Last Week of Summer & Firebird 50k

If you're a parent, a student or you work at a school, the last week of summer is the last week before school, no matter what the calendar says! And so it is that we are counting down to another first day of school, high school this time around.😩😱When Sam was a baby and toddler, the phrase the day are long but the years are short was so true, but it doesn't even apply these days. It just all zooms by. Crazy.

Monday, Ryan and I got out for a late afternoon walk around the school block, just for some movement for the day. (1.7 miles walked)

And although I said I really needed to be working on my early morning running as the school year rushes into view, I failed miserably at that this week. 😂😐😧Sigh. So Tuesday's run was an afternoon run on the powerlines once I got home from work. So many blackberries, and the colors of late summer/early fall out there. (6.0 miles)

Worked at home on Wednesday, so with that extra flexibility, I didn't get out for a run until around 10:30. Beautiful out. The powerlines are awash with aster, viburnum, blackberries, goldenrod. And the iron weed is in bloom now out front too! (8.0 miles)

Took my spreadsheet work to the couch in the afternoon so that I could watch the events of the World Championship. That men's 1500 finish was pretty crazy! Fun to be able to catch some of the events live!

Took Thursday off from work, and Sam and I went out to lunch and then down to Freeport to do some school shopping and then to Target to pick up some final school supplies. But first, I took advantage of having a free morning and met up with Val for a run at Pineland. Yay! It's been a fun summer with a lot of good adventures, but there have not been many runs with the ladies, so it was nice to catch up with Val! 😊 Pretty morning, but definitely a bit of humidity back in the air. (6.0 miles)

Woke up to this little visitor (grey true frog) on the back slider on Friday morning. Adorable! 😍

I didn't do any sort of racing last year in advance of No Business 100, and I think it worked out OK, but I decided this year that I'd try to find a 50k to run, just to get in some "racing" practice. Ended up signing up for the Firebird 50k, which is nice and local - just down in Windham - and was very affordable. Perfect for a no pressure situation and a way to get in a supported long run! 

With that coming up on Saturday, there was no running on the calendar for Friday, and as it rained all day long, I had no regrets! Got some errands done around town in the morning, did some cleaning and laundry, got myself organized for the race and then just relaxed for the rest of the day. Kind of nice. 

Saturday morning was a very early wake-up, with bib pick-up starting at 6:00 am. I didn't really need to get there so early but I prefer not to feel rushed, and it meant I was able to position my car right near the start/finish so I could set things up in the trunk as my "aid station" in between laps. The route was a 5k loop followed by 3 10-mile laps that were not quite out and backs, but not really loops. Definitely long on miles and no shortage of tough ones at that!

It was heavy and humid to start, with the early morning fog just having lifted, and it pretty much stayed that way all day. Lots of roots and so much mud. Definitely nothing fast for me about the course! 😂🤪 I had not ever run on the Lowell Preserve trails and was kind of surprised by the technicality of them. It was a small race and we all got spread out pretty quickly, although I did run with one guy, Jared, for a while, which was nice as we were able to keep each other on track in a few spots. 

I was soaked through by the time I came back to the parking lot after 13 miles. Emma had nicely brought the kids over to say hello and cheer, which was so sweet, although I was already feeling the effects of the conditions so I might not have been too cheery back 😉😬 and I definitely wasn't thrilled heading out on the 2nd loop. I knew by then that it was going to be a long day. I went back and forth in my head about if it was necessary to keep going for lap #3, but of course even though I texted Ryan "This sucks." I also said, "Headed back out." 

Photos by Expedition Images

For the final lap, I put my earbud in and listened to a podcast out on the "out." I was definitely doing a whole lot more walking. I wasn't feeling badly but it was just not an ideal easy running course and it just got harder and it got muckier as the laps went on. I had leapfrogged with Jared here and there throughout the loops, and at the final turn-around at the aid station at Blackstrap Road, he was there, so we fist bumped and said "final 5 miles!" and then I took off up the hill before he did. But I walked, as I was trying to eat down my bag of chips, and he eventually caught up, and we were running a close enough pace that we just ended up staying together the rest of the way. Honestly, it was a great break from just thinking about the miles and we had fun chatting away about marathons and his first 100 next month. Plus it did give me a boost and a reason to push a bit at the end, and even though I hadn't realized it, that helped us as we ended up finishing in just under 8 hours. Definitely took longer than I anticipated but a solid day. One red eft seen, a lot of mushrooms, a whole lot of sweat and some very muddy wet shoes! 

I certainly was not racing this one, but all in all, a well done, well marked race, with some great volunteers and good energy, on some new to me trails and a fun (in a type-2 way) way to spend a day. (33.1 miles)

RESULTS (4 of 7 women; tied for 10th with Jared out of 21 finishers)

Felt reasonably decent afterwards and even managed to eat a full dinner a few hours later, so I am calling it good in that regard too!

