elk island national park

Located less than an hour from Edmonton, Elk Island National Park is a perfect place for a winter run.

The main road is free of ice, sees very little traffic, has a shoulder when a car does pass, and the speed limit is 60km/hr. It's also 20km from the north gate to the south gate, so it's the perfect distance for ultra training.

Compared to the city, Elk Island is Shangri-la. There is no traffic drone, no aggressive drivers, no planes and helicopters overhead, no oblivious pedestrians, and no off-leash dogs. You can actually hear birds and squirrels going about their business in the roadside brush. There is other wildlife, too. Today I saw a Ruffed Grouse in the top of a sapling, a coyote hiding in the bushes hoping that it wasn't seen, and several bison. This small individual was up to its elbows digging for forage.

The park was uncommonly quiet today, which is not surprising given the frigid temperature - it did get up to -13C at one point but the windchill kept the realized temperature in the -20 to -29C range.

I stopped at the south gate for a snack and a picture and my pants froze solid! I still had 7km back to the car. I bet I'm not smiling under that mask.

Still, it was a good run and a great day for a run. I know I'm smiling in this picture!

the best mitts ever

One of the hardest parts of winter training is dressing the part. Moisture management is key, particularly if you're out for hours at a time. I have yet to find anything better for my hands than felted wool mitts. Whether is -5C or -40C, my hands stay warm and dry. They're even fairly wind resistant.

This is what felted mitts look like after a 4-hour run when the windchill is -26C. Yes, that is frozen sweat on the right hand. That was my windward side for the last 2 hours. My mitts were by far my most comfortable piece of clothing by end of this run. Everything else was soaking wet or frozen solid.

These mitts were knit for me by the Mrs. and no, she is not going to make you a pair. I'm hoping she's going to be busy making me a one-piece suit to get me through the rest of this winter. Hey, a guy can dream!

Are we born to run?

Chris McDougall is a great storyteller who presents a compelling thesis about our running heritage. I like the notion that we were built for the long haul. McDougall loses my interest and support when he rails against the running shoe industry for being the Achilles' heel of runners. Professional runners don't blame their shoes when they get injured and they log more miles than anyone. When running injuries come up in conversation it's usually not two runners comparing war wounds. It's usually a non-runner recounting the story of an injured runner-friend to a runner in the subtext of 'runners are idiots'. I would bet dollars to donuts that the vast majority of running injuries are due to over-training whether you're a neophyte or a professional.

I do agree with McDougall that we as runners need to rediscover the joy of running. That does not mean throwing away your running shoes, as he suggests. Instead, throw away the mindset that running is penance for a poor diet, or that running is solely a remedy for some malady, or that you must constantly push your limits to get any benefit. Most importantly from an injury perspective, running needn't be so goal-oriented. Why can't we just run for fun?

I've been running, in running shoes, for >20 years without injury and I know I'm not alone. My running has goals, but these are very recent and they are not why I run. I run for the pleasure of running. I like to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine, and I like to experience the world I live in other than through a car window or on television. Every run is an adventure even if it's a regular route. In my opinion, that's the key to injury prevention.

Damn you La Nina and your deep powder snow!

I dream about skiing like teenage boys dream about girls. I've lost countless days of my life surfing bottomless powder in my mind. By October I'm stupid giddy with excitement to be skiing. By January my skiing spirit is usually crushed by thin snow and unstable avalanche conditions in the eastern Rockies. At this point I turn my energy to running and I try to look forward to summer activities.

Not this year. The snow just keeps falling and I'm forced to blow off another weekend of long runs to be in the mountains. Bummer! This past weekend it was Marmot Basin with pcf and cmg. Light flurries turned to full-on snow Friday night as we drove the 4.5 hours from Edmonton to Jasper. By Saturday morning 16cm of fresh snow had fallen at mid-mountain. It was going to be a great weekend.

Marmot rarely feels crowded, even when it's busy, and this weekend was no exception. Still, fresh snow is not the same when you put a few tracks through it and I was eager to ski some untracked powder. Normally I think hiking at a ski area is ridiculous. Why would I walk up a mountain when I paid $70 to be carried up? I'm glad I ignored myself. Hiking Marmot Peak with Awesome Bob.

Not only was the skiing amazing, the views were spectacular. Looking down the hiking ridge - Peak Run is the bowl on the left; Suzie's disappears to the right. The top of Knob Chair where the hike begins is in the bottom-right of the picture.The ridge across the valley is the backside of the Skyline Trail.

The Icefields Parkway from Marmot Peak.

Mt Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, is the distant pointy peak in the centre of the picture.

Tonquin Valley from Marmot Peak.

By the end of the weekend I'd hiked Peak twice and Cornice once. It's not running but it was a helluva workout.