Ready As I'll Ever Be...

...or maybe it's as ready as I'm gonna be :-) In any event, Stonecat is tomorrow! I got out this morning for a short 3 miler to loosen up the legs and assess how things are feeling. The foot is fine. The back, well, it is still not 100%. Luckily, it hasn't hurt all week while I've been running, but despite a massage, heating, icing, lots of stretching, etc, I am still feeling it while sitting, bending, etc. The massage therapist who I've been going to in Brunswick felt that my right aquadratus lumborum muscle, which connects from the hip up to the bottom rib, appears to be the culprit. Whatever it is, boo on it! Unfortunately, I just didn't have the time to get down to see Dr. Jamie this week, so, oh well, what can you do? I did call to set up an appointment with him for Monday though, as I assume I'm going to need a bit of adjusting after the marathon :-) Ha.

So, the gist of all this is that I'm not going into tomorrow feeling 100%. I wish I was. But perhaps in distance running there will always be something niggling or tight or sore. I don't know. I feel like I put in some decent training this fall, and up until this week, I'd been feeling good. So, I'm still planning to go for it tomorrow. I might crash and burn, but then again, I might hold it together. My basic goal is to beat my 2010 time on the course, which was 4:13:37, and I'd love to shave a number of minutes off that time. I'm confident I have the ability, but hope that my body will allow me to do so. Only time will tell, I guess.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to running and hanging out with a good Trail Monster crowd out on the trails tomorrow! Here's hoping we all crush the course :-)

Trick or Treat

Isn't it almost November? Shouldn't it be cool out? Instead this morning the air felt balmy and warm, almost as if it were spring instead of late fall. I was dressed in shorts and a short sleeve shirt this morning for my run, and got out for a mellow 4 miles around the Heath. The foot appears to be a non-issue (knock on wood) but my back is still tight. Luckily, after a little massage from Ryan, plus some rolling on a tennis ball and on the foam roller, it felt OK during the run. I would really like it if my body wouldn't play these tricks on me so close to a race! Just makes the taper even more painful! Ugh!

And speaking of tricks and treats, it's Halloween which means it was the daycare Halloween parade and party this morning. Despite the fact that Sam had been telling us for days that she wanted to be a cow, suddenly last night, she didn't want to be one after all. We finally cajoled her into her costume this morning, and it actually worked out pretty well, I think! I watched the parade before scooting up to work, and it was just adorable. They paraded all the kids around the pick-up/drop-off oval a number of times, and there were parents lined up the whole way, watching and taking photos and cheering on the little kids. So cute!

Moo! (Note the Pineland Farms 25k bell :) )

All smiles at the Halloween Parade

Feeling Lucky

We had some strong wind and rain last night, and it is currently pretty dark and stormy out, but we never lost power and aren't experiencing anything close to what our friends and family further south have been going through. We're definitely feeling lucky this morning!

I even got out for a short run this morning before work. Ran the 3-mile Highland Green loop. It was windy and warm out. Tropical feeling, almost. Foot felt good but my back is tight. Sheesh! Guess that's what I get for giving Sam piggy back rides up and down the stairs this morning! Man, I'm getting old :-)

Sam's 3-Year Checkup

Amidst all the talk about hurricanes today, Sam and I headed out this afternoon for her 3-year checkup. What was interesting was that the whole visit really emphasized that she was a toddler and no longer a baby! Standing on the scale, getting an eye exam, getting her blood pressure checked, getting undressed and wearing one of those lovely blue doctor's gowns (although hers was adorned with Looney Tunes characters) during the check-up. She did have to get a flu shot, which made her cry, but it was over quickly enough and she was OK with it. In any event, overall, she was a very good patient!

As for her stats, she is weighing in at 26.2 lbs, and is 34.2" tall. Yup, she's a peanut, but her weight is proportional to her height and she's staying steady on her own growth chart, which is really all that I care about. She's always been on the tiny end of the chart, so I really am not expecting her to all of the sudden be in the 50th percentile! :-)

With Ryan down in Portland today for work, I didn't get in a run, but this week it doesn't matter much, so Sam and I enjoyed the day together getting some things done around town, reading books, coloring and not napping :-) And with that, I'm headed to bed!

