So, it turns out there's a difference between google maps in the USA and google maps in Canada. How do I know this you might ask? Well, it's kind of a funny story.
The company I work for has a division in Matamoros Mexico, which is right across the border from Brownsville TX. Whenever we go down to visit the plant, we always stay in Texas, and drive across the border to the plant each day. The last time I was there, I was getting out for runs early each morning before heading to the plant, and it was glorious. T home it had been a late spring, so all of my early morning runs had been bundled up- it had been quite a few months since I'd had a run warm enough to run in shorts and t shirt. For the first couple of mornings I did an out and back, so it was easy to keep track of where I was going- go out 5km, then turn around.
The company I work for has a division in Matamoros Mexico, which is right across the border from Brownsville TX. Whenever we go down to visit the plant, we always stay in Texas, and drive across the border to the plant each day. The last time I was there, I was getting out for runs early each morning before heading to the plant, and it was glorious. T home it had been a late spring, so all of my early morning runs had been bundled up- it had been quite a few months since I'd had a run warm enough to run in shorts and t shirt. For the first couple of mornings I did an out and back, so it was easy to keep track of where I was going- go out 5km, then turn around.
On the last morning however, I had some time on my hands since my flight wasn't until noon, so I planned on doing a bit longer run. I got on google maps and planned out a nice 18km loop along some back roads outside of town. I headed out and was enjoying the scenery, just cruising along and having a good time. After about an hour though, something didn't seem quite right- I figured that I should have hit the turn I was supposed to take, but I didn't worry too much, and kept going. After about an hour and a half it hit me- I'd used maps.google.com, which measures distances in miles, not kilometers like on maps.google.ca! By then I was too far in to turn back, so I had to keep going. I found the turn I was supposed to take, and man, that road stretched on forever. If you've ever been to south Texas, you know what I mean- some of those roads are as straight and flat as you can imagine. Way off fading into the horizon I could see some trees, so I focused on getting to them. After about 30 mins I finally reached those trees, and saw the next treeline way off on the horizon........and so it continued. I was also starting to get a bit worried about time- I had to get back to the hotel, get cleaned up, finish packing, and then get to the airport, so I had to start hammering the pace, which isn't that easy when you're 25km into a 30km run with no fuel, no water, and the first time you've run in heat in 8 months!
I ended up getting back to the hotel just as they were cleaning up the breakfast buffet, and I managed to grab a few yogurts, bagels and bananas, head up to my room, and collapse.
So, the moral of the story is make sure you check the units of measure when mapping out a running route in another country!