Running in Toronto, Eh

The last time I was in Toronto, Canada, it was for a 9th grade orchestra trip. Over Labo(u)r Day weekend, I was in Toronto for my friend JF's wedding (He and his fiancee D had a really beautiful ceremony and threw and awesome bash afterwards). It was a great city (and I'll blog about the city later), but the day of the wedding I did a long run -- 14 miles. I headed east along the river. The concierge had recommended the path.  It was fairly industrial for a the first few miles. I passed the Cirque du Soleil tent and then another cirque like circus, but then I got to "the Beach." It was small and wooded, but really pretty. There was a running path that I took that provided a lot of shade and cover and was pretty.

But before long I was back on the road -- even after taking a detour to a marina. But I needed the miles so I forged ahead. About 500 feet about the bike/run path started up again so I went with it for about a mile and turned back. I had seen a park entrance and thought I'd log some miles in there. It was a nice -- and turned out -- big park. Tommy Thompson Park is called an urban park. It actually reminded me a lot of Wilmington, NC, -- wide open spaces, beautiful blue sky and the sound of water lapping on the shore. There were a lot of people running and biking in the park.

Then I headed back the way I came. By the time I reached downtown Toronto I was still a mile short so this time I headed west along the path. I stayed along the water, dodging all the people in line for the ferry to the islands. I didn't make it the the Toronto Tower, but I got to 14 miles. And my legs still felt good enough to dance at the wedding!