1886

Got up with some trepidation this morning, as the weather, she has been changing! However, the snow didn't materialize (heavy snowfall warning for tonight though) and even the temps weren't so bad at -11C (+12F) with "acceptable" wind chills of -18C (0F). I dressed to be prepared (winter skin, long sleeved tech, wind breaking jacket, tights, winter weight pants, long double lined socks), pulled on my toque and gloves and off I went.

After some dipsy-doodling around (cross into Prince's Island, loop the park, back out to the path, west to 14th St, cross river, east to Long Zoo bridge (St. George's), west to Eau Claire), we run a good 13km (12.91 officially for me or just a hair over 8 miles) long, slow pace today. My friend K. (who ran Hawaii) came down to run today, but she and the other 5-hour pacer ended up running with the other "5-hour" pacer. I think this guy actually does the 4:40 pace, but he calls himself whatever and off they went. They most certainly were not running a 5-hour slow pace. He kept coming back for me (which I HATE) so I finally told him I knew what I was doing (I was a pacer as well, after all) and that I was going the pace I should be (8:17 - perfectly acceptable for the 3rd long run of the clinic and well within the pace of 7:52 - 8:49) and that I was just fine. He's a very nice man, but I just hate feeling like I'm holding people up or having to be "taken care" of (there's the Whyte family independent streak rearing it's ugly head!). The weather didn't feel as cold as the temps indicated, and there was hardly any wind at all, so I was sadly over-dressed and feeling the heat early on. But I pushed through that, tight calves (man, they did not want to play today), heavy legs (mmmm...Chinese stir fry not the best pre-run dinner, despite brown rice), and a pair of lungs that could not decide if they were going to work or not. I soldiered on, even adding a little loop at the end (km's were shy) to finish in 1:46.

Met up with the gang and we all went over to 1886 for brunch. We run out of an area called Eau Claire (clear water), which is attached to Prince's Island. The history of the area is that the island was built by Mr. Prince, the owner of the Eau Claire Lumber Company. He built the island so that they could catch the logs being sent down the Bow River from the mountains to the sawmill. The original chimney is still in the area, as is the 1886 Buffalo Cafe, which was his original office for the lumber company. Anyway, they converted to a restaurant a million years ago (or so) and have served up a decent breakfast (and breakfast only) ever since. After a brief wait (it's always lined up on the weekends) we sat down to enjoy a hearty breakfast of eggs and whole wheat toast. I had their version of a Benny, only instead of ham and hollendaise, mine had fresh tomato slices and melted cheese. And their hash browns are real fried up chunks of potato with just the right amount of seasoning. Add a waitress that never let any of our coffee cups get empty, and it all equals a fabulous brunch out. Hey, I burned off over a thousand calories on my run today...I can enjoy a little cheese on my recovery meal!

I really should go do some running around for Mom, but since I'm picking her up for a doctor's appointment anyway, I may leave it till tomorrow. I just really want a nap, despite being in bed (lights out) at 11:30 last night. Running on the ice took it's toll on me today.

I also have to plan what to do for dinner, although I think I'm going to have a closer read through Self and see if I can't kick-start something in myself this week. That'll determine what needs to be purchased at the grocery store.

If I end up having something exciting for supper, I'll be back with photos.

Later,