What a Great Way to Start the Day!!!

I'm back in Jasper for my monthly visit and although it's a fantastic place to be it's just not the same without Amber and Harley. I really missed hanging out with Amber last night, we usually walk around the town and pick up some groceries to make a great dinner together. Then we sit together and have a nice, healthy meal with a glass (or two) of wine. Last night I had some berries and chicken wings, don't ask how I came up with that combination and watched bad CTV shows.

The thing about Jasper is that you just can't feel down when you're here. Just walking around and being in the mountains makes you really appreciate the beautiful country we live in! The clear streams and lakes, the fantastic trails and the incredible vistas all make the 4 hour trip out here well worth it. I wanted to arrive in town early enough to rent a mountain bike and do a little riding before dinner last night but my appointments in Edson kept me there until 5:30 and I didn't get to Jasper until 7pm. However I woke up early enough this morning to head out for a quick trail run and I ran up a mountain and back for 1:10 before 8am, I love this place. The only problem was that it was without DAP (Dog Assisted Power), I can't remember the last time I ran on my own outside without Harley. It was a lot tougher than I remember (I felt like the guy in the picture above) and I started to think that maybe I've been running with Harley a little too much, I don't want my running to suffer. Harley loves to pull me and I like the fact that he is getting me to think about running at a faster pace than I'm used to but I need my heart and lungs to catch up. This summer I'm going to have to scale back on the DAP anyway, Harley seems to really have a hard time when the temp. is over 18'C.

This weekend is the first race I've done in a very, very long time and I'm itching to get back into competition. I'm not setting any expectations on myself, I'm just going to go out and push as hard as I can for 8kms straight. It's only a short race but it's a great way to get your mindset back into a competitive mode. I've trained hard all winter now it's time to prove it!!!