For about 6 weeks leading up to the March 23 L’Arche Half Marathon, I had been working up to 25 km on my long runs (in training for a May marathon), but the training runs were very slow compared to the race pace that found me that day.

It was a chilly March morning at near-freezing, but I was dressed for it, and we didn’t have to wait outside long at the start. Our very cool Mayor Nenshi gave us and the volunteers a great pep talk, and sent us on our way.

At about the 1 km mark my Garmin told me I’d gone out way too fast in the excitement of starting (about 6 minute kilometers). Going out too fast is normal for me. As usual, I planned to slow it down to something more reasonable once I got further along, but for now this felt good, so I thought I’d see how long it would last.

At around 3 km I started chatting with M, a total stranger running her first half marathon. It didn’t matter that she had earbuds in and seemed very focused on listening to them.  She had a steady pace and I thought maybe I could hang on to it with her for a while. I volleyed a comment her way and she politely replied. By the fourth km we were chums.

We ran 6:06 ish kms together for about an hour after that. We talked about our families and our reasons for running – how it gives us the personal space in our lives that we need, and how it rejuvenates us for the demands on our lives. 

My running buddy and his dog came out and ran parts of the race with us. We talked about running clubs and how cool it is to have running buddies. We greeted friends I knew who were volunteering, and other friends racing back from the turnaround on the out-and-back course ahead of us. 

I’m not sure how I was able to keep such a brisk pace going while conversing, except that maybe our connection was motivating and distracting from my effort at the same time. I would look at my Garmin at km markers, and exclaim that I was going unsustainably fast, and then blithely carry on.

There were many, many cheering volunteers along the course. They had noisemakers and great signs and costumes, and they were wonderfully loud. They were awesome.

Somewhere between 17 and 18 km when I was on my own again, I realized that my wheels were not going to fall off at that pace after all. I tried to keep my stride smooth, and focused on reeling in a couple racers ahead of me.

I finished in under 2:10, a 15 minute personal record (PR) over the Calgary Half (my first) in 2005. My training and last year’s weight loss are working out better than I thought. Either that or my sunglasses (a new addition to the gear that day) made me faster.

After the race we cheered in other runners and ate a hot, fresh pancake. Then we trotted 7 km back to the truck for extra marathon training mileage. That last part was really, really hard as my legs were very tired by then. It was good to get the mileage on the books, though, and I had the warm afterglow of a good race to keep me smiling.

I lured my lazy legs
Outside with a four k fib.

They ran the roller coaster route
Oblivious to my little ruse.

A pretty park pulled me aside
“Oops”, I told my legs (I lied)

Pussy willows by the pond, wee
kids on bikes, their parents fondly
following on, three
boys with boomerangs flying…

…the legs realize I’m lying,

but they run on
’cause there’s fun on
the fooled-ya five k loop.

I’m really happy with my running and bike commuting in 2012. I didn’t log the running very well, but this year I’ve committed to tracking my mileage and planning my training again. I will be using one of the Pink Chick’s awesome spreadsheets. Thanks, Dawn!

Bike Commuting:
My last bike commute of 2012 (in mid-December) brought my tally to 141 for the year, which, with my previous two years of bike commuting, added up to 365 overall (108 in 2010, 116 in 2011, 141 in 2012). Maybe I will reach 150 in 2013 – we’ll see.

It doesn’t seem like a big deal when I’m out there, but it is very cool that I get to ride my bike during my commute. I just don’t look forward to other means of commuting as a “yay, I get to do this” activity.

Running:
I started running in January of 2000 (13 year runnerversary coming up!), but for the first 12.5 years I never attempted a daily running streak. July 5, 2012 I began my current running streak, and it’s still going. I do not really have a minimum distance or time for the streak, but usually I just ”run away for 15 minutes” and often I run further away than that.

In addition to keeping up my daily run streak, I’d like to keep my CRR XC race streak going. So far I’m up to 77 consecutive races in the series, and by the end of 2013 hope to complete number 87. Maybe by the time I get to 100 races in 2015 I might not mind missing one.

I have a couple more hopes for 2013, to build on 2012′s success:

1. Plan and log my mileage (see above).
2. Run a marathon.
   It’s been almost six years since I ran my only marathon – it’s about time to try it again.

In other news, I’ve signed up for The Original St. Patrick’s Day 10k (haven’t run that one since 2005) and the Run for L’Arche Half Marathon the following weekend.

On with 2013!

I finished up 2012 with a daily run streak of 180 and a bike commute total of 141.

Monday, December 30, I ran to the local transit station (3 km); a) to get in my daily run, and b) to show a potential new roomie the bus route to my place. The room mate didn’t work out, but the run was nice.

Yesterday, December 31, I ran with a group of streakers for the Strides Holiday Running Streak finale. I chose the 5k option as I was still feeling tight from the Prairie Mountain run, but was surprised to find I felt great and kept a great 5k pace.

Last day of the 2012 December Streak challenge

On New Year’s Day I ran a snowy 5k trail with the Running Buddy, which took longer than the usual flat paved route, but I love the scenery out there.

