Gotta Get That Hoodie ;)

The plan for this weekend was to run all three dirt courses at the Brad, or do the Ultra Xtreme Bradbury Bad Ass (UXBBA) if you wish to give it a true name ;) As Irene and Dana are arriving a little later this afternoon to spend the weekend with us, I decided I would do the run today instead so I'd have the chance to enjoy the weekend with the family. I contacted Mindy to see if she was up for any miles, and she in turn suggested contacting Val to see if she wanted to run the whole thing with me. Well, Val had to work, but she was up for it if we wanted to start early. Like, real early. 3:00 am early. I figured what the hell? I need some night running practice anyway. So, in turn, I mentioned it to John, who had wanted to run all three courses at night, something I wasn't quite up for. This seemed like a good compromise. So, suddenly we were all in and there we were this morning, meeting at 3:00 am at Edna & Lucy's, who graciously allowed us to park in their lot at that ungodly hour.

We ran up the road, our headlamps aglow. It was foggy and incredibly humid. The air was thick and the roots and rocks had that lovely slickness to them that happens in this type of weather when nothing seems to dry out. Val led the way as the four of us picked our way around the Scuffle course, chatting all along and trying to keep upright. I was soaked by the time we got back to the lot. So soggy! Out on the trail, in the dark, it seemed like we were flying, but of course, we weren't ;)

Then it was off to the west side for the Breaker. I have never professed any love for the Boundary trail but it is much easier running with friends and taking it easy to conserve energy for the miles ahead than racing it, that's for sure! As we neared the summit the first time around, we realized our timing was pretty good. It was a full moon, and the moon was setting on one side of the summit while the horizon was aglow with pinks and oranges on the other as the sun rose. Beautiful. And we even saw a peacock!?!

Sun rising

Random peacock on the summit

Moonset

I was very thankful to get down to the parking lot at the end of loop #1, as I really needed that outhouse! Mindy decided to leave us at this point so Val, John and I continued on for loop #2. I ran out of water along the Tote, so was happy to have stashed a bag with an extra nalgene filled with water and a few more snacks. My bladder had been filled to the top at the start. It was so incredibly humid, I was drinking a ton of water! I had a few sips of coke too, and then we headed back to the east side. 

Val needed to get to work so she was planning on doing her own thing for a few more miles, leaving John and I to navigate the Bruiser by ourselves. I was fairly sure I knew the course, but of course, that meant we did go astray once, doubling back to correct our mistake, and thereafter looked at the map at almost every intersection. HA! ;) We were able to pick up the pace a bit back on the east side now that it was light. I led through the Island, but then let John go ahead. I kept up, but remained a consistent amount behind ;) He has much longer legs!

I felt pretty good, despite having dirt and all sorts of leaf matter stuck to my legs, being followed by deer flies and feeling like I had taken a dip in a lake with my clothes on, but was beginning to tire. But I suppose that is the point?! Anyway, I always find the Bruiser to drag on and on, especially knowing the "O" is at the end. But finally, we reached it and plunged on in. Both of us were feeling the effects of 6 hours on technical trails in humid conditions. And wouldn't you know it? I drank up all 32 oz of water I had put in less than 2 hours prior. Good lord! Well, at least I knew the end was in sight, although there was a fair amount of cursing and moaning and groaning going on throughout the 2.25 mile intestine-like, technical weave that is the "O." And then, thank god! We were free!! 

We picked up our stashed gear and headed over to the faucet outside the showerhouse in the campground. It felt incredibly good to clean off my legs and arms and splash water on my face. Ahhh... Of course, there was still 0.5 miles to run back to the car at Edna & Lucy's, and let me tell you, downhill on pavement doesn't feel so good after 28 miles/6:30 on the trails!! 

But it was a great adventure, and darn, if we didn't earn that hoodie! :) Many thanks to John, Val and Mindy for joining in on the craziness. It was fun!

Final stats: 28.5 miles in 6:47 (6:16 moving time). 

In full disclosure, after a small lunch I did go out and get this before returning home to clean the house and get ready for Irene and Dana's arrival:

And no, I am not sorry about it, at all ;)

Sunrise

Now that sunrise is officially something like 5:22 and getting later every day, it means my early runs start in the semi-dark. But on the plus side, it means that I have the chance to see the sun rise. Beautiful this morning, with misty pink clouds and the orange orb of the sun hanging just below treeline as a I ran down the cart paths on hole #6. Very pretty morning. Still humid as all get out though ;) Stopped along the way for a few blackberries and blueberries, and got in a nice 6 miles in just under an hour.

