Friday, March 31, 2006

Hard Run Day

Don't know what was up with this, but maybe Tru is having an effect? Anyway, it was a hard, fast run, despite starting out a little stiff and achey. Once I got loosened up, it felt really good.

I decided to do a little bit of distance and went to Crowchild and back. For such a lovely day, there weren't many out running or doing anything else. But then maybe everyone took a late lunch because the crowds seemed to build a little by the time I got to my end point.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.30 km. Time: 36:03. Average speed: 12.1 kph.
Rest distance: 458.9 m. Rest time: 3:48
Total distance: 7.76 km. Total time: 39:51

Weather: Mostly cloudy and 9C. It's spring!

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Back to an Evening Run

My schedule seems to keep shuffling around, and sometimes my lunch hours are taken up by, well, lunches. Such was today's lunch hour, so no run. But I felt I needed to get out there and burn some calories, so I brought my gear home and changed into it as soon as I got home from work.

I ran down to the river, down to 14th Street and back, nothing special. I needed to feel like I'd been out there and to loosen up things a little after the distance run on Sunday. I've been feeling a little tight in the calves and left knee since that, and more running kinda loosens things up a little. You can bet I'm doing a lot of pre- and post-run stretching, though.

Today's run:
Distance: 6.78 km. Time: 37:52. Average speed: 10.7 kph.

Weather: Cloudy and 4C; not quite tee shirt and shorts weather, which explains why I was a little cold. The cloud gave everything a greyness too, which lent a slight oppressiveness to the day. Otherwise, a good run.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Spring Has Spung

What a fabulous day to be outside! Tee shirt and shorts time, and does it ever feel good. I did the long zoo route, with the thought that maybe I'd go all the way back to 10th Street, but once I got to the Prince's Island foot bridge, I decided that was enough.

The calves felt a little tight from the Sunday run, but they loosened up OK once I was a few minutes into it. There was a fair bit of traffic on that route compared to what it usually it like, and when I hit Prince's Island it was almost like a marathon start it was so crowded. Everyone wants to get out in the sunshine.

Today's run:
Distance: 6.12 km. Time: 35:15. Average speed: 10.4 kph.
Rest distance: 301.9 m. Rest time: 3:00
Total distance: 6.42 km. Total time: 38:15

Weather: Mainly sunny and 5C, but I think the temperature is a lot higher downtown.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Used Up Today

Got a decent start this morning, bright and early. It was a little damp out, but we didn't get the massive snowfall they were promising since Friday night.

I headed to Cresent Road and down The Path Under The Stairs. Across to Prince's Island and along the south side of the river to Crowchild, where I crossed back to the north side. I'd love to run the south side to Edworthy, but with the natural springs that are along that side, it's likely to be very icy and slick.

Along Parkdale Boulevard to the footbridge to Edworthy, and thank goodness for the Point Mackay Washrooms. On past Shouldice Park and here's were I should have stayed with the original plan. I was going to zig-zag up Home Road to 13th Avenue, which runs down the middle of Shouldice Park, but instead stuck to the path along the river. It was very icy and also very wet, making for a treacherous shuffle.

Then across the John Hexall bridge and along Bowness Road to the railroad overpass, at which point the GPS announced my turn-around point. So back toward the downtown, with a brief break at those washrooms again.

From the Edworthy bridge, it got really busy. There must have been a dozen groups of fifteen to twenty runners, plus several smaller groups and solo runners. I would guess they are Running Room groups preparing for the Calgary Marathon or the Policeman's Half or something. Those are about 16 weeks away, so about right to start a training program.

From Crowchild on, the traffic disappeared, and it was straight slogging. I crossed back to the south side of the river at the C-Train bridge, then chugged back at Prince's Island, where traffic picked up again. The Path Under The Stairs was particularly difficult to climb this morning, but then I got to it at about the two and a half hour mark.

After that is was a short drive to home. I never really recovered my breath after that hill in those last few blocks, but then I was pushing pretty hard.

Today's run:
Distance: 25.00 km. Time: 2:22:12. Average speed: 10.5 kph.
Rest distance: 1.42 km. Rest time: 15:00
Total distance: 26.42 km. Total time: 2:37:12

Weather: Cloudy and 1C, warming to 4C. Perfectly beautiful spring day.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

First Run With Tru

Finally got to run with Tru this morning. We've been talking about getting together for awhile now, and I think we're pretty well matched. I let her set the pace as she hasn't been outside all winter, but the treadmill running has definitely kept her on track. We set a pretty decent pace right off the start.

Mindful of my intention to run distance tomorrow as usual, we did a quick loop, down The Hill Under The Stairs, out to 14th Street and back. And given that we walked most of The Hill on the way back, I think our pace was pretty darn good.

Today's run:
Distance: 5.99 km. Time: 35:56. Average speed: 10.0 kph.

Weather: Cloudy and 3C. Absolutely a beautiful morning.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Foggy Day in Calgary Town

It's lifted a little, but this fog has been hanging around all week. Another reason I'm glad I can walk to work. It makes for a really nice run, too, once the temperature climbs above zero. There was a thin layer of ice in a lot of places this morning, which made for some treacherous walking.

