Phoebe Buffay

First of all, with respect to HBBC, can I just say that eating 7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day is hard? Like, harder than running a mile? Who knew?

Okay, I am feeling so much better now! I'm still coughing but I think (I hope!) I might finally have recovered from pneumonia. It was gorgeous outside today, 1°C and sunny, so I decided to go out for a run. I chose a hilly route of 4.26km (2.65 miles) and planned to take my time and enjoy the fresh air, the sunshine and the exercise. The run felt slow while I was doing it but considering that I'm just coming back from being sick, was running 10 and 1s, hit two red lights and ran up three hills I think thirty minutes is a pretty good time. My legs didn't feel strong but that's from lack of recent practice and activity. More running, regular activity and muscle memory will take care of that pretty quickly, I think. Since I haven't been out much lately so I wasn't sure what to wear and overdressed. I should have used this handy "What To Wear" chart that appeared in the National Post last week. D'oh!

The beauty of running at a certain time of day is that the sun hits your back at that perfect angle so your shadow looks long and lean in front of you. You can imagine that you look like a real athlete and not what you fear you might actually look like: Phoebe Buffay.

Or perhaps this little beauty:

Resistance

Sunday morning is Run Club so I got up early, dressed, fuelled up well for the planned 7k run and started to drive to the meet. The van felt very strange from the first few seconds, really heavy and resistant, and was making grinding sounds. The heaviness didn't surprise me too much -- my husband had put snow tires on the day before and they always feel a bit heavy at first, especially if there's not already snow on the road -- but the noise and the resistance, the degree of resistance, really worried me. About a quarter mile from home I felt it was unsafe to drive so I turned around and went back. Since I was already dressed and ready I decided to go for a solo run and my husband promised to have a look at the van while I was gone.

It was a beautiful morning, sunny and cool but not cold, and I ran a hilly 7.6k route at a pleasant comfortable pace. It was a fabulous start to the day and I congratulated myself on my discipline and commitment. Go, me!

On my return home, I enjoyed a leisurely stretching session on the front porch (enjoy the show, neighbours!) then went inside to find my husband preparing one of his legendary Sunday breakfasts. O happy day!

"Hi! Great run! Gorgeous day! Did you get a chance to look at the van while I was gone?"

"Yup." Amused smile.

"And?"

"The parking brake was on."