Saturday, January 2, 2016

Running Streak - Days 57, 58 and 59

I was out of town and could not get to the blog for a few days.  I did, however, keep the streak alive.  I have to admit that I was pretty proud of myself to be able to keep up my routine even when on the road.  Historically, that is something I have not been good at.

Day 59

This was my fastest run of the trip.  I also went exploring.  I ran to the bakery to check their holiday hours and then wanted to check out the pathways along the Grand River.  I ran north to the Mill and then turned around and ran back under the bridge to the southern-most end of the path.  (If it continues past that municipal yard, I couldn't find it.)  Then I ran up Berwick Street, which is on a pretty good hill, unknowingly placing 5th on a Strava segment.  That was a nice bonus.  Now that I know it's there, I will give it some gas the next time I visit Caledonia.  The route had lots of ups and downs and a variety of environments: urban, sub-urban, rural.  It really is a great area for running.

The weather was remarkably consistent throughout the trip: temperatures just around zero, lots of precipitation, water on the ground and humidity in the air. I'm always a bit concerned about choosing the right clothing before a trip.  Canadian forecasts are dodgy at best, but fortunately, I nailed it.  I wore absolutely everything that I brought, and didn't need to buy anything.  Back to Ottawa...

Day 58

We had a mix of snow and freezing rain overnight.  This was the second bout of freezing rain in as many days.   By the time I was ready to leave, the weather looked colder than it was and was completely over-dressed.  The current conditions on my phone said -5C(-12 with the wind chill), but the actual temperature was probably over 0C.  I ended up doffing the toque and gloves within the first 10 minutes and having to zip off the sleeves of my jacket.  (Convertible jackets are the best.)  By the end of the run, my vest was completely un-zipped.  I was baking.  The good news is that the warm temperature melted much of the ice that formed and snow that had accumulated.  My feet were wet, but the footing was solid.  I chose a rolling out-and-back route in the opposite direction of yesterday's run, heading into a rural area that looked much like home.  The elevation in Strava and Runkeeper says 0m, but there was not a single flat bit of pavement.  I would much rather run up and down, than sticking to the flats.

Day 57

This was the first full day in Caledonia, which is a great town just west of Hamilton.  I did a simple out-and-back for 30 minutes before everyone got busy for the day.  I was glad I did because the day was consumed with driving people to Boxing Day sales.  By the time we returned home, it was snowing hard and the road conditions were awful.

During the run, the temperature was just below 0C and pretty windy.  There was some freezing rain overnight and the footing not terrific, but I just slowed down and had no issues.  After 6+ hours of driving yesterday and sleeping in a strange bed, it was great to get out and work out the kinks in my back and neck.

No comments:

Post a Comment