Huh…
I just finished another pair of shoes (500+ miles), which meant that in addition to starting the new pair, I saved and exported the old pair’s mileage from my iPod so that I could start the count anew with the fresh pair.
As mentioned somewhere previously on this blog, I’m not actively going for a new mileage record this year (which has been incredibly demotivating), mainly because I’m pretty sure my entire family would want to throw me in the river if I were to obsess over mileage even an iota more than I did last year.
So when I checked my mileage progress for this year so far as I entered the new miles in my little spreadsheet, imagine my surprise when I found this:
- Cumulative miles from January 1 to May 2 in 2023 (my record year so far): 2040.27
- Cumulative miles from January 1 to May 2 in 2024: 2125.24
UM.
But then I realized that 1) I had not yet bumped up my daily mileage to 18 miles in 2023 by this point in the year, and 2) I had not yet run a marathon distance in 2023 by this point in the year, whereas I’ve done multiple marathons, multiple 50 Ks, and a 60 K so far this year.
Still, though, I was not expecting the mileage to be that close and for 2024 to be (even a little bit) higher.
I’m going to have to try really hard not to use this as a sign from the universe to go for a new mileage record.
Really, really, really hard.
Also, I’ve taken over 101 million (recorded) steps since I moved to Calgary, which is pretty sweet.
Unsettle Your Nettles
I don’t think I’ve ever felt unsafe walking anywhere in Calgary. Granted, I’ve never been downtown at night alone and have never walked through that weird little murder triangle neighborhood in Bowness, but I’ve never felt like I was in danger. Even on those early morning walks/runs at like 4 AM, the most unsettled I’d ever felt was in the dark bowels of Bowness Park – and that was more due to knowing there might be all sorts of random wild animals in there in the early morning than anything else.
But today I took a little jaunt through the neighborhood just south of North Hill Centre and I got the most creeped out feeling while in there. It was like I was being watched and that I was not supposed to be in that area.
I didn’t see anyone or anything like that…in fact, it was an eerily quiet neighborhood…but I got out of there pretty quickly. I’m usually right about those kinds of feelings, so I figured I should listen to it.
Today’s Running Question: Can I Beat the Storm?
Answer: Nope.
I could see the clouds encroaching, but I could not outrun them. Got blasted with wind and very cold rain for about five miles.
But the payoff was nice:
Adventures in Running: Ultra Marathon, Non-Potable Water, and Waiting to Die
Ha.
So.
Today I went for a run. Nothing unusual there. I was aiming for at least 29 miles, but was hoping to do another 50k because it’s been a while and I REALLY need to get my mileage up for the 60k coming in May/June.
The run was really nice. Not too hot, not too cold, not too many people out, and I was deliberately trying to take it a bit slower than normal so that I wouldn’t completely burn out if I decided to go for the 50. Also, rather than run through the icy/slushy/wet hell that is Sue Higgins Park (a dog park), I took Nate’s advice and crossed the river to run on the other side.
I also did this because there were public bathrooms there that I was sure I had gotten water from last summer (we had walked down there with my mom).
So all was going well. The other side of the river was WAY nicer than the dog park side, and when I got to 14.5 miles, I turned around to head back home with the intention of stopping at the public bathroom (mile…18?) to grab some water with my little collapsible silicone cup.
Luckily there was no one in there, so I just held my breath (Covid fears…yes, I know, I know…), filled up the cup all the way, and went back outside to drink it.
Tasted kinda off, but not too bad.
Went back in to get some more just to wash out my mouth a little.
And when doing so, I noticed the big sign on the wall: “DO NOT DRINK THE WATER”
Sooooo…yeah. Apparently I’d just drank non-potable water.
(Which is weird, because I’m sure that I drank from that sink last year, hence my not even considering there was a “don’t drink the poop water” sign anywhere)
So I spent the rest of my run wondering if/when I’d experience any negative side effects from that.
I did do 50k, though, and was actually able to run up our hill at the end of the distance, which is not something I thought I’d be able to do at mile 30.5.
So maybe the poop water gave me extra power?
We’ll see if I die in the next few days, haha.
(One can only hope.)
Rec it Ralph
Man, this place looks nice.
