Week 20 & 21: Traveling in the South

Well, it's been a busy two weeks. Turns out traveling around Saskatchewan and Manitoba with a 6 month old gets a touch on the busy side - I didn't find time last week to post about my running.

I got four runs in during my stay in Regina the week of May 13-19. The runs were between 12.6 km and 14.2 km, at an average pace of 4:20 min./km, for a total of 52.84 km. I was hoping to get one more run in on the Saturday, while we were visiting my brother-in-law and his family outside Neepawa, but I was occupied playing with my nephews, so c'est la vie. My overall total for this week was 867.8 km, with a surplus of 97.8 km.

On the 20th, we drove into the Selkirk/Lockport/Winnipeg area to visit some of my extended family. Unfortunately, Christine and Alexa came down with colds early in this portion of our travels, and are still trying to get over them now. After spending a few days visiting various great aunts and great uncles of Alexa, we started back to Regina. To break up the trip, we spent a night in Virden, MB, which was actually somewhat restful. However, I only got one run in during this time - I did 12 km on the Tuesday. To make up for this, after we got to Regina I did a 20 km run on Friday that I was quite happy with. That run was at an average pace of 4:13 min./km, which is my fastest run this year. To make up the balance to meet my minimum of 38.5, I did a 10.76 km run on Saturday as well. Weekly total was 42.77 km, which puts me at 910.6 km overall, and a surplus of 102.1 km. I'd like to try to do 52 km this week, as that will bring my surplus up to 115.5 km (3 weeks' worth), but it may be tricky, as we still have some traveling ahead of us. Tomorrow we fly to Ottawa, where we'll be staying with Christine's aunt and uncle for a couple of days. Then on Friday we fly back to Iqaluit.

Week 19: Due South and Go West (Life is Peaceful There)

This post is a little late, as I had limited access to the internet while traveling. As mentioned last week, I flew down to Ottawa, and across to Toronto and then Regina on May 5. I ran three times in Regina, getting in 16 km, 13 km, and 12.2 km, with my mom accompanying me on her bike. For the run on Monday I also incorporated a 5 km time trial into the run - I did that in 20 minutes 11 seconds, which isn't too bad considering I haven't been focusing very much on speed work.

After my dentist appointment on Tuesday, I drove to Hudson Bay and was reunited with Alexa and Christine. I was a little worried that Alexa might not remember me, as it had been two weeks since we had last saw each other, but when I walked in the door she gave me a big smile. She then proceeded to tell me everything that had happened since we were last together - I didn't understand any of it, but it was sure cute. I spent a couple of nights in Hudson Bay, and got in a 9 km run before, and we then proceeded to Lac Vert, where Christine's sister, Carla, lives.

Carla's place was very busy. She (and her husband Cory), have four children: Cody, 14; Clowie (pronounced Chloe), 3; Carli, 2; and Casen, 3 months. It was nice to see my nieces and nephews, and for Alexa to see her cousins, but I was also glad to move on to somewhere a bit quieter. We overnighted at Carla's, and then continued onto Saskatoon.

In Saskatoon, we stayed with some friends Christine and I have from St. Stephen's Anglican Church, where she used to work. Jean and Jerry welcomed us into their home, and it was a very enjoyable stay. They are well equipped to have a little one staying with them, being grandparents six times over themselves, and are excellent hosts. I got out for a 9.6 km run our first night there, running along the path by the river. On Saturday, we went to visit David and Sonja in the morning, and then saw Christine's grandma Edna, and her aunt and uncle in the afternoon. After we were done visiting, we took Alexa to the Forestry Farm and zoo - I'm not sure how much she got out of it, but her eyes got really big when she saw the grizzly bears! That evening, we took her into Jean's and Jerry's hot tub (kept a bit cooler than normal), and she loved that. She's going to be quite the little swimmer, I think.

Yesterday, we attended St. Stephen's and saw many people we knew, and then hit the road to grandma's and grandpa's place. Grandma Barb enjoyed having Alexa come see her on mother's day, and will get to spend the next several days with her.

In total, I ran 60.10 km last week, a new high, at an average pace of 4:25 minutes/km. My overall total now sits at 814.99 km, with a surplus of 83.49 km. I now have more than a two week surplus, which feels good.

Week 18: Home Alone 2

Last week I didn't get very much running in. I ran a bit over 9 km on Sunday, and again on Monday, but skipped Tuesday due to fatigue, and Wednesday and Thursday because I had company over. My buddy Nik is moving away from Iqaluit in June, and since I'm going to be gone for most of May, it was going to be one of my last chances to see him. As I knew Saturday was going to be a write-off between getting packed and traveling, I made up for it Friday night: I did my longest run yet this year, at 20.31 km in 1:36:46. Total for the week was 39.04 km, at an average pace of 4:44/km. Overall total was 754.89, and I slightly increased my surplus to 61.89 km.

The trip back to Regina on Saturday went fine, and I've been enjoying my stay so far. My mom got on her bike yesterday morning and rode along side me while I went out for a 16 km. It's a lot nicer running outside when it's 6 degrees, not overly windy, and there's solid footing. That was easily my fastest run this year, averaging 4:16/km. This gives me hope that I will be able to get back to a sub-40 minute 10 km this year.

After enjoying a nice morning with my mother, I spent a good portion of the rest of the day getting together with Noel, Lee, Kent and Bryan. We played some games at Noel's place, and then went out for supper.

Today I'll hang out with my mom, and do a bit of shopping, and tomorrow I've got a dentist appointment before I get on the road to Hudson Bay to reunite with Christine and Alexa. Then we have a whirlwind of travel ahead of us: Lac Vert, Saskatoon, back to Regina, Neepawa, Winnipeg/Selkirk/Lockport, back to Regina again, fly to Ottawa and then return to Iqaluit on June 1. It'll be busy, but I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends, and showing off Alexa to them.