Cold Legs, Warm Hands, Big Heart

This weekend’s road trip to Penticton could not have been more perfectly timed. You know when you just need to get away?

I always say that the best way to see a new city is to go for a run and on Saturday morning that is what I did. I also needed to log 100 minutes on the road for my upcoming ½ marathon and after the debauchery of last week’s run, the thought of pounding the pavement for 17 or so km’s, just me and my nano, made me giddy!

There is something so peaceful in an early morning run; first light, the world still sleeping, and knowing that once you are done you still have the whole day ahead of you. As I left my dark room, my fam still tucked away in their beds, my peaceful-easy mindset was hit with sub zero temperatures as I opened the front door. HOLY CRAP IT WAS COLD! I had checked the weather before I had left, low of 0, high of 7, I packed shorts, what was I thinking?

Sometimes I do things just because I can (even more so if you tell me I can’t), it’s part of my charm. And although my warm bed was calling me back, Flo-rida and his good feeling were beckoning me out into the cold. I had my gloves so at least my hands would be warm, it really wasn’t much of a decision, I followed the music.

I ran from Okanagan Lake to Skaha Lake and back again, added a little out and back along the lakefront and it was fantastic. By the time I returned to the hotel, my legs had gone from pink to red, my face was so cold that I had that fresh from the dentist feeling…the one after you have a filling and your mouth is frozen and you drool when you talk. I’m not sure if a non-runner would get this, but this is one of the many reasons why I run, just because I can.

The rest of the weekend was equally fantastic, great hockey, fine Okanagan wine and good food, just what the doctor ordered.