Toronto Women’s 416 GOLD Run Challenge—Week Three, Pain Management

 

All runners feel pain at some point in their journey, some more than others. Running is a repetitive-strain activity, and any motion you do over a prolonged period of time can put significant stress on your joints and muscles, which can lead to pain and discomfort.

 

I've had arthritis for about 15 years now (not due to running) but I’ve been dealing with chronic pain for much longer than that. And while running hasn’t made my arthritis worse, I can have a lot of aches and pains during or after a run, depending on how my body is feeling that day. Over the years I have found various things that can be helpful in dealing with pain and aiding with recovery.

 

Coffee: Who doesn’t love a good cup of coffee? Not only does it taste good, but studies show that it has a significant role to play in pain management too. Coffee can help reduce pain due to its action on the adenosine receptors in our brain which play a role in pain perception. Certain chemicals in coffee will bind to and block the adenosine receptors which can have a pain-relieving affect. Coffee also stimulates the release of dopamine and beta-endorphins which are neurotransmitters that act as a natural pain killer in the body. Research has shown that caffeine can reduce post exercise muscle pain by as much as 50%.

 

Caffeine can also help reduce inflammation in the body which can lead to pain. It is thought that this is due to chemicals in the coffee blocking pathways involved in the production of inflammatory molecules. So enjoy a nice cup of coffee after your run.

 

Heat: this has been my go-to for pain since I was 10 years old and had my first physiotherapy appointment for lower back pain. When I come home from my run I have a hot shower and then put heating pads directly on the pain source. I have 3 heating pads that I use to help with stiffness and pain in specific areas related to my arthritis, muscle “knots” or trigger points, and cramping/spasm.

 

Tens Machine: A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit is a battery-operated device that is used to treat pain. TENS units work by delivering small electrical impulses through electrodes that have adhesive pads to attach them to a person’s skin. These electrical impulses flood the nervous system, reducing its ability to transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain. The same electrical impulses also stimulate the body to produce natural pain relievers called endorphins.

 

I have 2 units: one with normal adhesive pads and another that is just for the neck. Since I can’t have a massage every day, this is the next best thing.

 

Analgesic Topical Creams/Gels: Topical analgesics are pain medications that are applied directly to the skin instead of being swallowed or injected. They come in creams, lotions, gel or patch form. I use Voltaren Emulgel which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and classified as a pain reliever, but there are many others to choose from. I use it reduce pain, stiffness, and inflammation in my joints and usually apply directly after a shower.

 

 

Foam Roller: Spending 5-10 minutes using a foam roller after a run can be a great way to boost the recovery process and help you relax after a tough workout. Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial release. It puts pressure on the soft tissue to release tightness, increase blood flow and aid in muscle recovery, and more.

 

After I’ve had my shower, drank my coffee and applied the emulgel, I take a few minutes to roll out my calves, hamstrings and piriformis muscle. Then I put on my compression socks.

 

Compression Socks: in my experience, wearing compression socks after a long run prevents those awful charley horses that wake you up screaming in the middle of the night from a deep sleep. Compression sleeves assist the muscle into a lengthened position, which helps reduce the chance of cramping. Added compression also helps maintain blood flow and keeps the muscle warm, which can also aid in preventing muscle cramps. 

 

NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (usually abbreviated to NSAIDs) are a group of medicines that relieve pain and fever and reduce inflammation. There are nearly two dozen different NSAIDs available, but they all work in the same way, and that is by blocking a specific group of enzymes called cyclo-oxygenase enzymes, often abbreviated to COX enzymes. These enzymes are responsible for the production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are a group of compounds with hormone-like effects that control many different processes such as inflammation, blood flow, and the formation of blood clots.

 

 Weekly Run Recap

This week I ran 77.59 km for a total of 224.9 km. I have 191.1 km left before I’m finished the challenge. I am now past halfway.

 

Playing cards with Trish and her brother Eddy way past my bedtime on Saturday night may have been fun, but it made getting up early for my long run Sunday morning very difficult.  Despite only having one drink I felt like I had a hangover and it took everything in me to get up and out the door for my run.

