Beautiful Loop + Afternoon Ski

I was planning to head over to the Brad this morning for my long run, thinking it would just be me out on the trails until Ryan took it upon himself to text John to see if he wanted to get in a long run too. I was happy to have the company, but I am not so sure John was happy he had agreed when I picked him up at 7:00 am this morning. HA! :)

It was fairly chilly at the start, but I was banking on the fact that it would warm up so I dressed much more lightly than I normally might. We headed out on the snowmobile trails, and I was a little disheartened to find that the surface was fairly sugary and churned up in the woods. I tried to ensure that we kept an honest pace by staying a few steps behind John, but he kept moving quickly so I just tried to keep up :) Once we hit the corn fields, the trail seemed much more solid - amazing what a bit of sun will do!

Through the fields

I wouldn't have done the Beautiful Loop solo but John was game, so we set off down the powerlines for the full loop. We were surprised to find that we had somehow crossed the river without actually realizing it. Wow, that is a lot of snow! Or perhaps we were just distracting talking away ;)

We stopped at the bench and took in the view and had a quick snack before continuing on.

Happy runners

Powerline view

The trails were quiet - no snowsmobiles out - but we were following a solo set of footprints in the snow. Trails were in very good condition, with only a few soft spots and no ice to speak of, and we were moving along well. I was starting to feel the pace by the time we reached Lunchbreak, and we slowed to a walk and then once running resumed, it resumed slowly - well, for me anyway :)

The Boundary Trail was as well packed as it had been last Friday, and we headed up to enjoy the sunshine at the summit.

Bradbury summit

Smile

My watch was only reading 14.25 at that point and I wanted to get in 16 at least, so I suggested looping around to the parking lot via the Boundary Trail. Once again, it was a fun run in the opposite direction and a good way to end the run. I think both John and I were happy to be done when we hit the car, and although the training plan called for 20, I am more than happy with a snappy 16.3 in 2:45 on that loop! (although come to find out those tracks were from Andy, who ran the loop in 1:48! Wowza!)

Later in the afternoon, we met up with Nate, Shannon and family over at the Merepoint Golf course for some xc skiing. I remember running workouts on the golf course itself in college for cross country, but hadn't realized that there was a nice wide, flat trail out through the woods and down to the ocean along the edge of the golf course. The trail had been decently packed by snowshoers and skiers, and the trail etiquette was surprisingly good - the ski tracks were in good shape the whole way. With Sam being a little less than 100% and also on much slower, wider, heavier skis, she certainly didn't move as quickly at Finley and Charlotte, but she traveled along at her own sedate pace, never whining, seeming to enjoy being out there with friends. It was a gorgeous afternoon, warm and sunny and there was no breeze in the woods. Sam decided we should turn around before the end of the trail and we didn't push it. And at the end, despite the fact that she (and all of us, really) was tired and hungry, she smiled and said, "What a nice long ski!" Love this kid, and so happy to have been able to get out and enjoy the woods with friends! We were out for a good 1 1/2 hours, so we were really psyched it went so well.

Shannon and Annelise

Headed out

Beautiful day

Trying out poles for the first time!

Happy kids

What a nice long ski! :)