Thaw & Freeze

The snow had been so lovely with trail conditions the best they've been all winter (at least around home), but alas it didn't last. 

Tuesday was looking like it was going to be nasty with cold rain falling, so I opted to get in a daytime run on Monday as I was working from home. I headed out after dropping Sam at school and ran the powerlines to take advantage of the good conditions. A calm and overcast morning with conditions a bit softer than they had been over the weekend but still quite decent. (6.6 miles)

Lots of bird nests visible this time of year, especially when topped with snow

Squirrel and mouse prints

The weather did indeed pan out to be nasty on Tuesday, so I was happy to take Sam to swim and get in a walk on the track for a bit of movement. Definitely an oddity to be taking her to late practice and to be at the track on a Tuesday, when the direction is the opposite of what I typically would do on Mon/Fri! (2.3 miles walked)

Wednesday, I was planning to get in the afternoon, as I knew things would be way too icy early in the morning, but those plans went sideways when we got a new dishwasher delivered and then the guys were here for 4 hours with a lot of hassle getting the old machine out and leaving with the new machine hooked up but sticking out 4" into the room due to a pipe that would need to be cut, and then with it not even working! GAH! WTF?!? Not ideal. Needless to say, that all caused a wee bit of stress in the house and wreaked havoc on the afternoon and evening plans.😨😬😱

Which meant that Thursday morning saw me up and out at 5:30 into the darkness. I decided trails would be a safer bet and actually found things in decent shape, except for some stretches riddled with postholes and several large iced over puddles. Running the powerlines led me right into the sunrise, which is always neat, and the sky was quite lovely on the return trip. (6.0 miles)

Pre-dawn glow

Friday, I met up with Val, Mindy and Anne for a late morning run over at Bradbury. I did a few errands on my way to the park and arrived fairly early, so figured I might as well check out conditions. Temps were in the 40s and it was bright and sunny. We planned to meet up at Lawrence Road just to ensure options, so I headed up onto the Connector and out for a bit on the powerlines. The field was a bit pockmarked with postholes but once in the woods, things were solid and nicely packed. And wow, those powerlines are wide and well-groomed, which made for some nice running. Got in 3 miles before everyone else arrived. 

Squirrel foraging

Then it was back out to the powerlines with the group. Already a bit softer just an hour later, but still some nice running and so nice to be in the warm sun! We headed across Elmwood and up the big hill, running along the powerlines until we hit the turn-off for the Big Brad connector up to the Royal River trail. No one had been that way, and while there was a thick crust that we could mostly tiptoe along, there was also a fair amount of punching and sinking through at random. That was definitely a slow stretch, but we came across a lot of tracks which is always fun. Once we hit the road, it was back to the lot via the Royal River trail. A fun adventure and always good to catch up and get in some miles with friends! 💗(8.0 miles total for the morning)

Obligatory thermometer and bench shot 😍

Breaking through

Raccoon prints

The river was so pretty

Love the shadows from the trees and the bright blue sky

Sam didn't have practice on Friday night due to a high school swim meet, so we headed over to Mom and Dad's for a yummy dinner and to catch up with them for the evening.

Temps were predicted to be in the 40s all day on Saturday, so I planned on a road run for the morning. I parked over at the Pennelville fields and ran up Pleasant Hill Road, crossing over on Woodside and Rossmore to Simpson's Point. Balmy, breezy and overcast, with a lot of other runners and walkers out enjoying the nice mild morning. Enjoyed seeing a number of bluebirds flitting about and some mergansers in the tidal river down at Maquoit Bay. (10.7 miles)

After lunch, Ryan was set to meet up with a neighbor who does home improvement work so that he could hopefully fix the pipe and hook up the dishwasher, while Sam and I headed over to Mom and Dad's for a walk across the swinging bridge into Brunswick for gelato. Lots of ducks, both mallards and black, and seagulls along the edge of the ice on the river, and some yummy gelato too. Lovely to be out enjoying the slightly unseasonably warm afternoon and to spend some time with my parents. (2.5 miles walked)

We arrived home to find the work on the dishwasher wrapping up, and hurray, now we have a bright, shiny, new, and most importantly working dishwasher!!

Wasn't sure what I was going to find on Sunday morning, but temps had dropped into the 20s so I knew there would be a lot of ice on the pavement after all the melting Saturday so I figured the best course of action was to don my spikes and see what the trails yielded. Very very icy, making for not the easiest or most comfortable to run on, and as a light snow started to fall, it only got slicker. Didn't feel super energetic but glad to get in the miles. Trails were about 60% ice. (8.5 miles)

Found a neighbor's missing YakTrax

Sam and Abby ended up outside, sliding down the frozen hill out back for several hours after lunch, and Ryan went over to Brad for his run, so I had a quiet afternoon in the house catching up on some chores and bills and then doing a bit of relaxing on the couch with my book! I did ponder getting out for a walk, but decided I was happy with what I'd accomplished running/walking-wise this week. 40 run miles and just shy of 5 miles of walking.