Every winter, starting in January, The Ultimate Warriors running group start to play on the hills. Every second Saturday, we all set off from our meeting spot in Toronto and run half a mile to Hogg's Hollow to tackle the four distinct hills there. I missed the first session a couple weeks ago because I was having fun running 50K on a flat course in Cleveland so I vowed not to miss out on this one.
Friday night, I put my stuff together and went to bed. Now, because I was low on sleep during the week, it all caught up to me this weekend. Saturday morning, the alarms (no... this is not a typo) went off and I responded to none of them. I just could not get out of bed. By the time I was awake, I realised it was 7h15 and I had to be there by 8h00. The drive there was about 30 minutes on the highway. I knew I would be late so I decided to try and get there by 8h15 and catch up with them on the hills. No can do... by the time I left the house, it was after 9h00. I had started debating whether or not to go, especially since the windchill was -20 degrees Celsius. In the end, I remembered this: If I make posts of running fairies, I could become one myself in someone else's eye. So... off I go!
When I arrived at the meeting point, I started getting anxious. I did not want to be picked on and I did not want to be seen, especially since people were finishing up. At the last minute, I decided to make a detour and head for the Y. By heading to the Y, I could leave my car in the underground parking lot so that my stuff will not freeze in the car. I also will not have to worry about taking along my car key as it will be in the locker along with my stuff. I decided to start the run from that point.
When I started, I ran straight to the meeting point and kept going from there. By this time, the gang was having breakfast at the Richtree Marche. I knew that if I stopped in to say hello, my run would be finished. When I hit the first hill, I decided to be deliberate in my hill approach. I did not attach them aggressively at all. I walked when I needed to and made the effort to go for the rest of it. With my mp3 player on, I was definitely getting some more push. There were many interesting tidbits from the hills. On the second hill, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the site of an airplane flying low. I wish I knew what kind it was and I wished I brought the camera along to try and take a picture of it so that I can identify it later. The camera did not come along because the temperature would have not been kind to it. On the fourth hill, as I was making the approach to complete the first loop, I passed this woman who was really bundled up as she was walking down the hill. Just as I was about to pass her, she yells at me - "Cover your mouth!" I guess she was just concerned that I had exposed skin and the windchill was bitter. I have tried balaclavas in the past but I don't really care for them unless I'm really desperate. When the moisture hits it and freezes, it feels a lot worse to me than if I went without it. Wearing a hooded shirt and a neck gaiter along with a hat works better for me. Also, using Dermatone is the greatest. It's not greasy, does not clog my pores, and offers protection from the wind. On the fifth hill, I felt like I was cruising. I passed a couple guys who were overly excited and greeted me with a very enthusiastic "Good Morning!". That definitely made my day.
After completing the two loops, I ran/walked back to the Y the way I came. The biggest gotcha is that heading north from the meeting place to the Y is mostly uphill. Wow... When I got there, I took a 10 minute spin on the recumbent before hitting the showers and sauna.
This week called for eight individual hill passes, which means two complete loops. When I measured it using GMaps Pedometer, I found that one complete loop is 4.5 miles. From the meeting point to the top of the nearest pass is 0.6 miles. The run from the Y to the meeting point is 1.3 miles. This means that I added a total of 2.6 miles to what was called for. Total mileage for me - 13 miles. It makes me think now... What if I park my car at the Y in the underground parking lot and meet up with the troupes after warming up for 10 minutes getting to the meeting point?... Hmm... Something to think about...
Friday night, I put my stuff together and went to bed. Now, because I was low on sleep during the week, it all caught up to me this weekend. Saturday morning, the alarms (no... this is not a typo) went off and I responded to none of them. I just could not get out of bed. By the time I was awake, I realised it was 7h15 and I had to be there by 8h00. The drive there was about 30 minutes on the highway. I knew I would be late so I decided to try and get there by 8h15 and catch up with them on the hills. No can do... by the time I left the house, it was after 9h00. I had started debating whether or not to go, especially since the windchill was -20 degrees Celsius. In the end, I remembered this: If I make posts of running fairies, I could become one myself in someone else's eye. So... off I go!
When I arrived at the meeting point, I started getting anxious. I did not want to be picked on and I did not want to be seen, especially since people were finishing up. At the last minute, I decided to make a detour and head for the Y. By heading to the Y, I could leave my car in the underground parking lot so that my stuff will not freeze in the car. I also will not have to worry about taking along my car key as it will be in the locker along with my stuff. I decided to start the run from that point.
When I started, I ran straight to the meeting point and kept going from there. By this time, the gang was having breakfast at the Richtree Marche. I knew that if I stopped in to say hello, my run would be finished. When I hit the first hill, I decided to be deliberate in my hill approach. I did not attach them aggressively at all. I walked when I needed to and made the effort to go for the rest of it. With my mp3 player on, I was definitely getting some more push. There were many interesting tidbits from the hills. On the second hill, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the site of an airplane flying low. I wish I knew what kind it was and I wished I brought the camera along to try and take a picture of it so that I can identify it later. The camera did not come along because the temperature would have not been kind to it. On the fourth hill, as I was making the approach to complete the first loop, I passed this woman who was really bundled up as she was walking down the hill. Just as I was about to pass her, she yells at me - "Cover your mouth!" I guess she was just concerned that I had exposed skin and the windchill was bitter. I have tried balaclavas in the past but I don't really care for them unless I'm really desperate. When the moisture hits it and freezes, it feels a lot worse to me than if I went without it. Wearing a hooded shirt and a neck gaiter along with a hat works better for me. Also, using Dermatone is the greatest. It's not greasy, does not clog my pores, and offers protection from the wind. On the fifth hill, I felt like I was cruising. I passed a couple guys who were overly excited and greeted me with a very enthusiastic "Good Morning!". That definitely made my day.
After completing the two loops, I ran/walked back to the Y the way I came. The biggest gotcha is that heading north from the meeting place to the Y is mostly uphill. Wow... When I got there, I took a 10 minute spin on the recumbent before hitting the showers and sauna.
This week called for eight individual hill passes, which means two complete loops. When I measured it using GMaps Pedometer, I found that one complete loop is 4.5 miles. From the meeting point to the top of the nearest pass is 0.6 miles. The run from the Y to the meeting point is 1.3 miles. This means that I added a total of 2.6 miles to what was called for. Total mileage for me - 13 miles. It makes me think now... What if I park my car at the Y in the underground parking lot and meet up with the troupes after warming up for 10 minutes getting to the meeting point?... Hmm... Something to think about...
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