All Downhill From Here

Thursday night I went for the usual Survivor Sandwich Jog in 8C/45F degree weather. Nice and quick 5k around the neighbourhood between supper and Survivor, as usual, on dry pavement. It was a little windy, but still unseasonably warm for Calgary in November.

Today was much more seasonable. There was an inch or so of snow on the ground, and it was several degrees colder at about -2C/28F when I left the house. Cold enough that the snow flattened by car tires didn’t melt; it iced. If I had known how much of my run was going to be on crunchy snow/ice, I would have worn my Yaktrax. It took a good 45 minutes for my calves to loosen up and behave themselves. I think that even though I’m pretty confident about my balance on cold stuff, it was basically my first long run this season on it, and it took awhile to trust my feet again. I was not fast, or comfortable, but I did some distance.

I was out for more than a couple of hours, stopping by home to check on kiddos part of the way through. Jeff will be happy to know that I actually met a Superman runner on my run. He had his royal blue superman t-shirt on over his warmer stuff, and it added to the muscular effect. I gave him more than the usual friendly wave. I stuck both my arms out front and sang “SUperMAAAN!” He gave me a big grin.

Towards the end I dropped by the local Rona store to check out the artificial Christmas tree we’re thinking of buying. In the last km I stopped by the grocery and picked up 2 litres of milk and some mushrooms for the stew. I didn’t mind walking a fair bit of the last km home with the milk. I was tired.

How does a procrastinating long distance runner prepare for her first long slick run of the season? THIS one puts beef stew in the slow cooker! And I did the dishes, too. Nothing like feeling tired from a long run, and then having to face cooking in a dirty kitchen, ick. Get it all done ahead of time, and then one has time for a looong run, a toasted tuna sandwich, a nice bath (finished reading It’s Not About the Bike), and a pleasant evening watching the Grey Cup on T.V. Soccer Boy even made me a hot chocolate when I finished my run.

Now that the Edmonton Eskimos have safely tucked away the Grey Cup (man, what a nailbiter!), I’m done for the day. Time to hit the sack early.

A fellow Calgary Roadrunner and friend of mine went on an incredible journey this last summer. Jen started running about the same time as I did, in 2000. She has worked hard to overcome her asthma and this year used her amazing talents to fundraise by running not one, but several Ultra races. Check out her inspiring story here.

… that I couldn’t resist getting out to run again!

I took my bike to work on dry roads, on a sunny morning with just a hint of coolness in the breeze. No gloves even. And after work I ran home in shorts again! It’s November 23 and it was 17C/63F out there!

The Google pedometer says the run from work to my home is about 5.2 km, but there’s a fair bit of uphill involved, so I don’t expect race times when I do it. It took me close to the same time as last week – about 38 minutes.

It’s still supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow, so I’ll walk to work (downhill) and take the bike home after work. I still hope to get in one more run tomorrow night, before taking a rest day before the weekend.

Yesterday Calgary had a record high temperature of 20C/68F for November 22, and it was a running night. Woohoo! I wore SHORTS. Again 🙂 It was very weird to wear shorts to run from Gord’s Store in the dark. We ran down the Crescent Heights knoll beside the C-train, over and along Memorial Drive, under 10th street, and over 14th Street to the south side of the river. Then we ran past Prince’s Island and back up Centre Street.

No ice. Gentle, warm Chinook breeze. I was so delightfully warm I pushed up my long sleeves past my elbows. We chatted about Linda’s favourite types of social dances, about our training plans for the winter, and what a warm fuzzy feeling it can be to watch a loved one sleep. My legs were a little tired between 14th Street and Prince’s Island, but we kept on running and they got over it.

As we ran up the Centre Street bridge we grinned at the officer with his radar gun trained on the traffic whizzing past us. He grinned right back at us and when we got closer, he gave us a signal, pushing the air down with his hands, “Slow down, eh!” It was a beautiful night to be out, a true gift.

