Christmas Wrap

 This will most likely be my last post for 2022

I swear the final two entries of the Scotland Saga will happen eventually!

While this year has not been without its challenges, I'm very grateful to have had some incredible times along the way: from the return of snowshoe racing and the inimitable Pick Your Poison trail race, through some fun summer "time on feet" days at Sunburn Solstice and Foxtail Hundred, to an uncannily smooth and wonderfully dry Three Days in the Park, I certainly couldn't have asked for racing to go any better.

I also have been discovering some new trails here and there, including this beauty just yesterday!

The crown jewel of the year - ok maybe the decade - was definitely finally getting our postponed-by-two-years trip to Scotland, where we spent a couple of weeks dirtbagging around the Highlands trying to navigate narrow little roads in a campervan, learning new skills, nearly falling off mountains, sea kayaking with seals, ripping around on motorbikes, accumulating ridiculous amounts of distance and vertical ascent, and peeing on quite a bit of the landscape. 

There's a distinct lack of portajohns in the Highlands

I also got to help out a little here and there: I volunteered at as many races as I ran this year, and was able to participate in a truly worthy fundraiser. There was also some serious Halloween silliness with some great friends, which was neither volunteering nor race, but simply a joyful day.

Exploring and eating candy and maybe having an adult beverage or two

I'm privileged to have been able to experience all of these things, and to have family and friends with whom to share them. As so many struggle to make ends meet, I'm off playing in the woods and planning to cook up a feast for my loved ones for Christmas. I've got some big plans for 2023 brewing, too, and I hope to be able to give back to both my trailrunning brethren and my community in general in the new year as well.

For now, I wish you a wonderful holiday season: may it be filled with peace and joy for you, in whatever form brings you those - I'll be over here thankful for my own good fortune, and hoping you all have reason and opportunity to offer gratitude as well!

Wishes

 The year is drawing to a close - this will likely be my last post of 2021

Which sort of seems like a Christmas gift to you all!

I just wanted to wish you a wonderful holiday - I hope you get to spend it doing whatever you like best, in the company of those whom you love and who love you.

My own shenanigans have already begun!

If you find this time of year difficult, I wish you comfort - and I'll stand behind that wish by offering a sympathetic ear or any other support I can possibly provide. I am here for you if you need someone!

I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I will walk with you until we find it!

To all of you, I wish peace and joy. It's been a rough year in a lot of ways, but we've got through them all so far - let's hope that 2022 brings us better times!

..and to all, a good night!

Be well - be merry - and see you in the new year!

Merry COVID-mas

 This is likely to be my last post of this strange, stressful, frustrating year.

It won't be...mist.

For the first time in my professional life, I'm part of a company that shuts down from Christmas Eve 'til after new year's, and I can't wait to have some proper downtime in which to relax. It's been a bit of a stressful couple of weeks.

I've taken my moments of peace wherever I could find them.

Last Monday - December 7th - Tank was informed that there had been a confirmed positive Covid case in the warehouse. Since it was his closest work associate, we were both concerned, and he commenced self-isolation as soon as he returned home that evening. We booked a test for him, but couldn't get an appointment until Wednesday afternoon; they wouldn't test me at all, since I'd had no direct contact with the positive case.

The way ahead seemed dark.

The upside was this gave us some time for Tank to call CRA in an attempt to get his account unlocked, as we'd both been subject to fraudulent CERB claims back in July and he has no way of sitting on hold for more than an hour during the times that our government deigns to provide service to its citizens. He'd need his account to claim the new Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit so he could have some income while he was isolating.

It also meant I got some company on my afternoon lunch runs!

Tank was called Friday morning to confirm our fears: he'd tested positive for Covid, and since we'd both been experiencing some cold-like symptoms, I booked in to have myself tested on Saturday. I also had to inform my employer that I had potentially been infected when I last visited the office on Friday, December the 4th. Definitely not good times!

It also meant I needed to isolate as well, so an unpleasantly rainy afternoon became an opportunity for a trail run as I didn't expect many people to be out.

Resolving the issues with CRA took many calls and probably a full work day's total time on hold, and I continued to do my job full-time from home as I tried to help Tank resolve the issues. Bafflingly enough, my test came back negative - I'd been warned by the public health nurses at the test site that a false negative was a possibility, and to isolate according to the schedule given to Tank regardless of the result. Since he was to remain quarantined until the end of Thursday, December 17th, we ordered in some groceries to supplement what I had stocked in the freezer, and hunkered in at home.

Save for a bit of trail time, making sure I stayed well away from anyone but the trees.

Fortunately, we both seem to have had mild cases (assuming mine is even Covid); just some throat soreness, a runny nose, and some fatigue. I've dropped back to bare minimum distance for the most part, but continue to run once daily from Monday to Thursday and twice each Saturdays and Sundays.

Even discovering some beautiful new places.

Our symptoms seem to be fading, Tank has now been cleared to return to work on Monday, and we seem to have his affairs mostly in order with the government, so hopefully some peace can return to our lives in time for the holiday season so close at hand. It's been wonderful being spoiled with fresh-brewed coffee in the mornings; having company during the day and on runs; and getting a helping hand with a few things around the house...but I also value having un-distracted time to do my work, some of which requires intense concentration.

In running and in life, sometimes you just need a solo mission.

So it seems we've gone in for the full pandemic experience, just as the light of vaccine approvals appears to dawn on the horizon. Hopefully within a few months this will all just be the stuff of memory, letting us trade our masks for race bibs and gather to celebrate with our friends and family.

I truly wish you all the best as 2020 draws to a close - may you be filled with joy and festive spirit, surrounded by love and care, and stay happy and healthy all through the new year!

Be safe out there, and I'll see you in 2021!

Fa la la la la

What does an idiot do with a few days off for the holidays?

