No running or XC practice on Monday, as Sam was sick. So, Tuesday I got up and out extra early into the darkness to get in a few miles before Ryan headed to the airport for his trip to Michigan. No sign of the sky lightening that morning! Dark, dark, dark. Two porcupines, three deer and the moon shining brightly overhead. (6.0 miles)
So bright!
Just lumbering along. Didn't care about me at all.
Thursday, I had a work conference up in Augusta and finished up in time to get out for a run in the afternoon before picking up Sam for XC practice. I really much prefer morning running but once my legs warmed up, I did enjoy running in the sunlight! Such a pretty afternoon. One huge caterpillar found and rescued from the cart paths so it wouldn't get squished, and one garter snake scared up while sunning itself out on the trail in the woods. (6.2 miles)
Late summer Heath
Cotton sedge
I headed move along the back of the pack at XC practice later in the afternoon. Mostly this entailed running with one boy who would much rather walk than run. I asked him what he liked to do other than run and he spent the next 10 minutes telling me about Stranger Things, and running for most of that. Distraction for the win! Hey, whatever works! (0.8 miles shuffled/walked)
Friday, I headed over to Brad to meet up with Anne and Mindy for a run. Got there a bit early and had enough time to run up to the Summit and back via Northern Loop. Nice cool bright morning. Once the ladies arrived, we headed onto the east side for a meander along the trails the mark the boundary of the park. I didn't quite get it right but we still enjoyed a nice run, chatting away and catching up as we ran along. All in all, a very nice start to a beautiful Friday! (7.6 miles)
Yesterday, I had my stuff out for a long run but felt kind of meh when I got up. My right leg felt a bit stiff and I was tired. So I scrapped that and headed out for a shorter run around town instead. Took the roads and paths for a nice loop, and listened to the Work, Play, Love podcast with Another Mother Runner along the way. Lauren and Jesse always offer up interesting perspectives and make me laugh. (7.5 miles)
After lunch, Sam, Ryan and I got out for a walk down along the Cathance. The river was running so low that we crisscrossed the water several times, rock jumping and scaring up a ton of frogs as we did so. Fun to do a bit of off-trail exploration on a beautiful, warm, late summer afternoon! (1.5 miles walked)
So many frogs!
Looking into Barnes Leap
This morning, I woke up and headed into Brunswick for a run on my "Brunswick roads and trails" loop. But first, a stop at Frosty's to pick up a few pumpkin glazed donuts. They only make these donuts seasonally and they are so delish! I figured if I waited until after my run, they'd all be gone. And it was the perfect post-run treat. Yum! 😋🍩
Headed out via the roads for a loop through the Crystal Spring Farm trail system before crossing the blueberry fields to the high school. Then it was into the unmarked extended Commons trails out to the edge of the marshy woodsy pond that runs next to Rossmore before a few more road miles out into Pennelville. The final few miles were back through the Commons and along the perimeter trail back at the field house. A nice, mellow meander on a pretty morning. Right leg still a bit cranky but loosened up as I ran along. Otherwise, felt good and happy to finish out another week just over 40 miles. Just keeping it nice and steady and trying to run enough to work towards my 2,000+ goal and maintain a decent base at the moment, which I feel like I'm successfully doing. (14.0 miles)
Edge of the fields at Crystal Spring Farms. The asters had taken over the trail!
Blueberry fields
Blue sky and bright sunshine
Milkweed Tussock caterpillar
The early foliage is sparse so far but brilliant in color
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