Calm Before the Storm

After a gorgeous, warm late fall day yesterday, today it felt like the end of October. It was raw and overcast. I don't think we're going to feel the full impact of Hurricane Sandy like those further south, but I know we'll get some rain and strong winds, and it sure seemed like this morning's sky was warning us that a storm is on its way. I headed out this morning around 7:30 onto the 7-mile Cathance loop. I wasn't organized enough to ensure that Nathan knew I was headed out so early so I missed out on the chance to have company on the run. Silly me. Gotta take advantage of another Trail Monster living so close by! Next time, Nathan :-)

The woods were quiet. No gaggle of turkeys. No deer. Just a few calls from the chickadees and bluejays out in the woods. It almost seemed like the forest was gearing up for the storm. The river, calm in the wide shallows, still put on a good show through Barnes Leap and meandering along the rocky stretches. Always a pleasure to run along. I wore my lightest socks and donned my 295s, with the wide toe box and new pads, and luckily the neuroma didn't act up. Phew! I'll still have to be careful this week, I think, but I was sure glad to have it be a non-issue during the run! Felt good and even managed to eke out just slightly under 10:00 miles, which is pretty good on this twisty, rooty, leaf-covered loop! :-)

We followed up my run with a visit to "the pancake place" for a yummy breakfast and then headed to Freeport to Wolfe's Neck Farm. Sam had a blast feeding the sheep and the cute brown and black bunny, and even more fun exploring the hay maze. The interesting thing is that when we first got there, there were a lot of kids in the maze. Sam went in, but she didn't say a word and just quietly stood off to the side of the action. But once everyone cleared out, she got really into it and was having a grand old time. Always fascinating to me to watch her in situations with other kids.

So much fun!

In the hay maze

Through the tunnel the big kids built