MishMash

A bit of a mishmash this week. Winter sports night, a dance, sun, rain, trails, roads, skiing, we've got it all! 😉

Monday night was the Mt. Ararat Winter Sports Awards evening. It was nice to see all the kids recognized, but man, the majority of the coaches could have tightened their speeches up a while lot. Aie. 

With the time change, it is back to darkness in the early morning again. So chose to run the cart paths after dropping Sam at school and before going into work. How is it possible it was windy in all directions?!? 💨💨Bright and sunny above and semi-frozen underfoot. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday, I worked from home and didn't manage to get out the door until just before 1:00 pm. Ran the powerlines. Bright, warm and a bit windy. Also very very soft underfoot. Skunk cabbage emerging and two mourning cloak butterflies flitting about in the sunlight. (7.0 miles)

Beautiful day on Thursday, and after finishing work, I did the grocery shopping and then headed home to take a walk. Decided I'd combine a few more errands and the walk, and headed to the library and the dump to drop off the recycling. Ryan joined me, and we got in a nice walk on the Gone Fishing trails before we headed home. (2.76 miles walked)

Rain started overnight and through lunchtime on Friday. I had to do some work anyway, so sat at the computer for a few hours, got a few errands done and then after lunch and a bit of sitting on the couch, I finally pulled myself up and got out the door around 2:00 pm. Ran down to the river and back. Soggy, misty, damp, dreary. Water water everywhere. (7.0 miles)

Ryan headed over to NH Friday afternoon as he, Kendra and Michael were planning to ski at Sunapee on Saturday morning to close out the ski season. So of course, Sam and I decided on ice cream for dinner 😂😂

That decision might have come back to haunt me during Saturday morning's run, as I felt decidedly unenergetic and sluggish. Maybe som real food for dinner might have been a good idea... Oops! But a cool, crisp, bright, calm morning to be out tromping in the woods nonetheless. Headed out around 7:45 am. Pavement was a bit slick in the shade as were all the bog bridges, and all the mud was semi-frozen in the woods. Misty fog rising above the roaring river, and birds calling overhead. (10.0 miles)

Later in the day, after dropping Sam and Rohan off at Lauren's to hang out and get ready for the evening's dance. It was so nice out, I figured I might as well enjoy the afternoon and stopped to take a walk at Skofield Shore. Trails were a bit squishy and sloppy but always good to get down to the ocean, and I do love the views. (1.47 miles walked)

Ryan got home around 6:15 and we ate noodles and relaxed on the couch for the evening while the girls had fun getting ready together and dancing the evening away 😍😎

😆😊

After a beautiful day on Saturday, the rain came back overnight. I really need to stop with the afternoon ‘long’ runs here 🤦🏼‍♀️ but this rainy windy weather we’ve been having is not doing wonders for my desire to get out there. Didn't head out until 2:00 pm once the skies started to clear. Trails were a bit sloppy but stayed mostly out of the wind at least. Two bluebirds flitting about out on the the Powerlines but otherwise quiet. Ran into Ryan around mile 9 and joined him to get a few extra miles, which was much appreciated as I was definitely lagging a bit and having company made the miles go by much easier! Bright beautiful sunshine as we passed by the Heath, and then we got poured on in the final half mile 😂 (12.25 miles)

Soggy

This week was the last week of swim practice. What are we going to do with all our free time next week?! 

Monday was a beautiful day but I had a full day at work with meeting upon meeting, so while it would have been nice to take advantage of the weather, alas, I did not manage to make it happen. 

Tuesday, I did not get out for a morning run and while I technically had time during afternoon swim practice, it was cold, rainy and windy. I settled for a walk around the indoor track and getting more work done instead. (2.1 miles walked)

Wednesday, I was working from home so after dropping Sam off for late start, I headed across the street and ran the cart paths. Soft and squishy ground underfoot and very damp out overall. (6.0 miles)

Then later in the evening after swim practice, we headed down to Harpswell for the end of the season swim dinner. It was so nice to have all the kids be personally recognized not only for their accomplishments in the pool, but as people too. The coaches and the entire team are truly the best, and we are so glad that Sam was a part of the team this year! It truly has been a great experience.💖

I was really wishing I had run on Monday or Tuesday when I woke up to yet another cold, windy, rainy day on Thursday. Sigh. Had a late afternoon meeting, so took a little extra time in the morning after dropping Sam at school and squeezed in an out and back on the pavement of Highland Green Road. There was nothing good about the weather. 💨🌧️☔️ Blergh. Did see an eagle soaring overhead though. (6.0 miles)

Finally sunny again on Friday, but also breezy. Got the grocery shopping and my errands done around town after dropping Sam off at school and then around 10:30, took a chance and decided to head out on the powerlines. Very squishy, wet, muddy, semi-frozen, and slightly energy-sucking underfoot. One wooly bear and a few very early skunk cabbage emerging. (9.0 miles)

