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.

End of September

It's been a busy week! Spirit week and Homecoming at school for Sam, the start of the Y swim season, and Kristen coming into town for a visit! Lots of fun and excitement 😊

Monday was the first day of the LRSC swim season so it was back to the Y! Pretty afternoon for a walk around the Bath. (2.4 miles walked)

Tuesday, I just did not manage to get out the door as early as I would have liked, so kept it short and sweet with a road loop around Highland Green. (5.0 miles)

Muggy and overcast on Wednesday morning. Ran the road loop across the two bridges crossing the Andro. Haven't run that route in a while! (6.4 miles)

Kristen flew into town Wednesday afternoon, so we had dinner at Mom and Dad's. It was good to catch up and so good to see her 💗

Friday, I headed out around 6:15 am for a run on the cart paths. Misty and foggy with three deer seen. (5.1 miles)

  

Then it was off to do the typical Friday morning errands before picking up Kristen for lunch to celebrate her birthday at Wild Oats. Yum! 

Meanwhile, Sam was having fun at Eagles Day at school to finish up Spirit week 😁

And then it was off to Enoteca Athena for a delicious birthday dinner out before Sam headed to the Friday night football game. A fun day all around!

Saturday morning, I headed out on the powerlines aroudn 8:00 am. Warm, but smells and is starting to look like fall out there. As is the theme this week, I haven't run this loop for a while, so that felt good. Nice morning. (7.0 miles)

I dropped Sam off to meet up with Lauren and Rohan so they could get their nails done before they headed back to Lauren's house to hang out and get ready for the Homecoming dance, and then after lunch, Ryan and I met up with Mom, Dad and Kristen for a walk out on the trails and down to the ocean at Skofield Shore Preserve. Always love it out here. Such a pretty afternoon to be out. (1.5 miles walked)

The girls had a blast at Homecoming, and looked so adorable all together in their sparkly dresses! 😎😍

Sunday, I headed out into the Cathance for a run. Haven't been out there for a while! 😆 It was nice to be back down along the river, although definitely feeling a bit slow on the technical terrain. The foliage is just beginning to turn and is looking lovely. Happy to be feeling good and to have hit 30 miles for the week. Onward and upward! (6.5 miles)

Later in the morning, Sam and I met up with Mom, Dad and Kristen up at Rocky Ridge for some apple picking. Always so pretty out in the orchard, and of course, the apples and the cider donuts were delish!

We finished up the weekend over at Mom and Dad's for a nice afternoon with the extended family. Good to see everyone, and of course, there was too much food and three different cakes! 😂😋