Last Week Before Vacation

The travel, work and a cold caught up with me at the beginning of this week, so didn't get out for a run until Thursday. 😳🫣🤪😂😬🤷‍♀️ Ran out through Highland Green at 5:30 am. Calm and mild with a few icy spots. (6.0 miles)

Out early again on Friday in an attempt to beat the rain (I did!) and get in a run before I had to go into work for the morning. A 5:50 am run through Highland Green. Foggy, dark, windy and mild. (6.1 miles)

Saturday, I got some work done early and then headed out to do a few errands around town and pick up some veggies at the farmer's market. Headed out for a run around 11:00 and ran down to the river. All the rain on Friday really wiped out the snow, leaving some ice underfoot but definitely a fair amount of clear trail and gravel. Ran out to the river and back. A few ice pancakes in the eddy along the Cathance! (6.0 miles)

Got some work and house stuff done on Sunday morning and finally headed out for a run around 12:30. Finally feeling better but didn’t want to push it too much. 10 seemed enough. Windy and either squishy or icy on the trails/cart paths. (10.0 miles)

Then it was off to Boothbay for Gardens Aglow! As usual, some amazing lights, and always fun to walk around and marvel at the creations! (1.68 miles walked)

Toto, We're Not in Maine Anymore

Work remains busy. Started the running week off on Wednesday 😂 with a Highland Green run at 6:20 am. Overcast with slippy sloppy slightly snowy conditions underfoot. (6.0 miles)

Didn't manage to get out on Thursday, so was up REALLY early on Friday for a quick Highland Green run before Mom and Dad picked me up at 6:30 am for the drive down to Boston to catch our flight to El Paso for Morgan's graduation. Started at 4:50 am. Too early 😴 and my headlamp died.🤪 Good thing there are a lot of street lights! (6.0 miles)

Thankfully travel went smoothly all day and we arrived on time. I will admit that by the time we got to the restaurant for dinner after Kristen and Morgan got us at the airport, I was wiped out though! Did rally for a short walk with Kristen, Morgan and Cutter around their apartment complex at 8:30 before heading to bed! (0.33 miles walked)

Got a bit of work done in the quiet of the morning on Saturday and then headed out for a run around 7:15. Ran down the main drag and into some of the neighborhoods. 38 degrees, bright and calm. The mountains were very pretty in the distance but otherwise, honestly not the best running. Their idea of parks is a little square of grass with a paved path around it 😂, nothing is green and it was all concrete. Definitely not Maine! There were some flowers and cacti in bloom though, so those were nice. (6.0 miles)

After I got home and took a quick shower, Kristen, Cutter and I went out for a walk and to stop at the coffee shop for a drink. Cutter got a pup cup! (0.47 miles walked)

Then around 10:00, Mom and Dad came over from their hotel and we drove to one of the pocket parks for a walk (1.27 miles) before heading back to Kristen's for lunch and to relax for a bit until Morgan's graduation later in the day.

Morgan bedazzled her cap, Kristen ordered an amazing cake, and we all enjoyed the ceremony at UTEP. It is a huge school and despite being a December graduation, there were still 4 sessions of graduations! Wow. They did a nice job though and it went by quickly but with enough pomp and circumstance that it felt special. It was nice to be there to celebrate Morgan and her achievement! 🎉🎉

Morgan's boyfriend Alex was kind enough to join me on Sunday morning for a run. We had fun chatting away as we ran out to the sports complex and back, with our route looking like a perfect square with a little string attached 😂 Still a lot of concrete but we did run along a few stretches of red dirt/rock by the side of the road. (6.0 miles)

Then at 10:30, we loaded up the car with Cutter too and headed over to sports complex for a family walk. Walked the loop around the exterior of the complex. Breezy, and a zillion kids playing in a soccer tournament! (1.47 miles)

We stopped for a delicous lunch of pizza on the way back and then did a gift open extravaganza for Morgan of graduation, Christmas and birthday presents all at once 😂 followed up by an early dinner.

After dinner, Kristen dropped us at the airport hotel where we hit the hay early for a 4:30 am wakeup on Monday! Travel went relatively smoothly again, with only one minor delay, and thankfully even the traffic driving home on Monday afternoon wasn't terrible. It was a short trip, but great to see Kristen and Morgan 💗💗

Beginning of December

Work has been all-consuming. With ensuring the new building is ready for clients, moving into the new building, moving out of our old office, trying to keep up with regular day to day work, orienting new staff, it has been a lot. And the running is taking a hit!

This week started with a slippy, snowy run on the roads through Highland Green on Wednesday at 5:20 am. Should have put screws in my shoes! (6.0 miles)

Went into work for a few hours then came home and worked at home as the snow continued through the day. Was up and out at 5:30 on Thursday. Totally dark and clouded over so not even a sunrise for my early rising! Roads clearer than yesterday. Still ran in the middle of the road though! (6.0 miles)

Friday, I had to be at work to meet some of the workers at 7:00 plus some trainings on some of our systems, and then I had a massage with Lauren at 10:30 which was lovely, but it meant that I did not get in a run. I simply couldn't drag myself out the door for a 3rd 5:30 am run. Aie! So it was mostly a day of work with a massage in the midst and some errands crossed off the list before I headed home in the late afternoon.

Saturday I got some work done early and then headed to the farmer's market at 9:00. It was snowing lightly, and so the roads were snowy, slippy and sloppy when I headed out the door for my run around 10:45. Also quite cold but at least it was calm! Ended up with a lot of ice accumulation on my eye lashes! (7.0 miles)

Then it was up to the Y for the first LRSC home meet of the season. Sam had a strong showing and looked good in her events. Always fun to see, although these meets are long with a lot of down time in between events. 

Sunday, it was bright and crisp when I headed out around 10:00 for my run. Mostly road with a few back roads and one short trail section thrown in. Looked the whole run for TMR bingo squares snd didn’t find a one until the last mile when I found some crow wing prints in the snow! (11.0 miles)

Ended up being a fairly light week with only 30 miles over 4 days, no walks and no weights but I'm trying to give myself a bit of grace given that the work situation at the moment. Hoping things will chill out a bit after the new year and I can get back into a better running routine and not be working all.the.time!