Perhaps an ideal day for running today
... overcast, cool, almost non-existent rain until the last leg into
Deep Cove, lots of Knee Knacker types running at all different times,
including the 8:00 a.m. start at Cleveland Dam, and smiles all around as
the big day is only about 6 weeks or so away. You'd think it is
the middle of serious training season.
I myself, however, was dragging along
some New Orleans blues as I just returned from a few days in the deep
south ... it was great but I love my North Shore. So, as usual, my
perspective is from the back of the pack ... where it's a persistent and
determined atmosphere of runners just glad to be alive.
At one point a comment was made to me,
around the 2 hour mark, I think near Lynn Canyon, that the front runners
must be finished by now. Francine and I set them straight by
saying they would be taking at least 3 hours to finish. Little did
we know the first ones would be done in 2:45 ... I don't spend much time
at the front apparently.
On the other hand, some of us today tried the
short route through Lynn Canyon in an effort to ease the day's pain, er,
glory. There are two spots that some people aren't very familiar
with: when you hit the road at Lynn Headwaters, be sure to turn
LEFT and THEN a sharp RIGHT at the Varley Trail; and in Lynn
Canyon Park, take the second RIGHT turn and head down to the Suspension
Bridge (but don't cross it) and continue on to Twin Falls (but don't
cross the bridge there either). Some unwitting runners went the
wrong way at these points and shaved a little time from the run today.
Oops.
By the way, did I mention that I was running in my brand new adidas
Trail Response shoes today? adidas is a proud and very much
appreciated sponsor of the Knee Knacker. The new shoes fit great
and kept me on course very well ... that is, until I managed a full 3
point landing whilst enjoying a rotund mud puddle on the Varley
Trail. I could've lost my life if my head had hit a rock instead
of mud ... instead I just lost my pride for a moment but thankfully
there where no witnesses - whew! I picked up my sorry butt and
trundled off ...
Speaking of sponsors,
do you know who they are? Please support them whenever you
can. Honey's
is one ... they reaped some benefits today as most of us enjoyed hot
coffee and doughnuts at the end of the run today in Deep Cove. And
guess what? They have a new place right beside the old
place. There's no sign on it yet but I'm sure they serve the same
great food and bevies.
So us stragglers finished up around 4
hours after hooking up with Enzo at the Mount Seymour Road crossing of
the BP Trail. I'm glad I finished in one piece and made it home
for a hot bath! See you next week at 8:00 a.m., Cleveland Dam, for
that nasty jaunt up to the snow of Hollyburn and Cypress and back.