Happy Days :-)

It has once again been pretty amazing this past couple of weeks, and I have never been happier.

For starters, Andy and I finally became husband and wife after 18 years of being together. I've already written a short post about the day, and we had the most wonderful, magical but quiet wedding on the shores of Lake Minnewanka in Banff with just Wilson and Brandy and some very special, close friends there to celebrate with us. It was just the way we wanted it - private, intimate and away from the public glare, with the peace and solitude of the Rocky Mountains around us. Having spent that night in Banff, the following morning we were greeted by bright sunshine and gorgeous blue skies so we decided on a trip up Sulphur Mountain for one final time before we leave Canada for Arizona.

After the ceremony - Mr and Mrs Smith :-)

The Salt-Smith Family 

Talking of our move to Phoenix, things are finally starting to gain momentum and whilst things are a couple of weeks behind schedule due to technical problems (and some incompentency on the part of the recruitment agency!), we anticipate meeting with the US Consulate within the next week or two where we will hopefully be granted a visa that will enable us to put the wheels in motion for packing up and putting our house on the market.

Knowing that our move is finally progressing, yesterday was quite an emotional day as I competed in the last cross country race of the season, and quite possibly the last one I will ever compete in here in Calgary. For the past 3 years, I have loved doing the Road Runners cross country series every winter and I always feel sad as the season comes to a close each March, but this year, the feeling was even more intense. It's a little strange really as although I don't know everybody by name, there are so many familiar faces that I have come to recognise in the past couple of years, and these wonderful people have certainly become my new running family since living here, even if they don't realise it.

The final race was at Fish Creek - my favourite park in all of Calgary - and I went in to the race under no pressure whatsoever, knowing that I had already won my age group for the series. I still wanted a good run though, and I had every intention of running hard.

The weather was absolutely beautiful - time for shorts and a t-shirt again - but it also meant a change to the usual course which was apparently far too icy and treacherous to race on.

This year, the race was only 7km although we were told prior to the start that it could turn out to be 9-10km depending on whether the ice bridge had melted since flagging the course the previous evening. We were also informed that we would encounter a mix of hills, mud, slushy snow, ice, long grass and bracken which scratched at the arms and legs as we charged through. A couple of people unfortunately took some nasty tumbles and indeed, whilst I was lucky not to fall or trip, I did end up with some bloody scratches and grazes on my arms and legs. At one point we lost the trail as somebody had removed the flags and we ended up with around 100 runners huddled on a trail trying to decide which way we needed to go, until the one of the organisers caught up and led the way for us. We had no idea what postion we had been in, and so the race started again once we were back on track. Despite the mishap, there was no animosity, no bitterness or anger - just a cheery bunch of runners that reorganised themselves and got going again, jostling for position as the race continued.

Start of Fish Creek Cross Country Race

I had a pretty good run again and finished quite strongly, taking out a few of the chaps in the final couple of km and finishing 3rd lady to seal victory overall in the LV 40-49 age group. I was also extremely happy to have now completed all 10 races this season which meant I had earned the Iron Person Award and I can't wait to see what unique award we Iron Persons will receive at the awards evening and banquet in a couple of weeks.

Post Race with support crew!

Saturday was lots of fun and that fun rolled over in to Sunday, making it another excellent weekend. The weather forecast for Sunday was double digit temperatures and cloudless blue skies so along with our most excellent friends Glady and Michelle, we made arrangements to tackle Moose Mountain Road with the aim of heading to the trail head for Moose Packers if conditions underfoot allowed.

The Moose Mountain road is closed in the winter months due to adverse wintery driving conditions but this winter we have seen far less snow than normal, and it was almost perfect for running. We parked at the lower parking lot and made our way up the 8km ish 2000 ft climb to the upper parking area, encountering some amazing views as we ascended. We couldn't have asked for a better day, and as the sun got higher, so did the temperatures and it was truly starting to feel like a spring day. We never saw a soul on the way up and it really felt like the mountains were our own apart from a few birds chirping in the trees. It was so still, so quiet, so peaceful.

Fabulous day on Moose

Being sheltered by the giant fir trees, Moose Packers was still largely covered in snow which made some sections a little harder going and whilst I would love to have gone to the summit of Moose Mountain, sadly we didn't have enough time due to other commitments. We still had a fantastic morning, and having managed yet another 34km run with just 7 weeks to go until the London Marathon, the confidence continues to grow along with the nervous excitement of racing in the capital again. 

Glady and Michelle heading for Moose Packers

Next weekend I am racing the St Patrick's Day 10k and it will be my first real road race of the year to test how training is going. The weather looks favourable at present, unlike last year when we had ice on the course. But then this is Calgary, and whilst the week ahead looks like spring has finally arrived, things can and do change very quickhly, so I guess I'll just wake up next Sunday morning and see what good old mother nature has to throw at us.