What's Next?

Tacky (And Hopefully Not)

2012-02-01T20:25:00.001-05:00

Two days in a row with an afternoon run. Totally unlike me, but today, it worked in my favor, as I even enjoyed a bit of blue sky and sun while running! And despite not sleeping much at all last night, I actually felt pretty good out there, which was a nice surprise. Still a bit sniffly/stuffy, but hopefully on the mend.

The snow as good and tacky, perfect for screwshoe running! And some brave soul had even gotten out on their skate skis around Mt. Ararat - I had to laugh at that one, as there was some pretty sketchy stretches, with water, dirt and rocks showing through - but the snow was likely pretty good for skiing too, if you could get around the obstacles. A snowmobile or two had been out between Mt. Ararat and the hill right after Rt. 24, both packing the snow down and churning it up, if that makes sense. Once I was down on the flats headed towards Bay Park and Lover's Lane, it appeared that someone had been out with a groomer, as the top layer of snow had actually been scraped off. Very odd, but nice running! I got in a good 5.7 miles, and even managed to run less than a 10-minute mile pace, the quickest run I've had on the powerlines recently. Ha.

~

The reason I was out running late was that we were working on the loft and Sam's room this morning. Part of the reasoning behind organizing the loft, aside from creating an office space for Ryan, was to create enough room to move the double bed out of Sam's room and upstairs. The bed has always been crammed into her room, leaving no room for her to play. Which was never a big deal when she was smaller, but now that she's getting older, we thought she would really enjoy some additional play space. And finally, today, we managed to get the loft organized enough to move the bed upstairs, which let me rearrange her room. Hurray!

For those of you who remember what Sam's room used to look like (Grandparents and great-grandparents, I mean you! :-)), here are a few shots of how it looks as of this afternoon! I'm very excited with how it came out, and she loved it too!

New toy shelf [which used to be in my old room as a kid]

Crib

Comfy chair for the adults to sit in

The first thing Sam did when she saw the new set-up

was remove everything from the shelves :-)

Wander to the River

2012-01-31T20:31:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Mindy and Val for their words of wisdom after yesterday's post! It's good to have friends who understand where you are coming from, but nonetheless won't let you get too down about things :-)

I woke up this morning feeling like a long run wasn't going to happen. It might be a cop out but I am definitely run down from this cold, and lack of sleep, and I decided that I was going to make up a Plan B for the week to take that into account. Yes, this is week #2 of the 50 miler training plan, and I'm already deviating, but hey, I have never really been one to actually follow a plan :-) I could have felt badly about this, but amazingly, I didn't. I figure that if I'm going to run the 10 miler on Sunday, I might as well go into it as rested as I can and what's the point of running myself down the next few days? I might be rationalizing, of course, but it makes sense to me!

So, after a productive morning working in the loft, I finally got myself out the door around 2pm for a run. I decided I would head down to the river for a change of pace. The trails weren't quite as packed as I might have thought, so it was a little slow going, but I sort of had fun tromping through the snow. Snow was falling lightly, the river was running and there were lots of animal tracks along the way. I got in a slow 5.3 miles and was happy to have gotten out, even if it wasn't the run the plan called for.

Mind Games

2012-01-30T13:20:00.002-05:00

I got out this morning for a quick three miler before taking Sam to the Pineland Farms story hour for our morning activity. It started to snow shortly before I went out, and big, fluffy flakes were falling as I ran along the powerlines. The light was very flat, and there was just enough snow on the ground to make it hard to see what was snow and what was ice. The bare ground was easy to spot, though - and boy, did the soft sand feel odd to run on while the snow fell! I was happy to realize that I didn't feel sore from yesterday's faster pace, but I did feel tired. We all seem to have some sort of low-grade cold again, and it's zapping my energy a bit. Ah, gotta love going through a winter with a 2-year old in the house!

As I was running along, I was thinking about my training, and how I'm feeling a bit intimidated by what everyone else is doing at the moment. There are a lot of Trail Monsters running the Peaks Ultra 50 miler this spring, which is two weeks before Pineland. Mindy and Val, and everyone else, have been out on lots of long, hard runs already in their preparation for the race, and while I have lots of grand plans swirling around in my head, somehow life seems to get in the way a little too much for me, and I have only managed to get in one run over 12-13 miles this month - last week's 16 miler - and haven't managed to build up to quite the weekly mileage I had hoped for so far. Now, there is a lot of time until the end of May, yes. And yes, everyone trains differently and has different things going on. I know this. I cannot expect us all to train the same way. And honestly, this is probably the most consistently I've trained in January in a long time, even with the Gator Trial 50k in March last year. But, it's hard not to compare. Sigh. Man, I really need to get my crazy little head under control! (To this, Ryan says, yes, yes, yes.) Hopefully a good long run tomorrow will do the trick! :-)

~The theme of the books at story hour this week was snow. Maybe the little silly snow dance we did there will actually mean it snows enough to ski at Pineland again soon! Wouldn't that be nice?! ~

Road Eight

2012-01-29T20:01:00.001-05:00

Last year, I signed myself up for the Cape Elizabeth Mid-Winter 10 Miler. It was cancelled, but the race directors gave runners the option to sign up for this year's event. So, when that chance came up this year, I said, sure, why not? The problem is that now the race is a week away. And while I have been running, I wouldn't say that I have been training to run fast for 10 miles. So, I thought that today maybe I should attempt some sort of tempo/pace/"I don't really know what I'm doing, but I should see if I can hold 7:30s for any amount of time" type of run.

I spent the morning with Sam and Ryan. We asked Sam what she wanted to do and she said, "go the grocery store," so after a bit of playtime at home, we went to the pet store (always a hit!) and the grocery store (always a productive outing). Once we had had lunch and put Sam down for her nap, I headed out for my run. I wasn't really feeling it. An 8 mile road run on a loop that I have never found as nice as Ryan has. On a windy afternoon. Attempting to go "fast." Hmph. But, a bunch of the TMRs had done a totally badass trail run yesterday, 20 miles in the snow, falling into streams, with 4 long hill repeats at the end. How could I not do a measly 8 miles on the road? Peer pressure can be a good thing in situations like this. OK, out I went. My plan was for 2 miles easy and then the last six at 7:30s. I ended up with 8:12; 7:56; 7:30; 7:57; 7:59; 7:34; 7:31; 7:34. Not perfect, OK in the end, except for those middle miles into the wind on Meadow Cross. Maybe I can get close to my 2009 time after all? We shall see.

After the run, we took Sam out back to tromp around in the snow for a bit, and despite this silly "non-winter," there was more than enough snow in the shadows for us to have fun in!

Tracks

2012-01-28T11:20:00.003-05:00

The roads might have been more treacherous than the trails this morning. Even my screw shoes didn't help much with the thin layer of black ice that was coating our walkway, driveway and the sides of the roads. So, given that the powerline trail from the high school to Highland Green Road actually wasn't all that bad - hard packed, water-logged and semi-frozen snow with some slushy and icy areas, but all grippy - I chose to run the lines. It was a nice morning, bright and sunny, and there were some great tracks to be seen along the way: human, dog, kitty cat, snowmobile, truck (WTF? Someone had taken a truck on the wide stretch of trail from Bay Park. Weird!), turkey, deer, squirrel, rabbit, a big and distinct set of snowshoe hare tracks followed closely by what I think must have been a red fox based on the size and the overlapping front/hind tracks, the tunnel of a little vole crossing the trail, and one little "highway" of small bird prints. Wish I had had my camera along to document the tracks! [Edited to add: Found a neat site with photos of tracks that will be fun to look at for future "tracking."]

Ended up with a pretty slow 5 miles to close out the week at 34.5 miles (darn that 0.5 miles! Should have run a bit more this morning, I guess! Oh well.).

Speaking of tracks, Sam started asking about finger painting this morning before it was even light out, so by 7:00 am, she was in her chair, making her own "tracks" in the paint :-)

This was followed by a late morning creative marking session with crayons and a box :-)

Stuff

2012-01-25T20:34:00.003-05:00

Got in a slow and creaky 5 miles this morning. The powerlines to Highland Green Road were sketchy without screwshoes, and the edges of the roads were icy from all the melt yesterday and the cooler temps in the morning. Meh. After the run, I hopped in the car for some errands and an appointment down in Portland. On the way back home, I saw a Bald Eagle fly over near the bay along the Gilsland Farm Audubon Sanctuary. Always a nice sighting!

The afternoon was consumed with stuff (literally!). Aside from getting some good running in this winter, one of my main goals is to clear out the loft so that we can make a proper office space for Ryan and get our guest bed up there too, moving it from Sam's bedroom so that she can have more room to play, and people could actually stay with us if they wanted! It is a serious undertaking, as the attic space in the eves is full of stuff (ie. crap we haven't needed or looked at in the past 6 years since we've moved here) and the loft itself is literally overflowing with stuff (hiking and backpacking stuff, ski stuff, snowshoes, and everything else that doesn't have a good spot anywhere else in the house). In other words, there is a lot of sh*t up there! I had gotten a start on things in the past two weeks, but in order to move forward, I needed Ryan's help to clear out the eve space and make some decisions on odds and ends. So we spent a good two hours up there this afternoon, organizing boxes and throwing out a lot of junk, with a little bit of swearing thrown in for good measure. I also took another load to Goodwill. There is still a lot to do, but we can see the floor now :-)

In amongst the boxes were piles of photos and memorabilia. Some of it just has to be kept - the guest book from our wedding, letters Ryan sent me while I was in France junior year, old photo albums, etc. It was fun to look through some of these things I hadn't thought of in years! We found some good old photos too. Ha!

Paris, 1996. Wow, we were young!

I also found my old running logs from 1995 to 2005. I decided I didn't really need the logs themselves, but I did make notes on my miles. So, for the sake of posterity and record-keeping, here goes:

1995: 439.5
1996: 1133.5 (Wow! I'm impressed with myself. No idea I had run that much in the 90s.)
1997: 844.5
1998: 777.5
1999: incomplete (only 370.5 as of 10/1/99)
2000: 219.75
2001: 431.7
2002: 542.6
2003: 423.5
2004: 504.25 run/283.4 hike
2005: 301.5 run/1528.3 hike (AT)

Who knew I ran so much junior and senior year of college? And wow, how quickly the miles dropped off once we had graduated! :-) I know we hiked a lot after 1999, when we moved to Bethel and then to North Conway, but apparently I didn't start to keep a record of hiking miles until 2004. Ah, the memories :-)

January Thaw

2012-01-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a difference 24 hours makes. Yesterday morning, we were snowshoeing with Sam on some beautiful snow, and she was picking up nice, dry fluffy stuff at the edge of the trail. By this morning, the rain, warm temps (up to 46 degrees when I left the house for my run) and the fog had pretty much obliterated what snow we had, leaving puddles everywhere. Weird. And sort of depressing. Isn't this supposed to be winter?!

Despite the warm weather, I was feeling a bit glum. And I was tired. OK, when am I not tired? But still. I did not feel like a long run. Sigh. Ryan told me to just get my butt out the door. That did the trick. OK, OK, I was off. I had 16 miles on the schedule. I knew it would be a road run, based on conditions. I ran through Patriot Commons to tack on a few extra miles before heading out to do the Foreside loop. I figured with a bit extra at the beginning, I should be close to 16 by the time I got back home.

The roads were actually in decent shape. Good shoulders, and not a ton of deep puddles. But it was really foggy. I tried to stick as close as I could to the edge of the road, and luckily, everyone who passed me gave me wide berth, which is always nice. Once I got going, I felt pretty good, and the route was basically flat with two big hills around mile 9 and 11. I was running a pretty quick pace. But I thought I could hold it. And I did, at least until the last three miles. Then things just started to fall apart. My pace went from low 8s to high 8s to just over 9 in those final miles. Ouch. Guess I should have gone a bit more slowly at the start! Or maybe it is just a sign that I need to do some more long runs! Either way, it was painful, but it was my own doing. I just kept on slogging, determined to get those darn 16 miles. And I did. In a bit under 2:15, I was back home, sweaty and sore, but done.

Looking forward to a shorter day tomorrow, and then a day off on Thursday. I think I'll be ready!

Out in the Snow

2012-01-23T12:56:00.000-05:00

I did a short 4 mile run this morning before taking Sam to the doctor for her ear check - All clear! Hurray! - and felt rather stiff and tired. I headed out on the powerlines, but my right calf and ankle were protesting the soft snow a bit so I turned onto Highland Green road until the Garmin beeped 2 miles, and then decided I would come back via the high school road so I could check the status of the fields. Our neighbor had told us that they had been grooming them, which I remembered from last year, and I wondered if they had done so since the last snowfall. And indeed, they had. The tracks actually looked pretty nice. Excellent! I really have been wanting to get Sam out on her snowshoes and this seemed the perfect spot.

So, after the doctor's appointment, we suited Sam up in her snowsuit, got ourselves organized and headed over to the fields. It was a good morning for it. Temperate, and no wind. Sam was very excited to get on her snowshoes, but they are still a bit big for her, and she didn't last long in them. Ah well. We tried!

Testing out the snowshoes

Snowshoeing with Daddo

After she took her snowshoes off, we walked with her up into the woods. She had fun picking up the snow, and stepping off the edge of the groomed path to sink into the deeper snow.

Let's try the deep snow!

This is fun!

Walking with Daddo

YEAH! I love the snow!

If we had remembered to put the Ergo back into the car, we would have put her on my back and trekked around a bit longer, but I guess Ryan needed to get some work done anyway, so home we went.

I'd call it a successful first snowshoe foray for the kiddo, and hopefully we'll get her out on them (and her skis too) again soon!

2012 Bradbury Squall Race Report

2012-01-22T20:32:00.001-05:00

First off, a huge shout-out to the awesome Trail Monster crew, including race directors Ryan and Ian, plus Val, Rick, Linda, Christine, Dave and a lot of others for volunteering and helping to put on such a great race this morning! It was fun to see so many people out on a cold, blue-sky winter morning ready to torture themselves by snowshoeing through the woods! :-) And if today's race is any indication, the 2012 Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe series is going to be a big success - there were 40 finishers, more than any of the races last year! Awesome.

I honestly had no idea how the race was going to go. I have never snowshoe raced before. And my last run in my snowshoes, on Friday, had made me a bit nervous. I had a really tough time actually moving forward with any speed through the snow that day. But, I was going to give it my best shot. I knew Emma was signed up for the race, and while I wasn't sure about Julia, who won the series last winter, I knew that both of them would be giving me a good run for my money out there! This morning dawned crisp and clear. When Ryan left the house to mark the course at 6:30am, the temp was reading -7. Brrr! Luckily, the snowshoe crowd is smart enough to start the races later in the day, so by the time 11:00 rolled around, it was likely in the high teens/low twenties and fairly comfortable, perfect snowshoe weather. That's not to say my toes weren't cold, but still, better than -7!

Irene and Dana were wonderful enough to come up for the weekend so that they could watch Sam during the race. Thank you, Grammie and Grampie! Sam had a blast with them, and knowing they were with her meant I didn't even have to worry about her while I was gone. I arrived at the park around 10:00, got my number, chatted a bit, sat in the car to get warm, did a short road warm-up, and soon enough it was time to run. The start was on a thin snowmobile path that cut through the field. Ryan had warned me to start near the front, and go for it from the start, as once you were behind someone on Krista's singletrack, about 3/4 mile into the race, you'd be behind them for a while. I lined up next to Emma and another woman, with Jeremy of Atayne right behind us. I figured that was about right.

As we ran through the field, I was surprised to find that the group around me wasn't going out all that fast, so I snuck around a person or two and just settled into a pace that felt comfortably quick. I was happy to realize that the trail had been decently packed, and it was much easier running that I had had on Friday. That was a big boost, and I determined that I was going to go hard, without going all out, for as long as I could and see what happened.

As we climbed the Ski Trail, I was on my own, just one guy in black ahead of me, with no one in hearing range behind. I knew Emma and Julia likely weren't too far back though, so I was running a bit scared, but I felt pretty good overall, even though I was definitely sucking wind up the Ski Trail hill! Then the turn onto the singletrack, which was pretty nice, actually, and fun to run. I realized the guy in front of me was Dave Roberts, and I reeled him in a bit on the climb, but once we hit the downhill back to the Tote Road, he slowly slipped away from me. I could see a few runners here and there winding through the woods behind me, but I didn't actually hear anyone right behind me until we were off the Tote and on the Boundary Trail. I lost a bit of time going gingerly down the icy hillside there, and knew whoever was behind me was getting pretty close.

The final climb on the Boundary was a tough one. I think I ran it well, but once I got to the top, I realized I was pretty tired, and my pace dropped a bit. Then, on the final little bump on the Boundary trail, my snowshoes caught and I heaved forward, catching myself on the uphill with my hands, and coming to a complete halt before lurching back into motion. Pretty funny looking on my Garmin pace vs. time data :-) I knew there was only a little over a half mile to go, so I did my best to pick up the pace, but it wasn't enough. Nathan passed me about halfway down the final stretch of trail, and although I tried to push right back, that was that and he was gone. Ah well. I still ended up finishing 1st woman in a time of 38:31. Wow. I've never won a race before, so that was pretty cool! I had realized partway through the race that I was first woman, but I just kept thinking Emma or Julia would catch me. Needless to say, I am thrilled with how my first snowshoe race evolved, as I really never would have thought I'd win.

Final push to the finish. (courtesy of Maine Running Photo)

It was a great to have a chance to catch up with so many Trail Monsters as we milled around after the race. A lot of people had really good races today! Frontier donated a huge pot of delicious Potato Leek soup for the finish, and we all hung out getting warmed by the fire before awards and the raffle. Some nice prizes, and a great race t-shirt designed by my sister-in-law, Meghan, to boot!

All in all, a great morning of snowshoe racing.
RESULTS

Fluff

2012-01-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

Last night, before I went to bed, I looked out the window. A few flakes were falling from the sky but seemed to disappear before they even hit the ground. "Fake snow," I called it. Well, this morning, when Sam and I came downstairs a little after 6am, the air was clear but there was a lot of snow out there! I guess the snow decided overnight that it had better turn into the real stuff after all! We ended up with about 8" of nice, fluffy, light snow. So, after I dropped Sam off at daycare, I set off across the street, snowshoes in hand, to go have a little fun! After the .3 to the edge of the snowmobile trail, I put on my shoes and headed out. The snow looked so innocent. Fresh and new, clinging to the evergreens and sparkling in the sun. But man, breaking trail through all that fresh stuff was hard work, let me tell you!

