Fall

As an aside before I start this week's post, I feel the need to note that I neglected to mention in last week's post that Sunday was our 22nd anniversary. Perhaps it is apropos that I did so, as aside from our time at the aid station in the morning, we probably spent about 30 minutes together all day 😂 and when I arrived at 7:30 and gave Ryan a kiss and said "Happy Anniversary," his response was "Oh yeah, that. I forgot about that." 😶 Ha ha ha. I guess you can tell anniversaries are celebrated heavily around here! 😉😆 But seriously, our day is often overshadowed by Sam's birthday, inevitably, but this year there was just so much going on that we pretty much forgot about it completely. Maybe we'll be able to get out sometime to actually celebrate 😁😂😉😊 Love you, Ryan! And truly, there is no one I'd rather go through this crazy whirlwind of life with 💖 and honestly, probably no one else who would put up with me like he does either 😆

But enough of that, and onto the week!

Monday was a holiday and a day off for all of us, which was most welcome after the three prior full days. We all slept in, or at least spent some time relaxing in the early morning in my case, and I finally headed out to run around 8:30. It was a beautiful morning and I headed down to the Cathance for a meander. Muggy with five deer seen with some nice foliage and still a lot of mushrooms. (7.1 miles)

It was so nice out in the Cathance that I suggested it for our afternoon walk, and so later in the afternoon, we met up Mom, Dad, Kristen and Morgan and took a nice walk through the woods and along the river. Other than Mom taking a spill of some slippery rocks and getting soaked with mud and water, it was lovely! 😱 Poor thing! She was a trooper though, and thankfully nothing was broken, just a bit banged up. So pretty along the water with the trees starting to turn. (1.9 miles walked)

 

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Such cuties, and so nice to see them together!

Tuesday was back to reality, and as Ryan said, it felt slightly like being on a fast moving treadmill after the long weekend and trying to get caught back up. So, it was pretty much all work all day with not much else for excitement. Sam had picked up a bit of a head cold so we didn't take her to swim and after a quick goodbye to Morgan and Kristen who were headed home on Wednesday, we just relaxed on the couch and headed to bed early, which was actually kind of nice!

I was planning to run Wednesday morning, but as is often the case, things did not go according to plan and I did not get myself out of bed. So instead, I headed out mid-morning for a wander out on the powerlines. The con was that it is always a bit stressful to run during work hours, but the pros were the beautiful sunshine and warm temps! I think I'll call it a win for the day. Really pretty out there. (6.1 miles)

Sam was still feeling less than 100% on Wednesday and Ryan was feeling kinda crappy too, so we skipped swim again and headed out for a late afternoon family walk around the block. Nice to get out and chat while we walked. (1.7 miles walked)

Friday was overcast and muggy as I headed out into the Commons. Pretty colors along the old skating pond, with leaves crunching underfoot. I ran out into Pennelville and looped through Coleman Farm to take in the marsh view. Always a lovely route. (10.0 miles)

But the highlight of the day was that Sam got her first Covid shot! Hurray! We are officially on our way to being a fully vaccinated family 🎉 We celebrated with a few Wild Oats Halloween themed cupcakes and cookies! Yum! 😋🎃

Rain overnight and into the morning hours on Saturday, so I waited until the storm had passed before heading out for my run. It didn't end up mattering much though, as it was so humid out, I got soaked anyway, and there were so many puddles that staying dry wasn't really an option! 💦😂 Skies were overcast, but there was some nice color out there, even if a lot of it got knocked down by the rain. Hip flexors a bit tight, I was feeling tired and I'm definitely feeling like I am ready to taper. Can't quite decide if I should try for one last long run next Friday or not, but either way, Hamsterwheel is coming up in three weeks!! Equally excited and terrified by the thought. I guess that is about right 😉😜 (10.2 miles)

There were about 100 canada geese in this pond! Wow!

Aside from a sore arm, Sam thankfully didn't have any side effects from her Covid shot, so despite her best efforts to simply stay put on her bed and on her phone all day 😏, she and I got out for a late afternoon walk just as Ryan was getting back from his long run. Always good to get in a walk and talk with the kiddo 😍 (1.7 miles walked)

More rain overnight and I was still feeling a bit creaky and tired when I woke up on Sunday. Stretched and rolled as much as I could before I headed out, but it still took a bit to warm up. Another muggy, overcast morning and the cart paths were quite soggy to say the least! Decided to hit the roads after I got off the cart paths and ended up doing the Foreside loop. Some nice color en route plus one blue bird and one eagle seen, but a bit too much traffic for my liking, even on a Sunday morning, and I could do with a wider shoulder along Rt 24! 😁 Legs were definitely not the happiest with me, probably due to the road miles, but it is what it is! 40 miles over the past three days, and while I haven't put in any really high mileage weeks during this build-up, I'm hopeful that my various three day blocks and all the 50+ mile weeks will count for something out there on November 6th! 🤞 (20.0 miles)

Eagle in the pine tree

After lunch, Sam and I headed over to Mom and Dad's for a walk down to gelato and back. Always a good incentive to get Sam out for a walk 😂 It was windy but bright with blue skies, and very pretty crossing the swinging bridge. (2.25 miles walked)

And just for fun, here are a few Gigi and the pumpkin photos 😻😹 Such a silly kitty!

I love how wide her eyes are here 😹