Mellow Four

I headed over to the bike path this morning for a mellow four mile run. After the 12+" of snow we got over the past few days, the roads are still a bit of a mess, and more importantly the shoulders have sort of disappeared, at least for the moment. And while going out for a snowshoe run in all this deep powder might have been fun, I'm trying to at least give myself the benefit of mostly fresh legs for Sunday's Mid-Winter Classic, so I'm keeping the next few days pretty mellow.

I had the bike path all to myself, well, except for the friendly Brunswick Parks & Rec guy who was driving up and down the path, plowing and clearing things out. In fact, I think I saw him about 6 times over the 4 mile out-and-back, since he was working hard to clear out the stretches of the path that back almost right up to Rt. 1. He had done a great job already though! The path was down to a nice even, packed layer of snow that crunched beneath my feet. I didn't even need screw shoes. The new pair of 282s I was wearing worked perfectly! I've been wearing the 282s for both my road and trail runs these days, which means the pair I wore for Stonecat has been racking up some decent mileage. Last night, I asked Ryan to make that pair into screw shoes, since my beloved 315s, which I had been using as screw shoes, really needed to be retired - they were over 500 miles and the heel fabric on both shoes had some serious holes in it. I realized the potential folly of this decision this morning, when it occurred to me that turning my broken-in 282s into screw shoes meant I was likely going to be wearing new shoes for the 10 miler, but luckily, there isn't too much break in time for the Inov-8s!

It was a beautiful morning, bright and sunny, and without any wind, and a nice way to start off my birthday. Although, I have to say, I am not quite sure how I feel about now officially being closer to 40 than 30. How did I get to be so old?! I don't *feel* old... :-)

Flora and fauna notes: I saw a huge flock (40 to 50 birds) of Waxwings as I was nearing the end of the run. They were calling and flittering around the tops of a few trees close to the river's edge. Although I was only 1/4 mile from the end of the run, I stopped to watch them for a while. They are just such cool birds! I assume that they were all Cedar Waxwings, but who knows. Maybe a few Bohemian Waxwings were in the group too? I wish I had had my binoculars and the chance to watch them a bit longer. I also saw a Bald Eagle flying over Pleasant Bay on my way to work. Cool.

A Real Live Person

As we look at Sam, playing or talking in our midst, Ryan has started shaking his head and saying, "it's like she's a real live person now." Indeed, it is no longer the two of us, two crazy cats and a little baby blob. We now have a burgeoning, wanting-to-be-independent, willful, adorable, real life toddler in our midst.

She is changing so much it is hard to keep up, but since this blog is also her baby book, I wanted to document a few of new things she is doing these days:

New words/sounds: milk, up, my daddo, "baa" for sheep, "wa wa" for water, "no no" when she doesn't want something or you are trying to give her something that isn't quite right, shaking her head "yes" and "no" correctly. She also has her own little language, with "mana" and "owata" being mainstays :-)

She will pretend to tickle herself when she wants me to read her the "Are You Ticklish?" book. She pretends to comb her hair when she wants her comb/brush. She will lie down on the floor with a blanket, a dish towel, a wash cloth, anything that resembles her blankie/lovey to pretend she is sleeping. She walks around carrying the afore mentioned items, holding them tucked beneath her chin like a bib, or trying to cover up Gigi for "nite nite" time.

She puts her hands up in the air as if to say "Where it is?" or "I don't know?" when you ask her to find something that she doesn't immediately see. It is just adorable.

She will walk over to the dishwasher, and point at the food cabinet above, telling us she is hungry and wants something to eat.

In the evening (when it is obvious that she is tired), if I ask her if she is tired and wants to go up for bathtime/bedtime, she will say "bye bye" and start walking to the stairs.

There are several cabinets that she knows she is not allowed into in the kitchen. Two of them have child safety locks on them, but you still have to open them slightly to push down on the lever to open the lock. Sam will start to run across the room, stop and look back at us with a little smirk on her face and glimmer in her eyes, as if to say "I know, I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway," and turn around and go right over to them, attempting to open them. She full of mischief, this one is :-)

What? I Thought The Snow Was Supposed To Arrive In The Afternoon?!

