Monthly Archives: July 2009

Today’s run was hot and so was I but not because I ran fast. I’m talking about internal temperature. I was really hot since I did not start my run until just after 12 noon, the hottest part of the day. I ran the 11.15 km (I only record 11 km in my log) with an average pace of 7:50 which is slower than normal, but I was fighting a crappy knee and hot weather too. I have some severe muscles knots in that knee, and when I got back home I worked on them a lot so it feels much better now. The County of Parkland was paving a portion of the road I usually run. It’s not real smooth pavement like a highway; it’s more like a mixture of asphalt and gravel which is graded and then sort of flattened by a John Deere tractor hauling a gravel … Continue reading →

Today I turned a magic 777 kilometers run so far this year and, whats more, I have exactly 800 kilometers on my running shoes. That number on my shoes is the magic number that tells me it’s time to get a new pair. Well, I’m going to wait until after my next trail race before I haul my new Mizunos out of the closet. It felt a little bit cold with a strong wind and overcast conditions as I started out on my run but I got up to “operating temperature” pretty quickly and that somewhat icy wind somehow magically turned into a cool refreshing breeze. Actually nothing changed in the environmental conditions but my perceptions certainly changed. My left knee threatened to have a tantrum but I called it’s bluff and kept going. By some magic, the knee forgot its threat and it was all good. So a word … Continue reading →

I went for a training run today at the same location where I’ll be doing a trail race two week from now. I ran 7 km with an 8:02 or so pace per kilometer. I was worried about the mud situation at first due to the recent rains, but I found it was relatively dry and the mud was not too bad at all. I really like this course, it is very scenic. The hills are very short but brutal, and it is a challenge just getting up them even on your hands and knees if it is too wet because of the mud. It’s just too slippery to get any traction. You can’t go downhill either, you have to literally ski downhill. Not that you have any choice, since gravity takes over and there is nothing you can do but enjoy the ride. But, as I said, I was … Continue reading →

How can I not like running? It’s about the only time I can get out there and enjoy the reality of our natural birthright, even if it is at a 7:14 pace per km as it was today. The Alberta wild roses are at their peak now so today’s 11 km run was another waft through perfume filled woods. It’s quite astonishing. They have such a strong perfume it’s positively weird running through hundreds of meters of roses either side of the trails. That’s part of why I like to run country roads and trails so much. I run all year round and I am out at least 3 times a week in all kinds of weather from blistering broiling sunny heat to wind whipped rain to blizzards at minus 25 degrees C. I get to see the seasons come and go, progressing through the years. Running outdoors in wilderness … Continue reading →