Hope

A new president, a female VP and Mom and Dad got their first vaccine shots on Friday! Hurray! There is hope yet 💗

Monday was a holiday so I didn't rush to get out in the morning. Finally headed out around 8:00 for a mellow road meander to start off the week. (7.4 miles)

After a leisurely rest of the morning, we headed out for a family walk after lunch. Boy oh boy, is it brown out there. Most of the ice I found yesterday had melted due to the warm temps, and it just doesn't seem quite right to have no snow at all on the ground. This is a serious January thaw... Still, trying to get out and enjoy whatever we find out there, and got in some nice walking together. (3.3 miles walked)

The legs were tired from 5 days of running in a row and two longer walks on Sunday and Monday so Tuesday was a rest day. But there's this...

Then of course, what did I do on Wednesday morning but neglect to actually get up and out the door in the morning...😂 D*mn, I think I have a problem! 😉 Although honestly, I wasn't feeling great, hadn't slept well and was a bit stressed, so I'm OK with it. And even not running Wednesday means there are still 4 more days in the week to get in 4 runs, so I'm good! Apparently, I am driven to get in my running but I am also a running procrastinator 😜 Who knows... I give up. I'm just going with it...

Busy day, but not too busy that we didn't all stop work for an hour or so and watch a good portion of the inauguration. 

🙌🎉💖

Also, a lot of the memes out there about Bernie's very practical New England attire at the inauguration are a little much, but I have to say, this one might just be perfect. I can just hear Bob Ross saying "happy little mittens." 😂😄

We missed the poet laureate but I did watch her later in the evening, and even just reading the poem, it is very moving. Gorman is quite impressive!

We did get out for a walk mid-afternoon on the powerlines before I headed into meeting #3 for the day. (1.8 miles walked)

Thursday, I was up and out early into the darkness. 10 x 60/90 on Highland Green Road. (6.0 miles)

Woke up to a thick dusting of snow on Friday. Ran out on the powerlines after dropping Sam at school and doing a few quick early morning errands. Picked a route I knew would be not super icy, as dust on crust is definitely a tricky thing! A bit sketchy in a few spots but otherwise fine with screwshoes. Very pretty out there! (7.0 miles)

Saturday dawned cold and windy. Hit the roads for an early morning run and although there was still a bit of ice left on the sidewalks and the path along the connector, otherwise the pavement, and even the dirt road through the fairgrounds, was clear. (7.6 miles)

Got a message from Kristen that Phil was planning to take the girls out to Popham for a walk and did we want to join. We were planning on a walk at some point during the day, but I had just gotten back from my run and Sam and Ryan hadn't even eaten breakfast. But, we said sure, why not, and then quickly rallied to get ready and on the road! We hadn't been out to Popham in forever, and it really is a lovely beach, especially at low tide and with the sun sparking on the the water. However, it was also incredibly cold and windy. Exhilarating, we'll just say 😉😂💨 The masks served a dual purpose - Covid safety and keeping our faces warm! Brrr!!! It was nice for the girls to spend some time together, and we had a nice meander along the beach. (1.5 miles walked)

Found a number of sand dollars!

Can you see the wind whipping the sand out towards the water?! 😱💨

And some really neat patterns in the sand. It looked like a whole forest of trees in one area. So neat! 

Sunday, I didn't rush right out the door, as the wind was howling and it was only in the teens. But, the forecast didn't really indicate it was going to get any warmer or less windy throughout the morning, so by 8:15, I was out the door. Wore my screwshoes and headed out into the woods in an attempt to stay out of the wind. Some ice and snow covered trails along with a fair bit of bare ground, and a whole lot of needle ice and uneven, break-through the ground, footing too. River looked quite pretty with lots of neat ice drops along the banks. Ran the main part of the Cathance system then headed out on the powerlines for a short lollypop to add a few miles. Nice and bright, but quite cold and windy morning. Didn't see a soul - no surprise there, as Strava's connected weather app indicated 15 degrees/feels like -2! 😉 (12.0 miles)