I guess Mother Nature has decided that Wednesday is storm day this year. The first wave of this week's storm was supposed to arrive later this afternoon. So, I figured I would be able to get in my long run on some relatively "dry" roads this morning. Hmmm. Not so much. I headed out at 9:45, and by oh, say, 9:50, the snow had started. Oh, it started out slowly and finely enough, but after two miles, it was already coming down pretty good, and I knew I was in for a cold and snowy run. I had intended to run out to Simpson's Point from home. The full route I had mapped out was 18 miles, but gave me the option to bail out early if necessary. I wasn't feeling super enthused when I woke up this morning - tired, with slightly sore shins from yesterday's snowshoe run. Plus it was cold and grey - so having an early exit option seemed like a good idea, just in case. In the end, I did cut the run short, but it wasn't because I was feeling bad, it was simply because it was starting to feel unsafe to be running on the roads as the snow continued to fall.

The start of the run took me through some Topsham neighborhoods down to the swinging bridge, where I crossed the Androscoggin into Brunswick and wound my way through the side streets out to Pleasant Hill Road. From there, I ran out on Maquoit to Rossmore. The 1 1/2 miles on Rossmore (5.5 to 7.0) were the best part of the run. Rossmore is a winding, residential road, with views out across fields and mudflats to the ocean. It was quiet out there, the snow muffling the sound of my footfalls, and no cars either. As I crossed a small tidal river before the small rise up to Mere Point Road, a pair of Hooded Mergansers popped up to the surface and swam out toward the grasses, their bodies making a small channel in the slushy coating of snow on the top of the salty waters. Very cool.

Once I reached the end of Rossmore, I decided I wouldn't tack on the miles out to Simpson's Point. It was simply starting to snow a bit too hard for me to feel comfortable out on the roads. I didn't want to be a danger to the cars trying to avoid me, and I didn't want to get run over either! Unfortunately, I had to make my way back home, and it was likely 5 miles by the shortest route. Oh well. I was as careful as I could be, and luckily, the shoulders along Mere Point and outer Maine Street are large, so I was able to keep way out of the way of the cars going by. I decided to run right through town so that I could take advantage of the safety of the sidewalks. Of course, that meant dodging cars turning into and off of the main thoroughfare. Once I had crossed the Brunswick/Topsham Bridge, I realized I had no desire to continue on up Main Street, so I veered off onto a side street to Rt. 24, and then went through the Fairgrounds - ah, quiet! - and across to Highland Green Road, taking in the powerlines for the final stretch, so as to avoid the Connector.

I ended up adding on about a 1/2 mile in our neighborhood to get to a nice round 14 miles, and although it wasn't the 18 miles I had originally wanted, I think it was a good, honest effort on a day like today. My face was pretty frozen and totally crusted over with snow/ice by the time I walked in the door, and I was more than happy to be off the roads, take a warm shower and have a good lunch! Final stats for the run were 14.0 miles in 2:03:26.

Snowshoe Run in the Cathance

As we were snowshoeing on the Cathance trails with Sam yesterday, both Ryan and I remarked that the trails looked to be perfect for snowshoe running. Very well-packed, and packed widely too. I was originally thinking I would get out there later this week, but due to the forecast for more snow on Wednesday, I decided maybe I should get out there today. I didn't want to miss out on running on these trails in these conditions. They just looked too awesome! And once we get more snow, who knows how long it will take for the trails to get packed down so nicely again.

I had switched Sam's daycare days around already, knowing she and I would be home in the snow on Wednesday, so with most of the errands done (They're never completely done. How is that?!) and the sun shining, I headed over to the Cathance trailhead after lunch. And we were right, the trails were perfect! I had such fun running on them this afternoon. I was able to keep up a decent pace (for snowshoeing, at least!), it was a beautiful afternoon, and while it was still hard work, the packed trails really made things nice. I wandered through the trail system, getting in 4 miles before heading back home.

Along the river

Cool ice flow

Beautiful woods

Morning Run, Afternoon Snowshoe

I headed out this morning to run 5 miles on the Higland Green loop. A light snow was falling, but it was almost 30 degrees. Felt balmy! The run went fine, although in taking inventory of how I was feeling while I was running, I realized my legs were feeling a little tired - probably from my "speed work" on Friday. We had talked about going xc skiing over at Pineland in the afternoon, but in the end, I told Ryan I had had a change of heart, and would be just as happy donning our snowshoes for a walk over on the Cathance trails. It would be a bit more mellow and involve less driving, both of which sounded good for a Sunday afternoon.

So, after Sam's nap, we got ourselves ready, suited Sam up in her "new" snowsuit (Thanks Shannon!) and headed over to Highland Green. As we were tromping through the woods, Ryan muttered, "An idyllic outdoor family adventure," meaning "I am a burdened dad, carrying a heavy and snot-encrusted child, accompanied by my way-too-sunshiney wife, who is not carrying an extra 25 pounds on her back and is taking way too many photos and being way too happy!" Ha :-) But really, we had a great walk in the woods. It was beautiful, and even better, the trails were really well packed, which made for some nice walking! (And will make for some good running at some point soon too!)

