A Pair of 8s

Feeling better after a nice mellow weekend complete with some running and a lot of relaxing.

Got out yesterday morning for some road miles around town. Cold and bright, with a lot of frozen puddles on the sidewalks. Listened to Tina Muir's podcast with Billy Yang. Always enjoy listening to him, he has some great insight into running and life. (8.0 miles)

Then it was off to the Y for Sam's first home swim meet. Lots of sitting around and waiting, all of which amounted to about 5 hours spent at the Y for maybe 3 minutes of actual swimming 😂 but it's fun to see her in her element.

#swimmomlife

Sam anchoring the 200 meter freestyle relay and rockin' it! 🏊

This morning, I got up and out early for a run on the trails out in the Cathance. Nice and quiet in the woods, with three deer seen, the crunch of hoar frost underfoot, the rush of the river and what appears to be a new beaver lodge along the opposite bank at the water's edge. (8.0 miles)

Beaver lodge

Lots of water in the river

Crunch.crunch. 

Ryan headed out shortly after I got back for a run and to meet up with the group that is going to be taking over the majority of the snowshoe series work this winter, so Sam and I were on our own for most of the day. With a cold rain falling, it was a good inside day! After a few hours of lounging around, mindlessly watching TV on the couch, we played some games and then Sam tackled the Lego airplane set. Fun! A good way to wrap up a mellow Sunday. 

Lots of pieces

Finished

With a removable top, and a bathroom too! 😉

Whew

It.has.been.a.week. There was an incident at one of the facilities we manage at work on Monday night. Two people were onsite who were not guests and who should not have been there, and they most definitely should not have had guns. Unfortunately, one of those people died. As a team, we worked hard this week to make sure we are providing support for the families at the shelter, as well as for staff, along with doing all that needed to be done in the face of what can only be called an unexpected and tragic incident. If you want to read more about it, you can read the article here. Thankfully, this is not something that happens often in our town, and is definitely not something we've ever had to deal with as an organization, but most certainly it has made for a shocking, sad, stressful, unsettling week to say the least, along with being seriously exhausting. 

At lunch the other day, after another morning of confirming and conferring again about what we needed to do, who we needed to reach out to, what we needed to follow up on, ensuring that all our guests being given the support they needed, I read this article, and it really spoke to me. I do truly believe there is joy and good, kindness and love, to be found in the word, even if it is sometimes not easy to find.

Is this world perfect? No. Do bad things happen? Do people make poor choices? Yes. See above. But, when I take a deep breathe, there is so much to be thankful for. I am grateful for all the support from the community that we've received this week, grateful that we have the opportunity to serve those who really need it, grateful that there are success stories out there, that we are finding people homes and giving people access to what is a very basic need. I am lucky beyond measure to have supportive, loving family and friends to laugh and talk and be with, wonderful co-workers to spend my work days with, and legs that allow me to run on the trails and roads and find joy in the bright red of the winterberry, the rush of the water in the Cathance, the glimpse of the sun rising on the horizon at the end of Thursday morning's run, even if my legs felt like lead 😂 

So despite reeling a bit from the week's events, I'm with Semi-Rad. I choose wonder, and I will continue to do so. Always. 

Coffee and festive lights to brighten the morning

Sam's beautiful glass art from Anne's birthday party, hanging in the windows 💗

---

So the running has taken a hit this week. There's a saying that stress is stress is stress, whether running stress or work or life stress, and and I know that has certainly been true for me this week.

Ran on the indoor track on Tuesday evening during swim practice. Didn't have a lot of energy but was glad to have the chance to move my body and release a bit of the tension from the day. (5.0 miles)

Wednesday, nope, just nope. Flat out exhausted.