I huffed and puffed, slowly, slowly making my way up the Mt. Ararat road. I figured I would start "grooming" the snowshoe loop that Ryan had made last year. I ran the downhill stretch through the woods first. I was kicking up snow like crazy. The evergreens were bent over the trail. It was like a winter wonderland! Beautiful but tough. Then I had to make my way up the back hill. Oy! I walked. Then I turned around and ran down what I had just walked up. That was better! By the third time around, the going was a bit easier. And by the fourth time, I could run the whole way. But it was humbling. There was no "fast." Snowshoe running is hard work!

I had heard a snowmobile off in the distance as I was looping around earlier, and when I got back to the Mt. Ararat road, I was happy to find that he had been zooming around the Mt. Ararat area, and I was able to use his tracks to get back to the high school road. Much easier going, for sure! I ended up with 3.25 miles run in 43:41, about 2.6 of which was on snowshoes. But no matter the distance, I got in my workout for the day!

The Squall is going to be a humbling experience, I have a feeling... But it should be fun!

Hem and Haw, Squish and Slop

2012-01-18T13:19:00.001-05:00

I hemmed and hawed. I was feeling uninspired. I was tired. The wind whipped around outside, and our driveway and the edges of the side roads around town were covered in a thin layer of ice from last night's rain. What to do? What to do? Run the roads like I had originally intended? Or gamble on the trails? In the end, I couldn't stomach the thought of 14 windy and icy road miles, so I got my Nathan pack together, put on my screwshoes and headed across the street for the powerlines. I figured I would run for 12 miles or 2 hours, whichever came first. The effort of either would no doubt be as much as, or more than, the 14 road miles.

The trail was solid in spots. Squishy and water-logged in others. But at least one sled had been through since yesterday morning's snow, and so it wasn't all that bad for running. And headed out, as is almost always the case, I had the wind at my back. I was moving along at a decent pace for a while, at least until I hit the field at Lover's Lane. At that point, it appeared that no one had been out since yesterday, but I figured, what the heck, I might as well just go for it, and so I slipped and slogged and mushed and sank as I ran the lollypop loop down by the dump, and then hit the trail to connect back to Homeplace. I ran into an older woman out on her xc skis. We stopped to chat for a few minutes. I told her she had definitely made the better choice of transportation for the day!

Once I crested the top of the hill right before Rt. 24, I was almost bowled over by the wind. I'll admit, I was tempted to just head home. I would get in 8 miles. No, no, no. That wasn't the plan. So when I got to Highland Green, I hit the road, my screwshoes tap tap tapping as I ran along the pavement. I took the dirt road to the ecology center and headed down to the river. There had been a fair amount of foot traffic, some of which was definitely snowshoes, so the running along the singletrack wasn't any worse than the running along the powerlines near the dump. I ran along, enjoying the river, and once I reached Barne's Leap, decided to take the long way back up through the woods, instead of heading back up the dirt road to the ecology center. There were lots of animal tracks crisscrossing the trail. Deer, rabbit, fox and what I realized after the fact was a porcupine! Neat!

Once back at the pavement, I crossed the road to see how the trail around the Heath was. There was less traffic along this stretch, but I was rewarded with a nice view across the Heath.

The Heath in winter

From there, I took the shortcut to the road and headed back along Highland Green to the powerlines for the final stretch. I ended up with 12.5 miles in 2:18:xx. Definitely a bit of a slog, with about 10 trail miles and 2.5 road miles, but good time on my feet training, and much more exciting than 14 windy road miles :-)

Snowshoe Course Recon with a Side of ABCs

2012-01-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

We awoke to snow. Soft, fluffy snow falling softly outside, piling up quickly, but easy to brush off the car. After a few hours, it stopped, bringing with it blue skies and a lovely morning, just in time for me to meet up with Mindy for some snowshoe course recon at the Brad. While waiting for her to arrive, I talked with Linda Raymond, who was getting ready to head out in her snowshoes. We sort of looked at each other a few times in the parking lot before both of us, almost at the same time, said "Don't I know you?" Ha. We've seen each other at the Bradbury races but have never been formally introduced. We had fun chatting for a few minutes before she took off for her run/walk and I got myself ready to run.

Although we could have worn snowshoes, both of us chose to wear screwshoes, and it worked out fine. The course seemed in decent shape given the dearth of snow this winter, but I have a feeling, once you put a number of people on it in snowshoes, it is going to get sketchy pretty quickly. Still, we enjoyed tromping through the freshly fallen snow, and winding our way through the woods in an attempt to find Krista's Trail, which was unbroken. I think we actually did a decent job of following its twisty course, but if not, oh well! We were having fun (and working a bit too! Whew!). The woods were beautiful - the evergreens covered with a dusting of snow, hints of blue sky above, and a nice snowy treadway in front of us. We saw a number of animal tracks, some deer beds, and some cute little chipmunk or squirrel holes with little snack leavings at the "doorways." We ended up with 4 miles (we got a bit off track at one point, heading further up the Tote than we should have gone) in an hour, so pretty slow, but that included all our stops and consults regarding directions, and some slow going on the hills too. That course is a workout, for sure! When we got back to the parking lot, we stopped for a drink and decided to get in a few more miles on the east side, heading out the Link and up onto the Snowmobile trail until the meadow. There had been enough snowmobile traffic, along with the walkers, skiers and snowshoers, to pack the trails down pretty nicely, and they were good running. We got in another 2.25 or so miles before calling it a day. It was great to have another chance to run with Mindy on such a beautiful morning!

While we were running, I was telling Mindy about all the ridiculous kid songs I have coursing through my head these days. Elmo and Sesame Street songs. Wheels on the Bus. Bingo. Silly hippy songs from a CD my cousin Sean gave us for Sam. Everytime she gets in the car, she wants to listen to "Bobcat Walk." (click on the little teaser to hear what gets stuck in my head every morning after driving Sam to daycare!) Of course, Sam likes to sing her own songs too and tonight we tried to capture her singing her ABCs during dinner. We didn't quite get it either time, but the videos are sort of funny. Or at least, they are videos her grandparents and great-grandparents will love! :-)

Sam sings the ABCs (we didn't get the video started until "H"though)

From the top! With a few bites of bread in between, and a loss of steam and a bit of confusion with the order at the end :-)

Funk

2012-01-16T20:23:00.004-05:00

More snowmobilers have been out on the powerlines near us since naptime yesterday. Thank you riders! Definitely makes the running easier. A path had been driven down the regular Mt. Ararat hill, so I was able to go out the typical way without looping through the woods. I ran the lines to Lover's Lane and turned around. Despite the fact that it was 22 out (ie. 12 degrees warmer than yesterday's run!), it felt colder. Maybe because yesterday I was assuming the worst, while today, I wore less and was expecting it to be warmer? Or maybe it was the wind. Anyway, it was sunny out, the air was crisp, the trails were quiet, and the run was a few minutes faster so it all worked out ok.

Despite feeling better, and getting in a good run, I felt in a funk. We ended up having a three-day weekend together, but Saturday I was only home because I was coughing and sounded terrible, Sunday it was freezing out and Ryan was feeling terrible, and today, Ryan still felt bad (but at least went to the doctor to get some meds), so except for a last-minute, fun excursion that Sam and I took to visit Morgan and Kristen late Saturday afternoon for a bit of playtime and pizza at Ricetta's, and a grocery trip that the two of us took this morning, we'd done nothing outside of the house. Sam did really well playing at home all weekend long, but I just felt badly about it. So, after Sam woke up from her nap, I was determined that we get out to do something! Anything! We dragged Ryan with us too. Of course, we're all in varying states of sickness/recovery from being sick, so we didn't do much. We headed to LLBean to "see the fishies," which lasted all of 30 seconds, and then spent almost an hour upstairs in the kid section, Sam drawing on the giant chalkboard and running laps over and over through the tree house. We followed that up with dinner at Bucks and gelato at Gelato Fiasco.

Sprinkles!

I felt much better when we got home. Mission accomplished. No more funk! Of course, it could have been the Alan's Coffee Brandy gelato I had (yes, you read that right! Alan's Coffee Brandy gelato!) :-) YUM!

Double Digits!

2012-01-15T14:07:00.000-05:00

I wimped out on meeting Val and Rick this morning at the Brad. Sorry guys! :( Given that I'm still trying to get rid of the remains of this cold, it didn't seem like the smartest idea to go run for an 1 1/2 in sub-zero temps. The thermometer was reading -4.6 degrees when Sam and I came downstairs at 6:30 this morning. Brrrrr!

We spent the morning ransacking the living room, reading books and singing songs, painting and in general making as big a mess as a 2-year old can make, all while trying to give Ryan some space. As the last one in the house to pick up Sam's cold, he's feeling bad, and well, let's face it, he's not a good sick person, so it's best to try to leave him alone :-) Hard to do with Sam around, but we tried!

I waited until naptime and the temps reached a blamy 10.4 degrees and headed out for my run once Sam was asleep. Bundled up, with the wind at my back, it didn't seem all that bad out, but once that wind started whipping, it certainly felt colder than 10 degrees. Or maybe, it's just that it's been such a mild winter... Or I'm a wimp :-) But whatever. I ran the powerlines down to Bay Park. Some stretches were good and solid, and I could keep up a good pace, but elsewhere, as new sleds went along the trail, they churned up the frozen surface, leaving snow the consistency of powdered sugar, leaving me with no traction and turning the run into a bit of a slog. Got in a slow 5 miles, and am happy to be feeling better and be out running again!

Big flocks of robins, their breasts a rich burnt orange, were everywhere. I assume they are migrating south from their homes up north, as this is the first I've seen of them this winter. Pretty.

Crust

2012-01-14T21:07:00.001-05:00

After being waylaid for the past few days by this nasty cold/pestilence brought upon us by Sam and all the lovely germs she brings home from daycare, I decided I felt OK enough (although I sound terrible!) to get out for a short test run. I was undecided on where I would go, figuring I would try the trails if it looked like anyone had been out on them in their snowmobiles. If not, I'd stick to the roads, but honestly after navigating the heavy ice on our 1/4-mile-long "driveway" I was happy to see that at least one or two snowmobiles had been out along the powerlines, and I hit the trails to explore a bit.

The snowmobiles had packed the snow down just enough to make things runnable. There was one section - down the hill after Mt. Ararat, where the sleds had taken a cross-country route through the junipers -where I had to tromp through the untouched snow, and as the snow glistened with an icy sheen and the crust bit at my ankles, I was more than happy to jump back on the tracks. I ran down to Topsham Crossing and back, adding on the short loop at the edge of the Mt. Ararat trails, to get in 3.5 miles, enough to bring the week's mileage up to a rather feeble 25 miles. Not what I had been hoping for out of the week, but sometimes life just happens!

Saw a red-tail getting chased by two crows along the way. I've seen the crows chasing a red-tail a number of times in the same area, I wonder if it is the same hawk.

A Fun Run and Lunch

2012-01-11T20:08:00.000-05:00

I met up with Mindy this morning to show her the trails in the Commons. Since she'll be at Bowdoin next semester for her clinical work, I thought it would be a fun place for her to be run after work. Yes, it is flat as a pancake , but is very accessible from campus and really is a nice place for a 5 to 7 mile trail run. We ended up with 6.5 miles, wandering through some of the single track among the pine trees and along the wider, more traveled paths. Conditions were good, with just a bit of snow or ice here and there. I haven't had a chance to run with Mindy in a while, so it was fun to catch up as we ran along!

After our run, we changed quickly and headed to Frontier for lunch. It was fun to see the new arrangement, and how they've laid out the space. Looks great! And the new menu looked delicious! Both Mindy and I had the blue mango veggie burger with hand-cut sweet potato fries - YUM! We talked away, enjoying our burgers and the view out onto the river. It was a great afternoon! Thanks Mindy :-)

Cathance Meander

2012-01-10T20:44:00.001-05:00

I had pondered heading to the Brad this morning for a long run, but honestly, I didn't quite feel up for it. I've definitely picked up a bit of a cold from Sam, nothing terrible, but enough to make me feel a little low on energy and send me running for the tissues every few minutes. Silly runny nose! However, I didn't want to give up on getting in a double-digit run today, so I decided to just stick close to home and hit the trails along the Cathance for 10 miles. Not quite the miles I had originally hoped for, but better than nothing! If things got went downhill while I was out there, I could always cut things short. Luckily, it never got to that point, but I did end up taking a long time to wander through those 10 miles! It was a combination of my lack of energy and the trail conditions. While the trails don't get slick like those at Bradbury, when you combine the twists and turns of some of the tight singletrack with major uneven footing due to serious hoar frost, it can make for slow going! But, if there is ever a place to be going slowly, it is on these trails. The river was beautiful, the rapids in particular, and the woods were quiet.

After I got home and had a little lunch, I headed out to do some errands but was cut short by a call from daycare. Sam just wasn't acting like herself, and was saying her ear hurt. Now, I am not doubting her, but I also wonder if she was just saying that because we had mentioned it this morning, especially as there are a few other kids with ear infections in the room at the moment. Ah well. I had the time and opportunity, so I picked up and we headed home. She was very happy to be home with us, and in a good mood for the rest of the afternoon. Maybe she just wanted a little more Mama and Daddo time?! :-) Since I hadn't gotten to it, she "helped" me make pumpkin muffins, making a mighty mess in the process but certainly having a lot of fun!

Baking is all about precise measurements :-)

Finger Paint Fun

2012-01-09T19:51:00.001-05:00

Turns out Sam has an ear infection, but the doctor said it's in the early stages so the medicine should work pretty quickly and she should be feeling better soon. In fact, honestly, she was much better today than I would have expected and in a pretty good mood for most of the day, a feat considering the ear infection, the coughing and the really stuffy nose, but I am not complaining! That certainly made my day much easier!

We had our doctor's appointment at 10:30 this morning, so to keep her occupied before then, I suggested painting. She was very excited, and we painted with regular paints for quite a while on the big pad that Auntie Meg got her for Christmas (thanks Meghan!). Once she started wanting to simply pour out the water onto the paper instead of actually paint, I figured it was time to move on, so we headed for the table and I pulled out the smock and finger paints. Sam had a great time painting, both the paper and herself :-) Oh, and a bit on the table too! Even clean-up was fun - I think I got about a 1/2 hour of fun out of pulling up the stool to the sink and letting her "clean her hands" (ie. play in the water and make a mess). A fun Monday morning art class :-)

Squiggles and swirls

Getting messy

In motion

And this is really why I wanted to finger paint :-)

While Sam is feeling better, it appears that three nights of little sleep has caught up to me, and I am a bit sniffly today. I decided to just take the day off and will be headed to bed shortly in the hopes that I will be full of energy for tomorrow's long run!

Heavy

2012-01-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

My eyes feel heavy. My legs feel heavy. While Sam has never been a good sleeper, the past two nights she has really not been a good sleeper. She's got some sort of cold and cough (and hopefully not an ear infection) which seem to really be bothering her at night, when she is lying flat, and last night, she was up basically on the hour every hour from 10:00ish to 5:00ish, with some terrific screaming and crying in between. We're down at Ryan's parents for the weekend, so we were all up a lot last night, and everyone is tired. Luckily, Sam is sleeping right now, and hopefully she'll have a better night tonight once we're home. I'm not betting on it, but I'm hoping for it!

Despite being tired, I decided I should take advantage of naptime, and get in a run. I had hoped Ryan would be joining me, but his IT band is still bothering him, so I was on my own. I ran the Weldon Farm loop, getting in 5 miles in 38:50. Nothing like a essentially flat route to enable a quick pace. And besides, I figured that if I didn't push it a bit and just meandered along, I might just find myself curled up on the side of the road for my own nap :-)

Snow!

2012-01-06T10:58:00.002-05:00

Ronnie woke me up this morning before anyone else was awake, and I padded downstairs in the darkness. Sam was still sleeping. A light snow was falling. I started the coffee, and sat down at my computer. All was quiet. Ahhhh. Sam ended up sleeping until 7:20, so we were running a bit behind in the end, but it was a very peaceful start to the day! Typically, Sam has been waking up right around 6:05, so I will take any extra time I can get!

After I got her off to daycare, I came home to get in a short run before work. I didn't have enough time for my planned 5, so three would have to do. I ran the short Highland Green loop, backwards. The snow squeaked and crunched under my feet, and the flakes stuck to my eyelashes. I was being very careful, not knowing exactly what was under the coating of new snow. And then, when I least expected it, I planted my foot on the edge of a big patch of glare ice on the powerlines and down I went. Hard. I had no chance at saving myself. The ice was too slick, and the expanse too big. I whacked my elbow and head, and lay there for a few seconds, a bit stunned. I got up gingerly and yelled a few choice words to the sky. My elbow hurt. A lot. I picked my way across the ice flow at the base of the powerline hill and slowly made my way up, walking carefully. Finally, with about a 1/2 mile to go, my elbow felt like it could swing again and I shuffled my way home. That was not very nice... but at least I got my first fall of the winter out of the way!

Funny of the Day

2012-01-04T20:59:00.001-05:00

Apparently, today at daycare, Sam asked to sit on the toilet. Likely because her friend Annie is beginning potty training and asked to go potty. I had told Sam's teachers that we weren't actively potty training yet, but that Sam liked to sit on the potty when I was in the bathroom, etc, and we were encouraging her to use the potty if she wanted. Not that she's ever done more than just sit on it, but hey, it's a start!

Anyway, after a few minutes, Sam raised both her hands to make the "all done" sign, and promptly plopped right down into the toilet. Yup, she's that tiny. Luckily, she only got slightly wet and thought it was all quite hysterical, but her teacher told me she was going to make sure they put one of those special toddler toilet seat inserts on for tomorrow! HA!