Headed over to Mom and Dad's after lunch for a walk before watching the football game and having dinner. Sam and Mom baked some cookies too - yum! The sun was bright but the wind still quite chilly as we looped around the Topsham Heights neighborhood. A good way to wrap up the weekend! (1.5 miles walked)

If you look closely, you can see the moon above the mill 🌙

Weird January Weather and Mood

Weird January weather this week. Felt like spring for several days, and poured like mad on Saturday. Sigh. So much for the snow! I'm not complaining about the more moderate temps, but I do feel like winter and especially January and February should include decent snowpack. These weather patterns are an indicator of a greater issue with the environment for sure. Sigh, there's another thing to be depressed about. Still feeling in a bit of a funk this week. I know I'll snap out of it eventually, and I recognize that there is a lot of good to look towards. Just trying not to get weighed down by all the rest. 

Monday, Sam and I got out for a walk around the block after lunch. I have come to really enjoy these weekday walks, which are definitely a perk of our 'new normal' and having us all be home several days together during the week. (1.7 miles walked)

Speaking of perks, and trying to see the good in the world, the perk of not getting up to run in the darkness on Tuesday morning 😉 is that I had the chance to enjoy the trails on a balmy afternoon in the daylight. Ran the powerlines. Conditions were variable, with some nice packed sections along with some stretches of mud, ice and bare ground. Pretty late afternoon sky in the final few miles. (7.0 miles)

The dreariness weighed on me Wednesday and I did not get out for a run. Ryan finally dragged me out the door for a late afternoon walk while Sam was out playing with Emma on the sledding hill. It was nice to get some fresh air and spend some time with Ryan. (2.0 miles walked)

Amazingly, Thursday I actually I did get up and out the door in the darkness. Ran roads with 10 x 60/90 thrown in the middle 3 miles. (6.0 miles)

Friday, I chose to run from home, thinking I'd attempt to get in a run out in the Cathance and along the river before the rains came on Saturday and either washed all the snow away or turned it to ice - or both... beautiful morning, truly felt more like spring than mid-January. A decent amount of traffic out on the trails which meant things were relatively packed down, if rather uneven. (8.0 miles)

Rain was forecast all day on Saturday but it appeared I might have a short window early in the morning to get in a run without getting soaked. I don't mind running in the rain, but do prefer not to start in the rain if at all possible. Somehow having the rain start mid-way through a run is not as bad as stepping out the door into it! Decided I'd head out on the powelines, and managed to get in 5 miles before the rain started. It was a balmy and blustery run, with a fair amount of bare ground, but enough ice and packed snow that I was glad to have on my Hillsounds so I didn't fall on my butt! 😉 (7.0 miles)

Got a few things done around the house and baked up some chocolate chip cookie bars, but the vast majority of the rest of the day was spent on the couching relaxing, watching TV and reading Obama's "A Promised Land," which I have out from the library and need to finish up before it's due, as there are so many holds there's no way I'll be able to renew it. It was the perfect day for lounging as it rained and the wind howled all day long.

Awoke to a whole lot of bare ground, pretty much all the snow gone, leave for a few stray piles and some icy patches. Ugh. I felt seriously unenthused to get out there and procrastinated mightily. I was still sitting on the couch when Sam came downstairs, and she was like "Why are you here?" Ha! Finally put on my shoes and headed out around 8:45. Figuring the trails would be a mess, I thought I'd stick to the roads but found a whole lot of black ice and ended up turning around after less than half a mile to come back and put on trail shoes. There was no way I was going to slip and slide out there on the pavement for 2 hours! So, a change of shoes, stuck the Hillsounds in the pocket, and set out without a plan. Cart paths were icy but once I got out on the Heath, I was able to take off the spikes and move reasonably well without traction. River was roaring out in the Cathance proper and the trails were fairly clear of ice. Then once I got closer to Head of Tides, the trail was very compacted ice, so back on the traction went... decided to come back via the road and powerlines. Managed to keep the spikes off for the final trail portion and tiptoe around the icy stretches. All in all, a slow and rather random trail and road meander, but glad I pushed myself out the door and got in the miles. One deer seen. (12.0 miles)

Mid-afternoon, we headed over to Mom and Dad's for a nice walk down to the river. Blustery but bright and sunny. (2.4 miles walked)

Then it was back to their house for pie making, football watching and dinner. Yum! 

