Vacation Week Fun

OK, so only Sam is on vacation but she and I did have some fun this week! Ryan, maybe not, because he worked a regular week and he's still resting his calf, which sound like is really from his ankle/foot. But it is on the mend, so that is good!

In any event, Sam was at Riverview this week for camp. She really had a fun time and they did a whole bunch of fun stuff! Snowtubing on Monday, lots of crafts and legos and martial arts, and visiting the fire department on Wednesday. So she's been happy and busy and that is good for all of us!

Monday was a holiday for me, so after dropping Sam off at camp, I met up with Emily over at Bradbury for a run. That made three of four runs in a row at Bradbury and with friends too! Yay running! Conditions were great, and it was nice to catch up with Emily! It's been too long. (8.7 miles)

Tuesday was a scheduled day off from running and also a snowy, rainy day. That morphed into Wednesday off too, as it was cold and sketchy out there and I decided I just didn't want to 😉😆

Thursday, I got out into the darkness but since I started at 5:45, I was treated to a whole lot of light. So wonderful to be gaining light this time of year! I love it especially for these early morning runs. Cold, but calm and clear, with a beautiful sunrise. Ran the powerlines and looped around Highland Green, adding on a short loop along the river. Screwshoes were necessary for the powerlines, the back road and the Cathance, but definitely overkill on the clear sidewalks. (6.0 miles)

I was really just not feeling it on Friday morning. Sometimes the mind just does not want to get on the same page as the numbers written in the training plan for the day. I tried get myself into the right mindset, but it simply wasn't happening. I know that it can be beneficial to suck it up and get out and run when and if you don't want to. Obviously, running ultras means that not all training runs are fun and games, and that you have to expect discomfort and a mind that is rebelling occasionally both in races and training runs. But I certainly have learned that for myself, if I am hemming and hawing and really not wanting to do my long run, I am better off accepting that and seeing if I can switch up my schedule so that I can just go on a shorter fun run versus either pushing myself to get in the miles, or more likely just crapping out partway and then really feeling badly about it. Thankfully Ryan is well versed in this aspect of my running and my psyche, knowing full well I do not adhere to a strict training plan anyway, 😉😅 and always encourages me to do what will make me happiest on these types of days. I'm grateful for that support and the fact that I can most often swap days around and make adjustments to my intended running plan for the week.

Because the bottom line is that running, for me, is all about happiness. Both mentally and physically. I want to be able to run consistently and with longevity and the way to ensure that happens is to run happy. Yes, sometimes you have to do those runs you aren't psyched about but I want most of my runs to make me smile in some way, to give me peace and joy. And so I swapped my scheduled Friday 20 miles for Sunday's 6 miler, and it was so lovely to be out in the woods, enjoying the sunshine and the trails. Ran some of the Chase and Calderwood trails out between Flying Point and Pleasant, and had a great time. The trails were in decent shape, and it really is a neat area to run through. Beautiful forest. The perfect thing for a cold Friday morning to bring me happiness 💗 (6.0 miles)

Saturday was the annual Mockingbird Lane fatass, always a fun time. Originally Ryan was planning to go and run long and I was to be on swim meet duty, but with him taking a bit of time off to heal up, I was able to get over there for some miles before driving up to the meet to see Sam swim. It was great to see so many friends, and with the route being an out and back with a few little add-ons there were numerous chances to see everyone as we all ran along. It was a bright and beautiful, if chilly morning, but things warmed up quickly. Snow conditions were variable, with a lot of loose snow to slip and slide around in. Had fun running with and around Emily, Emma, Chad, Sean, Peter, Sam and others, but it certainly wasn't easy running and more power to those that ran long  - I was more than happy to stop early! 😉  (9.3 miles)

Spent a bit of time after I finished running chatting with people and still made it up to Bath in plenty of time. Sam ended up with PRs in all her events - a great way to finish up the regular season! 

