Photo Update continued: December 16-31

I have a bit of time this morning, so I decided to throw together the 2nd of 3 photo update posts. I hope you enjoy the photos.

December 16 – Homer Watson Park, Kitchener

 

December 20: Where I grew up (Eastern Ontario) 

 
This is the park where I used to play. The playground is not visible in this photo.

Brinston General Store

What used to be Watson’s General Store. I bought my fake Cabbage Patch Kid doll here when I was little. I didn’t even have enough money but Barb let me have it anyway. :)

December 22: Still out my parents’ way – cold and snowy

I had to cut this run short because I was actually in pain from the cold.

December 30: around Downtown Kitchener

I have no idea why there are hats on this window sill.

I will have one more photo update post in the next couple days, which will bring the blog up to date. :) I may also include something about today’s race, the Re-Fridgee-Eighter, which is part of the Waterloo Running Series.

A photo update

***
It is now February 8th and I wrote a good chunk of the below last week. Instead of changing it, I thought I’d just add this wee blurb to the top so you know why the actual post starts out with info that is no longer true since I posted something yesterday.

Today is essentially a snow day due to the piles and piles of snow we received overnight and are still getting now as I type. I am working from home today, but there are some system issues due to the number of people on VPN. I doubt I’ll run later, but it could be kinda fun in the snow… who knows. I am planning on a trail run tomorrow morning with some people through meetup.com. It could be interesting with all of the snow.

Instead of this post being an update all the way up to now, I think I’ll do it in chunks. Today will be December only. Next time, I will include January and the first weekend of February.

I will try to update the blog on a much more regular basis going forward. Life got crazy and the blogging got pushed aside. Life isn’t exactly “normal” now, but I will blog. :)
*** 

I realize that it’s been quite a while since I last published a blog post. So… instead of trying to think of a bunch of things to write about, I will post a bunch of photos that I took on the runs between my last blog post and now. I will include short blurbs about the runs along with the pictures so that you know what they are about and when they were taking. This should bring you up to speed on my running. I will try to be better at posting from here on in.

December 1st: The Santa Pur-Suit:
As you may recall, I ran in the santa suit with Jordan previously, to promote the event. On actual race day, I got to see my friend Paul and also my mom, who both ran the race as well.

 

December 8th: Saturday morning run with Ron (Runners’ Choice)
I met up with Ron and some other runners in Cambridge. After the group was finished their run, I went back out for another out and back and took some photos on the way.

 

December 15th: Kissing Bridge Trailway, West Montrose. This is a very well marked flat rail trail.

     

I was going to keep going with December, but there are a bunch more photos that I want to share and this post is already crammed full of photos, so I will stop here and start at December 16th in the next post.

I hope you’ve enjoyed some views from the run, even though they are old.

The Santa Test Run

Next Saturday is the first ever Santa Pur-Suit, a 5K and 3K running race and 1K fun run. In this event there will be 800 or more Santas running through town in full out red suits and beards.

Jordan Schmidt mentioned to me earlier this week that he was planning on taking the suit out for a test run through Downtown Kitchener and Uptown Waterloo on Thursday and asked me if I wanted to join him. Of course I said yes! This sounded like a lot of fun! 

Here’s how the run unfolded.

Jordan left his work in Downtown Kitchener around 12:15 and ran up to meet me outside of my work. He texted me when he was leaving so that I would know when to get ready and head outside.

My co-workers thought it was funny when I showed up at my desk with a Santa suit in a bag and they let me know that I HAD to come back to my desk with the suit on before heading out to run. When I returned in the suit, they insisted that I pose for a photo. My pose of choice? Holding my belly that shook when I laughed like a bowl full of jelly… but as pointed out to me by my friend Matt... “nothing fills out a Santa suit like a marathon runner.”

Around 12:30, I met Jordan at the corner of King & Union, where Julie took some photos as we started to run together.

Jordan and I headed up the street and ran to Waterloo Town Square, through Uptown Waterloo, and continued on to finish up our Santa Run at Runners’ Choice.

Along the way, as we ran through Uptown and past the university, we heard a lot of honks, "Ho Ho Ho", "Merry Christmas", and
comments of "you're going to make it snow", "you're a little early", and my personal favourite of the day "Thank you for putting this smile on my face".

It was fun.

Once we arrived at the store, Lloyd and Julie Schmidt were waiting for us. We took a few photos outside and then went inside and did a little video review on the suits.

The suits were hot on, but it was also quite warm out. It was 12 C (54ish F), which is definitely not Santa suit weather. I had shorts and a tank top on under my suit and I was mighty warm. The beard and hat were a bit warm on as well, but if the change in weather today is any indication (it was snowing on my way home from work), it will be much more comfortable on December 1st.

After we finished our little interview, I de-Santa-ed to the shorts and
tank top I had on under it, got a bag from Geoff (the store owner) to put
my Santa suit in, and ran back to work carrying the bag.

