Til' We Meet In Hell v. 2013

This morning's weather seemed appropriate for Hell. It was sort of misty and foggy out, and the temperature was hovering right above freezing, with the warm air slowly eating away at the snowpack. The weather forecast was calling for rain and ice. Ugh. But off we set for Lewiston anyway, headed to Thorncrag for the annual Til We Meet in Hell run, followed by the TMR lunch and awards. It's always a fun time, and Val always comes up with some creative way to torture us out on the trails :-0 In fairness, Thorncrag is so hilly, it would be hard to make it not torturous!

This year's loop was a little over 1 mile. The idea was to run it as many times as you could (or cared to) in 1 1/2 hours. There was also a handicap to keep things interesting, although I have no idea how Jeff figured out the math for that. In any event, I thought I could probably get in 7 miles, knowing I wasn't going to be pushing too hard. And in the end, that's pretty much exactly what I got in, including the extra after the 1:30 mark. Perfect. The loop was a good but tough one, with a decent uphill at the end. The footing, however, was less than ideal. As the loops went on, the footing got worse. The snow didn't pack, it just got churned up. Not easy to run on. But hey, we were all out there together and it's always fun to catch up with everyone at this event! I *almost* succeeded in not getting lapped by Ryan, but he was pushing it, and he got me in the last few 1/10ths. Oh well! Many thanks to Val for a fun time!

And then it was off to Gritty's for some food and cheer and beer and TMR awards. This little ol' blog won 'Best Blog' - thanks guys! I really write all of this nonsense for myself, and to keep Phyllis updated about Sam :-), but I'm glad others find it amusing enough to read it! Ryan won 'Best Athletic Supporter', which is very well deserved. He also did a great job out there today, running the whole loop on snowshoes. Now that's a good workout!

As always, it was a great time in Hell! ;)

6:00 Spin Around the Block

I feel a little bit lost in my running at the moment. I don't have a training plan in the works. I am not signed up for a spring race yet. I may or may not still be recovering from Stonecat, but either way I'm not feeling fast or fit at the moment. The trails aren't great for running right now, and neither are the roads. Snowshoeing is good, but I don't love it as much as I love just plain running. So, I lacked motivation to get out of bed this morning. But as the day went on with all of its hecticness, I decided I really could use a run. The time available was 6:15 pm, shortly after Sam and I had eaten dinner and once Ryan got home, so I got myself dressed, put on my reflective gear and headed out into the mist and light rain for a spin around the block. It was only 3 miles, it was dark and I managed to freak myself out running through the neighborhoods, but it was a run and it sure felt good. Somehow it seems like those who might cause trouble just can't be bothered to be out of bed at 6:00 am, but it's different at night. I definitely feel much better running as the sun comes up, so I'll have to keep that in mind when I next don't want to get out of bed! ;)

What the Heck are People Doing on the Road at 5:55 am?

Or perhaps the better question is what was I doing running on the roads at 5:55 am? Well, sometimes you just do what you have to do. And I, 1) wanted to give my body a break from snowshoeing, and 2) had to get a newsletter out at 7:00 am, hence the 5:55 start time. But seriously, why were so many people on the road at that time of the morning? I was very surprised. I obviously haven't been running roads very much recently :-) I took the Connector down to Highland Green Road, and after the turn-off things quieted down quite a bit although there were still a few cars driving around. Guess the 55+ crowd gets up early around here! Ran the normal 5-mile loop. It was decent screwshoe running actually, and a nice morning to be out. Bright moon and bright stars. No real sunrise to speak of though - too early! Ha.

For the final mile, I decided to take the powerlines instead of run the Connector again. A bit of a mistake, or just one heck of slow mile! Not packed at all and the screwshoes didn't do much to help. Ah well. It was worth a test! Need to get some snowmobilers out there to pack things down nicely for me!

Snowshoe Run Day #2

I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but by the time I went out to run at 2:30 pm, it was 13 degrees and it felt practically balmy, at least compared to this morning's low temp of -8 degrees at 8:00 am. Amazing what can feel warm when you're comparing it to sub-zero temps!

