River Landing Fun

Well, we were all up around 6:30 this morning, so sleeping in didn't quite work out as hoped, but regardless, it was yet another lovely southern vacation day :)

Ryan and I got out for a big loop around the neighborhood while Sam hung out with Neenie and Pip this morning. It was 47 degrees out with a rather stiff breeze, so we both wore our arm sleeves and felt cold at first. Luckily, the sun down here is stronger, and it definitely warmed up during the hour+ we were out there, so by the end, I had rolled down my sleeves and was feeling quite comfortable. As you might guess, it is flat as a pancake around here. We ran mostly on the pavement, with only a short stretch of trail down by the river lodge, and a stretch of a few miles on packed crushed gravel along the berm. Ryan let me set the pace but I still felt the need to keep the legs churning at a slightly faster rate than I normally would since he was with me. We had a nice time running together, chatting away as we ran along. We saw five deer bounding across the golf course, saw a number of turtles and one cormorant in tone of the ponds and had a cool view of three cormorants hanging out in a tree along the edge of another pond later in the run. Got in 9 miles at 8:30 pace, so definitely a quick run by my standards, but felt good.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around outside enjoying the birds, the flowers and the local fauna flitting about around the yard, followed up by a trip to the pool and dinner up at the club. Another fun vacation day!

Whatcha doin'?

American Green Tree Frog, hanging out

Gold spots 

And gold eye lids

The green anoles were also out enjoying the sun

Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly

Sam helping Neenie with the watering

Watering the plants

Love the bight colors in my mom's garden!

Snapping turtle out in the brush along the golf course

Heron in the pond

Getting ready to swim!

Goggles on

Backstroke!

A serious game face ;)

All dressed up for dinner

;)

Mommy and Sammy selfie

Sam being goofy

Sam, Neenie and Pip

Running along the pond after dinner

River Landing selfie

Vacation!

I don't have an umbrella drink in hand, but we're definitely on vacation :) We don't call my parent's house "the resort" for nothing! We got picked up at the airport, complete with a present in the car for Sam, taken to a nearby park for a picnic lunch and rides on the carousel, chauffeured home, got a ride in the new golf cart, played some yard golf out back and didn't have to lift a finger for dinner or clean-up. I'll take it :) We sure are lucky! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

It has been a long day but Sam was a great traveler and for that we are eternally grateful. Time for what will hopefully be a long and restful sleep tonight and then up for some fun, adventure, relaxation and a little running tomorrow! Ah, vacation is good :)

Riding the carousel all by herself! Three times ;)

Follow the leader

Fun at Pullen Park

Sam and Daddy

In bloom

Rose

Backyard golf practice

Mini golfer ;)

Out for a ride in the new golf cart with Pip

Early Morning

Two final early morning runs before we head south tomorrow. Looking forward to some warm, sunny weather, some good old relaxation and a fun race to finish up with at the end of vacation!

Wednesday morning dawned cool but not cold, with thin layers of ice atop the puddles, crunchy sand beneath my feet and a beautiful sunrise through the still bare trees. Ran a loop of the cart paths and felt good. 6 miles is a lovely way to start a day :)

This morning, I headed down to the river, enjoying 5 miles on the trails on a crisp, clear morning and yet another sunrise to kick off the day.

Today's sunrise

Sunday Run and Hike

Got up and out this morning around 7:00 am for a short shake-out run. It was bright and sunny but cold and windy as I headed out through the woods and along hole #3. A thin layer of ice sat atop the shallow waters in the Heath and the hoar frost had popped back up again along the trail. I kept the pace nice and easy and was happy that, although tired, my legs really didn't feel stiff or creaky at all. Finished up with a mellow 5 miles to bring the week's mileage up to 45+. Bring on the taper!

When I got back, Ryan headed over to Bradbury for his run and after a few rounds of Sushi Go, Sam and I headed that way too. We checked out the TMR trail maintenance work - looks great! - and then hiked up the Terrace Trail thinking we would likely see Ryan as he headed down to the lot, and yup, about halfway up, there he was. Sam and I continued up to the summit and chatted for a bit with the Hawk Watch watcher before descending via the Bluff Trail/Northern Loop/Ski Trail. A good 1.9 miles with the kiddo, mostly hiking but with some sprinting between waterbars thrown in ;) Always good to spend time outside with Sam!

 

Bradbury 20

Last long run before the Grayson Highlands 50k this morning. Decided I was going to just do my own thing this time around and not join up with anyone for the run. Saw John and Damon in the parking lot when I arrived, but sent them off and headed out myself about 5 minutes later. It was chilly, with the ground semi-frozen in the wet/muddy spots, but luckily no ice. It was also very sunny, which was lovely, although honestly in a few spots, with the sun shining so brightly through the leafless trees, it was hard to see!