Byron and I just did a short run out to 14th Street and back. Poor guy has been abusing his knees by moving into his new house and shuffling boxes up and down stairs. Not a whole lot of traffic out there. With the fog, and it being Friday, maybe people just went for an extended lunch.

Today's run:
Distance: 4.87 km. Time: 27:17. Average speed: 10.7 kph.

Weather: Fog and 0C. Even a little misty at times. Very nice running weather.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Is It Spring Yet?

Wotta week! Seems like I have had something going on every day. But today I finally got a free lunch hour.

Running solo today, so down to Edmonton Trail, west to 14th Street, then back to the Y. Nice run, beautiful weather and lots of people out.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.40 km. Time: 37:29. Average speed: 11.8 kph.

Weather: Partly cloudy and 6C. The cloud is high and thin, so the sun is shining through quite nicely.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Two For One

Got two runs to document this time. I ran late Thursday just to burn off some excess energy, and because I haven't been able to get out much this week for some reason. I was out in the dark and the fog about 9:30 pm, just down to the river, crossing at 14th Street, then back home by the Centre Street bridge. I was going to write it up after, but Tru called, and that's a perfectly reasonable interruption to anything.

Thursday's run:
Distance: 6.43 km. Time: 37:27. Average speed: 10.3 kph.

Weather: Foggy and cold. I think the temperature was around -7C.

Today, it was one of those mornings. So rather than toss and turn until the alarm, I just got up and got my running gear on. I was out the door by 6:00 am.

A little chilly to start, and I'm glad I chose the light sweatshirt over the tee shirt. The wind was in my face all the way to Bowness, and kind of erratic. Not too many out at that time of day, either, but traffic started to pick up on the way back.

I made it to 32nd Avenue on Bowness Road before turning around after 70 minutes of running. On the way back, I crossed to the south side of the river at 14th Street, and ran to Eau Claire before crossing back at Prince's Island and chugging up The Path Under The Stairs.

Today's run:
Distance: 21.91 km. Time: 2:05:50. Average speed: 10.4 kph.
Rest distance: 1.13 m. Rest time: 13:00
Total distance: 23.04 km. Total time: 2:18:50

Weather: Light snow and -11C the whole way.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

St. Patrick's Day Run Results

From the Running Room website, these are official results:

Rank: 125/388
Clock Time: 50:40
Pace/km: 5:04
Bib: 1190
Division: M4049
Division Rank: 28/57

This is over six minutes better than my performance last year (56:52).

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

What a Week!

Too much stuff going on, and I haven't been able to get out like I want. I took the afternoon off to get some pressing matters dealt with, and found I got them done a little early, so I had time for a run.

Not sure I like running during the afternoon rush hour. I found myself breathing a lot of bus exhaust, and the smell still lingers. Bleah. But it was a nice run nonetheless. The fog that's been hanging over the city all day gave a little bit of atmosphere, too.

I headed to the river, by way of The Path Under The Stairs, then along the north side all the way to Crowchild. Crossing to the south side, and heading back toward downtown, I met lots of cyclists out, and a few runners. It's a pretty quiet time of day. I went all the way to Centre Street and back home, up Nony's Awful Little Hill.

Today's run:
Distance: 10.24 km. Time: 52:27. Average speed: 11.7 kph.
Rest distance: 482.5 m. Rest time: 5:00
Total distance: 10.72 km. Total time: 57:26

Weather: Fog and -4C. Good conditions, but the pollution from the rush hour traffic made it challenging.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

St. Patrick's Day Run

This one snuck up on me, and I almost forgot about it. Friday it occurred to me that I needed to pick up my race kit. Saturday, I remembered that Byron had also signed up, so I picked up his race kit. He didn't make it, due to extenuating circumstances (he slept in). Boohoo for him, but it turned out OK for me, cuz I lost my beer ticket, and used his.

It was a cooler day this year, but without the wet snow. There was also one stretch behind the University of Calgary campus where the snow hadn't been removed from the road, and it was crusty ice. But mostly it was pretty good. There was a very light snow coming down, hardly enough to notice, and a stiff enough breeze to make it uncomfortable until I got warmed up.

I think I started too far back in the pack. I was about the same place as I was last year, but I think my pace is about a minute per kilometre faster this year. At the first kilometre marker, my average speed was just 8.4 kph. Lots of traffic to get past, but by the time we got half way and started the second ciruit around the campus, it was pretty evened out.

I felt really good through the whole run. In fact, I felt like I was needing to hold back, cuz I didn't know what I'd need at the end of the race, and if I'd have it. It was nice to pass the 9 km marker, because that's when I let go and found a natural pace that was comfortable, long and fast. I think I passed the most people in that last kilometre, excepting for the first two when I was in all the traffic. It seems like it takes about 8 km to get to that point, where the miles go by and it takes very little effort.

