2011 Bradbury Bruiser Race Report

Friday night, Ryan asked me what my race strategy was. I was sitting in 1st place in the women's standings for the series, with Julia only about 1 1/2 minutes behind me. He wondered if I was planning to just run my own race and see what happened, or stick with Julia and just make sure I beat her to keep the series win. The second idea didn't sound like a very sporting race tactic to me, and besides, even if I did that, who was to say that it wouldn't backfire? Nope. I was planning to run my own race. And run hard. Yes, Pisgah is next Sunday, but what the heck? I mean, what could go wrong?! (In all seriousness though, this year the course was muddy and slick and with all the twists and turns, and rocks and roots, there were a lot of people with seriously bloodied leg, arms and torsos and one guy who likely broke his wrist. Ouch. It's not called the Bruiser for nothing! I feel lucky to have escaped unscathed!) Of course, I was feeling a bit of pressure with 1st place in my grasp. I am not used to this sort of pressure! I mean, I put pressure on myself, but I wasn't used to all my friends knowing where I stood, and being in contention for 1st in anything running related. This was a new feeling. I wanted to do the TMRs proud, and not screw up :-)

With this in mind, I was a bit frazzled this morning. Jessi came by to watch Sam for the morning, and although I knew she was in good hands and was going to have fun while I was gone, I was once again finding it hard to switch from "Mom" mode to race mode. I did a 1 mile warm-up, said a few brief hellos, stood in line way too long for the bathroom way to close to start time, and then made my way across the street, where I lined myself up, once again, with Jim and Julia. I noted Natasha was there, and figured, well, there is at least one woman who will beat me (cue, foreshadowing).

The key to the Bruiser is to get in a decent starting position off the snowmobile trail and headed into the Island, the first intestine-like stretch of trail that starts less than a mile into the race. I got into the singletrack off the snowmobile trail ahead of Jim, and with Natasha right on my tail. We lost Jim pretty early on in the Island and lost track of Julia too, but Natasha stuck to me like glue and became my partner, me ahead, her just behind, pushing me, prodding me to run faster. As we were running on the small uphill after mile 3, I saw Blaine just ahead - poor guy, he had twisted his ankle early in the race, although he rallied nicely to finish strong. I think it was around this point that Natasha and I got into this little void, just her and I running along. No one clearly ahead or behind. Odd. I didn't want to let up at all with her right on my tail. I knew if I did, that she would blow by me and that would likely be it. So I chugged along. We ran mostly in silence, but when we popped out onto the snowmobile trail a bit before mile 7, she pulled up next to me and we chatted the whole way to the top. Gotta love trail racing :-) I headed back into the singletrack first and we ran along, together still.

Finally, somewhere around mile 8.5 or so, in the final singletrack stretch before the last aid station, she passed me. I knew it was coming. But once she sprinted past, I faltered a bit. I figured I would take a gel at this point, in the hopes of getting a final boost before the O Trail, but honestly, the stretch of Knights Woods trail up to the O was just plain painful. And then, the last, endless stretch of the race that is the O was all that remained. I tried to keep the pace up. But the quick twists and turns, and little ups and downs slowed me down. I couldn't get into a rhythm. I could see people weaving through the trees all around me. Were they ahead? Or behind? And how far? Who knew? I was alone for a while, but finally, a chase group of 5 caught up to me. Three passed me, including Nate Pike. The other two stayed behind. I tried to stay with Nate, but failed. I just kept focusing on keeping moving, forward, toward the end, toward the light at the end of the tunnel. And finally, finally, finally, there it was! The stone wall! Just one last corner and I was at the end. Woohoo! I came in at 1:50:11, slower than last year by about 2 1/2 minutes, but somehow 2nd woman?! Where was Natasha? Turns out she got totally lost in the O Trail, and wandered around in there for a full 1+ hours before finally popping out and finishing the race. Poor girl! Talk about a bad dream!

Although slightly disappointed to not beat last year's time, I was still happy with how I raced. I'm thrilled to have come in 2nd today, and to have managed to keep my spot in the series. I never would have thought I would ever win the series. I feel a bit silly about it in a way, but I guess that's what happens when some of the fasties don't do all the races and/or don't show up :-) Many, many thanks to Jim, Julia and Natasha for pushing me in the races, and to Ian and Ryan and all the volunteers for making the races possible. Definitely an incredible series! And with lots of friends to boot. Can't beat it!

