Now that it’s getting nice (relatively) out again, almost spring, we’ve been stepping it up a bit on the running regimen. Today was a gorgeous sunny winter day, so we decided to head down to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge for a jog around the water. Turns out, this is a spectacular spot to go running.

The small loop trail is very well maintained, there is hardly anyone there, the visitor center is a great warming hut for cooling down and getting a drink of water, and the one loop is 3.3 miles around which is just about 5k. Perfect!

On top of that, it’s only about a 10 minutes drive down just past the PHL airport. And it’s terrific to be in a quiet nature preserve with lots of wild birds and information signs and bird lookouts like this:

Sadly, I haven’t made that statement in quite some time, though it remains extremely high on my list of lifestyle priorities. Over the past year, I’ve worked too far from home to effectively bike. Recently, my company moved to a suburb a *little* closer to my house, so after some prodding by my friend Stellargirl, a gorgeous sunny spring morning and an overwhelming need to get my blood pumping, I gave it a whirl today. Just shy of 12 miles according to Google Maps. And boy did it feel good. Now, as I sit and type this on my lunch break, I realize – oh shit. I have to bike all the way home again! My legs are still sore.

If I did this every day, though, I can tell you I would be fit as a fiddle. And I like the sound of that!

Coincidentally, once I got to work, I discovered that this is Bike to Work Week thanks to my pal Sara. Cool!