So Much for Winging It

All day Saturday I tried to plan for my Sunday long run.  I seriously had no clue when I'd start or where I'd run from.   Even when I went to bed that night, I was close to saying that I would just run gravel roads from my house whenever I woke up.  I set my alarm for early so I could get it in before the day got too warm.

Up with the sun

But when I woke up and had break, I figured I should probably go into the city...it was just a matter of whether to run Fish Creek or to take my chances on Eau Claire.

There was one stretch that I have been dying to see how it fared in the flood...so I headed to Eau Claire and thought I would wing it and try to get as far toward Bonnybrook Bridge as I could.

Ok - I had a plan.  Kinda.

I knew that Eau Claire to Calf Robe Bridge is 10k but I also knew that the path around Bonnybrook Bridge would be closed since the derailment.  So I needed to add on a bit.  I decided that I'd start by running up to 10 Street and crossing over before heading east.  

I'd run this first part of the run since the flood and it has been pretty well restored - functionally - since then.  I mean, they are still rebuilding parts of the bank, but temporary pathways are in place so it is not full of detours.  

When I was almost to Edmonton Trail, I reached the first path closure

The path underneath Langevin Bridge is washed right up on the shore.

Taken later in the run when the angle was better.

I'll never forget the morning I was driving to work after dropping hubby off and I saw some guy ignore the closure and end up knee deep in the river.  How asleep do you have to be?

A quick detour across Edmonton Trail and I was on my way toward the zoo.   As soon as I reached the turnoff - I hit my first real flood detour.

Running around the zoo island was a no go...I had to detour across Memorial and come down the Nose Creek pathway.  No problem.

While I was there, I figured I might as well make a pitstop. and have a good stretch.

Then I carried on down the pathway.  There were a couple of cyclists out there and one other woman passed me running.  When she made a left turn over the creek, I (non-creepily) decided to follow her because I wanted to see if that path would be the one that ran along Deerfoot.

It was.  (She was also much faster than me so it's not like I was really following her...totally not creepy.  She was outta sight in seconds)

The path over there was much less cleaned up than any others I had been on.  There were still piles of silt alongside the path near Harvie Passage

and the path itself was still really silty as well

It was really loud along Deerfoot and I wasn't that comfortable running somewhere so isolated solo, so I made the decision early that I would cross over at Blackfoot and get back onto the other side of the river.

It was from the bridge that I really saw how Inglewood was hit...heartbreaking

Just a shear cliff along the residential.  But I still didn't get how bad it was.  It didn't take long before I hit construction fencing...because the pathway just ended.

Yeah - it's going to be a while before THAT is runable again.

No problem, though, I knew a detour that would take me over to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

And then I hit the BIG STOP SIGN

Pathway closed from the Bird Sanctuary onward and no easy detour.  There would be no reaching Bonnybrook this day.  Boo.

So I headed back along the detour I'd just taken.  I just love this neighbourhood.  It's really too bad it's so close to the river.  Oh and that it is freakishly expensive to buy a house in...

As I was coming out on the pathway again, I made a new friend.  It's too bad JS wasn't with me - she would have loved him!  In fact - if I hadn't had 10k still to run, I might have tucked him under my arm for my own family...he was such a little sweetie and had no tags or tattoo...

I spent a fair bit of this middle portion walking and taking photos so my pace was super slow (and most of my pictures blew so it's not even like I have something to show for it)

So I carried on...

I was really happy to see the new bridge construction is underway over the Elbow...that will cut a bunch of zigzagging off of running that way once it's finished.

I cut across Fort Calgary

Saw a pirate ship

and made another pitstop at the scary robotic bathrooms in the East Village.  Checked out some new public art...LOVE IT!

About here, I faced the reality that I was coming up short on distance.  I'd hoped to just be able to stop at Eau Claire, but I needed about 3k and that is what that loop back up to 10th Street would give me so I was going to need to pass the finish line before I doubled back to cross it.

I crossed over at Edmonton Trail and carried on - feeling a bit tired, overheated and dead at this point.  I passed Leana's hubby around Centre Street Bridge though I wasn't sure if it was him or not.  I just said Hi and checked with her later where she confirmed I had recognized correctly (I've only met him once or twice).  

I plodded ever onward, crossed over at 10th and hauled my ass back to Eau Claire.  I was ready to be done so I decided to turn up the speed a bit and race it in.  I truly amazed myself here at the pace I could maintain after running 18.5k.

But it felt so good to stop...and I was rewarded with two Bernese Mountain Dogs in the dog obedience class on the plaza outside the Y

Another long run completed.   And enough adventure for one day.  It is still quite draining for me to see all of the flood damage.  While the cleanup has come so far in two months - it is going to be a very long road.

And some Garmin Geekery since I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat to see how slow I went this week...