Posted by: Karen | November 23, 2012

Do Not Sit Down

Today I was feeling tired again, but it’s my own fault. Last night I failed to get to bed early. Wednesday I got to experience Xavier Rudd’s awesomely unique music in concert. Who knew a didgeridoo could drive such intense coolness right through me! It was a blast, but it kept me up way past my bed time.

Tonight when I got home I knew I could not sit down, or it would be oh-so-difficult to get out the door for the run. The streak involves strategy, and this is one tactic; DO NOT SIT DOWN.

I immediately donned my run gear and booted it around my 4k loop. In the last km my mind got home ahead of me, was already cooking dinner, and my legs walked a couple of steps. I yanked my mind back to finish the run, to “be in the moment”, with my legs.

And there we have it, run streak #142.

1 Comment

Posted in Running, Streaks | Tags: ,

Posted by: Karen | November 22, 2012

Grumpy Gus

I was not in the mood to venture out after I got home today. After waiting far too long to catch my bus home, I was cold and whiny by the time I arrived.

I have this streak going, however, and I’m too stubborn to break it for a little fussiness about cold weather, so I geared up and churned out a couple of kilometers. It wasn’t much, but it counts. I felt better once I was done, and I carry on.

1 Comment

Posted in Cold, Running, Streaks | Tags: , ,

Posted by: Karen | November 21, 2012

Lunchtime Run

Today I ran #140 in the streak at lunch so I have time to get to Xavier Rudd’s concert at the University tonight.

I haven’t worked up to first-thing-in-the-morning runs yet, but lunch runs work in a pinch.

Today’s run was cold and slippery, but pretty. There was fresh snow stuck to everything – the Peace Bridge, curling club hill, the Centre Street lions, all the big old trees in Prince’s Island Park. Despite the slippery footing and possibly because of the cold, I kept a pretty quick pace for most of it.

It felt good.

Comments Off on Lunchtime Run

Posted in Cold, Running, Streaks | Tags: ,

Posted by: Karen | November 20, 2012

139 And-a One More Time

Tonight I ran the same 6 km loop as last night. I ran it mostly because I like that particular scenic route, but also because I’d left my Garmin at home last night and was curious as to its distance. That loop might become a regular in my repertoire.

It was -10C out. Waves of teensy tingly snowflakes melted on my face and eventually accumulated on my mitts.

1 Comment

Posted in Cold, Running, Streaks

Posted by: Karen | November 19, 2012

138 – Recovery Run

Today I ran a nice, gentle run around the golf course and into a local park, for something between 4 – 5 km. My quads felt a little stiff at the very beginning, but in general the legs seemed to have forgotten that we ran for hours and hours yesterday.

Since streak running, I’ve noticed that it’s not usually the run on the first day after a big effort that feels tired – the sucky run usually comes later in the week, when I think I’ve gotten away with it.

Comments Off on 138 – Recovery Run

Posted in Running, Streaks, Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

Posted by: Karen | November 19, 2012

Powderface Creek and Prairie Creek

Yesterday the Running Buddy and I ran part of the Powderface marathon course. From the Powderface Creek parking lot we went northwest up to a saddle, then down to a road, then back east on Prairie Creek Trail, skipping the short cut link back to the parking lot. It took us a little over 4 hours to run 21 km according to my GPS.

It was a nice day for November, with a warm Chinook wind blowing high over our heads, but we were sheltered by the trees and mountains. We had dressed in layers, studded shoes and hydration backpacks with assorted light supplies and extra gear, so we were ready for colder weather if necessary.

It took me over an hour to climb the first 5 km, but I had been warned of the elevation gain, so did not lose heart. There was some fresh snow over last week’s hard-pack and ice, which shifted just enough underfoot to keep my steps small. I could have used snowshoes on that part, but I wouldn’t have gone any faster.

The descents after that first 5k were a total blast. The snow cushioned our impact without being too much of a hazard. After the first two hours we dangled our feet off a bridge while munching almonds and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

We had run the second part, the Prairie Creek Trail which is slightly easier, as an out-and-back a couple of weeks previous. It was familiar to me, and it was good to know what to expect. The sun came out a few times and warmed us up, but didn’t make the trail very mucky.

