Running in Newfoundland

About a month ago, my husband and I spent a wonderful week in Newfoundland. He had to be there for some business meetings, so we figured we would turn it into a vacation, neither one of us having ever been to Newfoundland before. In fact, it’s the only Canadian province I hadn’t traveled to so was happy to check that last one off my list.

 

I flew directly from Vancouver to the complete opposite side of the country and we started our week in Newfoundland on the west coast of the province, spending a few days in Gros Morne National Park – an amazingly beautiful park, that I am glad we took the time to see it.

We stayed in a small, picturesque village called Rocky Harbour and I got my first run in there. The weather was beautiful and I headed down the main road along the water, past a little harbour.

 

I think I got to see the whole village waking up that morning and I loved it. By the time I got to the end of the road, I could see the entire village and mountains of Gros Morne National Park behind me.

 

Later that day, we hiked Western Brook Pond and took in some more beautiful views….

Over the course of the next few days in Newfoundland, we gradually made our way across the province until we reached St. John’s. I had a  few running routes planned for that area and was excited to tackle them. I started right away with a trip to Signal Hill for a hike/run to take in the beauty of the harbour and the ICEBERGS!

 

We lucked out with the timing of our trip as it was iceberg season in Newfoundland and apparently a great year for them. The photos do not do these icebergs justice – they were incredible to see!

Starting the trail at Signal Hill involved walking down hundreds of stairs and then trekking across a rocky path. I started out slow walking most of the way, stopping to snap some photos and gradually building up to a slow jog when I wasn’t going down stairs.

And that gradual jog turned out to be my biggest mistake…because I managed to lose my balance and take quite a tumble onto that rocky surface seen above!

I ended up with bloody and bruised hands, knees, hips, legs and shoulder. Not my finest moment but I picked myself up and managed to smile for a photo to stave off too much embarrassment! Ouch!

 

I limped back to the car (had to climb back up those 100 stairs again!) and cleaned myself up with some water and a dirty golf towel (all I had in the car!) I should learn to travel with a mini first aid kit because I had to clean out the local pharmacy of all their band aids to last me for the rest of our trip.

Needless to say, I wasn’t able to get any more runs in during my trip, but wasn’t totally incapacitated. I was able to get out and enjoy the great city of St. John’s….the sights, the views and even the food!

I’ll be back, St. John’s, and next time I’ll get in all those runs I had planned!

M.