It’s like the Tucson YMCA on steroids.
If 1) this was closer to our place (it’s an hour bus ride there) and 2) I wasn’t still terrified of doing anything indoors without a mask, I would seriously consider a membership here.
Though being able to access Anytime Fitness…anytime…is really nice for weirdos like me that don’t have a normal sleep schedule.
Maybe someday I can go back to the gym…
OH CRAP
It’s so cold here that everyone’s burning through power and the grid’s ready to bite it.
We really are Canada’s Texas.
The only things on in our condo right now are my computer and a few lights (we’ve turned the furnace down, but I guess that’s on, too).
Edit: we survived the failure threat! No rolling power outages.
Die another day, Alberta power grid.
NO BUT SERIOUSLY IT’S COLD YO
Oh my god.
OH MY GOD.
So this was the temperature when I headed into campus this morning.
No, I didn’t walk in (though I thought about it, haha). Instead, I took the bus.
Here is the scene from the bus stop in front of our house. Doesn’t the air look frozen?
Anyway. Took the bus in but decided to actually take it down to Brentwood Mall ‘cause I needed groceries. It’s about 0.36 miles from the Fresh Co there to the math building, so I figured walking back to campus after getting groceries wouldn’t be too bad.
Ha.
Have you ever been outside in feels like -53? It’s colder than anything I’d ever experienced, that’s for sure. Like, -40 is cold. But dropping it another 13 degrees? Ouch.
Ouch.
Needless to say, I took the bus home after I was done with work. I was actually surprised at how many students were in my afternoon class given how cold it was.
Edit: there’s ice on the inside of the Kines building doors. Freaking brr.
It’s Cold, Yo
Every year we get like two two-week periods of absolute hellish cold. Usually one of these periods overlaps perfectly with winter break (end of December-ish) and the other happens sometime around he start of Winter semester (mid-January).
We didn’t really have much of a cold snap in December, but HOLY HELL it’s cold right now.
We’re talking “feels like” temps in the -40s.
And it’s just going to get colder of the next few days!
Awooga
(This has absolutely nothing to do with anything I did today, but that’s like half my blogs anyway, so whatevs.)
So I have two different directions I go when I go on my long runs. At the bottom of our hill at the River Path, I either go:
1) left, heading east until I hit the Bird Sanctuary, then I head south until I get to my turn round point, or
2) right, heading west into Bowness Park and then turn north into the Scenic Hills and Tuscany neighborhoods until I get to my turning point.
The first route is WAY flatter than the second route. Observe:
Elevation change for the first route:
Elevation change for the second route:
Note the y-axes in those.
You’d think the first route would be easier, right?
Eh. It’s a lot more monotonous than the second route, and also it’s uphill (even very slightly) on the return trip. The second route is much more varied in terms of scenery and neighborhoods and it’s basically downhill the whole return trip, which is really nice, haha. Especially on a marathon+ run.
Does anyone actually give a crap about this? Nah. But again…that’s like half my blogs.
Flashback
Today I did something that I have not done since 2019: I walked to Westbrook Mall.
More specifically, I walked the route that used to be my absolute favorite walking route. I’d go out into Bowness and then come back, pass the bottom of our hill, and then walk on to 14th street. I’d then walk down 14th street to 17th avenue and head up towards Westbrook Mall. From there (usually after some shopping at the Walmart and/or Safeway) I’d take the #9 bus either home or to campus, depending on what I was doing the rest of the day.
Because of my class schedule in Winter 2020, I didn’t get a chance to do that walk before Covid hit.
And then Covid hit, which meant malls and buses were FORBIDDEN for quite a while.
But today, I finally got the chance (and courage) to give that walk another shot. Made sure I had my N99 for the bus back (plus like ten backup masks because I’m a weirdo like that) and headed up there.
It was a GREAT walk. I LOVE that walk.
And taking the bus back (to campus) wasn’t that bad, either. I was afraid I’d get motion sick because it has been so long since I’ve ridden a bus, but I was fine.
WOO!
Wild Wild West Calgary
Today I ran to a part of Calgary that I’d never been to before and is basically the very west end of the city. Observe my map!
