Hitting pause

 ..or rather, paws.

It's looking pretty polar out there

Yes, I know I was the one asking for winter - and now that it's come, I bet a lot of you are probably mad at me for giving it the invitation.

I didn't know it was gonna drop to -12c/10f for the daily high - I just wanted a little snow, I didn't think I'd suddenly need insulated layers to run!

Some of it has been super gross, too, since the initial snowfall turned to rain that soaked through. I headed out for my first real snow run of the season and ended up with absolutely drenched feet due to the hidden slush puddles.

NOT AMUSED

Once I was aware of them, I did my best to work around them...but sometimes that was a little difficult.

*laughs nervously*

By Saturday night the temperature plummeted and the slush began to freeze up, but I had trust issues so I broke out some assistance for second run.

It also started snowing again

Blizzard conditions while snowshoe running at night was an interesting experience

..especially with the wind whipping through the trees, causing branches to crack and fall around me

Having survived that, Sunday's sunny trail wander was practically a cake walk.

Except the wind was so bitter and vicious that I needed insulated shorts even to do a point-to-point that was almost all downwind

Through the early part of the week, it definitely wasn't just me that was feeling a little less than cheerful about the conditions.

Spotted on the multi-use path down the hill from my house

I wasn't about to argue: it was bitter enough out that my wool tubular gaiter frosted up around my face while I ran.

Keeping in mind I don't even bother with the gaiter over my head until -10c/14f or below

The deep freeze finally broke a bit yesterday - it was a near-balmy -5c/23f when I went out to hang with some cool folks in downtown Kitchener.

Not very chatty, but they gave me plenty of room to pass

Now, however, it seems like the early part of the week was just conditioning for tomorrow...when the 2024 edition of the Polar Paws Winter Trail Run kicks off at Long Point Eco Adventures, and the weather prediction looks like this:

Brrrrrr

The cut-off is just shy of 5 hours, so I may actually make it...but you can bet I'll be bundling up!

..and hoping for some sun

Stay warm, friends!

Unseasoned

We're finally starting to get some winter in our winter!

After a distinct lack of it

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea - and I don't always enjoy it myself - but I really do miss the snow in the years we don't get much. 

I like a little more than just a dusting

This week seems to be the ticket, though: I finally had some decently snowy running on Sunday!

Helping cover up the dull brown and grey that everything has turned

The colder weather has also led to some really neat ice formations along the rivers in town.

Twigs looking like fat dipped candles below the Hespeler Millpond dam

I had kind of a pleasant morning run through the snow on Tuesday..

..though it was definitely a little tougher than it would have been with clear ground.

I also had a truly horrible run in the mixed precipitation later that same afternoon.

Not overjoyed

To be fair, the streets were a disgusting mess of slush by then, with each road crossing a nightmare of deep slush puddles.

Add in no less than 3 vehicles splashing me with slush from ankle to thigh, and I would honestly have rather taken the heckin' bus

Things settled down a bit after another dump of snow (that fell on me as I actually was walking up to catch the bus towards my office) on Thursday, and some new friends appeared!

This one was a little too small for a hug

There's more coming tonight, though, and I have high hopes that soon I'll finally be able to get the snowshoes out for a rip!

Which would be nice, with a snowshoe race I'd quite like to do coming up in just a few weeks

I'd also love to get our cross-country skis out - it's been nearly a year since we had the chance to kick and glide.

We certainly won't be skiing on the river any time soon, though.

And yet...as much as I do love a snowy day, what I'd really like to see is some sun. The last time I was outdoors in sunshine was December 15th; almost a full month ago.

This is the closest I've come since - looking out my front door on Jan 4th, but had no time to get outside

Stay safe in the storm tonight for those who will be affected, and cross your fingers that the sun still exists!

No place like hockey

 ..for the holidays.

Or at least December in general

It all began Saturday, December 16th - we frequently play pickup hockey on Saturday nights, and this was no exception. It was our first game at RIM Park in quite awhile, and my bottle ended up spilling most of its contents just as it began (leaving me with barely any water for an 80min game - keeping in mind the average temperature inside my equipment is about 32c/90f), but it was pretty fun!

Game video here

Sunday we played our last league game of the year - the season continues after a 2-week holiday break - and I tried to make it a bit fun with an addition to my usual kit, but I played like trash and it resulted in a pretty nasty loss.