Calm Before the Storm

After a gorgeous, warm late fall day yesterday, today it felt like the end of October. It was raw and overcast. I don't think we're going to feel the full impact of Hurricane Sandy like those further south, but I know we'll get some rain and strong winds, and it sure seemed like this morning's sky was warning us that a storm is on its way. I headed out this morning around 7:30 onto the 7-mile Cathance loop. I wasn't organized enough to ensure that Nathan knew I was headed out so early so I missed out on the chance to have company on the run. Silly me. Gotta take advantage of another Trail Monster living so close by! Next time, Nathan :-)

The woods were quiet. No gaggle of turkeys. No deer. Just a few calls from the chickadees and bluejays out in the woods. It almost seemed like the forest was gearing up for the storm. The river, calm in the wide shallows, still put on a good show through Barnes Leap and meandering along the rocky stretches. Always a pleasure to run along. I wore my lightest socks and donned my 295s, with the wide toe box and new pads, and luckily the neuroma didn't act up. Phew! I'll still have to be careful this week, I think, but I was sure glad to have it be a non-issue during the run! Felt good and even managed to eke out just slightly under 10:00 miles, which is pretty good on this twisty, rooty, leaf-covered loop! :-)

We followed up my run with a visit to "the pancake place" for a yummy breakfast and then headed to Freeport to Wolfe's Neck Farm. Sam had a blast feeding the sheep and the cute brown and black bunny, and even more fun exploring the hay maze. The interesting thing is that when we first got there, there were a lot of kids in the maze. Sam went in, but she didn't say a word and just quietly stood off to the side of the action. But once everyone cleared out, she got really into it and was having a grand old time. Always fascinating to me to watch her in situations with other kids.

So much fun!

In the hay maze

Through the tunnel the big kids built

Mellow 4

Headed out into the slightly balmy, sunny morning for a pleasant 4 miles along the powerlines. The bright red winterberries shone bright amongst the golden and browning brush. Deer prints in the sand. A Great Blue Heron swooping past, flapping its wings in a simultaneously odd yet graceful way. The scent of evergreens heavy in the air. A nice 4 miles to start off the day and end the running week. Legs felt good, although the neuroma on my left foot was acting up?! Hmmm, wonder what I did to bother it? Can't say I'm too happy with that. Will have to replace the pads in my shoes and be careful not to aggrevate it any more over the next week. Otherwise, feeling healthy and ready for next weekend!

Mini MP Run

After dropping Sam off at daycare this morning, I headed out for my run. I never ran my hill repeats last week, so figured I should do my best to get in a workout this week so as not be too much of a slacker :-) Without many miles on tap over the next few days, I decided to run the Highland Green loop with the middle 3 miles at marathon pace. I think I should just stop calling it a "marathon pace run" because even though I tried really hard today to just set my pace at hard-but-not-too-hard, and it worked for the first mile (7:56), the last two were 7:40 and 7:43. I don't really think I could sustain 7:40s for a full marathon, so it's not really a MP run, right? I think I'll just start calling it "Danielle's day to run a decent clip for a set amount of miles" run instead :-) Doesn't quite have the same ring, though, does it? Ha!

Anyway, it was another beautiful late fall morning. It was quite windy but the air was crisp and the sun was bright. I felt decent running, but can tell I've had a few too many nights of interrupted sleep recently. Still, just a mellow four miles to run tomorrow and next week will be light, so I should be able to rest up a bit before Stonecat!

Cart Path Run

After a day off from running yesterday, and some rolling and stretching this morning before heading out on my run, the legs felt spry and happy. It was cool and sunny, and no one was out playing golf, so I hit the cart paths for a 6 mile run. The woods and fairways were quiet, and it was a beautiful morning to be out! Spent some time as I ran along pondering Stonecat, and realized I have yet to get in any running with my headlamp on... Hmmm, perhaps I should do at least one run in the dark in the next 10 days?! :-)

10 at the Brad

I'm helping Ryan with a work project this winter, and the initial meeting was this morning in Freeport, so I ended up bringing Sam into daycare for the day. There were a few errands I wanted to run in Portland as well, so I figured I might as well stop at the Brad in between for a good run. I put out the word on the TMR site, but of course, most people work normal hours so weren't free for a mid-morning Monday run :-) Blaine, however, has a flexible enough schedule that he was able to make it over to meet up with me. Erin and Lillian took advantage of the nice weather and went for a hike while we ran. It was great to catch up with Blaine and have some company for the run! It was also very nice to be running at the Brad again! It's been a while.