So, that left the 20 miles for this morning. Nothing like procrastinating and leaving things to the last day of the week so that you just have to DO IT! 😁😆 But I knew I could get it done, and it was a beautiful morning for a road meander down to the ocean and back. After a few days of variable snow conditions, it was rather nice to just put on my shoes and go and not have to pay attention to every footfall. Of course, the final four miles coming back through town featured a lot of tiptoeing over and around melting ice on the sidewalks, but the rest of the run was easy mentally from that standpoint! Just put in the earbuds and listened to my podcasts and enjoyed the sunshine and the ocean views. Running down to Simpson's Point is always good for the soul. Can hardly believe I've been running some of these roads since 1993. Lots of memories out there. Also saw one bluebird - always a treat! Certainly wasn't a super fast road run, as I didn't feel super peppy on day 4 in a row of running and my stomach was a bit wonky, but overall decent, and glad to get in the miles! Another solid week done. (20.1 miles)

Crazy February Weather

Above freezing during the daylight hours on both Monday and Tuesday, which resulted in rain and  then icing overnight both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Ugh to both the rain and ice! 😠 It's mid-February, precipitation should be falling as snow! Seriously.

The thick layer of ice Tuesday morning prompted me to put my spikes on out in the walkway again. All pavement was silly icy. The only choice was to hit the powerlines. There had been some traffic and it appeared the snowmobile club had been out rolling the trail, but the stretch from Mt. A. down to Topsham Crossing was pockmarked with choppy chunks of icy snow and iced over footprints. Much less traffic after that stretch, so things were definitely better for the middle 1.5 miles out and back stretch, but I was feeling less than cheery about both the weather and conditions. Overcast and calm, with a bit of light showing on the horizon as I crested the final hill before descending back to the house. (6.0 miles)

More glare ice on Wednesday morning but perhaps a bit thinner of a layer so I was able to pick my way across the street without traction and found the powerlines a bit more smoothed out, perhaps from the additional rain and a few more fat bike tracks. Or maybe I just had a better attitude. Either way, it was a more enjoyable run, even if still a bit uneven in spots. I ran the full Lovers Lane loop and enjoyed the clear skies and pretty pastel sunrise on the horizon on the return. (7.0 miles)

Had plans to meet up with Val, Mindy and Anne on Friday morning for a run at Brad at 10:30, and got there early for some additional miles. It was pretty chilly and windy when I arrived, but I was all bundled up and thankfully, I was sheltered in the woods for most of the time, and was so happy to find the singletrack on the east side nicely groomed by the mountain bike roller and the fatbikers. After a lot of not so great conditions this week, and this winter in general, it was so nice to find good solid runnable trails! Enjoyed wandering around, following the grooming this way and that. As I was looping back to the parking lot around 8 miles in, I ran into Val who was doing a short warm-up to let her hip/back loosen up, so I joined her for the remainder of her loop before we picked up Anne and Mindy back at the lot. We set back out onto the east side, and I was happy to be the back of the train, just mindlessly following Val around 😉😆 and catching up with everyone, even though I could only hear about half the conversation over all the crunch crunch crunching of our spikes on the snow and ice 😂 Turned out to be a really nice morning and always good to run with friends! Finished up with a final little bit up and back on Northern Loop and ta da! Short long run done. (15.0 miles)

Temps plummeted overnight and it was -3 on our thermometer when I woke up on Saturday morning. Brrr! So once again, I bundled up with many layers and headed out around 7:15. Decided to do my legs a favor and just stick to roads after all the snow running. Sidewalks were mostly clear with a few stretches of sketchy, need to walk across this to stay upright, ice, and despite the cold temps, it was a pretty, calm morning. (6.0 miles)

Ryan headed out to Bradbury when I got back, intending to get in a long run, which unfortunately was cut short by calf pain. 😱😢 He was feeling a wee bit grouchy understandably so Sam and I were on our own for activities in the afternoon. And because it had warmed up to double digits, there was no excuse not to get out 😜, so we headed over to the Cathance for a short walk down to the river. Nice and bright and sunny, and always good to get out in the woods with my girl 💗 (0.8 miles walked)

After our walk, Sam and I went down to Portland to have dinner with Sarah and Tom. It was such fun seeing their place and meeting pretty kitty Bocuse, and Sam had a great time helping Sarah make a delicious blood orange bundt cake and putting the toppings on her own pizza. Yum! We were stuffed but it was all delicious!

This morning, I met up with Emma back over at Brad for some miles during her long run. It was a beautiful, calm and warm(ish) morning and so great to have the chance to catch! We meandered around on the singletrack and snowmobile trails, and conditions might have been even better than Friday. Glad to get in another run with a good friend and be able to get out and enjoy some time in the woods! (8.2 miles)

Then it was home for a cup of tea and a piece of blood orange bundt cake. YUM!

