Toronto in October

I registered for the half-marathon at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon!

I think that mid-October will feature cooler weather to offset the heat of the crowds. I've heard this is a very popular race weekend in a very large city. I'm dedicated, but not so good with schedules. I hope I can make that work for me over the summer.

The sun and me

I had the path mostly to myself this morning. My best guess for a reason is that the runners I'd normally see around 6:00 are wisely sticking to their training schedule and tapering before this weekend's marathon. Tapering and sleeping. Good for them! And for me, too. I like the company, and the lively competition motivates me, but time alone is precious.

Three runs/week has been the pattern for the past three weeks.
Today's fun and games:

• 5k run
• Stairs to the 9th floor

Le bon hier

I ran 15k yesterday in the mist of the morning. I ran slowly and enjoyed the absence of greasy sunscreen which, on hot days, mingles with drops of sweat and lands in my eyes, smearing my contacts. Also cherished a long run without much thirst. This is freedom! 

Today was a bike day. I unlocked my bike from her basement shackles at the crack of dawn so that she could help me run an errand before work; biked to work and then home afterwards; then took a spin with D after he retrieved his freshly tuned-up bike from the shop. Now I can feel my triceps murmuring. It takes very little to get a rise out of them - they're sensitive. 

Windy

Yesterday: After stepping out of the dark, cold office building and into a bit of sunshine and warmth, I knew that a run would be just the thing to ease me into the day’s Phase Two: Being A Person Who Thinks And Feels And Not An Office Worker (my secret identity).

I thought about where best to work toward this transition. Should I follow a longer, slower route? Or grind out a 25-minute hustle? The middle ground–a loop to keep me in motion for 45 minutes or so–was the winning option. I’ve run this loop a gazillion times. It follows a path that is quick for me to access and get home from (about 30 seconds) and it’s only mildly visually appealing unless I happen to spot heron, which are famously reclusive, or a team of clowns in wigs and garish makeup and polka-dotted onesies running ahead, honking their horns out of sync with the slap slap slap slap of their long, red shoes on the pavement. Those sights don’t happen often. Once in a blue moon, really. We have a mostly-quiet city filled with mostly rule-abiding people who are not prone to running drunk, or naked, or in costume, and truly there is nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, it was windy.