Palm Springs Vacation and Training getaway

Well, I landed in Palm Springs on Monday. It has been great weather with the last 4 days in the high 80s. On Tuesday, I got myself settled and became familiar with the area. I went to the local running and biking store which happen to be in the same little strip mall in Palm Springs - how convenient is that! Got myself set with knowing where groups meet up.

The great thing about running in areas like Phoenix, San Diego and Palm Springs is that you have a mixture of great trails, paved and unpaved pathway, and an abundance of tracks. I give credit to the planners who ensure that when they put up a golf course they build walking/biking/running paths around the the massive green space and often link the many golf courses with this pathway system. On Wednesday, I ran an out and back for a total of 10 miles and ran through about 3 to 4 golf courses. It was awesome. Believe me there is no shortage of golf courses in these cities and Palm Springs area takes the cake for the most I have ever seen!

Thursday I did my first bigger bike ride. I rode 80km and it was a beautiful flat ride. The roads here are very nice to ride on, and of course, everything is well manicured with all the tourism of the area. Roads are named Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Gerald Ford ... I think you get the picture. The area is kind of cool as it is surrounded by little hills (sorry but I cannot call them mountains). I have driven through the area before when I trained in San Diego back in the late 90s but have I never really stayed here and explored.

Thursday night I went to the main street of Palm Springs, where all the expensive shopping is, as they have this street festival there every Thursday night. I was curious. Boy it was packed! I could not believe how many people from Canada are here. It was an interesting experience. If you are ever here, you need to check out this weekly festival. There certainly is not shortage of shops and restaurants on this strip.

Today I am heading out for a trail run and a hike. The area is great for hiking and I am eager to explore. I will let you know all about it.

Well, I did a great trail run on Friday and then headed for my hike after having a bite to eat. The hike was only around 90 minutes (a shorter than I thought) but it was a beautiful hike. The trail was South Lykken Trail and is considered a moderate hike. It would be a awesome trail to run on as it did not have many rocks on it at all.

Saturday I went on a 110 km bike ride. It was a beautiful bike ride south into La Quinta and around the Trilogy PGA. The area is stunning. La Quinta is surronded by the mountains and the roads are like glass with super big bike lanes! I think they are that way more for the golf carts but hey there were only cyclists using them. The lanes were wide enough for two cyclists to be beside each other without even touching.

Here are some picture of La Quinta:




Sunday I woke up with a bit of a cold. Went for an easy 80 minute run but was pretty much done after that. I hung out at the pool and slept. Hoping Monday will be a better day!