I got 5K of running in during my Santa Pur-Suit Promotion Lunch, half in a Santa suit and half not.

I hope to see many of you out in a big, bright, red suit next weekend. There is still time to register for the 5K, 3K, or 1K event on December 1st, so please visit Run Waterloo for more information on the Santa Pur-Suit and other races in the series.

To see the official suit review, click here.

Grand River Trail: Freeport to Blair

Last Sunday, I took some photos during my run along the Grand River with full intentions of creating a blog post later that night or at least the next day. This didn’t happen, of course, as it is now a week later and I am finally posting. Better late than never, right?

Let’s see if I can remember any of this run… it was a point to point run starting at the bottom of Kitchener, and ending up in Cambridge.

There were many people out and about on the trail that day; I saw cyclists, walkers, and runners (although not many runners). The nice weather and the fact that the new pedestrian bridge had just opened up 2 days prior were probably big factors in the numbers that were out. I’m sure in a month or 2, I’ll see a lot less people out there.

All in all, it was an enjoyable run with good weather and nice scenery. I will leave you with some photos.

I had to take a photo of the giant house that is being build backing onto the trail. It’s huge!

These next 2 photos are of the new pedestrian bridge that connects sections of trail on either side of the river.

Not too long after crossing the pedestrian bridge, I had another bridge to cross, but it was over something much less scenic: the 401.

On the other side of the highway, I found a new section of trail that I had never run on before. These last few photos were taken there. As you can see, I took a wee break to enjoy the view.

ENDURrun Stage 5: The 16-Mile Cross Country (25.6 km)–Chicopee Ski Hill

This morning was a bit different than then other mornings this week because I was getting a ride with Paul instead of either driving myself or going with Ryan. Apparently this threw me out of my routine a bit because I managed to forget a few things at home including my recovery drink.

We arrived at Chicopee Ski Resort around 7am this morning (an hour before race start), so we had some time to sit and chat with other runners, get ourselves ready, and use the washrooms without feeling rushed.

While we were standing around right before the start, there were two deer crossing the one ski hill, which is part of the course. It was fun to watch them for a moment, but then it was back to business. Roll call was taken and waivers were signed (I guess the Chicopee people don’t want any law suits if we hurt ourselves). Now it was time to go. We lined up at the start and Lloyd counted us down.

The first km of the course was new from previous years and went through some nice trails, but there were some very narrow sections, so it was a bit tricky with all of us going through at once. It got much better on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th loops. Out of this section, we crossed over a road and into another trail section, which was my favourite part of the course. It was shaded, there was a breeze, and there were lots of twists and turns. After this, we ran out into a gravel road area with the hot sun beating and then onto the first official hill of the course. It was a long and gradual hill, which then turned around a corner to more hill, around another corner to even more, steeper hill. The aid station at the top of this section was very welcome. And the nice shady trail section that came next was also a welcome change from being out in the sun.

The first major downhill (straight down one of the ski hills) was quite steep and tricky to run down as if you went too fast you might tumble down. After the descent, there was only a short stretch before the major ascent up another ski hill. This one was un-runnable for me. I attempted at first, but resorted to walking very quickly. There were more nice trails at the top of this hill and then another downhill, up through trails, and the final downhill of the lap.

Repeat this 4 more times for a total of 5 loops.

Today’s stage was quite tough. I walked up several hills, but I was okay with that. I finished the 25.6 km of Chicopee in 3:12:08. I had some low back and hip pain today and also 2 blisters, but I didn’t feel as though it was slowing me down, just an annoyance more than anything. I’m glad this stage is done. 5 stages down and 2 to go. Tomorrow is the 10K and then Sunday is the marathon.

Starting the new year off right

Today I ran the Resolution Run with the Running Room. It wasn’t a long run, just a short 5K run in the rain, but it was a good way to start off the year.

2010 was a pretty good running year for me. I managed to spend the year injury free, which was my main goal and I also set a couple of PBs in 10K and also the half marathon.

Total Distance covered in 2010: 1353 km

In 2011 I will be expanding my running horizons further with some exciting challenges. So far, my longest race has been the half marathon, but this spring, I will run the Around the Bay 30K road race and the Mississauga Marathon.

The big challenge for this year will be the ENDURrun in August. This event is an 8 day, 7 stage event covering a total of 160 km. I will have to train harder than ever and build up my endurance, but I’m certainly looking forward to it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Morning in the Park

The sun had recently risen; the frost had not yet melted, giving the grass a snowy look. I looked to the pond, which was covered in a morning mist. The sun illuminated it. As I ran past the island, I watched silhouettes of ducks swimming gracefully through the mist and a swan grooming itself near the shore.

It’s not very often that I see Victoria park like this. Normally there are many people walking and cycling, kids playing, and cars driving by. But this morning I was out early enough to enjoy it without the hustle and bustle, but late enough to have light.

Today’s Run:
Distance: 18.5 km
Weather: –3 C, sunny, wind 6 km/h NW