Coach Billy.

After months of not being able to run and being stuck at home doing HIIT, the day has finally come! The skies have been cruel for the past months and it is established that this is the worst winter (and longest) in North America. As Spring season is nearing and clocks have been adjusted for Spring Forward, the weather finally rose above freezing point again this weekend. Snow and ice began melting and the sun shines brighter than ever. Today the weather measured a high of +8 degrees Celsius and low of -3. It’s been the “hottest” since I have landed in Toronto! I was able to try running just a couple of weeks ago when the weather rose to +5 degrees C, but I didn’t last long. Coming from a tropical country, I’m used to wearing comfy shorts while running and feeling the warm and fuzzy headwind. I was not acclimatized enough with the cold freezing weather that dried my throat. The altitude is another thing that I have to get used to. In any case, I gave it another shot today and it was good!


 
I wasn’t aiming for any time or distance — I just wanted to move and run! Also, I’m still not familiar with the terrain and the possible routes I can take. I didn’t intend to “write” the first letter of my name with the route I took today – it just happened while I was trying to look for good running routes!

The last time I tried running, I felt how hard the pavements are near our house so today I tried different routes and pavements. Most parts of the sidewalk are still wet from the melting snow banks but it was good indication that there are no more black ice to keep away from.
I used the Endomondo app on my Blackberry to record my run and it’s slightly inaccurate, especially on that part where it looks like I ran on the snow field!

It was a good winter run over all, based on Cool Runnings standard. Also, considering that there will be another snow storm tomorrow, I’m so glad I did run today. According to the news, “winter storm warnings are in effect across southern Ontario from Kingston to Cornwall, with up to 25 centimetres [of snow] predicted in some areas.”

Winter just won’t say goodbye.

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