Busy Week

A busy week this week. Swim practice for Sam started back up, Ryan headed to Nashville for a work conference on Wednesday and was gone through Sunday, I captained the start/finish aid station at Riverlands for 8 hours on Saturday, we did some dress shopping for Sam's 7th grade dance next week and I even managed to get some decent running in too. Not much sitting around this week, that's for sure!

Monday was the return of the swim walk with swim practice for Sam starting back up again. Really nice afternoon, sunny and warm too. Lots of nice blooming plants and trees as I walked my loop through the Bath neighborhoods. (2.0 miles walked)

Waited until Tuesday afternoon to get my run in, and it was definitely warm out! Ran the cart paths, in reverse this time, and enjoyed the carpet of bluets and violets in the grass, plus the vibrant fringed polygala and the hobblebush in full bloom. Legs didn't feel super spry but it was good to get out. (6.0 miles)

The hobblebush has progressed a lot in a week!

Wednesday was a beautiful day but it ended up being a zero day. I even sat inside in the bleachers for the full swim practice, which is totally fine, as I was taking Thursday off from work and knew I'd be getting out for a run! Forecasts were calling for things to warm up significantly in the latter part of the week, and I could definitely feel it on Thursday morning as I headed out from the field house at 8:30 am to run up on the Crystal Spring Farm trails. It was a bright, blue sky kind of morning and I saw a lot of things blooming trailside. Always so fun! Wild oats, goldthread, wood anemone, blue bead lily and the first few ladyslipper leaves starting to unfurl. Out in the fields, the blueberry bells were coming out too. The legs weren't quite on task and felt a bit heavy, but otherwise a lovely morning, and as I had the day off, I can hardly complain! (10.0 miles)

Blue bead lily

Ladyslipper unfurling

Love the trail through the blueberry fields

The rest of the day was filled with my typical day off sort of errands and getting stuff done around the house, and then it was up to the Y for swim practice. Couldn't stand to sit inside for a second day in a row, so got out for a mellow and very warm afternoon walk on the streets of Bath. Walked down to the library to check out the park and Zorach's Spirit of the Sea. The pond around the sculpture was not yet filled, but she looked regal nonetheless. (1.8 miles walked)

Friday, I headed over to Bradbury after dropping Sam at school. Foggy and very humid out, and when the fog burned off and the sun came out, the bugs came out too! Didn't feel super spry but it was a pretty morning to be out in the woods. Ran out onto the connector to the powerlines and everything was so green and so much was in bloom! First ladyslippers of the season plus a pretty patch of dwarf ginseng, indian cucumber, bunchberry and much more. (8.0 miles)

Foggy summit

Green carpet

Dwarf ginseng

Ladyslippers 😍

Sam had her 12 year check-up after school and she is now officially over 5 feet! 5' 1/2" to be exact 😉😊😆 After the doctor's appointment, we headed over to Mom and Dad's for dinner and Sam spent the night, since I was headed out early on Saturday to get up to Riverlands for my volunteer shift during the 100. 

I actually managed to get in an early run on Saturday morning, enjoying the calm, quiet morning along the Androscoggin as the sun rose. Very pretty, with bird chirping and the sweet smell of flowering trees in the air. (7.0 miles)

Then it was off to pick up donuts for my volunteer crew and up to Riverlands for the day where I was aid station captaining for the start/finish aid station from 8-4. Although it was nice out in the early morning hours, the day warmed up quickly and it became seriously hot! Nothing like going from typical early spring weather in Maine to 90 degrees without any sort of acclimatization for the runners. Whew! It was a tough day out there, with a lot of runners dropping and many slowing down significantly from their original goals. And honestly, even though we were under the tents, it was uncomfortable just standing around. Whew! 

Despite the crazy temps, it was great to chat with friends, help and cheer on the runners and just enjoy the race atmosphere. Always good to be able to volunteer and give back just a little bit to the community we are so proud to be a part of! Putting on this race is a huge labor of love and it is amazing to be a small part of it. 8 hours of standing around sweating in a parking lot, helping sweaty runners, talking running, cheering on and consoling runners, and giving out lots of water and ice - it was a fun if tiring day! Huge props to those who suffered through the heat and took on this challenging course, even if they didn't make it the entire 100, and to those who did, congrats, you are seriously tough cookies!! 

Where I hung out for 8 hours for fun on a Saturday 😂😃😎

While I was melting in a parking lot, Mom, Dad and Sam headed down to Five Islands for lunch and then over to Reid for a walk on the beach. Sounds like a good way to spend a warm May day to me!

Grateful to Mom and Dad for hanging out with Sam for the day and for feeding us dinner once I got home. I definitely needed a good meal after only snacking all day! Then it was home for a very early bedtime. 😴😴

As I had put off my long run until Sunday, I did have to get up and out early so that I would be back in time to pick up Sam's friend Lily and take the two of them dress shopping for their 7th grade dance. And so it was that I was up and out at 6:30 am, running the cart paths and down to the river and then out along the powerlines. Felt surprisingly decent, especially given 8 hours of standing on my feet on Saturday and after having felt not the best on my runs on Thursday and Friday. Temps had moderated, and it was a nice, misty, relatively cool if muggy morning to be out wandering around on the trails. First rhodora and jack in the pulpit of the season, plus a pair of canada geese with goslings 😍😍(15.0 miles)

It was a quick turnaround after my run so that we could pick up Lily on time for dress shopping 👗💃 It was cute to see the girls shop and try on dresses together. 😊 They had a lot of fun, and thankfully both of them were able to find something at TJ Maxx so that was even better! And of course, we couldn't drop Lily back off at home without stopping for ice cream at Fielder's Choice 😋🍦 A solid Sunday morning!!