#tbt (The 2nd T can stand for Tuesday too, right?)

10 years ago today we stopped our AT thru-hike about 600 miles short of where we'd hoped to finish, not atop Katahdin, but at a random boulder in the middle of the trail outside of Great Barrington, MA, when Ryan's back could take it no longer. He always says I'm the strong one in the family, but I know he hiked with incredible pain on the trail for many weeks that year, which will forever make me sad and proud all at once.

The four months we spent thru-hiking were an awesome adventure, but since there was no way in hell I was leaving those remaining miles unfinished ( :) ), we, of course, did finish the trail; slowly, methodically following those white blazes north as we section hiked the remaining miles. The final steps atop Katahdin, taken four years later, were perhaps even sweeter due to how hard we had to work to get there.

Those months, and years, on the trail were filled with joy and pain, laughter and tears, and a whole lot of damn stinky clothing. The experience is something I hold deep within, for, in life, as in running, sometimes, great things take a whole lot of doing, and most things really worth doing aren't easy. I hope I can draw upon these thoughts as I run deep into the night and my relative unknown in October.

---

Out this morning early, at 5:00 am, way before it was light, testing out a new headlamp, as my little Petzl just doesn't cut it for trail running in the dark. Man, that sucker is bright! ;) It was such an overcast, misty morning that I actually used it for the whole way out to Head of Tides, at which point there was enough light to run without. Very heavy, humid morning with some thunder rumbling in the distance. Saw one broad winged hawk, as well as another raptor (unidentified) on the return trip. Also noticed a few good patches of Indian Pipe, and noted that the bunchberry berries have turned bright red and the berries on the blue blue lily are now decidedly blue. Many mushrooms up too. A few deer flies buzzing in the last few miles but nothing terrible. A nice, soggy 9.2 miles for the morning.

Ran yesterday too, a 6 mile wander out through the Cathance and back. That post on Strava went something like this: "Saturated. Drenched. That's about how I would describe today's run. Woods very wet too. All surfaces slick as all get out. Did see a snowshoe hare and three raptors, one likely an owl. Sadly, there were also deer flies." Yup, I'd say that about says it all ;)

The Other Brad and Two Years

We're down in MA for the weekend, celebrating Gavin's 2nd birthday. I snuck out early this morning to head to the "other" Brad for my long run. It was relatively cool, with temps right around 60, but it was foggy and heavy and once again, oh so humid. Mine was the only car in the lot at 6:30 and the pay kiosk wouldn't even accept my money, saying the park was closed! Ha.

I headed out on the GAC Fat Ass loop, my go-to route in the park, running into one other runner on the way out. Turns out I'd see him every loop, as he was doing hills in the woods near the edge of the first field. I was skeptical when I turned onto the uphill singletrack as the entrance was a bit overgrown with undergrowth, but I figured it would be OK further up. Uh, no. It just got worse. I ended up walking the hill so I could keep away from the poison ivy. Damn. And then in the last stretch of old carriage road, the deer flies were out in force, with multiple ones biting me on my back, between my shoulder blades. Ouch! Enough to drive me batty! OK, I was going to have to figure out some sort of alternate route.

Since I didn't want to wander aimlessly, I figured I'd just take the wider trail up to the top of the singletrack, cutting off a fair portion of the route, and one of my more favorite sections but not at this time of year! I also cut off that last trail portion, opting to come all the way back on the road instead. This trimmed the loop down to 5 miles. I was already bargaining with myself when I got back to the car at 11 miles. I really wasn't super happy. The air was so heavy! I stopped and managed to pay for a parking pass before heading back out for loop #3.

Back at the lot at mile 16, I was ready to be done, so I texted Ryan. He convinced me to go out for another 4 miles to get to 20, which I really didn't want to do but of course, which I knew I should. In fact, I really should have gone out for 8 more, but between the humidity, the poison ivy and the deer flies, I was more than happy to just get to 20. Also even happier to be able to maintain a decent clip throughout, keeping all but two of the miles (first mile and mile 3 walking up the singletrack) in the mid 9:00s.

I did have a cool sighting of a mink near the swampy area across from the parking lot, and also saw two Great Egrets flying overhead.

I came home ready to relax, watch the kids play, celebrate Gavin's birthday with cupcakes and ice cream, and hopefully not sweat any more :) Instead I came home to a kiddo who was utterly exhausted and having a meltdown. Ah, kids. They are so awesome! After much gnashing of teeth, I did manage to turn things around and we had a fun afternoon visiting the animals at the farm, blowing bubbles and running around in the backyard, and enjoying some yummy owl cupcakes make by Auntie Meg. And now I'm ready to go to bed!