And after lunch, it was back outside because it was 37 degrees and bright and beautiful! We all headed over to Crystal Spring Farm for a XC ski. Conditions were variable, but Sam did a really great job and it was nice to be out enjoying the sunshine together. Ryan was able to do a lot of double poling and not stress the calf, so that was good too. (2.3 miles skied)

Recovery Week

Tuesday I was feeling good enough that I got up and headed over to Highland Green for a run. Nice, relatively mild morning with bare pavement and I was glad to feel only a bit of overall fatigue versus soreness in my legs. (6.0 miles)

Ryan was out of town overnight, so I decided to just run on the indoor track on Wednesday during Sam's swim team practice. The legs were not so thrilled at all the tight turns, and felt tighter after the run than before. Oh well. Watch once again reading more than 13 laps per mile. (5.8 miles)

Snowed all day on Thursday and there was no need to push it so aside from work and some rolling and stretching, that was about it. A whole lot of freezing rain and ice were predicted on Friday and I woke up to find out that school was cancelled. It didn't seem too bad out there once the sky lightened around 7:00 am so I decided to venture out and see what I would find. Well, turns out it was a wee bit icy. A thick crunchy layer of ice atop 3" of powder atop a layer of ice on the powerlines, and then crunchy, slushy icy-ness on the pavement and mostly runnable icy snow on the backroads. Perhaps not the best morning to be out 😆 as I came home covered in a thin layer of ice myself! (5.0 miles)

Pretty but icy

Ice!

Sam was more than happy to veg on the couch while I ran and then got some cleaning and laundry done around the house before venturing downtown for my massage with Lauren. The main roads were ok but it was either raining or freezing rain or hailing or some combo of them all, which was downright nasty! Still, glad to get my legs loosened up and have a chance to catch up with Lauren before coming home for lunch and a bit of snow, errr ice, day relaxing 😃 The Frozen Yeti sweatpants are downright awesome!!

Sam had one of her neighborhood friend's over for some afternoon play and then was invited out to join Anne and family for hibachi dinner and a sleepover, so she was more than happy with how the snow day turned out! I was impressed Kristen and Phil were up for getting out and driving around in the mess, as Ryan and I were in no way going to venture out into the icy darkness and instead chose to stay home, cook up our already planned dinner and watch Brittany Runs A Marathon. Alternately dark and embarrassing at times but well-done. I enjoyed it.

As I didn't have to rush out to get my run done before Ryan left for snowshoe marking on Saturday morning, I waited until the sun had fully risen. It was bright and beautiful out, the ice-laden trees sparkling in the sunlight, and so icy that I put my Hillsounds on at the mat and ran right out the door with them! Actually they were perfect, both for the thick layer of ice atop the powder on the powerlines and out in the Cathance and for the sidewalks and pavement that were covered with a light dusting of snow atop solid ice. A bit treacherous and slow-going out there, but oh so beautiful!

Even though Ryan would prefer it pass without a mention, Saturday was his birthday so Sam and I picked up a few Wild Oats treats on our way home from Anne's house so we'd have something to put a candle in and sing happy birthday over, and then after a lazy afternoon relaxing on the couch, went out to celebrate with dinner at Buffalo WildWings. Yes, seriously 😂 It was Sam's idea - she has really loved going there with Ryan a few times and since I have never ever been there, she wanted me to join them at some point, which meant last night was the night. Ha! And of course, nothing says happy birthday like wings, rings, french fries and beer 😆😉 Cheers! 🍻

Woke up this morning to the thermometer reading -6 degrees, said no way 😳 and went back to bed instead. Brrr! Spent the morning over at Brad manning the soup at the snowshoe race. Despite being rather chilly to start, it was a truly beautiful day - bright and sunny with the ice-covered trees shimmering up high in the sunlight. As always, enjoyed having the chance to talk with friends. We really are lucky! Of course, then it was off to Maine Beer for a late lunch so it was yet another afternoon run after the snowshoe race and pizza. Maybe for the 3rd race I'll actually get up and out in the morning before Ryan has to take off for the park 😉😆 

Thinking the bike path would be cleared and would afford me some mellow, mindless miles, I headed over there only to find at least half of it covered in ice, which required a fair amount of caution and attention. Ah well. Still, bright and sunny and felt felt good despite the late hour and the belly full of pizza, so I'll take it. All told, a nice way to wrap up a recovery week. (6.0 miles)

Frozen Yeti & Birthday Fun

Ryan says Hale is a terrible place to run 😂 but I have a special place in my heart for the trails there, and going to any TARC event is always fun since we inevitably end up knowing so many people at their events. Besides, who doesn't want the chance to run 30 (or more) miles in early February?! 😉 And so it was that we were back at Hale for the 2nd annual TARCtic Frozen Yeti this past Saturday.

