5 + 10 = 15

Last night after work I stopped at the Commons to get in a 5 mile run. It was dreary and overcast. It was blustery. I felt a bit out of sorts, probably because it was 5:45pm and I am not an evening runner. The skies darkened as I ran along, but I didn't get rained on. That came later in the night. I did see two deer bounding off into the woods during my run. Other than that, not much else to report.

I awoke this morning to warmer temps. 64 degrees. The storm that rolled through last night seems to have brought in some muggy, warmer air. Not as cool and crisp as it has been the past few mornings, that's for sure! I headed out from the field house around 6:40am. The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the low fluffy clouds had a pretty purpley-pink glow. Perfect soft morning light. I headed down to Maquoit Bay, where mist was rising from the quiet waters and the fields nearby. I turned onto Bunganuc and worked my way out to Casco. Casco seems to go on forever and I had to not let my mind wander too much, or I knew I would slow way down waiting to hit Pleasant Hill. As I turned the corner onto Pleasant Hill, the sun finally broke through the clouds above, bringing blue sky and a bit of squinting from me, as I did not have my sunglasses!

Finished up the loop in 1:25. Although I had to work a bit for it, I felt pretty good and am happy to have one more mid-range run under my belt before heading off into the woods on vacation!

Flora and fauna notes from the run: Lots of crows, sparrows and mourning dove. One mocking bird, one cardinal and one Great Blue Heron seen flying overhead. Also saw what I swear was a cormorant waddling up someone's driveway at the intersection of Casco and Bunganuc. Is that possible? There is an inlet just down the road, and it had the right bill and sineous look to the body. Strange.

(Ronnie the cat has claimed my lap, so I am now typing one handed with the computer off to the side...)

On another note, only one more day of work, and we are off to Monson tomorrow morning to start the 100 Mile Wilderness! Woohoo! Our final stretch on the AT! A big thanks to Mindy and her hubby Pete for agreeing to pick us up in Baxter and take us back to the car in Monson at the end of our journey! You guys are awesome! Thanks also to our great friends Nate and Shannon for taking care of Ronnie while we're away and for acting as backup in the hopefully wildly unlikely event that we don't arrive at Baxter in time to summit on Sunday the 21st.

So, vacation here we come! See you all on the 22nd!