Twelve and a Lesson

2012-01-04T15:51:00.001-05:00

Ryan joined me for my run today. The plan was for 12 miles, and he was going to show me some of the trails along his "Awesome Topsham" loop which I haven't yet been on. However, things did not quite go as planned. About 1.25 miles into the run, Ryan stopped to stretch his leg. His IT Band was tight, as it has been the past few days. Then we stopped a little later to stretch again. I could tell it was bothering him so I told him he should turn around and go home, no use aggravating it further. He did not like my suggestion. I could tell his stride was off. I said something again. Things got testy. He eventually stopped right around 2 miles, angrily muttering at me, and telling me to go on. And yes, yes, after 11 years of being married to the man, I should have known he was not really angry at me, but frustrated and angered by not being able to do what he wanted to do. But, instead I took his last words to heart, and let my emotions get the best of me. And in doing so, rather than stopping for a few extra minutes to talk things through like I should have, I took off to continue my run, angry that he was angry with me. I didn't realize it at the time, but he ended up walking home. Sigh. I like to think of myself as a pretty good person, who makes mostly rational decisions, but today, I let my emotions take control when I should have known better, and in doing so, left my poor hubby to walk back home on his own. I really hate it when I don't do the right thing. And I feel really badly that Ryan ended up walking home alone. It was not what I intended. I guess the lesson is that I always have something to learn, and I should always work to be a better person. Hopefully I'll make a better decision next time around. Sorry Ryan.

After we parted ways, I revised my route and headed out to the dump, came back on the powerlines and took the back road into Highland Green. From there, I ran down along the river on the Cathance Trails and back home. The river was beautiful today. Along some of the flat, mellow sections, the river had frozen over, and all was peaceful. Then, just a few turns away, the water was raging over the rocks, flowing over the frozen rocks. Ice was built up along the banks and there were a few sections of frozen foam too, which was sort of neat. I had two neat bird sightings - in the woods near the dump, a Pileated Woodpecker flew across the trail to a nearby tree; and as I ran along the Highland Green road, a Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead. Other than that, the woods were quiet.

Six in the Commons

2012-01-03T15:16:00.002-05:00

No job is perfect. And while I really wish I didn't have to work Saturdays at the gallery, I do realize that I am lucky to essentially have a part-time schedule for the first three months of the year. Today marked the start of my reduced gallery schedule for 2012 - hurray!

I did a bunch of errands this morning after dropping Sam off at daycare and then headed over to the Commons for a mellow 6 mile run. It was cold. And windy. While my core got warm as I ran along, my ears and face and hands stayed cold pretty much the whole time. Brrr! Not even the woods could help me hide from the wind today! But the skies were blue, the trails were quiet, and there wasn't much ice to contend with, so I'll say it was a successful run!

Once my run was done, I made myself pancakes for lunch (yum!) and spent the last few hours working on paperwork, paying bills, etc. While I'd love to say the two extra days off a week I do get over the next few months will be spent lounging around eating bon bons and doing a whole lot of relaxing, there is always always something to do, and I somehow think I'll always end the day saying, 'What? You mean my 8 hours are up?!' :-) But I'm not complaining, I promise.

Quick

2012-01-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

Got in a quick 3 miles this morning around 8am. It felt like spring - in the low 40s, and bright and sunny. What is up with this weather?! I, however, did not wear shorts! Sorry, Jim :-) Not much of import to be said about the 26 minutes I was out there. I did feel a bit tired, as if my body was saying 'Hey, you've now run 6 days in a row. What's up with that?' Running so many days in a row, even though they haven't been huge days, isn't something I do regularly, and it just felt like it was catching up with me this morning. Only two days in the year and I'm pondering a zero day! Aie :-)

While the run was neither good nor bad, the best part of the day so far has been this afternoon, while sitting and watching the birds at the feeder with Sam. She had finished her lunch and was having a little snack when she passed the baggie of cereal to me, and said, "I ready for nigh-nigh now." And just like that, she was up in her crib for naptime and fast asleep. LOVE IT!

An Icy Start to 2012 & Race Ponderings

2012-01-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

I met up with Val and Rick at Bradbury this morning for a New Year's Day run. The parking lot was empty, and completely covered with ice, when I arrived a few minutes before 9am. In fact, everything was ice-covered! We decided to hit the east side on 'Mindy's loop' and hope for the best. Val took the lead, and we tiptoed along the ice-encrusted trail, trying to avoid the extra slippery rocks and roots. I think it took us 30 minutes to run the first 2 miles!

Luckily, after a bit, with the sun rising and the temps warming, and just the changing trail as we ran along, we were able to pick things up a bit, but not much! It was slow-going for sure, but a great morning to be out. The sky was blue, there was no breeze, the woods sparkled as the sun hit the ice, and I was in good company. It was fun to catch up, and we chatted away as we ran along, leaving footprints in the leaves as our screw shoes kicked up bits of ice. In the last few miles, things were melting steadily and the trail was nice and tacky. We ended up with 8 miles in 1:48, and came back to find the parking lot filled with cars! I guess others had decided that going to the Brad was a good way to start off the New Year too :-)

Val and Rick had to run a few errands before a friend arrived, so we went our separate ways, and I met Ryan and Sam at the Fresh Batch for lunch. A good way to start 2012 for sure!

~

2012 Race Ponderings

Now that we are into the New Year, and into my quiet season at work, I have a few extra days a week to play with - hurray!! I've decided that I'm going to use those days to get in some good miles, along with do some organizing up in the loft getting Ryan's office set up. I'm hopeful that I can get in some quality long runs over the next few months, with the idea of doing the 50 miler at Pineland in May. I don't think I'll sign up yet, just in case, but that is what I am going to be shooting for with my training. I've been pondering a 50 for a while now, but the timing needed to be right. While training long through the winter will have its drawbacks, it should allow me to get in most of my long runs during the week when Sam is at daycare and I am not at work. That way I won't have to sacrifice too many of our Sundays - the one day we are all together - or run too much on Mondays, when I have Sam at home with me and Ryan is working. I am hopeful it will work out OK. I guess we'll see how it goes :-)

So, the 50 miler is my big goal. Other than that, I am signed up for Ryan's Bradbury Snowshoe series, and my new Dion snowshoes have been ordered! That should be an adventure :-) Hopefully we'll get some snow soon! I'll also be running the Mid-Winter Classic 10 miler in early February. I think with those four races, that will be more than enough racing for the winter.

Summer racing will likely be limited to the Bradbury Trail Running series, and then I'm pondering whether I want to try running the Maine Marathon in October, or if I'd want to go back and run Pisgah again. Or maybe Stonecat. Or a combination of the above :-) Again, I guess we'll just have to see how the year progresses, but it's always fun to look at race calendars and scheme!

Mostly, I'm looking forward to a good year of running and spending time on the trails!

Final Run of 2011

2011-12-31T20:34:00.000-05:00

I had planned to head out this morning for my final run of the year, but just as I was about to change into my running clothes, the skies opened up. So instead, we all went to the Brunswick Winter Market, and wandered around, picking up some vegetables, bread, apples, eggs and a delicious homemade bagel to munch on. It's great to see the winter market thriving in town! Gotta love having local foods available year-round! The weather seemed a bit better by the time Sam went down for a nap, so I suited up and headed out before I could change my mind. Rain and mist and 34 degrees isn't exactly prime running weather, but hey. I got in a nice, slow run down to the river and back this morning to round out my 2011 mileage to 1375.

Conditions were interesting, to say the least. I wore my screw shoes and am glad I did. The trails and roads were a mix of frozen and just plain wet, slippery and crunchy, solid and post-holey. I tiptoed across the icy bog bridges and along the edge of the puddles. It wasn't ideal running weather, but it's always nice along the river and the ice build up along the banks was pretty, as were the iced-over bushes along the now grey and brown Heath.

While 1375 miles isn't huge compared to some, it's a good step forward in my training. I have definitely struggled at times trying to balance running and working with spending time with Sam and Ryan, but I am very lucky to have a crazy runner :) as a husband and to have a job which allows me a bit of extra time in the mornings to get in my workouts, and feel like I did a decent job of making the best use of the time I had to run and balancing most things most days. I'd never say I perfected the balance thing because I think that's impossible, but we do the best we can, right?!

I'm pretty proud of how I raced this year. After my failed attempt at 50k in 2010, I came back with two 50k finishes this year, as well as some solid running at the Bradbury races this summer. I still can't believe I managed to win the series - I've never done anything like that before, so that was fun! :-) The only race I wasn't all that happy with was the Old Port Half Marathon, but hey. They can't be all good days, right?! In any event, I'm considering 2011 a solid year running-wise and hoping I can continue the trend into 2012!

Aside from the running highlights, we are happy and healthy and blessed with wonderful family and friends; we constantly say to each other that we feel so lucky to have fallen in with such a great, diverse and nice group of people who first started as a group of people to run with, and who we now count as friends; we were able to make two fun visits this year to NC for vacation and to spend time with my parents; Ryan started his own business; and we end the year the proud parents of a 26 month old who is seeming more and more like a big girl every day, who talks to us in full sentences, who listens and absorbs everything around her, who runs and "stretches" just like Mama and Daddo, who smiles big, has lots of energy and is a total character. She makes us laugh (and sometimes shake our heads in frustration) and is, in general, a joy to be around. We are lucky, indeed!

Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy and laughter-filled 2012!

Grey

2011-12-30T12:46:00.001-05:00

Cool and overcast this morning. I hit the Highland Green cart path and the trails around Mt. Ararat for a slight variation on the loop, ending up with 6.25 miles. Only 5.5 on tap for tomorrow to reach the nice, neat number of 1,375.00 miles for the year. Like Ryan said, nothing obsessive about wanting it to be exactly 1375, not 1374 or 1376!! Ha. I wish I had realized sooner how close I was to 1400. I might have pushed for that, but oh well. There is always next year ;-)

Speaking of next year, I have a lot of ideas floating around in my brain for 2012, but I'll get to that in another post :-)

Winter's Back!

2011-12-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

The temperature spread between this morning's run and yesterday's was 33 degrees. Talk about a world of difference! The wind was whipping, my eyes were watering, I was wearing my warmest running coat, the ground was frozen solid and instead of puddles, there were rivers of ice. I guess winter has decided to return! I ran out of time to get in my planned 5 miles, so just hit the Highland Green loop for a quick 3 instead.

~

Sam is really a true conversationalist these days. I actually feel like I'm talking to a real person when I talk with her :-) Yesterday, we debated for about 10 minutes back and forth over why she could not wear a short sleeve shirt to school. Of course, she is two, and I should not be having a debate with her about what she wears! Aren't I the parent here?!

She made us all laugh last night at Morgan's birthday party, when she told Kristen, "I need cake!" Apparently, in her two-year old mind there is no distinguishing between necessity and desires :-)

She is facing forward in her car seat now, and loves watching the world out the front windshield. Every time we get to a light, she tells us either, "Green says go" or "Red says stop." Thanks, kiddo. How did we ever get by without you?! :-)

This and That

2011-12-28T10:42:00.001-05:00

After an uneventful flight back north, we headed to Ryan's parent's house, and had round #2 of Christmas on Monday with Ryan's family. Sam had lots of fun opening her presents, and playing with everyone. Thanks guys! It was a short, but sweet, visit!

Lego fun with Great Grammie

Cars with Bampie


Ready for winter!

With all the excitement, there was no time to run, and once we got home, I spent the evening and then all of my free time yesterday catching up after being away for 11 days. But this morning, it was bright and beautiful and warm (51!), and my to-do list was reasonable, so I headed out for a run. I ran the powerlines for five ushy-gushy, squishy-sloppy, slippery-sketchy, postholey, muddy miles. I came back with my shoes and legs covered in mud. Good to be back in the trail shoes again :-)

Christmas, Golf Courses, Sand Traps and PJs

2011-12-25T11:23:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas! Wishing everyone a day that is merry and bright!

I got out on the quiet cart paths this morning for a 6 mile run. It was chilly, but the sun was warm. Only the birds were out to keep me company as I ran along. The highlight was a pair of Red-Headed Woodpeckers on hole #5. Very cool. Also saw a number of herons, 2 egrets, cormorants, 3 grebes, bluebirds, blue jays, robins, juncos, sparrows, a Hairy Woodpecker, chickadees, and some turkey vultures soaring in the air currents overhead.

We took advantage of the quiet golf course a little later too, and let Sam run around and play in the sand traps. Poor etiquette, probably, but we made sure to rake up after her. And who wants to deny a little kid the chance to run around in her PJs and play in her own private sandbox on a sunny and bright Christmas morn?! :-)

Hill repeats in the bunker

Christmas Eve Festivities

2011-12-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

We treated today as Christmas, as we're traveling tomorrow. Sam doesn't know the difference, so it seemed to make sense. We woke up, opened presents, ate breakfast, let Sam play with her toys for a while, and then, what else? Went swimming! Then we came home and ate some more :-)

Ryan and I finally got out for a run around 3pm. I thought I would take Ryan along the path by the river to the River Lodge and then back via the Nature Trail and the roads. It was evident almost immediately that Ryan was not really feeling it, but then it went from bad to worse, and the last few miles were a slow shuffle, and rather painful for him, I know. Not exactly a cheery run together like I had planned. Ah well. Hopefully after a little more rest, Ryan will be back to feeling like his old self! :-)

We finished up the evening by watching a beautiful sunset out the back door, and enjoying a delicious dinner followed by yummy gingerbread and cookies. It has been a great visit here at my parent's house, and we have all had a lot of fun! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for having us! And Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

The tree

Sam getting her stocking

The art project wreath ornament

Mr. Potato Head!

A neat color match/coordination game from my parents

Making a butterfly

Bike helmet! Now we just need her to reach the pedals on the tricycle :)

Feeding her new babydoll

Jump!

Swimming with Mama

Daddo's gonna getcha!

Playdough fun

Full

2011-12-23T20:50:00.000-05:00

A full day. A full belly. Both are appropriate for today.

We started out at the Children's Museum down in Wilmington this morning. Sam had a lot of fun, and really enjoyed it. Last time we were here, in March, we went there too, but this time around, with Sam just a bit older and more sure of herself, it was an even better way to spend a morning. In fact, I think she would have stayed all day if we had let her!

Slide fun

Gotta love a train track

Grocery shopping

Ringing it all up

Big shoes!

Wheee!

Then of course, we had to hit Flaming Amy's for lunch before heading home, and Mom and Dad had been talking up Boombalatti's, a homemade ice cream place nearby -delicious! - so we had to stop there too. Just twist my arm! I held Sam up to the ice cream case, and when she saw the Funfetti flavor inside (vanilla with sprinkles), she pointed and said "I need that!" I guess that one is Morgan's favorite too, which got Sam even more excited to eat it up :-)

Yum! Rice!

Enjoying our ice cream!

I love Boombalatti's!

Eating "Morgum's ice cream" :-)

Ryan and I did squeeze in a 4 mile run around 4pm - our first run together since we've been down here, and his first since the 50 miler. He did great, although I know his legs are feeling pretty tight, and my "speedy" pace of 8:15s on the flat pancake route was making him work more than he would have liked. Although nice to get out, I am not sure the miles did much to combat all the rich food we put into our belly today. For dinner, Ryan and I headed to the clubhouse for a dinner out courtesy of Mom and Dad (thanks guys!). We finished off our meal with creme brulee. Delish! But oh my gosh, am I full! Ah well, I guess that's what vacation is for right? Right?!

Anyway, while we were gone, it appears Sam had a great time playing with Neenie and Pippi, and went to bed easily for them too. Hurray!

Playing ball

Laughing with Pippi

Ready, set, throw!

Winter?

2011-12-22T13:47:00.000-05:00

Can it really be winter? It must be 70 degrees out down here in NC today! It feels more like summer! I got out for a nice jaunt this morning around 8:45. It was warm, and I got sweaty. I ran 5.8 miles down along the river, on the nature path and back through on the streets. I got a good chuckle out of a heron who had settled on the very tippy top of an old, very thin, bare tree. He looked so large compared to the treetop!

Here's a photo of Sam out enjoying the nice weather! She also had fun tromping around in the puddles this morning with Neenie while I ran, and we spent a little time in the pool before lunchtime. Somehow all this did not quite tire her out enough, as she has been talking away up in her crib for about an hour now! I guess it's time to go up and tell her it is sleepy time (again)...

Watering the plants (and the grass, and the dirt) :-)

Cookie and Craft Fun

2011-12-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

Sam has been loving "helping" in the kitchen during this visit with my parents! Yesterday afternoon, she helped us out as we finished up a batch of Christmas cookies. She might have gotten carried away sugaring a few of the cookies, but she sure had a good time :-)

The baker :-)

Making sure all the cookies are covered...

Shake, shake!

And now some green...

Big smile!

Very proud of her creations :-)

We also got out the paints yesterday, and made a big sign to congratulate Ryan on his race. Sam had fun painting all over it! Here is the finished product. Ryan was very surprised! And I know he was just happy to be able to give little Sammy a hug again :-) It was a long time for him to be away.

The banner

Happy

Getting big hugs from Sam

This morning I got in a nice 4.5 mile run while Neenie and Pippi took Sam swimming. She had a great time, and I had a good tour of the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous morning to be out, and my legs had a bit more pep in them than they did yesterday, despite Sam being up many, many times in the night last night. There were a number of herons along the big pond out along the berm, as well as a few cormorants and a lot of canada geese. I also passed a tree (a sycamore, I think) with a ton of tufted titmice and yellow rumped warblers flitting about. I stopped to watch and listen for a while, just because their songs and calls were so pretty and there were so many of them. The kingfisher was sitting on a tree branch near the pond along the main street as I ran past too. Planning to take tomorrow off and then get in a few more runs later this week.

Heron Shadows

2011-12-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

It is just my mom and I entertaining Sam today, as my dad, bless his heart, offered to drive to Charlotte to pick up Ryan (Ryan had rented a car from Charlotte to Chattanooga and back) so that Ryan didn't have to rent another car from there and drive another 4 hours alone to their house. Isn't he sweet? Thanks Dad!!! Sam, Neenie and I did some painting this morning, went on an "adventure" to the grocery store and hit the playground on the way home before lunchtime. All the excitement of the past few days seems to have caught up with Sam, as she didn't protest to naptime at all, and fell right asleep.

The golf courses are closed on Mondays through the winter, so I decided to take the opportunity to get in a run on the cart paths today. My parent's house is on hole #7 of the Landing Course, so I got on the path right out back, and followed it as it meandered along ponds, past houses and crisscrossed the roads throughout the neighborhood. It was breezy and a bit cool (by NC standards, anyway!), but the sun was warm. I was surprised at how quiet the course was. I figured others would be out taking advantage of the cart paths on a nice day like today. It seemed to just be me, and the herons. I kept seeing them everywhere. With the sun high in the sky, when one of them flew over, the shadow seemed huge, their big flapping wing span accentuated. For some reason, I envision the prehistoric flying pterodactyls to look like herons, flapping through the skies in search of their next meal. I don't know why. Anyway, I love that there are so many of the herons around. They are comical looking, while at the same time elegant. Their plumage and coloring are beautiful. They roost in trees, for goodness sake. What's not to like?

