Sun Seeker

It's been a rough week.

Physically, emotionally, and atmospherically

The closest I've seen to sunlight was last Saturday, running down to the market.

Even that was more just a lightening of the cloud

Double run on Saturday, then in to Mississauga on Sunday to do some more exploring..

..on another chilly, grey day.

It was a little tougher than I was expecting; I hadn't realized quite how much of a valley the Credit River sits in.

If vert isn't real, it's doing one heck of a job of faking its existence

Nor had I realized how gnarly some of the trails around it might be.

Don't trip on the way down.

Fun fact: every rock moves underfoot

As difficult as that was physically, at least it offered peace and tranquility on which I'd draw that evening.

..when we scattered my father's ashes on Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Credit River.
Both had brought him sustaining joy from his boyhood through his adult life.

Monday and Tuesday passed with work - long hours and more grey, chilly weather, which hung around for Wednesday when we headed back to Mississauga for what we thought would be the last time.

I took the chance to finish a project: see all but the road sections of the Culham Trail, that my father used to walk daily before his passing.

I've no idea which section(s) his walks covered, but hope my travels took me along his footsteps at least for a little way.

In spite of the continued chill and overcast - plus my fatigue after too many days without proper sleep - I desperately needed that run for the day that was to come. Have you ever seen a house that's been lived in for fifty years straight by the same person? Eight hours of rummaging, searching, finding, packing, toting, moving, loading, unloading, arranging, and unpacking later, I was completely exhausted..

..and yet knew I wasn't done yet.

The move had not been completed as planned, but the actual moving crew had done all they intended and would not be back: I quickly messaged my manager, who was very understanding about giving me another day off work so I could go back to Mississauga with my mum to find and transport all of the other things that had been missed, or that my mother hadn't wanted to bring that had been packed anyway.

Deep breaths

If Wednesday was exhausting and disheartening, Thursday was a true nightmare. Once again I got a run in first, while the fog still lay heavy on the trails near home.

I could have slept a bit more had I not, but the centering it gave me was probably the only thing that got me through.

Another more than 9 hours of searching, packing, strained tempers, careful arranging and re-arranging to try to fit everything in our vehicle, unloading, unpacking, and sorting out - with everyone tired, sore, and after just a bowl of post-run oatmeal at 9:30am, we finally staggered out at almost 7pm.

We grabbed some take out and headed for home.

If that wasn't enough for the day, upon getting in the house we found our tomcat Fionn displaying the classic signs of a urinary tract blockage: something that could kill him in less than 48hrs if left untreated. I was a wreck: watching my poor boy like a hawk, trying to call our vet's office (that literally closed as I was making the call at 7:59pm), pulling out the carrier to take him to the emergency vet, and then finally seeing him improve to almost normal within minutes of a difficult but successful trip to the litter box! 

I was so grateful to see him feeling better! We decided - given observations - to monitor today and take him to our own vet if he still seemed to be having issues, but he's been absolutely fine.

So finally - around 9:30pm, after a really thorough shower - I got to collapse on the couch and eat the dinner we'd picked up.

I've often thought that days like these - where you're exhausted and everything feels impossible, but you've no choice but to keep moving forward through it - make some good training for ultras. Having faced difficult times in the past can teach you to draw on your reserves to do difficult things in the future.

Let me tell you: I'm feeling a little over-prepared by now

Fortunately the worst ought to be done now, and I should have fewer worries going forward as my mum is now much closer at hand, and able to get any assistance she needs far more easily than alone in a house full of stairs.

What I'd never do for money, I will do for love - but now I need some rest, and maybe a little sunshine...please?

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!

Trixie

 I mentioned back in May that we had adopted a kitten.

Before the trails exploded into flowers and greenery

That little kitten turned three months old today - one month and one day since we brought her home.

When she was so tiny I had to give her a boost to see out the window

She has definitely not been helpful with productivity while I work from home.

