Slowly easing back into the saddle

Everyday.  Just 30 min on the TM, and yoga and stretching and a bit of resistance exercises.

But I can't stay lazy for too long.  I have two races coming up.  A 50 K in early March, and a marathon in early May.

I'm also considering the Ottawa marathon because it's looking like I'll be expected to visit around that time...but I'm still mourning the really good course a few years back which went down Somerset and through my old neighbourhood.  Yeah, the crowd support at shortly after 7 am was nil except for my mom and her dog, and a few other bystanders, but Chinatown's pretty cool, especially running under the arch, and then going through Little Italy is neat too.  We just needed a couple of years or so to get a good pump going.   The thing has been going through Hull for eons and that's way nastier than Centretown.   But, noooo, they couldn't give my neighbourhood another chance.  They changed the course again the following year and I've been taking it personally ever since.  Talk about a major hose.  Instead of my favourite parts of Ottawa, the thing goes through a government complex/parking lot in Tunney's pasture by the looks of it, and then there's even more of Hull.   I don't know if the expansion includes some nicer parts, or not...but, honestly, just going along Laurier by the museum would satisfy the two provinces wooooo, and show Hull in a flattering light.  Because, go up a few streets past that grim government stuff, and it looks rougher than Leavenworth.  LEAVENWORTH, Kansas.  Where there are 4-5 prisons, meth, guns, boarded up houses, and some guy riding around on the bike he stole from our garage--and plenty of way cool stuff too.   Leavenworth has a lot going for it, don't get me wrong.  Sure, it's rough, but the sober people are great and there's stuff to do.  Cool festivals, farmers markets, neat stores and restaurants, and heaps of town spirit.  And Hull?   So you want to start drinking legally a year early?  Honestly, the marathon seemed mostly like an interruption of that pursuit: some of those bleary eyed people shuffling across the street looked like they hadn't gone to bed yet.

There are a few runners among them, though--I went through that part once with my group on another occasion, just a tempo run, I think, and some guy on some sort of sizzling upper kept up with us for a couple of miles or so in BOOTS and a winter coat.  We sped up a few times and couldn't shake him.  His speech was incomprehensible in either language but he sure had wheels.  And then, another time, I outsprinted a homeless man for $40 lying on the ground, but I split it with him.

Oh, man, why am I dumping on poor Hull?  I'm going to feel bad about this in the morning.  This is what Hull does to you.

The Gatineau region could have a killer marathon on its own in Gatineau Park, you know?  Or Chelsea, or Wakefield?  There are much nicer parts of the region.  No need to hustle Ottawa's event down the skanky streets of Hull.

But maybe they've cleaned things up.  I've been away for a couple of years.

So, do I want to give Hull another chance?   Have to check things with my family first.