I have been attempting to write about my running adventures for a while, but things (work) have been getting in the way. Sucks, but it does help pay for my running shoe addiction as well as my fitness tourism affliction.
Where to begin…the first run after my last longish run (Nov 9 – time flies!) involved intervals on the snowy trails to my favorite little lake. Stand-out memory: cold, snowy and difficult, but sunny.
Then I did a short little run in the community forest when I had a spare 45 minutes. It was gorgeous! The moon was out and I had a hoot with Kobi. Couldn’t get any decent shots as my camera was dead/frozen after 20 minutes.
Then I pulled a stupid. Let me re-phrase that, and then I went for a run at dusk a few days later. I neglected to bring my headlight or extra reflective gear. One of my superpowers is my exceptionally short memory and inability to plan ahead.
I ran with Kobi back to our favorite lake and realized the trails were going to kill me as they were so hard to run on – imagine running in unpacked sand in a snowsuit. Okay, I don’t run in a snowsuit, but I’ve got a lot of layers on thanks to the -24C temperatures. I decided to run the lake road back a forth a few times to get my mileage in. This road scares me during the summer when the bears are out and in the winter when I’m convinced there are packs of wolves waiting for me. But laziness beat fear (yay lazy!). I would not/could not run an extra five kilometers of trail, it was just that hard.
I of course underestimated how much lake road running I had to do (another superpower of mine – the inability to do simple math when running in the cold or the heat or when hungry). So I had to keep running on the trail for another 1.7km in addition to the 2.47km I had already run on the trails to get home (I’d have gone to three decimal places if my garmin permitted).
I resorted to my last resort – Kobi and her superpower, that is her inability to heel when on a leash. I put the girl on her leash and she assisted/pulled me for those last 1.7km. Please note it is pitch black by this time and I can’t see a thing.
I pretended we were pioneers in the 18th century running to the next settlement (home) to do something (have a hot shower). I honestly don’t know why I was thinking that, but it was kind of fun pretending it was the “olden days”. We made it to the settlement just fine.
And finally in summary, I did a quickie snowshoe run, well more like jog as I don’t run fast in those things. Kobi loved it and therefore I loved it too. It was super cold again, but Kobi needs her exercise and I also need to start collecting “outdoor adventure snowsports series” points. This is the second winter I’ve done this. I set a challenge at the beginning of winter to complete “x” number of winter related activities before the end of winter (more like end of snow).
Last winter I set the goal at 150, then 175, then 200 as we had a ridiculously long winter (I landed at 206). This year I’m setting the goal for 150 again. I can only count running on trails in my snowcross runners, snowshoeing, skate skiing or cross-country skiing. I’m currently at 8.
I forgot to turn my headlight off for the photo-op, but at least I remembered to wear it this time!
November 21, 2013 at 5:57 pm
I am still in semi-denial that it is that time for dark, frozen, snowy trail runs. That is a great moon picture too!
November 21, 2013 at 7:05 pm
I am in denial too, and it’s only going to get darker….I wish my camera battery didn’t freeze as the moon was pretty spectactular that evening.
November 21, 2013 at 8:29 pm
I cannot believe you and the pup got out! I have trouble getting out in the dark when it’s below freezing at all! Cheers to you, even if you forgot your gear 🙂
November 22, 2013 at 8:49 am
I think I do it mostly for Kobi as she wants to go out regardless. I am going to make a list of “things I need when running outside” and post it by the door, I’ll still forget something.
November 22, 2013 at 7:19 am
That is insane!!! It looks beautiful, but I can’t imagine running in those conditions!
And you have to deal with bears and wolves?!?! I will never again complain about the snakes and skunks and coyotes and bobcats that I come across on my runs down here.
Just curious – are you in a very remote area?
November 22, 2013 at 8:54 am
Thankfully the bears are asleep now, but there are wolves (and coyotes and lynx). Snakes would freak me out. It is pretty remote here – it’s a 4 hour drive south to the next town and we’re only about 200km south from the Northwest Territories. But there is an airport!
November 22, 2013 at 9:45 am
Wow, that’s a far cry from the concrete jungle of Dallas. I’ve been to Alaska a couple times, and it was very interesting talking to the folks there. I found some of them loved the isolation, and some couldn’t wait to get out.
Be careful on your runs!
November 22, 2013 at 9:52 am
I’m fortunate that I get out of town a lot, otherwise I’d go nuts. I do love that it takes me 7 minutes to “commute” to work and I rarely have to wait in a line-up anywhere and my dog can pretty much run leash free all the time.
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August 22, 2014 at 8:50 pm
This makes me miss Minnesota winters. Kidding. 🙂
August 23, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Ha ha. Yeah, winter. I have a love hate relationship with winter.