Still here and blogging...

...in my head, at least. Unfortunately, I rarely have time to write these days and, when I do, I usually spend it catching up on email. 

What’s got me so busy? A good question. I wonder sometimes why life feels so hectic when I don’t seem to do much besides work and hang out with Husband and the critters. I never watch TV, rarely go out, and train only sporadically. The trouble is I’m so tired that, even when I do have a little time, I’m not inclined to spend on my laptop. I’m more likely to pour a glass of wine and play tug with Jackie Blue. 

Life is especially tiring at the moment because we sold our city house a few weeks ago and I’m commuting 200k a day to work and back. I only drive about 150k of that since I catch a bus at Tantallon but the round trip eats up 3 hours of each day. I’ve been using the time on the bus to read novels, which makes it feel a little less like work, but all that travel still makes for a longass work day. Fortunately, I’ll only be commuting for a few more weeks. I've lined up an apartment to rent in the city starting the beginning of September.

The decision to sell the house was a bit spur of the moment. At the time, I thought I might be giving up my job and the housing market was hot so we decided to take the plunge and sell the house while we could get a good price for it. However, things at work have improved to the point that it now makes sense to stay in my job awhile longer and see how it goes. It would be nice to end my government career on a high note instead of leaving earlier than planned out of frustration. 

Moving's not the only thing that's been consuming time and energy. Husband and I went on a wonderful trip to Newfoundland and Ireland in late May/early June, which I hope to blog about in detail eventually. In the meantime, here are a few photos to wet your appetite.

In addition, we've had a regular stream of visitors since early July. Most booked their time with us before we decided to sell the house so we didn't feel we could postpone, and anyway we've enjoyed having them. It just made July that much more hectic.

The other issue for me has been the heatwave we've had over the past few weeks. Normally, I enjoy hot weather but not this year. Coupled with regular hot flashes, the very warm temperatures have kept me from getting enough sleep.

Fortunately, I've booked two more weeks of vacation in late August so it won't be long until I get some proper rest. In the meantime, I'm doing my best to pace myself, eat right, drink plenty of (non-alcoholic) fluids, and cut myself a bit of slack on the training front. 

At the moment, the most I can manage is a couple of short runs per week and I often end up having to walk parts of them on account of the (internal and external) heat. It's frustrating but I remind myself that it's better to do some training than none at all. Once I've moved into an apartment in the city, I should have more time for running (and blogging) since Husband plans to stay in the country with the critters most weeks.

So that's the news from here. Hope you're having a good summer, wherever you are. If you're a female runner of a certain age, I'd love to hear how you manage hot flashes when you run (and the rest of the time, for that matter). If you're a long distance commuter, how do you spend so much time on the road without feeling totally exhausted at the end of the day? Love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

Beautiful summer days!

Summer's here! And so far, we're really enjoying it. This was a long weekend in Nova Scotia, and the weather was hot and sunny for the most part, so Husband and I spent all day Saturday and Sunday camped out on Risser's Beach. We even went swimming a few times since the water was 18C and there were some lovely big waves on Sunday. The crowds were as large as I've seen them in awhile but it was still lovely and quiet at "our" end of the beach.

The weather made my weekend runs a bit challenging though. I slept later than planned Saturday morning and it was so stinky hot by the time I awoke that I opted to run 8k after we got home from the beach. Running on a stomach full of beer and chips after 6 hours in the sun wasn't easy but it was easier than the alternative.

This morning's long run was more comfortable. Once again, I slept later than intended but still managed to get on the road shortly after nine. By sticking to the Centennial Trail, I was able to remain in the shade for much of my 20k and there was a slight breeze so I arrived home feeling a good deal better than I did at the end of last week's 17k.

The rest of my training week was good. I checked off a hill training session on Tuesday and speed training on Thursday. Marathon training is going well so far but, of course, the toughest weeks are ahead.

Other activities this weekend included gardening, photography, retirement planning, cooking and reading. In short, I was "vacation hardening". Just four more days of work and I'm off for three weeks. Three weeks! Needless to say, I'm excited. It's been far too long since I had a proper break.

After two solid days on the beach, we were ready for a change of pace today so spent the afternoon in Lunenburg. After a lazy lunch on the deck of the Salt Shaker Deli, we wandered through town stopping at several local galleries and Ironworks Distillery to pick up a bottle of their award-winning Bluenose Rum.

We also caught a glimpse of the Bluenose, in port to pick up passengers for her next tour.

