The traditional day of love so thought I’d show my legs a bit of love and give them the day off. They certainly seemed to appreciate the rest, especially my right Achilles / heel which always let me know their displeasure with the extra running I’m logging these days. They’ll get over it; only 9 more weeks before some serious recovery time. Today the 4.5 hour flight back west made for some “forced time” off the feet.
Tuesday, Feb 15: Bonding time and the occasional harshness of life
I opted for a social night of basketball with the old gang as my cross-training session. Still a physically demanding couple of hours yet re-energizing, as sharing time with old friends always is. During the après-basketball, one of the guys shared horrific ‘news’ that an old friend, one who I had been very close to but who I’d lost touch with a few years ago, had been killed last year in an accident. Poignant, sad...the ice fog that descended over Calgary as I drove home suited my temperament.Wednesday, Feb 16: Even the best plans....
Speed-work scheduled but over-run with email, phone calls and admin during the day and then family hockey night at local arena as playoffs begin took precedence over appointment with a treadmill. Signals my shoulder is sending me basically means the end of basketball for this year; take a hint Pat and stop pushing the strain on the old wing. I make plans to try for a double work-out tomorrow, a speed session in morning and a 9km run. Use to be quite common in my “days gone by” but days of two-a-day may have gone by me?!
Thursday, Feb 17: What was I thinking?!
Didn’t quite achieve what I’d hoped for as wanted to do the 4x1000m speed workout in am on the treadmill then a 9 km aerobic run in the evening but “trying to make up missed sessions” a silly game. Managed to complete 2x1km at 3'50 pace with a decent warm-up and cool-down including ‘body weight’ routine (no free weights) at Rec centre early in the a.m. Mini-vacation for Family Day weekend so up to the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis for a few days. After late afternoon arrival, completed 3x2.25km on treadmill at 4'15 to 4'20/km pace. Not sure what was more challenging, the high humidity and extremely warm exercise room next to the hot pool or watching everyone sip their cool drinks lounging around the pools?!
Friday, Feb 18: Protecting the ego on the ski slopes
Up to Nakiska on Mt. Allan for a few hours of skiing from 12h00 on; the -18C detracting from too early a start or was it the wisdom of middle age over the energy of youth? The sunshine certainly beckoned but the cold temps did keep one’s attention while cruising down the hill. Of course, being I was skiing with Lisa, the boys (15 and 10) and their cousin (19), I was making sure to keep up and every now and then, push things just a little in an effort to demonstrate that the “old guy” could still turn the boards. At the end of the day, it was Lisa, Keaton (10) and I who took the final run on the hill, chilling the face to point of numbness but at least it was big smiles frozen on our faces. What a great day on the hill!
Saturday, Feb 19: “Blue Bird” day in the Kananaskis Valley
As I was travelling to Lausanne, Switzerland on Sunday, I needed to get the LSD run in on Saturday which meant giving up another day on the ski slopes, based on time required to finish the run and fact the legs probably would not likely have appreciated the skis after the long run. It was just a hunch! I’ve run in a lot of places across the country and around the world but few can much the scenery of the Rocky Mountains along Hwy 40 in the Kananaskis valley, especially on a day like Feb 19th with the cerulean blue skies framing the snow covered peaks. It was a big sky day with the blue color so vivid that it was almost mesmerizing.
I headed down the hill (ooops, doesn’t make for a good finish), feeling bulky with the number of clothing layers I had on to protect against the -18C chill, then out to the highway, turning north to put in 12.5 km to the mid-point of run. Mt. Kidd behind me was stunning in the bright sunshine while Mt. Lorette was a beacon guiding me down the road. This section of the road is very familiar to me as I’ve run it a couple of times during various editions of the Kananaskis relay race held every June, today was just a lot quieter and certainly lonelier. As much as I find long runs calming, there comes a point where company is a huge asset mentally.
Along Highway 40 Just before the mid-point, Lisa’s brother-in-law dropped her off to join me for the return journey, bringing an energy bar for nutrition and her enthusiasm for mental sustenance. We were constantly taken aback by the post-card scenery that witnessed our barely perceptible progress through the grand landscape. Can’t say that it made the run any easier, just more visually enjoyable and by the time we crossed the bridge over the river and hit the long hill at the end, I was pretty much done. Just over two hours running seemed enough on this day. It was a beautiful place to run 25 km (15.6mi) but it was still 25km of running. Dinner seemed particularly good that evening; not to mention the cold beer.
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