I eventually got out the door at 8 am. It was a dark and dreary day and while I hoped the sun would eventually show itself it never did. I ran on local streets before turning down Greenwood Ave. A cop had pulled over some unlucky driver who had created some infraction and was now paying for it with a ticket. I kept running and a few blocks later the same cop was ticketing someone else. Clearly he had a quota he needed to keep. I ran downhill past Greenwood train yard and then Greenwood Park where people were playing with their dogs in the off-leash area. I was hoping by now all the niggles I was feeling in my body would be gone, but unfortunately they were worse. It was not going to be a good run.

 I then turned right on Queen Street East and ran through Leslieville for the next 3 kilometres.  The smell of coffee was driving me nuts and I contemplated stopping and having one. Only I knew once I stopped I wouldn`t get going again.

 

I turned left onto King Street East and then left again on Trinity Street and arrived at the Distillery District, the pavement giving way to beautiful cobblestone pathways.  People were milling about outside drinking their coffee and I passed them with envy. It was formerly an industrial complex, and all the Victorian-era architecture was preserved and turned into restaurants, boutiques and art galleries. I hadn’t been down here in quite a while: It was two Christmas’ ago when Trish, Cilla and I went to their Christmas market to peruse locally made crafts, see the Christmas lights, listen to carollers, brass bands and watch dancers. There was even a Ferris Wheel that the two of them went on together. It’s a neat little hub where people could gather (pre-pandemic) and not worry about motor traffic.

 

After running through the Distillery District I took a left on Parliament Street and ran under the overpass to meet up with the Martin Goodman Trail. It was really windy today and I had been fighting brutal headwinds the whole distance, but they were even worse down here. I ran west on the trail parallel to Queens Quay and apparently every runner in Toronto had the same idea as me. It was crowded and I found myself being passed by faster runners while I in turn passed slower runners. Then there were a few cyclists and walkers thrown in to the mix to make it all very chaotic.

 

Before long Queens Quay ended and the trail continued alongside Lakeshore Blvd. I had some beautiful views of Lake Ontario and soon came to Ontario Place. It’s shut down now, but as a kid in the 1980’s it was a pretty popular place to go for school trips. We were bussed from our small town 2 hours away from the city and spent the day playing and exploring. It opened May 22, 1971 and was originally designed to promote the Province of Ontario through exhibits and entertainment, but by the time I frequented the park it operated as a theme park with water rides and amusement park-like rides.

I stopped at kilometre 16 to let Trish know I was halfway done and watched the ducks as I sent my text. It was a tough run so far and would only get tougher. The kilometres seemed to take longer and longer to tick by as my muscles became even more sore, spastic and stiff. I had to walk a few times but that wasn’t really any better than running. The spasms were the worst and almost brought me to tears a couple times. Several times I’d considered calling Trish to have her pick me up, but instead I dug in and continued hobbling forward, thinking of anything and everything to distract myself. It`s funny how some days I can run with hardly any pain while other days every joint and muscle in my body aches.

 

I don’t know how I did it, but eventually I made it home feeling like I’d done 100 km, rather than 32. I had a hot shower, lathered my body with Voltaren, drank a hot cup of coffee, and then put my heating pad on my sore muscles. Later, Trish hooked me up to the TENS machine. The next day I got up and ran 9 km as if my body didn’t hurt at all yesterday. I was slow and tired but the intense pain from yesterday was gone. The rest of my runs for the week went well and I managed to average 9 kilometres each day.

 

 

 

Toronto Women’s 416 GOLD Run Challenge—Week Two, Top 10 Running Memoirs

 

During the pandemic, running has become even more important since it’s the one thing that I can do consistently and safely. Not only do I like to get out there and pound out the miles, but I like to read about other peoples’ experiences. While I may not run 200 miles across the Sahara Desert or have the fastest time in a race, I find that reading about amazing training sessions and incredibly challenging races really inspires me to go out and train.

 The following are my top ten favourite memoirs written by runners of varying backgrounds—from mothers, to elite runners, to people mourning their loved ones, to difference-makers, to cancer survivors, each story tells of great perseverance and determination and will inspire you to believe you can do more than you ever thought possible.

 

Just a Little Run Around the World by Rosie Swale Pope

After her husband died of cancer, 57-year-old Rosie set off to run around the world, raising money in memory of the man she loved. Followed by wolves, knocked down by a bus, confronted by bears, chased by a naked man with a gun and stranded with severe frostbite, Rosie's breathtaking 20,000-mile solo journey is as gripping as it is inspiring.