Crazy Morning

We were up a little before 6am, Sam yelling "Down, down, down" and "No nite nite!" to me as I implored her to go back to sleep. Fine. Downstairs we went, to color and eat toast. And then a quick change and out the door I went a little before 7am to get in a short 3-mile run. It was a glorious morning, sunny and crisp, with the thermometer reading on 58 degrees! Hurray for fall! I got back in time to take a brief shower and then have Sam passed off to me so that Ryan could get to the Brad for course markings. A bit of banana bread (gotta make sure the prizes taste good :-) ), and then Sam and I loaded ourselves and all the necessary books ( :-) ) into the car so that we could go to Kristen's. Kristen nicely agreed to watch Sam for a few hours so I could get to work and Ryan could do what was needed for the Bruiser. Thanks Kristen! I left Sam happily playing with Morgan, and somehow I'm sure she is having lots of fun! I think I might have gotten to work with about 10 seconds to spare, but I made it :-)

Early Morning Run

I was feeling pretty good about the fact that I had actually gotten up and out the door before sunrise this morning... until I read Jamie's post that he was out the door at 4:35am :-) Ha! Anyway, Sam woke me up at 4:30, and after I got her back to sleep, I set my watch for 5:15 and dozed off in bed for a while until the alarm went off. I knew I had to get up and out before Sam woke up, as I had things to do after I dropped her at daycare, and Ryan had to leave at 7:30 to meet up with Ian for some Bruiser course marking. I headed out the door at 5:40, and there was just barely enough light in the sky for me to leave my headlamp at home. It was very quiet. There was a low fog sitting on the powerlines, and not a bird was chirping. I decided to run the 5-mile Highland Green road loop, just so that I didn't trip on anything along the trails in the semi-darkness. A few miles into the run, I saw a faint hue of pink in the sky through the fog, but never got a good view of sunrise. In fact, the sky didn't even really get light. Too many clouds. Which was OK with me, as it meant the house was still nice and dark when I got home! Nothing like an overcast morning to induce a bit of sleeping in :-) I hopped in the shower, and just as I was getting out, I heard Sam's sweet little voice saying "Mama, Mama." Perfect timing! And a nice way to start the day!

Rainy

I know a lot of people aren't fans of the taper, but honestly, I think there is something nice about having a week or two of running where there isn't much pressure to go long or do too much. I often feel like I am trying to cram more, more, more into my weeks (and at this, I often fail anyway), so it is a good change of pace to have a few days before a race where a short run is all that is needed. And it's even nicer when, on a cool and rainy morning, the only thing on tap is a short 3 miler. Sure, I got wet, but when you're only out for 25 minutes, what's a bit of rain? :-)

The rest of the week calls for 2 more short runs before Sunday's Bruiser. Nothing like a race in the middle of a taper :-) And then, it's only another week of a few easy runs before Pisgah!!!

Short and Sweet

Got in an easy, and slightly creaky, 3 miler this morning. It was 7:30 am, it was Labor Day (ie. September, people!) and it was still muggy and humid. What is up with that?! Please, please, please, please, please, weather gods, let it be crisp and cool on the 18th!

After my run, Sam and I went outside to stomp in the puddles for a bit and play in the sandbox before my sister and Morgan arrived. We hung out at home for a bit, with lots of this:

 Kisses!

and this...

Cousin love :-) (or is it a headlock?!)

Ryan joined us for lunch at Broadway Deli, and then he headed off to get some work done, and Kristen and Morgan headed home. Thanks for coming to visit guys, it was fun! Sam and I went home in the hopes that she would take a nap. Well, not so much... so instead, we went grocery shopping, did some coloring and played around the house for a while before going over to Nate and Shannon's for a playdate and dinner. Sam had lots of fun playing with Finley and Charlotte, and Nate and Shannon cooked us up a delicious veggie pot pie casserole. Yum! (As an aside, Sam can now say both Finley and Charlotte's names! Impressive, eh?!) 

