Running Adventures on the South Shore

If you’ve been following this blog, then you know my last couple of long runs haven’t been great. For whatever reason, my head and body haven’t really felt up to the challenges of  “running long”.  For that reason, I decided it was time for another running adventure – a long run that would be interesting enough to get me excited about hitting the road.

The route I chose was one I’d been wanting to explore for awhile – that is, running down the LaHave River on the east side, catching the LaHave Ferry, and returning on the west side.  I googled the route and estimated that it would be a 34km run (not counting the distance I’d cover on the ferry) – a little longer than I wanted to run, but still do-able.

And what a great choice it turned out to be. Given the length of the run, I gave myself permission to slow my pace a bit and stop to take pictures often.  There was lots to photograph as the east side of the LaHave is lined with older properties with lovely gardens and brightly painted houses.

And when I wasn’t looking at houses, I was enjoying views of the river.  In fact, the road hugged the river for almost the whole route, so I had plenty of time to savour it during the almost 4 hours I was running.

Running lessons: Remembering other times and places

Running in familiar places is comforting at this stage of my life. I like knowing what to look for just around the next bend - a favourite wooded grove, an well-designed garden, or the friendly face of a dog-walking neighbour. There are times, however, when the memories that go with running in such places are also unsettling.

My long run last weekend was a case in point. Most of my 24km route was along the trails that line the LaHave River. Though my family has been in the community for more than 30 years, I "lived away" much of that time so the trails are relatively new to me and I'm just getting acquainted with them now that my husband and I have a home nearby.

The last 4 to 5kms of my run were a different story. I turned away from the river and headed into town, runnning by landmarks that reminded me of the many times I stayed with the family between college semesters or during summer and Christmas vacations.

Election Night in Canada

Another election night. I'm not one of those people who doesn't care about politics. To the contrary, I've been glued to the radio or TV for every federal and provincial election since before I was old enough to vote - except for the one that took place while my husband and I were living in Papua New Guinea. In fact, I worked my first campaign when I was just 10 years old and my mom sent me out leafletting on behalf of her candidate.

Some of my happiest memories are of being curled up in bed with Mum watching federal leadership contests. She was a loyal Liberal but we watched Conservative and NDP leadership races too. In those days, there was drama and lots of it since voting often dragged out over three or four ballots that took days to be cast and counted.

Tonight, as I watched the election results come in, I wondered what happened to my country - the one with national leaders who had ideas and principles and cared about people, communities and good public policy.

It's said we get the government we deserve. Assuming that's true, the results of this election are a tragic comment on the state of our democracy. Apparently, we have come to deserve a government that lies and bullies and shows nothing but contempt for Parliament, our cherished national institutions, and the majority of voters. Oh, my Canada...

Springing on a grey and gloomy day!

I love my Garmin. It keeps me honest about my pace and distance and makes tracking my weekly mileages a piece of cake. Lately, though, my favourite gadget on my long runs has been my smart phone - both because it ensures I have a way to call for help when I need it and because it has a built-in camera that lets me take photos of the places I run.

I was especially useful during my long slow run yesterday. The day was grey and drizzly so it was hard to enjoy being out the way I usually do.  None of the scenery I've been savouring in recent months looked as pretty in the low light. Nevertheless, out of force of habit, I spent much of the run looking for potential photographs and began to notice something wonderful - many of the buds that were barely promises the week before had suddenly burst into bloom. Hot pink azalea, soft pink and white magnolia, and yellow daffodils and forsythia added bright splashes of colour to an otherwise gloomy day.

It wasn't possible for me to get really good pictures of any of them given the subdued light filtering through the rain and clouds, but the effort to do so inspired me to pay more attention to the beauty around me, instead of the discomfort in my legs near the end of my 26km long run - which was a good thing in and of itself.  And I did get one shot I liked as I ran through an old rail cut on a completed section of the Centennial Trail. The clouds lifted just enough to let soft sunlight reach the mosses and plants that seemed to grow straight out of the rocks - wonderful examples of mother nature's resilience.

More on the places my run and thoughts took me this weekend when I get back to my home computer tonight!

Sky painting

Ominous skies over Petite Riviere

A painter friend once explained that you really can't make a mistake painting the sky because clouds come in an infinite variety of sizes, shapes and colours. Whatever you paint, he said, will look like the sky somewhere sometime - even if it doesn't turn out quite the way you intended.

Maybe - but I still wish I had the skill to paint the sky exactly as it looked yesterday afternoon when I took this photo. As lovely as the image is, it doesn't come close to capturing the intensity of the light as it poured through the clouds to the glowing sandbar beneath.

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.