Drinking in LA (or Brocklehurst)

A Taper Weekend?!

Sure we can call it that, or we can call it a weekend of fun runs with my hubby and friends.  Between Saturday and Sunday I managed to get in 23kms of mixed road and trail running under bright sunny skies.

Loungin

Rest Day

You have to take a day off some time.  So today I did just that.  After work I laced up a pair of "non-running" shoes, grabbed my camera and went for a walk, enjoying the warm winter afternoon we had in Kamloops today.  17 C and partly sunny, the wind was light, I feel so spoiled by the weather we are having.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

Wow, that was a fun weekend!

Friday Night

An evening at home doing some chores and helping my husband put together the race bibs for Spring Run-Off on Sunday. 

Sun To Me

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

Seems like an appropriate question coming out of daylight savings weekend. On Monday this past week the local roads appeared to be full of unusual vehicle accidents, drivers desperately needing that extra hour's rest which was taken away with Sunday's change of the clocks. By Tuesday my workplace was full of familiar faces but with zombie-like affects. As the week marched on and the sun continued the shine unseasonably warm outside my friends and colleagues slowly returned to their original delightful personae, but that could have also been the TGIF or Spring Break effect.

I myself seemed to move in the opposite direction of the surrounding energy flow, starting the week off with that great 15.5km trail run on Sunday morning after a 'shortened' night's sleep. That wasn't nearly as great as my run Monday after work, in the daylight! I was itching to get out there and see how much more time was available to me before sunset now. No headlamp needed, what a great feeling. The added daylight charged me and renewed my motivation to get out the door to run. Thursday evening I was back in Kenna Park with friends selecting hilly segments to run, very unusual for me, but gasping for air aside, I felt good.

Hope this high carries through the whole weekend because with a trail run, a beer mile and The Rivers Spring Run-Off all on the docket I'm going to need all of that solar energy more than ever!

Technically we all lost an hour this week, but I feel like I slipped several great hours into my week.

How did you handle the time change this week? Did it take some adjustment or did it go unnoticed?

Do What you Have To Do

Another Weekend, Another Long Run

With just 3 weeks left before my first TRAIL 21km I needed to get out and put in a solid effort on the weekend LSD run.   So after canvassing the group of awesome people I run with, Jon and Jen joined me with dogs in tow and we headed up to the Batchelor Hills over Kamloops.

Livin' La Vida Loca

Friday Group Run Fun!

Best way to spend a Friday early evening

What better way to cap off the week than a group trail run in the park?  Five fun folks and five feisty furries headed out on the trails of Kenna Cartwright this afternoon, enjoying the 10'C and windless weather. 

Hot N Cold

Welcoming in March brings with it the typically flip-flop of temperatures as winter and spring do battle daily.  Already off to a good start Spring has vanquished the snow in most areas around town opening up trail systems for runners and cyclists alike.  During the days so far we've been treated to bright sunshine, chirping birds and brisk winds.  In the evening the winds have calmed but temperatures are bottoming out at -8C making the evening run still a layered affair.

I find it's always a challenge getting just the right amount of layering this time of year.  When the sun is out a SS T-shirt with arm sleeves and capri length pants is often enough.  If the sun drops behind the hills I'm quickly wishing for a light jacket and pants again.  After all, my water bottle did freeze solid in the car last night!

Oh the dressing dilemmas of a runner.  To glove or not to glove, this toque is the question.

Looking forward I will be spending a fair deal of time dressing and undressing for the weather this month.  Ten days from now is the River's Spring Run-Off 10km road race in Westsyde, Kamloops.  A fun St.Patrick's themed event hosted by local running club, Kamloops Ridge Runners, offering a flat fast course parallel the N.Thompson River and boasting good eats after the run. (Usually pizza)

Tonight, Skytrackers are saying 2-3 degrees C for my hill repeats.  I think I'll bring a jacket.

How is your winter to spring transition going?  Do you find yourself outside more as the days are getting longer again or were you already out there?

Some Like It Hot

What better way to stay warm in winter than to work up a sweat on the mountain?
I spent last night running around in the dark and snow on Tod Mountain, Sun Peaks.

Brian & Icebox