The lake trails in Raleigh are beautiful and definitely worth checking out. Pre-baby I was a fairly dedicated runner and had just finished my 3rd half marathon when we found out I was pregnant with my daughter.
A few days after the half marathon I telling my husband that I just was not able to recuperate from this race. I found out that week I was 6 weeks pregnant.
One could make a strong argument that I have yet to recover, 2.5 years later.
Which may be true, but I am recovering. Not to sound like an AA meeting or something.
So I tried several times to restart running since having the kids. I’ve joined a running groups, set goals, shamed myself. But nothing stuck. Until now. I wrote in another blog that it’s taken me a long time to recover from pregnancy and childbirth. You can check it out here.
But a couple of things really contributed to my current success (running consistently at least 2-3 times/week, sometimes more and not hating it). The first is for the last 7 months or so I’ve been doing kickboxing at 9 Round Raleigh. I like to hit things. It’s quite therapeutic. More on that on another blog. Bottom line is that I was somewhat fit before I started running. So hills didn’t bother me as much, I could usually breathe and I didn’t get side stitches.
But the other thing that really helped is that it just became my escape. No GPS used, no pace calculations. No goals. I just ran to escape. I listen to music that isn’t “Let it go”. Time to clear my head. Running is a rare time where I don’t have to be a mother, a wife, a co worker, a daughter or friend. For just a few moments during the day I am just me.
And it is AWESOME.
The Capital Area Greenway System here is incredible. Especially for someone who moved from a place with 3 miles of greenway. Total. So for those of you interested, I am going to walk you through (er, run you through?) my favorite lake trails in Raleigh. Good for running, walking or biking. With or without kids.
Shelley Lake:
Here’s the easiest of the 3, The loop around the lake is 2.2 miles including to/from the Sertoma art center parking lot. A couple of hills but mostly flat. I am a pretty slow runner (say around 11:00-12:00 minute miles), so a 2.2 mile loop is a decent workout for me. The nice thing about the Shelly lake trail is that you can pretty easily increase the distance with connecting trails. Plus you have Shelley lake playground at the end if you are taking your kids with you. So if you braved bringing the kids in a jogging stroller or bike trailer, you’ve got somewhere for them to burn off energy. On the path back to the parking lot there is a short trail run (I think about half a mile) if you want a distance of closer to 3 miles. It’s a nice, well developed trail. Not one that you are tripping on roots every 2 steps. The Sertoma art center is being renovated currently but there are bathrooms near the lake.
Lake Lynn:
This one is my favorite of the 3, but it is harder. More rolling hills. It’s pretty scenic with lots of ducks and geese around. This loop also has boardwalks. I love running on boardwalks…no particular reason why, maybe the change in the sound of my feet hitting the ground. Anyway, depending on where you look, the loop around the lake is 1.9 to 2.2 miles. My GPS clocked 2.6 miles (one of the rare times I used it), but that included running to and from the community center parking lot. You can find public bathrooms at the community center during business hours and Lake Lynn Playground.
Lake Johnson:
This is the most challenging of the 3 trails and it is a bit brutal. The east side of the trail is 2.8 miles of paved green way. It has 3 LARGE hills. My husband is an avid runner and he finds them challenging. I couldn’t run up them entirely and it was even steep enough to make running downhill challenging.The west side has another 1.5 miles of trails, unpaved. No playground here, but there is a beach area the kids can enjoy weather permitting. Lake Johnson also has canoe, kayak, pedal boots and paddleboard rentals. A nice place for an early morning run this summer followed by boating and beach time.
Where do you like to run/bike/walk?