Shorts and 12 Miles

Another sunny and warm spring day, and the day to get in my first 12-miler of the season. Also my first run in shorts this year!

Snowman was nice enough to give up his second cup of coffee and his seat on the couch in front of the TV watching the Boston Marathon to drop me off at the Bowdoin field house, and then map out a course that would include 5 miles in the Commons (2.5 out and 2.5 back). I had contemplated running the Highland loop off Pleasant Hill, but thought 12 miles on the pavement might be a bit much. Doing 5 on dirt and 7 on the roads seemed like a better option. The run had me heading out through the Commons, then out through Pennelville and down to Simpson's Point. It was high tide and the sun was shimmering off the ocean. Beautiful. I then headed back up Simpson's Point Road onto Maquoit Bay and then turned right on Middle Bay back to the Commons. When I arrived back at the field house, I'd completed 10 miles, so this will be a good 10 mile option in the future. To round out the last two miles, I headed down Longfellow to Maine Street and continued on Maine out to the Middle Bay junction. These last two miles were the toughest, but overall I have to say I felt pretty good. As always, I probably ran a bit faster than I should have for a long training run--finishing in 1:46--but oh well.

Flora and fauna report for the run: Saw one turtle sunning himself on the second pond heading out into the Commons, and saw a few chickadees, robins and blue jays. While buds are appearing on the trees, none of the woodland flowers are emerging yet. Still a bit too early.

Strange items seen along the roadside: Three 25-pound dumbbells, rusting along the side of Simpson's Point Road, as well as a metal futon frame. Can't help but wonder, did these items fall off the back of a truck unintentionally and no one noticed? Or were they left there on purpose? And where was the fourth dumbbell?