Trail Walking in Iroquois Park, Louisville, KY

Most of you know that I've been a distance runner since high school. In my youth, I peaked at two miles in just under 10 minutes. After getting married, I settled into three miles every other day at 6 minutes per mile. Did that for years. At age 40, I ran a mile in 5:56, and did the mini marathon in 1:31:00. With a heart rate of 60, my doctor said I was in great shape, but warned that I was wearing out body parts that were not easily replaceable. And he promised that the replacements were not nearly as good as the originals.

Fast forward another 15 years, and I feel his advice coming to fruition.  After a winter of rest on the hips and knees, I began the summer with two mile runs. Something tells me it is time to turn in the running shoes for walking shoes.

In recent months, I've joined a friend at trail walking as an alternative to running. Like me, he works out to stay in shape, but realizes that the knees and hips are not what they used to be. Instead of walking the streets, we decided that the trails were much more challenging, more aerobic, and certainly more scenic. The following pics show a sample of the wonderful scenery we enjoy while brisk walking more than four miles of woods and hills. It is amazing that you can actually experience such a quiet, serene atmosphere right in the middle of Louisville, KY. This park is located near the world famous Churchill Downs horse racing facility. If you need an alternative to running, or just want to enjoy the scenery, I strongly suggest Iroquois Park.

This is where it starts, just across from the parking lot.

The hills are not mountains, but they are challenging at the pace we hike.

These trails are well maintained and just wide enough to avoid seasonal ticks and chiggers.

While inside the woods, you seriously can't tell you are in the city.

Top of the hill.

Sit here quietly at dusk or dawn and you might see whitetail deer or a fox. I've seen both in the park.

My hiking partner--long time friend, and my daughter's former cross country coach.

Deep into the woods.

One of the more open hillsides.

Almost back to the parking lot.