Snowy!

Somehow the week has flown by again, and I know we had some weird weather and it was busy but I really need to take better notes apparently 😂 Kendra and Michael joined Ryan out in CO over the weekend for some skiing fun on Sunday and Monday together after Ryan's conference and client work was done, and it looks like they had a blast!

Monday was a busy work day with all.the.meetings and then Y and high school swim practice for Sam, with no walking or running for me.

On Tuesday, I had an in-person board meeting at 5:00 so after I got a little work done on the computer in the early morning hours and then after I dropped Sam at school, I came home and suited up to go out for a run before heading into the office. I headed out on the roads with my spikes in my pocket and then did a small loop in the Cathance. Trails had been reasonably packed by people out over the weekend and the ice along the river's edge was neat looking. Plus, it wasn’t freezing out and and there no wind - hurray! Nice to get out in the woods for a few miles. (6.0 miles)

Mom and Dad nicely took Sam to the Y for swim practice and then home to their house for dinner - thank you! - and put together a to-go dinner for me when I finally arrived around 6:40 pm. We headed home for Sam to quickly get her homework done and then were off to Bowdoin 45 minutes later for high school practice. Ryan got home around 8:00 so he picked her up from practice and I had a chance to shower and get a few things done around the house before heading to bed. 

Snow fell on Wednesday and it was a messy, sloppy, snowy out and back on Highland Green Road in the afternoon for me. (6.0 miles)

Then, the snow changed to rain overnight, and we awoke to a 2 hour delay and everything covered with a thick layer of ice. 

But temps warmed up significantly during the day and by the time we got up to the Y and I headed out for a walk around 3:00, the morning's ice was almost entirely melted and the majority of the sidewalks were clear. (2.0 miles walked)

More snow on Friday morning and an early dismissal due to weather. Got a few errrands done between dropping Sam off and then turning around and picking her up at 11:00, and then finally headed out to run a little after 1:00, at which point the snow had turned to a misty rain. Kinda gross out. Things were slushy wet snow underfoot but it was pretty along the river even if slow going. Spikes on and off all run. (6.2 miles)

Due to early dismissal, Sam's high school swim meet was cancelled so she went to practice up at the Y at 3:00 instead and then we had a quiet evening at home. 

On Saturday, I got up and went to the farmer's market and did some meal prep for the week and got pretzel dough going while Sam slept until 11:00 am! Oh to be a teenager!! 

Ryan had gone out running while we were working on the pretzels and had gone over to run in the Cathance. With his intel and my run still to complete, I headed out around 1:45 pm and decided to do the full loop out in the Cathance, running roads to get there and donning my spikes at the trailhead. Variable, a bit squishy, mushy, sloppy and mostly slow going but fun. Plus a lovely warm afternoon and running along the river in winter with all the ice is always beautiful. Actually felt decent-hurray! Maybe I’m turning the corner after Covid? I can hope! (8.0 miles)

Sunday morning, I was on deck to volunteer over at Bradbury for runner registration at the TMR snowshoe-turned-spike race. It is always fun to have a chance to catch up with people and give back a little bit of time to a group that has meant so much to us! After my volunteer shift was over and the race had started, I said my goodbyes and then headed over to Pennelville, warming up in the car on the way 😂 It wasn't a super chilly morning but standing around on the snow for 2+ hours means cold feet! A little creaky after but got it done. Overcast and damp. Miles 7-8.4 were on muddy, sloppy dirt road, maybe not the best route choice 🤪, but always nice to get out to the ocean at Simpson's Point. (9.0 miles)

We wrapped up the weekend with Mom and Dad joining us for dinner, and then poof, it was time to get ready for another week!

Mid-January

This has already felt like a very long month, even though we are only partway through! Aie.

Monday was a holiday day from school and work, although I did end up working the majority of the morning to play some catch up, as there are a lot of deadlines this month. Finally headed out for a run around 1:00. I decided I would run the cart paths, and although there was a fair amount of tiptoeing around the ice flows that had developed everywhere after all the rain and snowmelt, it was still nice to be on trails. Bright and breezy out. (6.0 miles)

Right before dinner, Ryan headed south to Boston as his flight out in the morning was early, and then later I took Sam to Mt. A swim practice. 

Snow was forecast for Tuesday and all schools ended up having an early release, but Sam already had a planned half day, as it was midterm week and the schedule was set so that there were two exam periods every morning and then early release at 11:00 (12:00 on Wednesday), with afternoons reserved for make-up work. I totally get that it was a good schedule for the kids, but honestly, kind of a pain, as it meant my mornings at work were a big rush to get things done in the three hours I was in the office before heading home. Yes, I know she could have walked home but with the snow on Tuesday and then variable sidewalk conditions and cold weather the rest of the week, picking her up seemed the best option. 

Neither of us were sad when both school and Y practice was cancelled on Tuesday as the snow started to fall more heavily mid-afternoon, and then my 5:00 meeting was cancelled too. Hurray. It meant a slightly more leisurely start to the week and for that I was grateful!

