All Downhill From Here

Little Runner and I got out Wednesday for another traipse through puddles and over the same pathway as usual, but avoided the rain for that mile.

Thursday we took her older brother, Soccer Boy, to practice and went for a good 20 minute walk before she hit the playground and I read my book until practice was over. The walk actually took us longer than 20 minutes, as there was a whole crop of dandelions in need of harvest down one alley, and Little Runner just couldn’t resist them.

Yesterday we had a very busy day – her school held a walk & roll-a-thon to raise money for their special school buses. We had gotten some sponsors, so we registered, got a little canvas goody bag, and joined in a big 20 minute walk around the park. The walk was part of her family day school picnic, and there were hotdogs, chips, and juice boxes available afterwards. The teachers and aides had set up some fun activities as well, such as mini-golf, paper airplane making, face painting, blowing bubbles, and human-bowling (staff dressed up as bowling pins fell down in funny ways when a child rolled a big exercise ball at them – what a hoot!).

There was music and the staff and kids danced some special dances they had learned in phys.ed. – very cool! These other activies are what they usually have for their family day, but the walk & roll-a-thon was new. It was quite something, as they had staff dressed up as cheerleaders with water bottle spritzers, who cheered us along the way. Little Runner goes to a very special school – I am always encouraged when I see how much support she gets there.

After the picnic Soccer Boy and Hubby met us and we made it in time to see the last horse jumping competition of the day in the International Ring at Spruce Meadows. The heavens opened up with rain, lightning and thunder, but the riders kept competing, and we watched them from the bleachers under an awning. We watched some of my favourites – Ian Millar, Beezy Madden, Michael Whitaker and Ludger Beerbaum to name a few.

Little Runner and I got out Wednesday for another traipse through puddles and over the same pathway as usual, but avoided the rain for that mile.

Thursday we took her older brother, Soccer Boy, to practice and went for a good 20 minute walk before she hit the playground and I read my book until practice was over. The walk actually took us longer than 20 minutes, as there was a whole crop of dandelions in need of harvest down one alley, and Little Runner just couldn’t resist them.

Yesterday we had a very busy day – her school held a walk & roll-a-thon to raise money for their special school buses. We had gotten some sponsors, so we registered, got a little canvas goody bag, and joined in a big 20 minute walk around the park. The walk was part of her family day school picnic, and there were hotdogs, chips, and juice boxes available afterwards. The teachers and aides had set up some fun activities as well, such as mini-golf, paper airplane making, face painting, blowing bubbles, and human-bowling (staff dressed up as bowling pins fell down in funny ways when a child rolled a big exercise ball at them – what a hoot!).

There was music and the staff and kids danced some special dances they had learned in phys.ed. – very cool! These other activies are what they usually have for their family day, but the walk & roll-a-thon was new. It was quite something, as they had staff dressed up as cheerleaders with water bottle spritzers, who cheered us along the way. Little Runner goes to a very special school – I am always encouraged when I see how much support she gets there.

After the picnic Soccer Boy and Hubby met us and we made it in time to see the last horse jumping competition of the day in the International Ring at Spruce Meadows. The heavens opened up with rain, lightning and thunder, but the riders kept competing, and we watched them from the bleachers under an awning. We watched some of my favourites – Ian Millar, Beezy Madden, Michael Whitaker and Ludger Beerbaum to name a few.

June’s Challenge is to report on using all of your senses in your walk or run report. Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. The monthly challenge is issued by a Penguin (this year it is Dudley in Louisiana) and passed through the Penguin groups so everyone has an opportunity to try it and write about it.

It has been raining here with increasing steadiness and intensity since last Wednesday, and we’re looking at a couple more days of it. Small towns near swelling rivers are enduring evacuation warnings and orders due to flooding.

ORN & June Challenge: Krista and Yolanda and I showed up at Gord’s for our weekly run, even though it was raining. We ran over some bridges and under some, and one pathway was blocked by the swollen Elbow River. We were out for just over an hour.

