I ran 11 miles yesterday. Eleven miles for Week 11! So perfect. And now I’ve officially changed the title of this post series. Not only am I totally a runner right now, but the title was getting a bit cumbersome…

Brays Bayou Trail – West

Like my 10 mile run, I went running along the Brays Bayou Trail and through Hermann Park this week. Unlike my 10 mile run, it was not in the freezing cold rain. It was actually wildly hot (aka 68 degrees) in direct sun, which doesn’t sound like much but you try doing that and lets see how you feel around mile 5… I unfortunately did not get a tan. But I did run along a new trail! I started in a similar place in Hermann Park and then ran to Brays Bayou, crossed the Bill Coates Bridge and this time headed west. This side of the trail was down low alongside the Bayou (as opposed to at street level like the east half).  The trail was a primarily a level asphalt path that’s pretty busy with runners and bikers (at least it was on a Sunday afternoon with perfect, sunny January weather!). It’s fairly industrial run as you pass behind MD Anderson through the concrete jungle that is the Med Center. I wouldn’t do this run during the daytime/summer because other than running under overpasses and bridges there are no trees and no shade. I would also not recommend using this trail at night because there were a lot of homeless campus under most of the bridges generally on the opposite side of the bayou, but still. The trail opens up and comes to street level around Kirby and then you’re primarily running through neighborhoods. This section was particularly packed with bikers and walkers. There was also a water fountain at Buffalo Speedway intersection #clutch

Brays Bayou Trail West (@ Kirby)

Brays Bayou Trail West (right behind MD Anderson)

Art in Hermann Park

I suffer from a bit of wanderlust and don’t like to run down the same trail twice (especially on my long runs). Running has given me the perfect excuse to explore a lot of Houston, which I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. Which is awesome and I love it. But I’ve discovered that there are crazier people out there that like to run so much that they try to run a half marathon in all 50 states. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here seeing as I have yet to complete my first, but that sounds effing awesome!