With the snow, I ended up not running on Wednesday morning before sunrise, and then the rest of the day was just  a mess of meetings that didn't give me enough time for anything more than a short walk around the school block around 2:40 before my 4:00 meeting. Mom nicely took Sam to Y swim, and then the two of us headed to Bowdoin later for school swim. (1.74 miles walked)

Thursday, I ended up running during swim practice. The edge of the roads were fine but when I had to be on the sidewalk, things were a bit sketchy. Ran out to take in the view along the Whiskeag. Did a short loop in the cemetary on the way back but it wasn't plowed, so not ideal (6.0 miles) 

We skipped Mt. A practice later in the evening. Sam was exhausted. Adjusting to the pressures of midterms and doing all.the.swimming is a lot, so we ordered pad thai takeout for dinner and went to bed early instead.💗

Had a work training in the morning and then ran around to get the errands completed, so didn't get out for a run until right before 3:00 on Friday. Ran Highland Green and couldn't resist looping down to check out the river. There had been some traffic but definitely not packed and would have been better if I was wearing spikes. Still, always pretty. (6.0 miles)

Then after dinner, it was back to Bowdoin for Mt. A practice, after which the team went into town to get gelato together. I do so love their comraderie. 💗

Sam was pretty wiped, and I had to wake her up at 10:00 when I got back from my run on Saturday morning! Only in the single digits when I headed out at 8:30 am and I wore double layers on my legs and had my hood up. Brrr. Looped around Highland Green once again with another run down to the river. Frozen ice pancakes in the eddy area this morning. (7.0 miles)

Then at noon, it was up to the Y to drop Sam off for her swim meet. She swam great, despite maybe being slightly cranky initially 😉😂 And later, while we ate dinner, we watched the Barbie movie, and I might be late to the party but I really did think it was well done and a great mix of funny, sarcastic, inspirational and all too true. 

Sunday was another chilly morning and I wasn't quite feeling inspired to bundle up and head right out, so instead I sat on the couch with my book and read until Sam woke up, at which point I cleaned the house which was desperately needed, and then had an early lunch. Once Sam headed out to get her nails done with Lauren and Rohan, I headed out for my run around noon. Bright and sunshiney but a cold wind, and I did not quite have the umph I was hoping for. Ah well. January has been a bit of a bust on the running front, I guess getting Covid will do that... It's been 2 1/2 months of chill running since Rim to River, so next week the plan is to crank it back up at least a little bit and get in some short double digit runs. Wish I had been able to do that at the start of the month like I had intended, but oh well. In any event, with trail conditions less than ideal around here, I stuck to the roads and did a wander around Highland Green and Topsham Crossing to wrap up the running week. (7.0 miles)

Meanwhile, out in CO, Ryan was busy with work but also making time for some skiing and having fun out on the snow!

And Gigi was perhaps not quite enjoying the attention from Samantha 😹😹 Look at those eyes!

Snow, Rain and Isolation

Let's face it, the start of the week, spent in the remaining few days of isolation, pretty much sucked. Although, thankfully, I did not feel badly.

I finished watching Ted Lasso. Moved on to Lessons in Chemistry.

Work has been crazy busy with end of the month, quarter and year stuff, not to mention a whole lot of January deadlines for grant reports, etc, and on Monday, I had five Zoom meetings. But, with nothing else to do, I at least got a lot of work done...

I missed getting out to enjoy the snow that fell on Sunday.

I missed Sam's winter chorus concert on Tuesday night.

Sigh.

But grateful that Ryan was able to take videos of the songs Sam sang during the concert and that Mom took some photos for me.

Finally, on Wednesday I was able to leave the loft. Hurray! And Sam continued to test negative, so we'll give thanks for small miracles.

Of course, Wednesday was a sh*tshow in terms of weather. Crazy winds. Rain melting away all the snow. Serious flooding. Not sure who can believe global warming and climate change is not a real thing anymore... Rains finally stopped mid-afternoon and I decided to get out for a slow walk around the school block to get some fresh air. Nice to get out of the house! Felt OK, mostly just a bit sniffly. (1.7 miles walked)

Thursday, I went back to the office. Masked, of course. It was a busy day and I ran out of time and energy to do anything active. 

Friday, I was feeling mostly decent, and decided I would get in a run. Had to go into the office for a short bit in the morning and then headed over to Pennelville. A nice, bright, sunny morning and even though I was a bit creaky and tired, and was blowing a whole lot of snot rockets 😂😂, it was great to be out in the sunshine and get down to the ocean. (6.0 miles)

While I was out at the ocean, Ryan was skiing up at Black Mountain and enjoying the snow up there.

Then after some errands and getting dinner ready, it was off to Bowdoin for Sam's Mt. A swim meet. It has been a lot of fun this season watching her swim and improve her times and strength, and enjoy contributing to the team and having that comeraderie💗 She swam well with PRs in both the 500 and 200 free and solid relay times.

