Our new trail system officially opened today

Today market the official opening of our town's Gateway and trail system.  To commemorate, the town held a Run,Walk or Bike day with proceeds going to "Powered by Community" raising money and awareness of Crohns and Colitis.  There were courses set for 20K or 30K biking as well as 5K, 7K or 20K for walking or running.  After the official speech from our mayor and ribbon cutting, a small group of cyclists and smaller group of runners set off to discover the new trails. Local high school students did a great job manning water stations and providing directions and support along the way.  I was the only runner doing the 20K route which meant that when I finished, they were packing up the celebrations!   One of the organizers was kind enough to save a race bag for me, and in fact gave me two.  So I came home with a nice little present for my wife: her very own race t-shirt!  Always appreciative, she proclaimed "Well... I guess I could sleep in it."

So where did my mind wander today?

Our area has to be one of the best running locations that I have ever been to.  I am sure that many people find beautiful places to run every day.  However, within 30 minutes of my front door I can run along a river or along Lake Erie, I can cross countless creeks and streams.  I can run over bridges and under bridges.  I can run through a forest, by a grape vineyard or beside a corn field.  While running, I have seen deer, foxes, rabbits, racoons, snakes, turtles, ducks, geese (and even the odd human).  I have run through classic car shows, art in the park events and even parades. 
The key is, that every time I go out my door, my running options are endless.  Wherever I go, I am surrounded by beautiful countryside and I make sure to take the time to enjoy it. My run is limited only by my energy and hydration.  And my RunKeeper app lets me know how far I am going and at what pace.

I had an interesting experience with RunKeeper the other night.  I went on an easy Friday night run with a couple of guys from our running club.  One has the exact same iPhone and also uses RunKeeper.  We ran side by side and after all was said and done, according the app he had run 7.01 miles and me, only 6.56 miles.  His pace was 8:32 and mine was 8:50.  WE RAN SIDE BY SIDE!

Anyway...it's still a pretty good $10.00 app.

This week was a new high for weekly mileage...up to 36 miles and still running to feel young!