those folks still sitting on their couches!  Boo yah!