A full day, and fun to be able to share a Monday off with everyone!! :-)

Is It Summer Again?

I had my last long run on tap for today. Last night, I told Ryan I wanted to spend the morning with Sam, and go out around 10:30ish in the hopes that Sam would be asleep for 1/2 my run. In the end, Ryan didn't get out for his run until a little later than planned, and then Sam kept wanting me to read her one more book :-), so, I didn't get out the door until 11:00. We had been outside taking a walk and playing in the sandbox while Ryan was running, and although the temperature didn't seem bad, it sure did seem heavy out. And then Ryan came back from his run bathed in sweat. Hmmm. I was already feeling a bit undermotivated and hadn't eaten much all morning. Throw in the humidity, and I knew it was likely to be a bit rough. But no matter. I had to go. I had 16 to 18 in mind. Ryan said, run for 3 hours.

I headed out on the powerlines to do the extended dump loop first, hoping to get the sunniest section out of the way before it got too hot. Luckily, there was a good breeze blowing, and in the shade, things didn't seem all that bad. I cruised along pretty easily, but I was definitely feeling tired. When I got back to the Mt. Ararat road, I figured I might as well throw in a few hills, so I went up and over the paved hill, and then back around and up the steep trail Scott has shown us during the Topsham Trail Days run before continuing out into Highland Green and onto the Cathance trails. I was tempted numerous times to cut things short, but I managed to override the temptations and just keep on running. Luckily, the trails along the river are pretty nice and it isn't really a chore to run down there. I was surprised to find that things had totally dried out, and the river was running very low again. Such a change from Monday's run!

I decided somewhere along the way to just run the 7 mile Cathance loop, but ended with a shortened variation on that due to a few trails being too overgrown for me to even want to try running on them. Not to mention, I ended up running out of water around mile 13! This is definitely one downside of the Nathan pack - I can't tell how much I've already had to drink and how much I have left. During the last few miles, soaked in sweat and without water, all I could think about was the crunchy, cold red grapes waiting for me in the fridge! Boy, did they hit the spot once I finally got in the door! I ended up hitting the low side of my goal for today, and didn't quite get to 3 hours, but the 16 miles on the nose / 2:39:12 out on the trails I did get in felt like more than enough for a day like today. Hopefully it's enough for Pisgah too :-)

Sam was still asleep when I got home, but woke up pretty much the second I got out of the shower. Not much time for recovery, but we had a fun afternoon together, and the yummy Coldstone ice cream I just ate more than made up for the lost recovery time :-)

40

Days like this are the ones I really wish I didn't have to work Saturdays. Today is Mindy's 40 for 40 run at Bradbury. Ryan and Sam went over for a bit this morning, and took a hike out onto the trails to cheer everyone on. Sam had lots of fun seeing all our friends, spending time with Pete ("More Pete!") back at the "aid station" and running around getting muddy :-) I'm glad they had the chance to get out and enjoy some of the fun, but what I really wish is that I had been able to be there too! Oh well. Such is life. In any event, I've been virtually cheering Mindy on all morning, and can't wait to hear how it all turned out!!

I got in my own 40 this morning, although it was a 6 miler to cap off a 40 mile week :-) Ha. Not quite as impressive as Mindy's 40 for 40, but pretty good for me. Right after Ryan and Sam left for Bradbury, I headed out onto the powerlines to run the extended Homeplace loop. Looks like I might not be able to cut through from the powerlines to the snowmobile trail extension off Homeplace for too much longer. The property owner has tilled the field you can cut through and is working on putting up a fence. Oh well. It made for a nice little lollypop option, but I'm sure another route will come to light if that one is blocked.

As I headed back through the trail running through the woods along Homeplace, I came across a few kids with a huge bassett hound. They wondered if I knew who his owner was. Unfortunately, I did not. Also unfortunately, the hound decided it was far more fun to run with me than to continue on with the kids. He must have run with me for over a 1/2 mile before I got to the bottom of the hill leading up to Rt. 24. I really didn't want to be responsible for him, especially near a major road, so I got down on his level and firmly told him to go home. It took a few tries, but eventually he wandered off, back toward the powerlines. I felt a little badly leaving him out there, but he's a hound - he found his way home, right?! I hope so, anyway! That was pretty much the excitement from the run. That, and the fact that I managed to get home, get showered and dressed and back out the door to work in 11 minutes so as to get there on time. Good thing I am a keep it simple kind of girl!

