Slow Slog in the Cathance

We met up with Kristen and Morgan this morning for breakfast - yum! - and then came back to our house to suit up for a snowshoe walk down to the river. It had disaster written all over it even before we hit the trails when Sam had a meltdown about wearing a scarf or buff around her neck to keep her warm. We did finally agree to a compromise, but she didn't head out the door in the best of moods. Then, a few steps in, she caught her foot and went down, her whole boot and snowshoe coming off as she faceplanted in the snow. Oh happy joy joy. I picked her up and we tried again, but there was yet another fall and soon the snowshoes were off and left at the side of the trail. Sadly, that didn't last long either. I finally sent Morgan, Kristen and Ryan off for their own adventure, and Sam and I trudged back to the car.

I really want her to be able to enjoy being outside, and as she complained of tired legs on the way back (we seriously had probably walked about .1 miles!), I talked with her about being able to work through a bit of tiredness and not give up so easily. Do you think my legs were tired during my 50 mile race, I said? Yes, they were, but I kept going. Life isn't always easy, sweetpea. Sometimes you just have to keep pushing! Poor kid, with two ultrarunners as parents, it's going to be tough to catch a break about tired legs, but on the flip side, she is only four years old and I don't want to push too hard and have her never want to get out on her snowshoes or hike with us again.

We sat in the car and had a snack and read books, and when she asked why they weren't back yet, I told her it was her choice to come back to the car and we would just have to wait. Life is rough, sometimes. While we waited, Morgan, Kristen and Ryan had a great walk out in the Cathance, enjoying the beauty of the trails and the icy river. I was glad that Ryan could get out there with them and show them why we love it so much.

The rest of the afternoon went much better with the girls playing happily, thank goodness, and they hardly blinked when I went out for my run around 2:00 pm. Unfortunately, I had tired legs too, and the run was a bit of a slog, but it sure was beautiful. Much icier than my jaunt out there midweek, and I just didn't have much pep in the face of the variable conditions. Stopped to watch the river for a while, and saw a lot of animal tracks - snowshoe hare, deer, fox, mice (right into a little hole in the edge of the moss under the snow).

Very cool ice formations in the river! Took a long time to get in 6.75 miles, but I got it done. And I'm very glad to have a rest day on tap for tomorrow :-)