So, if you follow the Landing Course cart paths the whole way around, it comes to 6.25 miles. You know, just in case you're in the area, and want to take a look at all the herons :-)

12 in River Landing

2011-12-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

After Sam woke up this morning, she went in and read a few books on my parent's bed with them, as I sat out in the kitchen, quietly drinking my coffee and watching the sun rise above the frosted grass and the thin layer of low-lying fog. Beautiful. I waited a while longer before heading out on my run, but it was still crisp and cool when I got out around 8:00. I was glad I had packed a pair of tights. It actually felt like winter. I had an idea of a route in mind. I think you could probably wander this community for 20 miles or so if you ran all the streets, so I figured I wouldn't have trouble coming up with 12 miles. I ran out to the River Lodge on the same trail I had run the other day. Mist was rising from the river, and it was very peaceful out in the woods. Once again, I took the nature trail back to the pavement, and then at the club house, turned left and out to "the bluffs," the edge of the community. It is fairly far out there, and seems sort of desolate, but there are a few houses here and there. When I got to the end, I looped back around, taking one or two side roads so that I would be around 8 miles when I got back to the club house. From there, I ran down to the entrance and along the gravel path by the berm, arriving back at my parent's house at exactly 12.5 miles. Perfect.

While I wasn't all that keen on running all those miles on the roads, the one nice thing about a very flat, mostly road, route is I was able to crank out the miles a bit more quickly than I might have otherwise, finishing is 1:43. I also was out on a beautiful crisp morning, and saw a lot of wildlife. During the time I was out exploring the complex, I saw: 4 great blue herons, 1 egret, 1 bald eagle, 4 deer, 7 cardinals, 1 belted kingfisher, 1 red-headed nuthatch, a handful of bluebirds, lots of blue jays, chickadees, juncos, sparrows and other unidentifiable LBJs (little brown jobbies :-)), 1 flicker, 1 red-headed woodpecker, and what I think were 2 grebes in one of the many ponds I passed. With the mix of ponds, pine forest, deciduous trees, open fields and a fair amount of undeveloped land along the river and the golf courses, this certainly seems to be a great area for bird watching, which makes what would otherwise be fairly ho-hum running a lot more fun for me!

After I got back from my run, we went up to the pool. Sam was much braver this time around, and walked right down the ramp. We took some small soft balls for her to throw around, and wow! She has a great overhead throw! Definitely a lefty too. It was pretty interesting watching her try to throw right-handed; you could tell it took a lot more concentration and the results were not as good. We did a bit of kicking and floating too, and she handled the few mouthfuls of water she got much better than the other day. We lasted about a 1/2 hour before her little lips started to turn blue and we headed home for lunch and naptime.

Here are a few photos from our pool time!

50 Miles and a Day Off

2011-12-17T20:03:00.001-05:00

First off, a HUGE congrats to Ryan for not only completing his first 50 miler, but completing it in style, in 9:23, coming in 27th place in the Lookout Mountain race! Way to go Ryan!!!!!! We were on pins and needles all day long waiting to hear from him, and I was so happy to hear his voice soon after the finish, and hear that he sounded strong and happy, if not pretty darn tired. We are all so proud of you, Ryan! Awesome, awesome, awesome.

While Ryan ran over hill and dale today, I took a day off from running and we kept ourselves busy waiting for news from the Chattanooga hills.

We colored...

...and went up to the playground to play. Sam only wanted to swing on the swings, nothing else... and she wasn't afraid to swing high!

After which, we came inside and made and played with homemade playdough, while Sam wore one of Neenie's adorable aprons. So cute!

During clean-up, Sam played in the sink with pots and pans, and soap and water, and made a mess :-)

Later in the evening, we had a delicious pasta dinner... Can you see the pasta sauce spread across Sam's face?! :-)

...and we played hide and seek with Pippi, and raced around the house until it was time for bed! Just enough to tire a little munchkin out and put her right to sleep after bathtime :-)

These vacation days are very exciting, aren't they?! :-) But they sure are fun!

Luck and Some NC Fun

2011-12-16T20:08:00.004-05:00

Wishing Ryan, and fellow Trail Monster friend Nate, tons of luck and lots of flowing, easy miles tomorrow at their first 50 miler down in Chattanooga! I can't wait to hear all about it! I wish I was going to be there, but you can bet I am going to be thinking about them all day long, as they run along the trails around Lookout Mountain. As Sam says, "run Daddo run" :-)

And in the meantime, here is what little Sammy and I have been up to, courtesy of Neenie and Pippi :-)

Gotta love her fashion sense :-)

Let's play!

Getting used to the water


Fun in the pool

Hanging ornaments

It has to be just right...

With "my Neenie" and "my Pippi"before heading out to dinner

Awww :-)

I'm lovin' my ice cream, people!

Yum!


Gotta get it all... :-)

Run along the Cape Fear River

2011-12-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

I headed out towards the River Lodge this morning for my run. It was early enough that the air felt cool in the shadows, even though it was almost 60 degrees. The half-moon hung in the blue sky above. My dad had mentioned a path I should take a look at, and what good Trail Monster would pass up an opportunity for a little dirt running when given the chance? The "trail" was an old dirt/sand road that wound along the back of the properties along the Cape Fear River. The woods were quiet, and spanish moss hung from the trees along the edge of the high river bank. The water was deep, calm and black, snaking its way through the forest. Once I hit the lodge, I took the "nature trail" that ran between some of the golf course holes, and then wandered home through the neighborhoods. I got in a nice six miles.

Flora notes: I scared up a big red-tailed hawk by the fitness center, and noted a number of bluebirds out in the fields. When I got home, we spotted a white egret across the way, quietly and patiently standing at the edge of one of the ponds, hoping to catch his breakfast.

Hot!

2011-12-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

We made it to North Carolina after a long morning of travel. Luckily, Sam was a champ and handled it all well, including being woken up at 4:45 to be hussled into the car to get to the airport on time. "I need go back to sleep," she said, rubbing her eyes, as we drove down Rt. 1 in the dark. So cute :-) Our flight went off without a hitch, and Sam was easily entertained by the snacks, the tray table, the sights out the window and the other passengers the whole time. We did a bit of running around the airport, and made a stop at a very cool Raleigh park before making the final 1:15 journey to my parent's place. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and warm. The park was filled with people out enjoying the beautiful morning, and we had fun taking a little train ride, swinging on the swings and playing in one of the many playground areas there.

On the train

Holding on tight "to be safe" (Sam's words)

This is fun!

Whee!

Yeah!

I like this one!

Higher!

That's better!


On the seesaws

The park trip and all the travel tuckered Sam out, and after we got to my parent's house, she took a nice 2+ hour nap. Hurray! It was too nice not to run, so I snuck out for a quick 4-miler in my parent's community. The loop I ran included 2+ miles on a wide, flat gravel path, pretty much like a mellow Acadia National Park carriage road. It was a good respite from the pavement. The run was just what I needed after a long morning, and really felt good. It also felt HOT! :-)

Lots of bird sightings today so far: Lots of little yellow rumped warblers flitting around my parent's backyard, along with mockingbirds and robins. At least three Great Blue Herons along the ponds. A red-tailed hawk. A tufted titmouse. A large group of buzzards circling lazily in the warm air. A hairy woodpecker. A belted kingfisher. And best of all, three pairs of bluebirds "talking" to each other in a tree along the golf course where my dad, Sam and I took a walk at dusk. What fun!

Cranky

2011-12-13T16:02:00.002-05:00

Ryan was actually up before Sam and I today! He finally got out of bed a little before 6am, after listening to Sam cry at 5:30, having Gigi chase her tail very enthusiastically around and around at the bottom of the bed, and listening to Ronnie yowl for food and try to knock over the drying rack, saying "I can't take it! I am awake. I'm getting up!" Of course, Sam woke up for good shortly thereafter, and so all three of us were downstairs bright and early. Ah, life with a sleepless toddler and two crazy kitties. I just know Ryan is looking forward to a few nights of uninterrupted sleep on either side of the 50 miler! And I can't say that I blame him :-)

Since he had had time to wake up and get breakfast, etc etc, Ryan decided to join me for my run after I dropped Sam off at daycare. It was only 24 degrees out this morning, and definitely felt like winter, which was actually kind of nice, given that it's the middle of December! There was a heavy frost on the grass, and the air was crisp. We headed out right around 8:30, and ran the "suck loop" or the short Highland Green loop for 3 miles. I have to say that I agreed with the nickname "suck loop" today. I don't think either of us felt good. I felt creaky and tired, and just couldn't get my legs going. Ryan was definitely tired, and very cranky about it. Not to mention, his legs were evidently rebelling against the taper, and he kept getting random creaks and pains here and there as we ran along. Boy, were we a cheery pair! :-)

Cathance 7

2011-12-12T20:43:00.000-05:00

We're headed south in a few days - Ryan to Chattanooga for the 50 miler, and Sam and I to my parents. Ryan will join us there after the weekend. I am looking forward to being away for a nice stretch, enjoying some warm(er) weather, and watching Sam have fun with Neenie and Pippie. However, I am lamenting the fact that I am going to a place where there is nary a trail to be found within miles! And I'll have time to run! And babysitters! I did some googling, and the closest trail networks are about an hour away. There are some game lands closer to my parent's house, but it is hunting season in NC right now, for pretty much anything moving, so I'll be avoiding anything with "game" in the name, thank you very much! And of course, Ryan will be recovering from the race so he won't really be up for any running adventures. So sad. I guess I'll just be bringing my road shoes and letting them rack up the vacation miles!

With this in mind, I figured I would take to the woods today for my run. I took Sam into daycare since she'll only be there three days this week, and after a few odds and ends, and an appointment this morning, I set out for the Cathance a little after 11:00. The day was warm enough that I was wearing shorts, and it was nice and sunny. The woods were quiet, and the river beautiful. However, I just wasn't feeling up for the miles I had originally hoped for. I was a bit tired, both from yesterday's run and a rather sleepless night. [Come on! Don't you want to come over and stay at our place, only to be woken up numerous times at night by a toddler schreeching "Ouchie! Ouchie! Mama Mama!" in the middle of the night? Never quite figured out what was hurting her....]

Plus, the treadway was sketchy. Much more so than I had imagined, given the trails yesterday at Thorncrag. Lots of hoar frost bumps and valleys to crash and trip through, and hidden semi-frozen puddles beneath the leaves to navigate. With all the twisting and turning of the singletrack and the conditions, the run was taking a bit more energy out of me than I had anticipated. I'm still cutting myself a bit of slack this month in terms of mileage, so I just decided to go with how I felt, and head on in. Managed to get in 7.5 in 1:15:00, and called it good. Then it was off to fill up the rest of the afternoon with errands before picking up the munchkin. Amazing how quickly the hours of 8:30 to 4:30 can fly by!

Til We Meet In Hell, Season Two

2011-12-11T15:19:00.001-05:00

Valerie was nice enough to put together another fun "Til We Meet in Hell" run this year. This time at Thorncrag. I've only run there with Valerie once, but remembered it being beautiful yet hilly. I figured we were in for some rugged loops this morning, but thought I could probably get in 8 to 9 miles in the time allotted. Ryan and I had tried to get a babysitter for Sam so that we could both go run, but in the end it didn't work out, so plan B called for me to run, Ryan and Sam to come a bit later and get in some hiking during the last part of the run, and then all of us to go to Gritty's with the group. From there, we'd assess how Sam was doing, but at some point I'd come home with her, and Ryan would stay to watch football with the boys and catch up with everyone he missed because he was on Sam duty in the morning. Phew. All this juggling is tough work :-)

I ended up screaming up to the "start" line at the very last minute, because Sam needed me to read her a few more stories before I left :-) I think Valerie had given up hope that I was coming, but I made it! Just in time. Like last year, the idea was to run as many loops as you could in a given time frame - 1.5 hours this year. Results were to be tallied with some sort of handicapping involved, but in the end the top three won both with and without the handicap. Guess they are just fast :-)

I wasn't really up for "racing" and was more interested in running with friends, so I started at the back of the pack with Mindy and Dora, and we had fun chatting and catching up as we ran along. The loop started out up a steep hill, then mellowed out a bit on the backside of the preserve, up again to the old fireplace and down a nice, wide path back to the start. Each lap was around 1.4 miles. Somewhere on the final stretch of lap #2, Emma caught up with us, having made a pitstop in the woods. And from there, the two of us unintentionally pulled away on the uphill, and ran the rest of the way together. I haven't had a chance to run with Emma in a while, so it was fun to catch up! We were definitely running faster than Mindy, Dora and I had been at the beginning, but it felt pretty comfortable. Somewhere around back of lap #4, we saw Ryan and Sam walking towards us as we wound up the hill. Sam was all smiles in the backpack and seemed to be enjoying herself. We ended up seeing them a few more times as we ran along, which was fun!

The hill at the beginning of the lap got a bit tougher from lap #5 on, but we kept on trudging. We got lapped twice by the leaders - wow!! - and here we were, thinking we were running pretty well :-) - as well as a few others, but we caught some people too, so I guess it all evened out! Anyway, we ended with 6+ laps, or 8.75 miles on my Garmin, in the 1:30:00. Since we were already partway around the loop at the "end" time, we completed the 7th loop, stopping to pick up the flags along the way, and leisurely making our way back to the start, for a total of 9.5 miles for the day. Lots of fun! Thanks to Val for coming up with a nice route, and a great way for us to all see each other on the trails!

The fun continued after the run at Gritty's in Lewiston with lunch and awards. Sam was in great spirits the whole time, and lasted much longer than I thought she would, enjoying the festive atmosphere and being surrounded by all our friends. And best of all, despite the late hour when we got home, she is currently napping! Hurray! :-)

Sounds of the Morning

2011-12-09T15:48:00.000-05:00

Crunch. My Inov-8s leave a deep footprint in the hoar frost.
Crack. The semi-frozen sand gives way to a soft layer beneath the crispy crust.
Splash. I break through the thin layer of ice on a large puddle spread out across the trail.
Flutter. A pack of juncos scatter as I run past.
Ahhhh. I breathe in the cool December air.
Caw. The crows call from their perch in the upper branches of the pine trees.
Grrr. What? You want me to take the garbage to the dumpster before I come in?! :-) Guess it all can't be serene!

[6 miles on the extended Homeplace loop.]

Holy Wind Batman!

2011-12-08T11:02:00.000-05:00

Holy moly, it was windy out there this morning! With yesterday's storm moving out, the skies were clearing and the wind was whipping. The storm left a lot of rain, and a bit of snow on the ground. I ran a random route around Highland Green and along the powerlines to get in 4 miles. On the way back in, I was headed straight into the wind for the last half mile. I really had to work to move forward, and was being pushed around pretty good as a few strong gusts pushed against me. A workout, for sure!

Pre-Dawn Run

2011-12-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

Sam has been sleeping pretty poorly the past few nights - she is getting her two top eye teeth, and has a bit of a cold, and the combination just seems to be waking her up a lot. The one nice thing about this (gotta look on the bright side, right?!) is while she has been waking up around 5:30 or 6:00, I've been able to get her back to sleep for another hour or so. So this morning, when she woke up a little before 6am and easily went back to sleep, I figured I had a fighting chance at getting in my morning run before she woke back up.

I only had 3 miles on my "schedule," so at 6:30 on the nose, I headed out into the darkness. The low-lying fog and the fact that sunrise wasn't officially until 7:00am, meant that I brought my headlamp, and used it for the first part of the run. I didn't really need it to see during the first road mile of the loop, but I wanted cars to see me! :-) The light did help once I turned into the woods, and I think it ensured that I didn't totally scare the crap out of the two women with their dogs who I ran into as I was exiting the woods onto the Highland Green property. I hardly ever see other runners on my loops, so to see two before it was light out was a bit of a surprise! I got in my 3 miles in 26:00 even, and the house was still dark upon my return. I even managed to get my shower in before Sam woke up. She was a bit surprised to find I had wet hair when I went up to get her. Upon feeling my hair after giving me a nice wake-up hug, she said, "Wet hair, Mama. Take a shower?" So cute. I do love watching and listening to her work through all these normal, day-to-day things!

Christmas Fun!

2011-12-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

I started wrapping the Christmas presents last night.

The cats "helped." As in chewed the ribbon, and tore at the tissue paper. Oh such fun! :-)

What? We're helping!

Cart Path Run

2011-12-05T13:54:00.000-05:00

Got in a nice run across the street this morning, running the cart paths and the Heath Trail loop for 7 miles. Felt like I was working a little hard for the just-under-9-minute pace I managed, but it was a beautiful morning to be out. Thanks to Ryan for watching the kiddo so I could get out at the start of the day!

Speaking of the kiddo, she is almost 26 months old, and her vocabulary has just exploded! She talks in "full" sentences now, missing a word here or there, but really working to string her words together for a complete thought. She picks up on new words and phrases right away, and is beginning to truly understand the way language can be used to empathize, express feelings, etc, patting me on the back and saying, "It OK Mama. No problem," if she sees that something has upset me. Or telling Ryan in the car yesterday, "Mama at work. Mama sad," after asking where I was and being told that I was working. Today when I was getting her out of the car after being out, she said, "How you Mama?" to which I replied, "Good. How are you, Sammy?" and she just got a kick out of repeating the sequence over and under. She can sing the three lines of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" all by herself, as well as most of the words to "The Wheels on the Bus." She asks for specific songs and books (and videos on my IPhone too!), and once I have read her a book a few times, she can "read" it back to me, having memorized the key points. Adorable! Her imagination is developing too, and she loves to "feed" her babies, make up things in her little kitchen, draw specific things instead of just scribbling randomly, etc. She is, as always, a bubbly, energetic and enthusiastic child with a mind of her own and a personality that is way too big for her little body! Someone at the Pineland Farms storytime this morning told her boy to watch out for "the baby." "She's little," to which I laughed, and said, "She's two! She's just tiny." She laughed back and said, "I thought her talking seemed advanced for her size!" Ha!!

Go Go Go!