Socked In And "I Love It!"

Sam woke up around 5:30 this morning, but I managed to get her back to sleep. I quickly got myself dressed and whispered to Ryan that I was heading out to run. I knew there was a chance Sam would wake up while I was gone, but I figured she would sleep for a little while longer. The clock was reading 5:50 am as I headed out into the thick fog and mist. No wonder it seemed nice and dark inside still! I was planning on 6 miles and decided to run the cart paths. I chose to go up and over Mt. Ararat instead of through the woods, and hit the cart paths at 1.5 miles into the run. The air was thick and quiet as I ran along, and a heavy dew clung to the grass along the course. No birds chirped, and not much seemed to be moving on such a dreary morning. I cranked along, keeping up a decent pace, and despite feeling a bit tired, the run was a good one and I was glad to have gotten out early. Unfortunately, not early enough! Turns out Ryan only got about 5 more minutes of sleep after I left! Poor guy. He doesn't do well in the morning, and Sam is an early bird for sure! Once I got home, he even snuck upstairs and back to bed for a few minutes before getting himself ready for his own morning run :-)

~

Sam is becoming a little parrot. OK, so she doesn't get the exact wording right all the time, but it's still cute. Case in point: "How Do I Love You?" is today's "in" book; she just calls it "I Love It!" instead :-)

Today's Speedwork Brought To You By Guilt

I've always considered myself a morning runner, but I have not been very successful recently at getting up before Sam wakes to get my running in this summer. And now that the days are noticeably shorter, I don't have the daylight on the other end to run after Sam is asleep. So, this morning, I did what I strive not to do. I ran after Sam woke up and before I dropped her off at daycare. She was not happy to have me leave. She was crying and reaching out to me as I walked out the door. Not ideal. I felt pretty guilty to be putting my running above my time with her. I know she was fine after I left, but I still felt badly about it. So, since all I could think about was getting my run done so I could get back and at least play with her for 10 minutes before we headed to daycare, I figured, what the heck? I was planning to do the Highland Green loop anyway, let's do speedwork! Given that I didn't go into this run thinking about speed at all, and only decided once I was out there, I'm pretty pleased with how it went. The middle three miles ended up being 7:37, 7:19 and 7:14, and while I was definitely working, I was surprised at how decent I felt out there. At least I managed to get something good out of the guilt I was feeling this morning!

Creaky

I got out for a short and creaky 3 miles this morning before I headed to work. Ideally, I would have done another 2 miles, but I just plain ran out of time. The air was crisp and the sky was blue, and it sure was feeling like fall out there! Gotta love it!

~

Favorite quote from the weekend with Sam:

Sam (after tripping on the edge of the alphabet mat in the living room): I tumble

Me (noting that there was no crying, and all was OK): Did you take a tumble? But you're OK, right? You're tough!

Sam (getting right back up): I tuff! :-)

Twenty in the Wake of Irene

We are feeling very lucky here this morning. While we did have a fair amount of wind, and some rain yesterday, we never lost power and definitely escaped Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene unscathed, especially compared to people in central ME, NH and VT, who are currently experiencing some major flooding. We spent yesterday inside, enjoying a big breakfast and keeping Sam entertained. She decided that it would be a good day to not nap, so there wasn't much downtime, and neither of us went out for a run, but we all survived :-)

As there was no running yesterday, it meant that I needed to get in my long run today. Ryan graciously agreed to watch Sam while I went out. I had plans for 20 miles. I wasn't sure what would greet me on the trails, so although I had a general route in mind, I knew I would have to be flexible. I headed out a little before 8am, with a heavy heart, as Sam didn't want me to go. She kept saying "No, Mama, no." :-( It is hard to have to schedule my long runs during the times when I am home with her, but as I don't have a flexible schedule like Ryan and so can't do long runs during the work week, there is no way around it. I know she was totally fine once I left, but it made it a bit hard to leave. However, once I was out the door, I was happy to be out. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, there wasn't any humidity in the air, and there was a gentle breeze blowing. Made it hard to believe that a tropical storm had passed through yesterday!

