All Downhill From Here

Last night after dinner I got out for my last run before tomorrow’s Moose Mountain race. I even remembered to dig out my trail shoes that I haven’t worn since last spring’s XC series was over. I’ve trained off and on in some parks between the pavement this summer, but mostly I’ve been running in my road shoes.

I needed some off-road training, but didn’t want to run deep into a park on my own, so I improvised. I ran beside the sidewalks on the grassy boulevards. Our deciduous trees are starting to lose their leaves, so I crunched along, finding as many leaves as I could.

I hadn’t planned on bringing thoughts of Liz on this run, but she’s on my mind a lot these days. Running through the dead leaves reminded me about how radiation kills off cells. I was sad about how Liz must feel to have so many good cells killed off with her cancer ones. I wondered if trees mind when they lose their leaves. I thought about Liz’s cancer cells dying off and being carried out of her body as she rests and recovers. I rejoiced in crunching as many “dead cancer leaves” as I could. I envisioned Liz eventually getting better, like a dormant tree budding out in spring.

My grassy boulevards have trees planted along them, so instead of whining about how they were in the way, I had a great idea – slalom! Zig-zagging between the trees narrowed my focus – I had to really think about where my next few steps were going. I found myself picking up my feet more, to avoid tripping on any branches hidden beneath fallen leaves. Before I knew it I was running out of trees.

I altered my usual route to head up and over some local sledding hills, ran through one hilly dog-park and ended up in a second hilly one. I saw some folks lurking on the eastern summit and ran all the way up to the top, to find that the moon hadn’t risen yet. One guy had a big camera and was hoping that the forest fire smoke clouding our atmosphere lately hadn’t obscured it altogether. Last night the moon had risen glowing a bright red. I wished him well and bounded down the other side, happy as the dogs in the doggy park.

On the way back home I found myself at the bottom of the same grassy boulevard I’d slalomed down. Usually I walk up this hill, because I’m close to done and I’m tired. This time I said to myself, “Just zig-zag between 5 trees, and then you can walk”. One-two-three-four-five. Hey, that was fun. I bet in Liz’s radiation session last month she was counting down the treatments, though. So I did 5 more, counting backwards. Heck, now I was half way up the hill and having fun again, so I did it again, 5 trees at a time until we were at the top and only two flat paved blocks between me and home.

This suburban trail play was way more fun than pounding pavement. I was breathing hard and swinging my arms and having a blast. I’m going to do it again sometime.

… because I’m almost out of bandaids.

Little Runner (who is working on becoming Little Rider) fell off her bike twice last night, and fell on the same elbow both times. I sternly admonished her to “stop falling” while patching her up, and she cheerfully agreed.

She’s back to school today, and her brother, too. Woohoo! My husband and I got up early and made the them blueberry pancakes (their favourite) to celebrate their return to school. I’m glad Julie gave me this great idea, and the kids ate it up too (bad pun – so sue me :P).

I don’t know if I’ll be at Gord’s tonight – Girl Guide sign-up is tonight too, and I’m wondering if Little Runner might want to try out Guiding. I’ll get in my run one way or another.

Oh before I forget, we had a really nice hike yesterday down by the Glenmore Reservoir.

Yesterday I lazily slept in and didn’t get out for my run in the nice, cool morning.

I puttered around with other things instead, to avoid the heat. I re-packaged some meat I’d bought in bulk. I even took the time to add marinades to the freezer bags before freezing them. In the afternoon I took my daughter out shopping for some back to school clothes, and we stopped for lunch and groceries, too. Hubby worked until 6 and I made a late supper of beef satay. I put some laundry in the washer and resisted the desire to curl
up on the couch.

With Labour Day today, I could have saved my run for this morning, but I’d promised to run on Liz’s Day of Hope, so I put my shorts and shoes on, kissed my family, and headed out the door.

