Catching Up

False spring arrived for the first part of the week of March 9th. Ran in shorts and a t-shirt because 62 degrees feels quite toasty right now 😂! The upper route on the Powerlines is down to dirt and there was most definitely a fair amount of mud on the back dirt road. (6.1 miles)

Worked from home on Wednesday morning and got out for a mid-morning walk around the school block for heading in for an afternoon of meetings. (2.0 miles walked)

That evening Sam and I headed out to her high school swim team banquet. Good to see all the kids together and celebrate everyone's accomplishments! Sam had a great season, as did the team in general and it's always fun to hear about it!

Thursday was an afternoon run wandering on the trails, back road and side walks. Dreary and spitting rain. (6.0 miles)

Worked and did errands on Friday morning and didn't get out to run until later in the afternoon. Geez, I think I have to officially call myself an afternoon runner now 😜 Mix of roads and some still yet less than ideal trail and cart paths. (6.0 miles)

Sam and Abby had a sleeepover Friday night, so I headed to the farmer's market on Saturday morning for some veggies and to pick us up croissants 😋 It had snowed in the early morning hours, so I wasn't in a rush to head out to run. Got some work done and then once the snow had mostly melted, I headed out around 3:00. I desperately wanted not to just hit the pavement so did a mix of roads, powerlines, back dirt road and cart paths. Conditions not ideal but made me feel a bit better than just road. Also got hailed on 🤪 (8.0 miles)

Sunday, I headed out for a run around 11:00. Felt kind of blah. Mostly roads but couldn't help but check out a few stretches of trail. (8.75 miles) 

Tuesday was a 4:30 walk around the school block. Blustery! 💨 (2.0 miles walked)

Finally got out for a morning run on Wedsnesday morning just as the sky was lightening. Pretty sky, and pussywillows seen starting to bloom! Did a lollypop on the powerlines, back dirt road and Topsham Crossing. (6.0 miles)

Thursday, Brunswick and Topsham got about 4" of snow. Snowing hard in the morning and apparently it was some sort of ocean effect swirl that just settled right over the area. Weird and definitely unexpected! Had to be at work at 6:45 am for delivery of the whole building generator, which is HUGE BTW, so no morning run. And still spitting snow when I went out at 3:30. Damp, grey and snowy. Winter isn't leaving us quite yet! (6.0 miles)

Friday, I waited for my run until the afternoon in the hopes of as much snow melting as possible. Ran the cart paths and it was messy! Still a bit too much snow and definitely sloppy but nice to get off the roads! (7.0 miles)

Ryan got home on Friday night after 12 days away for work. Nice to have him home!

Saturday, I got out around 2:00. Too windy to be really enjoyable but tromping around on the cart paths and powerlines was kind of fun if messy. One red tailed hawk, turkey tracks, lots of mud and one patch of decomposing deer with tufts of fur and bone. Gotta love a dead thing sighting! 🤪 (11.0 miles)

After dinner, Sam and I drove down to DQ to get our first of the season soft serve! 😋🍦

Sunday morning, Emma came up to meet me for a run. It was great to see her and to have a chance to catch up! We had fun chatting away as a light snow came down. We ran one of my regular road loops. Nice and quiet at 7:30 on a Sunday morning. (8.0 miles)

Ended up with another few inches of snow from Sunday, and when I headed out on Tuesday afternoon for a run, things were quite messy with too much snow underfoot on the backroad, so just stuck to the pavement for the rest of the loop. This time of year is always rough, as you WANT it to be really spring with warm weather and yet, despite the calendar saying it's spring, we just are not there quite yet... (6.0 miles)

Wednesday was a 5:00 pm walk and talk with Ryan around the school block. Nice out if a bit of a cold breeze. (2.6 miles walked)

Headed out on Thursday afternoon for a run on the cart paths. Felt sluggish and a bit off, plus the ground was extra mushy so nothing feeling very fast today 🤪 More snow has melted off the green on hole 8 where I saw the deer fur and bone the other day and more parts are appearing. Never know what you’ll see out there. One red tailed hawk soaring and my one hobblebush starting to show some buds. (6.1 miles)

Wasn't feeling great on Friday and even cancelled on a planned run with the ladies 😢 Sigh. Got some work and errands done, and then settled in on the couch for the afternoon to read a new book and watch Shrinking in the evening with Ryan. 