Rosie's solo run around the world started out of sorrow and heartache and a wish to turn something around.

Heartbroken when she lost her husband to cancer, Rosie set off from Wales with nothing but a small backpack of food and equipment, and funded by the rent from her little cottage. So began her epic 5-year journey that would take her 20,000 miles around the world, crossing Europe, Russia, Asia, Alaska, North America, Greenland, Iceland, and back into the UK.

Run or Die by Kilian Jornet

Kilian Jornet has conquered some of the toughest physical tests on the planet. He has run up and down Mt. Kilimanjaro faster than any other human being, and struck down world records in every challenge that has been proposed, all before the age of 25. Redefining what is possible, Jornet continually pushes the limits of human ability, astonishing competitors with his near-superhuman fitness and ability.

In his book, Jornet describes his record-breaking runs at Lake Tahoe, Western States 100, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, and Mount Kilimanjaro--the first of his ambitious Summits of My Life project in which Jornet will attempt to break records climbing the highest peaks on each continent.

 

Running on Empty by Marshall Ulrich

The ultimate endurance athlete, Marshall Ulrich has run more than 100 foot races averaging over 100 miles each, completed 12 expedition-length adventure races, and ascended the Seven Summits - including Mount Everest - all on his first attempt. Yet his run from California to New York- the equivalent of running two marathons and a 10K every day for nearly two months straight - proved to be his most challenging effort yet.

Featured in the recent documentary film, Running America, Ulrich clocked the 3rd fastest transcontinental crossing to date and set new records in multiple divisions. In Running on Empty, he shares the gritty backstory, including brushes with death, run-ins with the police, and the excruciating punishments he endured at the mercy of his maxed-out body. Ulrich also reached back nearly 30 years to when the death of the woman he loved drove him to begin running - and his dawning realization that he felt truly alive only when pushed to the limits.

Filled with mind-blowing stories from the road and his sensational career, Ulrich's memoir imbues an incredible read with a universal message for athletes and nonathletes alike: face the toughest challenges, overcome debilitating setbacks, and find deep fulfillment in something greater than achievement

 

Beyond Impossible by Mimi Anderson

When Mimi first started jogging on a treadmill as an unfit 36-year-old mother-of-three, she never imagined she would go on to become a World-Record-breaking ultrarunner.

After coming to terms with the anorexia that had impacted her life from a young age, Mimi begins to reassess her relationship with food and finds a new resolve in running. With a renewed sense of purpose, she decides to take the sport that saved her life to the next level, training hard and throwing herself in at the deep end by entering the epic Marathon des Sables in the Sahara desert, despite still being a novice runner. One startling success leads to another, as she finds herself taking on ever-more-challenging races – from the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, USA, to the 6633 Arctic Ultra – all building up to her biggest challenge yet: attempting to gain the Guinness World Record time for a female running 840 miles from John o’Groats to Land’s End.

This incredible story of how an ordinary mum ran her way into the record books will inspire beginner runners and die-hard marathon devotees alike, proving that, no matter where life takes you, it’s never too late to achieve your dreams and do the impossible.

Running Home by Katie Arnold

For more than a decade, Katie Arnold chased adventure around the world, reporting on extreme athletes who performed outlandish feats—walking high lines a thousand feet off the ground without a harness, or running one hundred miles through the night. She wrote her stories by living them, until eventually life on the thin edge of risk began to seem normal. After she married, Katie and her husband vowed to raise their daughters to be adventurous, too, in the mountains and canyons of New Mexico. But when her father died of cancer, she was forced to confront her own mortality.

His death was cataclysmic, unleashing a perfect storm of grief and anxiety. She and her father, an enigmatic photographer for National Geographic, had always been kindred spirits. He introduced her to the outdoors and took her camping and on bicycle trips and down rivers, and taught her to find solace and courage in the natural world. And it was he who encouraged her to run her first race when she was seven years old.

Now nearly paralyzed by fear and terrified she was dying, too, she turned to the thing that had always made her feel most alive: running. Over the course of three tumultuous years, she ran alone through the wilderness, logging longer and longer distances, first a 50-kilometer ultramarathon, then 50 miles, then 100 kilometers. She ran to heal her grief, to outpace her worry that she wouldn’t live to raise her own daughters. She ran to find strength in her weakness. She ran to remember and to forget. She ran to live.