Granite, blue sky and pines

Ran up to the summit and then headed down the Boundary to the break in the rockwall to run Lunchbreak, then back up again. Took Tote down and did Krista's before heading back up to the summit. Took the Bluff trail back to Northern Loop - a lovely little stretch of trail - and back to the lot. Crossed paths with lots of other Monsters between 7:00 and a little after 8:00 am - Jim G and friend, Sean, John B, and saw Ian, Jet and two others heading off down the Tote as I was about to turn onto the Ski Trail. A nice morning to be out, for sure!

Back at the lot, I crossed the road and ran the Scuffle. Saw two mountain bikers but otherwise the trails were quiet.

I stopped at the car to refill my water and get some more food, and then headed back up the summit. This time around, the trails were a bit busier, with a lot of people out enjoying the good weather. I ran a similar loop as I had the first time around, adding on in a few spots here and there. Down by the gravel pit, I ran into a big Trail Monster trail maintenance group, who I knew were out working on the trails this morning - very impressive and great to see so many people out! I stopped a few times to chat, and then, when I realized, I was going to be a bit short on mileage, did a few loops through the parking lot and on the first stretch of trail to get to 20 ;)

Legs were a bit tired, but I am happy with how I felt today and glad to have gotten in one more solid run before the taper. Not quite sure what to expect at Grayson but know it will mean running through a beautiful area and am looking forward to it!

Rainy

Thursday morning, I thought I had dodged the rain, but nope, it started up again shortly after I headed out at 6:00 am. It was a wet, windy, misty, dreary 5 miles on the cart paths, but at least I escaped the worst of it. The day was rife with major rain and major wind. Of course, Ryan went out and ran in it after work anyway ;) Ha.

Keri texted me this morning and said, "Gonna be a muddy one!" Actually, since we ran on the Cathance trails, it was more like a slippery one, as the slick, wet roots and bog bridges were way worse than the wet, muddy spots. It was fun to show Keri the Cathance - the river was roaring and the sun even came out, warming us up enough to shed our long sleeves and allowing us to hear the peepers out in a few of the ponds and bogs. A lovely 9.2 miles to start my day and great to have company along the way!

Happy runners along the river

500

When I looked at Strava this afternoon, I realized I hit 500 miles for the year during this morning's run. A little off 2,000 mile pace for the year considering it's already a few days into April, but still, not bad!

Out at 6:00 am with no need for a headlamp. Hurray! But it appears we are back to "winter" for a few days here, with a dusting of snow on the ground, cold temps, iced over puddles and a whole lot of hoar frost popping back up out on the trails. April is a fickle month, yes, but these swings in temperature are tough to take, and even tougher on the flora and fauna, I imagine. Hopefully everything will make it through OK but I guess only time will tell.

Ran up over Mt. A. and along hole #3, watching the horizon begin to glow through the trees. Very pretty sunrise this morning.

Ran out along the Cathance for a lovely, if chilly, 6.5 miles. Always a good way to start the day.

Back to Sleep

Thankfully, Sam did great at the sleepover at Anne's on Friday night and there were no middle of the night calls to come pick her up :) I got up early to get in a run, heading out when it got light at 6:30 for a 5+ mile run down to the river and back. It was warm and almost clammy feeling out. Lots of moisture in the air, that's for sure, and slick roots and bog bridges to go with it. Lots of birdsong too, although the woods are still not yet quite looking spring-like.

Ryan headed out for his long run, and I picked up Sam around 8:15 and we went to get donuts before heading to swimming. Ryan got in an awesome 23 mile run at the Brad while Sam and I shopped for snazzy new sneakers for her, did our weekly Target run and went out to lunch, just the two of us. We finished off the day with dinner at Nate, Shannon and family's house, and Sam had a lot of fun playing with their new little kitten! So cute! Needless to say, Sam had had her share of excitement over the past 24 hours and fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow :)

I fully intended to get up and go over to the Brad for a long run this morning, but even though I got up, got dressed and had breakfast, what I ended up doing was not going out the door at 6:30 am, but getting back into bed! I was stressed, exhausted and feeling seriously underwhelmed by the prospect of my run, and apparently, I must have needed a quiet morning, as I fell asleep for 2+ more hours! I felt so much better when I woke up and was glad I listened to my body and decided on rest vs. miles. So, it was a lazy morning at our house, with everyone sleeping until around 8:45. It was actually really kind of nice, as it's not the sort of thing we do often. Ryan made pancakes and we played a few games, and then it was time for Sam to head off to her friend's birthday party. Since Ryan was already planning on going with her, I took advantage of that and decided I would go out for a short run in the Cathance. The wind was whipping around like crazy but I was mostly protected down in the woods. I ran from the ecology center along the river and out to the Blueberry Trail, then headed back and finished up with a loop on the Heath Trail for exactly 6 miles. Perfect.

