31 weeks and 3 miles

Well, I'm at 31 weeks today. 9 weeks to go.

To celebrate, I got up and out this morning for a very slow 3 mile run. I think the best way to describe how I felt on the run was "heavy." And granted, I am heavier! I am still moving around pretty well, all things considered, but my belly is definitely getting bigger and bigger and that certainly is slowing me down a bit, especially while running in this muggy weather. But I was out there, and hey, at this point, that's what counts!! :-)

In other news, according to Ryan, I am nesting. I have a big list going for myself of things to do before the little lady arrives, and of course, I have a good sized list for him of tasks to complete. Now really, a lot of things on his list are things that just need to get done regardless, especially as some of them have been in the works for a while, but I really want as many things done as possible before the baby's arrival, as I know there will not be as much time to do things once she is born!

Fun Day

This morning I headed up to Great Glen for the final few hours of the 24 Hours of Great Glen mountain bike race. These mountain bikers are crazy, but what a fun event! Imagine a 24 hour trail running race! There could be solo racers and teams of 2 and 4. Very cool... Anyway, Great Glen does a wonderful job of putting on this race, and everyone racing, volunteering and watching seemed to really be enjoying themselves. Not to mention, as an extra bonus, the weather was beautiful this weekend!

I helped at the timing table, checking people in and out as they came through on their laps. It was a good spot to be in, under the tent, chatting with the racers and other volunteers, and looking out onto the meadow and the Presidentials beyond. After the final racers had come through on their last laps, I headed out onto the trails for a short run. I stuck to the lower part of the trail system, where things were a bit flatter, running out along the meadow, replete with daisies, black eyed susans, thistle and a few remaining lupines amongst the grasses, enjoying the views of the Presidentials set against the blue sky. Then into the woods, where I noted many blue bead lilies and red bunchberries, along with a few red berries on the remaining trillium stalks. The Garmin didn't pick up a signal before I started running, so I am unsure how far I ran, but I was out for 30 minutes, which was good enough for me for the day.

Today's extra: The video below of Joan Benoit winning the Olympic Marathon in 1984 has shown up in a few spots recently, but it is very cool. If you need some inspiration, it is definitely worth a watch!

Three Days in Baxter

View of Katahdin from our cabin, Loon Lodge, on Daicey Pond

We just got back from three great days in Baxter. Now that our self-imposed hiatus from the park is over after finishing the AT last year, we really wanted to get up there this year. With me being pregnant, sleeping on the ground in a tent didn't sound all that appealing, so we figured this was the year to try out one of the cabins we had seen while hiking along Daicey Pond on the trail last year. What a great spot! Perfect...

Photos from our trip can be seen here.

Day 1:
We were up and on the road around 7:15am, fueled by Tim Horton's breakfast sandwiches and coffee, arriving at the gatehouse about 3 1/2 hours later. There, we switched off our phones and the radio, rolled down the windows, and headed into the park, enjoying the breeze and the scenery. We stopped in at Daicey Pond to check things out, but we were too early for check-in, so we headed up the road a bit to Kidney Pond, where we planned to start our hike of Sentinel Mountain. We sat down by the water and ate our lunch in the breeze, smiling all the while. We were in Baxter! What's not to love?

Snowman was the sherpa for the hike, carrying his big pack with extra water, all the food and extra clothes. I was happily equipped with just my Nathan pack and my poles. You might think this set-up was good for fastpacking, but the reality is I was really slowpacking - going as light as possible and as slow as possible :-)


Snowman along Kidney Pond

The trail skirted Kidney Pond before beginning the ascent up Sentinel Mountain. This was a fairly rugged little mountain, but we just took our time and enjoyed the woods. Snowman was a gentleman and assisted me where I needed an extra boost - with my ever-expanding belly, I am not quite as able to maneuver up and over, around and down things as I typically have been. There was one knee-deep stream crossing along the way, but it was so warm and muggy that the cold water and wet shoes felt really good! The trail topped out on some open ledges, complete with a good breeze and a fair number of perfectly ripe and yummy blueberries, not to mention nice views of Katahdin. After a bit of time relaxing on the ledges, we headed back down the way we came for 5.6 miles in 3.5 hours with 1/2 hour or more of stops included.


Me on Sentinel Mountain Ledges. 29 weeks 5 days.

As we pulled back into the parking area at Daicey Pond, it started to sprinkle, but we didn't care - we were in a cabin tonight! Loon Lodge was a great spot, in a wooded area at the edge of the pond. The cabin had two twin beds, a wood stove, a nice porch, firepit and picnic table. As it was raining, we cooked pasta on the porch and relaxed in our chairs, playing Cribbage and reading until bedtime.

