85

Somewhat unintentionally, I ran 85 km in the last week. That's a record for me. My average for the last 12 months is just over 50 km per week. The last 6 months it's closer to 60 km. A few years ago when I was struggling with IT band and foot problems I was only managing 35 km a week. I would never have imagined I could run this much in a week (and feel good afterwards).

A couple of days ago I wondered why I was feeling a little sluggish on my run. When I noticed I was at 75 km for the previous 7 days that explained it.

Of course, 60 km or even 85 km per week isn't much by pro runner standards, but I'm not a pro runner, and I'm pretty happy with it.

Today I was thinking I'd do about 20 km. I wasn't really due for a long run, but it looked like the best weather opportunity for the next little while. (I find myself adjusting my running schedule to the weather a lot more here in Victoria than I did in Saskatoon.) I took it easy and felt pretty good so I ended up doing 26 km, including a loop of trails around Thetis Lake. The last few kilometers I was a bit tired but that wasn't surprising.

Although it's going well, I'm quite aware that could change at any time, and the more I do, the bigger the risk. Any of my past problems could reappear at any time (or new ones). With that in mind, it's probably time to take an easier week and give my body a chance to recover fully.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful

After our torrential rain storm, the next day was sunny and calm so we decided it was a good chance to get out in our new folding kayaks. We headed to Thetis Lake since it's close and sheltered.

As soon as we got in the water I saw the reflections from the patches of sun on the lingering fall colors and the deep shade between.

It was a lovely fall day, especially relative to the snow in Saskatoon.

See also: Shelley's blog post

See all 15 photos in this album

* The title is a quote from Darwin's Origin of Species

Thetis

One of the big advantages (for me) of being in Victoria is access to the outdoors. Much as I love the prairies, there's not much of it left. It's all been plowed up and turned into mono-culture farmland. Here I can step out the door and in 8 km be in Thetis Lake Regional Park with over 40 km of trails around the lakes and through the forest. Canada's first nature sanctuary is now primarily a dog park but it's still a great place to run and hike. As usual, most people stick to the main trails close to the parking lots so it's not hard to get away from them. I'd been out here on a couple of my long runs, without a camera, so I was glad to go back with Shelley for a hike and be able to take my camera. Although it ended up sprinkling rain most of the time so I didn't take a lot of photos.

Here's the lower lake, small but pretty.

There are several nice little creeks.

The moss on the trees is such a vibrant green.

There are still some lingering fall colors.

The raindrops and reflections made interesting patterns in the water.

Photos of the Day

We went to check out the Metchosin farmers market and had a walk at the nearby Sea Bluff. I enjoyed the trees covered with moss and lichen.

I'm not sure what this is. I would guess it's an escapee from the farms nearby.

Instead of the Blue Jays in Saskatchewan, here there are Stellar's Jays. Not quite as pretty if you ask me.