Triple berry pie - so good!😋

Reality & Chaos

It was back to reality on Monday for all of us with school and work as usual. It's always hard to settle back in after a break. Work is especially busy right now with end of the year donations and reporting, so it's been a bit nuts. Of course, then there is also the larger chaos. Nothing like working all day and then finally checking social media after 8 hours on a Tuesday and finding out a bunch of domestic terrorists spurred on by the current president stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to keep the government from ratifying Biden as incoming president. D*mn, what the hell is wrong with some people? On top of that, Covid cases and deaths are rising. Seriously, it's enough to drive a person batty, and feel rather depressed about the world we live in. I know there is hope out there - a new president who actually is capable of empathy and has the greater good in mind will be in place within two weeks, we have multiple friends on the fronts lines who have received their Covid vaccine, there are still good people and beauty to be found out in the world. But still. Whew. Sometimes it is a bit too heavy. 

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Sam and I got out for a midday walk after lunch on Monday around the school block. Always good to walk and talk with the kiddo 💗 (1.7 miles walked)

Tuesday, I was back to my old habits of not getting up to run 😂😁 but on Wednesday, I did manage to get up and out for a run on the powerlines in the pre-dawn darkness. Conditions were decidedly meh, with not enough traffic to pack things down and very uneven. Felt a bit clunky, but good to get out after two days of not running. (6.7 miles)

Sun rising as I headed home

Sam and I got in another lunchtime walk on Wednesday, a good break from the computer screen and nice to enjoy a bit of time together outside. (1.7 miles walked)

Was awake from 1:00 to 3:00 on Thursday morning and opted for an additional hour of sleep instead of getting up to run. But there are goals to work towards and I didn't want to squander the day entirely, so headed out around 3:00 for an afternoon run once I was done with work for the day. I knew the roads would be much busier at that time of day so even though conditions hadn't been great the day prior I headed back out on the powerlines. Was pleasantly surprised to find things much more packed down. Ran a bit of random mix of trails and roads which entailed taking the Hillsounds on and off a few times, but it was a nice meander and I was glad to get out. (7.0 miles)

                                    

Friday morning, I headed over to Bradbury for a run after dropping Sam at school. The fat tire bikers had been out in force on the singletrack and had packed things quite nicely. Of course, since snow cover is thin there were still plenty of hazards and a fair amount of ice, but pretty nice. Had the trails all to myself. Tired, but a lovely wander in the woods to start the day. (6.0 miles)

Saturday, I got up and out early so that I could get back in time to take Sam to her xc ski lesson. In the very loose training plan that I've laid out, I marked a day a week either speed or hills, which I totally slacked on in 2020. So as I was going to do a road loop anyway, I figured I would put on my big girl pants and actually do the speed day that I had planned 😉😂 The path along the connector was icy, but the rest of the route was totally fine, and after about 2 miles I turned on the interval timer on the watch and did 10 x 60 on/90 off in the middle 3-ish miles. Gotta start somewhere! Bright, cool and calm. Saw an eagle in the same evergreen tree as last week on this loop. (7.0 miles)

The ski lessons seemed to go great. It was so fun to see Nate, and Sam, Anne and Thistle all had fun. I went to pick up some greens and goodies at the farmer's market but got back in time to watch the final 15 minutes of the lesson and the kids were racing around playing games on their skis and everyone was all smiles at the end. Perfect! It's a bummer for Nate that he has the time to do these lessons, as he should be on the carnival circuit with the Bowdoin team, but we are grateful for the chance to get Sam out there with other kids and with him as coach! Such a great opportunity!

