Weekend Summary

This morning I got up at 6.00 am to join a friend, Maryanne, for a 21k run at 6.40 am. I sometimes even wonder how crazy I am to forgo an opportunity to sleep in an extra hour on the weekends.  Today though, I needed to get in my run before 9.00 am for I had signed the girls up for the mini-mile run event that was offered as part of the Run for Southlake event.  My run with Maryanne was great, we chatted the entire way which made the run very enjoable.  Despite it being 10 degrees outside, we experienced a terrible cold wind going east despite and wondered if we shouldn't have worn gloves and a touque. In the end though we felt great and I had to dash before being able to do any stretching. I know I will pay for that tomorrow.

The girls' event started at 10.00 am and it was only $5 a piece to participate. I figured it was a great opportunity to get London exposed to the fun of running and overall it is just a fun thing to do as a family. When we arrived I retrieved the girls’ bibs and proudly pinned them on Reilly and London. Reilly of course was rather disinterested in the whole affair but was glad to be out as a family and London was interested but a little intimidated by all the people so she clung to me like glue.

I have no idea how long the “mini-mile” route was for they roped off some trees in a field which had the kids starting and ending in more a less a circle.  The organizer for this event started the children off in two waves. The first wave included children 6 and over and the second wave was for 5 and under. It was relatively informal which was perfect for the young kids and it was hilarious to see some of the more keen kid’s edge themselves up to the front.

London insisted on holding my hand the entire time; however, I managed to break away a couple of times to snap a picture of her. I must say I am proud that she ran the entire way without stopping and was happy to receive her medal at the end. We turned back to find Reilly and Daddy who were bringing up the rear. Reilly’s legs were cooperating this morning so Mike walked with her the entire route and despite being the last child to cross the makeshift finish line I was ecstatic that she was able to participate. One of her daycare classmates recognized Reilly and came over to say hello which was really sweet. Especially since Reilly never provides any feedback to others in an obvious way.

We then proceeded into the arena to get our pancake breakfast which everyone enjoyed. London accompanied me on running some errands in the afternoon and she proudly sported her medal around her neck to anyone that would listen or look at her.

Yesterday we decided to load up the car with our bikes and go on our first bike trip of the year as a family. I have probably biked 3x total in the last 5 years so I was excited to get on a bike for I did quite a bit of biking before children. So off we went, London being pulled behind me and Reilly behind Mike. We decided to use two bike carriers for a couple of different reasons, one to share the load of pulling some extra weight and two, because we have found that when we put the girls together Reilly slouches considerably which is not good for her spine, as she is now showing extreme signs of scoliosis, so we need to keep her in a good posture. The Wike allows for that due to some special seating we have inserted that includes supportive bolsters.

The Caledon trails were great, the paths varied from packed dirt, to crushed but packed stones, to looser stones. The only downfall is that every time the path crossed a road, it had gates to restrict access to other vehicles but made us slow down to a walk to make sure we eased our way through. There was only one gate that warranted actually lifting the bike carriers over which was a pain in the butt (see below) for an example of the tight fit.

We packed a lunch and some snacks so we could make a day out of our little adventure. We found a perfect spot as you can see for this ended up being the only place with a picnic table, let alone a covered one.  

We were fortunate that we saw an Elementary school in the middle of nowhere which offered the kids an opportunity to stretch their legs and play around; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to go as long. Here are some snaps from that part of the leg.

In the end we probably biked for about 22k which was an excellent start for acclimatizing my bum to my bike seat. Boy is it sore today!!!!  Since it was such a success Mike and I have decided to try to plan a biking adventure every Saturday with the girls. Next week we have decided to try Niagara Falls, pending weather.