Sam in her snowsuit!

Happy girl

Snow-covered Adirondack chairs by the river

Happy lady

The Cathance

Through the woods

All in all, a great Sunday!

And since I'm in a photo mood, here are a few others, just because:

Our little goof ball

Cuddling kitties

Our AT wall is now complete, courtesy of a beautiful, new painting (center) by Meghan!
It looks great, Meg! We love it!

Attempt At Speed Work

Although I love lists, being organized and having a plan, for some reason this doesn't translate into following a training plan. I don't know why. You would think it would be a given that I would be excited to decide on a race and a training plan for said race, write down the components and then follow through on the workouts. But, I just can't do it. Yes, I want to do well in the races I sign up for. But when it comes time to train, I just want to run. I don't want to be burdened by speed work, or specific splits, or tempo runs, or becoming a slave to a training plan that does not in any way take into account the rest of my life. Let's face it - as it is for everyone, I'm sure - some days it is just a struggle to get out the door, and so the prospect of conforming to and stressing about following a training plan just doesn't work for me. Yes, I do look at various training plans and make notes in my training log of what I think I *should* be doing on any given day and during any given week leading up to a race. But it's rare that I actually manage to run the set miles that I've written down. I can't decide if this is a good thing, meaning I'm willing to be flexible and cut myself some slack, or if it means that I have never been able to fully commit to training, and therefore have not yet reached my true potential. Somehow I think it's a bit of both.

Anyway... all of this leads me to this morning's run, and the fact that on February 6th, I will be running the 2011 Mid Winter Classic. In late December, registration for the race was filling up fast. Ryan had decided he wasn't going to race it, since he already has a number of snowshoe races on the calendar, so it was my race to run if I wanted. I must have been having a good day, or been a bit delirious, because I looked at my time from 2009 and decided, almost spur of the moment, that I should sign up for the race and attempt to beat my 2009 time of 1:16:27. What was I thinking? I have done no speed work to speak of in years, nor done any road racing since that race. I am training for a 50k in March, and have been logging most of my recent miles on snow, meaning they've been slow miles. Of course, I don't *need* to beat my time from 2009, but I'd like to. And to do that, if my math is correct, I need to average faster than 7:38s.

So, today, after I dropped Sam off at daycare, I headed over to the bike path, with the idea of doing a pace workout. Ryan had suggested that I go out and run 7 miles at 7:30 pace to see if I could do it. I didn't have quite enough time for that, but I figured I would go and attempt to run 5 miles at a "fast" pace. The bike path has the benefit of being an even, measured surface away from traffic. It is typically pretty well cleared, although this morning it was obvious that we've been having a cold and snowy January, as there were a number of stretches of frozen mush/snow/ice between the stretches of dry pavement. It was chilly out, but bright and sunny, with no wind. My 282s were gripping well, and in fact, I only slipped twice, right near the bridge over the on-ramp to Rt. 1 later in the run. I did have to slow down ever so slightly around 1.5 miles and 3.0 miles, where a large puddle had formed and frozen over, but overall, I didn't feel too hampered by the conditions, as the surface was pretty tacky. I started out at what felt like a reasonable, but relatively quick pace, and both miles 1 and 2 were below 8 minute pace, but not quite as fast as I might have wanted. Mile 3 was 7:37, mile 4 was 7:17 and the last mile was 7:20. I was definitely working by the last mile. Final time for 5.0 miles was 37:53. Now, the question remains: could I run 37:53 for another 5 miles? I guess we'll find out next Sunday!

Short and Snowy

More snow this morning. But nothing like what our friends further south have received. We only got another inch of so of fluffy white stuff overnight. Just enough to freshen up the snow cover and make the roads a bit messier. After cutting my long run short yesterday, I am determined to make up a few of those lost miles and at least get to 30 miles for the week. So, after dropping Sam off at daycare, I came home, grabbed snowshoes and headed out the door to get in a short snowshoe run across the street.