Had a quiet Sunday, but we did get out for a late afternoon walk with Mom and Dad in the Cathance before dinner at our house. A whole lot of mosquitos 😱🦟 and fairly mucky/muddy. but good to get out and move for a bit and my legs really felt fine. (1.1 miles walked)

Fun with Friends

Ryan was still away at the beginning of the week, and Sam was tired from all her activity last week and over the weekend, so it was a mellow start to the week other than work being busy. Got out Tuesday for an afternoon walk around the school block, just to get in some movement for the day. (1.7 miles walked)

With school starting next week 😱😱😱, I really need to get back in the routine of some early morning running, but that did not happen on Wednesday. 😂 Instead, since I was working at home, I did some work early, headed to the grocery store right after it opened at 7:00 (the best time to shop as no one is ever there!) and the finally headed out for a run around 10:30. Did a lollypop out and back on the powerlines. Seriously, so many blackberries. They were really impeding my progress 😂😋 Nice out if muggy. Definitely looking late summer out there with the blackberries, viburnum berries starting to turn blush colored and the asters. (6.0 miles)

Did a bit of a better job on Thursday, getting out at 6:15, so I'm getting there! So humid and no air movement at all. I really could use some cool crisp weather! One deer seen. (6.0 miles)

Friday, I managed to get out at a reasonably early hour as well, as I needed to get into town to pick up donuts at Frosty's and hit the farmer's market for berries, corn and pie before we headed over to Chalk Pond for the weekend. With a twist this year, as Sam and I were picking Lauren up on the way over to join us for the weekend so that Sam could have a friend to hang out with and not just have to listen to all of us oldies reminsce about the good old days 😂😉😛

Taking this week as a down week, so I just ran the Highland Green loop. 6:30 am and super humid. So heavy! (6.0 miles)

Then all that humidity released itself into the atmosphere, with the rain starting as we were picking up Lauren around 10:15. And then it was truly horribly pouring, so much so that we were going 20 mph in a 70 mph zone because you literally could not see more than 5 feet in front of you. Not ideal driving conditions, let me tell you. Never been so glad to see blue sky in my life once it finally reached us near the Hookset Commons Man rest area. Whew! And then it was beautiful the rest of the afternoon, and after a bit of time with the dogs, Sam and Lauren got out on the water to paddleboard and float around, while Neal, Kendra, Ryan and I sat on the deck catching up. 

How did she get so grown up?! 😭

Bonding with Bodi 😅😆

Then there was some dancing, and a dog walk around the pond with Neal while we waited for everyone else, and the pizza for dinner, to arrive. So many squished red efts along the road 😪😟 but we did manage to save 6 of them along the route. (1.2 miles walked)

I do love these little guys 😍

The evening was pretty chill, with everyone hanging out inside or in the hot tub or by the fire. Temps were dropping nicely, so I stayed inside. I didn't quite bring enough layers for a breezy evening in the high 50s! But I am definitely not complaining. So nice not to have it be humid!!

Saturday morning, I met up with Vicky and Laurie for a run/hike adventure. A nice cool breezy morning. Still humid but it felt so much better with cooler temps! We ran around the pond and then up on the trails through the Stoney Brook Preserve to Baker Hill Road, which had some decent climbing and descending and offered us some pretty views out over the countryside to Sunapee.

From there, we cut through on an old, muddy ATV road and across the street to climb Sunset Hill. A stout 1 mile climb, with a nice view of the lake at the top.

Then it was down the backside and along another old grassy, overgrown trail/road to a long hilly road climb where we eventually intersected with the Fisherfield Trail. Lots of mushrooms and red efts, a lots of janky side trail and not a lot of running in the final few miles 😂 but overall, a lot of fun to run with friends and catch up along the way! (9.6 miles)

Beautiful patch of violet coral mushroom

The rest of the day was spent relaxing in and out of the house, and in and out of the pond and the hot tub for the girls 😉😊before I walked with them up to the community game room and then continued back the long way around the pond. No living red efts on the pavement today. Maybe too cool out? (1.4 miles walked)

View from the far end of the pond on my walk

Too cold to eat outside or even hang out by the fire pit, so we all gathered around in the kitchen/living area eating, drinking, laughing, chatting and enjoying the evening. There was even a Scotch toast to Doug, as he couldn't join us this year. Definitely not my preferred drink, that's for sure! 😂😝

