Long Weekend On MDI

Long ago, Ryan had the thought that he might want to run the MDI Marathon this fall. We figured we had better reserve a room for the weekend, as it is still a busy time of year up there, so I did that months ago. But we never figured he would need to sign up for the race pronto - well, needless to say, it filled up fast, and he wasn't on the start list. Ah well, it was still a perfect excuse to visit Bar Harbor, and our friends Jamie and Kelly were running the race, so it would be fun to cheer them on! We decided to make it a long weekend and enjoy being up there.

It rained most of Saturday, so we didn't get out for a hike as we had hoped, which was too bad, although Sam had a blast crawling around the marathon expo instead, and making friends with two boys whose parents were letting them race around as well. Ryan managed to get a run in on the carriage roads later in the afternoon while I took a scenic tour of the island with Sam in the car for a nap. We met up with Stephen, Kelly and their kids for dinner at Rupinuni's and then Ryan and I sat in the dark in the hotel room after we put Sam to bed at 7pm. Definitely a downside of sharing a room with a one-year old! I couldn't even get the wireless connection to work on my computer, so I just decided to to to bed early :-)

We woke to clearing skies, a brisk wind and cool temps on marathon day. After a quick breakfast at a small cafe, we took in the start of the race, enjoying the energy and atmosphere of the start line. Very exciting! Then it was time to drive around like crazy maniacs, trying to catch glimpses of Jamie along the way. Sam was a good sport the whole time, and really got into the spirit of things, clapping as the runners went by.

Practicing clapping for the runners

Jamie had an awesome race, qualifying for Boston on a really tough course, and setting a new PR by 7 minutes. Way to go Jamie! We missed Kelly's finish, but sounds like she had a great race too. Woohoo!

After lunch, Ryan, Sam and I set out for a little hike. It was a gorgeous day and we didn't want to waste it! We headed up Champlain Mountain, enjoying the foliage and the bright blue skies. We didn't quite make it to the top, as Sam decided she had spent enough time in the car, the stroller, the high chair and now the Ergo, and wanted to be free, but it was great to be out hiking in the woods together.

Along the trail

Happy hiking buddies

Future hiker in the making :-)

Beautiful stonework with a view

Shake, shake, shake

Before dinner with Jamie and his brother, we walked around the town green, watching the evening light fall on the harbor and the islands beyond. Sam got a kick out of watching the huge seagulls and really wanted to play in the fountain!

Bar Harbor fountain

Monday morning was another spectacular fall day. The plan was for me to get my long run in on the carriage roads, and for Sam and Ryan to join me for the first few miles. It was pretty chilly, so we bundled Sam up, and off we went, with Ryan pushing her in the B.O.B., on the loop off Duck Brook Road, around Witch Hole Pond. They veered off a little after 4 miles, and I headed back out into the woods for the rest of my run. I wish they could have stayed with me for the whole run!

My route took me along Eagle Lake, where the sunlight shimmered off the water with views of the yellow and orange-tinged hills beyond, and along the edge of Bubble Pond before meandering through the woods to Jordan Pond. I ran down the path to the head of the pond, taking in the views of the Bubbles, before heading back up into the woods for the return trip. I was feeling pretty good up until that point, 13.5 miles in, and had really been enjoying my run on the nice, wide, well-graded carriage roads. The scenery were gorgeous, it was cool and sunny, and I didn't feel like I was working hard despite keeping a good pace. However, at this point, I was starting to feel my legs. Cardiovascularly, I was fine. No problem at all. But my legs, well, they were letting me know that I had only done one run over 12 miles during these past few months, and they were tired. It didn't help that the next 1.5 miles were uphill. A nicely graded hill, yes, but up and into the wind.

I was glad to finally turn off towards Eagle Lake, knowing that the rest of the way would be flat/downhill. I stopped to stretch my left leg around mile 16, and when I started back up again, I knew I would be happily ending the run at Eagle Lake rather than running the additional miles back to the Duck Brook Road trailhead. It wasn't that I couldn't run, or that the leg was feeling so horrible - yes, I could feel it twinging here and there, but nothing that I couldn't run through - it was just that it seemed best to stop while I was ahead. As I got closer to the parking area by the head of Eagle Lake, I could see Ryan and Sam, waving at me. Perfect! And when I bent down to pick Sam up for a hug, my watch read exactly 18.0 miles and 2:49. Excellent. I was more than happy with that, so I called it a day, and off we went for a late brunch at Two Cats Cafe. Unfortunately, they were out of biscuits, but it was good nonetheless!

Before heading home, we stopped at a local playground to let Sam play for a while. It was the perfect end to a fun weekend!

Swinging

Playground fun