Saturday was another crappy weather day with more rain and flooding. Sam had a LRSC swim meet so after a quiet morning and a quick trip to the farmer's market, I took her up to the Y to catch the bus. Then it was home to get a few things done around the house before I finally headed out for a run around 2:30 once the rain stopped. By then, temps had climbed up into the high 40s and I was totally overdressed 😅even with the wind. Ran out and back on Highland Green Road. Didn't feel great, but then again, this weather is less than inspiring. Still, hoping I can salvage this crappy start to the running year by getting back to some consistency after this Covid interruption so out I went anyway. (6.0 miles)

Sunday was bright and sunny, but very windy. I headed out around 10:30 for a run on the powerlines. This was not the wisest choice - so much ice and so many semi frozen puddles 😂 - but I didn’t want to deal with a windy road run 🫣🤪 Felt meh 🤷‍♀️(8.0 miles)

While this Covid thing has been incredibly annoying and certainly interruptive, I am grateful that neither of us got truly truly sick. And even better is that Sam managed to avoid it. Still, I would be even more grateful to be able to get back into a normal swing of things. Between the holidays and Covid, it seems like things have been slightly chaotic for a while now! 😜

Gigi checking out my new shoes - the Pegasus Trail 4 - haven't worn them yet but looking forward to trying them out!

And Ronnie is most pleased with the new catnip banana 😹😹

Happy New Year?? 😷😷

Well, we started the new year off with a bang.... been a bit of a rough week here, to say the least...

With Sam at Lauren's and Ryan still sleeping, I headed out first thing on Monday morning, January 1st, to get some errands done, and then headed over to Brad to meet up with Val and Anne for a run. It was fun to ring in the new year with a run with friends and, as always, so good to catch up! We ran the east side, as the lot was pretty full when we arrived at 10:30, with lots of people apparently taking advantage of the holiday and the decent weather to get out and walk their dogs and take the kids on a hike and/or to the playground. We only saw one other person on the east side. A bit of tiptoeing here and there due to ice, but trails were in reasonably good shape, although it was weird to be running on bare ground on January 1! No pictures because we were too busy chatting 😂(6.0 miles)

Sam arrived just around when I got home after a fun overnight in Old Orchard Beach with Lauren and Rohan, and as Ryan was not feeling great when I got home, so I told him he should take a Covid test, just in case. He was mumbling about it being a worthless idea, it was just a cold, and them boom, yup, he tested positive for Covid! 😷😨😩😟😖😕After almost four years of avoiding it, somehow he managed to get it. AIE! So it was right upstairs into the loft for him, and masks on for all of us, keeping ourselves as separated as we could, with bedroom doors closed and me moving myself to sleep downstairs on the couch. Sigh. Sam and I tested after Ryan did, and we were negative. And so the paranoia and waiting and worrying began...

Just to be safe, I decided I would work remotely for the week so as not to potentially infect my coworkers, and just be masked all day long. Oh the joys. Sam and I tested Tuesday morning, and were negative again, so she went to school, her orthodontist appointment and practice as usual. Due to the ortho appointment, it was late swim for the day, so I hit the track for a walk. The Y was definitely crowded, guess it’s a new year! (2.0 miles walked)

Still negative Wednesday for Sam and I, and Ryan was feeling a bit better, but work is super busy right now with end of the month, quarter, and year stuff, I was feeling stressed, and I just did not have the energy or bandwidth to run. Thankfully Sam only has Y practice this week as the Bowdoin pool is closed, which is good as I think double practices might have put me over the edge... 😜😜

Got out Thursday morning after dropping Sam at school and ran down to the river and back. Overcast morning with spitting snow. Still stressed but still testing negative, and glad to get out. (6.0 miles)

Ryan was finally freed from isolation on Friday and was feeling markedly better. Hurray! On our side, Sam and I were still testing negative, but I had started feeling a bit of a scratchy throat later on Thursday, and was keeping my fingers crossed that it was from sleeping pretty much right in front of the heater all week and did not mean that I was getting sick... 

Got out for a run on the powerlines after dropping Sam at school. Cold, bright and ankle-busting. (8.0 miles)

After lunch, I headed out to get a few errands checked off the to-do list, picked up Sam from school and then we headed to Bowdoin for her Mt. A swim meet. Ryan and I both wore our masks. It was good to see my parents even if just for a bit, and Sam swam solidly. One of the swim parents behind us said, "That Samantha is a pretty good little swimmer," to which the other responded, "Little being the operative word." Indeed! 😂When I told Ryan and Sam later, they both got a kick out of it. She does look quite small next to the rest of the team, but part of it is just her build and part of it is that she is a freshman and almost everyone else on the team is a junior or senior. Though she be but little, she is fierce! 😍

Unfortunately, that scratchy throat turned more into a cough and some sniffles later in the evening, and yup, you guessed it, on Saturday morning when I woke up, my Covid test was positive. 😨😩😟😖😕 Can we just say, DAMN!?!? Nothing more to say than this just really sucks. So with that, I traded places with Ryan and moved myself up into the loft to isolate. Sam tested negative, so finger crossed!

I have never been a good person to just sit around so honestly, this isolation thing is just no fun. It drives me nuts to not be able to do anything. Especially since I don't particularly feel that sick. The scratchy throat went away by mid-morning on Saturday, with just some sniffles and a bit of a cough remaining. But I sit up here still... sigh. What a way to kick off the new year!