Busy

It was a busy week! I had work meetings at 5:00 on Monday and Tuesday, a work event on Wednesday out at Wolfes Neck starting at 5:00, and then we headed down to visit with Irene and Dana for the day on Saturday. In between, it was your typical work, swimming and running routine.

Tuesday was a 5:30 am run through Highland Green. Dark and calm. (5.6 miles)

Wednesday was another Highland Green run, an hour later, but no sunrise as it was a foggy, misty morning. (6.4 miles)

Then later it was off to Wolfes Neck to get set up for the event, and of course, to take in the view before everyone arrived. Always so pretty out there!

Thursday, I took Sam up to the Y for swim and headed out for a walk around the Bath block. Nice afternoon to be outside. (2.0 miles walked)

Friday, after a few errands, I got out around 10:30 for a run on the powerlines. It was the first of two Youth Hunting Days but the main powerlines are wide open and bordered by housing development, so with a blaze orange shirt on just in case, I figured I would be pretty safe. Nice, bright and breezy, and the blueberry and huckleberry bushes were a lovely brilliant red. (6.6 miles)

Sam walked home with Lauren, Rohan and Carlie after school and they quickly got dressed up in their Halloween group costume - Alvin and Chippettes - before I took them up to Midcoast Youth Center to volunteer as part of their school PALS group at a Halloween party for elementary and middle school aged kids. They looked so cute, and had a blast! Then it was back here for a snack and to change clothes before the football game. A full Friday!

We were headed down to MA to visit Irene and Dana for the day, but not leaving until around 9:00 so I had plenty of time to head out for a run first. I was planning on running roads, but the sun rising over the powerlines pulled me in, so I ended up running the cart paths instead. Beautiful light. Tired. (6.4 miles)

We hadn't seen Irene and Dana since their trip to Hawaii, so we got all caught up and that and other life events, and then after a late birthday celebration for Sam complete with cupcakes and presents, we headed out for a short later afternoon walk just for a bit of movement before an early dinner so we could drive back home. The maple leaves were still on the trees down there. (0.4 miles walked)

Dinner included a delicious UFO Pumpkin Hefeweizen. Yum!

This morning, I headed out around 8:00 and ran over Mt. A along the edge of the Heath to take in the view before heading out on the powerlines for a loop. Just meandering along on a bright, crisp morning, trying not to catch a toe on the roots hidden beneath the now thick layer of leaves! Felt decent, which is always nice, and happy to hit 35 miles for the week! (10.2 miles)

Beautiful

After a cold and rainy start on Monday, it turned into a beautiful week with warm days filled with sunshine, and cold nights and mornings that finally required that I turn on the heat! 

Monday was a holiday and a day off from work and school, although I think all three of us were doing work at one point! And because it was reasonably nasty out, I took a zero day. Later in the afternoon, Ryan headed south to Boston to fly out to CO for the week and Sam and I joined Mom and Dad for dinner. 

Tuesday morning was a dark, damp and cold Highland Green run before work. (5.5 miles)

Wednesday, I ran across the Androscoggin for a road loop. Pretty morning and the early morning light hitting the leaves was lovely. (6.5 miles)

Thursday, I was attending an all-day conference down in Portland, so I got up early to take a walk in the morning darkness for a bit of movement. The moon was bright and full with Orion's belt clear against the dark sky. Of course, my camera did not capture the beauty. (2.6 miles walked)

Many thanks to Mom and Dad for taking Sam up to swim on both Wednesday and Thursday, and for feeding us again on Thursday evening! We are so lucky to have them in town 💕💕

Friday, I had every intention of getting in a run, but I had errands on my to-do list that I wanted to accomplish first and then I got caught up in work stuff and then Sam was having an end of the week, I'm tired meltdown about swim, and so my plans to get in a run during that time disappeared, not to mention we had a few errands to run together before we headed home, and by then I simply was out of energy. But it truly such a nice afternoon, I didn't want to waste it entirely and got out for a walk before picking up dinner for the night. I really should know better than to wait on my run, but such is life. Oh well. (2.2 miles walked).

Ryan got home around 7:30 and was all excited to see us and we were both wiped and in bed by 8:00 😂😂 Welcome home, honey! 😜

Saturday, I headed out on the powerlines for a run around 7:15. The sun was still rising, there was frost on the grasses and it was a lovely morning to be out. Got in 10 miles and while the legs felt a bit clunky, it was nice to hit double digits again (even if just barely!)! (10.0 miles)

Then it was time to quickly shower and clean the house before Sam's friends came over to head to the football game and back for a pizza and cake birthday celebration. Always so fun to see the girls together 😍😍

Sunday was our annual Trail Monster get together and run. We met up at Lost Valley for a hilly 1 mile loop. Lots of hills and fun. Enjoyed meandering along and spent time chatting with different friends along the loop. Then we all walked back to the lodge and sat around chatting, enjoying some yummy potluck offerings and drinking cold beer in the sunshine. A good morning! (6.85 miles)

15 and 25!