Dragged myself out of bed on Thursday morning even though I was just not feeling it. Hoped it might turn around, but it just didn't. And that's OK. Ran the cart paths in the darkness and caught a glimpse of light on the horizon in the final mile of the run. Days are getting noticeably shorter again now. Semi-frozen ground, some ice, and slick sidewalks along the way. (6.0 miles)

Scrapped the long run plans for the week in light of the circumstances and how I've been feeling. Sometimes it's just better to fold 'em, and this was one of those times. Slept in as long as the cats would let me on Friday and then had a quiet morning until it was time to wake the kiddo up. After dropping her off, I came home to do my strength work and then went out for a mid-morning meander down along the river. A bit slick and wet out in the woods, but just kept the pace slow, stopped to admire the roaring river and the brilliant red winterberry, and gave my heart and mind a chance to just be. Grateful for the calmness that nature and running brings, and felt better for it. (6.1 miles)

Nature's cheer on an overcast day 💗

Mid-November

Started off the week with a holiday, which is always nice. No school or work for Sam and me, so I decided to take advantage of the chance to get in a weekday run in the daylight and set out around 8:00 am for a loop on the cart paths. Overcast and dreary - classic mid-November - and not much else to report. Kept it nice and easy and the legs felt decent. (6.0 miles)

It had been a fairly lazy weekend in terms of activity and outside time for Sam, so I was determined to get her out of the house. We headed over to the Cathance before lunch and got in a short walk to the river and back. Rather cold to just be out walking, but the river was flowing nicely and it's always nice to walk and time with the kiddo 💗 (0.88 miles walked)

Storywalk reading

Along the river

Then we headed downtown for sushi and gelato, because what else would a 10-year old want on a lunch date with her mom? 😆😊🍣🍨

Snow, rain, ice, slush, nastiness started late in the evening and I awoke to a call that school was cancelled for the day on Tuesday. Looking outside, I was very grateful I had run on Monday so I didn't have to go out into the mess! I let Sam sleep for a bit and then she had a fun morning playing with friends and getting out and sledding on the ice and snow while I went into work and got payroll processed. I think she got the better end of the deal 😉

Sledding fun!

Of course, then things froze solid overnight and I awoke on Wednesday morning to temps in the teens with real feel temps of -1! Brrrr! I guess winter is here ❆❆ and I'll admit that I'm not quite ready for runs in those temps and conditions. So the Y it was! Ran 65 laps around the indoor track, with the Work Play Love podcast to keep me company. The Coros read much more inside than the Suunto often measured and definitely showed less than 13 laps per mile. Who knows?! If I really was running sub-8 pace, I'll take it. If not, meh, that's ok too 😂 (5.7 miles per the Coros)

Friday, I headed over to Wolfe's Neck to run the farm trails and in the park. It was bright and cold and windy but lovely as always to be out along the ocean! I didn't feel great but it was nice to run someplace different and hit some no-hunting trails! (10.0 miles)

I picked Sam up at school in the afternoon and we all headed south to Portland because her singing group, Maine Refrain, was singing the national anthem at the home opener Red Claws game. After a quick rehearsal during which the kids were singing in the middle of the court with the players warming up around them and rap music blaring 😳 - not ideal conditions I'm sure - we headed down the street for Thai food. Delish! Then it was back to the expo building. There were a lot more people attending than last year, I think because there was much excitement over a player who is 7'6". I mean, seriously, he is HUGE! Like towering over everyone else. Truly amazing. Anyway, it was a packed house! And the kids did a great job singing! 😍😎

What a great job doing some great singing!

Tacko - look how much he is towering over everyone else! 

Cutie pie 😀

Being a goof ball 😆😉

💖💖

We headed home after half time as I was exhausted and Sam needed to get to bed so that I could put her on the bus on Saturday morning for her first swim meet of the season. It was an away meet in Ellsworth, so a long drive and no spectator seating, but she loves the social time with her friends and we knew she would do great!

I got out around 7:00 am for a short run. Chilly and windy (with temps only in the teens. Brr! 😨) and a fair amount of snow and ice down in the gully on the powerlines. Luckily the Highland Green sidewalks were clear so there was only a short stretch that needed tiptoeing. (6.0 miles)

We sent Ryan off to Thorncrag for the annual Trail Monster Til We Meet in Hell run and I dropped Sam off at the Y to meet up with her team before meeting up with everyone at Guthrie's for lunch and chatting! Always good to see everyone, and I am always reminded how lucky we are to be part of such a great group of people and to have found so many friends through running 💜

A happy Snowman running at Hell 😃

The swim meet didn't end until after 4:00, so with a stop at McDonald's, Sam didn't get home until after 7:00 pm. A long day for the kiddos! But so proud of her and love how much she loves swimming and her team 💗

