Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Last Sunday

Beautiful morning, started out sunny, but the cloud was rolling in. And it was windy too. I wound my way down to the river and ran west as usual. This time, at Crowchild, I ran straight through to Lawrey Gardens instead of crossing the river. The trees are still not filled out but it's such a nice winding path along the river.

Across the tracks after a short wait until a train finished passing, and I found the path below Spruce Cliff completely clear of ice. L n K Maybe it has been clear for awhile, but from across the river the week before it looked like there was still some. Nice to get back into that part of the paths.

I crossed at Edworthy, and headed for downtown. I felt a little stiffening up in the hips nearing the bridge to Prince's Island, but was good until I started running through downtown. Every time I had to stop and wait for a crossing light, I stiffened up considerably, and it was hard to get going again. I stopped the timer at the last crossing light, and walked the last three blocks.
L n K
I think the GPS missed a couple of kilometres...

Sundays's run
Distance: 15.59 Time: 1:38:22
Average speed: 6:18 min/km. (9.51 kph)
Rest distance: 0.98 km. Rest time: 10:00.
Total distance: 16.57 km. Total time: 1:48:22
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Yellow 2). 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Just Bad

That was not the night to run. I should have gone straight to bed or something. I had been too long out in the sun earlier in the day, and I think I got a touch of heat stroke. I dragged myself home and L n K attended to some things, before getting out to run, but I was very tired, a little headachey, not feeling at all well.

I ran up the hill on 8th Street, down to Sandy Beach, and then back along Elbow Drive. The last couple of kilometres were especially difficult, but I managed to get home before being nearly sick. I got out of my running clothes and simply lay on the bed for the rest of the night. Bleah.
L n K
Yesterday's run:
Distance: 7.08 Time: 43:07
Average speed: 6:05 min/km. (9.85 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Blue)

Sunday, May 08, 2011

Rainy Sunday

It was pouring just before I got out the door, but by the time I was on the street, it had eased up to a spitty drizzle. A grey Sunday morning seems to keep people in, so the streets were quiet. It was easy to skip across the streets on the way to the river, and I joined the path at11th Street.

I ran to Crowchild and crossed to the north side. I don't know what the path is like below Spruce Cliff, but it still looks ice covered from across the river. The cliff so named has several natural springs that run all year, and in the winter the ice can build up significantly. L n K Perhaps next week I'll try running that path. The ice is only in a couple of places, but it's tricky to cross when it's melting and wet.

I rounded Angel's cafe as usual and headed back to downtown, again staying on Memorial until the foot bridge to Eau Claire, and from there I zigzagged through downtown and the beltline to home.
L n K
And now my Garmin has lost its mind... It appears to be hung up, so I will have to either charge it up or let it completely run down. Details to follow....

Friday, May 06, 2011

Another Exploratory Run

Except it wasn't really going over anything new. I used to run down to Sandy Beach when I was training for marathons. L n K  I would run toward the zoo from my old place, then follow the path along the Elbow River from where it flows into the Bow. Going that way and all the way down to Sandy Beach, was about 30 km.

Today I just ran up Cliff Street until it ends at 24th Avenue, then over a short block to 5th Street. I crossed to the river side of Elbow Drive and followed it along until the foot bridge at 32 Avenue, and crossed that to Rideau Road on the other side of the river. That dead ends after a couple of blocks, turning into a paved path along the river that goes past Stanley Park and then on to Riverdale, where I run the same route as before.

At the foot bridge to Sifton Avenue and 8th Street, I crossed north, then followed 8th Street until it ran into a bluff, then crossed a field to where it continued on, to the three way intersection at 30th Avenue. From there it was straight up the hill on 8th Street to home.

That hill seemed steep as I approached, but once I was climbing, it felt quite easy, much easier than The Path Under The Stairs. L n K Maybe it was because it was new. Wonder how I'll feel about it after climbing it a dozen times.

I had forgot to charge the battery on my Garmin, so I"m not sure how accurate these numbers are, but they do look good...

Today's run:
Distance: 7.91 Time: 41:42
Average speed: 5:16 min/km. (11.38 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Yellow 1)

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Over The Hill

I thought it was time to try a new route, so I took 8th Street up and over the hill. It's a long climb, though not steep. L n K It 's not straight, but kinda weaves slightly. On the other side, it drops quick to a round-about. I crossed that, and kept heading south.

My thought was to cross the Elbow River at Elbow Drive and then run through Riverdale to Sandy Beach. I was rather surprised to see the distance mount, but I supposed a novel route makes things go by more quickly. When I reached Sifton Boulevard, I remembered another foot bridge across the Elbow River near a school, so I went west a block instead of east. and found it.

At the end of Riverdale Avenue, I took to the paved path toward Sandy Beach, but I noticed a runner in the trees close to the river. At the foot bridge, instead of crossing, I decided to follow a well worn path back along the river's edge. L n K It reminded me a lot of when I used to run through the trees at Fish Creek Park.

Back on Riverdale, I ran all the way to Elbow Drive, and followed it all the way to 5th Street. Man, I'm glad I can walk to work; traffic wasn't moving too fast in places. After turning off 5th, I slowed to a walk for the final few blocks home.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.01 Time: 42:24
Average speed: 6:02 min/km. (9.91 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Yellow 2)

Sunday, May 01, 2011

A New Starting Point

This is the fifth run I have done since I last posted. Been busy with stuff, and sometimes too busy to run, or too tired. But it's the first run from my new home.
L n K
I headed straight north toward the river, to get back to my old route. I now get to run through downtown, but I sort of skirted it this morning on the way out, getting over to 11th Street and going past the old Science Centre. Once on the path it was pretty much the same as ever.

A lot of people were out this morning. It started only slightly chilly, but the running warmed me up quickly. I crossed to the north side of the river at Crowchild, ran down to Edworthy to loop around Angel's Cafe, then ran all the way back to the foot bridge to Prince's Island. From there I ran through downtown, crossing to the beltline at 5th Street, and then home.

It turned out that my distance is almost the same as from where I lived before.

So to catch up...
L n K
On April 8th:Distance: 10.30 Time: 1:01:08
Average speed: 5:56 min/km. (10.11 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Blue)

On April 10th:
Distance: 15.80 Time: 1:33:02
Average speed: 5:53 min/km. (10.19 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Yellow 2)

On April 12th:
Distance: 10.24 Time: 1:00:18
Average speed: 5:53 min/km. (10.19 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Blue)

On April 24th:
Distance: 16.38 Time: 1:40:56
Average speed: 6:09 min/km. (9.74 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Yellow 2)

And today:
Distance: 17.25 Time: 1:36:37
Average speed: 5:36 min/km. (10.717 kph)
Rest distance: 0.95 km. Rest time: 10:00.
Total distance: 18.20 km. Total time: 1:46:37
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Yellow 2).

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

No Mo' Sno'!.

I hope.... After the dump we got on Saturday, there's an 8 foot high ridge of snow along the end of the parking lot at Eau Claire. However, this morning's layer in the plaza in front of the Y is gone and the paving stones are mostly dry. It's melting fast.

I think finally not running on snow has improved my running. I'm faster and I don't hurt as much. I've also restarted my morning routines, building up some core and upper body strength. I stopped doing those about three years ago, no idea why. But it has helped a lot, especially with some knee pain that has been there the past few months.
L n K
Now I'm hoping I can get back on a schedule now, so I can be in some kind of shape for the BJR.

A little bit of interesting factiod: Today, it's been exactly seven years since I started running.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.33 Time: 42:26
Average speed: 5:47 min/km. (10.36 kph)
Shoes: New Balance 769 (Blue)