Cute cousins

Cousin love

Feeding the goats

Tendercorp Farm

Feeding the neighborhood bull

Yum, carrots

He took that carrot right out of my hand!

Cousins

Out on the farm

Kids and sunflowers

Cutie pies

Chasing after bubbles

Bubble fun

Birthday boy

Owl cupcakes :)

Happy Birthday, Gavin!

Beautiful Sky

Felt tired this morning so decided to do an easier run. Of course then I immediately decided well, since I was choosing the easier route, I'd attempt to keep the pace honest, you know, to make it a bit harder. Ha. Sometimes I don't even understand myself ...  ;)

Beautiful sky this morning, along with sightings of a deer by the Heath, one great blue heron scared up in the marsh, one porcupine and an osprey flying low overhead with a fish in its talons, plus a few raspberries eaten on the way. Did two loops of the cart paths plus a Heath loop for 10 miles . Ended feeling pretty good despite a tired start.

Early Week Running

Early this week it was one of those yucky summer weeks. Foggy and muggy and soggy and super humid, with some annoying deer flies thrown in for good measure. BLAH! Not my favorite running weather, for sure!

Monday I headed out at 6:00 am. It was 68 degrees and must have been about 110% humidity out there. Heavy as all get out, and foggy too. Ran the cart paths. Didn't look at my watch, just ran. Stopped to pick a few raspberries and blueberries along the way  as the seasons are way to short to pass them by! Scared up a deer munching in the blueberry bushes along the powerlines as I was headed home - she seemed to be enjoying the berries too ;)

Yesterday I waited until it was getting light - right around 5:05 am - to head out, but I was essentially running in a thick, low cloud. The air was so thick that it was misting on me, and the fog was so heavy that it was actually too dark to see on the singletrack initially, so I ran up and over Mt. A. via the paved road and then ran a bit of the cart paths before heading into the woods. I was really distracted by the weather and the damn deerflies that were bothering me, plus I had to veer off course to hit a port-a-potty part way through, and I really can't say that I enjoyed the run. So after doing the Ravine Loop, I headed back along the Cathance trails to the Heath and then ran the back roads and powerlines home, managing to eke out 10 incredibly soggy miles. I did see a Northern Flicker up on the back Mt. A. road, though, so that was cool.

Today, I thankfully redeemed myself and the weather did too. It was nice and cool this morning, with sunny skies and not a drop of fog in sight ;) I headed out around 5:10 am and ran three miles doing laps up and around and over and down Mt. A. before continuing out onto the powerlines to run the Lover's Lane/dump loop. The Mt. A miles weren't hill repeats exactly, but I think I did go up Mt. A six times so there was a bit of hill work anyway and I wasn't nearly as grumpy about it as I probably would have been had I told myself I was going out to do hill repeats ;0

I felt good out on the powerlines, enjoying a few blueberries, raspberries AND blackberries along the way - yum! Also saw a deer with two fawn, such a fun sighting! Got in another 10 miles, and although I still finished drenched in sweat, I was really happy to feel much better during and about those miles than yesterday.

Tomorrow is a rest day, followed up with what will hopefully be a good but big mileage weekend (or Friday and Saturday in my case). Hopefully this nicer weather will hold!

Weekend Fun with Sam

Sam and I had a fun weekend together, with only a few "I'm bored!" comments yesterday afternoon when, gasp!, there were no kids outside to play with and she had to bike around the neighborhood with just me, and no "I want to run screaming from the building" thoughts from me ;) Ha. No, honestly she was very good this weekend and it was really nice to be able to spend some one on one time with her!

Yesterday, after a lazy morning and lunch out, we went to Glazed, the paint your own pottery place in Brunswick. It was the perfect place to spend a few hours on a dreary Saturday afternoon!

The weather was calling for brighter skies today so we hit the road early and spent the morning at Crescent Beach. We arrived around 9:45 and there were only a few cars in the lot. The fog was rolling in and out, but it was warm enough that wading into the water felt pretty good and actually the overcast made being on the beach a bit more tolerable ;) By the time we left around 12:15, the beach and lot were packed and things were really warming up, so I think we timed it just right!

