It's Fall But It Doesn't Quite Feel Like It!

Busy work week and in the office on Monday so no walking. 

But I did actually manage to get up and out on Tuesday morning, so we'll call it a small win 😉😆 Headed out at 5:45 with headlamp on and ran the cart paths. A nice cool morning with a pretty sky as the sun rose later in the run. Two deers seen. (6.0 miles)

It was a beautiful day and Sam went up to Rocky Ridge with Mom and Dad for some apple picking and to get a few gourds and pumpkins after she got home from school. Fun!

Wednesday morning dawned overcast and sticky, with absolutely no air movement. Headed out at 6:00 am once the sky lightened a bit. Ran the roads and finished soaked. Two eagles seen in the pine tree along Elm Street. (8.0 miles)

Thursday, Ryan and I took a break from the computer screens for a walk around the block before lunchtime. Always nice to get a bit of movement and a chance to chat in the midst of a work day! (1.7 miles walked)

Warm temps and very high humidity greeted me when I woke up on Friday. I headed out on the powerlines for a run after dropping Sam off at school and it felt like I was running through hot soup. Ugh. So sticky and soggy and muggy and gross. Isn't it supposed to be fall?! (10.1 miles)

Spent the rest of the day running around doing errands, getting the house cleaned and getting organized so that we could head up to Keri and Tyler's after Sam got home from school in advance of the Hidden Valley Race Through the Woods on Saturday. Enjoyed a yummy dinner and time spent chatting with them in the evening - always so fun!

Typically, Keri and I get up early and head over to HVNC in the darkness to do a course check before the runners start to check in, but with the forecasted rain and the fact that she is doing a 100 mile bike race next weekend, she decided it was best for her to skip the run this year. With that, we were able to sleep in a bit and all drive over together a little after 7:00, and I headed out on my own shortly after we arrived. Somehow we totally lucked out and had a nice weather window from early morning until late afternoon, so there was no pouring rain to contend with - woohoo! Definitely made the day more comfortable and much more fun!

While not as much fun as running with Keri, I enjoyed my solo tour of the course. As always, there is some rugged terrain to contend with, and as it was warm and muggy, and the course was pretty wet with some decent puddles and mud, so I got soaked anyway, even without the rain 😂 Saw one deer, two frogs, some pretty foliage starting to turn, and oh so many mushrooms! (12.6 miles)

After I finished up my run, I hung out at the finish line chatting with friends and cheering on the runners, and then once everyone had finished and things had been tidied up, a group of us headed over to TinTop Cider for a bit. Cool spot with a nice yard full of picnic tables and corn hole, yummy cider to drink, and the chance to relax and hang out and catch up. A great way to finish up the day! 

The rain started up again as we were driving home and it was still pouring when I woke up on Sunday. Honestly, I just was not enthused to go out for my long run in the rain, so I puttered around, relaxed, got some stuff done on the computer and waited until a little before 11:00 for the rains to stop and to head out. Of course, just because it wasn't raining didn't mean it wasn't wet! So many puddles. And still quite humid. Ran out on the powerlines and onto the Gone Fishing trails. By then, the skies were clear and it was getting warm out. Did a loop up over Mt. A on the way back and around the school complex before heading home. I *should* have kept going for another 5-7 miles but it was still a solid 3-day block of miles. (15.0 miles)

Love the asters at this time of year!

Later in the afternoon, Sam and I got out for a nice walk and talk around the block to wrap up the weekend. Turned into a really lovely afternoon! (1.7 miles walked)

A Bit of Recovery

Monday, Ryan and I got out for a nice late morning recovery walk. Legs a bit stiff and definitely tired overall, but good to get in a bit of movement. (2.1 miles walked)

Did not get up early on Tuesday (see a trend here? 😆😉) so headed out on the powerlines around 4:00 for a run. Beautiful day with a decent breeze. Kept it nice and easy. A bit creaky but not bad. (6.0 miles)

Wednesdays are a good day for running, due to late start for Sam, but they are also good for a bit of extra morning relaxation, and that is what I chose this week 😉😊 Taking a down week, so no need to cram in the miles, and it was nice to be able to get back in bed after I fed the cats and then still have a bit of quiet time in the semi-darkness before the rest of the house woke up. Ahhh....

