Long Weekend Solo

Heather is out of town again, so I went solo. It's been a fabulous weekend weather-wise, so I couldn't wait to get out there. And it looks like everyone else was ready to be out there, too.

Not feeling great this morning though, so I started slow and was going to see how I felt going along. I was ready to cut it short if I started to feel really crappy, but the more I ran the better I felt.

I actually made pretty good time to Edworthy, better than I expected. And up until the turn around Angel's Cafe it was an uneventful run. But just in behind, on the bank against the highway, a goose family was making it's way down to the road. Seven little ones, looking very fluffy and new.

The return run was pretty good. I felt strong and had a great pace. I caught up to a couple who had drifted in from the condos near Point Mackay, and were going slightly slower than me. I passed and said good morning. Stoney silence.

I moved in front of them and pushed it a little just to get some distance. Then they passed me. No worries, except that as they pulled in front of me they slowed down again. OK, so I endured that for another minute, then decided to pass again. As I got along side them, they sped up again. At that point, my Garmin said it was time for a walk break, so they got way ahead of me. But for a couple of minutes, it was just like driving in weekend traffic on the Trans Canada from Banff.

Anyway, it was too nice a morning to be affected by that weirdness. And for one robin sitting in a bush beside the path near the Crowchild/Memorial interchange, it was almost the last morning. He fled toward me, then down the river bank, as the leaves on the bush exploded around a small hawk that traveled through it claws-first.

All this happened less than ten metres in front of me. It was too small to be a red-tail hawk, and too brown. Kinda stripy on the underside. It recovered from it's dive in less than the width of the trail, almost coming to a full stop five feet off the ground. Then it banked away from me, glided down the river bank and along the shore. Spectacular!

Between the Deerfoot driving style of those two runners, and witnessing a raptor doing his grocery run, I was a little pumped. It felt fast, and I was feeling a little strain in the lungs. I probably haven't pushed like that enough, and it felt great. It also didn't last.

After a walk break just before 14th Street, it felt like it was all I could to to start running again. Another walk break up the ramp to the foot bridge to Prince's Island, and the legs just didn't want to swing any faster. But I took on The Path Under The Stairs, and actually managed a fairly agressive climb. I even passed a cyclist labouring up the steeper part of it (who promptly passed me - another Deerfoot experience)

I felt this climb in the lungs though, and my breathing never really recovered in the half kilometre to the end of the run. Great run, considering how I felt at the start (and somewhat still felt at the end.)

Distance: 16.00 km. Time: 1:28:49 Average speed: 10.8 kph. (5:33 min/km)
Rest distance: 893.9 m. Rest time: 9:00.
Total distance: 16.89 km. Total time: 1:37:49.

Shoes: New Balance 1061.

Weather: Cloudy and 19C to start, ending at 21C.