Mud, Sweat and Tears: an Irish Woman`s Journey of Self Discover by Moire O`Sullivan

In July 2008, Moire O'Sullivan made a solo attempt on the Wicklow Round, a gruelling endurance run spanning a hundred kilometres over twenty six of Ireland's remotest mountain peaks. After twenty one and a half hours she collapsed, two summits from the end. Battered and bruised, yet undeterred, she returned a year later to become the first person ever to complete the Round in less than twenty four hours. "Mud, Sweat, and Tears" is the first book to tell one woman's story about her passion for mountain running, a passion that has brought her to the heights of some of Ireland's most impressive mountains and to the depths of her own human limitations. "Inspiring stuff: an awe-inspiring tale of guts, passion and pig-headed refusal to surrender." Richard Askwith, Author of Feet in the Clouds.

 

Mighty Moe by Rachel Swaby, Kit Fox

Mighty Moe, the untold true story of runner Maureen Wilton, whose world record-breaking marathon time at age 13 was met first with misogyny and controversy, but ultimately with triumph.

In 1967, a girl known as Mighty Moe broke the women’s world marathon record at a small race in Toronto. This was an era when girls and women were discouraged from the sport and the longest track event at the Olympics for women was 25.6 miles shorter than a marathon. Thirteen-year-old Moe’s world-beating victory was greeted with chauvinistic disapproval and accusations of cheating—as were many of her achievements in the sport she had excelled at from the age of ten. Within less than two years, the controversy took its toll and Maureen quit running.

 Here is the untold story of Mighty Moe’s tenacity and triumph in the face of adversity as a young athlete—and of a grown-up Maureen finding her way back to the sport decades later. This inspiring biography for readers and racers of all ages showcases the truly groundbreaking achievements of an unassuming, amazing young athlete.

 

Adventureman by Jamie McDonald

At the age of nine, Jamie's family feared he would never walk again. Twenty years later, he set off to run 5,000 miles coast to coast across Canada. When Jamie decides to repay the hospitals that saved his life as a child, he embarks on the biggest challenge of his life: running the equivalent of 200 marathons back-to-back, solo and unsupported, in –40 degree weather, surviving all kinds of injuries and traumas on the road, and wearing through 13 pairs of trainers. And he does it all dressed as the superhero, the Flash. Though his journey was both mentally and physically exhausting, it was the astounding acts of kindness and hospitality he encountered along the way that kept him going. Jamie soon came to realize that every person who helped him towards his goal was a superhero, too.

 

Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer

Katherine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon in 1967 where she was attacked by one of the event's directors who wanted to eject her from the all-male race. She fought off the director and finished the race. From the childhood events that inspired her to winning the New York City Marathon in 1974, this liberally illustrated book details the struggles and achievements of a pioneering women in sports.

 

Terry Fox: His Story by Leslie Scrivener

Terry Fox, the one-legged runner from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, made an indelible impression upon people across Canada and around the world. An outstanding athlete with a stubborn and competitive spirit, he lost his leg to cancer at 19, but said “nobody is ever going to call me a quitter.”

On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox set out from St. John’s, Newfoundland to begin the run across Canada that he named the Marathon of Hope. His ambition was to raise a million dollars for cancer research. It wasn’t easy. Initial support from communities varied from terrific to nothing at all. His prosthetic leg was painful to run on, and there were always traffic and extreme weather conditions to deal with. But, by the time he reached Ontario – a journey of more than 3,000 kilometres – word of his achievement had spread, and thousands cheered him and followed his progress. Terry’s spirits soared, and now he hoped to raise $22 million dollars – one dollar for every Canadian. He succeeded in this ambition, but the Marathon of Hope ended near Thunder Bay, Ontario on September 1, 1980. The cancer had spread to his lungs, and, after running 24 miles in one day, on the next he could run no further.

 

Weekly Run Recap

This week I ran 74.79 km for a total of 147.18 km. I have 265.69 km left before I’m finished the challenge.