But that meant that I was also up with my headlamp on running in the muggy darkness on Thursday morning 😁😂 Ran roads around Highland Green. Had to modify things a bit as on the way out, I had to run through someone's yard to avoid some road construction. I wasn't too worried at 5:45 but I didn't really want to do it again on the way back! (6.0 miles)

Friday morning was a road trip up to Schmid Preserve up in Edgecomb to meet up with Val and Keri for a Friday morning run! Yay! It has been way too long. It was such fun to chat as we ran along, and always neat to run some new-to-me trails! Cool area with some neat moss-covered stone walls, old foundations, an old well, some nice woods to explore and even a "Scout's Trail"! Thanks, ladies! (5.7 miles)

Ryan was headed to Bradbury Saturday morning for his long run, so I was up early so I could get out and get most of my miles in before Sam woke up. Two of these cuties were out back, chomping on birdseed. Such fun!

Then it was off into the mist for a road run. It was such a heavy misty fogy that it was essentially like running in a light rain. I was soaked. But the mist was clinging to the spider webs all along the route, which was quite lovely. (8.0 miles)

After lunch, Sam and I picked up Mom for an afternoon walk on the Widgeon and Wilson Cove trails down in Harpswell. These short trails are hidden gems, yielding many mushrooms and some lovely ocean views. The fog had lifted and it was a really nice afternoon to be out for a woodsy wander before we headed to Fielder's Choice for ice cream! 😃🍄🍦 (1.25 miles walked)

This morning, I headed over to Bradbury to meet up with Emma for a run. Cool and bright, but quick humid. We stuck to the east side and the trails were incredibly slick and muddy from the rain that fell overnight and all the traffic from the 12 hour bike race that occurred at the park on Saturday. We had fun chatting away as we ran along. It is always nice to catch up with Emma! (10.0 miles)

It was just so nice out that when I got home, I suggested we head out for a walk. We walked out on the powerlines and up to the top of Mt. A, before taking a lap around the new track, which is really pretty sweet! (2.7 miles walked) 

UXBBA Plus Some Other Fun

Always nice to start the week with a holiday day!

As always the cats got me up early but I lollygagged around and didn't rush out, finally getting out the door at 8:00. It had rained overnight and the air was sticky and heavy. Ran out into the Cathance and then finished up with a few road miles. Legs were tired. (8.0 miles)

After lunch, we headed over to Woodward Point for a walk. The skies had cleared and temps had risen. A beautiful summer afternoon. And such a pretty piece of property. (2.3 miles walked)

The plan was for leftovers for dinner but as I was getting ready to turn on the oven, the skies darkened, the wind started whipping, rain started pelting the windows, hail began to fall, the lights flickered and then went out. Whew.  It didn't long but it was quite an intense little burst of a storm. We typically don't lose power here, or when we do, it comes back on quite quickly but after sitting for a while, we started to ponder other dinner plans just in case. Turns out Mom and Dad lost power too, so we ordered Thai and brought it over to their place for dinner. Unexpected noodles!

It has started to get dark by the time we got home, so we got out our headlamps and Sam and I sat and read for a bit, and then around 7:30 the lights came back on. What a weird evening! 

Took the day off from running on Tuesday, and it was back to school and work. On Wednesday morning, I did not manage to get up and out for a run so I headed out in the late afternoon after I got home from work, running the powerlines loop out towards the dump. Warm and windy, and humid too. Moved one cute little baby snapper off the ATV trail - so cute! 😍  - but saw three others smooshed out on the road 😓(7.0 miles)

Thursday morning, I waited just until there was a bit of light, which is right around 5:45, to head out. Overcast and very heavy. Then some rain in the final two miles. Sweat, then rain, either way, soggy! Ran a Highland Green Road loop. (6.0 miles)