I ran the Mt. Ararat trails over to Highland Green, noted that there were no cars in the golf course parking lot, and so headed out onto the cart paths to run the course. I veered off at Hole #5 to run the Heath loop before continuing on the cart path, just to add in a bit more mileage. I skipped the last hole, and instead, headed up to the Quarry and out onto the trails. The Garmin was reading 5 miles at this point. To my surprise, the trails weren't really wet at all, aside from the few typically swampy spots. However, they were definitely damp and slippery, or greasy as Ryan would say,  and the many bog bridges ranged from simply slippery to downright treacherous. The river flowed along peacefully, and although slightly high along the banks, hadn't overflowed at all. I had the woods to myself, and enjoyed the fact that someone had been out trimming back the overgrowth along a lot of the trails, making most of the trails easily passable and much less itchy! Although my pace certainly slowed as I wandered along the twisty, turny Cathance trails, I was feeling good as I ran over Mt. Ararat and back to the powerlines. The Garmin was reading 12 miles, and before I crossed the Highland Green Road, I stopped in the shade to have a snack and call Ryan and see how things were going. Things were going well, so I told him my plans and headed on, happy to know Sam was enjoying her morning with Daddo :-)

I ran the extended dump loop to get in the additional 8 miles. The powerline trails were in good shape, although there were a lot of deep puddles to run through or sneak around, and although I was beginning to tire, I still was feeling pretty happy mentally. I started to lag a bit in the last few miles, and noticed right near the end that my fingers were feeling a little tingly, but not swollen?! Don't know if I needed more water or less water, or if I was just holding my hands a weird angle? Anyway, once I got home, had some water, some Gatorade, some grapes and a few chips, and relaxed for a few minutes, they were fine. I guess this whole long run thing is a constant experiment, and I'm still trying to figure out what works for me. I ended up downing about 40 oz of Nuun during the 3:20 that I was out there, along with taking in one gel, 1/2 an Odwalla bar, 1/2 a Honey Stinger, and 1 1/2 packs of Shot Blocks. My stomach seemed to handle it all pretty well, which is always a good thing, but maybe the balance of water/salt/etc was off a bit and that contributed to the tingling? If anyone has any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them. And if not, who knows. Anyway, I was very happy to be done, and to have gotten in the 20 miles without too much trouble. 3:20 is, however, a long time to be out running by yourself, I will say that!

I still haven't signed up for the Pisgah 50k, and although I'm feeling a bit trepidatious about the race, I feel a bit better about it after today's run. Yes, it would probably be better to be going into the race with a bit more mileage under my belt, but hey, such is life. It will be hilly. And it will be painful. I will likely be out there for a while. But I can't let the fall pass without getting in a long race! So, Pisgah it is :-) Off to fill out that registration form! How's that for a turn-around in three sentences :-)

Soupy

If yesterday was foggy, today was soupy. I headed out around 7:30 for a run, straight out into heavy, oppressive low-lying pea soup conditions. Blech. Combine the conditions with my lingering stuffiness, and I found it hard to breathe. I ended up running a version of our regular Highland Green loop, with a little lollypop on the Cathance trails down to the river and around the vernal pool thrown in the middle. The trails were a nice change of pace, and it appears they've been out brushing back the overgrowth, so once the hurricane has passed, I'm definitely going to plan to hit those trails again! They really are fun to run on, as long as they aren't totally overgrown. Got in 5.5, bringing the weekly total to 35 even. Not the 40 I was hoping for, but not all that bad, considering.

I had planned on 20 for tomorrow, but hmmm... there's this hurricane thing headed our way... so I don't know that any running is going to happen tomorrow. Hopefully the storm will pass through quickly, and I'll be able to get out on Monday instead.

Hoping everyone in Irene's path stays safe this weekend!