I heard: birds chirping, the splat of my feet in puddles that I deliberately sought out to run through, my breathing, my friends talking with me, and the loud, rushing rivers that I ran alongside (the Bow and the Elbow rivers)

I saw: puddles, muddy river water, a duck, a family of geese complete with baby goslings being fed by a man, two gophers, two rabbits, some dogs, people taking pictures of the swollen Elbow, some cyclists, and some kids out with their parents and umbrellas.

I smelled: fresh, humid, rainy air. I noticed that I did not smell the drenched honeysuckle bushes or lilac blooms that we ran past. It was nice not to have my eyes running from my allergies to them.

I tasted: rain drops from a branch I didn’t see until it hit my face. The rain mixed with my sweat and tasted fresh and salty at the same time.

I felt: rain on my face, a tightness in my calves on the way out, how deeply I was breathing with my lungs, the swat of that branch I hadn’t seen, a stiff breeze on the way back, the steepness of the hill I had to climb to get back to the start, the coolness of water seeping into my shoes when I was splashing through puddles, and the splash of a puddle on me when a car drove though a puddle close to me.

I also felt a happiness and closeness with my running partners, and excitement at the prospect of joining them for coffee after the run.

June’s Challenge is to report on using all of your senses in your walk or run report. Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. The monthly challenge is issued by a Penguin (this year it is Dudley in Louisiana) and passed through the Penguin groups so everyone has an opportunity to try it and write about it.

It has been raining here with increasing steadiness and intensity since last Wednesday, and we’re looking at a couple more days of it. Small towns near swelling rivers are enduring evacuation warnings and orders due to flooding.

ORN & June Challenge: Krista and Yolanda and I showed up at Gord’s for our weekly run, even though it was raining. We ran over some bridges and under some, and one pathway was blocked by the swollen Elbow River. We were out for just over an hour.

I heard: birds chirping, the splat of my feet in puddles that I deliberately sought out to run through, my breathing, my friends talking with me, and the loud, rushing rivers that I ran alongside (the Bow and the Elbow rivers)

I saw: puddles, muddy river water, a duck, a family of geese complete with baby goslings being fed by a man, two gophers, two rabbits, some dogs, people taking pictures of the swollen Elbow, some cyclists, and some kids out with their parents and umbrellas.

I smelled: fresh, humid, rainy air. I noticed that I did not smell the drenched honeysuckle bushes or lilac blooms that we ran past. It was nice not to have my eyes running from my allergies to them.

I tasted: rain drops from a branch I didn’t see until it hit my face. The rain mixed with my sweat and tasted fresh and salty at the same time.

I felt: rain on my face, a tightness in my calves on the way out, how deeply I was breathing with my lungs, the swat of that branch I hadn’t seen, a stiff breeze on the way back, the steepness of the hill I had to climb to get back to the start, the coolness of water seeping into my shoes when I was splashing through puddles, and the splash of a puddle on me when a car drove though a puddle close to me.

I also felt a happiness and closeness with my running partners, and excitement at the prospect of joining them for coffee after the run.

The rain was very steady this evening, so there was nothing to do but suit up and get out IN it!

Little Runner and I didn’t get out for our mile yesterday, but made up for it tonight. After having chili for supper we put on hoodies, raincoats and hats, grabbed our umbrellas and went out worm mucking.

Little Runner counted up to a 100 worms before she stopped counting. I saw at least three more for every one she counted. Purple ones, pink ones, skinny, fat and squished. We admired how they moved and how squishy they were.

We also saw some pink flowers that I thought Dawn might like.

Rain is not a rare thing here, but they don’t call ours the sunniest province in Canada for nothing. I was not raised on a farm, but all my grandparents were Alberta farmers, and I was brought up to appreciate moisture this time of year. We had so much fun jumping in puddles that we stayed out past Little Runner’s bed time.

I have a movie of her jumping and running in the puddle, but have no idea how to load it. Advice welcome!

We did not run much, but we covered a fair bit of pathway. Put us down for miles 3 & 4!

The rain was very steady this evening, so there was nothing to do but suit up and get out IN it!