We headed out on the Connector a little after 10:30. I had told Val I would run at least some of the course to look for stray flags and arrows, so when we got to Lawrence Road, we turned right and took the dirt road to the powerlines before connecting back with the Connector. The funny thing is that we didn't see any arrows/flags far out; in fact, we picked up all of them on our return between the turn-off on the Boundary Trail to the Connector and the parking lot! I thought for sure those would be the first ones picked up, but it made it easier for us than having to carry them all a long way :-)

When we got back to the parking lot, we were at 7 miles, so we headed across the street and ran Fox Eat and West and back on the Knights Woods Trail. I enjoy the ruggedness of the Connector and the beauty of the streams crossed, but I do so like the open woods on the east side. Very pretty today with the late fall leaves and the bright sunlight. My Garmin beeped 10 miles on the dot when we got back to the lot, so we called it good for the day. Definitely a fun Monday morning run! Thanks Blaine! And thanks, Brad :-) Always nice to see you!

Weekend Fun

Yesterday was the Big Brad Ultras. Val, Mindy, Ian and all the volunteers did a great job putting on a tough and challenging race! Way to go everyone! And there were some great runs by Trail Monsters and others out there - awesome!

Ryan ended up manning the Lawrence Road aid station all day long, so after coloring and hanging out for a bit in the morning, Sammy and I stopped at Frosty's for a donut pick-up and then headed over to the aid station to visit and cheer for a while around 9:00 am. It was misty and a bit dreary out, but the atmosphere was festive, and all the runners, despite being muddy and wet, seemed to be happy to be out there. We ended up missing Zak and Emma, who had already come through the station by the time we got out there, but we stayed long enough to see a lot of the other Trail Monsters come through, which was great!

After lunch and a nap, we ended up heading back in the afternoon as Ryan's keys got locked in his car. I hadn't been planning to go back out, but it was fun to have a chance to see a few more people out there and cheer on some more runners! I was impressed by everyone's attitude, despite the rough conditions and the wet weather. Ultrarunners may be crazy but they are oh so cool :-)

Ryan didn't get home until bathtime, so there was no running for me yesterday, but I did get out this afternoon during naptime for a nice 5 miles down to the river and back. My legs felt pretty good, although I was definitely a bit tired. With all the rain from Friday night and Saturday, the river was high and flowing well.

When Sam woke up, we raked leaves out back for a while, and then headed to the playground for a little energy-burning session before dinner. Nothing like slides and tunnels!

Giggling with Daddo

Static!

Whee!

Whoosh!

Coming through!

And Chandra, this last photo is for you:

Sammy's faux pouty face. Hysterical!

Morning along the Cathance

Bluejays squawking.
Sparrows and juncoes flitting.
Water rushing over the rocks.
Leaves crunching underfoot.
Brilliant green moss.
Red and yellow leaves reflecting.
Overcast sky.
Dry bogbridges.
Great Blue Heron fishing, silent and still.

Morning 5

Ryan was feeling good enough this morning to join me on my run, and I was happy to have his company. It was bright and beautiful out. We headed out through the woods to Highland Green, and then, since it was only 41 degrees and we figured the golf course would be clear, we hit the cart paths for the remainder of the run. The paths are nice because they roll and wind along the fairways, through the woods and along the marshy areas. It's quite picturesque, and a great way to get in a nice run off the pavement. There likely won't be many more chances for us to run together on weekday mornings as Ryan's schedule is about to change, so it was nice to take advantage of the opportunity this morning and enjoy a nice 5 miles together.

Quake

We had an earthquake last night. Here. In Maine. It registered in the "light" quake category, but we certainly felt it. However, I will admit that my first thought was not that it was an earthquake. I was putting Sam to bed, and we had the washing machine running. The machine is right on the other side of her bedroom wall, so I initially simply thought that the washing machine was unbalanced and was causing things to shake a bit. Then Ryan came rushing in, and I realized that things were still trembling. Weird. Don't think Sam noticed at all, and then just like that it was done.

This morning, I headed out into the frosty morning for a short 3 miler around the block. The air was clear and bright. A deep frost covered the grass. My legs felt surprisingly good considering yesterday's day off and Monday's 20 miles. I didn't feel creaky at all, although my legs did feel a bit tired. I'll take that as a good sign!

20 Done

OK, so this week's long run didn't quite go as swimmingly as last week's long run. Last week, I had it all together. I felt good physically and mentally the whole way. I felt like I was running well and within myself. This week, well, not so much. I felt off from the start. I was tired. But this is my MO. I can't really use it as an excuse all the time. It is just how it goes for me. And with my late start, I knew I wasn't going to be able to run the cart paths for the first 6 miles as I had planned. So, I was wandering off without a real plan in mind. Sometimes I like the challenge of figuring out where I should go for a certain distance. But today I just felt a little overwhelmed.