2011-12-04T20:11:00.001-05:00

My niece Morgan stayed with us last night, as Kristen had her office holiday party and wouldn't be home until late. The girls are very cute together but definitely hype each other up a bit, so there was a lot of racing around last night before bedtime and this morning when we got up. Which was early. As usual, Sam was up at the crack of dawn, and she and I were downstairs right around 6am. Unfortunately, we woke Morgan up so she stumbled down a few minutes later. Ryan, who had been relegated to the floor last night while Morgan and I slept in our bed, climbed up to reclaim his spot on the bed and get a few more winks! After a few hours of playtime, we met up with Kristen in Freeport at The Fresh Batch, which is a great spot to go with kids, as it is counter service, has yummy food, good coffee and best of all, a small indoor play area. Works wonders for keeping the kids entertained while the adults drink coffee! We couldn't leave Freeport without walking up to LLBean and visiting the "fishies." We also met LL the Bear, who frightened both Sam and Morgan. I mean, I'd be frightened by a big bear 4x my size too! Of course, as we were leaving, all Sam could talk about was "bear, bear, bear" but did she want to give him a high five? Nope! Oh well.

While Ryan got in his run, Sam had lunch, and then I put her down for a nap. After she was down, I headed out for my own run. Although it was nice out, I just wasn't feeling all that enthused about running. I guess I need to start wrapping my head around the long run again, as apparently I am just not quite there mentally at this point. I only got in 10 today, but did have a nice run, mixing up the route a bit by starting out on the cart paths and then hitting the Cathance trails for the remainder of the miles. It was warm and sunny, but windy, and man, the semi-frozen mud puddles that I was stomping through along the trails were COLD! The river was roaring, and I saw a number of others out enjoying the nice December afternoon.

I got home just as Sam was waking up, and when she saw my legs, she said "Mama sweaty! Mama legs dirty." Yup, you got it, kiddo! Into the shower for me, and then over to Nate and Shannon's for some afternoon playtime, chatting and a yummy root vegetable chili and cornbread dinner. Sam fell right to sleep when we finally got her into bed a little bit ago, and I have a feeling I will be doing the same shortly. Yet another fun-filled, active Sunday! I'm tired!

Crispy Crunchy

2011-12-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

This has been a bit of a down week, running-wise. Only got in 25 miles. Just haven't quite felt as energetic as I would have like, but oh well. I did get out for a nice run today on the powerlines to cap off the week, however. The sky was blue and the air was crisp. The hoar frost crunched, the dark, hardening mud oozed, and the frozen puddles cracked beneath my feet as I ran along. The birds flitted in the bushes, and the red winterberries shone in the sun. Lovely December morning to be out!

Wet Feet

2011-12-01T11:23:00.000-05:00

Woke up with a bit more energy today, and had a nice 5.25 mile run down to the river and back before work. For now at least, it appears we've returned to more seasonable temperatures, and it was a pleasant 35 degrees when I headed out at 8:30. The trails were pretty soggy, the river was running high, and lots of puddles meant wet, cold feet! The bog bridges were covered with sparkling frost, and the low angle of the sun at this time of year meant I was dazzled by the bright sunshine for half of the run. I also had a few good animal sightings this morning, which is always fun. Just caught the white tail of a deer hopping off into the brush as I was rounding a corner on the Heath Trail, and as I was popping out of the woods onto the dirt road, I looked up to see three crows chasing a red-tailed hawk into the woods, the hawk darting this way and that with the crows in hot pursuit. Also saw a beautiful, big Bald Eagle sitting on the top of a barren tree on the edge of Pleasant Bay as I headed up to work a bit later. I wonder if the four Hooded Mergansers in the waters below were feeling a bit uncomfortable with him looking down on them?! :-)

Creaky

2011-11-30T12:56:00.001-05:00

You would think that two days off in a row would be better than one if you were trying for a mellow week, right? But honestly, taking two days off after having the biggest weekend of back-to-backs (12.25 and 10.75) in a while turns out to not such a hot idea (not that the runs are a lot compared to some, but that is a lot over a weekend for me at this point!). Although the skies had cleared by the time I headed out for my run around 8:15 this morning, and the temperature was hovering around 60 degrees (Come on! It's November 30th! This is just weird!!), I could not get in a rhythm. My legs felt heavy. I was creaky. I felt low on energy. Blah. I changed my mind on the route about a mile in, and went for 4 miles instead of longer. Hopefully I'll have a bit more pep in my steps tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Photos

2011-11-28T12:53:00.000-05:00

No running today, so here are a few more photos from our trip to Grammie & Grampie's for Thanksgiving! We had a lot of fun :-)

Enjoying the warm weather out back

Breakfast with Grampie

Riding her trike!

Such fun!

Foam rolling :-)

Watching "The Elephant Song" on the IPad

All dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner

More bike!

Wheeeeeeee!!!!

Stonecat Wanderings

2011-11-27T20:01:00.002-05:00

I knew Ryan was likely hoping to get a medium-length run in today to complete a good back-to-back for the weekend, so I suggested going over to Willowdale to run. As we had left Sam with Irene and Dana all morning yesterday, we chose to go later in the day today, leaving once Sam had gone down for her nap. This would enable us to get in at least some of our running when she wouldn't miss us, and would give the grandparents a bit of a break too :-) I know they love her, but Sam is a bit high-energy and that is tiring at times! Anyway, we didn't get onto the trails until a little after 1:00 pm. The sun had finally come out and temps were in 50s, but I was still chilled when we started. The gloves stayed on for a few miles at least, and I never really felt like I sweated much.

As we were running the start of the Stonecat course, I asked Ryan, so, do you know where we're going? To which he replied, you are the one who has run the race here! True. But seriously. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bit directionally challenged. Once I've run somewhere a number of times, I can remember a route, same as with driving. But, despite having run the race last year, I would not say I knew the course. Oh well. I would give it my best try. Luckily we found that the race crew had put up pieces of reflective tape at intersections and key points along the trails, and we were able to pretty easily follow the course for the first few miles without having an issue. The crossing between the two beaver ponds/bogs was deep and really really cold! We had no choice but to splash right through it, and in a few of the deeper spots, the water actually splashed up to my knees. Brrr! It took a while for my feet to warm up after that.

Somewhere around mile 5, we noticed we weren't seeing as much reflective tape. But I remembered bits here and there, and thought we were on course. What I didn't know was whether I had us exactly on track, or not. We just sort of winged it, and it was going fine, except that around 7 miles in, I was starting to feel that my stomach was not very happy. And I was getting hungry, but the GU I had in my pocket would have been a bad idea at this point. And we didn't know where we were. I got a bit grumpy. I was upset that I felt like I was supposed to be leading us on a route I didn't know well. Of course, Ryan said he was expecting me to get lost, but I wasn't sure that really helped :-) Anyway, we snapped back and forth a few times, and after I took a bio-break, Ryan took over for a few minutes, we made our peace, and ended up back on track.

From there, I remembered the way, and although we skipped a few of the late in the loop single-track additions by design, we kept on course. We ended up back at the school with 10.75 miles, and since I was hoping for between 8 and 10, that was more than enough! Despite the "bad patch" around mile 7, it's always good to be out in the woods! I felt strong running, and was happy to have the chance to get in another nice trail run with Ryan. Grandparents are awesome :-) Thanks Irene and Dana! We really appreciate it!

Twelve at The "Other" Brad

2011-11-26T13:21:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Mindy for the title of this post :-) Ha! This morning, Ryan and I left Sam with Grammie, Grampie, Auntie Meg and Uncle Chris, and headed to Bradley Palmer for a run. Ryan was planning on a trail marathon, his final long run before Lookout, and I figured I would tag along for 2 loops on the Fat Ass course to get in 12. Actually, I needed to make it 12.25 so I could round out the week at an even 35 ;-) Nothing like being flexible!

Anyway, it was bright and sunny, and although it was supposed to get warm, it was still a bit chilly at 8:45, especially in the shade. But of course, we warmed up quickly. In fact, a little after a mile into the loop, we took a short detour back to the car so Ryan could drop his shell. Since we were running the FA course, it meant we could just "go" and not think about a route or worry about mileage, and really, it's a nice loop through the park. Things were a bit mushy in spots from the recent rain, and there had obviously been a lot of horses out enjoying the good weather, as they had left A LOT of dropping and churned things up, but otherwise, the trails were in good shape, and I enjoyed the fun mix of twisty singletrack and wide old roads.

I could tell Ryan wasn't really feeling it right from the start, so we just chugged along, silently ticking off the miles side by side. I was feeling pretty good, and felt badly that I couldn't do anything much to help Ryan out, except just keep on going. We ticked off the first loop (6.28 miles) in 59:xx, and after a quick bathroom break for me, headed right back out. Ryan was struggling a fair bit with tight groin/psoas muscle, and I was a little concerned, but when we got back to the cars at the end of loop number 2, he was ready to head right back out. I stopped once the Garmin hit 12.25 and called it a day, having gotten in a good almost-two hours on the trails. I came home to find Sam playing happily with the crew, and they really tired her out, as she went down easily for her nap, which is always a bonus :-) In the end, Ryan pushed on through, and finished his trail marathon in 4:04. Nice! All in all, a good day at The "Other" Brad :-)

Post-Thanksgiving Fun

2011-11-25T13:57:00.002-05:00

We're still hanging out at Ryan's parent's place, so we took advantage of the "in house" babysitters this morning and went out for another run together. We hit the same loop as yesterday. It was about 15 degrees warmer out, and we were 2 minutes slower. My legs were feeling a bit heavy. Maybe from yesterday's run, yesterday's dinner, or all that pie, who knows!? But it was still a nice morning to get out.

Sam was in a bit of a "funk" this morning, so after we got showered up, she, Ryan, Meghan and I hopped in the car and went to a nearby playground attached to an elementary school. They had a little house with one of those play kitchens inside, and she spend most of the time there, making "tea for Bampie," coffee and cookies for the rest of us, and gathering up wood chips and putting them in and taking them out of the sink, etc. We couldn't convince her to go down the slide this time, but she did have fun walking up the steps and jumping into our arms from the top platform. And as she was walking up, she was counting for us. Very cute :-) She's also really gotten one through ten down!

The change of scenery had the desired effect, and by the time we were ready to go back home she was in a much better mood!

Irene and Dana nicely offered to watch Sam later so that Ryan, Meghan, Chris and I could go out to dinner tonight. We're looking forward to a yummy Mexican dinner that doesn't involve the inevitable yells of "Doooowwwwn!" before the meal is done :-) Thanks Grammie and Grampie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T19:22:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day, full of friends and family, and lots of yummy food and drink! Ryan and I started off the day by going out around 8:30 for a nice, quick 5 miler on the roads around his parents house in Georgetown. It was cold, but there is no snow down here. None at all! In fact, Irene couldn't believe that we actually had 6" on the ground at home!! During the run, I was feeling good. Ryan wasn't. He said I was pushing the pace. I said I was just trying to take advantage of one day when I'm feeling faster than he is :-) We finished off the loop in 39:03, and hoped it was enough to earn us each a few pieces of pie (or some extra turkey and stuffing in Ryan's case)!!

We had a fun day with everyone, and Sam tired everyone out :-)

Building "a big house" with Great Grammie

Getting the animals together for the zoo with Bampie

Stickers with Auntie Meg!

Matching hats!

Busy Monday

2011-11-21T20:54:00.001-05:00

Since it is a short week this week, I took Sam into daycare today. Yes, I could have spent the day with her, and maybe that is what a "good" mother would do, but honestly, my list of things-to-do is long, things are constantly being added to it, and having an extra day to cross things off the list sounded like a good idea. Plus, Sam is going to get more than enough family time over Thanksgiving, so I figured she would be happy to spend the day with her friends at daycare, leaving me 8 1/2 hours "free."

Of course, I couldn't resist spending part of that time running, so after dropping Sam off, I headed to the Commons to get in a nice run on the trails. I haven't had the chance to get over there in a while, and it was a good change of pace. It was crisp and cool out, the trails were leaf-covered, and the woods were quiet. I managed to get in 7.25 miles in a little over an hour before heading home to do some laundry, grab some lunch and head downtown to do a little Christmas shopping. It is highly unlike me to be Christmas shopping so early, but none of the shops open until 10am, so there is no way to get down there except on a day like today. I came away with a few bags full of goodies and then sped south on 295 to do some errands around Portland. By the time I was back in the driveway this afternoon, it was 4pm. Where did the day go?! I had hoped to get a lot more done, but alas, time flies! Off for one more errand, and to pick up the kiddo! So much for all that "free" time :-)

A Warm November Sunday

2011-11-20T20:55:00.000-05:00

I had originally hoped that I might be able to meet up with the girls for a run today but, you know, Ryan has that 50 mile thing coming up :-), so he claimed Sunday as his long run day, meaning it was just Sam and I hanging out this morning. We hung out for a bit at home and then headed over to Bradbury for a hike and to find Daddo out in the woods. It was sprinkling lightly when we left, but by the time we arrived at the park, the sky was a beautiful blue. And although the breeze was cool, it was warm and sunny, the perfect day to be out walking on the trails. Sam didn't want to walk on her own, so I put her in the Ergo, and we headed out to the Terrace Trail. Ryan was planning to run the Snowshoe Bad**s first, and then do the Breaker to get his run over 20 miles. I took a guess, based on time and what I thought might be the ending of one of the snowshoe races, and in the end, it worked out! As we were walking up, we saw Ryan, Jeff and NJ Dave heading down, all looking good.

Sam and I continued on up, taking in the view from the summit before heading down to the playground. Sam did a lot of swinging, and a little playing, and we managed to see Ryan one more time. He yelled that he thought he was going to be out there for a while, so I figured Sam and I might as well go get lunch. And who should we see as we walked into the parking lot, but Val? Yeah! She was up for lunch at Edna & Lucy's, and it was fun to have a chance to catch up a bit! Sam missed out on a delicious grilled cheese, which ended up going wonderfully with my soup, and chose to dine on a homemade donut instead. Can't blame her too much, I guess! Val and I chatted while Sam ran back and forth between us and the rocking chair, which she pondered for a while before figuring out how to climb into/off it. She had such a great smile on her face when she looked over at us the first time she sat herself down in the chair! So cute :-)

Turns out Ryan was more in the mood for a Philly Cheesesteak than Edna & Lucy's, so it all worked out fine! And once Sam was down for her nap, I headed out for my own run. I ran down to the river, enjoying the warm afternoon. The golf course parking lot was full - why not on a 60 degree day?! - and there were a number of people out enjoying the trails.

Sam requested we go to "her" playground late in the afternoon, and it seemed too nice of an afternoon to not take advantage of, so we jumped in the car for a quick 1/2 hour of swinging and sliding, watching the sun set above the trees. A fun day enjoying this ridiculously unseasonably warm weather! And I topped it all off with a big bowl of pumpkin ice cream, so I am more than happy :-) Hurray!

Heavy Clouds, No Rain

2011-11-17T13:05:00.002-05:00

Apologies to Sting, as I was no doubt singing "Heavy Clouds, No Rain" totally off-key this morning as I ran :-) OK, so I wasn't really singing out loud, but you get the idea. Amazingly, despite my total lack of rhythm and inability to carry a tune, Sam still requests that I sing her songs. "Baby Bumblebee," "Wheels on the Bus," "Twinkle Twinkle," and the newest, courtesy of Kate, "Goin' on a Bear Hunt." These songs get stuck in my head a lot, so it was nice when "Heavy Clouds, No Rain" popped up this morning - a welcome change!

Anywho, I head out under heavy cloud cover this morning to run the cart paths. I was surprised to find a maintenance man out on the course, cleaning up the first green. Wow, this is seriously late in the year to be playing golf in Maine, isn't it?! But then again, I guess we have been having some seriously unseasonable weather of late, so why not? I was also surprised to run past a medium-sized yellow and brown striped snake as I was nearing hole #6. I guess he was out looking for some sun on a November morning! I stopped to watch him for a bit as he wandered slowly off the path back into the brush before continuing on my way.

Rice!

2011-11-16T11:01:00.001-05:00

The past two mornings, Sam has asked for rice "with cheeeeezzzz!" for breakfast. Yesterday, when that is what she wanted, I had to smile, as I couldn't help remembering my sister Kristen, who was never one to like traditional breakfast foods, eating rice for breakfast many mornings when we were growing up. I emailed my mom and sister to share with them that Sam was continuing the Raymond tradition of non-traditional breakfast foods. My mom wrote back to say that she had had 1/2 a chicken salad sandwich for breakfast, and Kristen replied that Morgan had eaten dumplings for breakfast. Well, OK then :-)

~

What a beautiful sunny, bright morning! I got in a nice six miles on the trails, although I was way over dressed! Lots of bird sightings today, which was fun. About a mile into the run, a Hairy Woodpecker flew overhead. I stopped to watch it, as it flitted from one tree to the next until it finally settled on the ground, hopping around and pecking at this and that. As I was returning on the powerlines, I watched a big hawk fly silently over the brush. It was a bit too far away for a concrete identification but I am thinking it was likely a red-shouldered hawk based on its rusty-orange breast. Then, as I was coming up the powerline hill onto the Mt. Ararat tower road, there was a huge uproar in the top of the pine trees. A small murder of crows was making quite a racket! Lots of juncos, goldfinch, sparrows and robins out and about too.

Cathance 10

2011-11-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

I got in my own jaunt around the Cathance this morning. Donning my bright-orange reflective vest, I hit the trails at 7:15 this morning for a nice 10 miler. It was weirdly warm out. And it's November 14. I hardly believed the thermometer, which was reading just over 50 degrees, so I put on shorts, a long sleeve shirt and wore gloves. The gloves were off before mile 3, and the sleeves got rolled up soon after. I scared up a big doe along the Ravine Loop, but otherwise the woods were quiet, void of animals and people. I ran the "regular" 9ish mile loop and tacked on a bit at the end, coming down the back road to Tedford and then up the powerlines from Topsham Crossing. I felt a bit weighed down by the leftover pancakes I had eaten just before leaving, and didn't eat anything in the 1:35 I was out there, which is highly unusual for me. Other than that, I felt pretty good, and was happy to get in a bit of a longer run.

I got home with just enough time to hop in the shower before Sam and I headed to Pineland for the Monday morning story time. The stories this week were cute, but a bit too advanced for Sam. She did, however, enjoy the snack - delicious apples and cheese from the farm :-) - and it was a good activity for the morning. It was so warm out that after we picked up our requisite purchase from the Market (cheese this time around), we went out walking in the fields for a bit, with Sam running ahead and stopping to pick dandelions along the way. There were still bees and a few butterflies out feeding on the flowers too, so I guess we were all taking advantage of what Mother Nature was giving us today!