And hopefully this means I'll be ready to roll next Saturday to get in a final long run before Grayson Highlands! Hard to believe it's April and the 50k is around the corner!

Friday

Warm out this morning but windy, overcast and misty. I was feeling a bit dreary, so decided I would keep my run mellow and hope that heading out to one of my favorite places would help lift my mood. I started from the field house lot at Bowdoin and ran out through the Commons to Coleman Farm. The woods are still very much in early spring mode, with browns and greys reigning, and the fields were shrouded in mist, enhancing the muted morning palette.

Misty morning fields

Muted ocean view

The only hint of color was in the patches of daffodils coming up along the edge of the pond beyond the Coleman Farm farmhouse. Hopefully they will survive the freeze this weekend.

Spring, encased

I kept the pace mellow, just meandering along. Lots of birdsong, and saw a redwinged blackbird, an eastern meadowlark, a pair of wood duck taking off from one of the ponds, and a belted kingfisher. 

As I was running a field loop to finish up my 10 miles, I was thinking about how I hadn't seen anyone out on the trails this morning, which is very unusual. And then I looked up, and who did I see running toward me but Nate. Ha :) We stopped to chat briefly before we each continued on our merry ways.

Not sure the run helped lift my mood, but it was nice to be out and I really do always enjoy that particular route. After the run it was home to do some cleaning and then off to volunteer in Sam's classroom for the afternoon. This morning, she told me Fridays were always fun because I come into her class. So cute :)

But the thing she was excited about most today is that it is a movie night at school! And then she gets to have a sleepover at Anne's for the night! OK, so this is exciting for all of us!! Her first sleepover! We'll see how it goes, but for now, we're calling it a win! She gets a fun Friday night and we do too! Dinner out and watching the Barkley movie together. Yup, that's about as exciting as we get ;)

Cheers!

Peepers!

Didn't get up this morning to run, but then was kicking myself for it ;) So, decided to get in a short run before I picked Sam up at school; it was too nice out to think about running on the treadmill during her swim lesson, plus today was the last Wednesday lesson so I wanted to be able to see how her swimming was coming along. Headed over to the Crystal Spring Farm trails to run the 5 mile loop I've run midweek a few times. This time around, the trails were completely free of ice (Yah!) and dry. It made for much easier running, that's for sure!

Figured I would make the run a bit of a "push" run. I don't know what the correct term is, but I feel some of what I've been missing the past few years as I've trained for the longer ultras and forgone racing shorter events is the sense of pushing myself. I mean, yes, I pushed myself in training a lot last year as well as in the 100, but it was an endurance/strength/durability test with higher mileage, sustained motivation and long hours of being on my feet. Very different than fast running on trails. So, while I can't say I'm going to commit to a true peed program here, I do plan on incorporating some runs into my schedule during which I keep focused and push throughout, versus just lollygagging along as I am wont to do ;)

Managed to keep the overall average pace just below 9:00/mile, with my fastest time on the East Loop. I don't care too much about Strava segments, but they are an interesting gauge.

Anyway, a lovely, if windy, afternoon to be out and very happy to have gotten in a few miles for the day! Also, the spring peepers were going crazy up in the pool at the edge of the farm fields! Love it!!

Light

Almost back to not needing a headlamp for my 6:00 am runs! Wore mine this morning for the 0.4 miles it took to reach the gravel road up to Mt. A., but that was more for safety than because I really needed it. Then I was able to turn the headlamp off, and watch as the sky lightened throughout my run. No glorious, bright sunrise this morning, but a lovely pastel sky above the trees. Got in a soggy, windy 6 miles on the cart paths.

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Someone was out taking photos along the course as they cheered for their runner. He got some great shots, and I love this one of Amy and I as I dragged her out for "just one more loop" ;)

Happy Easter

Had a lovely Easter yesterday complete with a fun Easter egg hunt for Sam, two baskets of goodies (it pays to spend the holiday at the grandparents's! Ha!!), a yummy brunch of pancakes, bacon and omelettes and some fun games played.

I snuck out mid morning for a 5 mile run around the block. Legs felt creaky in the first mile but loosened up. Pace was in no way fast but not terrible for a road run the day after 21 miles, and happy to have the legs cooperate!