Last night we dropped the kids off at the always-helpful inlaws and went to Hubby’s work Christmas Party. I had a couple of drinks before dinner, but knew I had a long run this morning, so after dinner I became the designated driver and hydrated with water the rest of the evening. Dinner was decent, and the veggies weren’t overcooked, so that was a bonus. I was terribly disappointed that amongst the 5 or 6 dessert choices, not a single one had chocolate! We didn’t dance much – Hubby begs off with his chronically sore knees, but we did manage to have some fun during the “Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train”.

I met up with Linda and Yolanda a little after 9 a.m. down by the river not far from Edworthy Park. The sun was shining, it was about 8C/46F with a slight breeze, and I wore leggings and a long sleeved tech shirt. I hadn’t been able to locate my Bodyglide this morning, but oh well, I’d be fine, right?

We headed off towards Crowchild bridge first, and looped back on the South side of the river on the paved path below the Douglas Fir trail. I set my watch for 10/1 s, and we pretty much stuck to the program. There was some ice covering the paved path on the shady South side, so we walked over those patches. It was great to visit and take our time being together.

As we crossed over the river at the West end of our loop we heard Krista calling us from behind. She’d been sprinting to catch up to us before she finished her run. She introduced us to her work buddy, Brenda, and then walked and ran with us back to our cars at the bottom of 37 St. while I munched on a Nutrigrain bar. We said good bye to Linda and Yolanda, and then turned around to go back to Krista’s car, taking me on a repeat of the loop I’d just done, only in reverse.

After seeing Krista off I stopped for a bathroom break and realized that I really, really should have found that Bodyglide earlier, but there was nothing for it now, I would just have to deal with it. Other than some mild discomfort I rather enjoyed the second loop. I ended up running into a fairly stiff Westerly breeze in the last 2 km, and my feet trod less lightly than I would have liked towards the end. I finished in fine form though, gently lowered my rear into the car, and drove over to the inlaws to retrieve my offspring.

Now that I’m home, carefully showered with an omelette in my tummy, I’m feeling pretty good. I think my body is getting quite used to regularly running this distance (15-16km). It ‘s kind of nice to have that knowlege tucked into the back of my brain, but it’s time to increase it a smidge, I think.

After reading about Linae’s upcoming weather and hearing about the cold wet stuff Winnipeg and North Eastern North Americans have been facing this week, I poked my head out the window. Heck, it’s 10C/50F degrees out there! And sunny. It’s Saturday and what do I have to do? Well, nothing that can’t wait until after a RUN, that’s for sure.

I went out for a jolly 42 minutes of dry, well-lighted, heart-pounding, lung-busting tempo run. I went on twisty, bumpy paths I won’t be able to when it’s dark and icy out. I thought about the Penguin whose name I drew in the Penguin Athletes t-shirt swap, and what and how I’m going to send it. I thought about my long run with the girls tomorrow, and ran a little faster, to remind myself that a) this is a short run and b) tomorrow’s LSD needs to be Long and Slooow. I waved to families out with their babies and dogs. I felt amazing. Invincible. Sexy. Bullet-proof!

I love running in Calgary weather, especially THIS kind.

Oh, and on a totally ‘nother note, I ran my thousanth kilometer this year today on my way home. My log shows a grand total of 1002 so far, so I probably hit my 1000th km just as I crossed under Sarcee Trail.

Let’s hope the next 5 km aren’t as stiff as the last five were.

In debriefing with Coach Dianne on Saturday night, I mentioned that I should get moving sometime Sunday or I’d be stiff from the race later in the week. She suggested that perhaps a bike ride would be a good idea, especially since soon the weather will make bike riding rather difficult and dangerous.

Well did I get OUT for the bike ride Sunday?
Well I
I um
MEANT to…

Monday I drove to the library after work and watched the hockey game after supper. Last night I tidied the house for the In-Law Babysitting Service and went out to a wine tasting with the Hubby.

Did I get up early and run those days?
Noooooooooo

So this morning my Darling dropped me off at work with an extra bag of clothes, and I ran home from work just now.

Were my legs stiff?
Yes.

Was there pain and grimacing involved?
YES.

Well that’s what I get for not listening to Coach.