Cathance & Pancakes, November Edition

2011-11-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

In the early summer, when we hosted our last Cathance & Pancakes run, Ryan was injured. So I led the group out on the trails. This time around, it was my turn to stay at home, hang with Sam and get the food cooked up while Ryan showed the group some of the new trails he's been exploring beyond the Cathance. Sounds like he came up with a great route!

Kate, who is recovering from a great run at Stonecat last weekend, stayed behind with Sam and I. Kate is just the kind the teacher I hope Sam has when she gets to school age - I was impressed that she was updating a blog of her classroom's activities for the week so that the parents could keep up-to-date with things, and she brought over 2 of the IPads that her classroom had been issued, just so that Sam could play on them for a while. Most of the apps were a bit too advanced for Sam, but she did get a kick out of an app that let her finger be the "crayon" on the pad. We also sang a few songs. Thanks for keeping us company, Kate, and for being so good with Sam!

Kate also helped me with the cooking, and it's a good thing! There is no way I could have gotten everything cooked up without help. We looked at the pile of food we made - 2 plates piled high with pancakes, 2 lbs. of bacon, sausages, plus what others had brought, and figured it would be more than enough. Well, I have obviously forgotten what a crowd of runners can eat :-) We were back to the stove for a few more rounds of pancakes, bacon and sausage within minutes of everyone walking in the door! But it was great fun, and always nice to have a chance to catch up with everyone!

While I didn't get to join in on the running part of "Cathance & Pancakes" this time around, I did get out for a run before everyone came over. I donned my Inov-8 road shoes once again, and headed out on the Highland Green loop. I had no real plans for what sort of run this was going to be, but I felt good, and somehow it turned into a fast one. I didn't quite manage to negative-split all five miles, as the last mile is back uphill on the powerlines, but it was close. 8:22; 7:53; 7:44; 7:26 and 7:45. Felt nice to push the pace a bit. And what better thing to do after a nice morning run than make pancakes and hang with friends? :-)

Now it's onto an afternoon playdate and dinner with Morgan and Kristen! Might as well cram the day full of fun, right?!

New Shoes

2011-11-12T10:42:00.001-05:00

Ryan has been hounding me to actually get out and wear the new Inov-8 road shoes that I got from Ian last month. They have been sitting by the door, all pretty and white, for a few weeks and I have yet to don them. Until this morning. I don't know why. I think because I was slightly taken aback at the sole of the shoe, and unsure how they would actually be to run in, even though they were certainly comfortable wearing around. In any event, today was their maiden voyage :-) Finally!


Shiny and new! And so girly with all the purple too :-)

I did a quick spin around the short Highland Green loop, adding on a loop around the middle school to get to 3.5 miles, you know, just so this week would be an even 30. Ha. Anyway, the shoes held up great. Very cushy. And although I was nervous about how they would do on anything other than road, they were fine on the rocks and sand and gravel. I don't think I'd want to wear them if it was slick out, or slushy, but the traction from the strange soles is actually quite good. So it looks like they'll be in the rotation now, which is just what we need... another pair of shoes by the door :-)

Seven

2011-11-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

Got in a lovely 7 miles on the trails yesterday. It was in the 50s (!!) so I went out wearing shorts and short-sleeves. The short-sleeve shirt was my 2008 MDI Marathon shirt, which is HUGE, but is a bright orange-yellow, and practically meant I was glowing out there in the woods. Luckily, I heard no shots this time, and saw no hunters. I ran a modified version of the dump loop, which means that for 90% of the time, I was running trails bordering people's yards, making it pretty safe, even on a day where I might find hunters in the woods. Spent a lot of time pondering the whole Penn State mess (so sad), as well as thinking about 2012 races. The run went by in a flash, and I managed to squeak the 7 miles in in just under an hour. Just a short run on tap for tomorrow, which will bring my mileage for the week up to a reasonably respectable 30 :-)

To the River and Back

2011-11-09T14:19:00.000-05:00

I came home from dropping off Sam at daycare, and was getting myself ready to head out for a run. Ryan was in the middle of his breakfast, and abruptly looked up and said "Whatcha runnin'?" I told him I was planning to run to the river and back for 5.5 miles, and asked if he wanted to join me. He looked up and said, sure. So there you go, instant running partner. Yeah! It was cool out, but there was a thick low-lying fog and the air was somehow heavy and sticky. Weird. We had a nice run through the woods and down to the river. We chatted the whole way, mostly about racing, as we discussed the pros and cons to this race and that race. I was so into the conversation that my legs went on auto-pilot not once, but twice, wanting to lead me on the 7 mile Cathance loop instead of shorter river loop. Ryan could only shake his head at me. I guess that's what I get for mostly running alone. When I am with someone and talking away, I get so caught up in the conversation that I don't pay attention to the route. Oops :-) Anyway, we ran a nice, snappy 47:26 for the 5.5 miles - or nice and snappy for me anyway! - and it was lots of fun to have some company, and to have someone to bounce race ideas off. Thanks Ryan!

Monday Monday Monday

2011-11-07T20:31:00.001-05:00

I got in a nice 6 miles on the cart path this morning. It was chilly when we woke up, so I was back in tights, gloves and hat. I kept the pace easy, and just let my mind wander as I ran along. With all the talk of people signing up for spring ultras, I was rolling things over in my head, pondering what I want to do with next year's race calendar. I have the 10 miler and the Bradbury snowshoe series on tap for the winter (although I really really need to get some snowshoes!), but I definitely want to have a few longer things to run next year. The question is what, and when. I haven't found what seems like just the "perfect" race yet, so I guess I have to keep looking :-) Somehow, I am sure I will come up with something(s) good!

Ryan vacated the premises soon after I got back from my run, and my friend Jess and three of her kids came over to play with Sam. It was a bit of a whirlwind with everyone running around, but we managed to catch up a bit at least :-) It had turned into a really nice, warm morning, so after they left, Sam and I took a walk out back, and swept some leaves off the patio before lunch/naptime. We kept busy in the afternoon with a grocery shopping trip, silly "night night" games and singing songs, and Sam "helped" me make pizza for dinner. A pretty typical Monday around here :-)

~

One of my cousins posted this photo of the family from our weekend in Williamstown last month. I love the expressions on Sean and Ryan's faces :-) And it is such fun to see a photo of all of us together!

The Raymond clan

Back to Shorts

2011-11-06T20:40:00.001-05:00

It is hunting season here in Maine. This means lots of orange gear when out running. But Sundays are a day of no hunting. Which means, take a deep breath, still wear your orange, and head out into the woods to enjoy the peace and quiet. All of which I intended to do today. So, after a really really really early wake-up (darn you, daylight savings!!), a yummy breakfast and fun on the indoor playground at The Fresh Batch, and some time in LLBean, I headed out for my run right at noon, shortly after Sam went down for her nap. It was a beautiful blue sky day, and it had warmed up nicely to right around 50 degrees. Back to shorts weather! Wearing a long sleeve top with my bright yellow-orange MDI Marathon t-shirt from 2008 over it (see hunting note above), I was perfectly comfortable.

I ran through the woods to the quarry, and then down along the river. The bright sunlight filtered down through the remaining leaves on the trees and pockets of cold air greeted me in the hollows. The water rushed over the rapids along the river, and the leaves crunched underfoot. I had the trails to myself. It was lovely. After meandering the twisty trail along the Ravine loop, I headed out on the back Highland Green roads to Tospham Crossing. I was feeling good, and was pondering the rest of my route as I neared the powerlines. And then, BAM! A shot. Loud. Very nearby. Followed by a second shot! I stopped, my heart pounding. It was Sunday! There should be no hunting! What the hell?! Another shot sounded. And that was that. That was all I needed. I turned right, instead of left, and hightailed it back home. I was really looking forward to getting in more miles, but I had no desire to be shot at, and honestly, after hearing the shots, I just sort of lost my desire to be out running in the woods alone. I am sure someone was just doing target practice, but sheesh! It was pretty creepy. I ended up with 8 miles on the nose in 1:15.

We rounded out the afternoon playing outside in the leaves and the sandbox, and then having Nate, Shannon and Charlotte over to dinner (Finley was spending a few days with his grandparents). The two girls had lots of fun! There was lots of giggling going on :-) It was a great time!

Our Little Character

2011-11-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

Sam is talking up a storm these days. She is quite the chatterbox, and some of the things she says/does these days are just a riot. She certainly is a little character! In an effort to document some of these things for posterity's sake (or future embarrassment down the road), here is a random recent list of "Samisms":

We will listen to her on the monitor at night after I've put her down to sleep, and she'll be singing "Baby Bumblebee," "Happy Birthday," "Baa Baa Black Sheet" and/or the ABC song to herself, over and over. She tattles on herself, telling me the other day when I picked her up from daycare, "Sammy time out. Pull Annie hair." (Gotta love two year olds!) She loves to narrate everything we do, everything she sees in front of her, and give us precise directions on what she would like us to do next.

"Mama sit box too!"

She loves to help around the house. She will grab her broom, dustpan and little brush, and say "Help mama clean. Sweep bathroom." She just learned how to put her hands in her sweatshirt pockets yesterday morning, and was running around the house with the sweatshirt zipped all the way up, hood up and hands in her pockets, giggling like mad. She loves to have us run with her around the house, back and forth, back and forth, from the stair landing to the dishwasher. "Run Mama run!" The other night, after Ryan got home from being away for two days/nights, she ran up to give him a hug and said "Missing you Daddo." Wrong tense, but oh so adorable.

This morning, while I was out running, Ryan managed to catch her singing Happy Birthday to Pippi on his IPhone. We've been practicing, so that she would be prepared to tell Dad "Happy Birthday" this morning, and after a few tries she actually did say it to him over the phone, but I'm glad we have this video too. So cute :-)

Happy Birthday Pippi!

---

In running news, I went out for a nice 6 miles on the cart path yesterday, and got in 4 this morning, to round out the week at 25 miles. The mornings have been nice and sunny and crisp. Great for running!

Variable

2011-11-02T12:30:00.000-04:00

If you're a skier, you know that the snow report has its own language. You realize that when "variable" is used to describe the conditions, it means all bets are off. It could be awesome out there. It could be wicked sketchy. Heck, it could be great for one turn and horrible for the next three. And if it's early or late season skiing you're doing, variable is probably what you're going to get. A rock here. Ice there. Some great fast stuff in the middle. Who knows? But if you're a true skier, you're out there anyway. Because, well, why not?! I think the same use of variable applies to trail running, especially in the shoulder seasons of late fall and early spring. You never know what you're going to get out on the trails when you head out for a run on a cold, early November morning, a few days after a freak October snowstorm. And even though Ryan warned me it was going to be slick out there, I said, "I can't just run the road loop for the next two months!" So, I put on my screw shoes for the first time this year. Yes, it was overkill for a lot of the route, and the screws click-clack-clicked along the road and the rocks. But it gave me the freedom to not pussy-foot around on the icy stretches, to dig right into the crunchy snow and just keep on going without a thought. I sunk into hoar frost 3" deep, and through the thin and crisp transformed layer of snow into the soft sand below. I splashed through some cold mud, and skirted around frozen puddles. It was messy, late fall conditions at their "best," and variable to say the least. But you know what? It was fun. Which, after all, isn't that why we're out there?!

Halloween Fun

2011-11-01T16:33:00.004-04:00

Well, we didn't do a traditional Halloween like most folks, because honestly, it is not my favorite holiday, and the thought of traipsing around in the dark with a 2 year old all in the name of candy is just not my cup of tea! I figure I'll hold off on this one until I possibly can! But we did have a fun day anyway!

After running laps around the house for a while, Sam and I headed over to Pineland Farms for their Monday Story Hour. Although Sam loves her books, going to a story hour was a bit different and may have been too much for her, but we still had fun, even if we didn't always pay attention to the story at hand :-) I do think this will be a good activity to keep in mind for the future for sure! The leader read 3 stories, then took a break to give the kids a snack (Sam loved the yummy Pineland Farms cheese!) and let them color a picture. Then it was back for two more books, and a few songs. As it was Halloween, everything was holiday related, and a lot of the kids had on costumes. We came home with Sam asking me to sing her "hokey" (ie. the Hokey Pokey). Gotta love all these wacky kid songs! *sigh*

Then after naptime, we headed over to Nate and Shannon's for our annual "avoid Halloween" dinner. I did at least put Sam in her tutu, so that we were in the spirit of things a bit :-) Don't the winter hat and the green elf-like slippers just complete the ensemble?!

Actually, while she was excited to wear her tutu, she was even happier for the chance to race around the house with Finley, ride one of his toy bikes, and make a bit of a racket! :-) We enjoyed a delicious dinner of root vegetable chili, salad and bread, and I brought a pumpkin pie for dessert. Yum. We offered Sam a the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup at one point, but it was of no interest to her whatsoever! Ha. I'm thinking she didn't realize she was missing anything at all by not trick or treating, which is just what we intended :-)

Slick

2011-10-31T13:45:00.000-04:00

Sam had a worried little look on her face as Ryan said "Be careful!" when I headed out the door this morning for my run. So cute. It was 7:30, the thermometer was reading 28 degrees and things were looking pretty slick from our front window. All that melting snow and slush? Now solid ice. (Of course, as I write this post, it's over 40 degrees out and all that solid ice is now melting again. Guess it's that time of year!)

I hit the powerlines, and after only that short stretch, decided that it wasn't going to be the morning for a true trail run, as I didn't have my screw shoes on and I wasn't feeling confident about all the ice out there. So I turned onto Highland Green road to do the 5 mile road loop. A bit of black ice on the pavement, but otherwise not bad. And the part that Ryan had thought would be the worst of the loop - the back dirt road - was probably the best running. A few cars had driven that stretch of road right after the storm yesterday, and with the afternoon sun, the snow had melted, leaving a firm, packed dirt road. Perfect.

After my shower, Sam decided it was time for her workout, and so we ran laps through the house, with Sam giggling and laughing as I chased her between the stairs and the dishwasher. We stopped every once in a while, at her request, to sit and "rest" on the landing. But I guess Sam believes in very little time between intervals though, as none of those rest stops lasted for long :-)

Snow and Slush

2011-10-30T20:28:00.000-04:00

After all the hype, we ended up with about 3" of wet snow here at our house. That being said, it did end up being a pretty messy storm, with some really heavy, wet snow and high winds, and we were lucky to not lose power. I had really been looking forward to meeting up with Mindy and Valerie this morning at Bradbury for a run, but it just didn't seem like a good idea, getting in the car and driving on slick roads this morning when it wasn't an absolute necessity to be out. Darn! Silly October storm!

Instead, Sam and I went out to walk around for a bit and play in the snow. It took us forever to get her all suited up! And do you think she's wearing enough pink? :-) Ha!

She thought it was hard work walking around through the wet, sloppy snow, and didn't last long before she wanted me to carry her around -"Uppy, uppy, mama!" But she did have fun knocking down the little snowman I made for her, and knocking the snow off the bushes though!

Once we had put her down for her nap, and I had eaten a big bowl of leftover veggie pot pie (yum!), I finally decided I should head out for my run. The snow had stopped and it was warming up, but it was really windy. I wasn't really feeling super enthused about my run, and certainly didn't have a lot of umph while I was out there. I guess I had had my heart set on a run with friends, and so a solo jaunt around the neighborhood through the cold slush with the wind swirling just wasn't the same. I ended up piecing together a 5 mile run that included a bit of powerlines, cart path, slush dirt road and pavement, and that was good enough. Hopefully I'll have a little more fire tomorrow!

One Before the Storm

2011-10-29T13:43:00.000-04:00

I got out for a short and sweet 3 miles this morning. This brought my weekly mileage up to 29 miles. Should have gone for 4 instead! Darn :-)

We're supposed to get 8" to 12" of snow overnight and into tomorrow morning. Today is October 29th. Wow. That is really early for a snowstorm. Will we actually get that much snow? Or is it all hype? Guess we'll find out!

Ian very nicely dropped off my new road shoes for me at the gallery yesterday. How's that for good customer service?! Thanks Ian! I only tried them on briefly last night, and they did feel good. Very light. With a really funky sole and no "real" tread. Interesting. Of course, after being back ordered a few times, I got them just in time for the snow. Ha! :-) Somehow I think if I'm running tomorrow, I'll be running in screw shoes or with snowshoes!

Crisp

2011-10-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that parts of Maine had snow on the ground last night and this morning, we came away with just a thick frost and *almost* freezing temperatures throughout the night. That's OK with me. I know the snow will come soon enough, and honestly I don't need winter to arrive in October! As it was only 34 degrees when I left the house at 8:15, and no one in their right mind was going to be out playing golf in those temperatures, I decided I would run the golf cart paths over at Highland Green. It was a beautiful, crisp late fall morning. The sky was blue, the gold and brown leaves on the trees along the course shimmered in the sunlight, and there was a nice frost on the golf course greens. The small puddles along the cart paths had a light sheen of ice on them. I got in a nice 6 miles in 51 minutes, and even managed a very quick stop at the farmer's market on the Brunswick green to pick up some veggies and eggs before heading up to work. Perfect!

Late Fall

2011-10-26T12:49:00.001-04:00

It sure looked like late October out there this morning. It was overcast, with a bank of heavy clouds hanging low in the sky. But out on the horizon, there was a thin band of golden light, almost as if it were sunrise, even though it was more like 8:30. I ran the extended Homeplace loop, getting in a nice 6-mile lollypop out on the powerline trails. The low light and grey skies made the subtle late fall colors pop. The small grove of birch trees, their white trunks and shimmering yellow leaves. The deep red blackberry brambles and blueberry leaves. The brilliant reds of the winterberries, peeking out through the powerlines brush. I run along these trails over and over and over, and yet I am still taken with the scenery, still find things to look at, still find that something new, whether in or out, to think about, to ponder. I guess that is why we keep running, right?

~

Last night when I said goodnight to Sam and told her I loved her, she gave me a hug said, " I love you too, Mama." If that is not adorable, I don't know what is.

Fun with Pumpkins

2011-10-24T21:18:00.000-04:00

I decided that I should try to come up with some fun projects for Sam and I to do on the Mondays we are together. Today was pumpkin painting day! I used the washable finger paints that Meg had gotten for Sam this past winter, brought in the pumpkins Valerie had given us, spread a few big sheets of brown paper out on the floor, put Sam in old clothes and just let her have fun with it. It was the perfect, messy, fun afternoon activity!

Yeah for pumpkin painting!

The artist at work

The "scene"

The "masterpieces" :-)

Pumpkins are done... onto my hands... and feet :-)

Look Mama! Pretty!

