Hinckley's Gem

I have been staying at my parents in Ohio for the last couple of days and decided it was time to go for a run. I had two options: run on a 50mph road with no side lane or go up to Hinckley Reservation and run around the lake.

I am usually not one to drive somewhere to go run but it wasn't a hard choice and I jumped in my car and drove the whopping 4 miles up to the park. Hinckley Reservation has a nice paved running/bike path that goes all the way around the lake which makes for a very scenic run. When I was young I remember it taking forever in a day to walk around the lake, but in reality it is only a 3 mile loop.

I parked by the dam and made my way up the big hill. Actually the entire loop has lots of hills and you are never really running on a flat. The path was still a little icy and I had to slowly make my way over the ice in some places, but it wasn't too bad.

While I was running I got looped 3 times by a cyclist who was riding the loop on the road with an aero helmet on (tool). But he did make me jealous and I wished I was on my bike. It actually is a much better loop than haines point because there are so many hills and hills are exactly what I need.

I always enjoy running in a new place and it was quite refreshing to run somewhere that didn't have sidewalks and houses. Plus some small snowflakes were coming down which made the run even better. Once I made it around back to my car I tacked on an extra mile making my run a nice enjoyable 4 mile run.

While I was running I thought this would be the perfect spot for a tri with the lake for the swim and a challenging bike and run course. And what do you know? There is actually a Buzzard Day Duathlon held at the lake!!! I was so excited, but of course I have to coach at a meet the weekend it is being held so I can't make the trip home. I'm pretty disappointed about this because I would have loved to do a race in my home town and doing a race on Buzzard day would even be that much better!

Happy Friday all and enjoy your long weekends :)