 

On Sunday morning I got up early to go on my 30 kilometre run. I ran west to Broadview Ave and down Pottery Road, a steep hill that’s a lot of fun to run down (not as much fun to climb) and I relaxed my legs and let gravity do its job.  As I descended the hill I could see the chimney stack from the Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum and Arts Centre before I could see the rest of the building. It has an interesting history as it started out as a lumber mill in the 1790s operated by the Skinners until about 1855 when it was sold to the Taylor family. The Taylors owned a number of industrial mills in the neighbourhood including the Don Valley Brick Works and they converted the mill to produce paper.  The mill continued to operate until the 1920s when the building was converted into a riding stable. Then, in the early 1940’s, the site became the location of a small German prisoner of war camp. The camp housed men from the German merchant marine who were interned in Allied ports at the start of the war and often worked as labourers at the nearby Don Valley Brick Works. In 1945, the prisoners were repatriated and the camp was shut down.

From there the path connected with the Bayview multi-use trail which was approximately 2.6 km long. Although a guardrail separated the path from vehicular traffic on the right, it was a little unnerving to have traffic hurtling in your direction at 60 km an hour. On the left side there were railroad tracks that GO trains frequented during the week to take people into the city to work, but they were quiet today. At around kilometre 6 I passed Brickworks on the right side, a former quarry and industrial site which operated for nearly 100 years but was now an environmentally focused community and cultural centre.

 

After that the trail takes you away from Bayview Ave into a more secluded area, surrounded by brush and trees and various wildlife before you travel under an overpass and then meander back toward the road again.  Just after kilometre 7 I passed under the Prince Edward Viaduct which I ran over last week. Today I got to see it from a different angle and got a good view of the truss arch system and just as I took a picture a subway train travelled across it.

 

Soon after I crossed Bayview Ave at a traffic light and continued running north-east on Rosedale Valley Road. I was a little worried the trail would be covered in ice since it isn’t maintained in the winter, but I lucked out as only small sections were icy.  The sides of the ravine, which both slope steeply downwards, are wooded with tall maple, elm, oak and pine trees, making you feel like you are in the middle of a forest, not a large city. On the left I passed St James Cemetery, Toronto`s oldest operating cemetery. Soon after I ran under the Prince Edward Viaduct again—this time the subway train bridge was separated from the original bridge as the curve on the main bridge was deemed too sharp for a train to safely run. For this reason, a separate bridge was built over the Rosedale Valley, just west of Castle Frank station.

 

I turned right on Park Ave and then right on Meredith Ave and then left on Mount Pleasant. For the next 4.5 km I ran on this main artery that, despite carrying a lot of traffic, is quite a peaceful run. I descended into Avoca Ravine, surrounded by many trees, then climbed to pass beneath the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. I continued to climb along the eastern bank of the ravine, entering Moore Park and turned north at St Clair Avenue East where I left the peacefulness of the ravine and entered a more urban area with lots of businesses and shops.

 

At 12.5 kilometres the road passed through the centre of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, my destination and the final resting place of many prominent Canadians. The summer and fall would be absolutely beautiful here with all the different trees and gardens, but right now it was typical winter grey.  It’s a very popular place for runners and walkers, so much so that on the cemetery website they have created 1 km, 3 km and 5 km routes with maps that can be downloaded. Unfortunately it wasn’t as peaceful as I was hoping as I had to spend a lot of time dodging people.

 

As I was running, the Tom Waits song ‘Come on up to the House’ came through my headphones. Throughout the song he offers a safe haven and hope to the listener--‘Does life seem nasty, brutish and short? Come on up to the house. It’s not my home, I’m just a-passing through. Come on up to the house.’ Listening to this song in a graveyard seemed fitting.

 

After running 5 km in the cemetery and thankfully not getting lost, I retraced my steps and headed back home. At kilometre 26 I got the privilege of running up Pottery Road, a .41 km hill with an 8.9 % grade. It’s a pretty punishing climb, but you feel pretty hard-core tackling it at the end of a long run.

When returning from my run I was surprised by how great I felt. Usually I’m really achy and stiff after a long run, but this time it was very minimal. 

Monday and Tuesday I ran my normal 9 km’s, but on Wednesday morning when I ran outside my door I soon realized that the freezing rain we had the night before had not melted yet and the sidewalks were slick with ice. It was impossible to run. After a lengthy go of it, I threw in the towel and headed home to run in my underwear and bra on the treadmill. (I couldn’t be bothered to go looking for more appropriate clothing). It was a terrible run, but I got 8 kilometres done, with the time I had left after the debacle outside. Thursday the ice was gone and I ran my regular 9 km route. Friday was like spring had returned with temperatures of 5ºc. Cilla had a PA day, so I didn’t have to rush out of bed to get in my run, but I got to sleep in a little and enjoy my cup of coffee before going for a run in the trail. It was still a little slick on the path, but it was doable and a nice treat after running on the street the last few weeks.