Snowshoes in hand, I ran across the street and got my snowshoes on at the edge of the powerlines. The snowmobilers had been out and the trail was reasonably packed, so it was pretty good running. I hopped off the groomed trail onto Ryan's snowshoe loop, which was fairly packed but awfully narrow, at least for my liking. When I saw that the crazy Mt. A. xc ski groomer had been out and had groomed over from the golf course, I immediately jumped at the chance to get out of the trough and run on the groomed stuffed. Of course, the snow was groomed but very soft, so I was still sinking a fair amount, but still, it was pretty nice. I followed the grooming around holes 2 and 3 on the golf course and then looped back around to run up the back Mt. Ararat hill. At the top, I noticed the groomer had taken a left off into the woods which is the back of the Mt. A. hill loop. It was great fun! Then I took one last lap through the woods and along the powerlines before heading home. I ended up with 4 miles in 47:00, and man, my legs are feeling it after 2 days in a row of snowshoe running :-)

Snowshoe at the Brad

Had to exchange a few things at Carter's for Sam this afternoon and that got me thinking... Hmmm... I'll be near the Brad. Maybe I should go and snowshoe there? I mean, why not? It would give me an excuse to not get up and out at 0'dark'30in the cold too. So, that is what I did. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, it was cold but not too cold, the pine trees were snow-covered, the snow was light and fluffy, and I had the park all to myself. I headed across the street to find a nice semi-packed snowshoe track on the Link. Someone had even been out on the big wooden snowshoes - a very pretty track! Of course, even with the track, my heart was still beating wildly at 13:00 pace :-)

There had been a few snowmobiles out on the Snowmobile Trail, enough to pack it and make the going a bit easier, but the snow was still pretty soft and loose. I headed up the hill, stopping briefly at the top to catch my breath and decide where to go next. Ended up continuing on the Snowmobile Trail until it started its descent, at which point I turned around. I didn't want to just go straight back down the Snowmobile Trail, so back at the clearing, I took a right onto Fox, where there had been some traffic. The trail wasn't as packed as the Link but it was decent running and very pretty. Ended up with 3.25 miles in 45:30. Nothing like snowshoe running to make you feel out of shape ;)

I think this week is going to be high on time and low on miles - a different sort of volume, but necessary when a lot of the running is on snowshoes!

Sledding Fun

A foot of snow fell last night. Nice and light and fluffy. Now it really looks like winter! We had fun stay-at-home day, with a lazy morning spent in our PJs, pancakes for breakfast, lego building, sledding with the kiddo, a bit of shoveling and storm-related car moving, etc, and sugar cookie making. Never did get out on my snowshoes as I had originally intended, but it ended up being a pretty good "snow day" from running! ;)

More Miles Than Degrees

Well, that wasn't too hard this morning, ha :) Only 2 degrees when I headed out the door at around 8:00 am. Brrr! I had on a pair of fleece tights with long underwear over them, three layers on top, including two with a hood, wool socks, hat and thick ski gloves. Actually I ended up being quite comfortable, especially as there wasn't much wind and I was in the woods for most of the loop. I ran a modified Snowplug 50k loop, choosing to skip the hill at the beginning and go the "regular' way out to Mountain Road.

Along the Heath, I heard the maniacal laugh/scream of the Pileated Woodpecker, and managed to see it flying off in the distance. Lots of animal prints too. I'm sure all these animals are out wearing the same paths the rest of the year, but it's always neat to see their routes in the snow. I ran down to the river, where the traffic thinned a bit as I wandered along its bank. Along the Rapids Loop, I stopped to watch the water roar over and down the rocky waterfall. In this cold weather, the flowing water had built up to create what looked like big mounds of frozen foam. Huge icicles hung off the rock edges. Beautiful. Add in the quiet woods and the snow-covered pine trees, and it was like a winter wonderland out there. The footing was decent for the most part, although the hill up to the field was a strange texture - loose, dry snow atop semi-frozen sand and a thick layer of hoar frost, which basically meant I fell through the crust a lot, slipping and sliding around. Took the back dirt road and the powerlines home, where I saw a red-tailed hawk being chased by a group of crows. Got in a nice 6.25 miles in a little over an hour.

