Calgary – Page 6 – My Second Running Life

What a Difference a Week Makes

As anyone who has lived here can tell you, Calgary doesn’t do fall very well. Sure, it can be nice one day, but we know not to be fooled. It’s only a matter of time before the weather turns into a demon.

This past week was a good case in point.

The First Responders races are hosted by Multisports Canada, in support of all first responders – police, fire, EMS and military. Races are held across Western Canada. This year, the Calgary race was held on October 22, on beautiful St. Patrick’s Island.

It was a cool day… a perfect day for racing. A good turnout for the 5k, 10k and half marathon races provided lots of opportunities for runners and spectators. Deb and I were there to cheer on some young athletes from our club. We were also fortunate to have Dan in town for the weekend. He was with members of his Cold Lake squadron, to compete in the 10k.

Overcast skies and the scenic backdrop of the island also promised some great photo opportunities. I got myself ready in a few strategic locations, with my Leica M10 and the excellent Voigtlander 75mm Heliar f1.8 lens in hand.

Competitors in the Half Marathon make their way across the George C. King Bridge

The racers didn’t disappoint. There was plenty of excitement and some terrific performances. You can find the results for all the races here. The ageless Maria Zambrano, who has been a fixture in the Calgary race scene for decades, won the 10k outright, in a sparkling time of 36:09. She isn’t getting older, she is getting faster. Amazing!

Maria Zambrano heads for home in the 10k

Providing more evidence that age is really just a number, Andrew Brown took home top honours in the half marathon, running 1:26:35. By the way, Andrew is in the 50-59 age group.

I was wearing two hats (well maybe three, given the temperature.) As an assistant coach, I was rooting for two young runners in our Adrenaline Rush club, Alison and Owen MacPherson. Both raced their plans to perfection, chalking up negative splits and looking far too comfortable at the finish. Dad Gord was there to cheer them on!

The MacPherson family celebrates two fine performances in the 5k

Now, what about the demon, you ask?

Our time ran out on Monday, with the arrival of a cold front. It was the first blast of winter. By the time it was done, 15cm of snow had fallen on Calgary, and our pleasant fall was a distant memory. We are still digging out! And running on treadmills for the most part.

Proving the resilience of the Calgary running community, a small army of volunteers picked up their shovels and headed for the track at the Glenmore Athletic Park.

As Deb and I worked to clear a couple of lanes on the back straight, I did some math to take my mind off my aching back. It took us an hour of hard work to clear about 200m of one lane. Did you know that one lane on a standard track is 4 feet (1.2m) wide? That means each of us did about 250 square metres of shovelling.

I also had time to figure out that the total surface area of a 400m track is about 4,300 square metres. So, between Deb and I, we managed to clear about 12 percent of the total surface area of the track. Thank goodness we had a lot of help.

No wonder I’m sore today.

Deb, Reinier Paauwe and Jeremy Deere work on the first corner

It all goes to show that Calgarians are adaptable, resilient and community-minded. We runners in the southwest will have a few lanes to train in, at least until the next snowfall.

Stay warm!

Fall Photo Run

It’s been a busy couple of months for your blog host. Between work and travel, there hasn’t been much time for a simple photo run in and around the neighbourhood. Knowing how short our autumn is here in Alberta, it looked like I might miss the whole season.

It was a pleasure to have a short window of opportunity a couple of weeks ago. So I grabbed the trusty Ricoh GR III, left my watch at home, and headed out on a perfect fall day.

Fall splendour was everywhere. Yellow leaves and green grass were on vivid display against the clear blue sky. Magical.

I ran by an elm tree in the corner of Wolfe Park, not far from home. I had to stop. The yellow leaves were glowing in the afternoon sunlight. Then, a minute later and only a few feet away, I came across a vintage trailer parked on the street. I snapped my pictures and finished my run, hoping that I had captured the feeling of the day.

The photos sat in the camera until this morning, when I finally got a few minutes to open them up in Lightroom.

The rich colour palette and stately profile of the elm tree did make for a nice photo. It was a classic fall shot of a fine-looking tree.

Elm tree in full sunlight, as we usually see it

But something seemed to be missing. My picture of the elm tree didn’t grab me as much as I had hoped. After all, the way it looked on that warm September afternoon had made me stop and reach for my camera.

I thought I would try the same shot in an infrared (IR) simulation mode that Lightroom conveniently offers. What’s that about, you may ask?

Well, the short answer is that IR shots respond to different wavelengths than the human eye. Here’s how it works. The human eye sees light in the 400-700 nanometre (nm) range, covering the colour spectrum from purple to red. IR light is in the range of 700-1200 nm; that is, beyond the visible spectrum. We can’t see IR light, but it can be captured (or as in this case, simulated) in photographs. Because the leaves of the elm tree emit light in the IR range, the yellow foliage is recorded as bright white. It can make for surreal images.

Here’s what the infrared version of the same photo looks like.

Same elm tree, simulated IR filter, as we can’t see it

I’m not sure which image I prefer. I like them both. I would never want to overuse the IR effect, given its other worldly look. Seeing the images side-by-side made me realize that there can never be anything that matches seeing nature in person. I am curious which image of the elm tree you prefer. Please let me know in the comments section, below.

As for the picture of the trailer, it was more straightforward to edit. I like the way that the blue of the trailer matches the sky. It’s a bonus that the curtains in the window of the trailer give the picture a distinct fall vibe, picking up the foliage in the background. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?

I hope wherever you are, you are experiencing good weather and capturing lots of memorable photographs.

Enjoy.

An Ideal Photo Run

Today’s photo run was perfect.

The weather in Calgary has taken a turn. I was about to write “for the worse” but since this is a blog about running, I’ll leave that comment off. Let’s say that we have seen a change, from something approaching “too hot” to “good running weather”.

Cool temperatures and drizzle often have a way of dampening (pun intended) my enthusiasm for a run. But one thing I’ve learned is that I need to look beyond those feelings and get myself out the door. Today was no exception.

After a block or two, I knew I had made the right call. The Elbow River pathway was quiet, and the river was looking fine. The sun was trying its best to make an appearance. I knew the light would be good for photographs, so I brought along my trusty Ricoh GR III.

One spot I’ve gone by a thousand times but have had trouble capturing is the small garden on Elbow Drive at 30 Avenue SW. It’s an attractive little spot but I’ve always found something challenging about the composition. Today, though, the combination of the soft lighting, misty conditions, and the new foliage was magical. I stopped and grabbed a couple of shots without a second thought. Later, I tried Lightroom’s infrared preset and got a result that I think was very cool. I hope you’ll agree

Almost back home, and content with the run (and the photos), I passed a leafy corner and noticed two eyes peeking out from between the hedges. Closer inspection revealed that it was, in fact, the headlights of a Triumph TR3 sportscar. At least I think it was a TR3. Maybe a car expert reading this piece can confirm its pedigree. In any case, it was a scene that made me smile, and a fitting way to end my run.

Enjoy.