Snow Fun

After a few weeks of not really enjoying running in the elements, it was nice to have a week where temps were moderate, and the snow was fun to play in!

Thought about running on Monday morning, but the thought passed quickly 😆 and instead, I went back to sleep for another hour and spent the rest of the morning relaxing. It was a nice treat! Then it was off to get Sam's haircut and for a lunch date at Ricetta's, complete with 2 cannolis each. Yum! 😋

Later in the afternoon, Ryan joined us for a family xc ski over at the Kate Furbish trails along the Mere Creek golf course in Brunswick. The snow was perfect and with the set tracks, it was pretty sweet! Sam did a great job and was really gliding well! Beautiful sunshine and snow-covered trees added to the ambiance. A bit cold but really nice to get out in the snow and enjoy the woods together! (2.3 miles skied)

Tuesday became an unintentional rest day when I didn't get out the run in the morning because, well, -1 degrees, and then Sam wasn't feeling great so we skipped swim practice and therefore my evening  track run was also skipped. 🙅 Ah well... so onto Wednesday!

Got up and out in the morning darkness. Only 10 degrees but calm so it almost felt balmy 😝 Felt a bit sluggish after two days off, but nice morning to be out. Ran down the powerlines to Topsham Crossing - a bit too soft to want to continue on - so I turned around and looped onto the back Highland Green Road. Perfect screwshoe running! Rest of the loop was mostly clear sidewalks. (6.3 miles)

Up and out Thursday morning too. Single digits but calm again and a nice sunrise. Ran the Highland Green loop with a trip down to the river and back thrown in. Trail was fairly packed by foot and snowshoe traffic. Powerlines decent, back road fun and the rest dry pavement with a bit of ice. Felt good. (6.0 miles)

Felt a bit uninspired to rush right out on Friday so dropped Sam off and then headed out into the sunshine. Mid-20s and no wind truly felt wonderful! Nothing like some mild temps, sunshine, birds chirping, ice pancakes floating on the river and a few miles out meandering the trails in the woods to make a girl happy! Slow going with really only the very main section of trail packed and the rest rather loose snow, so it was just a nice lollygag out in the Cathance and around Highland Green. (8.0 miles)

Followed up the run with a nice massage from Lauren along with the typical Friday errands and house cleaning chores, and then Ryan suggested a late afternoon walk down to the river with Sam to finish up the day, so that is what we did. Enjoyed a walk and talk down to the river with my two loves, returning as the light faded. Snow was much stickier than it had been in the morning! (1.25 miles walked)

Turkey prints

💖

Still some ice pancakes hanging around! 💓

Sam attempting to escape the family photo 😂

Came home and made baked taquitos and flautas. I liked the flour tortilla version better but both were yum and it was a fun dinner!

Yesterday, I got out relatively early and ran out and back on the bike path. It was nice to not have to think much and just be able to run and enjoy listening to Work Play Love and laughing occasionally along the way too. Sidewalks to get to the path were kind of iffy but the bike path itself was clear, and when there is no wind, it really is a nice run option! Overcast but relatively mild morning. Felt good. (10.0 miles)

Sam had a playdate mid-morning and then after lunch we headed over to Crystal Spring Farms for some xc skiing before the predicted rains. It was warm but overcast and fairly damp feeling, and the snow was pretty soft and saturated from the warm temps. Still, there had been some nice tracks laid down and people had done a really good job of staying off the classic tracks and snowshoeing on the other side of the groomed area. We followed along the edge of the fields for a bit and then headed into the woods, where the terrain was a bit more challenging, and Sam did a really good job of navigating it all! We also stopped for a bit of snow flinging and so that I could look at the milkweed pods - so pretty set against the snow. (1.8 miles skied)

We did indeed get rain overnight, which is always a bummer mid-winter, but it had stopped by the time I came downstairs in the morning, so perhaps not as bad as it could have been. Had a lazy morning doing a bit of relaxing and getting some things done around the house and finally headed out around 10:00 am for my run. Misting slightly and kind of cloudy bright. Ran the roads around town, jumping puddles on the sidewalks. Felt good - always a nice way to wrap up the week! (6.1 miles)