With the snow just ending, and the skies still overcast, the light was very flat. I knew there was a lot of drifted snow on the trail, but I couldn't really tell what was going to be soft and what would be packed as I ran along. A bit weird. I started on the powerlines and then went up to check out "Ryan's" loop. He had packed it well last week, and it was still an easy-to-follow deep trough cut through the snow. I ran down that, and then decided to take a set of tracks leading to the Highland Green golf course. Unfortunately, as I got to the golf course I realized the wind had been whipping around, obliterating the tracks and making for some really slow going. I ended up walking a bit up a few hills, slogging through the deep, soft snow, before turning around, as I just wasn't up for major trail breaking this morning. I got back on Ryan's track, and ran a loop on the powerlines before heading back up into the woods to run a bit more. And then, it was back to the high school road, off with the snowshoes and back home. 3 miles. Short and sweet. And slow. But it was nice to play in the snow for a bit!

Random Run

This morning, I had a little bit of that relaxation I was looking for yesterday - a 1/2 hour leg massage. Ahhh...  My calves and feet have been feeling tight, and I don't want them to get worse. I am not quite sure why my feet feel tight - perhaps it is a combination of needing new 'wear around' shoes since the Salomon snow clogs I wear in snowy/slushy weather are many years old and aren't all that comfortable anymore, running on more roads, and running on soft snow where my foot is flexing more... Who knows? Anyway, I figured a massage would be a good thing, and it sure felt great.

Unfortunately, the other thing I had on my schedule for today was a long run, and I just wasn't feeling it. It was cold and grey out, and I wasn't feeling motivated *at all*. So, I came home, had a big snack, did some laundry and house cleaning, and gave myself time to bounce around the idea of going out for at least a 2 hour run and get my head in the right place for that. My "plan," if you can call it that, was calling for 18 miles today, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I figured if I could get in 12 miles or 2 hours, I could call it a decent day, and I'd run 18 next week instead. Yes, as you can tell, I am following my training plan to the letter around here :-) Ha.

Finally, around 11:30, I felt like I couldn't delay things any longer, so I bundled up and headed out. When I called to tell Ryan how I was feeling, he suggested simply heading out on the powerlines and seeing where the run took me. It was a good idea, but given my lack of motivation, I felt I needed a bit more of a planned route. I figured I would run the Highland Green Road loop and then continue out on the powerlines. The road portion would ensure some easier mileage, and doing an out-and-back on the powerlines would mean I could turn around at whatever point felt right. The snowmobiles trail on the powerlines appeared to have been groomed, which was great, but it had been churned up just enough to make it a bit tough to run on. Of course, on the roads, the slush on the sides was messy and tough to run in too, so it was a toss up. In fact, the best part of the whole run condition-wise was the backside of the HG road - packed dirt topped with packed snow. I took the connector down to Tedford Road, and then got back on the powerlines near Topsham Crossing. I continued on the snowmobile trail out to Lover's Lane and had intended to keep going, but at that point, the trail wandered through this sort of weird wasteland section and I got a creepy vibe out there. I wasn't quite sure of the surrounding area, and decided I would be happier turning around. So, turn around I did. I retraced my steps through Highland Green, and added on a bit in a few spots to ensure I would hit 12 miles by the time I got back home. It worked. The Garmin read 12.0 and 1:58:29 at the end of the side drive.

I was happy to have gotten this run in, although it was tough work and my legs felt pretty heavy and tired. I wish it was because I was running a lot of high mileage weeks, but that's not the case. It may just have not been my day, but I think it's a combination of several decent mileage weeks (for me) plus some harder trail conditions on a number of recent runs. Of course, add in the fact that I have not gotten an uninterrupted night of sleep in over 15 months, and although the body adjusts to what it is given, I know I am just not recovering as I should be since I am not sleeping as much as I should be. Oh well. Sam is only small once. And really, she actually is sleeping better. She is just not sleeping long stretches when I want to be asleep :-) Guess, I should start going to bed at 6:45 with her!!

Whirlwind

Today was one of my "extra" days off this week. I dropped Sam off at daycare at 8am. After spending three out of the past four days with Mama (and the fourth with "Daddo"), she was so happy to get to her room and start playing with her little cohorts - it was like she was saying "Well, Mom, I love you and all, but it is just so cool to be back here with all my friends!" I do love that she is so happy at daycare. It makes things so much easier on all of us!

It was snowing lightly, and Ryan had already called me to tell me that things were slow on I-295. He had passed an accident around exit 22. I had a dermatologist appointment down in Portland at 9:00am. I was turning onto the highway at 8:13. Plenty of time, right? Um, no. Not today. I passed five cars off the road, two of them with police cars and tow trucks in the mix, making for some seriously slow going. I actually didn't think the roads were all that bad, so what is up with that?! It took me an hour and 10 minutes to get down to exit 5. Yikes! Needless to say I was late for my appointment. Which meant more waiting. But, my annual skin check concluded without incident. Hurray! It's been 7 years since I had an 'in situ' melanoma (meaning not even stage 1, but still way scary!) removed on my back and although I am no longer super nervous for each of these appointments, it is still a relief to hear her say I look OK and that she'll see me in a year!