This was her favourite spot to sleep when I'd bring her into my office during the first few days

This is her most common perch now - where she can do the most damage

We've had some pretty serious discussions about data integrity

Even when she's not physically impeding me from working, she's an awful distraction.

How much work would you get done with this at your elbow?

Or this on a chair right behind you?

Now, with two cats already in the house before her, you may ask why we felt we needed a third. Well, we mostly got her to be a companion for Fionn - while now about 3.5yrs old, he still behaves like a kitten, and has desperately needed a playmate.

My poor boy would get so bored, and cry during the day for someone to play with him

Esme is not a playful kitty. She is a huge suck toward Tanker and I, but to all other cats she is an absolute miserypants: hissing and growling, and swatting or biting if another cat comes close. She isn't aggressive - she just wants to be left alone.

Preferably in her hammock in a sunbeam

The "tortie-tude" is REAL with her, so that left my little man in a position where he had loads of energy, and no-one to help him burn it off. 

So he'd come and distract me, too.

We needed another kitty around - preferably a very young kitten (so the other two would accept it) with high drive to help them keep up with Fionny. We also wanted a female, as we had all too much experience in the past few years (before our old tomcat Karma passed away in February) with the literal pissing contest that can happen between two male cats.

Enter: this adorable little nugget

We gave Trixie a few days in her own room to try to settle in after we brought her home (on a Monday night), then come Thursday evening we let her out while Tank and I were both around to supervise. We did put her back in her own room that night, but when Tanker returned from work on Friday we released her for the final time, hoping that the other kitties wouldn't get aggressive.

The first cautious sniffs..

Fortunately, Fionny has been an excellent big brother to her! Despite him weighing in at over 13lbs and Trix starting out as 2lbs of floof (as of today she's up to 3.8lbs, so he still outweighs her by nearly a factor of 3), they play together wonderfully.

With the little one usually being the aggressor!

It only took a couple of weeks before I wandered into the bedroom and found them together on the bed..

Not exactly cuddling..

..but definitely very comfortable together.

It's not a perfect arrangement: Fionny still gets bored when Trixie is snoozling away, or lose his temper a bit when she refuses to stop attacking him (particularly his tail). I've had to help the poor boy escape her sorties on a few occasions, and have had to pull the two of them apart now and then when they get just a little too rough with each other.

But more times than not, they're quite content together.

Trixie herself is a handful - I mean what kitten isn't? Her tiny teeth and claws are razor sharp, and she uses them liberally on anything within reach. 

She looks vulnerable, but in fact she is pointy side up.
IT'S A TRAP

Tiny as she is, you wouldn't think that would give her much range, but it turns out she's built of springs as well! We had thought we'd have to help her up on things for a little while, but she could jump up on the futon in her room the very first day, and can easily jump up on our bed despite it being high enough that my feet don't touch the floor (by a good number of inches) when I sit on the side of it!

And whatever she can't jump, she'll just claw her way up

Just this morning, as a matter of fact, she worked out how to get up on the bathroom counter...and promptly stole one of Tanker's toothbrushes, then jumped down and buggered off with it!

Then sat in the hall and tried to tear its bristles out.
(Yes, we'll be getting him a new one)

The little buttmunch is almost impossible to keep off the kitchen counter, particularly when you're trying to get her breakfast or dinner ready.

She hasn't quite put it together that it takes even longer when I have to lift her off the counter and drop her on the floor half a dozen times in the process

I may also need to start keeping lids on any cookware I leave on the stove

I have puncture wounds and scabs all over from her either failing to jump up on my leg at my desk, or from her frantic flailing when lifted off of something she was exploring or attacking. 

Or just trying not to fall off somewhere precarious, like the back of my office chair

She's an absolute terror in so many ways!

Like her penchant for hanging out in the box where I keep my running gloves and gaiters

..but she's so absolutely adorable and entertaining that it's impossible to get mad at her.

With her snow white and spotty back and pink little nose!