Handprints!

Paint, paint everywhere :-)

YEAH!

{I got in a nice, mellow 5 miles on the Homeplace loop this morning before Ryan started working, but it wasn't half as exciting as pumpkin painting :-)}

A Great Outdoors Sunday

2011-10-23T20:03:00.001-04:00

We spent a lot of time outside today, and had a great time!

After a yummy breakfast at Broadway Deli, we took a walk around town, and then hit the playground. Apparently, our neighborhood playground is now "my playground" in Sammy-speak, and the swings are hers as well :-) Guess we're not so into the sharing thing right now...

Dino ride

Mama and me see-saw

When we got home, I left Ryan in charge of lunch and the nap attempt (a fail), and went out for a run in the Cathance. I did the 9 mile loop that takes in the vast majority of the trail system and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. The water was rushing through the rapids along the river, and the trails were leaf covered. It was a great hour and a half out in the woods.

I had just enough time for a quick shower, change and a bite to eat, and we were off for our afternoon adventure: Finley's 4th birthday party at Rocky Ridge Orchard, just up the road. It was the perfect place to be on a cool but sunny late October afternoon. We ended up spending almost 3 hours there, enjoying cake with Finley and his family, having fun in the wagon with Charlotte, exploring the pumpkin patch, picking apples in the orchard, and sampling a few goodies from the bakery. Thanks for inviting us, Finley! It was lots of fun!!

Charlotte and Sam take a wagon ride through the pumpkin patch

Yeah! Sticks :-)

More pumpkins!

Sam meets the monsters

Picking apples with Daddo

Charlotte and Shannon

Orchard view

Into the bag

Yum!

Orchard family portrait

No and Go

2011-10-22T21:00:00.001-04:00

After a nice morning of playtime, it was time for me to head out for my run so that I could get to work on time. Sam and I were sitting on the couch, and I told her it was time for me to go run. She looked at me with her big wide eyes, said "No running, Mama," and gave me a big hug. Luckily Ryan was there to tell her that I really did need to run, otherwise I might have given in and just stayed home instead. She then proceeded to scream, "Mama, Mama, Mama," as I walked upstairs to change. Thankfully, by the time I came back down, she was cheerily reading "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You" with Ryan and was saying "Go Mama!" as I headed out the door. Whew. Talk about a 180 degree shift.

I ran down to the river for a nice 5.25 mile lollypop. The river is running high with all the rain we've had recently, and the trails are starting to be covered pretty thickly with downed leaves. Looking forward to a longer run tomorrow, and spending some time with Ryan and Sam. It is Finley's 4th birthday party tomorrow, and we're headed up the road to Rocky Ridge Orchard for cake, apple and pumpkin picking and a hayride. I know Sam will love it!

Overdressed

2011-10-21T13:48:00.001-04:00

This morning, I felt chilled. It was damp and windy out. So despite the fact that the thermometer was reading 50 degrees, I chose to wear a light long-sleeve shirt and light tights for my run. Have I learned nothing in all my years of running?! I should always start out my run feeling a little cold. That way, after about a mile, I feel just right. Didn't quite get that today, but that's OK. I ran the 6 mile extended Homeplace loop. Somehow I seemed to be running into the wind on both the out and back portion of the run, but despite that, the sun was warm, the winterberries looked a brilliant red against the greens and browns of the brush along the powerlines, and it was a good run.

Five in the Mist

2011-10-20T12:22:00.001-04:00

Got out this morning for a quick spin around the Highland Green loop. 5 miles in 41 minutes and change. If I'm short on time (when am I not?!), I find that this loop is the best one to do. I don't want to run on the roads for each and every run, but there's nothing like roads for allowing one (for me, at least) to run a decent clip and get in a bit more mileage within an alloted amount of time than I might if I were running on trails, especially twisty turny trails with wet bog bridges and roots. Hopefully I'll have a bit more time tomorrow morning so that I can get back out in the woods for a bit more leisurely run :-)

Not that I'm really running with anything in mind right now. With Pisgah done, I don't have any races on the immediate horizon. I've raced a lot this year (for me), and I'm happy for the break. I'm not like Ryan. I don't run to race. I run because I love running, to be outside, enjoying my time in the woods or on the roads. Without a race in front of me, I don't feel pressure to run a certain amount of miles. I can be content to get in 25 to 30 miles a week, to maintain my base. I don't have to run super long. We can have some quiet weekends at home together. And honestly, all of this is nice. But on the other hand, I am a planner. I like to have a goal to work towards. Which begs the question, "What's next?" Gotta start looking at race calendars, I guess :-)

Playing in the Leaves (And a Short Run)

2011-10-18T12:29:00.000-04:00

We got home yesterday afternoon around 4pm, and Sam wanted to sweep the leaves off the patio outside. So she and I went out, me with a big broom and her with her little broom, to sweep. This resulted in me doing most of the sweeping, with her directing :-) It also resulted in a big pile of leaves right off the edge of our lawn. We were looking around at the pretty leaves - yellows and reds and oranges - and she went down to investigate the pile we had made. She took a small 'tumble' right into the pile, and thought it was fun so she did it again. And again. And again. Then I told her I could cover her up, which she thought was just great! Ryan got some great shots of her in the leaves :-) This is what fall is all about!

"Cover [me] up, Mama!"

Leaf pile fun

Pretty!

All covered up

Hi Mama! This is fun!

My run this morning was not quite as much fun as yesterday's leaf session, but I did manage to get out and run a quick three miles between grocery and farmer's market shopping and before heading off to work. While I have my moments when it comes to work, it is certainly a blessing to have a job that allows me some extra time in the mornings to run!

The Rest of the Weekend

2011-10-17T22:01:00.001-04:00

Sunday - MDI Marathon

Sunday was a busy day. We were all up early for race day. It was raining slightly just before the start, but Sam was in good spirits in the Ergo on my back as she, Irene, Dana and I walked to the starting line. The cannon sounded and the crowd surged forward. They were off! We quickly went back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat, and then off to our first meeting spot - mile 11.25ish. I was a bit nervous about the whole race viewing/crewing thing, but we managed to get everywhere we were supposed to go, and ended up having a great morning cheering on Ryan, Jamie and Blaine. It was also nice to have Kate and her parents at 11.25 and 17 miles too! I wish we had been able to see Jim and Shauna out on the course too, but my main goal for the day was to make sure I was where I needed to be for Ryan, so his schedule was dictating ours! Ryan's parents helped keep Sam amused during the journey, and we all had a great time watching the race.

Getting ready to cheer on the runners at the end of Sargent Drive

Happy Sam!

Ryan looking focused

Jamie, relaxed and looking strong

Ryan and Jamie started out together, but by mile 17 were a minute or so apart. Still, they both looked awesome. We also saw Blaine at each stop, as he was about 5 minutes ahead of Ryan and Jamie. I was impressed that he was smiling every time we saw him. We managed to see Blaine, Ryan and Jamie five times, as well as right at the finish line. It was a bit stressful to be support crew, and also have Sam with me, but Irene and Dana were a big help, and I hope our cheering helped the guys as they ran along! They all had great races. I am so proud of Ryan for finishing in 3:10:11 in 21st place. Amazing! What a PR, and what a race!

Everyone was in good spirits, and looking good, at the finish. We sat and chatted for a while, going over the race and such, and Sam and I enjoyed Ryan's ice cream. I swear, she ate some too :-)

Yum! Ice cream :-)

The little runner-to-be

After Ryan got his beer, and the rest of us had lunch, - priorities! - we drove back to the hotel to get cleaned up. It was pretty late, and Sam ended up not napping, although she was clearly tired. It was such a beautiful afternoon, and we didn't want to be cooped up inside, so she and I took a walk along the Shore Path. She's in a bit of a mama phase right now, especially when tired, and I thought the walk would at least give her some down time, and give my arms a bit of a rest. :-) The path was fairly quiet, and we had a nice walk along the ocean, watching the waves and enjoying the late afternoon light hitting the islands. When we got to the end, I asked Sam if she wanted to go back along the water or go through town, and she chose town, so that is what we did.

Late afternoon light on Balance Rock

Tired girl

It was a nice end to a good day. We were all tired and in bed early for sure!

Monday - Acadia Exploration

I didn't want to leave the island without getting in another run, so I headed out around 7:30. I planned out a route that would allow me to run right from the hotel, get me on the carriage roads for a bit, and most importantly, land me back at Two Cats to meet up with everyone for breakfast :-) I ran up to Duck Brook Road, a winding quiet road just on the boundary of the park. The early morning light was shining through the trees, and the ground was littered with golden leaves. After a little more than two miles on the roads, I hopped onto the carriage roads at Witch Hole Pond and took them over to Rt. 233 at Eagle Lake.

I had the trails to myself. It was a gorgeous, sparkly morning, I had some great views, and really enjoyed this stretch. Even Rt. 233 back into town wasn't all that bad, and after some good, quick downhill running, I ended up at Two Cats just as Ryan, Sam, Irene and Dana were coming up the block. The loop ended up being 6.96, and I got it done in 58:37. If everyone hadn't been there, I would have gone a bit further to get 7.0 on the nose, but that's OK :-) It was a great run and a nice way to start off the day. After socializing with the kitties, we all thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast. Ummm, Two Cats biscuits. Yum!

Sam had been talking about the "blue water" all weekend, and I had promised her that we would go down to the ocean today. She was convinced she would be swimming in the blue water, but we figured we could get away with just sticking our toes in the ocean! It was October 17, after all. We headed to Sand Beach, the only true beach on the island, to check things out. Luckily for us, the sun was warm, the skies were blue, and the water lapping the shore didn't feel too bad. Unfortunately, after a short walk to the water's edge, Sam decided she didn't like the cold blue water after all, and ended up taking the rest of the walk as a passenger on my back. Ah well. At least we tried :-)

Walking barefoot on Sand Beach

Beautiful day at Sand Beach

Well, at least we look good :-) Too bad Sam isn't smiling.

Sand Beach and the Beehive

Taking a short walk upstream at the end of the beach

All in all, it was an awesome weekend, and a lot of fun! Congrats again to Ryan, Jamie, Blaine, Shauna and Jim for great races on a really tough course, and thanks to Irene and Dana for joining us and helping with Sam! Acadia is such a special place, and it is always a treat to spend time up there.

Carriage Road Run

2011-10-15T21:04:00.002-04:00

We headed up to Bar Harbor this morning, and managed to time it perfectly so that Sam took a good nap after we stopped for lunch. In fact, she slept right through Ryan dropping me off at the Eagle Lake parking lot and even after Ryan had stopped the car at the marathon expo. Tired girl, I guess! It was a beautiful afternoon, with temps hovering right around 60 with bright blue skies and a strong wind blowing. The plan was for me to get in a good run on the carriage roads this afternoon. After looking at the maps, I decided that I could run a nice route around Witch Hole Pond and Eagle Lake, and get in around 11 miles. So, after Ryan dropped me off, I donned my Nathan pack, quickly hit the bathrooms, and came out to find Jamie in the parking lot! He had just dropped off Kate for her long run. He told me she was going clock-wise around Eagle Lake, so I thought I'd run counter-clockwise so we could say hi out on the trails :-) But first, I decided to stick with my plan and run out to, and around, Witch Hole Pond.

The woods were beautiful, with some gorgeous color. I only stopped for one photo along the way, so you'll just have to trust me that I was getting some nice views the whole time I was out there!

Marsh view

The carriage roads are a joy to run on. It's basically like road running without the impact. I was feeling a bit out of sorts due to having just sat in the car for almost three hours, and I was definitely feeling the french fries from lunch sitting in my stomach! They were delicious, but not an ideal afternoon running food :-) However, I was still able to keep up a snappy pace. The grade of the roads is smooth and runnable, and the fine gravel makes for an ideal surface. Throw in some crisp, dry autumn air, and it doesn't get much better!

As I was rounding Witch Hole Pond, I saw two men with two little dogs, stopped along the path. One of them was holding a huge camera and had peering intently up into a pine tree along the water's edge. I asked them what they were looking at, and it turns out there was a Bald Eagle perched up on one of the branches above. I stopped to take a look, and sure enough, there was the eagle. Of course, all I could see was its white tail feathers and brown rump, but there was no mistaking it! Cool! I didn't stop for long, but was thrilled to have such a fun sighting! And right near Eagle Lake too. Go figure :-)

I came back through the parking area with my Garmin reading 5.5 miles and the time reading right around 45 minutes. Perfect. As I ran up the slight incline along the right side of the lake, who should I see ahead but Jamie and Kate?! Unfortunately, Kate was feeling her IT band, and cut her long run short. Bummer. But as always, she was in good spirits, and had at least gotten in one spin around the lake! Along this stretch, I ran into a lot of walkers and bikers. I even played leapfrog with an older couple on their bikes. I would overtake them on the hills; they would glide by on the downhills. I think I ended up getting back to the parking area first, though :-) Anyway, I really was enjoying my run. I didn't feel like I was working too hard, and it was just so nice out. And I was running along the trails in one of my favorite places in Maine. It was just plain nice.

I turned the final corner at the end of the lake to find Ryan, Sam, Kate and Jamie walking towards me. It was perfect timing, as I had said I thought I would be out there for 1:30, and the 11.4 miles ended up taking me 1:35. Sam was looking for ducks on the "blue water" but with all the wind, we could find none. Maybe tomorrow!

It was a Dark and Stormy Night

2011-10-14T11:19:00.000-04:00

OK, so it wasn't that bad. But it was dark this morning when I headed out for my run. And misty. Sam had gotten up around 5:15, but I was able to put her back down to sleep, which is a good thing, because well, at 5:15, it is "really early outside," as Sam likes to say :-) I tried to go back to sleep myself, to no avail, so I got up, put on the coffee and got ready to run. I figured it was a gamble, as I didn't get out the door until about 5 after 6, but I hoped that Sam would sleep until I got back. It's not that I need to be there when she wakes up, but Ryan is not a morning person and I like to let him sleep until later in the morning if I can. Plus, I like my morning time with Sam. Apparently, the gamble didn't pay off this morning, as they were downstairs snacking and playing when I returned at 6:30, but luckily Sam was in a happy mood when she awoke, which was much better than yesterday!

For my run, I ran the short Highland Green loop. I didn't really need my headlamp, with the exception of the short stretch in the woods behind Highland Green, as the route is mostly roads with street lights. And once I got to the powerlines for the last stretch, even though it wasn't yet sunrise, there was enough light in the sky to see by. I was glad to not have to run by headlamp the whole time, as my eyes kept wanting to veer up to the highlighted mist and not down to the ground below :-) Gotta get one of those waist lights like Ian and Emma have!

Clingy and Rainy

2011-10-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

Sam was in quite a mood this morning. I don't know if it was because she was up late last night, or if the flu shot was bothering her, or if it was simply because she is two, but man, it was something. After a bit of a rough wake-up, things turned around until I went upstairs to get dressed before taking her to daycare and it was as if all hell broke loose. There were tears and screams and even when I came back down to get her, the crying did not stop. And then heaven forbid I try to put her down to brush my teeth. Oh the agony! Or when I gave her to Ryan to put on her shoes so that I could gather up our stuff for the car. You would think it was torture. Oh my goodness. I was just recently reading a blog where the mother talked about "the Phase of Endless Frustrated Tantruming Over Seemingly Nothing," and um, yes, I'd have to say we were fitting right into that phase this morning. All because I dared to go upstairs to get dressed. Oh my!

Luckily, when we got to her classroom, her teacher's 6 month old was visiting, so Sam was happy to go say hi to the baby and I was able to leave without creating a scene. It was heavenly to step out the door into the rain for a run after such a dramatic and noisy morning. To hear nothing except the pitter patter of the rain falling around me and the crunch of the leaves underfoot. Nothing makes you appreciate quiet like a screaming child :-) I told Ryan I was going to run the Highland Green loop, but after running less than half a mile on the road over to the high school, I changed my mind and headed for the woods instead. It's always much nicer to run in the rain in the woods than on the roads. Under the flat, grey sky, the reds, golds and oranges of the finally-turning maples glowed. The bog bridges were littered with downed leaves, little pockets of color underfoot. The green moss took on a rather flourescent hue. Nothing heightens color, and makes you appreciate it, like an overcast day. I ran down to the river, and on the return trip, took the cart paths back, adding a bit of mileage in the process. I ended up with 5.67 miles, and was glad for a chance to have made the most of the morning. Of course, I'd rather some sunshine and a happy baby, but maybe I'll get that tomorrow!

Sam's Two Year Stats

2011-10-12T11:51:00.000-04:00

We may have the smallest 2 year old on the planet :-)

We took Sam to the doctor this morning for her two year "well visit." Everything was fine and dandy, and Sam was a very good girl during the visit, holding very still for the hearing test and letting Dr. Emily hear a lot of her words, although she was quite upset by the flu shot at the end. Can't say that I blame her! I wouldn't want a big needle stuck into my thigh either.

Anyway, onto the numbers:

21 lbs. 1 oz.

31 3/4"

18" head circumference

Yup, she's tiny. Her height is putting her in the 10th percentile, but her weight, well, I don't even think she's on the charts. Ah well. The doctor isn't worried, and honestly, neither are we, by her size. That is just Sam. She is small. But what she lacks in size, she sure makes up for in attitude... and cuteness :-)

A Fun Weekend

2011-10-10T21:19:00.000-04:00

Although it felt a bit more like August than Columbus Day weekend, it sure has been beautiful this weekend, and we made every effort to enjoy it, well, when we weren't birthday partying it anyway :-)

Sunday morning before the party, Ryan and I left Sam with the rest of the family (thanks guys!) and headed out for a nice hour-long run. Ryan had been doing a bit of Topsham trail exploration, and I have been looking forward to seeing some of the trails. There is access to them from the Ravine Loop in the Cathance Preserve, so we took the shortest route there, crossed the yet-to-be-bridged brook, and headed off onto some fun singletrack which wound through the woods and along the Cathance. Due to time constraints and the fact that Ryan is tapering for MDI, we didn't take the additional offshoot that goes to the Head of Tides, but I did see the turn-off so hopefully I can explore that on my own sometime soon! We came back on some of the Cathance trails and along the Heath, stopping to admire the cotton sedge in the marsh, the plant's white "flowers" set against the reds and oranges of the swamp maples along the heath's edges. Very pretty. We ended up with 7.25 miles, which was perfect for this warm October day.

This morning after Sam had fun with her legos...