Day 2:

It rained through the night, I awoke at 6:30am to clearing skies. I had my breakfast out on the porch, watching the bugs jump on the water and reading until Snowman woke up. Today's plan was to drive up to the far end of the park, where we had never explored. The Tote Road is long. And dirt. And the speed limit is 20 mph. Or less. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get to South Branch Pond campground, but it was a nice ride, with some pretty views along the way. The South Branch Pond area is beautiful and much less-frequented than the other end of the park.


Lower South Branch Pond

We decided on a hike up to South Branch Mountain, with the option for a loop up, over and around the pond. The trail started with a stream crossing, so our already wet shoes were now even wetter, and then proceeded to climb straight up for 2 miles. Everything was wet and slippery, so it was slow going, but the woods were pretty. Lots of red bunchberries contrasting with the lush greenery. As we hit the ridge of the mountain, the breeze picked up, and we had some nice views from a rocky ledge before the summit. We sat on the rocks at the northern summit and ate lunch, debating whether we should continue on with the loop, or go back down the way we had come up. I was feeling good, and so we agreed to continue on.

We were glad we did a short while later, as we topped out on the south summit of South Branch Mountain. There were gorgeous views down onto the ponds and out over the Peak of the Ridges and the Traveler, as well as back towards Katahdin. The summit ridge was like a meadow, with blueberries, bunchberries, indian paint brushes, lichen and grasses blowing in the breeze. Beautiful.


Snowman on South summit of South Branch Mountain

The trail wandered steeply, but dryly, down to Upper South Branch Pond. From there, it was 2 miles back to the trailhead. The breeze that had been so nice up on the ridge was non-existent along the shores. I was hot. And getting tired. Perhaps the loop was a bit much after all, but it was a lovely hike and I'm really glad we did it. We finished off the 6.4 miles in 5 1/2 hours with 1 hour or more of stopping. When we got back to the end of the lake, we dropped our packs and went right in up to our knees to cool, and clean, off. A great way to end a hike!


Snowman cooking up dinner on the fire

Snowman cooked us sausages and veggies over the firepit for dinner, and we took in a great views of Katahdin over the pond in the early evening light, then we read until the light got low enough that it was time to go inside. I slept like a rock, so I think I really did tire myself out!



Pregnant lady and the mountain. 29 weeks 6 days.

Day 3:

We slept in and had a leisurely breakfast before packing up the car. We decided it would be a shame to leave Daicey Pond without taking one of the canoes out. The pond was quiet, with a bit of a breeze blowing on a gorgeous sunny morning. We hugged the shores, enjoying the water lilies and the tadpoles and minnows swimming along in the clear, shallow waters. The canoe afforded us some fine views of Doubletop, OJI and Katahdin over the trees.


Canoeing Daicey Pond

Upon our return, we got in the car and headed to Katahdin Stream campground, where we took a short 1 mile hike out to Grassy Pond. It was a nice mellow morning. And then, it was time to hit the road for home. But what a great trip!

Flora and fauna notes from the weekend: The woods were lush and green from all the rain. Bunchberries and Indian Pipe were plentiful, as were the blueberries up on the ridges. The most abundant wildlife was the many toads, from one the size of my thumbnail to one the size of my hand, as well as frogs that we saw. We did spot one Red-tailed Hawk, as well as a number of sparrows, swallows, juncos and chickadees, but were disappointed with the lack of large mammals seen on the trip. Baxter is prime habitat for moose, but somehow, despite spending time along a lot of ponds and traveling most of the tote road, we didn't see one! Snowman thinks they don't exist :-)

Two 3s

With my low mileage, these posts aren't all that exciting... but I did get out for two 3-mile runs this week. One on Tuesday morning. So muggy! And the second yesterday morning in the rain. Still muggy! I ran down the powerlines yesterday to Topsham Crossing. But I was not alone. I was followed by an angry horde of deer flies. They are nasty buggers! I managed to kill only one, so Snowman is definitely doing better in the deer flies vs. human department than I am. Still, the deer flies were at least offset by the abundant blueberries along the trail. Yum!

We are headed up to Baxter State Park on Sunday. Hurray!! I am really looking forward to it. We have rented a 2-person cabin on Daicey Pond. Last September, during our final miles on the AT, we found ourselves hiking past the white blazes along Daicey Pond and noticed the cabins. We both thought it looked like a pretty neat set-up, and so earlier this spring, I sent in a reservation request. I figured there was no way any of the cabins would still be available, but we got lucky and they sent back a response saying we had gotten a cabin! Should be a lot of fun. We'll be up there for 3 days/2 nights. We won't be getting in any major hiking, but it will be nice to be up there and we're planning on doing some shorter hikes and exploration. Baxter is just such a beautiful place. It is always worth a visit, even at 29 weeks pregnant! :-)

A Day Off

We awoke to low fog and a bit of rain, so it didn't seem like the best day for hiking. Instead, we headed to Broadway Deli for a yummy breakfast and then walked up to Bowdoin to go to the art museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed (ah, the problems with having Mondays off), so we decided to drive to Portland to check out "The Call of the Coast" at the Portland Museum of Art instead. Customers coming into the gallery keep telling me it's a great show, so I've been wanting to check it out. There were some really nice examples from the Monhegan, Ogunquit, Cos Cob and Old Lyme art colonies on display. Of course, as soon as we hit Portland, the skies cleared and it got warm and sunny! Ah well.

