Just Messin' Around

We've all got our favorite running routes, treks that we do once, twice, three times a week. You incorporate the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the Williamsburg Bridge, Prospect Park, the Coney Island boardwalk ... you name it. They are tried and true, and you can run them without thinking.

So let me make a case to stop doing that, especially when you've got the time on the weekend to explore. Look at places like MapMyRun.com and the USATF Web sites for different route suggestions, or take an alternative approach from point A to point B.

Let me give you an example:

One of my favorite routes is to go over the Brooklyn Bridge, loop down into Battery Park and then head back up down (crossing over via Chambers Street either at the beginning or the end) before heading back into Brooklyn. Almost always, I'll stay on the West Side paths or the East River parkway.

During the weekdays, even in the early mornings, the Wall Street area is pretty crowded. On the weekends ... not so much.

So note the following route. Haven't a clue whether the streets I took today are the same ones I mapped out -- but that isn't the point. From Bowling Green, we just headed north, taking turns more or less to get us in the direction we wanted to go. And if you've got non-New Yorkers with you, it's a great way to give them a little slice of life in our fair city.