My job takes me away to foreign destinations where I have to adjust my training. My friends try to accommodate my schedule if possible so that we can do our long runs together.
This week I was flying to Hong Kong which meant that I would be away for 3 days out of the week.
Monday, I was able to run with 10 km with my friends L and K. K had just returned from racing the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago so it was nice to catch up with her. Did I mention that she's in her 60's and an Ironman Finisher.
Tuesday morning I head out bright and early to the airport after helping hubs get the kids ready for school. This week, I was off to Hong Kong, which means I usually get no running/activity completed for the day as the flight is 15 hours and with the time change, I am landing in Hong Kong Wednesday afternoon the next day.
Wednesday late afternoon I get into my hotel room after the 15 hour flight and pass out. I had set my alarm to wake up and head to the track for some speed work or the gym, but neither happened. When I finally got up, the guilt set in from in activity. I have some workout videos saved on my iPad and I did a quick 30 minute Insanity session in my room and then was out for the count.
Thursday morning I wake up and head out to Lion Rock Country Park for a trail run. Hong Kong has an extensive trail system that I discovered last year as I was training for the 100km race. I was thrilled to find out about all the trails. I have been flying to Hong Kong for over 15 years and had never gone into the trails. Hong Kong is very lush and surrounded by mountain. With the help of the Internet, I was able to discover many routes.
The Lion Rock hike is the closest to my hotel and is easy to get to. It takes me about 30 minutes on public transportation to get there. The trail section I do is about 8 km and 469 m in elevation. When I first did this route, it took me over 2 hours to complete. Every time I go there now, I try to beat my previous time. This trail has A LOT of stairs. The first time on the trail, I was with a fellow crew member and we saw wild boars. This time, I had to wait for 2 monkeys to get off the path and let me pass. Weather was nice but still got my sweat on. Then head back to the hotel, shower and get back on the plane home to Toronto.
We landed in Toronto Thursday night to Toronto's first big snow storm for this season. The captain had said "a little dusting of snow", but he was wrong. By Friday morning, the Toronto area had accumulated 11 cm of snow.
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| Snow on the Plane Parked Beside Us. |
Friday morning, I picked up my friend K to the mechanic to drop off my car to have the winter tires installed. We dropped the car off and went for a run. I had to run 25 km and she was going to keep me company for 15 km of it. The weather was terrible. It was still snowing from the night before. The snow was wet and heavy, perfect for making snowmen, but not ideal for running. Not all the roads or sidewalks had been plowed. We ran on both the sidewalks and the road hoping to avoid all the wet, slushy snow. Some of the sidewalks were light plowed and some parts were snow covered. It was like running in quick sand. When we went onto the roads, it was wet. The snow had either melted or was driven over so much that it was all slush and with every passing car or bus we were getting soaked. Within the first 10km, both of our feet and shoes were soaked. I ran K home at 15 km and finished a l0 km loop to the mechanic to pick up my car finishing at 25 km. It worked out quick well.
Saturday morning , the crew came out for 15 km run. The roads were finally dry after snowy day the day before. It was nice to run with dry feet and the gang to keep the conversations going.
I was treated to a girls night out Saturday evening. We went to the theatre to watch Ain't to Proud, a musical about the life of The Tempations and the music of Motown. It was a great show and the performance were spectacular.
Sunday - Rest day
Total mileage - 61.7 km
How was your week? Do you have any races you're training for?
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