By the time I got outside it was dark, but that didn’t bother me – I run in the dark all the time in the winter. The air was still kind of warm, but not hot like it had been earlier. I ran much the same route I’d done on my birthday earlier in the week, but stuck more to the lighted streets instead of meandering through the pathways.

Something was kind of weird about my run. As I said above, I run all the time in the dark in the winter, but I felt different on this one. The shadows were kind of strange, but that wasn’t it. I felt more relaxed, more free than I usually do on dark runs. What was it? It took me a good 15 minutes before I realized that I wasn’t scanning my route for ice! Aha! I laughed when I realized that.

It was not a long run, only 5 km. I ran up the hills again, and imagined that it really wasn’t that hard at all. Since I wasn’t going far, I tried to keep the effort strong.

There were lots of folks out walking in the cool evening air. I saw some dogs out playing with their owners. There were other runners out, too. I frightened two big jackrabbits, one at each end of my oval-shaped route. There were a few other kinds of animals out, having barbeque parties and sitting around fire-pits in their back yards. Lots of happy sounds.

I was all sweaty when I got home, but greeted everyone with a kiss again. I poured myself a glass of milk, grabbed a few of my birthday chocolates and THEN I succumbed to the couch. Today is my kids’ last day before school begins again. I think I’ll drag them out on a hike.

Thanks for getting me out the door, Liz!

I had a lovely birthday yesterday, with many calls from family and friends. My husband had the day off, so he baked me a cake and made a delicious dinner. My son decorated the entrance at home with lots of fun “40” balloons and had helped with the dishes. My daughter gave me big hugs and responded to my every request with “Yes, my Birthday Mom”. My in-laws came over to share in my opening of cards and presents, and to help me eat cake.

Birthdays are good. The more of them you have, the longer you live. And THIS year, I get to join a new racing age group. Woohoo!

The first thing I did yesterday, even before breakfast or going to work, though, was my Run for Liz. Here’s my report.

Hey Liz, yesterday I turned 40, just like you! I took thoughts of you along with me on my birthday run.

I am not much of a morning runner, but I know from my marathon training this summer that it is possible to make these legs go at that time of day. I still had to go to work and my family was planning a nice dinner for me later, so morning was the only time for it.

The road was still wet from rain earlier that morning. I wore leggings and a long sleeved tech shirt, as it was chilly outside (about 7C/45F). The air was so reFRESHing that I felt invigorated and ran the first short block out of my crescent feeling STRONG and FAST and AMAZING. In the second minute my I came to my senses and slowed to a more reasonable pace 😉

When I began running in 2000 a good friend of mine was going through cancer treatments, and I learned to cherish all of the feelings that I experienced out on the run, just because I could be out there. Running for you reminded me of her and her family, too. I prayed for your family while I was at it.

My goal for you and me this day was to run for 40 minutes in a row. I prayed for you up and down the hills of my neighbourhood. We sailed down the descents and though I was tempted to walk on the inclines, I remembered my goal for us this day, and thoughts of your struggle propelled me up. We took the hills one little running step, one gasp at a time, and before we knew it we were UP.

I didn’t always take the direct route, I meandered through little back lanes and pathways that wind between our streets. This was not a run to “get over with” this was one to experience, cherish, and claim.

I ran one minute for each of our 40 years, Liz. I hope and pray that we will have many more birthdays, and that next year we can go for 41.

I will also be Running for Liz this Sunday, September 3rd, for her Day of Hope. I hope you will be too.

I love Tuesdays. They come every week 🙂

Last night the Penguins were sparse at Gord’s, but Tim was there. We started out with Kelly, Ian, and Ian’s friend, too. Tim had done the Edmonton Half Marathon a couple of weeks ago and was still recovering. This was a good thing for me, because he didn’t mind going a little slower to accommodate my pace. It took me a little longer than usual to find my groove as we ran along. I think I was a still a little tired from my long run on Saturday.