Sunday morning, I headed out onto the powerlines again. Cold and bright. Moderately decent conditions although man, those icy ruts in the Gone Fishing trails are pretty nasty. Still, good to get out on the trails. (10.3 miles)

We headed over to Mom and Dad's around 2:00 for a walk on the trail in the stretch of woods behind their community. The wind was a bit chilly, but the sun was bright and it was fun to explore a bit. The trail was obviously used by their neighbors as it was fairly well packed, and marked occasionally with fake flowers too 😆 There were tons of animal tracks as well. Mom and Sam headed back after we had done the out and back of 1.2ish miles, while Ryan, Dad and I took the one untracked old road that appeared to head down to the river just to check out where it ended up. It was a short and steep descent down to the railroad tracks, with a neat small but deep quarry and some interesting rocks en route. There was no trail on the other side of the tracks but it was just a short ways down to the edge of the Androscoggin so we bushwacked our way down to the shore. Small pieces of ice had gathered in a little eddy, and with the wind pushing them against each other, they were making a neat twinkling sound. Cool. Always fun to see what you can find out there! (1.5 miles walked)

Trail marking

Edge of the Androscoggin

And just for fun, a few kitty photos for the week 💗

Such a comfortable sleeping position 😹

Aw, and aren't they cute 😻

Weekend Fun

The intent on Saturday was to do nothing. We were days into vacation week (I mean what day is it anyway, I have no idea...), there were no plans, nothing on the to do list, I didn't even have a run on the schedule, and weather was kind of crappy with a mix of snow and rain falling all morning. I did do a few administrative tasks like uploading photos to online storage and paying bills and going through receipts in the morning, but otherwise, we just lounged around reading and watching TV and relaxing. And then around 2:00, we got a message wondering if we wanted to join Anne and family over at Foreside fields for a walk or ski at 3:00. All three of the girls are signed up for a 4-week session of xc ski lessons with Nate through the rec department, starting next week (assuming there is enough snow), so we decided skiing was the best choice, as Anne and T hadn't been out yet this season on their skis and we are always up for Sam having another day out on hers. 

Coverage was rather thin and spotty, as I discovered when I took off down the slight hill from the parking lot and promptly hit a big rock sticking through the wet snow, causing my ski to snag and me to take a pretty good tumble. So the girls were not alone in falling on their skis today! 😂😁 Still, it was much nicer afternoon out than I had anticipated, calm and with moderate temps, and the light along the river was quite beautiful. The girls had fun skiing along and we meandered through the field out on the singletrack through the woods and by the river, with a few falls here and there and some slight chaos with the girls and the dog and branches and roots sticking up through the snow. It ended up being the perfect activity for a quiet Saturday, and we are so grateful that our friends prompted us to get out and enjoy the snow when we very likely (99.9%) would have just sat at home instead if left to our own devices! 💗 (1.4 miles xc skiied)

Sunday I headed out for a morning meander. Variable conditions out there with some snow, ice and water, and fairly uneven underfoot due to a lot of foot traffic. No bike traffic until I hit the Gone Fishing trails proper, and unfortunately, the vast majority had been ridden when things were slushy on Saturday meaning things had frozen up and were now rutted and icy. Nothing fast out there, that's for sure, but ah well, better than icy pavement, and good to be out on a pretty morning. Cold, bright and calm. Screwshoes. (8.2 miles)

After lunch we headed over to Harpswell for a walk at Otter Brook Preserve. This is a lovely little understated trail system and a nice quiet walk in the woods. Variable conditions and Hillsounds were the perfect choice. A good way to wrap up the weekend! (1.8 miles walked)

And just for fun, here is Gigi, inexplicably having decided that hiding amongst the shoes is a good idea 😹 Have a good week, all!