This morning, She and Ryan slept in and I met up with Emma at Bradbury. Thankfully Emma and I had talked about footwear and were able to get some intel from Val, who had run at the park on Friday and said we should definitely bring screwshoes. So glad for that bit of advice as it was really quite icy! We stuck to the east side thinking the singletrack would be less hoar-frosty and there would be less icy ledges, and it was decent running if a bit of work with all the ice. It was cold enough that the hose on Emma's bladder froze, although I was able to keep mine working by tucking it into my jacket, but the sun was bright and we had a fun time chatting away as we ran along. So nice to catch up with Emma, and so glad to get in the miles! Lots of turkey tracks, and one owl sighting, gliding along through the woods. No photos as we were too busy running and chatting 😃 (15.0 miles)

Another decent running week and only 33% of my watch battery used despite almost 43 miles for the week. It seemed OK in the cold and I think I've finally figured the knob out regarding the pause/finish feature.

Looking Ahead

The Western States lottery opened yesterday. I put my name in. I'm back to only one ticket, so chances are really really slim this year 😉 and I'm not expecting anything out of the lottery. As Ryan said, I used up all my lottery karma last year. Ha! 😆 Honestly, after the race, I felt satisfied with having been able to experience and run such a historic and iconic race, and I didn't think I would put my name in again. But Ryan convinced me that I should think long-term about it, and as there was a kernel in the back of my mind that acknowledges that I would love the chance to run Western States again at some point, I decided to bite the bullet and put my name in this year since I have my qualifier. The idea of course is just to work on building tickets up again in the hopes that someday I might get the opportunity to run the course again. Even though I am not expecting anything to come of it, I will certainly be watching the lottery on December 7th, which interestingly once again falls during one of Sam's swim meets!

So, back to reality, I signed up for a race that I've been eyeing for the past few years - No Business 100! It is one big, glorious looking, mostly singletrack loop through Kentucky and Tennessee. Yes, I do so love to drag Ryan off to random, rural places 😂 But seriously, it looks like a really cool course and I'm excited about the prospect of exploring a new race in a different place!

Training for New Business won't start for a while since the race isn't until mid-October, but as we have the Frozen Yeti coming up the first weekend of February and I'm pondering a 100k down in SC in April, it's time to get back to work! This week marked the first week of introducing either speed or hills back into the schedule. It was also time for a new watch, as the Suunto, which I really have loved, has started to be rather finicky and I was getting nervous that as an older watch it was not going to pair well with their new app that will be replacing Movescount soon. So I'm joining the Coros band wagon and got their Apex watch. New gear is always exciting!

The watch is super comfortable and offers some interesting data in terms of sleep tracking and heart rate monitor, although of course all to be taken with a grain of salt. It's pretty amazing in terms of supposed battery life (35 hours!), and it syncs incredibly quickly to the phone/Strava. So far I'd say it seems to have run slightly short of the Suunto and I'm still getting used to the knob versus a more traditional button, but otherwise I'm liking it just fine. It arrived on Monday with 85% battery and I've used it on all 5 runs this week, totaling 43 miles and 7+ hours and have had it on continually even while sleeping and the battery is still at 45%. Impressive.

Tuesday morning, I headed out onto the cart paths for an easy run. Although overcast, there was enough light to turn off my headlamp 3 miles in. Hurray for daylight savings! Three deer seen. Had a bit of trouble actually getting the watch to stop after my run was done which was frustrating! (6.0 miles)

Wednesday was hillwork day. Back to Mt. A! Got in 5x Chicken and Suicide hills as the sun lit up the sky through the trees. Felt a bit sluggish and s-l-o-w, but gotta start somewhere! Took Peter's suggestion and disabled the auto-lock and as a result, it was much easier stopping the watch at the end of the run. (6.0 miles)

It was nasty and rainy and cold on Thursday and overnight into early Friday morning. However, at least it didn't snow like the early weather predictions indicated! With the forecast looking so grim, I had already decided to move my long run to Saturday so I took my time getting out on Friday morning. A cold, bright and windy morning, with ice apparent in the shallow puddles and a lot of slick slightly iced over bog bridges. But the river was flowing nicely and the woods are always pretty! Ran the cart paths and out into the Cathance. (8.0 miles)

Unrelated: it's been consistently cold enough out that the heat is up and running in the house, and the cats are in heaven 😻