I don't recommend watching this game video

I didn't play Monday, but come Tuesday a goalie friend of mine needed someone to cover two games as his knee was bothering him, in a rather unique league at The Zone in Guelph: 2 on 2, on a 95' x 45' rink - basically a quarter of an NHL-size rink, with no markings on the ice around the net for me to use and landmarks for angles. 

I definitely struggled with positioning, as you can see

I faced 47 shots in the two 22-min halves of the first game, and 55 shots in the second game...and allowed 29 goals between the two matches!

It was lots of fun though! Second game video here

Wednesday night, another goalie was unable to make his BLHP shinny game, so I covered that game as well.

..and gave Tank's new stick a custom tape job

I decided - with it being December the 20th - I'd go peak Christmas hockey for this one.

Unfortunately the beard was SO HOT to wear, and I played like junk again!

Thursday was a night off, but we'd signed up to go to stick & puck - basically an open skills and drills practice session - on Friday night. We also had a pickup game booked for Saturday, and I knew if I played in goal at stick & puck (which basically turns into non-stop breakaways and hundreds of shots in the hour of ice time) I would be too beat up to play well on Saturday. So, I improvised.

The first time I'd played out since August!

Come Saturday, it looked like we might not have enough people for the pickup game to happen - the cancel if not enough folks sign up - but there was another stick & puck at the same rink in the timeslot before that, so I decided to register for that to make sure I'd get a skate in.

Tank came along, too

Now here's the thing: at the last minute, a bunch of people signed up for the pickup game...but it was too late for us to cancel out of either the stick & puck or the game without losing our registration fees, so we ended up playing both. I took it a little easy for the first hour in the stick & puck session, but didn't have that luxury in the 80min shinny that followed, as I faced no less than 80 shots!

I survived, but just barely! See it here

Rinks were closed for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (Sun-Tue), so I got a reprieve, but come Wednesday the 27th BLHP was in need of a goalie again, so back to the net I went. I couldn't get myself together out there, though: it almost felt like my legs weren't even my own, and I was trying to control them like some sort of weird sofa-cushion-clad marionette.

Still a good time, but not a good look

We'd signed up for an 80min pickup game on Thursday as well, and I even went to the trouble of re-taping one of my goal sticks in hopes of playing a bit better. I also took the Santa hat off my mask - can you believe that it stayed on for 7 skates with just a few bits of sock tape? - to see if maybe that might help.

It was time

It was probably my worst game yet: just couldn't stop a bloody beach ball. Seriously, I've seen dollar store coupons save more.

You can see the carnage here

Nonetheless, I went into Friday's pickup game hopeful for better things, and actually played a decent game for once!

Back at RIM Park, but this time my bottle stayed intact!

I was definitely feeling a bit weary by the time Saturday's pickup game in Baden rolled around: not only was it a lot of hockey, the game didn't start until 10pm, and it had been a long day. It was only a 50min game, but with a bunch of hotshot kids on the ice - whose speed and skill were a pleasure to watch, but a little difficult to defend against - I got lit up pretty badly again, and tweaked my groin a little in the process.

But my jersey was fly as heck, so I had that going for me

I did some stretching and massage when I got off the ice, hoping I'd feel better in the morning. We rolled straight out of bed on New Year's Eve and into the car with bags full of still-wet gear for one last skate with less than 12hrs remaining in 2023.

Surprisingly, it was probably my best game of the bunch!

When all was said and done, I'd played 13 times in 16 days - 12 of those in goal, and two of the days had multiple skates - ending with 5 straight games in 5 days. 

I'd survived!

It was a total of 13h3m on the ice - 12h13m in goal - with 5h40m of that in the final 5-day stretch. Oh, and did I mention I ended up in a run streak while all this was happening? I ran every day from Saturday, December 22nd until yesterday: Thursday, January 4th, with double runs on December 24th and 27th. 

I forgot that the 29th was a Friday, so just went out for a run as usual

Distance wasn't much - only a total of 70.5km from Dec 22-31, and another 23.6km since, so less than 100km total - but still a fair bit of stress on my poor, beat-up body. The longest run was only 12.75km, but it was right before the back-to-back stick & puck and pickup game!

There may also have been some shenanigans on the trails

So I've taken this week off of hockey to let things heal - though I did keep running - and will be back to regular league play on Sunday. Will I be able to channel all of this work into better performance on the ice for my team? I have my doubts - I'm kind of awful, as the linked videos amply demonstrate - but at least I can have some fun!

..and have the world's cutest bodyguard for my gear

Happy new year, friends! Hope the holidays were kind to you, and 2024 brings you all that you desire!