Little Runner and I didn’t get out for our mile yesterday, but made up for it tonight. After having chili for supper we put on hoodies, raincoats and hats, grabbed our umbrellas and went out worm mucking.

Little Runner counted up to a 100 worms before she stopped counting. I saw at least three more for every one she counted. Purple ones, pink ones, skinny, fat and squished. We admired how they moved and how squishy they were.

We also saw some pink flowers that I thought Dawn might like.

Rain is not a rare thing here, but they don’t call ours the sunniest province in Canada for nothing. I was not raised on a farm, but all my grandparents were Alberta farmers, and I was brought up to appreciate moisture this time of year. We had so much fun jumping in puddles that we stayed out past Little Runner’s bed time.

I have a movie of her jumping and running in the puddle, but have no idea how to load it. Advice welcome!

We did not run much, but we covered a fair bit of pathway. Put us down for miles 3 & 4!

The usual warning of a long report applies, yada yada. There are a lot of pic, too, so I apologize if it takes some time to load.

Yesterday morning the rain held off while I ran in the Run Walk and Roll 10k. I wasn’t sure it would, so I brought a variety of things to wear, including a $2 emergency plastic rain poncho and some garbage bags (in case anyone else needed them), which stayed in the van after all.

Little Runner and I had some french toast for breakfast and then picked up Dawn on the way to the race. Dawn’s been carefully recovering from a foot injury, but generously offered to keep an eye on Little Runner for me while I raced. Dawn and I like cheering each other on at races, too, so we brought the cows we won in Florida and partied it up! Dawn took a bunch of pictures and has generously shared several with me. Check out her perspective of our race party here.

We arrived about an hour before the start, so there was plenty of time to pick up my race number and pin it on. Krista found us right away in our bright pink attire, with our silly cows.

When Linda showed up we went around the block for a little warm-up jog. We greeted other runners we knew from the Calgary Roadrunners and other events. I wasn’t particularly nervous, as a) I know I can run 10k and b) I was deliberately not trying for a PR (personal record). I was excited, as I do think of races as a “Celebration of My Training” and I even had friends to celebrate with me on and off the course today.
Linda showed up in her Calgary Roadrunners warm up suit, and had fun trying to get the pants off over her shoes.

I wore shorts to run in because I knew I would warm up while I was running, but Dawn caught me wearing a fleece blanket to keep warm while we stood around chatting.

We started off at a brisk pace. The course starts off with two blocks of downhill, through an intersection and then turns onto the fairly flat pathway along the river. Linda and I ran along some of this course last week, when we did our long run together. I waved to Yolanda’s (another running partner, whom we’ve missed running with lately) windows as we went by.

When I’m feeling good in a race the first km is always fast, and we did this one in 6:13, a little faster than Linda and I had planned. In retrospect, we probably should have stayed back with Krista a little longer, and warmed up a little more. Linda was trotting right along, however, and somehow I managed to keep up. At about 4.5 km I felt a wave of tiredness wash over me. I just wasn’t sure we could keep up this pace for the whole hour, or whether we should. In Linda’s last 10k in March she’d gotten terrible leg cramps in the last 3 km and suffered painfully for days after. She still had a goal of making it in less than 1:04 though, and wanted to stay on track. She’d taken a gel before the race this time. That should take care of the cramps, right? We reached the 5k mark at 31:45 gun time, by my watch.

At this point Linda was shortening her steps for me. I stopped for an extra cup of water and told her to go on at her pace. I just didn’t think I would be able to help her with that goal, and didn’t want to hold her back.

I got passed by a few groups that had hung back in the first half, and leap frogged with a curly haired dude who would run ahead and then puff puff “wait for his friend to catch up”. By the 7th km Linda was 150m ahead of me and looking great from what I could see on the bends in the path. I myself was struggling along, cursing my lack of speed training, and wondering why I had PAID $35 to work this hard on a pathway I can run on anytime for free. Oh yeah, “Celebration of My Training”. I think I need to train a little harder before my next “Celebration”. Work it baby, work.

