Following from Part 4 of the Travelling Canada series, this post today is dedicated to the 12km run i did in Mississauga. It is not as scenic as Ottawa. I believe i was spoilt by the beautiful Canal and it just wasn't the same when i ran in Mississauga. I charted the route a few days before and set it into the Garmin 910XT. Despite being able to read map and could navigate pretty well in the jungle, urban setting defies me. I ran the first 2km in the wrong direction.
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| All the while asking me to TURN BACK, I thought can't be.... |
I then decided to stop the navigation and started running where the road will take me. It was about 5.30am when i started the run and the sun was just breaking out from the horizon.
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| Nice hue |
I ran along the main road i.e. Hurontario Road. There wasn't much thing interesting and i was about the only person on the road at that hour. I know. I have been giving the impression that Canada is deserted with no people. Rest assured, I started my days much earlier with the excitement of being able to explore the place before going for meetings/work.
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| Fire Station. Pretty modern design. |
As i mentioned earlier, Toronto and the nearby area is filled with emigrants. Mississauga most likely see a large community of them. Here are a few photos that i snapped as i ran along - with the shop typically pointing to Asian and/or Middle eastern ownership.
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| Arab restaurant along the whole road |
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| You name it, they got it |
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| A Hakka India and Pakistan Chinese Restaurant. Are they referring to the food served, or referring to the owner's mix parentage? |
The weather has been really kind to me when i was in Canada. I was running in "Genting Highland early morning" temperature with humidity no more than 30%. It was a bliss and maintaining a 5:30 pace throughout was very very enjoyable.
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| What it felt like was colder. |
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| School is on Holiday due to Summer...and a gentle reminder to return the school's text book. |
If this is flashed in Malaysia, no books will be returned anyway...
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| Houses along the main road |
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| Damn Marfan (Malaysian Chinese slang for "troublesome"). |
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| I take these photos to show my MIL that there are Catholics everywhere. |
To be frank, by the end of the first 4km, it got really boring. No other people running except me. Unlike in Ottawa.
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| Maple leaves lined the street on the right. |
So, have to entertain myself. As usual, if anyone were to see me, they will know i am not local. No local in Mississauga runs at 5.30am or wear running singlet at 19degree C with chilly air worthy of nippy nipples.
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| As usual, good looking. |
The most exciting thing that happened that morning was that i had a seagull hovering above me like a hawk. It swooped down on me twice and i actually freaked out.
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| Return of the Killer Seagull |
Remember this Disney Mickey Mouse and Pluto Cartoon?
I can totally relate to what Pluto went through. Continuing the run, i set the Navigation function on again and looked like i am on the right track of where i am supposed to go. The 910XT tells me exactly WHERE to turn via distance marker.
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| Straight. Junction at 1m away in 00:00 time. |
I soon found myself running in the suburb of Mississauga where many houses (individual) are located - much like a planned housing area where the houses all looked the same.
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| Good reminder. Malaysia should have signage like these. We drive too fast in residential area. |
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| Typical home along the road. |
And all has the walkway where the people can commute on feet or bike. It also gives you the impression that the paperboy will walk/cycle past and deliver papers.
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| They clean this everyday? |
I soon reached the end of the housing area and it opens up to a park. I then realised that i had ran the other way around. I should be passing this place first, not the other way around.
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| Can see the Ultimate Towers at the end. That's near the Hotel. 3km more to go. |
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| Big Bungalows |
I might had ran into a more affluent neighbourhood with much larger homes dotting around the park. I can imagine my dogs running like crazy here. The park is what they known as an Urban park that creates a space for the people to take a walk or run. It also serves as a route to link up places and commuting.
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| Commuter's bridge. Main road below |
Noticed how nice the sky were? We only got grey sky in Klang Valley.
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| Blur photo as i was running |
The park i ran soon became more dense and i found myself running in a secondary jungle with a river that runs parallel to it. Very nice. I noticed the river was clear and clean. No rubbish. I was impressed. Maybe i did not look hard enough?
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| I can imagine if the water level is higher, it will be nicer. |
The park looked like a secondary forest with well paved route and well maintained. Surface run off seems to be managed with the path running off on the left and right.
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| Trees allowed to come as close to the path as possible. Some trees were cut definitely, but not excessive |
I noticed that there were opportunity for trail run too. I should had checked much earlier...
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| Trails!!!! |
Soon, i exited the park and ended up at the side of the Ultimate Tower.
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| These are high end condos by the way. |
Oh ya, did i mention that the buses here has a bike carrier infront? Our public transportation disallow even bringing in foldable bike into the bus.
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| there is also bike carrier at the back |
Here is the 9km that I did.
Finishing the run (9++km + 2km), I went to make a cuppa coffee to start the day. A good run, a good cup of coffee and a good trip to Niagara fall which you all read last week.
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| 100% Colombian Coffee |
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| Superb! |
If you have not read about the Niagara Trip, high time to do so!
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