Foggy

I've been in a fog the past few days. A fog induced by a silly summer cold. Which led to me not running Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Well, honestly, I probably would have only been able to run one of those days anyway, even if I hadn't had a runny nose and stuffed up ears, as Ryan went down to NJ Monday to help his sister, Meghan, out after her hip surgery, and didn't get back until last night. Is he a good brother, or what?! :-) This meant that I was on single-parenting duty for a few days, and while Sam was really good while Ryan was gone, I just didn't have much, if any, time to run, as I had to get her to daycare on time in the morning so I could get to work early so I could leave early to pick her up. Oh, and squeeze a few necessary household chores in there too. And get to bed early so I could try to get over this cold. Phew. It was a bit of a whirlwind there.

Anyway, Ryan made it back safe and sound last night, and all of us, cats included, were happy to see him. I was determined to get a run in this morning, as the plan had been for this to be a "high mileage" week for me. And by high mileage, I mean 40 miles. Due to missing that one mid-week run, there is no way 40 is going to happen, but I figured if I got in 6 today and 6 tomorrow, I'd bump my mileage up over 35, and I would be satisfied. So, I dragged Ryan out of bed early at 6:15 this morning, so that he could take over at the breakfast table, where Sam and I had been eating toast and reading her (current) favorite book, "The Art Lesson." She is obsessed with this book, and has very particular ideas about finding certain images in the book and reading certain pages. Poor Ryan did not appear to be up to the challenge of such an energetic toddler at such an early hour of the morning, but I headed out anyway :-)

I headed toward the powerlines, surprised to find that I was running into a thick and low fog, cutting visibility down to almost nothing. The grasses and brush were shroaded in dew, and the spider webs looked like delicate works of art, strung out between the strands of grass and admist the bushes. I actually felt pretty good running, which was a nice surprise, and I got in the 6 miles in just under 54 minutes.I came home to find Ryan and Sam sitting on the couch, reading "Good Night Moon."

Ryan said Sam seems older, even after just being away for three days, and it is amazing how she is slowly but surely becoming more of a kid and not a baby. Her phrases are expanding and lengthening, and just the other day, she said "Mama, 'mere please now" - her first four word sentence - and "I like it!" She is also beginning to really remember certain images in books, or the gestures I make to go along with particular lines, like the gestures/sounds we've been making for the swirling wind in "The Foolish Tortoise," and has fun finding things as we read along, like the mittens in "Good Night Moon" or the turtles (she can say, turtle! Who knew?!) in "The Art Lesson." Anyway, as always, it is fun to watch her learn and grow, and I love to see that she is finding such joy in books :-) Gotta keep the dorky Raymond genes going!

Morning Seven

As I sit here relaxing in a quiet house, with Sam sleeping and Ryan out running, having gotten dinner ready for tonight and a few chores done too, I realize I should have waited until now to run! It is perfect out there. Cooler with a wonderful breeze. And it just seems less humid. I must have gotten the last of the humidity this morning during my run, but oh well! I won't complain as long as it feels better out there now! The humidity this summer has been brutal, and I am pining for the crisp, cool fall days I know are on their way.

I hit the powerlines around 7:30 this morning to run the 7 mile "dump loop." I had entertained thoughts of running on the Cathance trails, but honestly, I was feeling a bit low on energy this morning, and wasn't sure I was up for negotiating all the twists and turns, and the wet and slippery rocks and roots after last night's rain. The powerlines are sandy and slow going in spots, but they don't take as much mental energy. I kept the pace pretty mellow (or perhaps the pace found me!), and just enjoyed the morning. It was humid and warm in the sun, but there were plenty of puddles to stomp through to cool me down :-) Some of them must be there pretty much all season long, as I saw more than a few little frogs hiding in the muddy waters along the way. With the rain we've had recently, there are also a lot of mushrooms out there - white, brown, yellow, red and even a few purple - along with some Indian Pipe sprouting up through the leaves. The bunchberries are a brilliant red, and the asters are growing like weeds (well, perhaps they are!). I was surprised to see that some of the white asters were literally my size! Wow. Mix in some goldenrod, Queen Anne's lace, purple asters, and the blushing pink of the berries on the bushes, and things are looking pretty nice out there!