It looks like there’s a fairly new neighborhood out there, but it’s still pretty barren in terms of development. There is, shockingly, a nice wide, recently-paved walk/bike path, though.
I also did 24 miles, so that’s cool.
MARATHON, I’M COMING FOR YOU!
Pretty Tree
Yo, check out how vibrant this tree is against the green grass and blue sky.
That is all.
So this is cool
Have you seen “The Last of Us?” Did you know many of the scenes were filmed in Calgary (and across Alberta)?
It’s too bad that none of the filming took place near locations where I usually walk/run; it would have been cool to see!
I remember that there were a lot of road closures for the 4th Avenue Flyover filming and it caused a lot of chaos because the closures lasted longer than expected, haha.
Fog Town USA
Have some creepy fog.
That’s all I’ve got today, sorry. I’m not in Vancouver getting ready for the Coldplay concert so everything sucks.
Hexa Dexa
Back in, I think, January of 2020, I decided that I wanted to get a body scan to determine my percentages of muscle, body fat, water, etc. I found a location pretty close to where I live that does a BodyMetrix Ultrasound, which apparently gives similar accuracy to a DEXA scan and booked an appointment for early April.
Well, thanks to our good old friend Covid, that appointment never happened.
I recently looked up the location again and it looks like you can get the scan while wearing a mask (and the technician will also wear a mask if you ask them to, which is a plus). So I’m up for maybe making a new appointment and getting scanned!
It may not happen this semester because OH MY GOD I am so busy, but maybe early next year.
Back to Calgary
So for various reasons, I’m leaving Moscow several days early.
Because why should I get to stay here the full time I was hoping to stay here?
(Sorry, both of the main reasons I’m heading back are legit and important, but I’m feeling frustrated and bitter right now. I just want to hang out here with my mom, why is that so hard to do?)
I Love the Clouds Here
Look at this cloud exploding over the horizon of the U of C. How freaking cool is that?
Mom!
My mom is here, WOO! She’s staying at an Airbnb for a month and then I’m headed back to Moscow with her for a few weeks. We’ve been looking forward to this since…well, since we did it last year, hahaha.
OH GOD I’M COMMITTED NOW
The very first marathon I’ve ever signed up for!
Now I HAVE to do it, which is a little intimidating.
I ran 21 miles today, though, so that’s a start.
(I also signed up for the Vancouver Half Marathon, but that’s easy.)
Breaking Spring
So Calgary’s XTREME WINTER TEMPERATURES are really good at lining up for when I am on any kind of break – winter break, spring break, whatever.
Don’t believe me?
Take a look at this graph. Can you tell which week is our spring break?
Yup, you got it!
This happens EVERY YEAR. What in the HELL.
Band o’ Cloud
Bro, check out this snazzy band of cloud:
I LOVE the clouds up here. We usually don’t get super interesting ones until the summer (apart from the Chinook arches), but this one is pretty unique.
Brrthday Brr
So it’s been pretty well established over the years that it’s always very cold on my birthday up here in Calgary.
I mean, of course it is, my birthday’s in the winter. But I mean in comparison to the days surrounding my birthday, the birthday day itself is always quite a bit colder than the other days.
And it looks like that’s going to be the case this year, too:
That’s hilarious. There’s a DELIBERATE TEMPERATURE DIVE approaching February 2nd, then it goes back up again.
H I L A R I O U S
Creepy-Ass Night Monks
Read the title.
Don’t these look like giant monks?
Aren’t they CREEPY AS HELL?
Oh my god, if I didn’t know what they actually were (wrapped pillars for a building going up) I’d be 100% freaked out by them.
THE ASS IS UP
What’s the ASS? It’s the giant Air Supported Structure that they built over a football field in Montgomery to turn it into a seasonal field.
It’s hard to capture how big it really is in pictures, but it does cover the WHOLE football field.
And it’s supposedly going to withstand the wind/hail/snow/chaos weather that Calgary gets.
Coolio?
More Calgary Nonsense Posting
Check it, my dudes: Calgary has been ranked as one of the most livable cities in 2022.
Specifically, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has it ranked fourth. It’s the highest ranked of three Canadian cities on the list (the other two are Vancouver [BARF] and Toronto).
Edit: oops, it’s tied for third!
Eigenblogger 