Sore Ass

That is my fault I guess.  I should have known better than to run hard downhill for a total of 21 minutes.  What else should I have expected?

But what was unexpected was how decent I would feel throughout the rest of the day.  Minimal soreness as I went about my daily routine of teaching, but upon lacing up the shoes for this evenings brief recovery run, I found that the deeper muscle tissue was torn up.  I was quite hobbled for the first five minutes of the run, gingerly placing my feet one in front of the other.  But, over time, the blood began to flow and the muscles loosened up and the damage incurred as a result of yesterday's (necessary) run subsided.

Not to throw (a lack of) snow in the face of my Ontario friends, but today was 11 degrees and sunny.  It was beautiful, really.  And tomorrow is supposed to be nicer.  I can only hope as Coach John has given me a 17k tempo to complete.  I am hoping that there is not much snow on the North Shore as I would like to do the tempo on the road at Lynn Valley.  I guess I will have to check on my own tomorrow afternoon (unless anyone out there can give me the heads up?).

In other news, I finished the book Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden.  It was a great read and gave me a small sense of what the men of WWI must have gone through over in Europe.  I know that there is no way that a written account of the Great War can even begin to create a true sense of empathy within the reader - the sights and sounds and fear cannot be replicated in the safety of our homes - but it has opened my eyes to what it was like for some.  As well, the First Nations story within it was beautiful, with the character of Niska being one my favourite in recent reads.  I would recommend Three Day Road if you are at all a fan of historical fiction or war novels.

I am now reading a novel I was supposed to have read in university, but didn't.  Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is one of the classics of African-American fiction.  I had a hard time with the start, but I am settling in well with it.  There is much written and studied on this novel, so I would suggest doing some further google research as I cannot possibly add anymore to the discussion, at least at this point.