 

 

Toronto Women’s 416 GOLD Run Challenge—Week One, Once More with Feeling

 

Well here we are, back on the pandemic merry-go-round. Ontario is officially locked down (again) with kids at home instead of at school, businesses closed, ski slopes empty and not a lot to do in this cold, yucky weather. Except running. There’s always running. Thank god for running.

 

The holidays were quiet but surprisingly busy. I did a few crafts and baking with the kiddo before Christmas and she had a couple virtual play dates with her friends and even had a virtual visit with Santa Claus. Christmas morning Trish and I got up early in anticipation of Cilla being full of excitement and biting at the bit to open presents, only to find ourselves sitting and waiting for her to get up! She was so excited in the night that she was awake for most of it and ended up sleeping in. After Christmas we went tobogganing, re-organized the basement, and caught up on taxes. I didn’t actually run as much as I wanted and ate way too many cookies. But it was nice break from the daily routine.

 

So of course with the amount of cases rising and the death toll increasing, there is no sign of life getting back to “normal” whatsoever. This of course, means no in-person races and once again I found myself looking for motivation to get on my running shoes and out into the great (albeit cold and dark) outdoors. Well, it’s like the running gods were listening because next thing I knew I had an invitation to the 416 GOLD challenge sitting in my mailbox. The Toronto Women's 416 Run Challenge GOLD is an exclusive event open to those who have completed the 416 Run Challenge. To complete the Run Challenge GOLD I have to run a further 416 km, with a grand total of 832 km tracked and logged. We have until August 31, 2021 to complete the challenge but I`m hoping to complete the challenge in 6 weeks—1 week less than last time which means I will need to run an average of 70 km per week.

 

I haven`t received my GOLD running kit yet, but it should arrive in the mail in the next week or so. Included will be a tracking calendar, a running hat and a $25 Asics e-card and more surprises by the sponsors.

 

After I've completed the challenge I will receive a specially designed 832 (km) gold charm to commemorate my journey. 

 

 Weekly Run Recap

 

This week I ran 72.39 km.  I have 343.61 km left before I’m finished the challenge.

 

On Sunday January 3rd, I got up relatively early to go for my long run. I say relative, because after sleeping in for 2 weeks, getting up at 8 am seemed like early hours. I had to resist the urge to wrap myself tighter in my blankets and sink into a deep sleep. Instead I convinced myself to get up and outside.  Because the trails were covered in ice I ran on the streets instead and headed out in a general west direction to Broadway Avenue.

 

I was excited to try my new Nathan VapoHowe Hydration running vest that Trish gave me for Christmas. It`s designed specifically for women and is light weight and didn’t feel awkward, restricting or cumbersome. There are two 12 oz soft flasks with extended tubes that insert into two front pockets and multiple storage and stash pockets, perfect for storing gels, keys and an iPhone. It was extremely comfortable and didn`t bounce or chafe. On some of the reviews there were complaints about the bottles leaking, but I didn`t observe any of that. The only problem I had was that the straps on the front kept loosening, so I would have to periodically tighten them. I was very happy to finally be able to get rid of my hip belt—something I dreaded wearing on my long runs.

 

 At around kilometre 5, I crossed the ominous, creepy, prison-like Prince Edward viaduct, a truss arch bridge that connects Danforth Ave on the east to Bloor Street on the west above the Don Valley. In 2003, due to the high level of suicides and safely risks, a barrier was constructed, but the steel rods feel very much like prison bars and impede the view of the valley below. But it has done its job and prevented more people from jumping.

 

The bridge took 4 years to build and was completed on Aug. 23, 1919. Underneath there is a lower deck which opened in 1969 and is heavily used by the Bloor-Danforth subway trains. Sometimes when you run over the bridge you can feel the vibrations of the trains below.

