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.