To Hale and Back

Earlier this winter, Amy urged me to sign up for the TARC 6 Hour To Hale and Back race. I've done their early spring 6 hour race several times in the past, although never as a true race and never running the full 6 hours. However, it's always a good excuse for a long run and given that it's near Ryan's parents, it's a good excuse to hang out with them as well. This year, the race fell on Irene's birthday and Easter weekend, so even better. Also, with a new venue this year and dry conditions due to lack of snow, things were looking better and better.

Amy joined us at Irene and Dana's house on Friday night, and the three of us made our way down to Hale to arrive at 8:00 am on Saturday morning. The start was in a different location than the 100; in fact, I recognized it as the lodge I ran past just as darkness was falling with wedding music blaring and a full-on party going on. Great spot with a warm fire going and indoor bathrooms. The course was a 3.5 mile loop.

We ended up with a good group of Trail Monsters for the run, which is always fun!

The loop was a good mix of a bit of pavement, some wider double-track and powerlines, plus some thin ribbons of singletrack. I recognized a lot of the terrain from the 100, although all were done in the opposite direction. Hale is a fun place to run but it isn't easy. The loop didn't have a lot of elevation but did have a number of short steep hills, some sandy beach crossings, and such to keep things interesting. I kept the pace pretty easy and fell in with a long train over the first few loops. We finally got lapped by the leaders on loop #3 ;) I took a break between loop 3 and 4 to fill my water, go to the bathroom and eat some oreos so by the time I headed back out, I was alone. Actually, it was a nice break and I kept myself amused listening to the birds and looking at the woods around me. Not much in terms of flora yet; it is still early spring, but there were some pussywillow blooming, one patch of daffodils coming up and some skunk cabbage visible in the swampy areas.

When I came through loop #4, Amy was sitting in the chair by our stuff. I asked her what was wrong, knowing this was not the sort of terrain she likes the best, and hoping she wasn't injured. When she said she was fine, just done, I asked her if she wanted to go back out for another loop. It didn't take her long to say yes and get organized ;) Not sure if I am a good or bad friend for dragging her back out. HA! We took it easy, chatting along the way and keeping the pace comfortable for her. Always fun to get in some miles with her, and hopefully she appreciated getting dragged along for more ;)

Come on now, you can do one more lap!

Once back at the start/finish, we took another short break to refill water, use the bathroom and convince Amy that another lap was a fine and dandy idea. What a good enabler I am ;) I ended up with 6 laps for 21 miles and Amy got in 17.5 for the day. Ryan cruised by us during lap #5 and finished up strong with 7 laps for 24 miles; Tami did awesome with 24 laps herself and John kept moving most of the 6 hours to get in 28 miles. Ally did 3 laps before her knee was hurting, but finished in good spirits. All in all, a whole lot of TMR miles!!

Happy Monsters :)

As always, TARC puts on a great race with a lot of fun people, good food and good spirits. A fun way to get in a long run on a March day!

Meanwhile, Sam was having a great day with Grammie and Grampie, so it worked out perfectly!

SIX bowls of Cheerios downed!

Lunch out

Pink sprinkles!!

We finished up the day with big burritos and a few games of cribbage and Sorry. And yes, she is still wearing the ears... ;)

Who do you think is winning here? :)

Midweek Running

Almost didn't get out the door on Tuesday morning, but decided I was being ridiculous ;) Finally made it out at 6:30 am for a snowy run around the Heath. Beautiful sunrise seen through the trees. With less time available, mileage was shorter, but hey, 4.3 is better than none :)

Top of Mt. A.

Through the woods

Wednesday saw me up and out at 5:00 am. Let me tell you, 5:00 am + overcast skies + no moon = serious darkness ;) I felt fairly smooth and kept the pace mellow along the cart paths, getting in a good pre-dawn 6 miles. Then it was off to work early to make up for some missed snow day hours. Which meant, more coffee please!!! ;)

Thursday, I evened out my Wednesday morning overachievement by not getting out of bed for a run. Ha. Gotta keep it real here, people! ;)

Then this morning, I woke up to a message from the school district that there was a 2 hour delay due to icy road conditions. Looking out my window, I thought, it doesn't look that bad, but since I had the option, I waited until it was light out to start the sun. Headed out under dreary skies at 6:30, and let me tell you, they weren't kidding! It was da*n slippery out there! A fine, thick layer of ice covered all surfaces. It was slow, and dicey, going.

Due to conditions, I thought running down to the river on the trails would be wisest, as the cart paths were almost as slick as the roads. Bog bridges, moss and rocks were slippery but the sections of trail under tree cover were OK. Ended up with a slow 5.1 miles for the morning and was happy I to not have fallen down out there! A fine mist was falling throughout the run, and with temps hovering around 26 degrees, I came home to find my shoelaces had iced over!!

Then, just after Ryan left for work, we got another call - school had been cancelled for the day. Two snow days in one week - crazy weather!