 

I continued on Bloor Street for another kilometre and then turned right onto Sherbourne Street so that I could run through Rosedale which is surrounded by beautiful ravines and parklands. I ran to the end of Sherbourne Street, and then turned right onto South Drive which turns into Crescent Rd, a meandering and winding street that eventually spills out onto Yonge Street.  The houses are big and beautiful here, many of which are Edwardian, Tudor, Victorian and Georgian in style and are at least 100 years old. With all that money it takes to live here though, none seem capable of shovelling their sidewalks.

 

For the next 5 km I ran north up Yonge Street which is very hilly and my Garmin calculated that I ran 1147 feet of elevation gain.  There are a variety of stores, restaurants, beauty and hairdressing salons, travel specialists and even a Running Room, but most of these businesses were closed. It was pretty quiet except for those lining up outside various coffee shops to get their early morning cup of joe. Traffic was minimal, so I was able to run on the road when I needed to pass groups of people milling around. My GPS was going a little haywire among all the tall buildings and cloudy skies and when I looked at my pace it would read inaccurate and erratic numbers. Once I was away from Yonge Street it started recording my pace accurately.

I turned around just before arriving at Lawrence Ave West at 13 km, the halfway mark. It started to snow on the way back, but it was a really wet snow and I was soaked through by the time I got back home.

 

I was still feeling pretty good at around kilometre 15, but knowing that can change rather quickly, I tried not to get over-confident and push my pace. Once I reached around 20 kilometres my legs and back began to get sore and last 3 km were quite a bit slower as stiffness was setting in. By the time I got home I had run a total of 26.5 km, but was feeling pretty good.

 

For the rest of the week I got up early and ran just a little over 9 km each day before Cilla started her virtual school. I was surprised how well I recovered from each run, especially with taking so much time off during the holidays. Clearly the rest did me good and now I’m feeling refreshed and ready to go.

 

Santa Fun Run and Holiday Night of lights

 

What shows Christmas spirit better than a Santa run? On Monday December 21st, Cilla and I participated in the HoHoHoliday 5km virtual fun run, raising money for Make-a-Wish Foundation. It was also a great way to bring the magic of the holiday to the community and help us get in the festive mood, especially now that all of Ontario has entered the grey zone.

 

A few weeks before our run we received our Santa suits and finishers medals in the mail. The Santa outfits were a one-size-fits-all with Cilla’s being for kids 10 and under and mine was to fit all adult sizes. We had fun getting into our costumes and Cilla thought the beard was especially funny. The kids’ outfit didn’t include one, but mine did and Cilla was in hysterics watching me put it on. I needed quite a lot of safety pins to fit into my suit and I prayed that none would come undone while I was running.

 

Once we were ready we got into the car and drove to Taylor creek. It was fairly warm outside—only 3 degrees but very damp and there was a lot of mud and puddles on the trail. Some sections were still frozen over and I helped Cilla safely cross.

 

Trish sat this one out—dressing in a Santa outfit is not her thing—but she came down to the trail to support us and walk Dottie. Cilla was shy and nervous at first and wanted to hold my hand. It didn’t take her long to get into the spirit of things though and before I knew it she was yelling, “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!” to all passersby. People were loving it, returning her enthusiastic greeting. One woman yelled, ‘great job Santa, getting in shape for your big day!’ One kid yelled, ‘Santa’s a woman!’ People were smiling and kids were excited.

 

I was impressed that Cilla (aka Little Santa) ran most of it and only stopped a couple times. By the time we reached the finish line we were both covered in mud and she was pretty tired and a little sore. It was a long distance for her to go.

 

Before we got in the car we did a small award ceremony where Cilla and I got presented with our medals. She was quite proud of herself, as were we.

 

 

Later that evening we got in the car once again, this time to go see the Holiday Night of Lights in Vaughan. We arrived just a little after 5pm to see an amazing, dazzling light display. We stayed in our car and drove the 2.25 km distance while listening to Christmas tunes on the radio station provided and watching over 1 million LED lights dance, glimmer and sparkle. I rolled down my window to get a better view, and luckily the mild temperature allowed for that.

 

All the way up Cilla asked if Santa would be there. We told her that he was probably too busy right now, but sure enough, about 1.5 kilometres in, there he was sitting in one of the displays.  Cilla was just beside herself with excitement at seeing him. We unrolled her window so that she could yell “Merry Christmas” to him, which he returned heartily. It was a very magical experience and hopefully one that Cilla can take with her when some of the other things she usually gets to do this time of year are cancelled.