Since then I’ve been back to work as usual, with runs fit in around the work day, and a couple of bike commutes. My hip has been giving me some trouble, so I’m taking it easy with 2-3 km runs, walking when I need to. I want to keep the streak going, so I get out there, but the hip needs some rest, so I’m keeping to short jogs.

Yesterday was run-streak 184, and I biked to work twice this week.

Yesterday I ran down the west side of Prairie Mountain with some local mountain runners – an ad hoc group who call themselves the Trail Trash. The name “Prairie Mountain” seems like an oxymoron to me, as I think of prairies as flat, and this mountain is not.

The Running Buddy and I started out 45 minutes early, to give me time to hike up ahead of the faster group. I wore my hobnailed trail shoes, but the steep climb on hard packed snow had me donning Kahtoolas half way up – love those things.

We summited with time to spare, and the cold wind made me grateful for all my layers while we waited. I should have brought one more long sleeved shirt, I think. Once the others caught up to us, they showed us the new route down to the Prairie Creek trail. It had been marked with cairns and surveyor’s tape, so it wasn’t difficult to follow.

I made a snow angel when we re-grouped for a snack in a meadow where the two trails met. The others opted to take the Link to the Powderface parking lot (8 km to finish). The Running Buddy and I took the shorter route back, running east (4 km). I have run the Prairie Creek trail a few times recently, so it was nice to run the last bit on familiar ground.

12 km total over 3 hours (the first 3 km took about an hour) was enough for me – not bad for Run Streak Day 178.

This weekend, as the world mourned kids and their brave helpers killed at school in Connecticut, my heart was heavy. I approached our local Silver Springs trail race on Saturday with resolve to make it a good day for more than just myself.

Senior’s Gift
The race organizers collect gifts for our local Seniors in need, so I made sure I brought some nice toiletries to add to the group donation.

Random Act of Kindness
I had done some volunteering with a Lion’s Club this summer, and they had thanked me with $25. The money was very kind and unexpected, and I wanted to pass it on, so I folded up $25 in a note that read “Please register the next 2 non-members + 1 student on me” and handed it to the race registrars as I filled out my waiver at the race. Within 5 minutes I had been heartily thanked by all three recipients – warm fuzzies all ’round!

Remembering Rick
Earlier this year, one of our beloved runners died in a mountain climbing accident. He had often run the Silver Springs race in a Santa hat – often with the rest of the suit and jingle bells too. As a way of honouring him, our race organizers made sure we all had Santa hats to wear, and we took a big group picture, to remember his cheerful spirit.

Run with a Kid (or two)
As we waited for the race to start I was chatting with friends and I was reminded that the Pink Chick’s granddaughter was going to attempt to keep up with me again for the first part of the 8k course. Heck, when I’d heard Nikky was running 8k’s this year (instead of 4k as in past years), I had thought I should run one race of the series the whole way with her. This was it. Hanging out with a kid would help my soul, and I figured she would put up with me.

As we began the race, I handed Nikky a chocolate lolly, and told her to give it to the first kid we passed on the course. She didn’t believe we’d pass anybody, but we passed a boy in the first kilometre, and she cheered him up with a “Merry Christmas”. In the second kilometre as we gained on a second kid, and I handed her another chocolate lolly to give away. She sped up so we could give it to Kaiza, who stayed with us the rest of the 8k course.

The train in the valley below us sounded its whistle as we lined up like rail cars behind Barry, a very long-standing member of the club. We had a lot of fun chugging up and careening down the roller coaster single track of Bowmont Park. Yeee aaaaah HOOOO! I might have gotten a little noisy and reckless on the descents. It was good to be out, propelling ourselves forward through the fresh, crisp air, all with young hearts on the inside.

In an attempt to keep Kaiza (younger) and Nikky (older) both in sight, I let Nikky pull ahead and I ran between the two. Sometimes we spread out a fair bit, but we could see each other most of the time. Nikky missed a couple of flagged turns, but we didn’t do very much extra distance, and we made our way back eventually. Kaiza’s dad joined us in the last km to take her coat and give her encouragement.

We all reached the final climb in a tight group with Barry, and the girls left us in their glorious sprint to the finish. We weren’t last – we rallied to cheer in Julie, who came in shortly after us. I gave her a paper snowflake I’d cut out that morning.

Did I mention I brought brownies for the pot-luck dessert table? They’re my favourite. The post-race soup was awesome, and I snagged a lemon meringue snowman cookie for dessert – yum.

… and a bike commute! Today I rode my bike to work for the first time this December. When it’s been warm enough to suit me, I’ve been busy or lazy, and the rest of the work days in December so far have been either too cold or too snowy for my liking. But today! I rode to work and back and enjoyed it. I have one short week of work left this year. Maybe I will get in another ride or two.

