Today was the “long run Sunday” – and it was the longest distance for training to date. Not going to lie, I woke up this morning, checked the weather and thought “how in the heck am I going to do this?” But I got dressed, ate the usual (banana + porridge + coffee + water) and headed to Eau Claire. Interestingly enough, when I got to Eau Claire market to use the “facilities” there was a Spinathon going on. It was the 4th Annual Tri It Charity Spin-A-Thon with all proceeds going to MitoCanada (provides support & awareness to Canadians affected by Mitochondrial Disease.) I have no idea how many people were there, but there were tons!

I bundled up and headed out to the trail. I wasn’t two feet when I noticed a whole bunch of cop cars across the Bow River. No idea what they were doing. Then a little bit further down there were several firetrucks. Upon further inspection, it appeared as though they were doing some type of training in the freezing cold Bow River – exactly why I’m not a firefighter! I have a chill just from running today, I’m sure they’re freezing!

Anyway – despite it being -17 (windchill brought it to -24) I had a fantastic run! I really enjoyed running along the Bow River, I loved the scenery and everyone on the trail just seemed so pleasant and happy to be there. The sun was shining and the wind was at my back – it was grand! The whole time I listened to two podcasts (marketing/publicity) and thoroughly enjoyed them; I must say, it was a really productive run! However, I did not plan my route properly. I miscalculated my turnaround point (exactly why I hate turnaround points) and ended up having to run about 1.5 km extra. Which, on days like today when I was having a terrific run, wasn’t bad but imagine if I was feeling awful? I shudder thinking about it. I will definitely be planning out the route for the next long run.

So that’s the long run to wrap up another week of training – it feels like it’s going by so fast!

Here are todays stats:

• Distance: 15.2 km
• Time: 1:41:11
• Pace: 6:39
• Best Pace: 5:50

I also should add that I had a few personal records today. YAHOO!

• Farthest distance
• Longest duration
• Most calories burned
• Biggest elevation climb