A fun weekend with my little love :)

More Whiskeag

No, no, not more whiskey :) Seriously, if I'm going to have a true drink it's going to be some sort of margarita, a gin and tonic or a rum and coke, none of that whiskey stuff ;) But anyway, back to today. So the plan was for 16. I got a bit more sleep last night but the darn cats had me up early despite the fact that I didn't need to get Sam out of bed until 7:15 and could have slept in. Ah well. I was hopeful I could pull off the 16 but my legs have felt tired this week so I was a bit unsure that it would all work out as planned.

I dropped Sam off at camp and headed out onto the Whiskeag Trail again. I figured it was right there and would mean less driving, plus I knew there were some side trails to explore and I was hoping I could wander around enough to get 16 without too much repetition aside from the out-and-back. It was a beautiful, sunny morning but was warming up quickly. I took my time running along and added on a fairly long loop near the cemetery that the mountain bikers had obviously made for themselves - it involved lots of twists and turns, a few climbs up rocky ledges and even a jump - plus a short loop in Sewall Woods.

My plan when I hit the parking lot at Thorne Head was to loop around through the preserve hitting all the inner trails first, then do the Narrows Trail, which ran right along the edge of the Kennebec. There was a nice wide graded path up to an overlook plus some fun singletrack to run, and The Narrows Trail did not disappoint - it was indeed narrow, offering some nice views of the river.

Kennebec views

Looking out onto the river

I managed to get the mileage to 10.5 before turning around to run back to the Y. I picked up the pace a bit in the last few miles as I had, yet again, run out of water with about 3 miles to go. I think this is the 4th time this has happened in the last 4 weeks on my long runs, including during Bear Brook last weekend. Duh. When will I learn that I need more water than I think I need during these long summer runs?! Anyway, I considered stopping back at the car with my watch reading 15.4 but ended up just dropping my pack, taking a long swig of water from my water bottle and doing the final 0.6 in a few laps through the neighborhood and back up into the woods behind the Y. Felt better to finish up the intended mileage than wimp out and leave it with only 0.6 to go.

While the run wasn't fast and it wasn't entirely pretty, the legs held up pretty well and I was in good spirits throughout. As anticipated though, I will be happily enjoying these next two days off from running while Ryan is in VT!

Since it was just Sam and I tonight, we decided to have a girl's night out of sushi and gelato :) What? Is there a better combo?! ;) It was delish, and is always fun to spend a little extra fun time with her. Now if we can keep from killing each other the rest of the weekend....

We sat at the bar so we could watch the sushi guys put together the rolls and boats

Being goofy

I think she's sugared up already ;)

In race-related news, Bear Brook results are up. Definitely slower times overall than in 2014; not sure if the course was the same or longer, or if it was just the heat and humidity. Also found a few pictures up. I posted on Facebook that I wondered why I was rarely smiling nor did I ever look lithe or graceful in my race pictures. I got some really lovely responses, even though I wasn't fishing for compliments. I was just pointing out something that is funny to me. But I am, as I said, very happy and grateful for my focus and my strong legs which let me churn out the miles!

Final push to the finish line

Laughing at my awesome "Dancing Star" third place ribbon ;)

Thanks to Peak Focus Photography for the shots!

Not Happening...

Getting up for a second day in a row at 4:00 am was just not happening this morning. The intent was to do 16 this morning so that I would have a shorter run tomorrow and could get a few things done after the run and before picking Sam up at camp mid-afternoon. Well, I'll be doing 16 tomorrow.

Slept through the first few rounds of snooze on the alarm but finally dragged myself out of bed around 5:15 and got out the door about 5:50. Ran 8 miles on my regular Cathance loop. Saw a gorgeous gray fox run across the trail in the Mt. A. area. She/he stopped up in the woods and looked back at me for a while before ambling off. Pretty sure it had something in its mouth. So neat to watch.

Beautiful morning - crisp and cool, almost felt fall-like. Wonderful to run without the humidity for once in the early morning hours!

Also really wonderful that someone has been out doing some weedwacking and general taming of the crazy field before heading out to the Ravine Trail. Makes the whole route much more runnable and appealing mid-summer to me.

Although I managed a decent pace, I gotta say that perhaps Sunday's 29 miles in the heat and humidity took more out of me than I was hoping, because, well, darn, I was/am tired. Hoping for some decent sleep tonight (as in I am headed up as soon as I finish this post and it isn't even 8:30) and that the legs will feel a bit more spritely tomorrow.