After, I checked the official stats, and my time was 50:40, and I think I was 125th out of around 700 runners. I can't remember exactly what I ranked in my age group, 26th out of 57 sticks in my head, but I may be making that up. I'll check the official stats in a couple of days. But here's what I got with my GPS:

Today's run:
Distance: 10.39 km. Time: 50:33. Average speed: 12.3 kph.

Weather: Light snow and -11C. Not as wet as last year, just colder.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Snow Storm

It's not really a storm, but it is snowing and it is blowing. Might be a fun drive home for people tonight. Otherwise it's good running weather. Lots of people out too, undetered by the snow and wind.

I just did a short one today, and without the GPS. I took it home to charge it up last night, and forgot it there. So another estimate... Here's the stats from February 22:

Today's run:
Distance: 4.82 km. Time: 26:35. Average speed: 10.9 kph.

Weather: Light snow and -3C, with a gusty wind from the north.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Still Luverly

Not quite the day we had yesterday, but only a degree cooler and overcast. Still a beautiful day for a run. The reduction in the traffic on the paths was barely noticeable.

This was another one of those days where I must have forgot to shut off the GPS, cuz the battery was depleted. So I'll look back through this blog and see what my history is on that loop, and then estimate what I probably did.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.50 km. Time: 42:00. Average speed: 10.7 kph - I'll buy that.

Weather: Cloudy and 5C. No wind, too, so really nice out.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Is It Spring Yet?

Sure feels like it. I just wore a couple of tee shirts and I was way overdressed. A far cry from the other extreme that I experienced last Sunday. Everyone was out taking advantage of the nice weather too. Traffic was really heavy between the Prince's Island foot bridge and 10th Street, on both sides of the river.

I decided to kind of go both ways from the middle today, heading east to Edmonton Trail, then west to 14th Street before heading back to the Y. The paths are clear, and actually dry for the most part. And maybe it was the energy of the crowd, or something, but I really had great speed out there. The last half, I was cruising!

Today's run:
Distance: 6.07 km. Time: 32:23. Average speed: 11.2 kph.
Rest distance: 327.6 m. Rest time: 3:00
Total distance: 6.40 km. Total time: 35:24

Weather: Sunny and 6C. Gorgeous weather for a run.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

A Little Distance, Finally

It's been too long since I ran some real distance, and it feels good to get back to it. I ran west along the river all the way to Shouldice Park and back. It's a little bit on the cool side, and I wondered at times if I was underdressed. Actually, I probably was, but no harm done; just a little uncomfortable at times.

The new shoes are performing just fine, with not too much of any discomfort lingering from the old ones. I really did leave getting them replaced for far too long.

Today's run:
Distance: 19.37 km. Time: 1:47:50. Average speed: 10.8 kph.
Rest distance: 968.1 m. Rest time: 11:00
Total distance: 20.34 km. Total time: 1:58:50

Weather: Clear and -17C to start, warming up to -15C by the end (woohoo)

Friday, March 03, 2006

Snowy Friday

The paths are being kept clear, which is nice. There is a little ice here and there, and in places there is a layer of hard packed snow. But it's rather nice to be out with the snow coming down.

I did run/walks out to Crowchild and back, kinda pushing it a little toward the end. I'm really starting to like these shoes. Yesterday I didn't run, but expected some tightnessfrom the day before. In fact, I was less tight than I have been for awhile. Nony says it's always the second day before you really feel it, though, and as usual, she's right. This morning it was worse, but still better that it has been. We'll see what a distance run does, if I can get one in this weekend.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.22 km. Time: 38:34. Average speed: 11.2 kph.
Rest distance: 458.0 m. Rest time: 4:00
Total distance: 7.68 km. Total time: 42:34

Weather: Light snow and -11C, with confused breeze that didn't know which way to blow. Seemed like I was running into the wind going and coming.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

New Shoes...Finally

Went out and got some new ones last night. I tried a three or four different ones. The Asics were sqeezey in the wrong places, but close. Brooks just doesn't work, and Mizunos felt good, but the sales girl said because of the light weight, they didn't have the durability, and I don't want to be replacing them any sooner than I have to. So I went with the Saucony Grid Phoenix shoes.

Good run today. Typical of new shoes (for me, anyway) is how they bring out all the little aches and pains that can be brought out. Most are transient, thank goodness, just the usual twinges that come and go. I did feel some tightness in the calves that wasn't there before. Well, it was, but usually not while I was running. I think all of it is just adjustment to something new.

So while I can't say love the new shoes, I certainly like them. We'll see how I feel in 24 and 48 hours.

Beautiful day for a run, so I headed down to Crowchild and back. The paths have been plowed and brushed, but there is still a layer of packed snow on them, and with the sun out like it is, there's some melting going on. Gotta watch for the odd icey spot.

Today's run:
Distance: 7.07 km. Time: 38:11. Average speed: 11.1 kph.
Rest distance: 407.0 m. Rest time: 4:00
Total distance: 7.48 km. Total time: 42:11

Weather: Sunny and -9C, but it seems much, much warmer. Beautiful day out there.