10 at Pineland

This morning Snowman and I headed to Pineland Farms for a run. Mindy and Jeff were planning to meet us there, so although Snowman had come down with a "pork hangover" fueled by yesterday's Blackstrap Heaven bacon fest and last night's huge plate of pork at Buck's Naked BBQ with Mindy and Pete, we had to be there at 8am as planned. As we got off the highway, we were shocked to see that Nate and Shannon had just driven by. We had told them about the run, but honestly didn't think they'd make it out of the house on time! They surprised us by beating us there by about 30 seconds :-)

It was a beautiful morning, although a bit cool and windy, and I had goosebumps as we stood around getting organized and ready to go. Snowman, Jeff, Mindy, Nate and I took off on the Pineland Farms Challenge course, while Shannon and little Finley got set for a walk and a stop at the Market. The trails on the river side are drying out fast, but there were a number of mushy, muddy sinkholes to keep things interesting. While a few green shoots are coming up in the woods and red buds are emerging on the treetops, I didn't see any trilliums or trout lilies out quite yet! We chatted as we ran along, and everyone was nice enough to keep the pace mellow enough that I could keep up without going nuts. Nate, Ryan and I walked the big hills, while Jeff and Mindy ran. I had to stop a few times along the way for pee breaks (this is definitely one of the disadvantages I have as a pregnant runner lady!), and did so in spots where I was able to simply cut off a small loop and catch back up with the group, which worked out well!

We got back to the car with my watch reading a little less than 8 miles, and since I was feeling good, I decided to stick with my plan for 10 miles. I filled up one of my bottles with Gatorade and we were off again. I split off from the group at the first cut-off on the Oak Hill loop and slowly made my way back. 10 miles on the dot. A good run with great company! Thanks guys.

Since Ryan was going for 20 miles, I had a bit to wait, but the time went by quickly, split between hanging out with Nate, Shannon and Finley, and then joining Jeff for coffee and a muffin on the couch in the Market, complete with a great view of Mt. Washington! The last hour I spent happily in the same spot on the couch with my book. Snowman came in salt-covered and tired, but having completed his miles. Way to go Snowman! We sat and ate sandwiches before finally heading home. I think the remainder of the day will be spent on the couch :-)