I did try to counter my struggling feeling by reminding myself how amazing it is that I CAN run and run and run like this at all. How 6 years ago I could barely run around the block. How fun it is to run and jump in puddles, and GO. It worked somewhat to buoy my spirits, especially the puddles. Thanking volunteers cheered me up, too. I was glad that they could be there so I could race.

By 8 km I saw I was catching up to Linda – she was suddenly only 75 m away, and walking often. She’d to jog a bit, hobble, and end up walking again. I regretted my decision to wave her on, and told myself that the next 10k I would more assertively try to take care of her. It still took me until the last 500 m of the race to catch up to her, and even then just barely. She hobbled fast, and she knew the finish was just up that short hill. When we turned off the pathway and ran past Yolanda’s house again, I gave a little wave and then focused my energy on Linda. There was a jackhammer going somewhere nearby, so I don’t think she heard all my shouts of encouragement, but she picked it up and made it in.

A guy wearing a blue jersey and cycling cap came barrelling up the finishing stretch when we had 15 m to go. We had run our first few km with him and left him behind. He sprinted past us with everything he had, and I gave him a whoop of encouragement. Oh yeah, THIS is why I love 10ks, finish lines! I could do finish lines over and over.

Dawn and Little Runner cheered us in and got our picture. Linda won’t like this picture, but you can see the pain she was in when she finished. I’m having a grand old time behind her, not realizing just how hard it was for her at that point. Her husband is leaning over the rope to catch her.

Little Runner handed me a bottle of water and gave me big, big hugs. I needed to get to a bathroom PDQ, so she hugged me on the way there,too. I was disappointed to miss Krista’s finish, but some things just take priority.

This race supports a private school that serves special needs, gifted and regular kids, and one of our Penguins teaches there.

There is a playground where they set up the race booths, and it is a very well organized, family-oriented race. There is also a very well-attended 5k walk and run, and they even map out a separate roller-blade route.

Goomies (that’s Penguinese for race food) include cut up apples and oranges, yoghurt, cut bagels with cheese already spread on them, juice boxes, popsicles, revels, hot dogs, coffee and hot chocolate. There was an inflated bouncy thing for the kids, and a great band kept us dancing to “YMCA”, “Stayin’ Alive” and other favourites. We had fun high-fiving and posing with mascots for the Calgary Stampede, the Calgary Flames and the Fire Department. It was cool that those mascots enjoyed posing with our mascots, Bessie and Pinko the cows.

We’ll be back next year!

Oh yeah, I’m getting ready to race with Linda this morning, while Dawn watches Little Runner and they cheer us on. Better eat some breakfast, eh?

It has been raining quite a bit over the last couple of days, but that’s good, because we need it. June is usually Calgary’s wettest month, so it’s to be expected. Rain is so much better than snow!

Little Runner and I got out in between showers after supper. We did the same route as last time, which might be more than a mile. I have to measure it with the bike odometer. She was keen on running down hills, but otherwise preferred to walk. When we came back through a big long condominium parking lot there were lots of puddles and she was quite excited to run between those! We both splashed until our feet and pants were wet. 🙂

We explored one extra, small hill before stopping at the school playground where she tried out all the equipment, except for the muddy slide. On the way back past a hill of wildflowers I pointed out what wild strawberry plants look like and challenged her to find others.

I must remember to bring the camera along on these miles!

I don’t know how you early morning runners do it. You who just get up and out the door the second you open your eyes, wake-up-on-the path type runners. I got up this morning and took my elephant legs out for a quick half hour as Little Runner and I have a date at the amusement park tonight, and I’m racing Saturday. Not sure what good I did, but I thumped around on mostly the same paths I took Little Runner to last night. I walked an exorbitant amount, couldn’t catch my breath when running, and though I did add on an extra km at the end, didn’t feel strong, or competent or anything like it.

I did, however, feel good that I got my sorry behind out of the house by six, and the air was divinely fresh, cool and humid. Humid is a good thing around here – Calgary is a dry place. Now it is pouring out. There is even some lightning and thunder, and I’m all smug, sitting here in front of the computer, with my run, such as it was, done. 🙂