Foretelling the Weather?

Knock on wood I’ve never broken a bone apart from a fractured nose when I was a kid (I fainted and hit my nose on my bedside table when I was pretty young).  I remember reading The Babysitters Club and one of the characters falls off a swing and breaks her leg.  From then on her leg aches whenever the weather changes.

Image via goodreads.com

Just over five years ago I decided that after years of not running I wanted to train for a marathon that was five months away.  Guess what?  It was too much too soon and I developed a stress fracture in my right ankle.  Since then I’ve noticed that my right ankle gets achy when there is a shift in the weather.  Kind of weird, eh?  Now that I’m essentially starting at zero and trying to get back into running regularly I need to be really aware of not doing too much too soon.  I’m a little paranoid about hurting that same ankle again….so no speed work and no hills until I’m fully back up to snuff!

Yesterday my ankle was so achy!!  Every once in awhile I took a look at it…any swelling?  What have I been doing…have I overdone it?  How would it feel the next day?  Is the weather changing or is there something else going on?  Thankfully I woke up this morning and my ankle was back to normal and it was grey and drizzly out.  Ah ha, the weather had shifted from sunny and warm to fall-like.

So the ankle is all good but it is a good reminder to really keep my running build in check to avoid injury.  Have you every had a stress fracture before, and do you notice if it is sensitive to the weather even years after healing?

Running in Las Vegas

Last weekend the husband and I were in Las Vegas for my cousin’s wedding.  We were there for five days and it was quite the trip!  We got a phenomenal deal to stay at the Bellagio and I may or may not have tried the $20 trick upon check in.  This was the view from our room:The hotel is gorgeous and the room was really nice.  The best part of staying at the Bellagio was being able to watch the fountain shows from our room.  We never ate at our hotel at all – instead opting for more casual meals at the Paris or the Forum Shops and fancier meals at other restaurants on the strip.  Probably our most amazing dinner was at Tom Collichio’s craftsteak.I admit it, we are huge Top Chef fans and the head judge’s restaurant did not disappoint.  We also went to Firefly on Paradise (delicious tapas and pitchers of sangria), Scott Conant’s Scarpetta in the Cosmopolitan Hotel (delicious, highly recommend), and Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in the Venetian (also very nice).

We drank delicious cocktails – I highly recommend the Fusion Latin Mixology Bar in the Palazzo and our favourite, the second floor of the Chandelier Bar in the Cosmopolitan.  There are three levels to the Chandelier, each very different.  The second level is where the bartenders get super creative.  Tell them your favourite liquors, if you like sweet, sour, savoury and they will mix a unique drink for you.We also took in a few shows (Cirque du Soleil’s O and Mystere – call and ask for Canadian resident discounts), we walked the strip and we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.We even spotted Elvis as he was officiating my cousin’s wedding.We checked out the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.And we ventured outside of Vegas by spending the afternoon exploring Red Rock Canyon (only 20 minutes west from Las Vegas).I also took advantage of the fact that running shoes are so much cheaper in the US than in Canada ($140 versus $200…yikes!) and picked up a new pair of Asics Kayano 17s.Then I put them to test while running the strip one morning!  I went out around 8 am when much of the strip was still shady, so even though it was hot out it was still relatively comfortable.  Outside the Monte Carlo.Over the Brooklyn Bridge at New York New York.On my way to the Excalibur.As I ran past the Planet Hollywood I realized I needed water.  I had hoped to find a bathroom and water fountain near the entrance of the shops but no dice.  Instead I ducked into the casino and drank out of a tap.  Blech, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do!  Then as I ran past the Flamingo we got detoured off the sidewalk and into the smoky casino.  That was interesting!  Outside the Venetian.And the Palazzo with the Wynn in the background.At Treasure Island – time to turn around.At Caesar’s Palace.  From the Bellagio down to the Excalibur, then up to the Palazzo, over to Treasure Island and back to the Bellagio was about 4.1 miles.  It was nice and quiet out there with tons of runners.  This was my first trip to Vegas where I’ve actually been up early enough (and motivated enough) to go out for a run.

Hiking: Tower Lake and Rockbound Lake

On Sunday we decided to tackle a slightly longer hike in Banff National Park – Tower Lake and Rockbound Lake.The first 4.5 km is a good climb on on a wide path through the trees.  Every once in awhile you get a fleeting glimpse of the mountains through a break in the trees, but otherwise it looks like this for the first half of the hike.As you keep going you start to see some neat improvements that have been made to the trail in some of the wet spots. Eventually the pathway narrows.The trees give way to meadows and views of the mountains.And wildflowers are in bloom.Finally 2.5 hours in at 7.4 km (4.6 mi) we reach destination #1 – Tower Lake!At this point we were ready for lunch!  We picked a comfy spot with a good view and spread out our picnic.  We had my father-in-law over for dinner the night before and we brought some leftovers for lunch: grilled beef tenderloin, fresh buns, roasted eggplant dip, pita chips and some sliced red peppers.

With fuller bellies it was time to continue on to Rockbound Lake!  Only 1 km left to go!Check out the view of Tower Lake on the trail up to Rockbound Lake.The trail definitely gets more difficult on this final stretch.  In fact, just after this point I said that Rockbound Lake better be beautiful because it was certainly tough work getting up there.Finally, we finished climbing, entered a meadow and Rockbound Lake came into view.It was well worth it!  It was such a beautiful clear day and it was so stunning.We couldn’t stay too long as we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to make it back to the car.  All in all, it was a stunning and amazing hike on a beautiful day in September!

Tower Lake and Rockbound Lake in Banff National Park, AB
11.69 mi (Round Trip)
3,956 feet of elevation gain
2.5 hours to Tower Lake, 3 hours to Rockbound Lake, 5 hours 20 minutes round trip (not including our lunch break)

Breakfast of Champions

Now that I’m working hard to get back into things I know I really need to pay attention to what I’m eating.  It all starts with breakfast.

I definitely eat breakfast every day, but I generally wait to eat until I get to work.  I want something healthy and filling because if I just have toast I’m hungry 30 minutes later.  I soak some oatmeal overnight in double the amount of milk, along with some cinnamon and a touch of dried fruit.  At work I pour the oatmeal over half a diced apple and some almond butter.It keeps me full all the way until my lunch time workout so that cuts down on my desire to run and grab a coffee.  I view that as a success so far!

I’m curious though, what is your favourite healthy breakfast?  Do you have any tips to share with me?

Hiking: Sulphur Mountain

On Saturday morning the Husband and I decided to tackle a relatively short hike right in Banff, the hike up Sulphur Mountain.  You can hike up and down, or you can decide to take the gondola down from the top instead.  You have to buy your ticket down from the base.  This was our lucky day, the ride down from the top was free (normally $15 I think).  There is a short walk through the parking lot for the gondola before you reach the trail.There were some great views from the parking lot!  The trail goes through the trees, following a bunch of switchbacks up the mountain.  Every once in awhile the trees clear and you can see the gondolas passing overhead.The trail is a pretty popular one and there were a couple of groups ignoring the “please keep on the trail” signs.  This miffed the Husband and I a little…Finally, we made it to the top!Thank goodness for the snack shop at the top – those salt and vinegar chips tasted amazing!!!Check out the views from the top!Shall we catch the gondola down??

Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park, AB
3.56 mi trail (one way)
2,400 feet elevation gain
1 hour, 45 min (one way)