After enjoying the art, we headed down to Commercial Street for some lunch. We ended up at Sapporo for some yummy sushi!


Snowman with his Bento box lunch!


My veggie lunch combo. Yum!

After lunch, we decided to play tourist and wandered the streets for a bit, popping into a few stores now and again to cool down. With the sun out, it was in the 80s and muggy, and I was definitely feeling it. But the cool breeze off the water felt really good! After a while, I had had enough and we got back in the car to drive north. We detoured off the highway, and drove out to Mackworth Island to check it out.

The island has a nice little beach and an approximately 1.5 mile trail around the perimeter. There was a great breeze as we wandered along the path, enjoying the views of Portland the harbor along the way. Definitely a nice afternoon walk!


Me at 28 weeks 6 days, on the ledges along the backside of the island.


I had hoped to get in a run this afternoon, but walking around Portland and Mackworth Island, combined with the warm day and the humidity made me rethink my plans, and I sent Snowman out alone upon our return home. I'm not too concerned though, as tomorrow is another day. Besides, I had a great day and lots of fun :-)

And just in case you need another photo from the day, here is one of Ronnie and Gigi looking out back as Snowman grills our turkey burgers. Aren't they cute?!

Muggy 4

Man, it is heavy out! I just got back from a 4 mile run in the Commons, drenched in sweat. And it was not from running quickly! In fact, I was on the extra slow train at 11:30 pace. It was just so muggy! Still, I am glad to have gotten a run in.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a nice day tomorrow as we plan on doing a hike somewhere - destination to be determined tonight. I'm also hoping if there is sun that I can put our wet shoes back out to finish drying. Both of us left running shoes out earlier last week to dry... it didn't go quite as planned, as later in the day, the rain poured down... Needless to say, they have since been left sitting outside through several rain storms. They did dry slightly in the sun yesterday but really need another day of heat and sun to completely dry out. Luckily, we both have multiple pairs of running shoes so no harm is done. Well, except that the other shoes are still wet and hence, sort of stinky :-)

Lazy Week

It was a bit of a lazy week running-wise, due to both the weather and being tired. After such a great run on Sunday with Snowman and Meghan, my run on Tuesday was blah. I had to stop and walk for a 1/4 mile around 2.5 miles - ugh. Today's run went better, and I got in 4 miles out in Highland Green, to round out the week at 10 miles. Not my best week ever, but at least I'm still in the double digits :-)

I am officially now into the third semester, with 28 weeks down and 12 to go. At last week's check-up, I had to take the glucose test (man... that stuff they made me drink was sickly sweet!), and passed with room to spare, my numbers coming in at 97, when the doctors want you to be below 130. Hurray. I am not anemic. The little lady's heart beat was strong. Then there's the fact that according to the doctor's scale I have gained 17 pounds! 17! Where are they? That seems like a lot. I have definitely been getting bigger over the past few weeks, and of course the baby is too, and so some of the weight is there. I guess the rest is in my boobs, butt and thighs. Oh well. The doctor seemed pleased with my weight gain, but it is a bit unsettling to have the scale read so high! I am just not used to it. But it is part of the process, I realize, so I'm trying to go with it :-)

In other news, little Gigi kitty is growing like a weed! Here she is stretched out across Ronnie's perch by the window this morning. So cute... but such a little menace :-)

9:45s

This morning, out on the quiet roads in Massachusetts with Snowman and his sister Meghan, I managed to eke out 9:45 pace during our 3 mile run. Hurray! Thanks guys :-) As seems to be the case most times, it's easier to run faster on the roads, and I haven't run a true road run in a while. Regardless, I was more than happy to see that pace show up on the Garmin! I wonder if I could have run faster if I hadn't been out in the sun at Snowman's Dad's BBQ all day Saturday, running around making sure things were all set, eating cake and pie, and then topping off the day with a plate of fried scallops and onion rings at Woodman's down in Essex! Yikes... But it was a great weekend and lots of fun to see the family! And even better, Ronnie and Gigi were both in one piece when we returned this afternoon :-)

Another 3

I was up bright and early for another 3 mile run. This makes run #4 this week - hurray! The past few weeks I've only managed to eke out 3 runs, and somehow 4 just seems better. Of course, with today's 3 miles, I am up to a whopping 14 miles for the week, but hey :-)

I wanted to do something slightly different, so I headed into the Mt. Ararat trail system. Then I remembered that most of it is hilly. And I was tired. Very tired. So, I got back on the powerlines and headed down toward Topsham Crossing again. The Towhees were singing away, and I saw one deer munching on the greenery. Also picked out two more Wild Lilies amongst the grasses for a grand count of nine, and stopped to eat a few more blueberries. Very nice.

