I lucked out with the great weather this weekend. I didn’t have to work on Friday so I had three-day weekend. I didn’t have any plans other than to enjoy the mountains and dinner with friends one night. Somehow it turned into a mini training camp.
Unless I am planning something big I like to be spontaneous with my time. I don’t like to get weighed down with planning routes or directions. I just like to go. On Friday I headed to Prairie Mountain. A friend had cancelled so I was on my own. I didn’t mind because I had to get back to Calgary early to do some work and meet Brent and Sona.
It was pretty quiet when I started. I didn’t see many parked cars. About 30 minutes into it though, I had a few runners pass me. I wasn’t really concerned about my time on Strava. One runner came down as I was starting and suggested I put on my Kahtoolas. Great move. I wore them the whole way.
Some spots were particularly icy so I knew I made the right decision. Deep snow in some spots but you see that it was melting. If the warm weather keeps up, it should be all gone in a few weeks.
Not too windy on Prairie on Friday.
There was almost no wind on top of Prairie. I spent a good 15 minutes – which I almost never do – just chilling and eating my apple before heading down. I had some trouble with ankle on the way down. I couldn’t really hop or jump like I do. So I was overly cautious. I guess that’s what happens when you sprain your ankle. You get super sensitive and worried about re-injuring it every step.
I tried to ignore those feelings but I was mindful of taking it easy. The hike up was a little more challenging than I remembered but it’s been a few months without elevation so that’s to be expected.
Moose Mountain Road aka MOMORD
I think the highlight of the weekend was finally training on Moose Mountain Road. I know training here is a staple for many Calgary trail runners. I’ve never been there and I wasn’t exactly sure where it was. When you are driving from Red Deer, the last thing you want to do is run up and down a road in the mountains. Why not hike a mountain?
I called this my highlight because I learned so much! Rachel and I usually run Moose Mountain from West Bragg Creek. The windy road to the parking lot was not good to my Versa so it was the only way I knew how to get to the trailhead. There were trails on both sides of the road that I can’t wait to explore once the snow melts (likely May).
Also I finally discovered he infamous “Pnuema” trailhead. Rachel and I had no idea its location relative to all other trails. Now it makes sense.
I didn’t really have a plan for the road. I wasn’t even sure of the distance. At the back of my mind, I was thinking I would try to reach the top of Moose Mountain.
There were a couple of other cars in the parking lot. I asked this couple – Fab and Barry – whether or not I needed to wear spikes. They said probably not. The woman asked me if I was running up. I asked what was the distance. And that was about it. I got in line behind them and within a few minutes the three of us were hiking/running up the road.
Great people. Of course everybody knows everybody so we had great chats about running, races and veganism. Great to see other runners from Calgary too. Fab usually trains on the road all winter but she said it was too cold this year. Runners train here because there’s great elevation and the road is plowed all winter long.
The distance to the parking lot is seven kilometres. Add two more kilometres, if you head left and down to another road with some sort of station. I really lucked out with these two. They were a wealth of information. Their plan was to run the road twice.
I played it safe and bailed at 25K while they got in 32K. Fab invited me back to run 20K on Sunday so I wanted to make sure I could get out of bed in the morning!
We couldn’t have asked for better weather. There was tons of snow on both sides of the road. It’s going to be muddy mess when the snow starts to thaw. Currently there are a bunch of snow and icy patches. You can see from the photo that are some nice exposed dirt. Spring is on its way!
Fab and I made plans to meet on Sunday at 9 a.m. A good 20K shake out would be just what I needed.
Fab brought Ennis with her on Sunday. As you know I love dogs so I was happy to make a new four-legged friend. We were both feeling pretty good. We kept our fun pace and enjoyed the day. It’s always fun to meet someone new on the trail. I love hearing about his or her running experiences and life story. We had a lot in common as she is vegan and shares a lot of the same values. I have no doubt we will be running together soon.
Training update
Running this weekend was a great lift to my spirits. (The nice weather sure helped too.) It was the third weekend in a row that I was in the mountains. It just feels so great to live even closer to the mountains. I know Red Deer was only two hours away but I now live less than an hour away. I am so fortunate to live so close and be able to explore the mountains. I don’t want to waste it.
I am feeling good overall. No doubt I will be a little stiff on Monday. But I quite enjoyed my mini training camp. This was my first back-to-back in a long time. That’s OK. I know it will get better and I will sleep great tonight. My work at the gym is going well too. The trainer is really helping with my upper body posture when I lift or even when I am just sitting. Loving my vegan gains!
It was great to catch up with Sona and Brent at Hearts Choices. We love the food there. We may have eaten a little too much.
How was your weekend?