The City Beat

So I had business to do in the Northeast of Calgary this morning. I wanted to get a run in before work, and I thought I would take advantage of the flat city paths to enjoy my run. I also wanted to feel the pulse of a city on Monday morning. It gave me that “I’m on holidays feeling” that I got when I was a kid and we’d come to the city. So I parked at Shouldice Park. My intentions were to run to the Zoo on the south side of the river and back on the north side of the river. 

GPS data is a little confuddled as I did not reset my watch after my ride home last Friday. So it continued off of my data from Friday. First leg here.

A few km’s into the run, the watch decided to put me on a 5:45 pace for 10km. I had to stop and take photos, so that pace was not really met. So the second leg is here.

From the parking lot at Shouldice looking towards the Trans Canada. It looks dark, but there was enough light to not need a headlamp.

The path along the river. I was hoping to stay on trails along the river the whole way, but that is just not possible. Also, it was extremely slippery mud due to recent rains. I thought better of it and headed back to the paved paths.

It’s quite peaceful along these paths with the mild hum of traffic in the distance. Sounds very city-ish.

I crossed the river on a footbridge and followed a trail along the river some more. It eventually came to the railroad, where I had to carefully cross them and then hop a fence. A pointy fence. Only one hole in my hand and one in my shorts… The cyclists going by probably thought I looked like a nut.

Two roads diverge in a yellow wood…

I must have been on fire cause look at all that smoke! Go Lorne Go!

  Some interesting artwork as I got closer to downtown.

Some stonework in a park. There were tons of commuters on bikes riding into the city. Good on them :-)

I crossed the footbridge at 10th street (me thinks) and came out in Kensington. I swear I was running faster than the traffic was moving.

   The pathways are quite nice because I was on the pedestrian path while the path on the right is for cyclists. Makes it that much safer.

Running back along the river. The cooler air is so much easier for me to run in. I love it! Can’t wait for winter!

  After a while, the sounds and smells of traffic just gets annoying. This is why I prefer the trails.

The colours of fall are always beautiful! Even on a cloudy day they can sure brighten things up!

Post run foot shot. I think these are wearing out. Although each tear in the shoe tells a story.

All in all, I prefer trails. But given the circumstances of going to the northeast, it’s nice to explore the paths and city by foot, even with the constant thrum of traffic and the bring-bringggg of cyclists. I wanted to go all the way to the zoo, but having to work caused me to cut my run short. No biggie, it was 17.22km in 1:38:34. This means I can do a half marathon (flat) in probably less than 1:50:00.

:-)