Monday, March 7, 2011

Sunday Run Review

The winter has been brutally cold and most of our runners have been hibernating so it was a pleasant surprise to see a new face waiting for us at Timmies.  Christine drove across the city to run with us  at 6 a.m. in -28C (!) weather.  We learned  her longest distance to date has been 13.1 miles and that  her next goal is to run a marathon.When I looked at Nicole I could tell she was thinking the same thing...to take this girl to her longest distance yet and show her some  sights at the same time.  14 miles sounded like a nice distance.  Realizing I hadn't eaten breakfast or had anything to drink before leaving the house, I immediately downed a small coffee,  2 grapes with a piece of cheese out of Nicole's pack  before heading out.



40 minutes into the run  we arrived at Assiniboine Forest.  It is  unique to find a forest in the middle of a city and we always enjoy running through here  especially when the sun is coming up.  This day, however,  was overcast which made the temperature seem even colder. It didn't seem to effect our collective mood  as we were enjoying getting to know Christine and hearing about her running life.





We continued on to FWC. It was the turn around point but first we wanted to show Christine the tipis.  She had been here before but not for many years.
















Attempted to get a good picture of the bison  but my fingers were freezing trying to work the camera so we moved on.....














I was starting to think about how good it felt to be out on a decent run.  So good that I started to think of next week's race.  The crazy race.  Across lake Winnipeg.... that I haven't trained for.  Maybe this sign is an omen to not be stupid.  You just can't run 17 miles across a lake  without training properly.   When I descended the tree house N &  C were gone.  I felt bad realizing they must have been freezing waiting for me.  I took a wrong turn 40  seconds into the run to catch up.  That is a record but I quickly  turned myself around and we were united again.  We were all starting to feel the bite running in the wide open prairie.  You have to be careful when stopping in this temperature.
















We took a detour though Assiniboine  park on the way home.    Feeling really good but we were ready to get back.
















The results are:
Christine ran her first 15.2 miles!
Nicole  almost 17 miles
Gail 16.2 miles.


Thanks Christine for coming out and we hope to see you again!


2 comments:

  1. What an amazing place to run. WOW! One day ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are always welcome join us for a Sunday run. The more the merrier!

    ReplyDelete