new kicks

It's time to retire my Brooks Cascadia 6s. I've logged 83.75 hours and 790 km on them and the ride has become too firm for me. They've always been a little firm but they seemed to 'soften up' as they warmed up on each run. Not so much anymore.

Time to start breaking in the new Cascadia 7s.

I will miss the subtly of the 6s. The 7s are going to take some getting use. A good muddy spring run should do the trick.

The outsoles and uppers of the 6s held up really well. They even have a decent amount of tread left. I hope the 7s perform as well.

a daily dose of fun

"When I was your age..."

I might give the impression that nothing fun ever happened ‘when I was your age’? I start out like it's story time but all to often I end with a trip down a memory lane that sounds positively horrific and all too outrageous to be true. Often it’s not true, not entirely anyway, but that’s not the point. It’s my chance to visit a much simpler time when even the seemingly mundane daily walk to school (carrying your hand carved desk 10 miles uphill both ways in a blizzard...you get the picture) was an adventure. Just add a couple scoops of horrific to ramp up the fun factor.

I'm getting tired of taking that trip down memory lane, which has been happening way too often lately. I find I’m spending far too much time reminiscing about what I've done rather than looking forward to what I've yet to do. I don't miss the past but I've been missing the the type of fun I had in the past. I don't mean the kind of fun that comes with having few responsibilities, no appreciation of one's own mortality, and a general lack of common sense. I enjoyed my 20's but once was enough. I'm referring to the kind of fun that comes with having the time and energy to be spontaneous and live in the moment on a near daily basis. I miss hanging out with friends, enjoying a run or a bike ride, or even taking a vacation without feeling guilty, or at least distracted, by all the non-fun things that I'm not doing. I miss playing.

Thanks to Scrubnut for unknowingly reminding me what's important. It's time to push back from the computer and go for a run. Cue theme music...

adventures in the kitchen: roasted garlic potato soup

Dice some onion.

Brown bay leaves in olive oil.

Saute onion.

Peel potatoes. Cooking with scotch is not recommended unless you like scotch.

Brown potatoes.

Roast garlic.

Puree.

Bring to a boil.

Get one of these bad boys.

Voila.

should have stayed in bed

Some runs don't go as planned. Usually you adjust and continue on. Sometimes, however, it's best to save what little you've got left to fight another day.

My plan last Saturday was a 2.5 hour 20+ km run at Ministik. The Waskahegan is one of my favorite trails. It's a run I've done dozens of times before in all sorts of conditions, including snow.
Given our mild winter and near lack of snow in the city, I was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon in the forest. Turns out there was another plan in the works. There was more snow than in the city and I buried the car in the ditch before I even got started.  Thankfully that happened at the trail head. Minor set back. I put a call into the mrs who agreed to give me a tow. The trail was in good shape, the sun was out, and I had a few hours on my hands. I put on my microspikes and took off at a strong pace. The good conditions didn't last long. The trail deteriorated into an unstable, rain crusted crud. My run became a jog and then a walk and I hadn't even reached the less well used section of trail. By the time I got to the forest I was exhausted. This was the first time I could see running snowshoes as being more help than hindrance. Oh, and I bent down to adjust my shoe and broke the sunglasses that were in my pocket. It was time to turn around.
The run back was fine but I was too annoyed about my sunglasses and the car I still had to unstick to enjoy it. I took a few detours when the footing improved, trying to salvage what remained of the afternoon, but it was hard to do much better than an awkward shuffle in most places. Warning: don't run in microspikes when wobbling like a drunken sailor. Nicking your ankle really hurts. Yup, that was the topper.

dry island buffalo jump

When planning your next adventure into the great outdoors, don't forget about the prairies. I'm sure most folks don't equate the prairies to wilderness and the great outdoors, which is a shame. Maybe it's because there is so little natural prairie left. Or maybe it's because the prairies are not as in-your-face with their beauty as the mountains and the average person is too distracted, unobservant, or lazy to be captivated by something so subtle. How else do you explain the popularity of reality television? I want to challenge the notion of the prairies as flat and boring by giving you Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park.

The word prairie tends to invoke images of farm yards and crop fields stretching to the horizon, which is what you'll find today in many places that were once natural prairie. These landscapes have their own beauty. They feel quaint while simultaneously feeling vast, which is a big part of the prairie allure. Wallace Stegner (1960) helped petition for the preservation of wilderness in America by drawing, in part, on similar images of a Saskatchewan prairie from his childhood.

"We need wilderness preserved... because it was the challenge against which our character as a people was formed. The reminder and the reassurance that it is still there is good for our spiritual health... A prairie [landscape] big enough to carry the eye clear to the sinking, rounding horizon, can be as lonely and grand and simple in its forms as the sea. It is as good a place as any for the wilderness experience to happen; the vanishing prairie is as worth preserving for the wilderness idea as the alpine forest... We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in."

I encourage you to drive to the edge of Dry Island and look in because the view is spectacular.

I also encourage you to explore further

because, like the arctic tundra and alpine meadow, there are small-scale wonders waiting to be discovered in the many pockets and folds of this country.

And while you're there, why not explore nearby Rumsey Natural Area. This classic knob and kettle landscape is home to mule deer, waterfowl, and numerous species of prairie songbirds. They're not hard to find, just open your mind and look.

oh christmas tree

Nothing says Christmas like cutting your own tree. In Alberta, anyone can do that for just $5 (here).

Family photo with our trophy.

S and K with their find.

Doing the deed.

Taking it home.




Heading to the truck.

Loaded and ready to go.

Running, I've missed you.

Seems I got a little off course. I was in the middle of my second long run on a brutally hot July weekend when I realized I wasn't having any fun. It wasn't an exhaustion-induced "why-the-hell-am-I-doing-this" kind of revelation. Somewhere along the way I lost track of why I ran. The freedom, relaxation, and adventure that I looked forward to on every run was replaced with routine. Training had become a job and I didn't need another job, especially one that I wasn't getting paid for.It was time for a change of pace. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and I'd fallen behind on or completely lost track of every other aspect of my life. I wanted to get away from training so I could reconnect with the rest of my life and rekindle my interest in running.

It's amazing what you can do with an extra 15 to 20 hours  a week: gardening, hiking, hunting, time with friends and family. I've even done some work on my thesis. Imagine that. While the past few months have been fun, something has definitely been missing. My sleep patterns are all messed up, I ache in places I have no reason to ache, and I'm continually stressed about things not worth stressing about. In short, I don't feel like myself. It's time to start running again.

When I was in my early 20's I was in Jock Sportswear in Saskatoon buying a new pair of shoes. The second and last pair of Nikes I've ever owned. "What are you training for?", the salesperson asked. The question caught me off guard. I wasn't training for anything. I'd been running regularly for several years at that point and had never thought about entering a race. I ran because I like running and because I liked the way it made me feel. "Life", I replied. He chuckled but was otherwise unimpressed.

I don't have any plans to race again. Then again, I don't have any plans to not race again either. I'm just going to run for awhile and see where that takes me. Maybe I'll see you out there.