Winter's Arrival :)

It's now been 5 weeks since I was laid off from work and I have been keeping myself busy updating my resume and LinkedIn profile as well as scouting the local area for jobs. I must admit that the lack of structure to my days is getting difficult and it is getting to the point where weekdays are merging with the weekends and there is no defined difference. It doesn't help that Andy has been in quarantine again and has had to keep himself locked away following his return from a business trip in Brazil. Thankfully, he has been back for over a week now and is still feeling well - only 5 and a half days until his release and we can finally resume normal life together again.

Although not working at present, I am being quite disciplined in planning my days and I set aside 3 hours a day for online training courses and job searching during the week. I'm also still walking the dogs 3 times a day, the only difference being that they now go to the dog park more than once a day, and of course, I am still running and following a training plan.

Recovery from the Backyard Ultra last month has gone well and I already feel like I am back to a decent volume in terms of weekly mileage. I event did a 5km time trial just 10 days after the event where I ran just 25 seconds slower than I have done for the distance already this year - I was happy with that.

I also registered for a couple of events a few days ago to give me something to focus on for the next few weeks. The first of these is the Bar-ka-koo 55km Trail Race at nearby Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area on November 21st, and then the Turkeys on the Trail 10km virtual event the following week. The latter holds great meaning to me in that the first year I did it, our wonderful dog Brandy passed away unexpectedly that same day. As a result, I promised that I would do the event every year from here onwards in her memory so my plan is to head out to Devon with Wilson, Tillie and April, where we will run together on the trails out there, and remember the love and happiness that Brandy brought into our lives during her short time with our little family.

To help me to plan a route for the Turkeys on the Trail, I headed out to Devon last weekend for a bit of trail running. The weather was beautiful and so warm for early November and I had a wonderful 12 mile run along the Devonian Trail from Prospector Point out to the Botanical Gardens via Bunchberry Meadows and Tuckers Field.

It was such an awesome morning and I met so many dogs whilst out there that all came over to say hello along with their friendly, chatty owners. I was also fortunate enough to have seen a female moose on the trail. She just stood there looking at me for a moment or two before casually walking off into the trees. I've seen several moose in my time, but never out in Devon and it really did make my day.

Trail running in Devon on a beautiful November day :)

I had a couple more great runs last week and it really helped that the weather was on my side when it came to the faster paced ones. However, we have been spoilt with the gorgeous weather so far this autumn, so it was inevitable that winter would soon arrive. Overnight Friday and all-day Saturday, we had a winter storm which brought heavy snow and dumped around 30cm of the white stuff here in Leduc. With the snow came plummeting temperatures and a strong, brisk wind which made things feel more like -17.

I still had runs to do this weekend and given that I really enjoy winter running, I was still quite happy to run outside. I threw on the layers, put on the thermal running tights, and brought my Salomon Speedcross trail running shoes out of temporary retirement before heading out of the door for a 10-mile run around Telford Lake. The snow was coming down sideways, the roads and pavements were a mess, and when I hit the paved trail around the lake, I was greeted by snowdrifts that were already coming up to my knees. Yet I absolutely loved it, and I couldn't shake the smile from my face as I ran along.

Winter has well and truly arrived, which kind of makes me happy :)

The snow really did last all day and into the overnight period, so when I awoke this morning to get ready for my 30km run, it looked like a scene from "The Day After Tomorrow" outside of the window. The back deck was under 2 to 3 feet of drifting snow, whilst the snow on the front steps would have swallowed the poor dogs whole before I'd even have chance to take them for their morning walk. It was bad! 

I had arranged to meet up with and run with a friend and it took a good 40 minutes to "run" the 2 and a half miles to our rendezvous point. Any attempts to run were thwarted as I hit the snowdrifts, some of them coming up to my knees forcing me to stop and walk. It was impossible to see where the pathways were, and I stumbled a couple of times when a hidden curb crossed my path, or I hit an unseen pothole as I crossed the roads.

In the end I managed 21km instead of the 30k I had planned, but I was happy enough with my efforts. It had taken 3 hours in that snow, a distance I can normally do in half that time, but I could definitely feel the fatigue in my legs due to the extra effort of raising my knees almost like doing step-ups for the entire 3 hours! That tiredness made me feel like I had accomplished something though, and I knew that I could relax for the rest of the day without feeling bad.

Sunday slog in the snow :)

It’s now Sunday evening and a few snow flurries are coming down again, and we are expecting more snow again by Tuesday. I really don't mind though as I know that whilst deep snow may hinder speed and pace, it helps to build strength and flexibility instead. When I do need to do those faster paced runs, I shall pound the treadmill or the indoor track instead. 

I always see the winter months as an opportunity to work on my weaknesses whilst keeping everything else just ticking over and I know that it will benefit my running come spring next year, when the pavements and trails are clear, and we can run freely again.