After a quick shower, we headed downtown for what else but donuts, and a bit of shopping. Then Ryan and Sam took off on their own shopping adventure, while I wandered over to Frontier to meet Amy for lunch. We had a good time chatting and eating away. When you can't run together, eat together :-) Always good to catch up with a good friend, on or off the trails. All in all, a great morning!

Soaring

Worked a half day today then took off to do a few errands. Got home as quickly as I could, threw on my running clothes and bolted out the door to get in 3 miles before heading to Portland for my appointment with Dr. Jamie. I know, poor me. Out for a run, even if a rushed one, in the middle of the day on Friday ;) It was sunny but windy. I ran the short Highland Green loop. Decided to forego the screw shoes as I'd be on the pavement for most of the run. Probably slowed me down a little on the short trail stretches but not much. No major slipping issues and better than hearing the click, clack, click of the screws on the pavement for 2 miles of a 3 mile run! As I ran down Mountain Road, I caught sight of a raptor up above. It was an eagle! And pretty low, soaring above treeline. I stopped for a second to watch him glide by. Then a few seconds later, another! Wow. A rare sighting - very cool! Very happy my rushed run coincided with their soaring over Highland Green. Shot home, took a quick shower and got down to Portland in time. Nothing major going on, just trying to keep things in good shape. Take a breath...

Pre-Dawn Run

Since I never made it out of bed the past few mornings, today was my atonement run :-) But it was a lovely one. Yes, it was cold - the thermometer was reading 10 degrees when I left the house a little after 6 am - but I was bundled up and actually stayed quite warm throughout the run. I turned on my headlamp and headed across the street, running the 5-mile Highland Green loop. There was no wind to speak of, and all was quiet except for the crunching of the snow beneath my feet. I ran along, treated to a view of the beginning of the sunrise at the back of the community - the sky blood orange against the bare branches of the trees. As the sky grew lighter, a soft light allowed me to see the snow-covered pines lining the back dirt road - beautiful - and the animal tracks in the light dusting of new snow at my feet. I even came across two other intrepid souls out for a run with their dog.

Didn't have any wildlife sightings on the run, but did get a nice sighting of a flock of 15+ Cedar Waxwings later in the morning as I walked along the back of the library. The birds were twittering and calling as they sat amongst one of the fruit trees bearing deep red, and now snow-covered, berries. Love their yellow tail line - so cheery!

Snowy Run

I spent yesterday afternoon working on our Christmas shopping. I really am not a shopper, and although it's fun to pick up things for Sam, otherwise, I'd rather be doing almost anything than battling the crowds and wandering around trying to find the perfect gifts for anyone! After 3 hours of shopping, all I wanted was to go for a run and be out in the quiet of the woods. Running is much more my speed :-) So I quickly got everything put (or hidden) away, changed into my running clothes and headed out around 3:15.

There were a few inches of snow on the ground, and snow continued to fall as I ran along. I ran the Heath loop, enjoying the winter wonderland out in the woods - snow-covered pine trees, lots of tracks to look at on the ground, and a muted yet beautiful view out across the Heath through the snow. Ahhh... Got in a nice, if rather slow, 4.25 miles, and with that, the day righted itself a bit :-)

7 at 7

Sometimes I wonder why I am setting the alarm for yet another early morning wake-up so that I can start my day off with a run. Especially at this time of year. It's cold and dark, and above all, I'm not training for anything. Why get out and run? Well, I guess I do it because I can hardly handle NOT doing it :-) That's as good a reason as any, right?! Please say right :-) That, and there's nothing like an early morning run out on the trails, meandering the singletrack along the river, listening to the water rushing over the rocks, stopping to look for ice pancakes (didn't see any! darn!), feet sinking into the deep hoar frost, the woods quiet, my mind wandering, emptying, just being. Got in a lovely 7 miles this morning before heading south to hang with Morgan and Sam while Kristen finished up her holiday shopping. After some time spent playing inside, we set off into the woods to find enough snow to sled on down at the hill in the dog park. Never did find enough, but we had a fun time exploring out in the woods!