We ran down the hill in front of the Ukrainian church, across the river, and then west past Prince’s Island. I set a goal to only walk on the bridges, so we ran all the way to 10th Street from there. As we were running back east on the north side of the river someone called hello to me, and I turned around to see Krista (who ran with me often last winter). She was out walking with a friend. After a short visit we ran to the Curling Club stairs and walked up to the top. I was very out of breath at the top, but managed to enjoy some of the view before we ran the last few blocks back to the store.

Tomorrow I will turn 40, and I’m going to start a new tradition. I’m going to run as many minutes in a row as I have years. I wonder how many years I can keep that up? This year’s birthday run will be dedicated to a very special Penguin. I’m telling you this now, so that I won’t just roll over and go back to sleep tomorrow morning. This one’s for Liz.

Editor’s Note (9:05 a.m. Aug. 31): I did my 40 for Liz this morning, before breakfast, even. The report will have to wait until later – time to get ready for work.

This morning Little Runner and I got up early and headed down near the Bow River for the Robert Hamilton Memorial 5 and 10 miler. This is one of my favourite races, as it covers a lot of the same flat, river-side bike paths that I used in my marathon training. The RHM is one of those small, quiet affairs where you don’t have to worry about chip-times or even road traffic. I’m tempted to call it a casual race, but the distance is Timex Series certified, and some of Calgary’s best die-hards come out to test themselves on this course.

LR and I had two locations we were to marshal on the out-and-back course. At first we directed racers on a key turn going out. Then on the way back there was a new finishing route, and I stood under the 16th Avenue bridge telling confused-looking racers where to go.  Little Runner amused herself in between racers by exploring the nearby grassy areas and watching some fishermen pump up their raft.

Every year Robert Hamilton’s brother Lloyd comes out to help us remember Robert in a different way. This year he brought several of the old t-shirts different sponsors had produced over the 33 years of the race. I always enjoy this part of the post-race events, Lloyd always speaks so well and it gives more meaning to the race.

Bruce and Lindsay, some of the nicest race directors you’ll ever meet, had LR help them hand out door prizes and awards. The medals, like in previous years, were an edible gingerbread runner. LR was thrilled to bits to receive a spare medal when one of the winners had to leave early. She didn’t wait until we could get home and take a picture of it – she had the legs eaten off before we even got to the car. I didn’t win any of the door prizes like Dawn did last year, but at least I have a nice new pair of customized Defeet socks for training – my favourite kind.

We have beautiful, sunny warm weather here in Calgary this weekend, but if you get up early enough it is still cool and breezy. Yesterday I didn’t get up very early, but I hit the road running at around 9 a.m.

I was so inspired by Jon who had his son bicycle beside him, that I asked our Little Runner if she would join me. LR has only recently managed to balance on two wheels, and thought this would be a great idea. We made it a whole kilometer away from home before she lost control and wiped out in a big way. She got a big scrape and had the wind knocked out of her, so I walked her back home and dropped her off for Hubby to console while I continued on my run.

It was a challenge to find a decent pace on this run, as I needed something long and hilly, in preparation for the Moose Mountain 16 km I’m doing in two weeks. I’m not brave enough to just go out trail running way out in the bush on my own like Donald, so I opted to climb up and down my hilly suburbs and use whatever dirt paths in hilly doggy parks I could find along the way. I’ve explored this area before, so this time I had a better idea of where some of the meandering alleys and pathways would take me. I still couldn’t re-trace my exact route if you paid me, however. I just meandered eastward and upward towards Nose Hill Park.

Shortly after I crossed the pedestrian bridge from Hawkwood to Edgemont I met up with two gentle old german shepherds out for a stroll by themselves. There was no owner in sight. They bore collars but no i.d. tags. I tried to lead them back the way they’d come, but they wouldn’t have it. No one I asked seemed to know them, and they trotted along with me for a while. I tried to lead them towards the fire station, in hopes that the guys there would give them some water and call Animal Services, but the older of the two dogs found some shade at one point and refused to budge before we got there. I left them at the Chimney Hill townhouses. I hope they found their way home.