Monday is shaping up to be a zero day, apparently! Tuesday, got out in the early morning darkness at 5:30 am. Dark, damp and overcast. Had a spotted salamander sighting!! 🤩🤩Moved it off the pavement. Such a cool sighting! (6.0 miles)

Wednesday was another early morning run at 5:45 am. Some spitting rain in the early darkness but ended with a pretty sky. Tired. (5.5 miles)

Then it was back home to wish the birthday girl Happy 15th! 💗🎂 It has been a joy watching Sam grow from a sweet little baby to the amazing girl that she is today. Can't believe she is 15! 

Worked at home for the day, which is a good thing as I had a strawberry cake with purple buttercream icing to make 😂We celebrated in the evening with thai food, cake and presents with Mom and Dad. The cake was pretty delish, although the icing needed some more food coloring to get the purple to pop!

Thursday, I headed out early for a walk. Defintely weird to be out walking by headlamp at 5:40 am, but it was the only time I could get it done so that's what I did! (2.6 miles walked)

After school and work, we headed to the eye doctor to get the remainder of the odd stye that developed on Sam's eyelid earlier this summer removed. Luckily it had reduced enough that it was a fairly easy procedure and Sam handled it all like a champ! Despite the fact that it was Ryan and my 25th anniversary (!!), it was a pretty regular day although we did get to see the Northern Lights 😍😎 Even in our neighborhood with a whole lot of light, we could see the red glow in the sky and the cameras truly showed the magic of the aurora. Beautiful! 

But I would be remiss if I didn't say Happy Anniversary to Ryan! We have been together for a long time and there is no one I would rather spend this crazy adventure that is life with! And we do plan to celebrate with a trip up to MDI in early November when we finally have a free weekend 😊

Friday was a day off from school for Sam so I didn't have to run in the dark and finally headed out right at 7:00 am for a run on the cart paths. Pretty morning but felt sluggish. (6.6 miles)

Wasn't in a rush to get out on Saturday although of course the cats had me up early 😝Headed out at 8:00 am for a run on the powerlines. Holy wind! 💨💨Felt like I was getting blown over pretty much the entire run and came home to the power having been knocked out. Pretty out there though. (8.0 miles)

Sam and Kylee went to the soccer game in the early evening and then Sam went back to her house for a sleepover.

Up early on Sunday but just did not feel like getting out for a run. Ryan was out of the house around 5:30 to head to the start of the Big Brad 50 miler, and then after a bit of relaxation on the couch, I picked up donuts at Frosty's and headed over to his aid station for my shift from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm. Always a  fun day and so great to have a chance to catch up with friends - we had a good crew at the aid station too - and of course to cheer on and help the runners as they ran by. It was cold for us standing around but perfect running weather! 

After my shift was over, I headed home and got myself out the door for a run. Ran out into the Cathance and along the river. Very leafy on the trails. Legs a bit stiff but nice to get out! (6.7 miles)

Sam came home after a fun day at Kylee's with sugar cookies that they had made from scratch - yum! - so everyone had a good day! 

Early October

Monday was a day off, and Tuesday I was up and out early for a run through Highland Green. Beautiful sky as the sun rose. I kept stopping to take pictures but they did not do it justice 😆(5.3 miles)

Wednesday, I ran the road over the river into Brunswick for my "two bridges" loop. Quiet and overcast. (6.7 miles)

Thursday's movement was a walk during swim practice. Beautiful out. (2.0 miles walked)

Friday, I got up and out early. Misty and foggy out, and feeling tired. Ran around Highland Green to take advantage of the street lights. (5.0 miles)

 

Then after getting Sam to school and running a few errands, I headed over to Pineland to meet up with Val and Mindy for a walk. So good to catch up with them, and fun to hear about Val's race! 😊Followed up by a coffee and bagel sitting out in the sunshine. (3.1 miles walked)

Saturday it was back to Pineland (two time in one week after not being over there for a long time!), this time for a run on Oak Hill with Emma! Really great to see her and so good to see how strong she is feeling! But oh my goodness, I have not been doing any hills and I could tell 😜 Damp and misty. (5.0 miles)

Then it was home and off to get our flu and Covid shots. After lunch Sam went over to Kylee's house to hang out, and Ryan and I got the house cleaning done, the A/C out and then relaxed a bit on the couch before dinner. I was feeling pretty tired so I went to bed early. 

Had hoped to sleep in a bit, but Ronnie the cat had other plans. Sigh. Oh well. Spent a quiet few hours downstairs with my coffee before finally motivating to do my exercises and get out the door to run. Ran out on the powerlines. Cloudy bright and very fall feeling out there. Also, one very friendly kitty seen and petted 😺 (8.0 miles)

And just for fun, more Homecoming photos 😍

With September coming to a closer at the start of the week, here is the monthly wrap-up:

September:
103.53 run miles
25.54 walk miles
0.0 XC miles

YTD:
1,074.27 run miles
239.9 walk miles
0.0 XC miles

Managed to hit 1,000 miles for the year in the 2nd week of the month, and planning to gently continue the trend of increasing mileage back up to what I consider my happy base mileage of 40 miles a week. Happy to be back out there.