XC

Monday morning was six dark, damp, misty, miles on the cart paths. It's definitely been cooler this week but there is still a mugginess in the air. Saw one deer and had the headlamp on for over half the run. (6.0 miles) This was followed up by a run with the XC team in the late afternoon at the paved paths near the swinging bridge. Not a ton of extra mileage for the day, but enough to count 😉 (0.9 miles)

Wednesday morning, I got up and out on Highland Green for some speed. Another dark, overcast, foggy morning. Ran 13x 60 on/90 off in the middle four miles. Longer speed intervals would probably be useful but I've decided I like this workout and since I'm not going for torturing myself too much here, I'm going with the something is better than nothing saying in this case 😆(6.0 miles)

Work has been crazy lately and Wednesday we had an audit plus a 3:00 finance committee meeting. Ryan was able to pick Sam up at school and get her to Twin Brook for her first XC meet and I had told her I wouldn't be able to make it. But I was really hoping the meeting would end early enough for me to get down there! Of course, it ran late 😁 but at 4:28, Ryan said they were still on the walk-through so I headed down there anyway, with fingers crossed. As I pulled up, I saw some girls rounding the bend toward the finish and knew I had either missed Sam or it was going to be really close, so I sprinted across the parking lot and through the field and saw her through the trees and was able to cheer her on for the last 200 yards of the race. A big smile broke out on her face when she saw it was me cheering, and that was all I needed! So glad to have caught that finish and so proud of my girl for running strong right up until the end!

She said she caught the girl looking back right before the finish chute 😎

 Despite feeling fairly worn out, I did actually manage to get out of bed this morning for a run. Ran out on the powerlines into the darkness, enjoying the sweet smell of the hay-scented ferns en route. Saw three deer but once again, for the third early morning run in a row, no sunrise. Lots of overcast skies this week! Oh, and yes, dark for 4 miles too 😫 I love fall but returning to running in the early morning darkness is rough! Took it nice and easy. (7.0 miles)

Another afternoon of XC practice, this time with some hill loops in the middle of the run. Gotta tire those kids out! (1.2 miles)

Looking forward to running with friends tomorrow and then my long run on Saturday!