Oh, go on - guess

For the first run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

A run up a sunny hill

For the second run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

A hug from a light up Grinch

For the third run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

A foggy Christmas morn

(There were a Santa hat, sleigh bells, and skully Christmas tights involved)

For the 4th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

A trail full of ice

(With further Santa-hat-and-sleigh-bells dorkery, as it was still Christmas Day)

For the 5th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

ICE FREE SIDEWALKS

For the 6th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

A boring, rainy road run.

For the 7th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

A view over a golf course

(It now being the 27th, I called this the "Ghost of Christmas Past" run, and dressed appropriately)

For the 8th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

Endless laps of tiny trails

(I'm not kidding)

For the 9th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

Exploring Waterloo Park

(THERE WERE LLAMAS)

For the 10th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

The lights of Victoria Park

For the 11th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

Rain and wind akimbo

For the 12th run of Christmas, my two legs gave to me..

The soggy Mill Run Trail

..and then - after 5 straight days of double runs - I had to go back to work for a couple of days, just running on my lunch break again for the 30th and 31st.


The snow returned for a brief visit, so after a straight-out-of-bed trot around my neighbourhood I was able to get out in the afternoon for a stunning sunset trail run.

This is what I'd been craving!

Sunshine on snow..

..and little creeks with icy edges

All told I got in 15 runs in 9 days from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day, then threw in another yesterday evening to finish off a 13-day block of 21 runs spanning December 21st to January 2nd. Mileage isn't terribly impressive as all but 1 of the runs were under 6km - just shy of 120km total for the 13 days - but in my defense I do have a little thing coming up...errh...tomorrow.

Y...y...yiiiikes.

So I guess I get to see if:

1. frequency can be a substitute for distance when attempting to race a 6-hour, and
2. whether my POS body can hold itself together a little better than it did at my last race.

Wish me luck - with a couple of niggling sore bits and a few extra Christmas pounds, I'm definitely going to need it!

Holidaze

Is it the most wonderful time of the year?

I suppose it depends on your perspective

I'm always of two minds about winter. I hate being cold, and get cold very easily. I've detailed before some of my gear for staying toasty during a cold run, and tricks for warming up after...but that's not to say they're foolproof. I literally get cold just sitting in my office at work if the temperature drops below 20c, and my left big toe goes numb (unless I take special care) when the temperature drops below about 7c.

Nonetheless, I love the snow!

SO BEAUTIFUL

I love tobogganing and cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. I even enjoy running in the snow to an extent: while it's very difficult, there's nothing like the silence of a lonely trail on a snowy day.

Even when you're slightly petrified the fallen tree count might be increasing on top of you at any moment..

Thanks to a friend, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours last Saturday running a lovely trail along the Grand River with a great group of people as the skies dropped endless fat, fluffy flakes of wet snow on us.

Our fearless leader Lori, who organized the run and hosted a chili & chai party for us afterward!

Patty and Agnes had amazing holiday outfits!
I settled for my SLEIGH ALL DAY toque and some jingling sleigh bells on my hydration pack

We found a decorated tree, too!

I am grateful to have fun people with whom to share a snowy day - we took it easy (SEXY PACE FTW) and just enjoyed the trail and each other's company. 

I'm also grateful that my knee - whose sudden grouchiness ended my day prematurely at the Marathon of Endless Hell - resolved almost immediately with no downtime from running. I'm still staying a bit ahead of pace with the 100 runs in 100 days challenge with 21 runs on the board (in 19 days; I still take Fridays off), though that only puts me in something like 55th place and about 2nd or 3rd woman. Can't care - been too busy with other stuff to try to cram more runs in, and feel ok about having done a double every day so far of the challenge on which I didn't have to work.

Work is something that has become a real issue recently. The overtime hours have been piling up, with an average of no less than a full extra day's worth per week lately. That means I've been getting even less sleep than usual, which makes recovery from workouts more difficult, and leaves me less able to handle life stress, too.

Running away into the woods helps, though.

Add in some unexpected expenses and frustrations - our broken water heater, a smartphone that died after 4 months of use, a microwave that quit after less than 2 months, and a kitten who ATE A FREAKIN' CHUNK OF SILICONE that has the potential to cause a life-threatening GI blockage - and the stress hasn't just been coming from deadlines at the office, either. 

Why are the cute ones always so dumb?

All of this has made it rather difficult to get into the Christmas spirit, even as definite signs have sprung up around me.

Like the lights of Candyland in Central Park in Preston

..and a surprisingly patient Esme looking pretty in her Christmas collar.

Even as I struggle with it all, though, I have to keep up hope that there is better to come. This has been rather a difficult year from beginning to end, but I want to believe that 2020 will bring some relief from it all. I must also make sure I take time to be grateful that I have a job that more or less pays the bills and puts food on our table; that I have wonderful friends and family who are generous with their love; that I have the health and fitness to pursue ambitious goals and explore interesting places; and that I have an amazing husband who patiently and lovingly supports me when I am at my weakest and celebrates each small, hard-fought victory with me.

Also: will wear a silly Christmas toque with me!

So really, there's nothing for it but to push on and take full advantage of the fact my office is going to be closed on December 27th so I can have my first 5-day weekend in the 16.5 years I've worked here. We'll go make Christmas dinner for my mum on the 25th, then have 4 glorious days to try to get some rest and have some low-budget fun. I suspect I'll run a few times and hopefully have some other snowy fun (though the forecast doesn't bode well for our current coating sticking around - it may well be a green Christmas), but most of all I'm looking forward to spending more time with the ones I love.

You'll also get a reprieve from my driveling for THE REST OF THE DECADE!

Wishing all the best to you for a wonderful Christmas and New Year - may you find fun people to do weird things with, or weird people to do fun things with, or preferably both!