I stayed in Zurich for 3 days and managed to go out for a run twice. Both times, I went South from my hotel (which was near the city center and train station) towards the Zurich lake. Once at the lake, I went along the East side (on the 20th) or the West side (on the 22nd). In both cases, I came back to the hotel more-less the same way. Nice thing about these routes was that they are all flat, there is no up/down hill which was nice. Surface was mixture of pavement and gravel (more pavement than gravel).
My first run was 5.2 miles and I run just under 9 minute mile. The second one was 6.4 miles at about 8:30 minute mile. This is much slower than I used to run, but considering that I’ve been struggling with the hamstring injury for quite some time, it was not that bad. Both days weather was relatively cool, in the 50’s, with moderate to heavy rain on the 22nd. No wonder I was faster for that one, it is much easier to run when you are nice and cool.
This was not the first time I was running in Zurich, but it was the first time I had my GPS with me to record it.
Limmat River
Limmat River
Zurich Lake
Zurich Lake
5.2 mile run
6.4 mile run
I went running in Paris several times before, but have never recorded it. This time, I had my GPS unit with me and I was ready. I stayed with my family, just outside the city limits, near the river Seine.
I went along the railroad track towards the Seine and crossed the river at the Pont d’Asnières. Once on the other side, I went west towards the Bois de Boulogne. Instead of going all the way to the Boulogne forest, I crossed a short bridge to Île de la Grande Jatte, a small island on the river Seine. It was quite interesting place to run, nice quiet neighborhoods and great views of the river in the early morning. I went all the way around the island, then back to Pont de Courbevoie which took me to the north side of the river. From there, I run straight back to Cliché and back along the railroad track to my starting point.
That was a nice 6.3 mile run, but rather slow (it took me almost an hour). I had my camera with me which was great as I was treated to an incredible sunrise.
Starting Point
Turn to Ile de la Jatte
La Seine (River Seine)
La Seine (River Seine)
Paris Run, August 30, 2014, 6.3 miles
This was not the first time I run while visiting Belgrade, but it was the first time I recorded it with my GPS. While there are many parks in Belgrade, it was actually quite challenging to find a good running route near the city center. Running very early in the morning does help though, as the streets are mostly empty of traffic, the air is much cleaner and that is generally the coldest time of the day. The street names in Belgrade have changed over the last 30 years (since I lived there), so I might get some of them wrong as I try to describe the route as best as I can.
On the 16th, I went down Queen Maria St. which continues as George Washington St. and then becomes Tsar Dushan St leading to the Belgrade zoo. When I got to the zoo, I turned right onto Tadeusz Kościuszko St. which goes under the railroad track and ends on the bank of the Danube River. At the river, I turned left and run for a about quarter mile, then took another left at the Tower of Nebojsha and took the zig-zag (and a very steep) path up to the Kalemegdan Fortress. From the Fortress, I took Knez Mihailo St. turned left at Despot Stephan Blvd and got back to George Washington St. All this ended up being only 5.2 miles at roughly 8:30 minute mile pace.
On the 18th, I run straight up to Tashmaidan Park to a running track (a very short one though). I went around and around the track, the St. Mark’s Church and then around the other areas of the park. I exited the park near the main post office, went down Takovska St., turned left at the Botanical Garden and ended up near the Vanizelisova St. This run was about 4.9 miles
Belgrade Run August 16, 2014 – 5.2 miles
Running Up the Kalemegdan Fortress
Belgrade Run August 18, 2014 – 4.9 miles
St. Mark’s Church at the Tashmaidan Park
For some reason, on this business trip to Amsterdam, I had trouble adjusting to the time zone difference and I was quite exhausted. We did go out night before, something I usually try to avoid before my run, but on a business trip that is not always possible.
I had to be at work early in the morning, so I got up even earlier and went running in the nearby park (Vondelpark). That turned out to be quite a decent place to run. Vondelpark is not huge, but still a decent size park with a large number of trails through it. As I long as I am not running on the crowded sidewalk, next to cars, inhaling exhaust things are OK.
Run was short, just over 3 miles, barely worth mentioning. It was cold and rainy and I was quite tired. Still, this was the first time I run in Amsterdam, and running in a new place is always exciting. I did not have my GPS with me to record the run, but I tried to reconstruct the route as best as I can from my memory using Google maps. The exact path might be a bit off from the actual run, but overall, it should be quite accurate representation.
Three mile run through Voldenpark
Running blog and random thoughts
