Soaked in the Snow!

Snowing! Note the snow accumulating on us.

Having fun but getting cold!

Turning back!

Saturday morning as we were driving to the North Shore the rain was torrential. During my final shut eye of the morning (Neil was driving) Craig called and confirmed he was not joining us. Perhaps he was the sensible one - it really was dodgy out there. When we pulled into the car park at LSCR, we all just stayed in our cars for a few minutes. Dave, the brave one, broke the code of resistance. One by one we rolled out quite tentatively. The rain drops were large, the wind was nasty and it was that raw 2 degrees.

Once the route was confirmed we waved good bye to Helen and shuffled off. We went left on Homestead and then along Fishermans for a few kilometers and then onto the Seymour Dam service road. The rain had now turned to snow. The flakes were the size of toonies and not only was it accumulating on the ground it was also building up on us! Our coats were wet and sticking to the under layer(s). Silly me didn't have much on except a long sleeve shirt underneath my soaking wet jacket. My fellow runners were all sporting a few more layers. Liza pointed out that we were climbing and getting more into the snow which we were not really prepared for.

Team decision to retrace our steps, we crossed over onto the Seymour parkway. It remained cold and snowing all the way until the last kilometer before the gazebo. Dave and Neil went for a few more minutes but I headed back to the car. My arms were numb and my hips were frozen solid! My hands were nice and toasty (thanks Santa for the over gloves). Once we regrouped we enjoyed a warm bowl of soup and coffee at the Black Bear. Craig joined us and looked very warm and well rested. Today Neil and I ran for 2 hours at Hayward (flat side). That's about 4 hours of flat continuous running this weekend - good!

Team Dodgy is planning a trip to the Grand Canyon this Spring. We plan to run from rim to rim back to the rim we started at - approximately 47 miles. Flights, car and hotel are all booked!

Longer Days are Approaching...

The weather improved as the day progressed...Neil texted and said he was on his way home and let's hit a trail. I quickly changed and grabbed a head lamp. We decided to go on the trails near our house on Thornhill. Throughout the winter we have been mainly road running during the week at night. The sky was clear and the day light was hanging on. Not too long into the run it was like someone turned the lights out. The woods on this trail are very dense with a canopy cover of trees. I brought a head lamp but not the best one and it obviously was working on low batteries. We carried on for about an hour but it was a spooky outing with the feeling that we were not alone in the woods. Coyotes, deer, bear and domestic dogs are out there - the occasional cougar has been spotted in the area. Neil had a hand held light and I saw him shining it a few times in the direction of a noise in the woods. We haven't been on this trail in the dark for a bit...now I remember why. It's a great run but next time I'll take a better light! We look forward to the longer days approaching. I'm sure you are too!