I’ve added a few pictures on my Flickr account if you’re interested.Image

Comments Off on Powderface Creek and Prairie Creek

Posted in Canadian Content, Cold, Running, Running Friends, Streaks | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Karen | November 17, 2012

136 on Hard-Packed Snow

Today my run streak caught my 2012 bike commute tally at 136. I ran about 5k with my Running Buddy.

This run felt good again. I guess it’s not a coincidence that running every day seems to have produced fewer sucky runs than good ones. Actually, the sucky-run number is probably close to the same – I’m just experiencing more good runs in between them.

My basic runs near home are mostly on sidewalks and paved paths – sometimes cleared of snow and sometimes not. Today’s run was from the Running Buddy’s place, which involved single track trails on hard-packed snow and a few steep climbs. I wore my hobnailed trail shoes and walked the steepest parts, but ran at least a couple of hills I’d found too challenging to run last spring.

Running on hard-packed snow is about as enjoyable as running on hard packed dirt. One part of today’s trail was not as hard-packed as the rest, and took a fair bit of my concentration to keep running smoothly ahead. On a whiny tired day I would have walked it, but today I dove into the zone and focused on keeping my body moving forward.

When I’m challenged by variable terrain it often helps not to think specifically about where each foot goes, but to throw my heart where it really wants go, and trust that the rest of my body will figure it out. It’s an awesome feeling when it works. Today it did.

Comments Off on 136 on Hard-Packed Snow

Posted in Run Streak, Running, Streaks | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Karen | November 16, 2012

Tired Legs

Tonight’s run was slow and I felt tired, but I managed 4 km on one of my basic loops. I walked the ascents and jogged the rest.

I have no special epiphanies to note, except that I got it done and now I’m heading out for a nice dinner.

I’m looking forward to Sunday’s adventure. Maybe I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.

Comments Off on Tired Legs

Posted in Running

Posted by: Karen | November 15, 2012

Run Streak 134, Bike Commute 136

It’s about time I started tracking this streak on more than just my little Streaks phone app. And it’s about time I stopped neglecting this blog so much. I’m reluctant to say that, because life is busy and I’ve been out of the blogging habit, but I know I can pick it up again.

I’ve been writing stuff in my head as I run – I really need to release it into the universe. Maybe if I keep the posts short and easy, like how most of my run streak runs are, I’ll keep it going.

Run streak day 134: Not a stellar run – less than 3 km around the neighbourhood. It’s been a busy week at work, I was feeling tired, and I had other tasks to finish before the weekend hits after work tomorrow, so I cut the run short and stopped by the corner store for milk on the way home.

Bike commute 136: It was good to get back on the bike again, even if it was dark and I had to strap on the reflective blinky lights. It was only -1C and the road was mostly snow-free, so traction was better than I’d hoped it would be.

Ha, the run streak is very close to matching the bike commute tally!

Comments Off on Run Streak 134, Bike Commute 136

Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Karen | November 14, 2012

Autumn Streak Update

This running-every-day thing is a very good habit for me. How did I manage to be a runner for 12 years without trying a daily run streak! 

At the beginning of the streak several of the runs were hot, sweaty slogs, since I started on July 5. This fall I have really appreciated the cooler temperatures, and – surprise surprise – I’m feeling more fit. More and more of my runs are feeling better and better. Cool.

Tonight was #133 in the streak. Since I was feeling great and had time, I extended the usual 30 minutes to 40 minutes. Monday I doubled the run time to a whole hour just on a whim. I like this a lot.

While I’m here on the blog, I might as well catch you up on the bike commuting too. Last week before we had a major snow dump my 2012 tally hit 135. I’ve got the studded tires on and might get in at least one commute this week, especially since the roads have cleared a bit with plows and melting. We’ll see if I feel like crunching through frozen slush at the intersections.

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories