The Great Move!

by Clara Grandt on October 31, 2011

We moved during the weekend!  Jason and I packed up our belongings in our small apartment in Morgantown to a much roomier townhouse about two miles outside of Morgantown.  The actual move went quite quickly.  We rented a moving truck on Friday evening and had everything moved in by Saturday.  By the end of Sunday, the majority of our things were put away and unpacked, leaving me slightly sore from some heavy lifting, but pleased with how quickly it went. 

One of the great things about a bigger place is that I have more space to store my Mizuno shoes and running clothing!  I have definitely been putting the extra space to use.  I now have a walk-in closet, which is amazing, and a whole section of that closet is reserved for my Mizuno outfits!

Another great plus, is that we have our own washer and dryer.  I now fully appreciate having a washer and dryer in my home after having to do laundryomat laundry on a regular basis during our time in our old apartment.  For me, that is quite a big deal due to the amount of running outfits I go through in a week! 

Of course, my first and biggest question about this move was, will this be a good place to run?  It was hard for me to imagine a better location for running than from our old place.  I used to run from my door for direct access to the track, miles and miles of rail trail, an arboretum with shaded dirt paths, and nice neighborhoods around town to run through. 

Well, I’ve learned quickly that the thing with living outside of town is that you always have to go back into town for one reason or another.  So, driving a couple miles into town hasn’t really been any less convenient if I want to go back to any of those running routes. 

So, not only have I not lost my access to those choices, but I’ve also acquired new paths!  Many places I used to go only every once in a while to run are much closer and more accessible now.  I feel as if I am in a more centralized location for all my favorite runs.  We now live right beside a golf course (which I have already used to do morning run on the cart paths before any of the golfers are out), a lake called Cheat Lake that has its own short but beautiful crushed gravel trail, and two miles up the road is a place called Cooper’s Rock, which has many hilly dirt trails and park roads to run along. 

Therefore, although most would think moving can be tiring and hard to adjust to, I feel it has been very beneficial to my training! The extra room for my shoes and the ease of doing laundry now is wonderful, but most of all, I feel the thing I was most worried about being affected has actually been improved!  I’ve spiced up my running routes by bringing in some very scenic (and quite hilly) running paths, and I still have the very familiar routes nearby.  This move has been a fantastic way to add new excitement to my Trials preparation! 

Thanks for reading! -Clara