Baby Gnarlin Shower

Today was the TMR baby shower for Ian and Emma and their soon-to-be little one, dubbed baby "Gnarlin," held at Jim and Shauna's house. Of course, it wasn't just a shower, it was a run too :)

John picked Ryan up early so that they could get in a few extra miles before the group start at 9:00 am, and Sam and I headed over to Kristen's around 8:00 am. Sam was very excited to hang out with Morgan so it was no trouble for me to quickly head back out the door to get to the shower.

There was a good group assembled at the start of the running loop, which went out into the woods behind Jim's house and hooked up with some trails in the Falmouth Forest Preserve. The trails were much more technical than I would have anticipated, and man, they were icy! I was really glad I wore my screwshoes, but even so, it was slow going. The group I was with on the first lap got lost, but we had fun chatting away as we ran along. I talked for a short bit with Amy, heard about Mary's trip to Zurich and London, and then later caught up with Joe and Julia, and heard about Joe's teaching up north and his running plans. On the second loop, Mary and I set out together with Valerie and Four, who got ahead of us. We then managed to get turned around, but retraced our steps and met up with Jim and Julia, who got us back on course. The third loop, I ran with Jim and Andy, and by the time we were done, it had been an hour and a half - sheesh! - and it was time for the shower festivities. I probably could have gone out for another loop and still gotten back in time for the present openings, in retrospect, but it seemed that everyone had forgone long distances today, and no one wanted to head back out on the trails. Oh well. Short on miles, as I only got in 6.4 instead of the intended 10, but the time on my feet was about right. The pace today was very slow, which might have helped, but regardless I was happy to have my legs feel good and not feel much stiffness or soreness from yesterday. Plus, it always helps to run with friends!

So, I changed, enjoyed some yummy fruit and sweets, and sat out in the sun relaxing and chatting with Amy as we watched the gift opening. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning!