Mixing It Up

Met up with some of the Trail Monster ladies on Tuesday night down in Portland for a run around Back Cove and then a little get-together to say goodbye to Linda, who is heading to Bethel with her family for a new job and a new adventure. It was great to run and catch up with everyone! I hardly ever run in the evening and I don't think I've run around Back Cove in like 3 years, but it was lovely with good company on a nice evening after the rain had passed. Pretty evening light and lots of water birds out in the tidal flats. (3.8 miles)

Yay running! 

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Of course, I didn't last long back at Mary's house (surprise surprise 😉😂) but it was a really fun evening. I feel so lucky to know such a great group of ladies!

Didn't sleep well but got up early anyway and out the door for a run on the cart paths and around the Heath. Pretty morning light rising over the Heath and some yummy blueberries and blackberries to eat too! (7.0 miles)

Thursday, we were headed to NJ in the late afternoon, so I took the day off to get in a run and get all my regular errands done along with getting us organized for travel. Ryan joined me in the morning for a run on the Whiskeag Trail. I was hoping to get in 15 miles in an attempt to up the mileage and see how my body was feeling. We set off at 8:00 am from the Bath Y. It was relatively cool but still very humid. I love the views along this trail especially along the river and out in Thorne Head near the convergence with the Kennebec, but I always forget how technical the Whiskeag really is! An insane amount of roots and enough twists and turns that it is really hard to get into a rhythm. Ryan was less than pleased 😂, and on top of it his back was feeling out of whack. We had planned to do some miles around Thorne Head and then run back on the Whiskeag but Ryan was feeling pretty badly and then he started to get lightheaded. Ugh. We walked a bit and then hoofed it back slowly on the road. It was not the best of runs, to say the least, and definitely not quite what we had planned. (9.3 miles)

Whiskeag views

We hit the road in the late afternoon for the trek down in NJ. No matter when you leave you are bound to hit traffic and construction in the summertime, but doing some of the miles at night seems to ease the pain a little bit. Not horrible this time around and we arrived before 11:00 pm and fell right to sleep!

Friday morning, as has become our tradition, Ryan and I ran along the Hudson River Walkway from the hotel in Edgewater to Meg and Chris's place in Hoboken. It was a rather overcast morning and so much cooler than last year when we totally melted en-route! Still a whole lot of concrete, but it is a neat to run along the river and take in the NYC views. A few tourist stops along the way, a few stops to look at the map, and a chatting pace as we wandered along. Ryan's back was still feeling tight but he was in a much better mood today, so it was a much better run than Thursday! 😉 And always good to shake off the travel and get some miles in at the start of what is inevitably crazy weekend! (8.6 miles

9-11 memorial

NYC views

Weehawken Pier

Tern

The rest of the day was spent trying to keep the kids away from the birthday cake Meghan was in the midst of making when we arrived, trying not to melt while walking around the city after lunch trying to find someplace that was open (Why is the rock climbing place not open on a Friday afternoon? And the beer garden even more so?!?) and then attempting to keep the kids entertained until the pier opened with the food trucks and beer (Again, why was it not open mid-afternoon?! We really could have used a beer earlier than 4:00 pm 😂😂)

Thankfully we found a frozen yogurt place to stop at and a park with benches in the shade for the parents and the kids had fun! And once we could finally sit in the breeze on the pier under the shade sails and drink a beer and eat delicious tacos and vietnamese dumplings, all was good 😃

Cutie pies 😍

We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel on Friday night, and there was no running on Saturday morning. Instead we headed to Urban Air for Gavin's birthday party. The kids had a blast and it is always such fun to celebrate with Gavin 😃 Happy 6th Birthday, buddy! We love you! 💗

Sam spent a lot of time in the rock wall area. She struggled at first feeling comfortable getting high up on the walls but she really stuck with it and it was so fun to see how proud she was when she got to the top of the walls and the progress she was able to make on the more advanced walls while we were there. And it really was a cool concept!

Then of course, there was present opening and more fun back at home before we finished up the day at with yummy mexican food and margharitas for dinner. 🍹🍺  Yup, definitely needed it! 😂

Cheers to a fun weekend!

I had planned to get up this morning for a run before we headed home, but Ryan had been having really bad back spasms late in the afternoon on Saturday and into the night and I was feeling fairly stressed knowing we had a long car drive home today and didn't sleep well on top of not wanting to be out away from the room in case he needed help in the morning so needless to say, a run did not happen. Ah well, not quite the run week I had hoped for but such is life. Thankfully Ryan woke up feeling at least slightly better, and the ride home was OK! Phew!

Fingers crossed that the back continues to improve as we have two camping weekends coming up! 😁

#flashbackfriday

Flashing back to Western States with screenshots of images taken by Facchino Photography 💗🗻

Weekend Fun

Out early yesterday for a meander around town. Nice morning to be out but I felt pretty meh. Unsettled stomach and heavy legs made the miles seemed more forced than I would have liked. Ah well, they can't all be great! 😉 (8.0 miles)

Later in the morning, Sam's friend Celiah came over for a playdate, and after lunch, the three of us walked to Dairy Queen for an afternoon treat. Yum! 💗🍦Always good to enjoy a walk and ice cream with my girl (and her sweet friend). (2.0 miles walked)

This morning, I headed out onto the powerlines for a run before the Breaker. It was gloriously cool out and no bugs! So lovely! Lots of stops to enjoy the ripe berries along the way and to inspect the milkweed for monarch caterpillars. Excited to find one chomping away! (5.6 miles)

Trail breakfast

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Love the fog 😍

Always fun to cheer on the runners and chat with friends at the Breaker, and the weather was perfect too! After helping pack up, we headed to lunch and then over to get school shoes for Sam. I stopped at a small patch of milkweed growing in one of the islands in the parking lot and was thrilled to find several monarch caterpillars. All different sizes too! So neat!

Early August

Still keeping things fairly easy although working to build up the miles slightly this week. Got out Tuesday morning on heavy legs into the fog. Reasonably cool temps though and no deer flies so I decided to head into the Cathance to the trails. River is running very low but the cardinal flowers are blooming along the banks - always so pretty!

Saw one deer and stopped to pick the first trailside blackberries of the season along the powerlines in the final mile. Yum! (6.0 miles)

Ryan headed over to VT for work for the day/night so Sam and I went out for a yummy dinner of sushi and gelato in the evening. It's her favorite combo and it's always a treat to spend some special one on one time with my girl 💗

Thursday was a dark and rainy run along the cart paths, with nothing but the deer flies for company the second the rain abated. Nasty buggers! (5.1 miles)

Yesterday morning I headed over to Bradbury. Arrived a little before 9:00 and got in a nice soggy 5 miles on the mountain side before looping back to the lot to meet up with Mindy and Val. The humidity combined with Thursday's rain made the rocks and roots super slick so I just took it nice and easy. Found a lovely patch of high bush blueberry bushes along the boundary near the little pond/marsh area - don't know that I've ever noticed them before - but this year they were producing some good sweet berries. Always stop for trailside berries! Yum!

Northern Bluff view

Val, Mindy and I headed out onto the Connector to the Royal River trail for a nice out and back. We had fun chatting away, even as we lamented the heavy humidity. As usual, I finished up the run soaked 😆 Gotta love summer running! Legs felt good and it was nice to get in a few miles with friends! (11.3 miles)

After a few hours spent running around getting errands done, I picked up Sam a bit early from camp and we headed down to Yarmouth to meet up with the cousins and Susie for dinner at Otto's. Lots of good pizza and laughter! Always good to see family! 💗

Fields and Ocean, Heath and Marsh

After I dropped Sam off at camp on Friday, I headed through the Commons for a run out to the ocean at Simpson's Point. Always lovely out through the Pennelville fields and one of my favorite places to road run! Beautiful morning with bright blue skies, and much cooler and less humid, which was definitely a nice change from earlier this week! Legs felt good, with just a touch of fatigue in the final mile. (10.0 miles)

Saturday, I snuck in a few morning miles before we headed south to MA for the rest of the weekend. Decent temps but still those darn deer flies. Ah well, hard to complain when the sun is rising and the sky is alight with color. Early morning runs really are the best. (4.0 miles)

Once we arrived at Ryan's parents, the kids spent time outside scooting and playing in the sprinkler. Anything to wear them out! 😂😂

The reason for the visit was a surprise 70th birthday celebration for Dana. Irene did a great job planning the event, and amazingly, no one spilled the beans and it really truly was a surprise! A fun evening with family and friends, eating, laughing, chatting and celebrating! 🍻🎉🎂

Of course, I did not get any photos from the evening but we really did all have a great time 😃😃

Slept in a bit this morning and made it out the door right around 8:00 am for a run around the Georgetown block. Another nice morning, cool in the shade but definitely warming up in the sun and still humid. I finished up the run soaked! Legs felt good and I always enjoy running out through the salt water marshes. Such a pretty view with all the green grasses and snaking river, and a good way to finish up the week. (7.2 miles)