More Snow and Ice Plus Wind and Cold

The miles this week were hard fought, and honestly, the weather was making me fairly cranky, which didn't help. What can I say? It's not all beer and skittles, and some weeks are just more work than others.

Things warmed up on Monday and then froze back up on Tuesday morning, leaving everything covered with a thin glaze of ice and making things a little bit sketchy in the darkness. Out and back on Canam and Highland Green. (6.0 miles)

About an inch of snow fell overnight Tuesday, just enough to coat the roads and sidewalks and make things a little bit more work than they should have been on Wednesday morning. Probably should have worn screwshoes. Nice and calm though, and I was able to loop around Highland Green without too much slipping on the back road. (6.0 miles)

Snow day on Thursday with 8" or so falling, and temps were predicted to be in the low single digits with winds in the 10-15 mph zone for Friday. Oh winter, how I love you... Had made plans to meet up with Keri for a long run at Bradbury, as she is doing the Frozen Yeti too and wanted to get in 20. Which all seemed like a good idea at the time, but seriously. Roads were messy and snowy, and wow, it was cold! There had been some bike and snowmobile traffic out in the park, and it seemed like they had gotten out with the bike roller too, but it wasn't enough to pack the snow and boy was it soft out there. Keri and I floundered around for a few miles out on the trails, talking about how we might be able to get in our 20 over the rest of the weekend as we turned around and headed back to the parking lot, thinking we'd just call it and wave the white flag of surrender on the day. We looped up into the campground, although it hadn't been plowed around the loop so not enough to get in much mileage, and then decided to go down the road a bit in an attempt to at least get in six miles for the day. Ha.

We were at a side road pondering if we should continue or not, when Ryan came down the road towards us, having been over to check the snowshoe course for Sunday and hoping to get in a long run too. We decided to all continue on together for a ways longer. A trip up a side road out to a cool house with all sorts of sculptures and the side paths through the woods, and some funny stories from Keri as we ran along the far edges of the shoulder in our spikes, and then up and out along Poland Range Road, which was actually pretty decent running.

I wasn't feeling great though and just wasn't sure I had the mental fortitude to continue, but the best thing about running with friends is that peer pressure often wins, so I just tagged along for the ride. We ran out on Poland Range Road until we hit the Freeport line and it turned to pavement, then it was back, straight into the wind - brrrr! - and out along Libby to hook up with the snowmobile trail back into the park. It was pretty soft and I was hurting. I lagged behind as we trudged through the snow (or maybe that was just me?!) and was sure I was going to call it back at the parking lot. I mean, 14 miles would be more than enough, right? I urged them both to go on, but after a bit of whining to Ryan while Keri was in the bathroom, I had a gel and said I would keep going with them, knowing deep down, even if my brain was kicking and screaming,  that I'd feel much better if I managed to suck it up and finish up the final 6 miles of the run.

Not sure I contributed much to the conversation for the rest of the run as we retraced our steps down Rt. 9, back up the side road and then out onto Poland Range Road again, just putting my head down and holding on. We didn't have a solid plan for the final miles but decided to go down Libby and just continue on until we hit Elmwood and return to the park that way. Ryan and I weren't sure what the exact distance of this route would be but it seemed like it would end up close to 20 one way or another, and it did, even coming in a little long. The wind hit us full force once we got out to Elmwood and then it was just a grind back to the park.

Pretty woods

Despite conditions, it truly was beautiful out, with the snow covering the trees and bright sunshine. Felt like I had so much less power and energy out there than Ryan and Keri, which was a bit disappointing, but such is life. Like Ryan says, they can't all be zingers. And I guess there's something to be said for 20+ miles on a 6 degree day with crazy winds and rough conditions, and that even if I didn't feel great, I persisted and got it done. Thankful for Ryan and Keri for putting up with me and keeping me moving forward! (20.7 miles)

We had a yummy lunch in Freeport and then I continued on with the errands for the day, spending a few hours running around town getting cat food and birdseed, going to the farmer's market and dropping off the recycling at the transfer station, and hitting Target and Hannaford for groceries before picking Sam up. Made some soup for dinner and realized I was darn exhausted! Holy moly.😴😴 Early to bed for this lady after a full day!

Didn't set my alarm for Saturday, but the cats woke me up anyway. Headed out around 7:30 am, once again all layered up, as it was only 1 degree. But it was calm and bright so it was doable! Headed out through the Highlands and ran the bike path out and back. Wore the new Nike Pegasus trail shoes and enjoyed the lovely cushioning! Bike path was completely clear but the sidewalks getting there were decidedly meh. Definitely feeling Friday's run in my legs but just kept the pace nice and easy. (10.0 miles)

Bike path view

Then it was off to Sam's swim meet for the afternoon!

More snow fell overnight, another 4" inches or so. I had already decided last night not to get up early and run before Ryan headed out to Brad for snowshoe race set-up. It was nice to have a bit of a leisurely morning before Sam and I followed along a few hours later to volunteer at the race. Spent the rest of the morning chatting with friends, doling out soup and enjoying the sunshine. Thankfully it was a bit warmer than the past few days, and Sam had a great time running around in the snow with Elise while everyone raced. After the race and awards were done, a bunch of us headed to Maine Beer for pizza and beer. I abstained from the beer, as I still had some miles to run, and I peeled off early to head home and get out before the sun set.

Sam and Elise playing games after pizza

With the roads looking decidedly sketchy and the sidewalks not plowed at all around home, I decided to drive down to the bike path, for what would assuredly be some safer, if slightly boring, miles. Put in my earbuds and listened to a few podcasts as I ran along, enjoying the relative warmth and calm afternoon. Despite it being late afternoon after standing around in the cold for several hours in the morning and eating a late lunch of pizza, I'd say today's miles were the easiest of the week. Wasn't super energetic but the legs had loosened up since yesterday and it was nice to not be freezing and on clear pavement where I didn't have to work with every footfall! (7.0 miles)

Happy to be able to crank (or maybe slowly churn 😂) out another 50 (just!) mile week, and looking forward to a holiday day off with the kiddo tomorrow and a down week before Yeti!