Happy New Year!

We headed home from Massachusetts after lunch on Saturday and dropped Sam off at Old Orchard Beach to spend the rest of the weekend with her friend, Lauren, on the way. Then it was home to unpack the presents, start the laundry and attempt to get things organized again before we sat on the couch to eat homemade pizza and watch Glass Onion, the perfect fun movie for the evening. I was in bed by 9:00 pm and I only managed to be up at midnight because my alarm was set for 11:55 pm so I could come downstairs to register for Rim to River 100 when it opened at 12:00 am. Yup, that pretty much sums up New Year's Eve for me! 😂 

I've never been a huge New Year's Eve fan but I do like the concept of a new year, not because I like to make resolutions, but because it's a chance to start fresh, to take on new challenges, to ponder what lies ahead and see what happens in the next 12 months, and let's face it, there's nothing as exciting as a blank training plan waiting to be filled 😄😊😉 Excited to have Rim to River on the calendar as it looks like my kind of race, with new trails in a beautiful place that I have not yet explored, and it is yet another chance to drag Ryan with me to a far-flung location in the name of racing. Sorry, Ry!! 😉 At least it looks like there will be decent food options this time around though 😂

Headed out around 9:00 am on New Year’s Day for a run on the cart paths and down to the river. Warm, with sloppy, soggy, slippy trails and paths and bright sunshine. Tired. (8.0 miles)

Then it was off to Target, the grocery store and to pick up cat food and do some more laundry. Too nice to stay inside all afternoon though, so we headed over to Skofield Shores in the late afternoon for a walk through the woods and down to the rock outcropping to take in the view. Trails were muddy and variable, but the view out onto the bay is always beautiful. Found a few American witch hazel trees in the woods too - we were too late to see the trees in bloom as the petals had fallen off but the pretty little yellow flowers were still evident. Neat. (1.47 miles walked)

Another quiet evening at home, and then up for a run on the roads on Monday morning. Bright and sunny out and right around freezing, meaning all pavement was covered in a thin icy sheen. Lovely. 😑 Still tired.  (8.0 miles) 

Kristen, Phil, Anne and Thistle came over for dinner on Monday night as a final last hurrah before heading back to work and school on Tuesday. It was great to see them and to have the chance to catch up, as we hadn't been able to do so earlier in the vacation! Overall, it was nice to have time off from work and to spend time seeing everyone, but I feel the time around the holidays always throws me out of whack. I'll be glad to get back to routine, even if it is probably going to inevitably be a bit rough this week as we all settle back in.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a bit nuts at work catching back up and tackling the long list of all the end of the month and end of the year things that need to be done. Planned to take Tuesday off from running, and then just did not get up and out in the drizzly dark morning on Wednesday, so instead settled for a late afternoon run around Highland Green. Honestly, it was much nicer out by the time the afternoon rolled around so I was OK with it. Balmy and calm, with a lot of people out walking their dogs and even saw Bill and Ian B on the loop too! Guess everyone had the same idea! (7.0 miles)

Ryan's week had also been crazy and he had a late meeting on Thursday, so I took Sam to swim and got in an evening walk. January always seems like an extra busy time of year at the Y and there was a lot of activity on the track and elsewhere. (2.2 miles walked)

Met up with Anne, Val and Mindy at Bradbury for a run on Friday. Arrived early so ran up to the summit and looped around on Tote for a few extra miles. A fine layer of snow lay atop everything, making it slightly slippery, but it was OK as long as I took it easy. Looped back to the lot just as the ladies arrived. We headed out onto the east side, chatting away as we ran along, and finished up with a trip up to the summit. Snow started falling midway through the run, adding a light layer atop the evergreens. We wrapped up the morning in the parking lot, eating delicious bagels from Maples that Anne had brought for us as a post-run treat. Yum! And great to start off the new year with some time in the woods with friends! (2.8 miles solo + 5.9 miles)

Snow continued to fall and we awoke to a few inches on the ground on Saturday. Just enough snow that spikes were useful and just wet enough that there was a lot of clumping! Headed out into the Cathance and then extended to the Blueberry loop before doing a bit of roads to finish things up. Slow going but beautiful out in the woods with a lot of critter tracks, the roaring river and all the trees covered with snow that looked like icing. (10.0 miles)

After my run, took a quick trip to the farmer's market and then up to Bath to drop Sam at her swim meet. She had a great meet, swimming some fast times! We are proud of her no matter what her times, but it is always nice to see the hard work paying dividends. 

This morning, I headed out early on the roads down to the river. Pretty morning, chilly and calm. Sidewalks were in reasonably clear with the exception of the connector path which was still solid snow and ice, plus some random icy patches elsewhere. (6.6 miles)

Trying to remain consistent and relatively conservative for this month. This was week #5 with a 10 mile run as the long run and I've hit 40 miles 4 of those 5 weeks, so the plan for the rest of the month is to remain in the 40-45 mile range but rachet up the long run to 15 for the final two weeks. It's always a balancing act through the winter, but as I am contemplating a spring race, I do want to ensure I'm building up a bit. 

Then later in the morning, I headed down to Portland to meet up with Emma for a walk on the Pride Preserve trails. Temps had warmed up so it was comfortable being out walking. Pretty woods with some neat little fairy houses tucked along the trails, and so nice to have the chance to catch up  with Emma!! 😍 (4.1 miles walked)

Gigi and Ronnie got several new cat toys in their stocking for Christmas, but of course, it's much more fun to just sit on Ryan's wet, stinky gloves 😹Ah, the cat life!