On Friday morning, it was sprinkling when I dropped Sam off at school but by the time I had dropped the recycling at the dump and made my way over to the field house, it was bright and sunny. Headed out through the Commons and looped through the edge of Coleman Farm before making my way across the street to the singletrack trails in the Landing. Decided to take one of the offshoots and see if I could figure out where it went. It wound this way and that through the woods, before finally coming out into the open between the airport fence and what is apparently hole #6 on the golf course. I followed the thin trail through the grass and ferns along the fenceline and dropped out at the road. By then, I figured it would be longer to retrace my steps then just continue via the road and the perimeter bike path back to the college, so that is what I did. A bit too much road in the final few miles and not what I was anticipating I'd be running when I headed out, but it was fun to do a bit of exploring! (11.5 miles)

Saturday was a lovely no-run day. Didn't set my alarm and didn't have to get up and out for anything meaning I had a quiet early morning. Ah, sometimes it is nice not to run 😂😉 Then Sam and I met up with the Dostie clan over at Rocky Ridge for some apple picking fun. A gorgeous morning for it!

Love these goofy girls 💗

Sam went back to Anne's house after the apple picking, so after lunch, I headed out for a walk on the powerlines and up and over Mt. A. Good to get in a bit of movement on such a nice afternoon. (2.3 miles walked)

Sunday morning plans called for both of us to be getting to Bradbury early. Me to run the Scuffle and Breaker courses before getting back to the startline of the Bruiser so that I could earn my UXBBA hoodie, and Ryan to the park around 7:30 for bib pick-up. Mom and Dad were nice enough to have Sam over for dinner and spend the night so that she didn't have to be at the park all.day.long. So, she headed over there for pizza and we had an early dinner at the house, got ourselves organized for race day and I went to bed early!

Of course, I didn't really sleep... sigh 😴 and then the alarm went off at 3:45. Ryan thought I could start at 5:45 and get back in time, but I was a bit anxious about cutting it too close, so I started at 5:35. Turns out, I could have waited that extra 10 minutes, but either way I needed my headlamp for the first 3 miles or so. It was a nice morning, relatively cool but humid. Haven't run on the trails in the dark in a long time, so it was slow going and I felt both rather anxious and uninspired out there. Weird. 

Pretty sunrise through the trees as I wound my way around the backside of the park, with one deer seen. 

Finished up the Scuffle in around 1:11, dropped my headlamp at the car and texted Ryan that I was feeling rather down. He told me I was fine and that I'd perk up once I got to the Bruiser. I wasn't convinced, but I figured I might as well run the Breaker and see how I felt. Perked up a bit as I ran along, and realized I would get myself back in plenty of time. Three deer and no people seen until about a half mile from the field, when I started to run into a few runners who were warming up for the Bruiser. Lots of people milling around registration but I ran right through and back to the car. Totally antisocial- oops! 😁 Ryan came over and helped me get my bladder refilled and chatted with me while I filled up my pack, tried to dry myself off - so sweaty! 💦, and got myself organized for the Bruiser. I had about 15 minutes to spare, with the watch reading 3:11 as I came back through the field. 

Ran into Chandra and Anne in the bathroom line, so chatted with them briefly and then lined myself up with Anne at the start. It was nice to feel no pressure at the start line, as all I wanted to do was just get to the finish, no time goals and no need to look at my watch! Just keep following the conga line in front of you 😂 Nice to chat with Anne and Emily in the first few miles, and then eventually I wound up with a few guys, including new running buddy Pete, who I chatted and stayed with from until around mile 4 to towards the end of the O trail. The Bruiser seems to go on and on forever, but I felt decent until around mile 24, at which point I realized I was a bit tired 😉😆 And then of course, there was the final 2+ miles on the O trail, which with its twists and turns and dips and roots is never ending and rather soul sucking. Managed to stay upright and not walk, but it wasn't pretty! Ha! However, as always, glad to get it done! 2:25 for the Bruiser, and 5:51 on the clock with about 5:30 moving time for the UXBBA. And hoodie achieved!! (27.0 miles)

Thanks to Lisa for the photos!

And whew, I was tired! It was a gorgeous day and after changing, I relaxed a bit, had some snacks and chatted with a few people before taking off. Mom, Dad and Sam had headed out to Potts Point to enjoy the sunshine, so I headed home to shower and plop myself on the couch. Looks like it was gorgeous out at the edge of the ocean too, even if a bit windy!