Whenever we come back to Seattle for a visit, I try to run all my favorite routes. I never get to run everything because Seattle is filled with gorgeous runs and even a week isn’t enough time to see it all. Although my neighborhood route doesn’t showcase all of Seattle’s running beauty, it’s the one route I make sure to do each time I’m back. Ah… memories!

Yesterday we were dealing with a steady, heavy rain most of the day in Seattle. I forgot to pack the weather shield for the BOB stroller (how did I forget this for Seattle?!) so I knew I would have to wait out the rain. Around 3pm I spotted a break in the clouds and immediately threw on my running gear and ran out the door.

We ran from the University District to Green Lake via our “green belt”. I love this grassy stretch that runs between 2 lanes of NE Ravenna Blvd. I used to run it every day and never grew tired of it.

Area we would call "green belt" where we could run from our apartment near Green Lake to Cowen Park, completely on grass.

Picture of the little lady along Green Lake

Super excited about being stopped at the playground!

The playground is even more fun when you've been waiting for the rain to stop all day!

After stopping at playground number #1 at Green Lake, we ran to Ravenna/Cowen Park where we found playground number #2 and played a short while. Normally, I wouldn’t stop at a playground until the end, but this was just supposed to be an easy, possibly pre-race run so I figured we could make a few fun stops. The little lady wanted to run so I pushed the empty stroller and she ran beside me the whole distance of the Ravenna/Cowen Park trail! We went back to the hotel on the Burke-Gilman trail and I started to realize I underestimated the length of the run in my head. I was feeling pretty tired and looked at my phone to see we were gone for 2 hours (playing, running, last half mile walking).

Ravenna/Cowen Park

Ravenna/Cowen Park

It looks like I’m going to race the Fremont 5k today! Should be fun. I’m excited both to race, and have it be a race in Seattle!

Are you racing this weekend? Do you run with a stroller and let your kid(s) get out and enjoy some playtime mid-run? Do you love running in cities where you used to live?