Back to the daily runs:

Last Saturday was cold, but on a long run with the Running Buddy, I eked out 22 km. It was one of those runs where I wore a face mask and developed ice crystals on my eyelashes at the beginning, but warmed up once we stopped facing the wind. There was a nasty ascent at about 18 km, but it became a good excuse to walk and stretch out my calves. My hands were nicely warm enough during the run, but immediately afterwards, when I changed and rushed off to the kiddo’s soccer game in a cold car, my Raynaud’s condition uncomfortably numbed my fingers for over an hour. I eventually warmed up them up around a cup of tea.

Sunday I know I did a short recovery run in the neighbourhood, but I can’t remember it. Monday I took the day off work, and ran in daylight because I could.

Tuesday I had Christmas lunch with the office (complete with a White Elephant gift exchange game), and another Christmas dinner to attend in the evening, so ran the 5k commute home instead of taking the bus or biking. The rest of the week I’ve run local short loops of 4-5 km, involving doggie parks, a head lamp to celebrate Santa Lucia Day, golf course paths, and not-stopping-for-cheese-doodles on the way home.

Tomorrow – yay tomorrow! Tomorrow I have one of my favourite races – the Calgary Roadrunners Silver Springs XC 8k through Bowmont Park from Silver Springs. Tonight I baked brownies for the pot-luck dessert table.

Help, I’ve started running every day and I can’t sto-o-o-op!

Actually, I could stop running any day now. I just haven’t encountered a good enough excuse yet. I’ve overcome 155 days of excuses so far – it’s not much easier, but it is becoming habitual.

Monday I ran past the Lions Festival of Lights. There were several families already in the park enjoying the display, and I smiled at the sound of little children squealing in delight.

Tuesday I ran past an outdoor skating rink, and enjoyed the unmistakable sounds of an ice hockey game. There were no boards on the rink, and it was neat to see players of different sizes getting into it.

Wednesday I ran through a park full of several very happy off-leash dogs. Nearly every one of them had blinking lights on their collars, as if they too were decorated for Christmas.

Tonight I delayed my run, as I’d heard the Okotoks XC race results were posted, and I wanted to check them out. One would think that someone as far back in the pack as I am wouldn’t care so much about the standings, but there is entertainment value there, and encouragement. For instance, I beat the ENTIRE Men’s 70-99 Age Group. This doesn’t sound huge for a woman in her mid-40′s, but that particular one is a very well-trained world champion, and I had to work very hard to catch him.

I also wasn’t last in my own age group, which often happens. I should encourage more women my age to come out to these races. You should come. We have a lot of fun.

Back to tonight’s run – I ran 4 km and stopped at the corner store for cheese doodles on the way home. That’s not a very healthy end-of-run activity, but that’s how it went tonight. Whatever, run streak 155 is in the books, with cheese doodles.

Today I took it easy on a very pretty 4k trail in the woods near a friend’s house. There was more fresh snow falling and the trees were comically swollen with big white blobs. It was like traipsing through a Christmas card photo, and I stopped several times to enjoy nature’s beauty.

I had a really good run the day of the Okotoks XC race, November 24. The coulee at the Strathcona Tweedsmuir School was dressed up beautifully with snow, but it was warm enough to enjoy it.

We ran the loop clockwise twice for the 8k. I started near the back as usual, and sorted out my place in the pack in the first kilometre.

The single track course through the trees was filled with a mix of crusty, hard-packed, and sugar snow, with occasional patches of ice. This terrain challenged our balance and resolve, but we hadn’t chosen to run trails because it’s easy.

Near the beginning I hopped in front of Yoshi, a trail newbie who’s been running with the marathon group. Half way through the first loop I settled in behind Roger, a world record track champion. Neato. He’s usually not within my reach, but today – did I mention I was running well? I passed him on the last ascent out of the coulee in the first loop, but he passed me back, up top on the flat.

We turned off for the second loop and around we went again. I like double loop trail race courses because I know what to expect in the second loop. Usually as a slower runner I’m without much company on the second loop, as most of the racers at my pace opt for the shorter distance.

This time I had company – really close, really motivating company! Yoshi was right behind me breathing hard, and we caught Roger again in the sugar. He stayed close though, and I knew if I didn’t kick it on the level, hard-packed ridge path he’d pass me back again. Those world champions are competitive, eh?

Close competitors kept me motivated. Photo courtesy of Dawn & Darren Henry

On the ridge we closed in on Mary, who usually is much faster than me, but maybe she’s recovering from something. I was on a roll, so I passed her too, and we headed down into the coulee. Whee! She passed me back and we hoofed it back up a steep hill on the other side to greet Kathy’s big camera lens at the top. I quipped “It’s Kathy! Quick, look like we’re running!” and we had a little chuckle before I passed Mary back again.

I was less cautious with the twists and turns on the back side this time and worked my way through the icy single track like a mouse through a familiar maze.

I got tired, sure, but I had competitors to hold off, and it made pushing myself hard more fun. I finished the race with a great whoop and high fived others as they came through.

We visited the timing table and headed into town for soup and dessert. The curried pumpkin soup was awesome, the brownies I brought to the pot luck table disappeared quickly, and it was fun hearing about others’ adventures.