I followed signs leading to garage sales, but didn’t stop at any, even when one offered iced tea and cookies. I took a gel and drank my Gatorade instead. I put in more time than I had done last time exploring the wild, grassy Edgemont escarpment and had to stop several times just to enjoy the view.  I also enjoyed the distraction of lots of Cabbage White butterflies throughout my run.

Eventually I made it home after about 2.5 hours. It was very cool to be fit enough just to go out and run around for that long. My legs didn’t really give me any grief until the last half hour, but I kept Moose Mountain in mind and did not choose the easiest route home.

For the last couple of weeks (maybe longer?) I’ve only run about twice a week. I’m in bare maintenance mode, unlike Mark and Aaron, who are doing amazing stuff over at Complete Running. Go over there and check out their new articles and enter a very exciting contest. Cool!

Club Night: Last Thursday I showed up for the Calgary Roadrunner Club Night, and had a nice time trying to keep up with Carla and Karin for the first mile. They went off to do a big hill and then I worked hard to keep up with Louise, friend, and dog. When doggie stopped for a dip in the creek (it was hot out) I headed back to my car for the water bottle I’d forgotten to bring along. I did some walking after that, until everyone came back. About 10 of us had a nice chat over dinner.

I was a lazy slug on the weekend and didn’t do my long run for the second weekend in a row. At least the weekend before I managed 5k with Dawn. This time I lazed around on Saturday and then developed a sore throat Sunday. I coulda-shoulda run, but I just didn’t.

Tonight I showed up at Gord’s Running Store because it’s TUESDAY and I love running on Tuesdays 🙂 I ran with Duke and Kelly, and had fun telling Duke (who’s from Texas) all about how much fun we have in the winter. He asked for it. He’s going to need to buy some layers – including running pants. and mitts.

Dawn wasn’t there, and she missed a profound Zen quote. I even remembered most of it on our run! A few of our Gord’s group are heading out to do Ironman Canada this weekend and Gord chose a special pre-run Zen quote for them (Go Gord’s Athletes!). I liked it so much I brought it home to share with Dawn (and you).

This is it
and I am it
and You are it
and so is that
and He is it
and She is it
and It is It
and That is That.
– James Broughton

Oh, and did you follow that link to Complete Running at the beginning of the post? No? Well go now. Scoot…

Actually Dawn has more than that many photos of our birthday weekend out at Dianne’s cottage. And for the record, I’m not technically 4 decades old for another 15 more sleeps. Time to get my beauty rest now, it might come in handy…

Last night showers were predicted, and the rain came right on schedule as I ate supper and got dressed to run. I drove down to Gord’s Running Store anyway, where it was still dry. The rain caught up with me as the group started out, but we all laughed and headed out in it anyway. It was light and cooled the air down nicely. We were rewarded with a GORGEOUS rainbow in the east as we headed down the hill in front of the Ukranian church.

The Penguins my speed have not been showing up lately, and even our newbie Duke was absent, so I started off quickly in front of Gord’s Runners, in hopes that I wouldn’t lose most of them until after we made it past the homeless shelter near the south side of Langevin Bridge. Kelly took pity and stayed with me as I puffed along and pushed my pace. Ian started his friend Heather out with Dawn and then joined Kelly and I for some pleasant conversation as we ran the medium option, to the 10th St LRT bridge.

Just as we were crossing the Bow river Ian spotted an animal down in the Prince’s Island bushes, and we stopped to see what it was. It was a HUGE beaver, lugging a green bough with it. We saw it swim down stream to where it looked like it was building a lodge. We also saw a couple of women playing and soaking in the river further downstream. They must have been drunk – the Bow is glacier-fed and icy cold. And folks tell me runners are nuts…

We went back up the curling club stairs and to the store in less than 50 minutes. I felt I had kept up a great tempo pace throughout the run. The speed, the weather and the company were just what I needed.