To make it even better, a whole crew of Trail Monsters joined in on the fun this year too, and the mandatory winter gear list was reduced due to mild weather. Hurray! Of course, then overnight, a bit of rain/snow/sleet fell, resulting in a thin layer of ice atop everything for the first few hours of the run, but it wouldn't be a winter ultra without some sort of interesting weather phenomenon! 😉

TMR ready to run!

Princess Ann 😍

We set off at 8:00 am up the paved road to start the first of the three loops that made up the 15 mile lap. Ryan and I ran together for the first few miles in a conga line of runners as we all tiptoed along the iced-over singletrack. Eventually he decided to sneak around some of the people ahead of us and I couldn't quite make the same move, so we were left to our own devices. The slower pace wasn't an issue, as I wasn't out to race, just to get in a solid day in the woods, and besides, the red loop features a number of ledges and short climbs that ensured a rhythm was hard to find! I settled in with a few guys that I chatted with for the final few miles of the loop and then it was back to the lodge. 

Hale is one of those interesting places with a whole lot of trails, but also a whole lot of intersections, and twists and turns. This makes for a rather intestine-y looking race course in the case of something like the Yeti, and also means that there are a lot of spots where the course almost intersects on itself and/or where off in the distance you can see other parts of the course. I called back one guy at one point, and someone else called me back when I took a step off course myself. There were a lot of signs and pink ribbons in trees but not as many confidence markers or alert markers like TMR uses for turns. Just a different style of marking. 

Back at the lodge at the end of the red loop

The second loop, white loop, is everyone's least favorite. Seriously, everyone was talking about it at the end of the race 😂 Temperatures started to rise slightly but with an overcast sky and no wind, it was also really humid and just plain damp for the remainder of the day. I went back into the lodge at 10 miles, as planned, to change my gloves, run into the bathroom quickly, fill up my bladder, gather a few extra gels and pick up the soft flask I had filled with Gu Roctane Lemon Berry drink. The drink was an effort to see how I do  with some liquid fuel options as back-up for longer events when I start to fade and need more calories. The taste was pretty good and not too sweet, so a successful addition to the ultra fuel mix, at least for now 😏 I also picked up two Oreos before heading out the door. I mean, Carolyn had told me she had gotten them just for me, so I had to oblige 😂😂

Then it was off for the blue loop. I think this was where Craig caught up to me and we ran together for a bit. There was also a lovely ledge section that was glare ice and where there was a bit of confusion regarding course. About 8 of us were standing around wondering exactly how we were supposed to get down to the clearing below. Ha! Well, turns out we weren't really supposed to go over the ledge, which we didn't realize until the second time around that loop. Yay running! In any event, I like the start of this loop but last year, and this year again, found the final few miles of it to be a bit much. Like it was just randomly looping around to get in the miles. I think part of the problem is that I've now likely raced over 300 miles at Hale and know a lot of these trails in different iterations. It was fun to run down the steps along the beach that acted as the finish to my first 100 - always good to have a bit of nostalgia thrown in! 😊 Chris from MassUltra was out taking pictures in the final stretch of this loop and I laughed when he asked me how this compared to Western States and said, well, maybe a bit more technical, but still fun 😂 

So back to the lodge at the end of an official lap and went in to check-in and use the bathroom, and then of course pick up a few more Oreos on the way out 😆😋 Had a bit of a low at some point in this stretch, as by now I'd been out 3+ hours and runners had spread out a lot across the course and while I had followed a few people out onto the red loop, which was now totally clear of ice but still wet, I eventually lost them and was on my own. But nothing terrible, and I really did feel pretty good, both energy and body-wise, the whole day. 