Sunday morning, I was the first one up and I headed out solo for a run. Another cool, breezy morning. The temps in the high 50s felt soooo nice! I ran without a pack, as the loop I was doing was a lot more road than Saturday, and even though the mileage was pretty similar, it was much quicker! Ran the shortest way over to Stoney Brook Preserve and then all the way down Baker Hill Road to 103, where I ran down to and along Blodgett Landing along the shores of Lake Sunapee. The road from the lake then wove up and along the shoreline with some stout hills. Once back at 103, I cut across to climb up the backside of Sunset Hill, where surprisingly, there were quite a few people out hiking! Weird. But I had the summit to myself, and didn't run into anyone on my way back down to Chalk Pond Road. Then a mile of pavement back to Neal and Kendra's. A fun loop and felt good. (9.3 miles)

Lake Sunapee

Gold spindles

Look at this one, so little! 💕

When I got back from my run, everyone was coming over for breakfast, so we hung out for a while before people peeled off for their own activities. The girls got back out on the paddleboards and then in the hot tub for a while before lunch, and then it was time to head home. A really fun weekend, and always so good to spend time with friends! 💕

Busy But Quiet

Is it possible for a week to be busy but also quiet? A weird combo perhaps, but that is how I'd characterize this week. Ryan headed out of town on Wednesday for a work trip, and Sam had a lot of things on her social calendar catching up with friends, so there was a lot going on but I also ended up having a fair amount of time to myself at home. Like I said, busy but quiet. 

Monday was a zero day and Tuesday, it poured all day until around the time I finally headed out for a run around 4:00 pm. But there was still so much moisture in the air and it was so heavy, it didn’t much matter anyway. Still finished soaked. Started on the roads and then hopped on the cart paths once I saw the empty golf course parking lot. Some cool mushrooms, lots of puddles and one deer. (7.0 miles)

Dropped Ryan at the airport on Wednesday morning and then headed home to work the rest of the day. Sam went out to lunch and to see the Barbie movie with Anne, Thistle and Diane, and said it was fun. And yes, of course they all wore some sort of something pink! 😎

It was too nice to stay inside all day, so at 11:30, I headed out for a walk around the school block. Warm. (2.0 miles walked)

I had taken Thursday off thinking Sam and I might get in some sort of mother-daughter day fun but it turns out she had other ideas 😂😂 and ended up having Rohan over in the afternoon and then I dropped the two of them plus Lauren off at the Topsham Fair for a few hours in the early evening. 

So instead, I got some things crossed off my to-do list and got in a nice run out in the Cathance without having to rush out super early. Headed out around 8:00 am. It was nice out but still pretty humid. The river was roaring with all the recent rain. Humid and rainy, this is the theme of the summer here! 💦 Some cool mushrooms, and so many blackberry stops - I just can't resist! (8.0 miles)

Friday, I headed across the street for some hillwork on Mt. Ararat. Not the strongest session, but some hills are better than no hills, right? Nice morning, if still a bit humid, and the trail stretches were slick and squishy. (8.3 miles)

While I took the cats to the vet and got some chores done, Mom and Dad took Anne and Sam to Reid for some beach time. I think they got the better end of the deal 😂 and they had a lot of fun in the water too!

Sam was invited to join Lauren and her parents for a day at Funtown Splashtown on Saturday, so I didn't start my run until after they had picked up at 9:15. Definitely a late long run start for me! I meandered around on the roads and trails around home. Nice morning, warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze. Felt decent although too many stops and also just can’t pass up the blackberries 😂😋 with a longish stop at home at mile 18 as I’d run out water two miles back. Decided to ditch the pack at that point and ran the final four close to home. Happy to have finally surpassed 20 miles in this training cycle! Two bluebirds, one deer, one snake, coral and black trumpet mushrooms and a boatload of blackberries. (22.1 miles)

Sam stayed with Lauren's family at their OOB condo overnight, so Mom and Dad invited me to join them for pizza at Nomad with gelato for dessert. Yum! A nice evening with them 😊

Got up early and out to the door so I could start my run over at Bradbury at 6:30. I ran a loop of the Breaker as a course check and then looped around on the mountainside on the trails I enjoy more than the Boundary and South Ridge 😉to get in some additional miles, finishing up with a final out and back mile on the east side to round things out. Trails were really sloppy and slick, with the air soupy, saturated, stagnant. No air movement and a lot of deer flies. Lots of mud, slick roots, and mushrooms. After taking a few miles to warm up, legs felt surprisingly ok. Happy to round out the week with 40 miles over 3 days. (10.0 miles)

Then I helped at the start/finish aid station and had fun catching up with Emily while we cheered on runners and filled out water cups! After our shift was done, it was nice to have the chance to chat with people as they finished up their runs for a bit before heading home.

Sam got home in time for us to join Mom and Dad for dinner and then we wrapped up the weekend with a stop at DQ 😉🍦

And to finish up the post, your Gigi shot of the week... Sam was trying to organize her string for her bracelet making, but Gigi decided it would be better if she just lay down on top of it all. Silly Gigi 😹