An unusual two-post day to make up for yesterday.  Early to bed, I went and I slept in to 5:30 a.m. so I felt refreshed.  I was looking forward to a three mile run with my husband but the rainy morning intervened and we ran side-by-side on treadmills at the Y.  The main interaction was when he leaned over to point out that I was on the cartoon channel.  I was immersed in starting the audio book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and had not noticed that Sponge Bob or similar was airing right in front of me.  I switched to the Discovery Channel, as there is always the hope that one might catch sight of some green spaces.

I’ve started fine-tuning my routine at the end of the work day, when I am running home.  I wear my sports bra, and shorts under my pants to make the transition to running gear smoother.  Around 4:30 p.m. I change into my running top and then all I have to do is quickly remove my work pants behind a partition and slip into my running pants.   Fortunately, the winds had died down and there was no rain.  I started my fast sections around Sporting Life on Yonge.  The tennis courts at Winston Churchill Park are no longer on, so I have to avoid the more scenic section of the path.  As I ran through the park, I thought, “What a funny person I am to be here in the near dark, after work, working out with such intensity.  How did I get to this place?”

Shortly after as I ran along Dupont, during a rest section, 5 women flew by me, doing the type of speedwork that I was doing.  One waved, and I realized it was Nicole Stevenson, one of Canada’s top marathoners.  I regretted that I was in the rest phase of my run and wished I too had been whizzing by. 

Click here to see my earlier blog about running into Nicole Stevenson and her charges in Mt. Pleasant cemetery.

Do I look like I'm trying my best here?

About half a mile later, I could feel someone on my shoulder, and to my surprise it was a young woman who must have been trying to keep up to me.  She passed me when I finished the fast section and ran on.  I passed her when I started to run hard again, and then she passed me when I stopped.  This scenario repeated itself a couple more times until we parted ways at Ossington and Bloor.  I wonder if she could tell in the dark that I was 25-30 years older than her 🙂

So by the end of the run, I did not feel so “funny”, how many other women are out there running hard in the dark on a November night?  Because of the piggy back sprinting down Ossington street, I was quite tired and doing a jog-walk afterward so I popped into the grocery store and jogged home with my purchases.  I felt quite happy to turned commuting time into fitness time, with an errand thrown in for good measure.   Dinner was gnocchi with meat sauce (defrosted this a.m.) and as I wind down, I’m finding it hard to face the dirty dishes.  There is always the morning.

Now for the hot bath . . .

Bon soir!