Ever since we first moved here and I discovered the pathways that run along the river towards the city I have dreamed of running from my house to the city. I thought it was a 16km run and would obviously have to train up to it. I also had to wait for the weather to warm up. The weather has been mildish the last few months, and I've been running longer distances for awhile now, but I tend to get a pain in my left knee that starts around km 5 or 6, and just gets worse the longer the distance I run. When it gets really bad the pain shoots up and down my leg and I stop running for a few moments, try to stretch it out or rub around it, then continue on.  I limp run a bit, and just keep going but obviously my pace is affected. I keep telling myself that I should take a couple of weeks off of running, but my knee never bothers me any other time. After a long, painful run it usually takes a day for it to feel normal again, but it does, and with each run I hope things will have improved. I bought new shoes, hoping that would make a difference, but it hasn't. I assume this minor injury was caused by all the long and steep up and down hills. It is impossible to run anywhere here without running hills. These hills are way longer then any hills I ever ran in B.C and they are everywhere. A typical hill could easily be between 1 and 2km, and going down them is so hard on my knee. So that's where I think this started from. I am stressed about this as I am in the process of training for a half marathon at the end of June which will hopefully lead to a full marathon in October. The last three years as I have trained for half marathons I have developed minor injuries that hinder my progress. I have no idea how people manage to run really long distances without sustaining training injuries. How will I ever train up to a full marathon.

 Anyways, I decided to take advantage of it being a holiday today and Chris being home from work. I didn't run on Saturday as I usually do my long run then, and last week stuck to short runs on the treadmill and to and from the gym. Ideally I try to get 30km a week in, but that didn't happen as I gave myself a two day running break. Obviously not long enough.

The weather was perfect. Overcast, a slight breeze and a little muggy. I headed down from Bowmont park, with some new to me music, that helped set the perfect atmosphere. Andrew, my brother introduced me to this band called Of Monsters and Men I think, and they are amazing! Remind me a lot of Arcade Fire, so if you like the one you will the other. Anyhow, good music is always nice to have on a long run. The path was beautiful. New grass, wild flowers, Aspen trees that have finally grown leaves, and pretty little birds everywhere. I love birds. And of coarse there was the river I was following. It was perfect. Finally spring has come to Calgary.

My run would have been the perfect run to the city that I had fantasized about doing since I moved here if it hadn't been for my stinking knee. I had taken a tylenol, and rubbed Voltaren all over my knee and surrounding leg, before I headed out. It started to throb just before 6km as I thought it would and just continued on from there. I reached the 9th street bridge that leads into the city and to my train home and I was only at 11.5km. I know I could have headed up to the train and gone home at that point as my knee was throbbing and I was running like Terry Fox. No insult intended. I have a huge crush on the man, and I'm sure he ran in way more pain then I've ever been in. That's kind of what pushed me to keep going. I had planned to run at least 15km, so I turned the opposite direction from the train, and continued along the river path into the city. I had popped an ibuprofen several km back and was waiting for it to kick in, but it never did. I ran to 13km, then turned and headed back tup to the train, limping the whole way. I got there just barely short of 15km.

Now for some personalities in pictures:

Miete made a movie called Thom the Zombie and the Missing Foot.

Miete wants to be an imaginationist when she grows up. It's a job she invented in which she teaches people how to use their imaginations. She's written a page of details on this job. I think it's a perfect fit for her.

Imaginations at work. They are acting out a scene from a book

My girls have a ridiculous and sometimes embarrassing sense of fashion
Lilli is always layering miss matched patterns and colors, and Miete likes
to look like pippi longstockings or punky brewster

A winter swim in the living room. These are always Miete's idea

I can't even remember what this game was

Leif continues to love trains, clips, smoozing and
his pink blankie.

Clip trapped in a box

Violet likes drawing on herself. Usually it's a tiger or a mustache

drawing on furniture, and not wearing clothes are also favorite activities

I have so many more fantastic, and adorable personality pictures, but this is getting way too long, so I will save some for an other day. I love my creative, imaginative little children.