I didn't realize until after the run was up on Strava and Ryan was looking at the flybys that I actually somehow took a wrong turn and cut off about a mile of the red loop this second time. Yikes! 😱 Like I said, the course intersects on itself a lot so I obviously turned wrong and then saw signs ahead and thought I was going the right way without realizing I'd missed a stretch. Felt really horrible about it, although when I messaged Carolyn to let her know, she wrote back to say so many people had written to her to say the same, so I felt at least a little better about it, even it was still ridiculous that I did that. Sigh. But at the time, I had no idea and just running kept along. 

Back into the lodge at 20, for another change of gloves, refill of water, refill of the soft bottle, this time with Summit Tea flavor, and a few more Oreos. Ran into Craig at the beginning of the white loop and wondered how we were together again. Of course, now that I know I missed a bit on red loop, it makes more sense! He was running stronger than I was, so I let him go ahead and then once again, was mostly on my own. At some point near the powerlines, I ran into three mountain bikers and stopped to chat with them for a while. I was in good spirits and feeling fine, just chugging along, maybe a bit more walking at this point but not bad! Near the end of the loop, I ran down a hill and crossed a bridge I didn't remember and then another, only to come out near the start of the loop. Huh. OK, off course for sure, time to backtrack! Probably added about a 1/2 mile here but did get back to the spot where I'd gone wrong, and sure enough, I had totally missed an obvious sign. Oops! 

Made a deal with myself that I'd swing into the lodge for two more Oreos, but only that 😆😆 and then it was off for the final 5 miles on the blue loop! As I headed out, Jeff LeBlanc ran past me and we started chatting. He wasn't racing but was volunteering later and wanting to get in some miles. I figured he move past me quickly after we talked for a few minutes, but despite the fact that he was just loping along, practically skipping in spots compared to my 25-miles in ultra pace, he stayed with me and pretty much ended up being my unofficial pacer for the final blue loop. 😂 I won't complain though, as he kept me amused with his stories and it was fun to have someone to talk with along the way! We ran into Josh clearing a path down next to the sketchy icy ledge section, which I immediately recognized from last year once we were on it, but on that first time around, I had no idea! Was glad not to have to negotiate the ledges again though! 

Jeff and I kept running and chatting away, and helped one guy get back on track out in the field section of this loop and one other lady down at the TARC 100 finish line stairs. The final stretch is hard to run even if you are feeling good, so it was definitely not a sprint to the finish, but overall, happy to finish up a good day in the woods! Many thanks to Carolyn, Josh and Surjeet and all the volunteers for providing us the outlet to get in 6+ hours of type 2 fun! 😀 It wasn't quite the 45 for my 45th like I had originally intended, but in the end I think it worked out perfectly! (30.3 miles)

Photo by Dave Metsky, somewhere in the final 10 miles. I can tell by the gloves since I changed them every 10 miles!

Ryan had originally hoped to get in a third loop but was feeling the effects of the technical nature of the course after spending the past two months doing mostly road running so he was back at the lodge when I arrived. I wasn't too upset to see him there, as it meant less waiting around for me 😅 We hung out for a while chatting with Tammy and Anne and other friends, and to cheer on Keri and Tami when they finished their 30. Yay running! Then it was off to meet up with Irene, Dana and Sam for a dinner of fried goodness at Niki's and home to eat birthday cupcakes! 😋🎂

Thanks to Irene and Dana for keeping Sam entertained and taking her to the mall for a fun day while we were out running!! We both thought we got the better end of the deal 😉

Sunday morning, we went out for a big breakfast with Irene and Dana and then headed back north. After a few loads of laundry and a bit of organizing, along with the aforementioned guilt/horror at realizing I had gone wrong in that second red loop, we got out into the Cathance for a short recovery walk. Nice, if overcast, afternoon to be out on the trails! (1.7 miles walked)

Snowball fun

Really cool frozen ice pancakes!

Can hardly believe that on Monday I turned 45. I mean seriously, wasn't I just 21?! Or 24 or 30 or 35? Wow. But in any event, while I may have a few more wrinkles, I don't feel old 😉 and I actually felt pretty good despite Saturday's 30 miles, so I'll take it! Pretty much a normal day except for all the lovely messages and phone calls from family and friends, which is the best part about birthdays anyway! 💗 To finish up the day, we got in a nice late afternoon family walk down along the Androscoggin before a dinner out of sushi 🍣 and gelato 🍨 Can't beat that! So cheers to 45 and all that is to come! (0.9 miles walked)