Oh the joy of winter runs

Hello winter. Welcome.

It was for pure joy that I ran this weekend. The trails called to me as I tried to ignore my alarm clock on Saturday and Sunday morning. But my bed is so warm … But I knew once I made the leap from bed to floor, I would not look back at my bed. (There’s a snooze button for a reason.)

It’s been a few weeks since I ran in Lacombe. I met Diane at our usual spot around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. I left Red Deer earlier than usual because I didn’t know what the roads would be like. Thankfully they were clear and the traffic was moving smoothly.

Diane had something about leg warmers but I didn’t think she was serious. Love her “vintage” leg warmers. I used to wear them when I was cool young adult. Leg warmers are a thing now, aren’t they?

She didn’t say we would be decorating the forest on our run. I guess everybody needs a little cheer including the deer and moose that roam this trail.

Diane was not joking – Lacombe hasn’t seen snow for days. We ran/slogged through ankle-deep snow in the exposed parts. Some snowshoers and runners had been out on the trail. We could see their tracks. I kept thinking this is great for my butt, great for my butt. All in all it was a nice morning for a run. We enjoyed our usual coffee and gossip session at Tim Hortons before parting for the day.

On Saturday I finally ran with the city’s premier running group, the Red Deer Runners. I’ve been meaning to hook up with these guys but the timing never seemed to work. They meet on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. Generally the Saturdays do not work for me because I am usually in the mountains or whatever.

But it’s winter now and I have no excuses. My leg/hip/foot is still not at 100 per cent but I can still run. I asked Mark to harass me into meeting the group. It worked and I finally got my butt out on Saturday morning. At least another 10 people ran as part of the group who are not in the picture. My iPhone died after a kind stranger snapped this picture.

What a fun group of humans. We ran close to 10K before meeting for the coffee debriefing session at City Roast. It’s always fun to chat and run with new people. Because Red Deer is small enough, I have seen most of the runners at other races. Everybody sorta knows everybody. They are pretty welcoming.

Runners are pretty awesome that way.