Going on a Journey

The Barefoot Runners are going on their first road tour!  This Sunday we will be participating in a 1/2 marathon at Pincher Creek, Alberta.  We very much look forward to this run as we will be taking the same route as the old buffalo runners did all those years ago.  We are grateful to the Buffalo Runners Society for allowing us to participate in such a historical event and grateful to our families who are willing to accompany us.  Now if only I could find the tent....

Gail

Running Barefoot is a lot Like Breastfeeding

Having a desire to do something and being able to do it are completely different things.  And so I find myself stalled out at running 6 miles in the vibrams,having to switch back to the old shoes for the rest of the run, then dealing with disappointment about it.   My body loves to run without running shoes but  my feet are a bit on the wimpy side, so I am always careful at switching over before the blisters form on the ball of the foot.  I have not been able to do speed work barefoot either as I am guaranteed blisters ( but man does it ever feel good to let 'er rip without running shoes).  So for now I will stick to the routine as I tell myself it is important to go at one's own pace. It is most important to keep enjoying the runs and increase barefoot mileage only when it is comfortable to do so.  For  all you slow transitioners out there I say don't worry about it.  It'll come.

I'll spare you the breastfeeding story.....

Gail

Long Run Sunday

We had it last night instead due to the same reasons as last week.  We would have posted it so others could have joined us, but  only realized we were going out 2 hours prior to departure which was set for a time most people are heading off to bed.  One of these Sundays we will get back to normal scheduling.  Until then, happy trails everyone!

The Midnight Run

So with the reading we have been doing, we are finding it more common that with running into ultra distances it is not unusual to be running at night. This leads us into our long run last week. With both our families having weekend plans we decided to give a night run a try, because really there is no other time that is available.

We leave at 10pm. Run 5 miles, stop for a quick coffee and a map check, and of course a bathroom break. We have been talking about the trans Canada trial over the past while and I had found some maps of where some of the trail is located in Winnipeg, this is the map check. So starting back out we have decided that we are going to find this trail and run some of it. To the forest we head, it is about 11:30pm and very dark, no stars are shining.

Here we are, hopeful and looking forward to a new experience. Shortly after we took this picture I heard something in the trees, could have been a rabbit? Although it sets a mood of eeriness about us and we find it difficult to get going into the blackness of the woods. The pictures are turning out as long as we use our headlamps to light the trail as we go. (a little fix on the computer lightens it up a bit too) The uneven ground is much harder to judge in the dark, even with lamps. This is the entrance and later (about 3minutes later) down the path we decided that we just aren't in for this kind of adrenaline rush tonight, maybe we should re-asses our trail and find another route?

As we turn to leave and head out, something jumps out of the long grass beside the trail, just misses G and I nearly step on it! It seems huge in the dark, as I have no idea if I should even look at it, not even knowing what IT is! But there is something in me that just has to know what has startled me, (insert bad horror movie music here). And as it happens, it was this little frog that has caused our adrenalin to rush though our bloodstream. Time to get out of the forest!

Finding more Trans Canada Trail; I know it is somewhere out here! Aha, yes, there it is...

And now we are off again to follow this trail, through more dark wooded areas, creepy pathways, and many unseen noises!We are heading back towards home! It has been an interesting night of adrenalin rushes and speed work mixed into our long run, but it is time to head home, as it is now 1:15AM. At this point we have travelled about 11 miles, 4 to go. In about a mile from here my feet start to scream at me and I end up walking for almost the whole last three miles!! Frustrating!! It is 3AM.

But we finish with another 15 miler under our belt!

We experienced another oddity with this run, let me know if you've found something similar. Upon waking we both found ourselves feeling hungover? There was NO beer stops along the way, and yet we both felt ill. We had water, maybe it was the humidity, could have been a lack of sleep? Oh well, another lesson learned.

Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy every ounce of weather we have. There is no scheduled long run for us this Sunday morning, July18Th, as again we all have family plans..... but I will return with another midnight long run story for you next week. Take care.

Nicole

Going back in time.... One whole week...

So I'm going to travel us back in time to Sunday July 4th. Gail invited us out to her mother-in-laws cottage for Saturday night and Sunday. What a great end to one week and a fabulous start to the next, really, what more could I have asked for?!

West Hawk Lake area is where we went. G has been talking about running this trail area, part of the Trans Canada Trail and I was excited to go and see it. We have been talking about trail running, have signed up for an ultra, and yet have very little to no clue as to what we are in for! (This goes for B as well!) So sunday morning we sleep in until 5:45am as we are going out a bit later in the morning with a 6 am start. C will also be joining us as he and his family are also out for the weekend. The excitement is almost overwhelming as we are not only trail running, on some actual trail, there could be 4 of us out there.... at the same time! WooHoo!!

The trail was nice and soft on the vibrammed feet! The small inclines were quite unexpected, though I loved the other side of them, I feel like this is my time to catch up to everyone! It is a 7.5 mile trail into a neighbouring town where we stopped for a coffee. G & C ran back as B and I waited for a ride back. Two weeks after B's knee surgery I decided that 7.5 miles was enough! And after being married to him for the past 15 years, I know better than to let him make that decision!

I was expecting to be fighting mosquitos along the way, and was happily suprised that there were very few and far between. Along the trail there were wild raspberries for a snack. How nice for God to provide along route when I've forgotten my pack at home!

All in all...... I can't wait to do some more trails! Have a great week.

Nicole

the lost run....

Soooo........

I think I mentioned I would get back to'the lost run'. Actually it's really just the pictures I forgot to post along the way, from a run where we got lost, and we haven't found this place again..... although I did try, but have not yet found the right trail.

These are pelicans on the Red River. It was beautiful to see them so close, we are on the Moray bridge looking down.

It is nice to see that wildlife also enjoy living in a community! The two families of geese here seemed to be having a great time beside the river watching the pelicans fly by.

This is where we got to and have no idea how. It was wet and amazing to find ourselves here, and it is somewhere in the forest, still have no idea how we got there and I haven't found my way back there either....yet!

The sunrise from our 'lost' spot on the run. The view from here was incredible, and the amout of water was.... you know this is Winnipeg. (about 4 weeks ago)

So that is the story of the 'lost run'...... but if the truth is told, it really isn't that hard for me to get lost! It has happened on more than one occasion on our long runs. It has also happenned that I have run us in circles thinking I was trying a new trail only to end up where we began. Funny thing is I have a garmin (GPS)...... so the thing is, I cann't tell you where we are, but when I get home, plug in the garmin...... I can tell you where we've been! I always find this funny!

Nicole

100 posts! already?

Wow! Here we are, the 100th blog post. I don't have nearly enough time to spend writing about the past week. I need to say that we are forgoing our usual long run location and we will be running out of town, on some trail, somewhere around West Hawk Lake? But don't quote me on that as I really don't have a clue as to where we are going. So I will leave this here and try to add more to the future posts.

I found pictures that I intended to call 'the lost run', and last Sunday we have pictures of G being ATTACKED by the 'Manitoba Mosquito'. Apparently they don't appreciate our running through the trails of the forest, kinda makes you feel like you're in a kids fairy tale like"three billy goats gruff" or something of the sorts. They wanted blood from us before, and along the way, as we passed through their forest. I'm not sure that I have ever before appreciated concrete and asphalt the way we did last Sunday.

But, alas, I must run...... We will return with more running stories soon.....

Nicole