October 2021

 October was also busy with tennis (1-2 times a week) and running but I also was able to start my pound class back up!  It was so great to be able to do it again!  (See here for an example of what the class is like- it's drumming with weighted sticks with lots of lunges and squats.)  Even if after the first week I could barely sit for 2 days.  The 2nd week and beyond have been fine.

Running highlight-ran the Bruce Trail section AGAIN but this time over 2 days (there's a separate badge from the Conservancy for running it over 2 days back to back). And in the opposite direction.  It was very wet the first day.  I took 2 people with me who had never done it that quickly before. My running partner who has been busy rebuilding her home this year and hasn't gotten to join me for the craziest of adventures and another run friend who has just started trail running this year but is a very good road runner.  On day 2, Robert, my usual Niagara section running partner joined us-the first day he was busy running with someone else from our run group doing her virtual Boston Marathon. 

Grimsby area there was a lot of water. This is the trail.

Louth Conservation Area

Starting at the Niagara/Iroquia boundary

Crossing bridges day 1

The following day we had a lovely thanksgiving dinner at our house. We ended up holding it indoors because it was too warm outside!  

V has been back to swim lessons and is happy to be back in the pool and October brought H to his skating lessons.  He's very happy to be on the ice.  He has grown so much he's in new skates this year.  He has lessons one hour a week, then works as a program assistant in the CanSkate program at the same time his cousin skates.  C is still working at the pizzeria my brother in law owns and celebrated his first full year working there this fall.

One of the run clubs I belong to held it's first ever Beer Mile!  If you are unfamiliar with a beer mile it consists of runners drinking a beer, running 400m around the track (one lap), then doing that again 4 times. If you vomit, you have to run a penalty lap (Full rules here for those curious).  I immediately said I'd be a designated driver and husband participated.  The weather was TERRIBLE.  The track was basically a lake but about 30 people showed up (17 runners, the rest curious spectators, drivers and helpers) for this 30 minute or so event! So many surprises:

1) Paul was the first finished with the first beer and off to run first.

2) A beer mile start is quite anticlimactic.  Imagine hearing, "ready, set, go!" Then everyone stands for 30 seconds so they can drink their beer.

3) of the 17 only 2-3 didn't finish, about 50-60% needed a penalty lap. The other 40% all finished in about 12 1/2 minutes or less.

And, of course, October ends with Halloween.  This year we ended up with Professor Layton (a computer game character), a chalkboard (generously agreed to reuse from last year), and a raven (recycled wings from a dragon 2 years ago along with more time and money than a store bought costume!) Photo of Professor Layton included for reference:

September 2021

 The best thing-school is back in session!!! In person!!!  It has been so soothing to my soul to have a routine where we leave the house and the same things happen each week and we interact with others.  The kids are wearing masks indoors only.  High School has 2 classes a day for a week, then they swap and take the other 2 classes-that seems to be working out well.  C is taking Electricity, Chemistry, English and Math.  He's only really finding math difficult so mom and dad are brushing off their Quadratic Equation skills to help and helping him figure out good study skills for test taking that will be invaluable in future years.  V is in Grade 6, H in Grade 8 and C in Grade 11 this year.  

I'm keeping busy playing doubles tennis 1-3 times a week and still running daily. In fact, on Sept  24 i completed  2 years of a run streak. For two years I have run a minimum of 5km (3.2mi) a day. In the last 2 years I have run a total of 7,725 km/ 4800 miles (4425km /2750mi in the first year, this year 3300km/2050 miles). Celebrated by doing the north end of the Merritt trail which I will do the entire 46km of in November with my run buddy.

In that time I have:

-run the Niagara section of the Bruce trail 2 times in a day (50 miles/82km- I plan to do it in a weekend next month*)

-run 100km in a 24 hour period*

-run a 50km on the Bruce trail*

-run from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario along the Welland canal (just over a marathon- marathon in 4 hr 1 min)*

-run a marathon in less than 4 hours*

-run the Laura Secord Trail (32km)*

-run a trail non official marathon

-run the Seattle Tunnel marathon

-14 other 30k+ runs (approx 20 miles) (some*)

-30 1/2 marathon to 30k runs (some*)

*indicate runs partially or mostly instigated by the best run buddy ever.

This month's running highlights:

Running a few laps with friends who ran 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours (total of 48 miles in 2 days) to raise money for Pathstone mental health.

Hitting 2.5 years I've been trail running. As you can see it's made a big difference! (I'm in purple on top in spring 2019 and in orange on the bottom this September.

Sept 8 I ran another 50 miler-the Niagara Section of the Bruce trail-again. Remember last year when I went up with a group of 6 to run the Niagara Bruce Trail section? Robert Rintjema was in that group-not only did he make it 55k before stopping, he ran another 11k in the dark with me as I finished alone.

Saturday, Sept 4 at 4pm he texted me, "Wanna run 83K on Tuesday? Didn't think so. Ha Ha." I responded, "I have to move a tennis game, but sure." He should know better! Rob ran an amazing run, staying ahead of me for 95% of it but close enough to stay together. Including in the soaker of a storm we had for the last 5-7km of the run.

We had a professional crew-Henri & Di are race directors for the Niagara Falls International marathon. As ultrarunners themselves and race directors, I doubt we could have found a finer crew and it was just one of the many reasons I said, "yes".

My first run on this was 16 hours 13 minutes, this time was 14 hours 51 minutes. (11 hours 34 minutes run time)-rest of the time were aid stops I feel much better the day after than I did the first time I ran it.

Starting in the dark in Queenston

Screaming tunnel

Just crossing Victoria Ave-that's Lake Ontario in the background

    Finishing in the dark in Grimsby

This month Hubby started to work with the curling club to put the ice in. It's a huge job for the icemakers. I've had the first several hour long blocks of time alone in my house in about 18 months. It's quiet and calm and amazing! After the first 4 hours he was at the club and the kids were at school I did start to miss them all, but I really did enjoy the quiet!