Outdoor Running Adventures

Running in northern BC with my dog Kobi

Monthly Archives: January 2016


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Baby it’s Cold Outside

Wow, 2 posts in a month?  Don’t fall out of your chair in shock like I nearly did.

Here’s the long and short of it:  it got cold, quite cold actually, but now it’s warmed up a bit.

Here’s more detail, one run was in -23C, one was in -27C, and one was in a balmy -19C.  That’s -9F, -16F, and -2F if you don’t have access to a universal temperature translator.

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This is what running in -23C looks like.  Kobi is checking out my lashes

On our -19C run, we had a house guest.  Kobi’s friend Zola, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, came over for a sleep-over and of course we all had to go for a run.  Fortunately for Zola it was only -19C as she has less hair than I do and gets pretty cold.  She has a snazzy Ruffwear jacket to keep her warm and stylish.

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Out with the girls.  Only -19C!

We ended up exploring several snowmobile trails behind where I live.  The girls probably ran closer to 16km where I only ran 11km.  They’re much faster than me and had to come back several times to make sure I was still tagging along.  It’s hard running on packed snow trails in case you’re wondering.  Imagine running on a few inches of dry sand on top of wet sand, but you’re wearing several layers of clothing and dealing with a bitter wind biting into your face the entire time.  Okay, so that’s not like running in sand, but you kind of get what I’m getting at? Maybe?

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Sun runners

I also think the cold has caused a vitamin deficiency that can only be replenished through the mass consumption of chocolate because I’ve been eating chocolate the way a sailor with scurvy would attack a box of oranges.   It’s been out of control.  Sadly there is a lot of chocolate in my house so I’m still working on topping up whatever cold weather induced deficiency I have.

Hope you’re all staying warm and looking stylish like Zola.

Now it’s your turn…What’s the coldest temperature you have/would run in?  Sand or snow?  Favourite chocolate (mine is currently Lindt salted caramel)?  Sunrise or sunsets?  Mutts or purebreds?  

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Happy MMXVI

 

Happy New Year everyone!

I am not one to make resolutions and I have set no running goals this year as I’ve found life is quite unpredictable lately so it’s best to just roll with it. I say this mostly because of the bony hook growing out of the middle of my heel.  Nothing like a bone spur to put a damper on one’s running goals.

I am running 3-4 times per week, but I need a day off between runs. I’m working on slowly increasing my mileage each run each week and will see if any particular distance starts giving me more grief than another.  I can live with that.  It’s far better to be running than not running at all.

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Running with friends rocks

 

Kobi and I ran on New Year’s Eve and saw the last sunset of 2015. I did not run New Year’s Day – recall the paragraph above – but did head up the highway to the mountains on January 2.

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Last sunset of 2015 – 4:24PM MST

I felt compelled to do something that scared me to kick off 2016 and landed on doing a solo hike up a mountain. It’s a bit unnerving to be out in the middle of nowhere by yourself with nothing but your wits, a multi-tool and some extra clothing (I also had some butter tarts and chocolate covered almond butter balls for snacks).  There was not one other soul out that day, except for a ptarmigan.

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That’s my soul’s shadow

Kobi lead the way as usual, but I was following along at a pretty good clip. When the first summit finally came into view, the wind also picked up.  Picked up is actually an understatement.  If I used expletives in this blog, there would be several inserted here to describe the wind.  My visions of sharing a butter tart with my dog while enjoying the view (and taking some rad photos) were entirely squashed.

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I had to stay low to the ground so as not to get blown off the mountain

I actually got a little scared at this point and made the executive decision to leave the mountain. Kobi did not object and did what any faster friend would do, hightailed it down the mountain leaving me in the dust – literally.  She did stop periodically to check to make sure I was still following her.  Likely because she can’t drive and needs me to get her back home to her princess bed.

All in all it was an exciting kick-off to 2016 and I’ll probably do something like that again this winter – any excuse to eat butter tarts and chocolate covered almond butter balls (if you want the recipe, just ask).

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Kobi says Happy New Year

Happy 2016 everyone! Do you like to do things that scare you?  How did you kick off 2016? Ever see a ptarmigan (wild chicken that turns white during the winter to help stay camouflaged)?  What’s your go-to high calorie, highest fat possible snack?