Now if I could just stop my continual worrying about everything under the sun, life would be good :-)

The Smells and Tastes of Summer

This morning I ran down the powerlines for something a bit different. I haven't been past the Highland Green Road turn-off in a while, and I'd forgotten how beautiful it is along the lines. The red berries of the bunchberry plants shout out from amongst the underbrush. I counted seven wood lilies too, their deep orange flowers sticking up from the mass of greenery. The blueberries are ripening, and I stopped along the way to eat a few mid-run. Yum. The sweet smell of ferns rises up in the air. Several goldfinch fly overhead, and the twitter of sparrow, robin, phoebe and towhee calls accompany me as I slowly run along.

I also got out Tuesday morning, but that run was a struggle, so I am happy to have gotten in a good run this morning. The mellow 3 miles were just what I needed today to start the day off right.

Per Request

Mom, these photos are for you!

Here I am headed out for our afternoon run in the Commons. 26 weeks 5 days. Definitely looking pregnant!






We had a nice 5 mile run in the Commons at 11 minute pace. Yes, slow as molasses but it was good to be out and enjoying the afternoon. Then we had a yummy dinner with Nate, Shannon and little Finley. A good day!

In other news, the kitty cats are on the loose together in the house. But it seems to be going relatively well, with a bit of chaos but no major issues. Ronnie is putting up with Gigi's continual attacks of his tail very well, either ignoring her or batting her when he's had enough. She is totally unphased by either course of action, and is just happy to have the run of the house. Here they are, peacefully eating next to each other :-)

Better

The past three days have conspired against me. I have been exhausted and busy. So, no running. But this morning, the sun was shining, I had gotten a good night's sleep, and I was ready to get out and run! OK, it's more like shuffle these days :-) but regardless... I headed over to the Commons and enjoyed a 4 mile run in the woods. I did get smoked by one tall, skinny runner-type, but other than that, all was quiet.

Flora and fauna notes: I did scare up a beautiful Great Blue Heron fishing in the first pond, and noticed that some of the blueberries are beginning to darken in the pine barrens. Yum!

Hurray for the Sun!

It felt like summer today! It was sunny. And warm. In fact, after all this dreary, rainy, damp weather, it felt downright hot. Of course, we didn't help matters by doing our run at noon. Snowman yet again nicely accompanied me, despite my slow pregnant lady pace. We headed to the Commons, where luckily most of the run was done in the shade. However, I still managed to drain all the gatorade in my hand-held bottle and work up a sweat!

I am sure the heat had something to do with my extra-slow pace, but I also am certainly feeling bigger. As Snowman's mom said yesterday, you are definitely pregnant now! Yes, the stomach is finally sticking out more than the boobs :-)

Flora and fauna notes: The woods were pretty quiet being the middle of the day, but we were treated to a sighting of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers flying from one tree to the next in the woods. Neat! Perhaps there is a nest in the area?!

Cathance River Trail Run

Unfortunately, I had to work today. However, at least we were starting the day a bit later than usual, in an attempt to miss the Wiscasset 4th of July parade chaos going through town. This meant that I got to sleep in a bit and get in a good run. Hurray! Snowman nicely agreed to join me on a run in the Cathance River preserve. Of course, I'm pretty sure the only reason he came with me was so that he could be sure I didn't get hopelessly confused out on the singletrack or fall off any of the slippery bog bridges :-) Regardless, I was happy to have the company!

We headed out from the quarry over into the Heath, and then down to the river,which was running high and fast, and looked like a flowing stream of coffee with cream. Such a pretty section of trail. Of course, I could tell that I've been doing most of my running in the past few months either on pavement or in the Commons! The twisty, turny single track with its little bumps slowed me down quite a bit, and I definitely felt like I had lost a bit of my "trail sense." Ah well. I was really happy to be out there, enjoying it! We got in a little under 5 miles in an hour, and despite the slow pace, I felt pretty tough for being out on those trails at 25+ weeks :-) Of course, I was also muddy and pretty soaked by the time we finished, as it was another 98% humidity morning!!

Slugs Everywhere

Same boring old loop.
Slow and steady in the rain.
Ugh. It's slug city.

My creative contribution for the day :-)