7km LSD, Stingrays at the Zoo

On the last day of the "vacation" (in quotes because it was not that exciting, staying in town for most of it and all) I managed to get another morning run in prior to taking the family to the Toronto Zoo for the day. I dragged my ass out of bed at a little before 9am and hit the streets with little motivation. I felt week and tired, on top of which the temperature was already up with high humidity and no wind to speak of. It was really tough starting to move after a 10 minute warmup walk, but I had no desire to push myself today so I kept the Garmin showing only the distance and heart rate. My plan was to stay in the mid 140's, which overall was largely accomplished since I averaged 147, but the last two kilometres or so were definitely in the 150's. My pace was decent all things considered, a pedestrian 6:19/km. The knee was definitely not cooperating for the first 2k and I think it would be wise to call the physio since she's bound to have returned from Beijing by now. I am managing it, but really cannot push myself as long as the pain lingers. I HATE the aging process...

As far as the Zoo goes, we had a great day. I am a big fan of the yearly family membership, otherwise days like today would seem like a bit of a waste of money. We didn't really see any animals, but we played at Splash Island for a while (this is a huge splash pad complex that is a big hit on hot days like today both with kids and parents), got some treats for the loin-fruits, took a couple of rides on the Zoo Mobile, and saved the best for last - Stingray Bay! I did not bring the camera, and regret this oversight. This temporary exhibit let us pet the thirty stingrays as they swam around in a large tank about a foot or so deep. There were 25 Cownose Stingrays and 5 Southern Stingrays. These fish are so cool, and soooooo soft! At first you think that they are a bit slimy, but that is not the case. They are also very sociable and playful. One Southern Stingray (which are bigger then the Cownose Stingrays, about three feet across) kept poking its head up out of the water right in front of us, and then would splash us with one of it's wings (flippers?)! It was awesome! Owen loved it, though Malcolm was a little scared. Definitely worth the price of admission and negotiating the long lines. If this exhibit comes to your local zoo, I highly recommend going. Also a bonus, I didn't interrupt any orgies either on my run OR at the Zoo.

Hope everyone had a wonderful, safe, and sexy Labour Day weekend!

Garmin don't lie:



The google image of my route.