Early May

The start of this week was a wash. And I mean that both literally and figuratively. We probably got between 4" and 5" of rain over the course of several days. It was nuts, we had a huge pond out back with ducks swimming in it, I mean, there was water everywhere. Combine the weather with work being busy and it meant another Wednesday start to the run week. 😜Swim started up this week too but the air handling system in the pool had to be fixed on Monday so there was no practice, and then Sam's stomach wasn't feeling great on Tuesday, so Wednesday was the start of swim too! Guess, we just decided mid-week would be a good time to get going this week 😂😉 

Couldn't resist running down to the river midmorning on Wednesday to check out the water levels. There was water everywhere. Trails were flooding, the riverbanks were overflowing and it was just plain damp out. First towhee and catbirds of the season seen! (6.4 miles)

Thursday afternoon was another run down to the river. Ran a bit further out into the Cathance. Still a fair amount of flooding but things were receding in spots as evidenced by the water lines. Four deer seen. (7.0 miles)

Friday morning I headed over to the field house and ran a nice loop out on the Commons, Coleman Farm and the Landing trails. It was really more like a flower tour with some running thrown in 😂, but the start of the spring ephemeral season just means lots of photos! Gold thread, trillium, wild oats, trailing arbutus, wood anemone, trout lilies, and violets galore. Breezy but nice out. (10.0 miles)

Took Sam up to early swim in the afternoon and took advantage of the nice weather to get in a walk around the Bath walk. Lovely out, and the neighborhood magnolia smelled so sweet! (2.0 miles walked)

Ryan finally had the procedure for his bursitis on Friday afternoon, so that meant he stayed on the couch to let things rest on Saturday, but I was headed up to Riverlands for the day to captain the start/finish aid station. My shift started at 8:00, which meant leaving the house at 7:00, which meant getting up early to get in a few miles before I headed out. Beautiful morning for a road run over the river. There is still a whole lot of water out there! (6.6 miles)

As always, it was great to be up at the race, catching up with friends, and helping and cheering on runners. It ended up getting pretty warm out there with temps in the 70s, and the blackflies had come out, but as long as the breeze was blowing it wasn't too bad. Came home tired from both standing all day and being social, but a lot of fun and I wouldn't miss it! 

Went to bed early night, and then got a late start for my run today, heading out around 9:00. Beautiful morning to be out, warm, bright and windy, with a lot of people, dogs and bikers out enjoying the day. Ran the powerlines and a bit in the Gone Fishing system. Starflower and false Lily of the valley leaves galore, plus trailing arbutus, false ginseng, shadbush, wood anemone in bloom and blueberry bells making an appearance. Had originally intended to go longer, but this ended up being the right distance for the day, as I was still feeling a bit tired from Saturday. Also I really should have brought some water with me, as it had warmed up into the low 70s by the time I was finished, and I was so thirsty! (10.5 miles)