Sam and Ryan were reading books on the couch when I got home, and Sam took one look at my mud-covered legs, and said "Mama tumble." Ha! I didn't, but I guess with all the mud from my puddle jumping it must have looked that way :-)

Bradbury Wander

I met up with Dora, Blaine, Erin and another guy who I didn't know this morning at Bradbury for a long run. We all headed out onto the Bruiser, but Blaine and other fast guy quickly got ahead, and Erin was doing her own modified version of the course, leaving Dora and I on our own. The miles flew by as we wandered through the woods, chatting about this, that and everything in between. I was really glad to have her keep me company on the east side trails. She was the perfect running partner, easy to talk with, fun, laidback, and willing to let me take the lead on the pace. We ended up running the Bruiser course up until we hit the Link Trail, where we banged a right and headed back to the parking lot. The Garmin was reading 9.0 just before we crossed the street, where Dora stopped for the day and I took a few gulps of Gatorade at the car before heading on. By then, the fog that I had driven through getting to the park had long since burned off, leaving bright skies and warmer temps. It was also incredibly humid, and I was soaked. I hadn't thought to bring another shirt, so I just prayed I wouldn't chafe too much in the next miles!

I was wearing my Nathan vest, filled with Nuun, a new twist in the ongoing experiment that is hydration on the trail. I haven't been using HEED at all this summer, having found that I quickly sour on the sticky sweet taste. And Gatorade, although a perennial favorite, seems to just have too much sugar for me once I'm out there for longer than an hour or so. I was unsure whether I would like the Nuun, as it has a bit of a fizz to it, but surprisingly I found I liked it. It wasn't too sweet. It wasn't sticky. It had some flavor but not a lot. It went down easily. I'll try it again next weekend, but I think I may have found a new option for the long run! Cool.

The plan for the second half of my run was to do one lap of the Breaker and then another partial loop, with the route depending on how I was feeling and how the mileage was adding up. I was sad to part with Dora, but was feeling good as I headed out the Boundary trail. I was definitely going slower than during last weekend's race, but I don't think I walked any more than I did while racing. By the time I was heading up the Summit Trail, there were a fair number of people out on the trails, and even though I walked up the steep trail, I passed a few families along the way. At the summit, there was a blessed breeze, but I only stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath before continuing down the Tote Road. The new bridge the Boy Scouts were working on last weekend was complete and looked good. I opted to take the Terrace Trail down, as I'm not a huge fan of the Switchback trail. When I got to the parking lot and saw the yellow car, I knew Sam and Ryan had arrived. I stopped quickly at the bathroom, and (TMI alert!) realized I had gotten my period, for which I was totally unprepared. Oh well, not much to do but continue on and hope for the best. I figured Ryan and Sam must be down at the playground, so I headed that way. Hmmm. Not there. Back to the car for a swig of Gatorade and a call to Ryan on the cellphone. They were out on the Boundary trail looking for me. The Garmin was reading 13.65 as I headed back out to find them. I was definitely feeling a bit wilted :-), and well, my stomach wasn't feeling super great, but all in all, I thought I was doing pretty well.

Sam was cheering for me as I got close, and seemed to be having a blast in the baby backpack. It was a nice boost to see them out on the trail, but after a few minutes, it was time to start running again. The plan was to continue on the Boundary Trail but instead of turning to go down the South Ridge trail, take a left and go up to the summit instead. Ryan and Sam were there to meet me, and we stopped to chat for a few minutes more. They opted to take the quick route down, while I took the Terrace Trail down once again. I ended up with 16.5 miles in just under 3 hours. Not the quickest 16 miles I've ever run, but I felt like it was a solid effort. I also finished literally soaked, and Sam did not want any kisses until I had stopped sweating and changed my clothes :-) We sat at one of the picnic tables in the shade, enjoying the breeze and a snack before heading home.

Unfortunately Sam fell asleep about 5 minutes from home, and refused to continue her nap once we got her in the door, meaning all hope for a quiet afternoon respite was lost. What a little stinker! :-) Ah well. Instead, we headed to the mall so Ryan could pick up some software for his computer. You know, the all-American past time of shopping? Aie. Scary! But Sam had a blast walking around, getting out some energy as we window shopped. As long as she doesn't get used to it!!