definitely. lots of housewives whose only job it seems is to stay fit and get larger and larger boobs.
From the 3rd ward, you can also run the path along Braes Bayou. There is some construction going on now, but when complete you can run a long way and its not so crowded, but you do share the path with cyclists. Folks have already mentioned Rice and you can add a loop around Hermann Park and the golf course as well. If you want a real track, the Rice track is open to the public from time to time (don't know the exact schedule) and it was recently redone and is a soft smooth ride. But be prepared to run with a lot of hard core track and field folks and runners. FWIW, Allen Parkway between Shepard and the Sabine Street bridge is a five mile loop and there is also water at Allen Parkway and Shepard. If you need extra inspiration or social interaction, there are many running clubs in town. harra.org has links to most of them. If you like a frosty adult beverage after your run, Brian O'Neils in the Village has a Tuesday night run, and Bayou City Road Runners hits Rice and then Valhalla on Wednesday nights. Invest in good running shoes and good luck. If you can't tell, I am a runner. My sport is your sports punishment. :grin:
I always thought the cons outweighed the pros of running in Memorial. I did a couple runs there when I trained for my marathon and never again. Too many people without shirts that have no Godly reason not to be wearing shirts. Rice I did a lot of running at, but during the day hours the pollution from traffic can really do you in. But that applies for 99% of Houston too. Allen Parkway gets my vote by default, for being somewhat separated from traffic as well as being the only place in Houston you can get "hill" work in, aside from doing stadiums (ouch). My favorite place to run at actually, when I am able to do it, is in Sugarland around the Sweetwater area. I have a perfect 5-mile loop that goes from Sweetwater to Elkins to Commonwealth to Palm Royale and then all the way down past the country club back to Sweetwater. If a track is what you need then you probably should ignore everyone's posts here. The Rice stadium will sometimes but not always be open to the public, and you can run on their track. Otherwise, you'll need to find a high school or a well-to-do middle school somewhere out there, there's plenty, just gotta try one and see how long it takes for you to get kicked out . Good luck.
Beat me to it! Bayou: MacGregor Park <--> Braeswood/Gessner is 14 mi total, most of which is paved on one side of bayou and dirt path on other. The amount and duration of the construction is driving me ape. Rice is 2.9mi, Full loop around Hermann Park and Golf Course is 2.6mi, and if you use the cut-through between the Zoo and Golf Course, it's a 2.1 mi loop. Do a figure-8 pattern for a 4.2mi. Gatorade vending machine halfway across the Golf course stretch.
is memorial always hectic? or just between 5-6? I want to start running but don't want to deal with traffic or crowds.
From what I've seen the crowds start showing up around 5 and lasts until 8 or 9. If you get there before 6 finding a parking spot shouldn't be that tough but there will be a lot of people out running. On a somewhat related note, I ran some of the Ho Chi Minh trails at Memorial Park for the first time today and enjoyed it quite a bit.
First off, thanks for the responses everyone. I'll try out Rice first, since the dude told me to find a track. Since there are runners here I guess I'll seek some more advice. I haven't worked out in forever and I'm just trying to get in shape and ensure I never get a gut, and I've been told running is the best way to do that. I'm lazy and don't want to hit gyms all the time, so a old track friend of mine told me to do ten 100's right back-to-back-to-back (short breaks in between) and that I should get back in shape without having long workouts. True? Guess I better go buy some good running shoes too....
Spring Woods HS and Northbrook middle have tracks that are never crowded, if you're near this side of town
Losing weight or keeping it off is all about creating a caloric deficit. The easiest way is really to not over eat. As far as exercising, you have to start somewhere and just adjust it as you go along. Need to burn more calories? Just increase the time or intensity, or frequency. do that until you get to where you want to be and then just maintain that. The workout he gave you could work great or not enough. It just depends on how many calories you have to burn off. It's basically HIIT, high intensity interval training. It works well and it's suppose to be a great alternative to longer runs, but the key words are "high intensity". People sometimes don't run as fast as they're suppose to. You need to run your ass off. You think you're running fast? Run faster. That's the only way it's comparable to a longer run.
Thanks for the tips. To clarify, I'm not trying to lose weight at all. I'm actually a skinny guy. I am just out of shape and want to ensure I never get a gut....tighten the belly up.
Well there will be a lot of different opinions and lots of different exercise programs that work for different folks. But in my opinion, the key is variety. Mix in the short speed work (and that is great) with medium length runs at medium speed and longer runs at slower speeds. Don't forget some weight training and other exercises that you enjoy. Find a mix that you will stick with.
If that's the case, then i think that workout should be enough...i'm guessing it'll be done about 3 times a week? It's probably better than running long distances because it won't waste muscle as much...should actually increase the muscle in your lower body.
Terry Hershey Park. I usually run it everyday. Never to many people. Primarily Cyclists and a few walkers/runners.