Fog

Dark and damp at 5am this morning. It is foggy and misty, incredibly humid. I ran along slowly, my legs heavy, my body tired. The powerlines are lush with green at this time of year, the green interrupted by the deep blue blueberries, the rich orange of the wild lilies, the red of the bunchberries. A deer in the brush looked toward me, standing statue-like for a few moments before turning and bounding off gracefully. The towhees and catbirds call. The sweet scent of the hay-scented ferns and milkweed fill the air. I finish covered in sweat, but glad I didn't change my route - I haven't run the powerlines since they were covered with snow, and forget how much they have to offer at the height of summer. A nice, slow 6 miles for the morning.

Blueberries

Sam and I stopped on the way home last night to pick blueberries along the powerlines. In the late afternoon light with the sun at our backs, the berries were sweet and warm and delicious. Yum!

Blueberry pickin'

Lots of berries to pick

Gorgeous wild lily - one of my favorite summer wildflowers!

Bowl full of blues

Was up early this morning to run, but not as early as intended. But still got in a good 6 miles on the cart paths. I was surprised and happy to find that my legs were not sore and I didn't feel creaky; the bruises on my arm and knee hurt more! ;) 

Ryan will be in Vermont this weekend crewing Jamie, so that means I'll be running the next three days with a "long" but shorter run on Thursday. Hoping the legs hold up, and know I'll be happy to take 2 days off from running this coming weekend!

Bear Brook "Marathon" Race Report

When I signed up for TARC, the training plan called for both a 50k and a 50 miler race as part of the plan. But none of the races remotely in the area fit into our schedule or my training plan. I was mostly cool with that - the three dirt courses at the Brad will fit the bill as a "50k" and the three plus one lap of the BBU will come close enough to 50. But I kept looking around, wondering if I could find something long that would work as a training run/race. The one that kept surfacing was the Bear Brook Marathon. Unfortunately it was the same date at the Scuffle. I hemmed and hawed. I hated to miss the Scuffle. And Ryan would be staying behind so it would mean me going to a race alone, something I don't think I've done since the Breaker back in 2009. But I decided it would be a good way for me to get in a good long run in a race format, so I finally asked Irene and Dana if Sam and I could come stay overnight on Saturday and she could hang out with them on Sunday. I felt badly about missing the Scuffle but if the grandparents were in, it was a go. They were happy to accept - thank you Irene and Dana!! - so I signed up.

I decided going in that I wouldn't taper for the race, so I went in with 30 miles on my legs already this week. I also went in knowing that it was going to hot and humid. What is up with me and hot/humid races?! AIE! But it is what it is, and I was planning on a solid effort not a true race, so I figured it would work out OK. Thankfully I seem to fare OK in nasty weather.

Sam and I drove down yesterday after meeting up with Ryan at Edna & Lucy's for lunch after he marked the Scuffle course and got in his own run. When we arrived, we hung out, had pizza and I tried to go to bed early. Of course, knowing the alarm would go off less than 6 hours later, I didn't sleep well at all, but I dragged myself out of bed at 3:00 am as planned.

The drive over was fairly easy - the roads weren't crowded and the route was straightforward. I got to the start - a HUGE, dusty snowmobile lot outside of Bear Brook State Park right around 5:00 am and got in line to get my bib and then in line to use the porta-potty. Talked a bit with Ann and George, and chatted with Signe and Billy too. I recognized a few other faces but didn't know anyone else enough to talk to. The race was supposed to start at 6:00 but the registration line was taking longer than anticipated, so the start was pushed off until 6:20.

Trail Monster dissenters from the Scuffle :)

(Do I look tired enough?!)

After a brief briefing, we all headed off down the snowmobile trail for a ways before turning onto a trail that headed straight up Catamount Hill, and then down, of course :) A nice way to wake up! It wasn't super hot, but it sure was humid and climbing the hill, we could feel the heat building already. Luckily the course stayed in a shade for a long while, so it was manageable despite the fact that I was drenched in sweat early on.

The course was a fun mix of nice runnable singletrack, some good hill climbing and overgrown and variable snowmobile trails. Bear Brook is a HUGE park, as the course was essentially one big loop, with no real repeat except that we got to go up and over Catamount on the way out and back. Aid stations were nicely placed at 3.5, 8, 12, 16, 20 (ended up being 22.5) and 23.5 (more like 24.5). I didn't stop at the first two aid stations but did at the rest. The first aid station was on a short out and back so I could tell I had two women ahead of me and many close behind. But I didn't panic. This wasn't a "race", it was to be a solid effort run. I just kept up my pace and continued on. For the first 4 miles or so, I had people around me, but except for at the aid stations, I spent long stretches alone in the woods. Typical Danielle racing style ;) I did pass George early on and thought it was odd that he was ahead of me, but didn't think too much of it. Turns out, he missed the out-and-back for the first aid station. Bummer! Anyway, I kept on chugging.

