(Not) Running in Canada

Okay. It's been a while since I last posted. The quick and easy explanation is that I was lazy.

So what has been going on in my life? Well, I went to Canada last week for the first time in my life. It was a pretty chill place. And by that, I mean it was goddamn freezing. We've had a pretty nasty winter here in New England, but I still had some trouble dealing with the cold up there. Quebec was a beautiful city and I wanted to explore as much of it as I could, but being outside was sometimes physically painful. It was the kind of cold where you're constantly wiping snot from your nose even though you're not sick (yet).

That being said, I did succeed at running once in Canada. It was our first full day in Montreal, and Andrew and I did an out-and-back loop. Quite frankly, it sucked. The sidewalks were icy, Canadians were blowing cigarette smoke into our faces as we passed, and we stopped every ten feet to wait for the light to change. Some of the people gawked at us as if they'd never seen runners before. Others wouldn't move out of the way for us to get by them. Granted, we were running in a kind of business-y district so I can understand why we may have looked out of place. Just when hope was about lost, we spotted a pair of runners near the end of our route. I can't even explain the excitement I felt. We were not alone!

Later that day, we climbed a mountain. I'm not sure if it was classified as a mountain, but who cares. The view from the top was beautiful; we could see the whole city. As we were climbing up, we passed lots of runners (or, more accurately, they passed us). We glimpsed a giant pack of them running back to the bottom. They were all clad in fancy running gear and looked super serious.

I had multiple chances to run in Quebec. Andrew mapped a route and everything. But it was cold, I felt sick, etc. The usual deal. Except I actually really wanted to run there. It's incredibly scenic and more runner-friendly than Montreal. If I go back when it's warmer, I will.