Even Esme has started to - if not actually warm to her - at least defrost a bit. 

I wasn't quite quick enough to catch the nose boop, but it happened!

To be honest, Esme is probably less surly toward Trixie now than she is toward Fionn...unless Trix attacks her, or there's food around. Then it's definitely growly hissy time, but otherwise she's been remarkably chill for the past week or so.

And it's still only been just over a month!

So while my ankle is still a jerk and there are still just so many things to stress about, at least I have an adorable, ridiculous little distraction to keep me laughing while the world burns.

She's not a cuddler, but at least she'll tolerate me getting close

I'll also say that there are few joys in the world like watching a tiny kitten chase a full-grown tomcat around the house, or for that matter jumping in circles while chasing their own tail! I'd say I can't wait to see what she'll be like when she grows up, but I'm more than happy to enjoy the journey through her silly kitten months for now.

Too much

 Y'all, I am exhausted.

..and not just due to the sudden heatwave.

The last week has been a tough one - we camped last Friday and Saturday night at Wildwood Conservation Area to volunteer at Rugged Raccoon, which was fun but cold, windy, and tiring.

We worked the 10k afternoon aid station at ~4.5k

I finally got my first run in since Pick Your Poison (the race report for which will be posted eventually..), and then helped out at the start/finish area with race registrations and merch sales for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

It was nice to be able to explore some of the park I hadn't seen before..

..not to mention finally getting to see some parts of the course in daylight!

The combination of too much sun, too much wind, too little warmth, too little water, and too little food knocked me for a loop - perhaps all this was a little much to take on a week after an undertrained, injured, and exhausted 50k, because I felt really unwell and ended up crawling into our tent after making and eating dinner around 9pm. I was very unhappy not to be able to contribute further, but I would not have been an asset had I tried to carry on. Tank came back to our tent around 11:45pm, when I got up to brush my teeth with him, and then headed straight back to bed.

I was in slightly better shape come morning, particularly after downing a couple of litres of water before coffee

Pack up camp, drive home, drop everything off, then a quick shower and off to Mississauga to make dinner for my mum on Mothers' Day, then home again to turn this:

..starting at 10:35pm

Into this:

Elapsed time: 1 hour

Then another short night's sleep, as I had to be up super early to go into the office Monday morning to meet our new finance intern. I actually had a pretty good day, and took advantage of being in downtown Kitchener for a pleasant post-work run.

Sunshine and warmth and Victoria Park!

I finished up back at the office, then Tank came and picked me up - the day we'd been waiting for since mid-April had finally come, and we picked up our new family member!

Meet Trixie! She's 2 months old - born March 10th, 2022

On top of all of this, I've been training our intern all week - while both of us work remotely, so it's been marathon video calls all day, every day. The young fellow is doing well, but of course we need to go slowly, while it's one of the busiest times of year at work; after essentially performing on camera all day, I have hours of additional tasks I have to take care of because well, things just need to get done.

..which is not made any easier by having a kitten either crying in her isolation room, or doing her best to distract me if I bring her into my office.

Speaking of crying: I've been woken up at least a half to three-quarters of an hour early every morning since we brought her home, by her pitiful little meows from her isolation room while we try to introduce her slowly to the rest of the cats in the house.

We finally had some supervised face-to-face time last night, and it went great! But we still put her back in her own room before we went to bed, so no-one would get any bad ideas while we slept.

To top it all off, my stupid ankle is...stupid. Painful enough that I probably won't be running for a bit, which means I lose one of my major stress relief outlets. 

..just as the beautiful weather is starting, too.

I tried to get the race report done this evening, but I just don't have it in me right now: I'm too tired, don't really want to talk about running at the moment, and I'm just too distracted with the new little fuzzball to be able to fight my way through.

..especially since I keep having to close all my windows to prevent unwanted input.

So, I'm going to try to rest and heal a bit, and see what next week brings. I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

..with plenty of time to relax and recharge.