Lego Zoo

{Really, she put most of this together herself. Yes, I helped assemble the window, made sure all the blocks were well placed on top of each other and that the towers were structurally sound, but the design was hers.}

...and entertained us with her counting skills...

Counting... Almost :-)

...she and I met up with Neenie, Pip Pop, Kristen and Morgan at Wolfe's Neck State Park. We got there a bit early, so I put Sam in the Ergo and we walked around for a while before they arrived. It was a gorgeous morning with bright blue skies, a bit of a breeze and some nice color in the trees.

Enjoying a morning walk at Wolfe's Neck

After everyone arrived, we walked down to the water and along the rocks, dipping our toes in here and there (brrr!), and enjoying the sparkle of the sunshine on the ocean and its warmth on our faces.

Along the trail

Morgan looks for periwinkles along the water's edge

Sam and I explore the rocks

Attempting a nice family photo. Can't quite get both kids to look cheery at the same time ;-)

Yet another attempt at a grandparent's photo with the grandkids. Didn't quite work!

Then we took a nice walk in the woods, picking up sticks and fallen leaves. Sam walked almost the whole way, marching along next to us. It was just so cute :-)

Picking up sticks

Walking with Morgan

Once we were done with our walk, we headed to downtown Freeport and had a great lunch at The Fresh Batch, a new cafe in town with a lot of open space inside and even better, a play area for the kids!

I'm climbing, Mama!

Ryan had a conference call, so I couldn't get out for a run during Sam's nap, but it's always nice to enjoy some quiet time while she is sleeping too, so I won't complain too much :-) But not to worry, I managed to squeeze in a nice 5 mile run on the Homeplace loop late in the day once my parents arrived. They had nicely agreed to put Sam to bed, so that Ryan and I could go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Thanks guys! We chose sushi and gelato. A perfectly normal combination, right? :-) Well, we can't say we're perfectly normal, so I guess it fits. Happy 12th Anniversary, Ryan!!

Sam is TWO!

2011-10-09T20:25:00.000-04:00

Me: Sam, how old are you?

Sam (proudly): TWO!

~

It's hard to believe we now have a two-year old. Two years ago, after she came into the world on October 9 at 9:16am, Sam looked like this, and was so tiny she almost fit in Ryan's hand:

Last year, she wasn't walking on her own, only had two teeth and was still looking very much like a baby:

And now, she definitely looks like a little girl:

And a cute little one, at that! :-)

We had a great birthday weekend with lots of family around. It was so nice of everyone to come visit and bring Sam some great gifts. Thanks everyone!! The kitchen (thanks for sharing yours with me, Morgan), legos, Leap Frog computer, and awesome purple sneakers from Auntie Meg were definitely hits :-) I'm not quite sure Sam was as into the cake, but at least she took a few more bites this year :-)

Sitting with Great Grammie

Fun with her new-to-me kitchen!

Modeling her adorable purple Adidas sneakers

Working on numbers with Great Grammie

Sam and Mama

Taking a first bite

Ummm, cake :-)

As Sam grows, we are constantly amazed by how much she is learning and changing every day. Her vocabulary has grown so large that we're no longer keeping count of her words. She is putting together three, four and five word sentences, minus a few verbs here and there of course :-) She is like a little sponge, reciting back anything we say in front of her, and then using the words or phrases correctly at another time. It's fascinating to watch her make associations between things and form her own opinions about things.

She loves to read and color. To be outside and race around. She is very observant, always taking everything in, and commenting on little details I would never have thought she'd notice. She is a bit particular about the order of her little world, and loves to clean up and organize things - she is very excited about "her new broom" (a little kid-size broom I got her, upon request) :-)

She is a sweet and loving child, and very polite, using please, thank you and you're welcome correctly. She shares well. But there is also an impish glint in her eye. Or as our daycare director says, "it's always the little ones that end up causing the most trouble." :-) Said with a smile, of course, but it is true! There have been some instances of hitting and hair pulling - after all, she is just two! - and if she knows she is doing something she shouldn't be, she'll often look over at us, smile and continue to do so. However, we have been very lucky in that she does yet seem to be a true tantrum thrower, and she can usually be distracted in other directions if necessary. She has a flair for the dramatic, and is in a bit of a 'mommy' phase at the moment, but she loves her friends and family. It is adorable to watch her face light up when Morgan, Neenie and Pip Pop, or Grammie and Grampie, come into the room. She willingly gives hugs and kisses and pats, and in the past few weeks has learned to say "I love you," which just melts my heart.

Although each and every moment isn't perfect, Sam adds joy and happiness to our lives every day, and for that we are forever thankful.

Happy Birthday to you, sweet little girl of mine! Mama and Daddo love you so.

Crisp

2011-10-07T10:36:00.000-04:00

Blue sky above.
Hoar frost coming up through the sand in the shadows.
Raspberry brambles edged in frost.
Brilliant red winterberry.
Birds flitting in and out of the brush.
Crisp fall air.
Tights and gloves.
The perfect mid-October morning run.

~

Yesterday morning, Sam told me that her hands were cold in the car on the way to daycare. So, this morning, with the thermometer reading not even 40 degrees, I got out her winter hat and mittens. When Ryan put on her mittens, Sam commented, "no more cold hands." Of course, it came out more like, "no maur tol ans," but you get the idea :-) Such a smart little cookie!

Barely

2011-10-06T09:53:00.000-04:00

Just barely squeezed in a 3 mile run this morning. This isn't quite shaping up to be the running week I had imagined, but at least I managed to get a few miles in. And they were some cold miles too... Brrr! I had put on shorts when I woke up, and because I was in such a rush, I didn't bother to waste time changing and I just ran out in what I had on, but I sure could have used tights. It was chilly out there - my eyes were streaming and my nose was running.

We're gearing up for Sam's birthday this weekend. Amazing that she is going to be TWO! Wow. Nothing fancy on tap, but all the family will be in town so that will be lots of fun :-)

The Red Newt

2011-10-05T10:12:00.000-04:00

When we hiked the AT, one of the things I loved to do was note and count what we saw in the woods while hiking. Some days it was birds or ladyslippers. And often, after a rain or on a damp day, it was red newts. One day, in early July while in New Jersey, I counted 51 red-spotted newts (or red efts, or salamanders, or whatever you want to call them :-)). A trail record :-) At least for me! Since our trail days, I have seen them here and there, and they always make me smile and bring back thoughts of hiking along the AT. I haven't seen any this season, at least until today, when on a damp and grey October morning, while running the 3-mile Highland Green route, there he was, on the sidewalk. I actually ran a few steps by him before it registered that I had seen a newt and not just a red leaf piece or stem. So, I did what any normal nature-loving gal would do and stopped my watch and walked back to him. I didn't want him going out into the road and getting run over, so I stooped and gently picked him up, trying not to touch him too much. He wasn't even as big as my pinkie finger. For the first few seconds, he didn't move, but then his little eyes opened and he wandered around my hand for a while before I placed him at the edge of the grass, hoping he would find his way back to a damp, muddy spot by a little stream and hole up for the long winter ahead. And then, with that done, I smiled and continued on my run.

Pastoral Wander

2011-10-04T12:55:00.001-04:00

We met up with our friends Doug, Lucy, and their adorable 16 month old Adam, for a bit of good 'ol catch up and "chase your child around" on Sunday afternoon. They only live about a 1/2 hour away, so it worked out perfectly! After hanging in the hotel for a bit, we decided to take advantage of the fact that the skies had cleared, and walked into downtown Williamstown. It really is a beautiful village. The kids had fun walking around and we all managed to work up a hunger for some delicious Indian food! My parents had been down at the Williams College Museum of Art, and they met us at the restaurant for an early dinner. The kids were great, and we all enjoyed chatting and eating together.

On Monday morning, Ryan had a meeting in town, so Sam and I relaxed a bit with my parents, my cousin Jason and his family before I took advantage of my parent's stellar babysitting to go out for a run. Thanks guys! I decided to run the road loop Ryan had run on Friday. I've run parts of it before, as the incorporates roads near my grandmother's house. It ended up being a great 6 mile wander, down through town, up Stratton Road, along the river on Rt. 43 and then back into town via Gale Road and Spring Street. The stretch along Stratton Road was beautiful. And hilly! (See a theme for the weekend here!? :-) ) After a good long uphill, the road turns to dirt, and rolls through quiet farmlands, with sweeping views over the green pastures out to the hills beyond. Fluffy, low clouds were covering the hilltops, and hints of fall color were evident on some of the trees at the field edges. There were a lot of cows out at one of the farms, with a few browsing the grasses at the fence edges. The big bovines looked up as I went by, their deep brown eyes following me as I ran down from the top of the rise. Purple asters and wild grapes, along with a mass of greenery, vied for space along the road's edge.

The stretch along Rt. 43 is flat and busy, but before long, I turned off onto another hilly residential road which wound around the edge of town, finally dropping me by the Clark, where I took to the sidewalks again for the last stretch. My legs felt a bit stiff, but despite the hills, I managed to run 8:30s for the route. When I walked into the inn, a bunch of the family was by the front desk, checking out. Sam saw me, and ran towards me, smiling, but stopped short. "Mama sweaty!" she said, before turning away. No hugs for me until I was clean, apparently :-)

Eventually, it was time to pack up and head home, after a very nice weekend. It was really great to see all the family. I didn't get the chance to talk with everyone as much as I would have liked, but I really loved seeing Sam race around with her second cousins, and having time to chat with the other cousins who are now parents. And although it was a sad occasion that brought us together, Mim lived a long and happy life, and she would have truly loved that the whole family was together for the weekend. We all had a great time, and it was a fitting tribute to a life well lived.

Here is the best photo I took all weekend. Do they love each other or what?! :-) (More photos to come once I get ahold of my parent's camera later this week!)

Cousin love :-) Morgan and Sam.

Hopkins Memorial Forest Figure-Eight Loop

2011-10-02T20:53:00.000-04:00

Another dreary morning. Sam graced us with a little extra sleep after going to bed late last night, and slept in until 7:15. Ahhh :-) We had a leisurely breakfast downstairs as family came and went, and finally got out the door for our run right around 11:00. Sam was more than happy to stay with Neenie and Pip Pop, and race through the hallways with the cousins, so it was a win-win. Although it looked cold and damp out, in fact, it wasn't that bad, and we were even treated to a few patches of blue sky!

Today, we decided to head for the Hopkins Memorial Forest, a large forested area owned by William College, right outside of town. Of course, it was all uphill on the roads to the entrance, and then immediately up, up, up once we hit the trails. As Ryan said, no wonder Williams always beat us (in xc), there's nothing flat around here! :-) The woods were pretty, and the trails, likely old logging roads, wound through the hills, crossing and running next to a number of clear and very full babbling brooks. I was a bit grumpy in those miles, my legs feeling a bit like concrete as I huffed and puffed up the steep hills on the Lower and Upper Loop trails. It was slow going for a while for sure!

Finally, we crested what seemed like the top of the Upper Loop, and had a nice stretch of flat, runnable terrain. Turning onto the final leg of the Lower Loop back to the entrance kiosk, we hit a beautifully groomed, wide crushed gravel carriage road that gave back very nicely, and was wonderfully fast running. The final road mile went through a very pretty neighborhood with what looked like some very cushy estates, as well as a few views out onto the hills, the low clouds sitting down over the hilltops. We rounded up the run to an even 7 by taking a short twirl through the parking lot :-) The splits from the run were pretty telling - a lot of churning uphill on the way out, and smooth downhill sailing on the way back. Fun!

Stone Hill Trails

2011-10-01T15:18:00.000-04:00

We awoke to the pouring rain. It was "really early outside," as Sam likes to say, but at least we had all had a decent night's sleep. Nothing like racing around after her older cousin to tire Sam out! :-) We hemmed and hawed, but with my mom on board with watching Sam for a bit, we finally decided we should just go out and get our run in before Mim's service. That way we would ensure we got some miles in, and not have to worry about fitting things in later in the day. Besides, the forecast was calling for rain all day, so there was no excuse there either.

I had done a bit of googling about trails in the Williamstown area, and Ryan had asked a friend of his for recommendations too. The Stone Hill trails behind the Clark - the art museum in town - were mentioned in both cases, and as the Clark is only about 1/2 mile from where we are staying, we decided to head there for a little exploring. The official trail system isn't long, but it does appear you could go for miles and miles by going off on some of the connecting trails. As we didn't have a map, and didn't have much time, we mostly stuck with the signed trails, which wound up and up through the woods behind the museum, climbing Stone Hill, and then wandering down through some wide open pastures that surely would have good views in good weather. It was cold and rainy, and the woods were dark, but there was some fun singletrack, and some logging road-type running too. The trail cut through the pasture was wide and slick, and we sloshed through the puddles and tried to avoid the cow patties. There was a fair amount of climbing as we ran up to the stone bench twice by slightly varied routes. We only got in 4.5 miles but it felt like more than enough for they day. I can't say my body felt great, but it was good to get a run in with Ryan, and it's always nice to explore new trails!

Quick

2011-09-30T21:41:00.000-04:00

Snuck in a quick 3 miles this morning before we took off for Mim's memorial service. I was tired. I didn't feel peppy. But I did it. I probably would have been happier had I joined Ryan on his afternoon run in Williamstown, up and around a hilly route I have run before from Mim's house. But oh well. After a number of hours in the car, and a detour through the countryside to bypass the section of Rt. 2/Mohawk Trail that was literally washed away by Hurricane Irene, we arrived. It has been fun catching up with all the family, and I am looking forward to spending time with everyone this weekend. I know Mim would be very happy we are all here, remembering her, and making new memories together. All five kids. All of us grandchildren. And all the great-grandkids. Very special indeed.

No Big Deal!

2011-09-28T11:35:00.001-04:00

No Big Deal!

Most of you have probably seen this video on Facebook, but just in case, here is a cute little video from last night of Sam saying her latest phrase - "no big deal." I love it :-)

As for me, today's miles finally felt like no big deal again, which was nice. Sam has been feeling a bit off with the first cold of the season, so while she was up a few times in the night, she did sleep in until 7am. With that, we were a bit rushed this morning, but I did manage to sneak in a quick 5 miles on the Highland Green loop before heading up to work. It's easy to push the pace on this loop once you hit the roads through the Highland Green community, but since the legs felt good, I did so without intending to. Hopefully this means that the rest I took last week did its job!

Runnin' The Commons

2011-09-26T21:28:00.001-04:00

I haven't been out to the Commons in a while. In fact, I haven't been out there since June. So it was a nice change of pace to get out there for a run this morning with Ryan. I dropped Sam off at daycare today, as she won't be in on Friday, did a bunch of errands around town and at home, and we headed over to Bowdoin around 10:15. By then, the temperature had already risen into the low 70s, but it was much nicer than yesterday; not as humid with a nice breeze blowing. The woods were quiet, and the brush and grasses had been nicely brushed back along the trails. We scared up a Hairy Woodpecker in the pine barrens, but other than that, things were quiet. We got in 6.25 miles by winding on some of the single track on the way out to Merepoint Road. I appear to still be recovering from Pisgah, as although I felt like we were running fast, we were in fact running 9:10 pace on some very flat trails :-) Ah well. It was a beautiful day for a run in the woods, and fun to be able to get out and run with Ryan too!

Sunday Run and Fun

2011-09-25T20:00:00.000-04:00

Some awesome racing by the Trail Monsters today! HUGE congrats to Ian, Emma and George for their finishes in the Virgil Crest 100! 100 miles. Amazing!!!!! And big congrats to Ryan for his 3rd place finish today in the 65 Roses 5k this morning down in Portland. Who said you can't run ultras and have some speed too? :-) Stephen also had a great race there, coming in 5th.

The morning dawned foggy, muggy and warm. Isn't it September 25th? Shouldn't it be cool and crisp? Guess not! Sam was up early enough that with a bit of hustling, we were able to accompany Ryan down to Portland for the race. We parked the car right near the playground along the Eastern Prom, and while Ryan registered and warmed up, Sam and I had a great time taking a short walk and then playing on the playground.

View down onto the bay. Can you see the low fog? Very pretty!

Sunflowers

Along the Eastern Prom

In fact, Sam had so much fun she didn't want to leave to go down to the start :-) Sorry Ryan!

Yellow swing! (I kept asking her if she wanted to get out and do something else, and she'd say, "No Mama. Happy swing." :-)

Happy in the stroller

Climbing the steps all by herself

We ran into Kelly and the kids, playing while Stephen raced, and enjoyed the nice morning. The fog burned off pretty quickly, leaving blue skies and sunshine. And it got hot too! The first place finisher came by running at a pretty quick clip. I wasn't quite sure what Ryan was hoping to run, but figured he would be coming by sometime soon. And sure enough, there he was! In 3rd place. I grabbed Sam and we ran up to the sidewalk, to cheer him on as he ran by. Then quickly into the stroller and down to the finish we went, getting there just in time to see his finish. It all happened so fast, I didn't get any photos, but luckily Jeff did :-)

Half mile to the finish. Looking strong!

Sam and I hung out on the grass, watching the crowds, while Ryan and Jeff did a short run together, and then after Ryan collected a nice bag of prizes, we took off for a yummy brunch at Stonyfield Cafe before heading home.

After putting Sam down for a nap and doing a few things around the kitchen, I took off for my own run. It was 12:30, 80 degrees and humid. And I hadn't run in 5 days. I can't say I felt all that great, but it was nice to be out running again! I ran through the Mt. Ararat trails, along the Heath and down to the Cathance River, enjoying the shade of the woods and the sound of the rushing water. As I ran back along the Heath, I looked out over the bog, filled with cotton sedge. Very pretty. The leaves are slowly beginning to turn in the marshy areas, but it sure felt like summer! Got in a good 5.25 miles, and came home to find that Sam didn't want to nap, so we hung out for the afternoon before Nate, Shannon and the kiddos came over for a bit of play, catch-up and dinner. A fun Sunday for sure!

Sam's Weekend

2011-09-22T10:51:00.000-04:00

Since I have no running news to share, and the laundry list of things I'm trying to get done this week isn't very exciting, I thought I'd share a few photos from Sam's weekend with Grammie and Grampie:

Hydrating before an afternoon walk :-)

Books!

Playing with Daddo's old train set

Reading "The Wide Mouthed Frog"

Happy girlie!

Choo choo!

Dressing the babies

Wearing her "B" hat with Grampie

Really looks like she missed us while we were gone for the day, huh? :-)