Yesterday morning, I headed out around 7:15. Anther cold and bright morning. Brrr! Ran down to the river, added in a few holes on the golf course, meandered around on the roads through town and added in loop through the Highlands trails for a nice mellow run. Right hip was a bit stiff but otherwise, felt decent. (15.0 miles)

This morning, Sam had a well-child check-up/flu shot scheduled for 8:30 and Ryan was headed to Brad for the Sunday morning group run. I didn't sleep well and really didn't want to get out of bed when the alarm went off, so I rolled over and went back to sleep instead. Thus, it was an afternoon run kind of day. Legs felt less than spry but it was lovely out in the woods and nice to get farther out in the trail system - thank goodness for hunting-free Sundays this time of year! Temps were in the mid-40s, which felt balmy despite the wind, and the bog bridges were nice and dry. I love the subtle beauty to be found along with the showy bright red winterberries that really stand out against all the earthy tones at this time of year. Happy to get out and wrap up a solid weekend and week of running. (8.0 miles)

Oh, and Sam is now 4' 5.5" and 73 lbs. Crazy! But she's growing just like she should be!! 💗

Rest of the Weekend

The wind on Friday knocked down what was left of the foliage and pushed out the warm air out. Saturday dawned cold and crisp. It was Maine Resident's Hunting Day, so I wore my orange and headed out around 7:00 out onto the safest "trails" I could find - the cart paths 😉 Seriously though, they are great for running. Soft underfoot but not littered with obstacles like singletrack and nice and rolling. The grass and bridges were frosted over and the sun was shining brightly with that early morning glow that is just so nice. I looped down to the river to check out the water - so pretty! Felt kind of tired, but lovely to be out. (8.0 miles)

We turned the clocks back overnight for daylight savings, which meant that the start of Sunday morning's 6:30 am meet-up with Emma was a daylight start! Hurray. Nothing like turning the clocks back to make an early morning runner happy for a few weeks before we descend into darkness once again! 

I drove down to their place in Falmouth and Emma took me on a lollypop loop from their house, part roads/part trail with some nice meandering along the Presumscot River and into the trails at Falmouth Community Park. Fun to explore on some new-to-me trails and catch up with Emma! (10.0 miles)

Once I got back, Ryan headed out to meet up with Emily for a run and then we all met up for donuts. Yum! 😋🍩 Then we rallied, err, dragged the kiddo out of the house 😂,  for a short but sweet afternoon walk around the Heath. Always lovely. (1.0 miles walked)

We finished up the weekend having dinner with Nate, Shannon and the kids. Always good to see them! 

Halloween Fun (& A Bit of Running Too)

Tuesday morning was yet another dark run on the cart paths. I'm looking forward to the sliver of time once Daylight Savings time hits where I can have a bit of light back on my morning runs before we hit the shorter days and I will be running in darkness again for a few months. It was not only dark but rainy and foggy, and I could hardly see a thing! Almost ran into two porcupines between holes 5 & 6 because I could barely see, but they just trundled off into the darkness. They really are cute little things. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday morning didn't happen, as I was just not up for rain and darkness again, so instead I ran during swim practice. It was overcast and muggy, but happy to have been able to cram in the miles! Ran on the roads up to Thorne Head and then took the wide gravel road up to the viewpoint before turning around and running back to the Y. (6.0 miles)

Thursday was yet again another rainy day. Guess that has been the theme this week?! The Halloween Parade was cancelled, but the stores were still handing out candy, so we stuck with tradition and headed over there for some trick or treating with Anne and Thistle before finishing up the evening with dinner at Sea Dog. Always a fun night! Thankfully the rain had died down and the wind hadn't picked up too much, so it wasn't bad being out.

Of course, the girls looked truly adorable 😍 Happy Halloween from two crazy leprechauns and the pot of golf at the end of the rainbow 🌈

The plan was to meet up with Mindy and Keri up in Damariscotta for a run at the Schmidt Preserve, but the weather seemed set against it. Crazy winds rolled in overnight, and Sam had a 2 hour delay while Keri's girls ended up not having school. Alas, we will have to do our exploration another time! So after after a late start to the morning and getting a few errands done around town, I headed out for a run in the Cathance. It was part run, part pick up sticks, part slip and slide and turn an ankle and part try not to get blown away 😂 Seriously, the wind was nuts and the trails were slick! But man, the river was flowing! Very pretty, and a good way to kick off the weekend. (6.0 miles)