End of September

It's been a busy week! Spirit week and Homecoming at school for Sam, the start of the Y swim season, and Kristen coming into town for a visit! Lots of fun and excitement 😊

Monday was the first day of the LRSC swim season so it was back to the Y! Pretty afternoon for a walk around the Bath. (2.4 miles walked)

Tuesday, I just did not manage to get out the door as early as I would have liked, so kept it short and sweet with a road loop around Highland Green. (5.0 miles)

Muggy and overcast on Wednesday morning. Ran the road loop across the two bridges crossing the Andro. Haven't run that route in a while! (6.4 miles)

Kristen flew into town Wednesday afternoon, so we had dinner at Mom and Dad's. It was good to catch up and so good to see her 💗

Friday, I headed out around 6:15 am for a run on the cart paths. Misty and foggy with three deer seen. (5.1 miles)

  

Then it was off to do the typical Friday morning errands before picking up Kristen for lunch to celebrate her birthday at Wild Oats. Yum! 

Meanwhile, Sam was having fun at Eagles Day at school to finish up Spirit week 😁

And then it was off to Enoteca Athena for a delicious birthday dinner out before Sam headed to the Friday night football game. A fun day all around!

Saturday morning, I headed out on the powerlines aroudn 8:00 am. Warm, but smells and is starting to look like fall out there. As is the theme this week, I haven't run this loop for a while, so that felt good. Nice morning. (7.0 miles)

I dropped Sam off to meet up with Lauren and Rohan so they could get their nails done before they headed back to Lauren's house to hang out and get ready for the Homecoming dance, and then after lunch, Ryan and I met up with Mom, Dad and Kristen for a walk out on the trails and down to the ocean at Skofield Shore Preserve. Always love it out here. Such a pretty afternoon to be out. (1.5 miles walked)

The girls had a blast at Homecoming, and looked so adorable all together in their sparkly dresses! 😎😍

Sunday, I headed out into the Cathance for a run. Haven't been out there for a while! 😆 It was nice to be back down along the river, although definitely feeling a bit slow on the technical terrain. The foliage is just beginning to turn and is looking lovely. Happy to be feeling good and to have hit 30 miles for the week. Onward and upward! (6.5 miles)

Later in the morning, Sam and I met up with Mom, Dad and Kristen up at Rocky Ridge for some apple picking. Always so pretty out in the orchard, and of course, the apples and the cider donuts were delish!

We finished up the weekend over at Mom and Dad's for a nice afternoon with the extended family. Good to see everyone, and of course, there was too much food and three different cakes! 😂😋

Muggy

Another week of 5 days x 5 miles. Planning to get back up to 30 next week, but for now I'll take this as a continued step in the right direction. Also, pretty much every run this week included the words "warm" or "muggy." Guess we're in that late September phase of warmth before the cool days of fall truly start.

Took Monday off as a zero day and planned to get up and run early in the morning on Tuesday but instead fell back to sleep for another hour. Oops. So it turned into an afternoon walk kind of day. Warm out. (2.6 miles walked)

Headed out around 6:15 am for a run. Nice morning with a pretty sky as I caught the edge of sunrise. One deer and one great blue heron seen. Warm and muggy. (5.1 miles)

Thursday was a headlamp start at 5:30 am. Muggy and foggy. Ran a loop around Highland Green. (5.2 miles)

Had to be in the office all day on Friday for the auditors, so it was a repeat of Thursday, although along with the mugginess and fogginess, there was some heavy misty falling. One frog hopping across the road in the semi-darkness. (5.2 miles)

The cats woke me up early on Saturday but I spent a few quiet, lazy hours on the couch reading my book before heading out for a road run around town a little after 8:30 am. Muggy. (5.4 miles)

Then later in the afternoon, while Sam was downtown hanging out with Anne and Abby, Ryan and I headed across the street for a walk. Wore my new Courtney Dewaulter hat. Love it 😎 (2.6 miles walked)

This morning, Emily came up to join us for a run on the powerlines. It was fun to catch up as we ran along! The air had that glorious smell of fading hay scented ferns, and the fields are filled with aster and goldenrod. Nice morning to be out and a fun way to wrap up the running week! (5.3 miles)

Autumn

The start of the school year signals the beginning of fall, even if the calendar doesn't quite agree for another week or so. And even more so, wandering out in the woods, on the powerlines, in the gardens at this time of year, the signs are there. Goldenrod and aster dominate the landscape, fields of yellow and white, viburnum berries turning blush pink, that scent that reminds any high school XC runner of fall - slightly sweet with hints of the fall detritus as plants turn brown, kind of indescribable, but it always brings a smile and memories. 

Monday was a late afternoon walk with Ryan to catch up after the workday. (2.6 miles walked)

Tuesday morning, I headed out at 5:20 am for a Highland Green loop. Pretty morning but it is going to take a bit to get used to dark morning run starts with a headlamp again! (5.0 miles)

Late starts on Wednesday are always welcome. Headed out at 6:25 for an out-and-back on the powerlines. Cool and crisp enough for long sleeves! Cool mist rising out on the powerlines. (5.3 miles)

Full zero day on Thursday, and then Friday, I headed over to the dump to run from there before moving on to the morning errands. Legs felt a bit heavy after strength and mobility done before I headed out, but a nice change of pace and place on a pretty morning. (5.2 miles)

We have a number of new board members starting this year at work, so Saturday was a work day, with a 4-hour board orientation event plus a bit of set up and clean up before and after. Started off the day with a road run around town. Felt a bit sluggish in the muggy air. Back at home in the front garden beds, the globe thistle, which had been chopped down by the landscapers in the early spring 😫, is blooming! So pretty. (5.4 miles)

Work event went well, and as Ryan had not yet been out for a run or walk when I got home, we headed across the street for a walk to catch up before I took a shower and collapsed on the couch with my book and a drink 😂😉So much extraverting! (2.7 miles walked)

This morning, I managed to sleep in (until 5:45 😆), went to Frosty's to pick up donuts (glazed pumpkin, the best! 😋🍩), did my strength and mobility, and then finally headed out a little after 9:00 am for a run. Ran along the Heath and through Highland Green. Nice out and felt decent. Happy to have managed to hit 5 days of running this week. Still being conservative and am going to build up slowly but hoping I can be back to my regular base mileage of 40 by October. (5.1 miles)