Back in the car, we explored the roads outside town, and stopped to take a few photos. Lunenburg is a UNESCO Heritage Site for good reason. It's ridiculously picturesque.

We'll likely make it back to Lunenburg for the folk festival next weekend - always a highlight of summer on Nova Scotia's South Shore.

Hope you and yours are enjoying a sunny, warm summer as well!

Happy running and writing!

It was too hot to run, and yet...

I got no running in during the work week on account of a nasty summer cold that knocked me off my feet Wednesday and Thursday. It was a strangle little bug that started with a dry throat and slight cough, then moved directly to my lungs, causing deeper coughs that kept me from sleeping soundly for a few nights. By Friday, I felt well enough to return to the office but wasn't at all sure I'd be running this weekend.

Friday night, I headed to bed early and slept like the dead until nearly 9:00, which meant it was already hot by the time Husband and I headed out the door for a quick 5k into town and back. I didn't check the thermometer before we left but it was in around 25C by the time we got back, with the humidex making it feel closer to 30C.

The run was great, all things considered, but by suppertime my throat felt scratchy and I wondered whether it had been wise to run so soon. When I toddled off to bed last night - after spending a very pleasant evening hanging out in the gazebo with Husband eating a delicious supper (rotisseried lamb, lemon roasted potatoes and salad, in case you're wondering), sipping wine and playing guitars, I reckoned I'd have to lay low again today.

Fortunately, I slept soundly and awoke feeling ready to tackle a long run after all - though not the 20k I'd originally planned. Given the continuing high temperatures, I figured 16-17k would be more than enough - particularly since I hadn't got an early start and it was hot as hades. I set a moderate pace, stayed in the shade as much as possible, and drank gatorade at regular intervals but it still felt like a bit of a slog. The thermometer was reading over 30C when I got back to the house around noon and it felt warmer than that with the humidity so sweat poured off of me for at least an hour after I got home - even after I'd stretched, taken a cool shower, and gulped down a big glass of cold water. 

Despite the heat, I have to say I enjoyed the run. I love being on the road Sunday mornings because it's so quiet compared to the rest of the weekend, when it seems the whole county comes to town to shop and run errands. And today's route took me to one of my favourite places, Miller's Head Peace Park (pictured above and below), which I had almost entirely to myself.  I always enjoy the park but especially appreciated it after chatting with our friend Ruth last week about how few parks there are in the city she calls home (Portsmouth, UK), and how nervous she felt walking in them. Our conversation reminded me of how fortunate we are to have access to so many beautiful, safe trails nearby. Here's a photo from my first turnaround point today, looking down the LaHave River from the park.

The high point of my visit to the park was spotting what I think were a couple of juvenile eagles high in a pine tree. I'm no bird expert so can't be positive that's what they were but they certainly looked like small eagles and made sounds similar to those I associate with the full size birds that visit our country property. One of them was putting on quite a show, squawking loudly and puffing up the feathers on its chest to make it clear my presence wasn't appreciated. They were so entertaining, I stopped for several minutes to enjoy the show, hoping mama or papa might put in an appearance. I spotted another juvenile higher up in a nearby tree but saw no sign of an adult before I turned and headed for home. 

After a quick shower and a bowl of strawberries, we were out the door on our way to another of our favourite places, Risser's Beach. The main part of the beach was crowded but we set our sunbuster up in the usual spot away from the hordes and spent a couple of blissful hours sipping cold beer, munching sandwiches, reading and listening to the waves. To my mind, it's the waves that make Risser's so special. The sound of them crashing along 1.5kms of beach soothes my soul like little else. Here's a brief video to give you some sense of what it's like.

Unfortunately, thunder clouds rolled in later in the afternoon so we didn't get to spend quite as much time at the beach as we hoped but the time we had was lovely. You can tell by the contented smile on my face in this pic.

Just two more weeks until I start my vacation and I can hardly wait! The plan is to spend the time in the country - reading, writing, running, hiking, beaching, and spending time with family and friends. Fingers crossed nothing happens to prevent me from being off for 3 weeks.  I'm hoping to use the time to kick my marathon training up a notch. I'll need to do some serious hill work to be ready for the Valley Harvest Marathon in October. I finally sat down and drew up a rough training schedule this week but I still need to tweak it to take into account some work travel scheduled for September. I'll post it here once it's in final form.

Hope everyone's having a good summer so far. Are you training for a fall marathon? How do you deal with running in the heat? Where are your favourite beaches?

Happy running and writing, friends!