My
neighbor Steve has lived his whole life in Ottawa. He replaced winter tires on his SUV last week. He must know. It was an indisputable sign that the
winter was over. Wow … we won’t get any more snow storms in late April. The
whole city seems to be focused now on a big after-winter cleanup. Runners are
coming out in large numbers to run along the canal. Everyone seems to be happy
to finally be able to shed layers of winter running clothing and wear shorts
and light technical shirts. Yes, spring is in the air. It almost feels like summer with +23C this weekend. Helen and I survived our
first winter in Ottawa. It was a very long and cold one. There were several chilly,
but gorgeous days with lots of sunshine and beautiful blue sky. There were also
many cold, snowy, icy and windy days. I’m happy to report that nothing
prevented me from running except for few very warm days when the snow started
to melt and the path along the canal was flooded with 3 inches of water. Of course,
a big freeze overnight turned the path into a “skating rink” the next morning.
But runners adapt. I bought Yak-tracks to run on ice. Balaclava
and goggles for windy days. Gortex running
shoes, heat packs, smart wool socks and big warm mittens from MEC for freezing
temperatures. My first half of a long run on Sunday often took me to the Museum
of Civilization where I would change to a set of dry clothes carried in a
backpack before running the second half back home. Most of my weekly mileage
was accumulated by running 5K along the canal to and from the office. This “commute” allowed me to stay outside for no more than 30 minutes which is recommended in
freezing temperatures. Running-generated heat also made those cold days
easier to cope with. It was easier to run to work than wait for the bus in those low temperatures. After a couple of months, Helen and I would
often say: “Hey honey, it is sunny and mild -15C today”. When you say “mild” and
“-15C” in one sentence, it is a pretty good indication that somehow we have adapted. Now we can enjoy "adapting" to sunny and warm spring season in Ottawa. Run Strong!
RPB
