Good Friday in Montreal

I am sitting, drinking coffee in one of my favorite spots- "la Conciergerie Guest House" in old Montreal. I have been coming here for about 18 years. It is a small 20 room hotel in 2 Victorian townhouses. I always get the same room which has 12 foot ceilings, fireplace, queen size bed, sofa and its own outdoor patio. I got the 6am direct flight from Charlottetown and was at my hotel by about 7:15 Montreal time. I napped for about an hour and had breakfast (for the second time) and then headed out for a run. Surprisingly, Spring does not seem any further advanced here than it is on PEI. It is sunny and cool here today, much like it was on PEI yesterday. My running route was to go to the top of Mount Royal and back. I do this route regularly when I am in Montreal. My hotel is near the "Old Port" so you run directly north toward Sherbrooke Street which is pretty much uphill. Then you run west on Sherbrooke until you reach McGill campus. You wind your way through McGill campus and up to the start of Mount Royal park. Those last couple of blocks between McGill and the park are a killer. They are a very steep uphill grade. My heart rate was way up and I was sweating by the time I got into the park. From that point, the run is a pleasant gradual uphill to the top where there is a lookout overlooking the entire city. I usually take a few minutes to enjoy the view and then turn around and head back down. It took me about 40 minutes from my hotel to the top of the park and then a bit less than that back to the hotel because, of course, the second half is all down hill. On the way back to the hotel, I detoured a bit through McGill in search of their pool. I think I found the general area where it is. You know you are addicted to triathlon when: when on your runs in a strange city, you go looking for sports facilities to train for triathlon!

Yesterday afternoon, I did get out biking and did about 45 k. out to Fort Augustus and back. I had the wind at my back on the way out and then came back against the wind. My average speed on the way out was about 34 and then went down to about 30 on the way back. It was typical spring cycling on PEI where a hat, gloves and booties are necessary.