Sunday, October 16, 2011

Back on Track


Running has been hit and miss through the last few months.  My father's illness and death, combined with a new school and new responsibilities, have left me a bit crushed.  

It felt great to get outside on a real fall day today to get a nice 10K in along Superior.  This connection with the outdoors is what I love most about running.  Today the tamaracks were showing their change to yellow, and I loved all these little tamaracks along the road, mimicking their parents in the forest just beyond.




I also love the chance to listen to my favourite podcasts and music, and to just have some time to think while running.

I was so worried in the first few K's because my heart rate would not go down.  When it spiked at 200 I stopped and walked for a few minutes.  But, it came around after awhile.  I realize now that I have had a bad cold this past week and I am clearly not completely over it yet.



This was my coldest and windiest run since last spring.  I started at only 4C.  The leaves have all blown down over the last 48 hours in some unrelenting winds.  The fall clouds and low sun angles leave such a beautifully characteristic landscape.




This little inukshuk is ready for the colder weather!


A victim of the high winds this week:


A beautiful spot for my 5K turnaround:


And look!  I found the end of the rainbow!



No pot of gold, but the people building this place on Superior must have one!


And this shot just because this is what the ground looks like everywhere right now!




 I listened to this podcast while running today: The Hurried Child: CBC Radio Ideas.

 It is relevant for teachers who are involved in the new play-based kindergarten curriculum, and for any new parent or grandparent.


Overall, a pretty good post-illness run.  I need to work on just getting through a 10K without breaks at a better pace than this so I may take another week just to push the pace a bit harder before moving up to 12K.