June!

Well, it really is true. If you don't like the weather in Maine, just wait a minute (or a few days) and it will change! From mid 40s on Monday to 80s on Sunday. Gotta love it. And how is it already June? Sam is anxiously counting down the days until the end of school and the start of summer. 

Monday was the Memorial Day holiday. With Sam out at the coast all morning, it was a mellow morning. It was cold enough that I finally gave in after it being chilly in the house since Friday and turned on the heat!! It looked like there was a bit of a weather window around 7:30, so I headed out then. While it wasn't exactly raining, it was still rather damp out. Ran a road loop around town. Enjoyed the lupines blooming along the connector path and saw the first red eft of the season on the back dirt road! (8.0 miles)

Got a few things done around the house and then met Kristen and the girls over at Fielder's Choice. Nothing says ice cream like a 50 degree, rainy day! 🍦😉 They had a good sleepover, and of course, had gone into the pool again before Sam left 😂 Crazy kids!

Before going to bed that evening, I set my alarm for 11:55 pm so that I could be downstairs for 12:01 😴😴 when registration opened for TARC Summer. Signed up for the 40 miler. Should be good "practice," and I will use the race as my longest run day in prep for No Business. Of course, the next morning when I looked to see how many people had registered it was not nearly full, so I really did not have to get up in the middle of the night, but oh well! 😂

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, and temps rose to a more appropriate level, so we turned off the heat again, for what is hopefully the last time this season. Ryan took Sam to her final swim practice of this session, and I decided that it was too pretty of an afternoon to not get outside, so I headed across the street for a late afternoon walk on the powerlines before starting up dinner. Always nice to get a bit of movement for the day. (1.9 miles walked)

Wednesday was apparently Global Running Day, but to me it was just another day to run! The cats were both a total pain and I didn't sleep well, so I didn't get up and out early and instead just did a bit of work while Sam got ready for school and then headed out at 8:00 am after dropping her off. It was warm and sunshiney as I headed out on the powerlines, and everything is looking very green! Wore the Salomons now that I've committed what is certainly seen as some sort of blasphemy - cutting the pull cord laces and replacing them with regular ones! I do not see the allure of those pull cords at all. They just did not work for me. So now I have some nice matching laces to go with my sea foam colored shoes 😊 (6.0 miles)

Thursday was a zero day with no walk or run, just work and groceries. But sometimes that is what needs to be done!

Friday morning, I headed over to the Brad for my long run. The parking lot was enveloped in a low cloud and it was close to 100% humidity out there. But at least the moisture brought out the red efts 😉😂 - saw two of them early on as I headed up and over the summit and out towards Tryon. Oh, and I was pretty much soaked already after only a few miles. 💦💦 Enjoyed the ladyslippers, the greening woods and the meadow view before turning around at the powerlines and returning to the park. From there, I looped around a bit on the east side before returning to the lot to refill my bottle, change my shirt and wait for Anne and Val to arrive at 9:30. By then I had gotten in around 11.5 miles. 

Val was feeling creaky from her 24 mile run on Thursday, so she sent Anne and I off for 45 minutes of running while she got herself organized and loosened up. We chatted away as we looped around on the closer east side trails and then returned to the lot to pick up Val and Mindy. By then, my nice dry shirt was once again soaked 😂 We made a nice train out on the east side for a few miles before Val once again sent Anne and I on our way, as she was planning on taking it extra slow due to her hip. Got in another few miles with Anne before she peeled off to head home, and then it was just me looping around for the final 2.3 miles in an attempt to just.get.myself.to 20. 😝 Finished up wet and sweaty, but got it done, and so nice to have a few miles with friends in the mix! (20.0 miles)

Mom and Dad's new grill had arrived so we headed over to their house late in the afternoon. Temps had dropped slightly and there was a nice breeze up on the hillside, so we took a leisurely walk in the flat part of their neighborhood before enjoying dinner out on their patio. Really such a nice evening, and things are looking so lovely out back with the flower beds they've put in. They've done a great job with it! (1.2 miles walked)

Saturday morning, it was back over to Brad, this time to run with Emma! Met up at 6:30, so the park was pretty quiet and while it was still humid, it was a bit cooler at least than Friday! So good to see Emma, and we had fun chatting away and catching up as we ran along. She let me set the pace, which was nice as I was definitely feeling a bit creaky. Ran the Bruiser minus the Island and O, because, really, who likes those trails anyway?!, and then added a bit of an out and back on the Boundary to finish it up. A good way to start the day for sure, and so nice to have a 2nd run in a row with friends! (10.0 miles)

After a bit of relaxation and some lunch, we headed down to Harpswell to walk on the Curtis Farm trails. A nice early June day, sunny and warm but with a cool breeze. This is a neat piece of property, the trail traversing a big field and leading down through deep woods to two different beaches. Always a fun place to visit. (2.3 miles walked)

Startled up a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, so fun to watch them!

American Lady Butterfly? Or some sort of fritillary?

Blue-eyed grass along the field

Devil's paintbrush - so colorful

Followed up our walk with a stop for ice cream and then home for Japanese take-out. Yum! 🍦🍜🍣

Roasty toasty and quite humid even at 7:30 am when I headed out for a short run to wrap up the week Sunday morning. Ran a mellow road loop around town. The air was filled with the sweet thick smell of honeysuckle, blackberry brambles and all the summer flowers coming up along the roadside. Got home just in time for Ryan to head off to Brad for the group run. A bit tired, but overall, feeling decent and pretty happy to be wrapping up a 50 mile week. (6.0 miles)

Mom wasn't feeling well, unfortunately, but Dad joined us later in the afternoon for a walk down at Potts Point at low tide. It was at least 10 degrees cooler out there with a nice strong wind. Felt so good! We had fun walking around, checking out the tidal pools and looking for crabs. A good way to wrap up the weekend! (1.3 miles walked)

A really mini crab!