Felt better Saturday morning so decided to head out for a run after lunch. Cold and breezy, but a bright blue sky. Took it very easy and ran the cart paths. Still a bit of snow and ice in spots but 90% clear. A thin sheen of ice on the Heath. (7.0 miles)

Today, Ryan was nice enough to go out and get us donuts in the morning so we spent a few hours relaxing on the couch before doing some house cleaning. Then after lunch and getting some work done, I headed out around 2:30 for a run. Very windy! With no real plan in mind and still wanting to take it easy, the run featured a little bit of everything - road, singletrack, cart path, back dirt road, powerlines, ice, mud, snow. Ryan headed out for his own run while I was out there and we ran the final few miles together, which was fun! Four turkey, a few skunk cabbage coming up in a protected sunny spot, and two mallards seen. (8.7 miles)

Ryan ran up the gravel pile on the back road

With swim season done, Sam has been doing some lifeguarding up at the Y along with relaxing and spending time with her friends and buying too many squishies 😆 which are apparently all the rage right now. Also, she dissected a sheep eye in Anatomy!

💗

Let There Be Light!

First week of March, more light, more snow, more melting, daylight savings time. Winter isn't over but we are all thinking of spring regardless!

Tuesday was a dreary afternoon run through Highland Green before more snow came in overnight. (6.1 miles)

Thursday was yet another afternoon Higland Green run. Nice afternoon with a lot of melting. (6.1 miles)

Got out mid-morning Friday after getting a bit of work and errands done. Another Highland Green run. Legs felt clunky and I didn't have much time, as I was dropping lunch off to Sam at 11:30 before the team got on the bus for the high school state meet up at Colby. (6.0 miles)

Then after a quick lunch myself, we picked up Mom and Dad and headed back up to Colby for the second Friday in a row. The meet itself was a long, very inefficient event that started late and then dragged on for 5+ hours. AIE. The kids were good sports but it was a lot. 

Sam swam great, getting PRs in both the 200 free and 500 free and swimming in the 200 free relay. A great end to a great season! 🎉🏊💗 Always so fun to watch this kid in her element and enjoying time with her team and in the pool! Proud of her for a solid season with only one small bout of sickness this winter. Hurray!

Chilling

Strategizing

Yawning and zoning out while awards were announced for other events before the 500 started 😝

None of us got to sleep before 11:00 pm and I felt off the rest of the weekend. Ha! Rained in the morning on Saturday so I wasn't in a rush to get out the door. Hit the farmer's market and got a bit of work and housework done before finally heading out mid-afternoon for a yet another run around Highland Green. Dreary, grey, misty, damp. Bleh. (8.0 miles)

Stomach didn’t feel great on Sunday, so I held off running until mid-afternoon. Definitely shorts weather with temps in the 50s! Back road was wet ice but otherwise just very puddly elsewhere. Had wanted 14 but all things considered happy to get in 11. (11.0 miles)

End of February

Monday was President's Day, a day off for me and the start of vacation week for Sam. I sent a last minute text to Val, Mindy and Anne to see if any of them were up for a run, and both Val and Anne were free. Hurray! So we met over at Bradbury at 10:00 for a run. It was lovely to run with friends and catch up! Just the perfect thing to do on a vacation day morning, and nice out too! Trails were solid although snowmobile trails and where there hadn't been as much bike traffic things were definitely soft. (6.24 miles)

We look happy but darn it all, we're blurry!!! Sigh, silly Danielle!

