Scenic Adventures

I love running near lakes! At home, I try to get out to Santee Lakes or Lindo Lake, Lake Jennings or Lake Miramar, and if I want to take a drive, Lake Cuyamaca on the inner island is a great run! Farther from home there is Lake Alma in Hamden, Ohio and on Vancouver Island, BC, I found two more lakes around which running is both a challenge and adventure: Thetis Lake and Elk Lake. With all of the links in this paragraph, an interested reader can transport themselves from their office chair or couch at home to some pretty spectacular places but if you actually get a chance to run around any of these lakes or a lake near you, you will know exactly why they create a peaceful venue for your next run.

Peaceful? Aren’t most lakes inundated with people in the summer? Lots of kids running around, yelling and laughing? Yes, to both, and for some strange reason, at least for this runner, they become the preoccupations that make the run both fun and interesting. It’s a nice contrast to running in the cool and quiet mornings near my house where the only immediate sounds are birds and the occasional car. At the lake, the noise and activity give me something to look at; creating visual interest and encouraging me to keep going in order to see what’s happening around the next corner. I am always looking for something to make my runs more motivating, especially on days like today when it’s a bit overcast, the house is quiet, the husband and kids are sound asleep and I am trying to avoid my long run!

I encourage you to run or walk or skip to your nearest lake and see what you can see and then notice, at the end of your excursion, how much time has passed; peacefully and quickly. Running near water affords me the opportunity to see wildlife (people, too!), trail run, watch the ripples in the water, take my kids so they can run or bike as well, and get a change of scenery. Nothing motivates as well as a fresh perspective.

Happy running!!

Stacy

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