Alaska – The Last Frontier

As I said in my last post, I had the chance to travel up to Alaska for work this week.  I was very excited to be able to go to the one state that I have always wanted to visit.  I will tell you that I was not disappointed.  My first impression upon arriving in Anchorage and driving through the city was how clean it was.  For a city of over 250,000 people, it was incredible how well kept the housing, streets and commercial buildings are. 

I checked into my hotel and discussed with my local broker my wanting to run in the morning.  She told me the best place to run in Anchorage is the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.  The best part was that it was only about 1/4 mile from the hotel.  I decided to try and get some rest so I could get up early and run.  The hardest part about going to bed in Alaska at this time of year is that the sun never really sets.  The light outside my window at 10:45 pm was similar to 5:00 pm back home.  I pulled the drapes shut and settled in and went to sleep.

I got up at 5:30 am and jumped into my running gear.  I headed out of the hotel and over to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.  This world-class 11-mile-long paved trail though parks begins in downtown Anchorage on 2nd Avenue. I was able to jog over to the trail head at the Margaret Egan Sullivan Park lagoon in about 5 minutes. From where I jumped on the trail to the left takes you south and past Earthquake Park.  If I had gone right,  I would have headed north to downtown.  On my right was the Cook Inlet and on my left, set back from the trail, were the backyards of million dollar homes.   

The views along the trail were spectacular.  I had a really nice view of Mount Susitna.  It is often called The Sleeping Lady for its resemblance to a woman lying on her back when viewed from Anchorage. The name is sometimes said to derive from a of Dena’ina legend, in which a woman named Susitna belonging to a race giants vows to sleep until her beloved comes back from battle, but no such legend actually exists.  I looked up the mountain and found that it is a 4,396 foot high mountain.  It is located on the west bank of the lower Susitna River, about 33 miles northwest of Anchorage. I could see it clearly across the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet. 

I kept going south until I had reached about 3.5 miles and the edge of the airport.  Knowing I had to meet my broker and tour Anchorage, I turned around and headed back.  I felt like I could have run for hours.  It was so peaceful and quiet.  I did not get to run it again on Friday as I had an early flight to Juneau.  I hope to return some day and run the entire trail.  This experience is why being a runner is so special.  If you are ever in Anchorage, I highly recommend this running trail.

Here are my training totals:

May 24 – 4.10 miles (35:49, 8:43 pace)

May 26 – 4.00 miles (36:00, 9:00 pace)

May 27 – 7.10 miles (36:23, 8:05 pace)

Total Miles: 15.20 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 689.60 miles