Audubon Park

This is where I first started walking, then running. I like it because it's safe, it's very pretty and there are lots of people around. Also because my friend Sarah lived on the park (her parents' house overlooks the park) and we used to go swimming in their pool after our walks. I also like it because it's close to my house, and I know the distance around it (1.77 miles)

The park is not without its negatives, though. The track, while asphalt and nicely paved, slopes down, which I think may account for my left leg injuries (shin splints) because that is the lower side. Also, the lagoon can get very smelly in the summer but I suppose that's just nature. :) Finally, it does get a little boring. The same route over and over again for months on end just gets a little mind-numbing. I know that when I have to do long training runs (6, 8, 10, 12, 20 miles) I won't want to be doing 10 circuits of the park.

Nevertheless, it's my favorite place to run.

Audubon Park plus the Fly

This is just a longer version of the route above, with the addition of the parking lot that goes along the river. The parking lot is for the grassy riverside area called "The Fly." I'm not entirely sure why, I think it used to be called "The Butterfly" because of the way it's shaped, and in the spirit of true laziness, it was shortened to "the Fly." Hmm. Anyway, it's a good place to run. There's even a "hill" (it's not really a hill, this is New Orleans!) but it can really throw you off your stride when a train comes by (as happened the first time Kristina and I ran this route - but we had a nice forced 5-10 minute stretching break.)

The Neighborhood

This is Kristina and my new favorite running route. We run from our apartment, up to Camp St, down Camp to Sixth Street, and then up Coliseum to Milan and back home. I'm not quite sure how far it is - somewhere between 2 and 3 miles, but it's nice to get out of the park sometimes.

The houses are fun to look at (it's amazing how you always see houses you've never seen before, no matter how many times you take this route) and there are people around - joggers, cyclists, and families. The road, while of course plagued by potholes is at least flat, which is better for my leg. Plus, the potholes make it sort of like trail-running, which is probably good for our ankles. Ha!

Another good thing about this route is that we can switch it up - go past Sixth if we want to go further, or stop at Louisiana if we don't want to go very far. If we're just walking, we might go on Magazine, or we may turn on to Pitt instead of going all the way down Coliseum. That keeps it somewhat fresh.

The downsides of this route are mostly safety. Some of the roads are pretty narrow, and with cars parked on both sides, when a car is coming down the road, it makes things tight. And the potholes can be somewhat treacherous.

The Mississippi River Levee

This one's still new to me, so I'll update it when I have more thoughts on it. But this is where my first 5K was. The first half was on River Road adjacent to the levee, then we went up the levee (oooh, more hills) and the second half was on the levee. It can get windy, and there's very little shade, which is why I've saved this route until the weather gets cold. In the winter, I imagine the lack of shade will be a good thing. But the wind will be bad. Hmmm. A trade off, because this is an ideal out-and-back course.

The starting point is kind of arbitrary, really I can start anywhere up to the fly, but there's a dog park and an Army building on the levee between there and my preferred starting point. Don't want strange dogs chasing me and don't want to have to go up and down the levee to follow the path as it goes around the Army building. Maybe one day.

I also have only showed part of this route. Potentially, it can go for many miles, heck, all the way to Minnesota, I'd imagine :) so I'm obviously not showing all of it.

St Charles Avenue

St. Charles Avenue is a gorgeous, tree-shaded boulevard lined by beautiful, enormous mansions and big old houses divided up into apartments. Down the middle of the grassy median runs the streetcar, all the way from downtown, and around the river bend to Carrollton. It passes businesses, churches, bed and breakfasts as well as the famous Audubon Park, and Tulane and Loyola Universities. It's a very popular running path, between the streetcar tracks and at any time of day or night, you can see runners from Lee Circle to the end of the road.

I'm lucky enough to live a block off St. Charles Avenue, which is especially convenient at Mardi Gras, as most of the parades go down St. Charles.

Click here to see more pictures of St. Charles. New Orleans may be dirty, dangerous, and corrupt, but it has some beautiful spots.