I started mentally arguing with myself about the merits of this last long run about 3 miles in. With 17 more to go. This was not good. I was out in the Cathance. The woods were beautiful. The river was flowing. There were fallen leaves on the mossy rocks. I recognized that I was lucky to be out there. Sam was being well cared for by my parents, and I had the whole morning to myself to run. But I didn't really want to. Or maybe I didn't really want to all by myself? Regardless, after I had finished the Ravine Loop and was 5 miles in, I stopped, pulled out my phone and called Ryan. I asked him if he would do me a favor and meet up with me in another 5 miles for a 5 mile loop. I figured if I got in 10 on my own, and had the boost of running with Ryan through mile 15, that I could drag myself out for the final 5 and hopefully get the run done without too much damage or drama. Well, I was wrong on that count.

Ryan was a good husband and agreed to run with me no questions asked, but he didn't really want to. His foot was hurting and his legs were tight. He wasn't planning to run. I hadn't realized that he was so against running today, and when he told me that as we ran down our road, I sort of lost it. I didn't want to run with a grumpy mc-grumperstein! I was hoping for a little relief for these 5 miles. Instead, I felt stressed. Finally, after a few miles and another small breakdown, we sorted ourselves out. Ryan said I didn't really need him anyway, I was running well. And in fact, I did feel OK. I was moving along and had gotten through my crazy wacky emotional stressed out bad patch. I dropped Ryan and my Nathan pack off at the house and headed out for the final 5. Ryan suggested just running the Highland Green loop at as quick a pace as I could. That didn't sound like a bad idea, so that is what I did. I probably could have used some water and fuel along the way, and certainly didn't hammer the loop out like he suggested, but I just kept on chugging until the Garmin beeped 20. Done.

It was definitely a bit of a struggle to get through this one, but I got it done, and I know that having this last 20 miler under my belt will help me during Stonecat. Ryan thinks I should take a break after Stonecat and not do any events for a while, that training is stressful for me and that I'm better off just running what feels right. I agree with him in a way, but I don't want to give up on competition for good! I like having a goal to work towards and seeing what I can do in a race. I realize that sometimes my running makes me crazy, but in other ways it keeps me more sane. So who knows? In any event, there will be more time to ponder all this once Stonecat is done. For now, it is on to the taper!

And in an attempt to bring a bit more cheer to this post, here are a few more photos from Sam's birthday yesterday! She had so much fun!!

Playing with her cash register with Morgan

Art project!

Happy Birthday to you!

Afternoon coloring session

A goodbye hug from her best friend Annie. So cute!

5 and a Party

Today was Sam's birthday party. Luckily, the morning was pretty mellow and offset the chaos that was this afternoon :-) I didn't actually have much to do in preparation for the party that hadn't been done, so even managed to get out for a run this morning! After the rain last night, the front was moving through and it was just a bit dreary out. It was also much warmer than I had expected. I headed out into Highland Green, and thinking that there was likely no one playing on the course on such a wet morning, I decided to chance it and hit the cart paths instead of running through the woods down to the river. I skipped holes 1 and 2, but ran the rest of the holes. No one was out there, and it was a nice change to run on the packed dirt/gravel paths and not have to think about footing on a wet morning. I guess I must have timed things perfectly because when I came off hole #9, the parking lot at the clubhouse was filled with cars and it looked like a tournament must be going on! A decent 5 miles to start off the day.

The house was filled to capacity this afternoon with 7 kids and 12 adults, but we had a lot of fun. The kids were all very good together, and really enjoyed the craft project I had for them (decorating little foam refrigerator picture frames) and had a lot of fun coloring and playing together. It was very cute to see them all sitting around the table engrossed in their art! Sam received a lot of nice presents, and we of course hyped everyone up on cake and ice cream :-) I must admit to being pretty tired out by the time dinner rolled around, but it was fun to have our family and some of Sam's friends here to celebrate with her! Thanks everyone!

I was a delinquent Mom and just let everyone else take photos of the day, so I'll have to download some of my parent's photos tomorrow and post them :-) But for now, here is a cute shot of Sam opening the big roll of art paper from Auntie Meg and Uncle Chris, and one of her smiling as I put the cake down in front of her!

Ohhh!

The birthday girl!