Run, Bling, Reset!

It's no secret I have been feeling off and rather down for sometime. So I have made conscious choices to incorporate FUN into the run. And look for inspiration on the paths and trails for the past few months.This past weekend was no exception! I had some fun on the paths and park on Saturday then headed out to the trails and to do a little volunteering Sunday. Perfect - training and laughs rolled into one.

Good for the soul and the head and heart.

This past Saturday was the  inaugural St. Patrick's Island Fun Run. As part of my role as a ForeRunner (ambassador) for the Calgary Marathon I was given two complimentary entries. I asked my pal Tara to come along, since we have been having terrible time hooking up with our crazy work schedules. It would give us some time to catch up and chat about all kinds of things and get planning on something special that is coming up soon (shhh it's a secret tho) so don't tell anyone. 

Early Saturday morning, this hot mess got up, walked to Starbucks, then took the train downtown to go get to the race. I had intentions of doing a quick run first, but then i started running into people who were also at the race - and that plan sort of flew out the window.

The start was about a kilometre from the finish...so after Tara arrived I popped my stuff (including my water bottle - DOH) into her car. We forerunners were trying to snap a pic pre-race, but it was too crowded so we decided to meet up at the finish area - with the snacks and drinks! 

The race started with all of us on the bridge and went for a couple kilometers on an out-and-back section along the river, then back into St Patrick's Island. As we headed back for a loop around the island, we were serenaded by a fab woman with a ukelele! Oh wait, I forgot to say it was a aloha island theme! 

St Pat's is a fav spot of mine and the repairs and upgrades since the flood a few years ago have it looking downright amazing. It's one of my favourite pathways but also there is playground, amphitheater, art...and really all around great views!

The run wasn't chip timed but Tara and I came in around the 28 minute mark. 

Tara is much faster than me, so she really kept me going today and it was sort of funny we talked the whole way...sometimes it got a bit breathy tho! It was a good effort. Man, was it hot...should have brought water along - I know better!

As we crossed the finish line we were given leis, then grabbed some water and a banana.

 The Calgary Mara forerunners posed for a few quick snaps - nice to meet a few new people I only see on social media and spend some time chatting!

Check out My fellow ForeRunners HERE! 

Immediately after that we made a beeline to the food - Jane Bond BBQ food truck served up some mean pulled pork sandwiches which were DIVINE!!

The food lineup was a little long, but it gave me the opportunity for me to catch up with a whole bunch of runners I hadn't seen in ages...plus chat with Tara about wine options, dress shopping and event logistics. And laugh. A lot. It was bloody warm out - close to 30C - so we took some turns dashing for some water.

About an hour after the run started, Calgary marathon revealed its 2016 medals!! This year, there is a Super hero theme (I LOVE those ribbons) -- eek my 45th half marathon is in less than 3 weeks! And in keeping with the superhero theme I am dressing up. HINT: my outfit will be SUPER

I spent the rest of the day fiddling around and getting ready to hit the trails in Canmore. My fab pal Melisa picked me up and we tore off for coffee then hit the road for the 45 min drive to the mountains. GORGEOUS!!

We then met Lisa - who had recently moved to Canmore - lucky duck!! And off we went.

 Seriously the trails out here are the BEST! 

Essentially we got in 10k or so on the mountain trails (ummm can yo say hill work??) before Lisa had to go to work and we hit the showers!

Trails = Get Dirty!

We then jetted off to before heading off to Rocky Mountain Soap Company HQ to volunteer for goodie bag stuffing (their RACE is at the end of the month and it really is an amazing one too). I will be running the 10k at that race Saturday and the Calgary HAlfmarathon on sunday! woot!
There were a dozen or so of us and we packed something over 2000 bags in under 2.5 hours. And boxed them and put them on pallets! A workout that smelled great - haha.

What a great weekend, nice to reset that way. 

Just before we left, I snapped this beauty of the Three Sisters! One is clearly hiding.... 

Mountain air is the BEST!

This weekend is more trails and pathway running...so I cannot wait! 

Yes to double runs to get those legs happy for the back-to-back awesome that awaits.