Back?

The left leg felt much better this week. Not quite 100% as there is definitely some tightness remaining in the glutes and up near the hamstring insertion point, so I was mindful and did not push it, but doing my stretches and excercises, and at least I am feeling like I am headed in the right direction and am back on track after this set-back. Definitely not where I would like to be mileage-wise but not wanting to be totally stupid and jump right back to 50 mile weeks. This was a good step-up with 31 running miles plus almost 9 walking miles though. 

Got out Monday for a late afternoon walk around the school block in between meetings. So nice out! (1.75 miles walked)

Tuesday, I was out a little after 5:30 am for a run around Highland Green. Misty, foggy morning with three deer seen. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday, I was working from home so after dropping Sam off at school, I headed over to run a loop through the Commons to see how the ladyslippers were coming along. Not quite time yet, though, as there were only about a dozen fully out. But lots of other spring flora 🌸 - starflower, fringed polygala, gold thread, wood anemone, painted trillium, rhodora, wild cucumber - and a whole horde of hungry mosquitos too😬🦟, plus bobolinks chattering in the Pennelville fields, which is always so fun to hear! Found a new stretch of Landing trails. Will have to go back out and explore a bit more, but didn't have the time nor want to push it with the mileage. Warm and very muggy. (6.0 miles)

In other flora news, the columbine is blooming out back 😍😍

Had to get some work done on Friday morning and wanted to get the grocery shopping and other errands out of the way early before the long weekend, so I didn't get out for a my run until around 10:15. The sun was warm, temps were in the low 70s and it felt pretty roasty toasty out there!! Lots in bloom - bunchberry, chokeberry, Ladyslippers, false lily of the valley, rhodora, star flower, jack in the pulpit and some little baby green blueberry berries! - and the air smelled sweet with all the flowering bushes and brambles. (6.0 miles)

New section of trail going around the clearcut

Baby blueberries starting to form!

I picked Sam up at school and we headed over to Mom and Dad's to join Mom for a walk down to get gelato. The perfect treat on a warm afternoon, but even with the breeze it was almost too hot! Good to see Mom and have a chance to catch up now that she's recovered from her nasty cold, although Dad finally succombed and so did not join us. (2.5 miles walked)

Sam headed down to Old Orchard Beach with Lauren and family on Friday evening after dinner, so it was just Ryan and I for the weekend. I got up early on Saturday and got in a road run around town (6.4 miles) and then we headed to Dutchman's for delicous breakfast sandwiches. Yum!

It was such a beautiful day, we headed out for a long walk later in the morning. Knowing it was a holiday weekend and that there was likely to be a fair amount of traffic plus people at the usual haunts, we chose a spot a bit off the beaten path down in Arrowsic, taking the trail out to Bald Head and Squirrel Point Light. We took the trail out to Bald Head first, which was narrow singletrack ending in a viewpoint atop some granite rocks overlooking the river. Then we backtracked and took the shorter, must wider, more well-used trail out to Squirrel Point Light, which was really pretty neat. It was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods on quiet trails with some pretty river views and the 1898 lighthouse along the Kennebec. Woods were awash in starflowers and fringed polygala with one patch of a dozen ladyslippers, some false lily of the valley and dwarf ginseng. Also an insane amount of inchworms hanging everywhere. We kept picking them off ourselves, probably two dozen at least off each of us, and we could hear them crunching on leaves off in the woods. (4.5 miles walked)

Finished up the day with a yummy Danielle-version "cobb" salad and Lord of the Rings.

Sunday, I headed out on the powerlines around 8:30. Another nice morning, and relatively cool. Felt tired though. (6.1 miles)

Got the house cleaned, relaxed on the couch for Lord of the Rings movie #2 and then headed downtown around 4:00 for a drink at Moderation and early dinner at Nomad. Their pizza really is delish, and oh my, the cannolis! Yum! Candied orange and dotted with little bits of chocolate - they were so good! And because Monday was a holiday, we turned on Lord of the Rings #3 when we got home too and I even stayed awake through the end 😂😂

Greening

Everything is just popping around here, tree leaves that neon green of early spring and so much in bloom. It is a lovely time of year to be outside enjoying it all. This week was a slow return to running. The hamstring is feeling much better but there is still some discomfort and tightness up near the sit bone and into my glutes, so not completely back to normal but I was able to run a few days so I am taking that as a win! And for that, I am grateful. It was good to get to some of my favorite haunts and enjoy all the flora emerging int he woods 💗

Monday was a walk around the Bath block during swim practice. A nice afternoon to be out. (2.25 miles walked)

It is light so early now! I headed out on Tuesday at 5:30 am for a run to test things out and sunrise was already long over and done with. I did an extended run around the block, adding on holes 1 & 2 as I ran through Highland Green so I could check out the one spot where the hobblebush is always in bloom. It did not disappoint. Saw one turkey, one deer and blooming rhodora down in the dip in the powerlines. Love that magenta. 🤩 Overcast and spitting rain but I really didn’t care. Just happy to be able to get out for some miles although there is still some discomfort so I am going to have to be careful for a bit. Also the bleeding heart in the garden is looking lovely. (4.0 miles)

Wednesday was late start, so I didn't head out until around 6:20. Headed down the powerlines. Blueberry bells in bloom, fringed polygala, rhodora, wood anenome, shadbush, some trailing arbutus still hanging on and so many jack in the pulpits along one of the wooded stretches. Always fun to see. Leg felt so so. (5.1 miles)

Meanwhile, the garden out back is in full swing wih the bleeding heart looking amazing this year, foam flower in bloom and some buds on the columbine. 😍

Ryan headed over to Chalk Pond with Nate on Friday afternoon, and Dad dropped off some soup for us (yum!), which we enjoyed while watching Survivor. 

Knew I couldn't push it too much this week with the running, but after Thursday and Friday off, I was back to it on Saturday morning. Decided to run from the dump parking lot and hit some of the Gone Fishing trails as well as the powerlines. Overcast, muggy and spitting rain. Very green and lots of good flora - first blooming starflower of the season! Hamstring better for sure, still a bit of discomfort near the sit bone. Going very easy. Bobolinks chattering in the dump fields 🤩🤩🤩🤩 (5.1 miles)

After lunch, Sam and I headed out to do some summer shorts shopping for her and then I picked up thai for dinner. Yum! Meanwhile, Ryan was having fun over at Chalk Pond with the boys and the dogs 😊

Another rather damp morning today with a lot of moisture in the air but no rain. Did my stretches plus some weights, and headed out a little before 8:00 am. The Heath is aglow with magenta from all the rhodora in bloom, bunchberries are emerging, and even saw some mushrooms, plus a lot of slugs! Was hoping I might have some red eft sightings but not today. (6.0 miles)

Wishing I could say the hamstring is 100% but that would be a lie. Still, it is much improved. I am grateful I was able to get back to running this week, and will continue to work towards getting back to full strength.