Day 134 September 17, 2011 Bassano to Strathmore 71km

The first thing I did this morning on waking up was check the score between the Ireland/Australia rugby match. The Rugby World Cup is currently on in New Zealand and this was a huge match for Ireland and they WON!! I was so excited I spent most of the 70km drive out to my starting point watching video highlights of the match on my phone.

It was really cold this morning for the first time since the Maritimes and I had to wear gloves and a jumper to stay warm. About 5 metres after Mike and I started running, a van filled with students and teachers from Strathcona Tweedsmuir School pulled up. The five students and two teachers had driven out to run with me. It was great fun having them with me for about 10km this morning and we talked about the run, their school and different running styles. They even gave me one of their running shirts at the end!

Despite the great start I didn’t feel much like running today, but Mike and Russ alternated a large portion of the day with me. I was lacking in motivation and I kept taking breaks and so I finished a little later than we had hoped. We were having a pub night at Dobson’s pub in Calgary and we ended up being late, and not having time for dinner.

The good news though is the food at the pub was incredible and no one seemed to notice our late arrival. There were a number of people there, including Mike’s dad, whom I’ve never met before. It was a great night and we ended up staying later than we probably should.

I didn’t end up getting close enough today to see the mountains but I will see them tomorrow for sure and I make my way into Calgary.