Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. So his girlfriend planned a BBQ at his house to celebrate together this important day. I wanted to squeeze in some training today so I decided to run to his place. It's not a bad distance at 11km and I knew I could take it easy, especially given the heat at 24 celsius with a glaring sun.
I am always amazed at how runner friendly Ottawa is. You can go from the downtown core to a park-like setting in no time and run for hours without stopping at a red light. So this is what I started from:
And within 5 minutes, here is where I was:
It felt at least 10 degrees cooler without the cars, asphalt everywhere and noise around me. I got a pretty good clip except when I stopped to take pictures. I still got into quite a bit of a sweat:
I even took a small break at an old building in Hull that was converted into a community bike rental and repair shop to use their facility. This place really is runner friendly I tell you. I kept going until about km 7.25 when I crossed into Gatineau proper:
The heat came back and there were lots of red lights. It's always like that in Gatineau for some reason. The sidewalk even stopped abruptly for a corner or two (I calculated 800m with the Garmin) to reappear for some 35 meters (just long enough for a bus stop) and then disappear again. I even got some people supporting and cheering me on: Run Forest Run. Gatineau really is a place apart from the rest of the modern world.

I kept going and eventually reached my destination (my dad!) and here is what I had waiting for me:
I can't tell you how refreshing it was to jump in the pool. Phew. What a nice day. My knee is not complaining too much. It felt rusted while I was running but I don't have any of the post workout pain I was experiencing about a month ago so hopefully I'm recovered. Alex drove me back since he joined us after his work, so no double insanity riding or running back today.

Happy Birthday Dad!