Come Walk/Run Main Street With Me

How are you my friend? This morning, you have to bear with me again. I still don't know if my calf muscle strain has completely healed yet, so I'm thinking doing a walk/run, around 10 k of Main Street, Unionville, one of the oldest villages in Ontario, 1794 was when it was founded. Same as the last time, I brought my camera with me, so if you wanna come, brace yourself for a slow and long walk /run. One thing I know for sure, we're never gonna hit the wall.



As one of the older settlements in Ontario, founded in 1794, you'll notice that some old structures along Main Street are kept unchanged including century old homes and buildings. this house loooks like one.

We're now turning right here on Main Street.

The church service for this old United Church apppears to be 10 am, so we're too early to see any churchgoers hanging around in front of the church.

This old blue house has a white wooden fence, so very like the wooden fence that my father built in our house at GSIS Village when I was a young boy. I thought then that it was ugly, because all our neighbors had high concrete fences, not knowing how beautiful it was, as I appreciate the simplicity of this house in front of me now..

I have not seen any place with more flowers than Main Street in Unionville.

Another old building with its unique design and architecture.

Main Street is not only famous for old structures dating back from the 1800s, it also attracts local and foreign tourists for its excellent restaurants, bars, European style cafes, in addition to hosting jazz and Celtic festivals. I just love running this street with my running group on our training runs. For now though, I can only wait. Let's go try a 1 minute jogg/run, okey?

It's a good decision for us to take this side of the street, at least it's shady, the sun is getting higher and it's getting hot.

The front of the old firehouse (bricks and all) were built as part of the front of this confectionery store. Sorry, my friend, if I sound like a tourist guide, but you're new here, so I'm giving you a favor by providing you with all the information I know from living close to this area. For once, let's not talk exclusively about running, okey? (woo, my imagination is really working good, like I'm schizoprenic, ha ha ha)

We just passed Carlton Avenue, and now we turn left and take this pathway to Too Good Pond. I've been to this place a few times. It's like the Luneta Park of Markham where people can relax with family, friends or love ones, or even enjoy fishing alone.

I see some geese on the water but they're too far to take pictures of.

Now, here's a group feeding in the grassy area close to the water, we can't get close though, see that dominant bird with it's head up on the right, it can attack if we get too close for comfort. a runner friend of mine had the experience of being attacked by geese (specially if they have young offspring with them).

Would you rather fish or run? I'm a running addict so you know my answer. What about you? Maybe a day after I complete my first marathon, I could spend the whole day fishing, not alone though, with my runner friends who also ran the marathon, so we could talk about our run the day before. But, don't fish swim away when people talk loud. A friend of mine who likes fishing told me that when there is too much noise the water vibrates and the fish swim away.

I was asked by 3 young ladies to take their picture, so they offered to take my picture too. Couldn't wait for you any longer, where were you anyway? I've done some 1 minute runs in between longer walks and the calf seems to be doing fine.

This very friendly dog reminds me of our dog Danny Boy when I was young. My Dad bathed Danny Boy as often as he could and then I remember him putting the dog on his lap, wipe him dry with a towel and just tinker with his stomach (which Danny Boy liked so much). It's funny how sometimes one is reminded of memorable events that happened a long time ago by a simple gesture, a dog, flowers, a face.

We have to walk faster or run more often because the sun is getting high and it's getting hotter and hotter as the day goes by.

Hi cutie little dog. Having fun walking this morning? No, don't worry, I'm not dangerous. I'm not a bear, although I weigh like one, ha ha.

This Dad fishing with his boys reminded me of my late Dad and my older brother, Mike, but instead of fishing together on a weekend, we used to play basketball together during my childhood and teenage years. We even got to play together on one team in a basketball tournament in our village when I was seventeen , Mike was 20, my Dad was 39. What a fun year that was. Now, I know my Dad (and my Mom too) would be very proud of me if they were still alive to witness me finishing my first marathon. It's getting close, September that is.

Since you're my friend, I got to tell you this. Flowers remind me of my humble beginnings. I was from a poor family until my Mom won a house in a lottery when I was 11 years old. I remember when I was attending elementary school, I would sometimes go to school hungry and without lunch (baon). So, during recess time when my classmates brought out their baon, I would ask permission from my teacher and pretended to go use the washroom. Instead though, I would drink water from the faucet, and then walked the neighborhood around the school just to kill time. I would be praying all the time and wondered at the beauty of local flowers like gumamela, bougainville, sampagita and then time my going back in the classroom at the same time recess was over. And then, my prayer was answered. So, I believe in the power of prayer. That miracles do happen. That, if one has faith, nothing is impossible.

Now I feast my eyes on beautiful flowers as soon as spring and summer come along.

And I praise God for creating so much beauty in this world that we sometimes just take for granted.

I guess it's time for us to head back home.

Just like that, it's been more than an hour since we started our walk/run.

Let me take some more pictures of beautiful flowers. It looks like every house and building along Main Street has a flower pot or flowering plant worthy of being photographed.

Wow! Just lovely.

These yellow flowers border a white wooden fence.

It is quite a treat to visit but we're getting tired.

Will this house still be here when I do my long runs with my future grandchildren?

I am getting really tired but, I can't let this beautiful thing be forgotten, it's now saved for posterity (at least in a picture)

Hi, nosy little squirrel, thanks for saying hello to us.

I'm going to try to do more running than walking on Tuesday. I think without feeling any pain at all after this long walk and run, I could maybe do 1 minute walks and 5 minute runs for an hour at the least.

On Thursday, if things all go well on Tuesday, I will try to do a slow 10k continuous easy run.

I should then be ready to do 15k LSD on Sunday.

Thanks my friend for staying with me for almost 2 hours of slow and boring walk/run. I know you'd rather go for a run today, but bear with me for a few more days, and then, we'd be off and running again full throttle. It's maybe 3 minutes away from the parking lot if we run it, 6 minutes if we choose to walk it. Run or walk?

Walk it slow of course, can't get too excited.