Then after lunch and a bit of time to relax, it was off to pick up Sam and my parents and head north to Colby for the Y States meet, the final meet of the season! The sports facility up there is seriousy impressive, and they put on a good meet. Sam swam great, with PRs in all three of her events and a very solid 500 free PR at the end of the night. It is so fun to see her hard work paying off. And to see her in a tech suit too! 😎(Although we did not pay the $600 for a true tech suit, but the kneeskin suit seemed to work perfectly well for a quarter the price!)  It was Friday night lights, swim style! 🏊🏊

🔥🔥

Saturday morning, Emily came up here to join us for a run. It was great to catch up and obviously, no fun was had 😆😆Very mucky, squishy, flooded and muddy out there. Some bushwacking was involved. The river was flowing - so much water! (6.75 miles)

Sam was picked up at noon for a birthday celebration for Lauren involving a trip to the mall and a sleepover, so the house was quiet in the afteroon. After eating lunch and getting a few things done around the house, I headed across the street for walk #2 of the week. A bit dreary out, but always good to move a bit. (1.7 miles walked)

Then it was back to the couch to read and relax before we headed into town to Nomad for a yummy dinner of wood-fired pizza. Delish!

Spring ahead overnight, and woke this morning to whipping winds, dark skies and a whole lot of rain. Ugh! Spent the morning inside at the computer, cleaning, doing laundry, reading and most definitely putting off the run 😂😂😂 The rain stopped as I was driving down to Harpswell to pick Sam up after her sleepover, so once I got back and did a bit of stretching and rolling, I headed out for my run. Overcast, still windy, and still a whole lot of water everywhere, although mostly avoidable on the sidewalks and roads. Ran down to the river through Mom and Dad's neighborhood and then across the bridge and back through the Topsham streets. Stomach was not feeling great, so just took it easy and was glad to get the miles. The mileage this year has not been super impressive, but the graph is starting to look decent with six weeks in a row right at 40 miles. Hoping to add in a few miles these next few weeks but for now, happy to be back to the consistency after January's Covid dip. (12.25 miles)

Wrapped up the weekend with a fun hibachi dinner at Kume with Mom and Dad to celebrate the end of Sam's two successful and fun swim seasons! 😊😊

End of February

January seemed like it lasted forever, but February just seems to have flown by. Hard to believe it is already March!

It was not a week for beautiful photos. The snow has pretty much melted leaving bare ground, mud and some ice, and it was rainy and/or overcast most days. Honestly, this sort of weather is kind of depressing, especially at this time of year. I haven't xc skiied once, and the kids haven't even had a proper snow day this winter! Climate change is real, people...

I am back to my old habits and did not start my run week until Wednesday. Sigh. Tuesday was a day full of meetings and as I didn't get up and out early, I missed my chance for a run. However, as I was over at the Bowdoin campus for several fellowship interviews, I took the opportunity to get in a walk mid-afternoon before heading back to the office for more meetings. 🤪🤪Warm. (1.93 miles walked)

Got out around 6:30 am on Wednesday for a run around Highland Green. Misty, rainy, soggy, overcast and blustery. Ran out via the roads but came back on the powerlines. (6.0 miles)

After Wednesday's rain and a drop in temperature overnight, I wasn't interested in running icy roads in the dark, so I did a bit of work early on the computer on Thursday and then after dropping Sam off at school, got my run before I headed to the office. Another Highland Green run. Windy, icy and chilly. (6.1 miles)

Friday, after doing a bit of work and getting a few errands done, I headed out for my run from the Gone Fishing parking lot at the dump. A fair amount of bare ground but still a decent percentage of ice to tiptoe around. Temps were cold enough that the powerlines were solid, but once things warm up, it's going to be messy out there. Bright and chilly. Cooper's hawk flew overhead and alighted on a nearby tree as I ran on the trails near the dump ponds, but I wasn't fast enough for a photo. Nice to run on trails, and glad not have to have to wear the spikes. (8.0 miles)

Sam has a bit of a cold, so we skipped Friday practice, but I had planned on walking up at the Y, so I laced up my shoes and got in a short walk around the school block later in the afternoon. (1.73 miles walked)

Overcast, windy and sort of raw morning on Saturday, depsite not being super chilly out. Powerlines were as expected but not terrible running as long as you didn't mind a bit of walking around the icy spots and a few ankle turns on the frozen mud and sand. Five deer seen bounding through the woods mid-run, their white tails flashing, and a lot of birds calling. (10.0 miles)

Rain started up later in the day on Saturday and was still falling on Sunday morning. So dreary. I wasn't in a rush to get out, so did some work on the computer, did some house stuff, and relaxed a bit and then decided well, it's lunchtime I might as well eat and I'll go out later. So motivated! 😏😆😉Finally headed out around 1:15. Sky had brightened up and it was warm and breezy. I didn't feel like running roads so put on my trail shoes and decided I'd just wing it with the route and see what I found. Ended up running the cart paths and out into the Cathance. Very soggy, squishy, soft, muddy and so much water. River was roaring. Ryan caught me with about two miles to go, which was nice 😊Glad to have gotten it done, and to have put in another 40 mile week. (10.0 miles)

February wrap-up:

167.0 run miles
16.01 walk miles
0.0 XC miles

YTD:

280.5 run miles

25.8 walk miles

0.0 XC miles