Weekend Running Fun

Set out into the lovely crisp air on Friday for a run out into the Cathance. Hit the cart paths first to add on a bit of mileage and then meandered down along the river and through the woods out to Head of Tides. Lovely morning light, some bright mushrooms and fungi, colorful late summer flowers and berries plus seven turkeys scared up along the river banks and one deer seen prancing ahead on the trail. Legs felt good. (15.0 miles)

The Heath is covered with cotton sedge. Beautiful but hard to see in the photos 💗

Such a cool web!

Sending silly photos to Sam enroute 😂

Waxy cap

Indian pipe

Purple aster

Golden spindles

Love this viburnum 😍

Sam had a friend sleep over on Friday night and I didn't get a lot of sleep. Not to mention, it was dark and dreary and rainy from the hurricane remnants early in the morning and that didn't make me want to jump up and get out the door 😉 So instead, I sat around and drank coffee and made the girls pancakes and bacon, and then headed out the door midmorning. It was rather overcast, damp and windy and the roots and bog bridges out in the Cathance were rather greasy, but it wasn't raining and the woods were lovely and peaceful. Stopped for what are likely the final few trailside blackberries of the season, enjoyed the bright red cardinal flowers still blooming along the river and stopped to admire the sea of cotton sedge out in the Heath and at a patch of milkweed along the powerlines to see if I could find any monarch caterpillars. Took it nice and easy. (7.0 miles)

Cardinal flower

Cotton sedge out in the Heath

Chomp! 💗🐛

This morning, it was up and out early before Ryan headed over to Brad to help set up for the Bruiser. Waited until the sky was just lightening so I didn't need a headlamp 😉 Headed out through the neighborhoods and down to the swinging bridge, enjoying the moody sky as the sun rose and began to shine through the heavy cloud cover. Came back up through the Highlands and along the connector path. Legs don't want anything to do with "fast" - guess I need to start up with some pick-ups to get a bit of turnover back! - but I felt decent. Happy to finish out the week feeling good and finally hit 40 miles (pretty much exactly but it still counts! 😂) for the week for the first time since Western States! (6.0 miles)

Then it was off to Brad with Sam to volunteer during the race. To keep ourselves occupied while we waited for the racers to come back to the finish area, we took a nice little walk out the Link with Kate and the dogs. Lots of mushrooms and some good sniffs for Hagrid and Moxie! 😂🐶 (0.9 miles walked)