Sam had mid-day double practices all week, and Ryan and I both had to work, so it was more or less a normal week. I did work from home Wednesday morning which was lovely, and got out for a quick walk around the school walk at 10:00 in between meetings. (2.5 miles walked)

Thursday, I got out for an afternoon run around Highland Green. Nice out although felt a bit chillier than I expected from the temp on the thermometer. I do so love this time of year as the days are getting longer and it is getting lighter later! Back road very sloppy and muddy. (6.0 miles)

Friday, I had an appointment for my shingles shot (god, I feel old saying that! 🤦🏼‍♀️😩) ) at 11:00 so I got up and out on the roads for a run around town at a bit before 8:30 and then did errands and work later in the afternoon. Brisk and calm with a lot of ice slicks. (9.0 miles)

Didn't feel terrible on Saturday after the vaccine, but felt a bit out of it, so I didn't get out early for a run and then Emily reached out and we decided to meet up for a xc ski midday over at Mere Creek despite my trepidation about my arm hurting. Turned out to be a lovely idea. It was really a beautiful day to be out on the snow and nice to catch up with Emily! (4.2 miles xc skiied)

Ryan headed down to NJ bright and early on Sunday morning to beat the snowstorm coming in, and although I had originally planned to head up to Riverlands for Val's birthday run, Sam's swim meet got switched to Sunday last minute due to a scheduling issue, so instead, I dropped her at the Y at 9:00 and then headed out for my run from there. Nice morning. Sidewalks were a bit iffy but the roads were clear.  Headed up High Street to the Thornehead parking lot, and found the trail boot packed enough up to the viewpoint that I was able to run up in the gravel shoes, slowly. Then I wandered out to the Whiskeag view and around, making it bak with time to spare before Sam's first event. (9.0 miles)

Sam had a good meet, getting a PR in the 100 fly and swimming a solid 500 free, and we were home by early afternoon, which was nice! 

While NJ got more than a foot of snow over night and into Monday, things started more slowly up here, and although school was cancelled, we didn't end up getting all that much snow. Still, it was super windy and probably wouldn't have been great for any sort of driving, so neither Sam or I were upset to have to stay home on Monday!

Tuesday, I didn't run in the morning and then just decided to take a walk around the block when I got home for a bit of movement. (2.1 miles walked)

Wednesday, I got up and out early. Light at 6:00 am and a beautiful sky! I didn’t catch the brilliant pink as I was headed out the door on my camera but still lovely when I got to the Powerlines. Mostly road with a bit of trail thrown in. (6.0 miles)

Thursday, I didn't get out for a run until 4:30 due to a late afternoon meeting. Days are getting longer, so I had the light on my side, but in the shadows, the pavement and sidewalks around Highland Green were getting slick, and it wasn't quite as warm as it seemed. (6.0 miles)

Ran my errands early on Friday and then headed out at 11:00 for a run. Nice out but breezy in all directions. Hate that 🤪 Ran Highland Green and decided to head down to the river. Packed and ok without spikes for the short loop. (6.1 miles)

Then after a quick lunch, it was off to pick up Sam to head up to Colby for the Y States meet. Sam had her full cheering squad up in the stands with Mom and Dad driving up with us, and Irene and Dana meeting us up there. Always fun to see the team swim, and Sam had a good meet, swimming in the medley relay, getting another PR in the 100 fly and a solid 6:41 in the 500 free. A good end to yet another LRSC season! Can't believe next year she'll be a senior getting recognized at this meet after 10 seasons with the team. Time really flies.

Saturday, we took Sam's car in for an audio upgrade and then Ryan and I hit Dutchman's for bagels and the farmer's markets for veggies. Then I got some work done and hoped the wind would die down before heading out for my run. Ryan wanted to get out too, so we headed out together at 2:30. We started on the Powerlines, which were a bit too squishy and sloppy to really be enjoyable, and he turned around at 2 miles, while I decided to take to the roads and try the Cathance. I was suprised to find things quite lovely and well packed in a thin ribbon out there. So, as long as you didnt stray off the edge, you were fine. Been there, did that 😂 With the warmer temps, the snow was a bit tacky but all in all, quite decent in spikes and nice to be out along the river. (9.0 miles)

Very lazy this morning, and aside from getting the bills paid and making a trip to Target, I didn't do much except relax on the couch until I finally dragged myself out the door at 2:30 😝 It was sunny but cold and breezy, and I wandered around Highland Green and down towards Homeplace and around to get in the miles for the week. (13.1 miles)

While January seemed to drag on and on, February somehow managed to fly by, and so with that, here are the stats from the month.

February:
128.19 miles run
8.75 miles walked
4.22 miles xc skiied
2x weights

YTD:
268.38 miles run
15.47 miles walked
4.22 miles xc skiied
7x weights