As I was filling my bladder at mile 12, a girl went flying by. Well, so much for third place. It was a four-mile loop back to the aid station through some open areas. The hay-scented ferns smelled heavenly and I even stopped to pick a few raspberries right along the trail in an open field (yum) but it was heating up. There were also blueberries everywhere!

At mile 16, I had a cup of coke and went by Billy, but he passed me back when I pulled over to pee. Somewhere around mile 19, we came to a wide open expanse with big tall pine trees and a huge field of blueberry bushes. I couldn't help it - I did stop to pick a few handfuls. They were plentiful and huge and oh so sweet! Then I passed the third place woman. And then George came running at us. Confused, I asked him what was up; he explained the aid station snafu and that he'd pulled the plug on the race and was just getting in a run. He told the woman and I that we had about 2+ miles to the aid station. Huh. But my watch was nearing 20 miles. Weird. The heat was palpable through this stretch. I was bearing down on us. Hot hot hot. I did get a handful of blueberries from a sweet girl out picking with her family though :)

When I finally reached the aid station, the first thing I did was ask for ice. Not much left, but enough to put a handful in my hat. Ah. I had some coke and put more water in my bladder. Billy was there, and I asked the aid station how much further, confused by the mileage here. The woman said 3.5 to the next aid and then 6 into the finish. Aie. I felt a bit deflated. Billy and I took off together and he said he thought it was more like 7 to the finish; he had run the race last year. I pulled ahead but he caught back up when I stopped for one more handful of blueberries :) Then I pulled ahead again but he caught up when I took a HUGE digger on the gravel/dirt snowmobile trail. Yup, snagged a root and fell hard. I sat stunned for 30 seconds or so before getting back up; I was covered in dirt and gravel. And I mean covered. It was everywhere and there was nothing I could do. I ran on. Luckily, the last aid station was only about 2 miles away and I was able to wash off my hands and my arms a bit. I took off before Billy, thinking I'd see him down the way, but apparently he got off track somewhere. Not sure how, but oh well. I thought the course was fairly well marked myself, but I did hear of quite a few people who got lost out there.

Despite the mileage and time and the fact that I was really pretty hot at that point, I still felt strong, and passed a few people walking or moving slowly as we wound on the singletrack up on the hillside along the stream. I did have to walk once we got back to the ascent of Catamount, though, and even moreso when I realized I was out of water. Darn! Hope the finish line is soon! There was a woman dancing at the top of the hill in a banana suit (!!)  and I asked her how much longer, not remembering the mileage from the way out. Less than 2 miles. OK, downhill, here we come. I was slow but no cramping, and when I hit that wide snowmobile trail, I had enough in my legs to run "fast." HA! But I did have enough energy for a bit of a kick at least :)

Finished up with my Garmin reading 29.2 and 5:50. Carolyn was timing at the finish line and she told me I did indeed get 3rd female. Nice. I admit to being much more excited about a cold cup of water and a cold can of Coke, though ;) But I sure won't knock my placing. Very happy with how I held up out there today in the heat and humidity. I ate and drank, didn't completely fade out there and had no real issues. A positive, for sure!

I am currently nursing a nice bruise the size of a golf ball on my left knee, some gravel rash on my shoulder, cuts on my hands and a pinkie finger that hurts from the fall, but no real harm done :)

I don't know that I would make this a yearly tradition, mostly due to distance from home and high potential for deerflies (not many this year, thankfully) and heat and humidity, but I thought the course was well-laid out and good running, and it was fun to run someplace new. Kristina also put together some nice prizes and I came home with some yummy jam, a new hat and a certificate for a pair of Solomon shoes! Plus my "Dancing Star" third place ribbon, of course ;) Many thanks to her, her husband Ryan and all the volunteers for putting on a good race and keeping us all fed and watered :)

Top three females (me all sweaty and gross right after finishing :) )

A cold Coke never tasted so good!!

Many thanks to Irene and Dana for hanging with Sam today. I'd say she had a great time!! :)

All dressed up to go play mini golf :)

Ice cream!

Fun on the "boat"!

Cool fish pond!

Also thanks to Ryan for putting up with all my running and encouraging me to head over for the race today. And a big congrats to him for a race well run in the heat and humidity at the Scuffle too!