To Sudbury and Back

So I ended up in Sudbury on Wednesday night, although in the morning I wasn't sure that was going to happen as the weather forecast was not good, miserable weather in Barrie, but steadily worse as you went north. sudbury was calling for 15 to 25 cm's of snow. As the morning went on I talked to one of the guys in Sudbury who said it wasn't that bad and it looked like the freezing rain in Parry Sound had changed to rain. So at noon I packed up my things and headed out. It rained to well past Parry Sound, but there was snow on the ground and the further north I went the more there was. There was no pulling over to take pictures as the shoulders hadn't been plowed at all, nor the side roads which looked a mess. It was very pretty up there though.
I arrived in Sudbury just after 3 and noticed that most of the sidewalks seemed to be plowed, so I figured I could go for a run outside instead of hittng the dreaded treadmill. A quick change and off I went. It started snowing again moments after I went out and the sidewalks around the hotel area hadn't been plowed. I soldiered on and accepted the puddles and snow flakes in the eyes, at least I was out running. I did 9k and felt good for it, not a lot but at least was a run. I got showered, changed and off across the road for a awesome steak dinner at the Keg. Afterwards I settled in for the night alying around enjoying the quiet.
I was up early and headed off to the Sudbury hydro one yard and to Meet with Rob, not long after our pilot Paul showed up in the chopper for the ride and we were away.

Stopping in Espanola to pick up Jamie who had arranged the whole trip. We would fly into 4 generating stations to check on demarcation points before heading back. It was a nice day and a great view of the world from that vantage point thats for sure.

It would have taken 12 hours to drive and do what we did in less than four in the helicopter. I was back in Barrie by 4 that afternoon.
This morning was a lazy morning, but I had already been planning on a series of long runs this weekend and it was just a matter of which route to do today. I decided on the bluffs, but unlike the normal run I would run the usual route, then turn around and come back. It started it off good as it was a beautiful morning. The plan was to just take it easy and walk when necessary. I ran till just under 5k where I come across a small creek which i have to stop for to get across as it is straight up on the other side and therefore it was as good an excuse as ever to take a walk break. I ran out to the turn around just before cty Rd. 27 with out seeing a sole, surprisingly considering it is a holiday. Again I ran all the way back to Mapleton and still noone, this is good, hope it stays this way. No such luck, into the bluffs and it was people and dogs galore. Most are ok, but when you come up against a mastiff by it self, its oh oh! The lady owner who was smaller than the dog coralled him and held on. that was the story of the run for the most part, lots of stopping to avoid confronting dogs.
This run seemed to take a long time and I was surprised when I got back that it was already after 12:30. I was struggling the last 5k or so, it just felt hard and my right side was sore from the hamstring down. I finished 25k in about 2 hours and 37 minutes, which seemed very slow, but in the big picture is still where I need to be or maybe even slower. Tomorrow another longer slower trail run, probably in the rain too.