Off on our adventure - and yes, the sled went with us the whole way!

Cute cousins

Having fun in the woods

What fun!

In the Christmas Spirit

Got out yesterday in the dark, in the rain, the air raw and damp and cold. Just ran an easy three around the block. Nothing special.

Had a nicer run this morning. I headed out around 7:15 along the powerlines. Haven't run this way in a while. I always find it a nice route. It was one of those mornings where the light is subdued, the colors rather drab, and yet there is beauty. Deer prints in the mud. Dark pine set against the browned grasses. Sparkling bits of frost atop the frozen marsh. Bursts of brilliant color in the red winterberries. Crows circling above. The quiet of the early hours on an overcast early December day. The opened milkweed pods sculptural against the grey sky. A good 5 miles.

Upon my return, Ryan headed out for his run and after a quick turn-around, we were all out the door to Wolfe's Neck for their "Night Tree" program. They did a really nice job with it. There were songs and the story "Night Tree" was read to the kids before they started their ornaments. Sam was a bit overwhelmed at first but as soon as she sat down to do her craft she was in her element :-) Spreading the shortening (no peanut butter? allergy concerns perhaps?) on the pine cone and rolling on the bird seed was a bit messy, but she had fun. Then she and Ryan made a popcorn, cranberry and dried apple garland before we all headed off for a walk in the woods to find the perfect "night tree" on which to hang the ornaments. Very cute. The program ended with some songs around a campfire out in the woods. We came back and visited the animals in the barn before heading off for lunch and to pick up our Christmas tree. It was a great visit to the farm, and a fun program.

Ornament making

The finished product

Garland for the forest animals

Finding the perfect spot

Campfire fun

Feeding the goats

Saying to friendly draft horse, Harley

The perfect tree was easy to find and it was a snap to tie to the car, until we realized we tied all the door shut ! HA! The volunteer moms thought it was hysterical. Sam thought it was great that I loaded her into the carseat through the open window and that I climbed in the trunk and through the car up to the driver's side seat. Then Ryan vaulted in through the passenger side window, and ta da! Just gotta keep things a bit interesting, you know :-)

We spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music and generally having a nice family day. All in all, a great day!

Decorating the tree

Sam and the tree

Sam even got a little tree for her room

Gigi approves...

...Ronnie's not so sure :-)

Dawn

Got in a quick 3 mile run this morning around the block as the sun was rising. No spectacular sunrise this morning, just a soft pinkish glow along the horizon. Still trying to keep the mileage low this month, but adding in another day this week. Woohoo ;) I want to be back in full running form, but it seems to come and go depending on the day - one day feeling great, the next meh. Oh well, it's only December. Just going with the flow and taking it easy.

Mid-Afternoon

Was happy to find myself with a lull this afternoon. There should never be so much work to be done that a run can't be worked into the schedule! Plus, it was just too nice out to sit at my computer for the rest of the afternoon. So I suited up and headed out across the street. It felt spring-like out - the air was warm and the trails were mushy beneath my feet. I was surprised at how much things had melted. The ground had all the variations that I think of in early spring - part frozen sand and dirt, part mud, part stream, a bit of ice here and there in the shaded parts. I ran the trails out to Highland Green and then took the cart paths the rest of the way. There were a number of people out walking and enjoying the beautiful afternoon. And why not? It certainly was lovely! I came home with a smile on my face, 6 miles under my belt, a pair of muddy Inov-8s and lots of mud splashes on the back of my tights. Perfect!

Snow-Filled Sky

Woke to a dusting of snow, with the sky heavy overhead, that whitish grey color that just means "snow." The snow didn't last long, but long enough to coat everything with a thin layer, making it hard to tell what was what underneath. I wandered down to the river around 7:30am, making my way through the quiet woods, picking my way over the ice and across the bog bridges with care. Kept the pace very mellow, both out of caution and because the past few days have been run at a bit of a quicker pace than they probably should have been. The river was roaring, buoyed by all the rain from earlier this week. Scared up a deer on my way back up to the ecology center, its grey-brown fur blending in to the subtle colors of the forest on an early December morning. A fine way to start the day.