The rest of the morning was spent making returns and exchanges and gift card purchases at Macy's, Baby Gap and Children's Place. Don't even get me started about shopping at the mall. I was in and out as quickly as possible, but that wasn't all. Then it was onto Babies R Us for more returns and exchanges and gift card purchases. And then to Sam's Club. By now it was noon, and I was hungry. I stopped at the Sam's lunch counter and got a big piece of veggie pizza for $2.01 including tax. Now that's a good deal! Yes, I know, I know. It's Sam's. And it's their lunch counter. But hey. It was actually pretty tasty. Finally, by 12:45, I was back on the road. I had brought all my running gear, and decided I would stop at Bradbury on my way home. OK, so the park is about 5 miles (each way) out of the way, but you know what I mean :-)

There was only one other car in the parking lot as I laced up my screw shoes and headed across the street for the snowmobile trail. I did say hi to one of the rangers as I headed out, I had my phone in my pocket, and Ryan knew where I was headed, so Mom, no need to worry :-) Snow was still falling lightly as I ran along. It looked like they had been out grooming the trail. It was wonderfully smooth and graded. There was about an inch of fresh fluffy snow on top of the nicely groomed and packed trail, so it made for some really nice running. The woods were quiet, the evergreens covered with snow, the tracks of deer and other small animals veering off the trail in zig zag fashion into the deep snow. Although I was feeling good, I stuck with my initial plan and when the Garmin read 2.51 miles at a random point on the trail, I turned around. The snow had stopped, and the sun shone down through the trees onto the trail, glimmering off the new snow. Although it was only in the low teens temp-wise, there was no wind, and now that I had warmed up, it was truly comfortable, and beautiful, out there.

As I was running the hilly section back up near the park boundary, I heard a sled coming up behind me. I stepped off the trail, and he slowed slightly as he passed. I waved and although he gave me a funny look, he waved back and zoomed off. I wonder what he thought of the lone woman running up the snowmobile trail? :-) I stepped back onto the trail and continued up. I managed to keep a steady 9:45 pace even through this stretch, and even picked it up slightly in the final, so nicely downhill, mile, finishing the 5 miles in 48:07. It was a great run, and a great afternoon to be out in the woods!

On the way home, I stopped to feed Cordelia's cats, and then after putting away the groceries, taking a shower, and cleaning up in the kitchen a bit, it was 4:30 and time to pick up Sam. Phew! Maybe I'll have time to relax tomorrow?! :-)

No Zip

Today was the debut race of the Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe Series that Ryan has been working on. It was cold and bright this morning when Ryan left the house, and there is certainly lots of snow on the ground. Perfect conditions for a snowshoe race! However, it was a bit too cold for Sam and I to go hang out at Bradbury all morning-long, so we stayed home and had a Mommy/Sam day instead. We did have a good day but I am bummed to have missed out on the fun of the race - sounds like everyone had a blast! Great job Ryan, Ian and all the volunteers and sponsors who made it all come together. And great job to all the Trail Monsters who braved the weather for some great racing too! I hope I'll have a chance to get out and race at least one of the races.

After Ryan got home and got himself something to eat, I headed out for a run around 3:30. The temps had started to drop, and the wind had picked up. I headed across the street and ran on the powerlines to the Highland Green road. There had been a good bit of sled traffic on the trail so although it was a bit soft, it was runnable, at least for this short section, without screw shoes or snowshoes. Luckily the 282s have great traction! Once I hit the road, I turned into the wind. Brrr. It was at this point that I realized I didn't really have any umph in my legs. I felt tired. And my legs felt heavy. Oh well. I put my head down, and just ran. Once I got to the dirt section of road on the backside of the loop, I felt a bit better. Here the road was down to packed snow, which crunched beneath my feet and I was sheltered a bit from the wind. Unfortunately, the wind returned with a vengence as I ran back over the powerlines and on the last stretch of road. I definitely don't think I had as fun of a run as all the snowshoe runners this morning, that's for sure, but at least I got out there and got a few miles in. 5.0 in 47:23.

A Gift

These days, the gift of time is the best kind of gift. And today, after a snow day spent inside with little miss Samantha and the two furry mischief-makers, Ryan got home in time for me to throw on my running clothes, adjust the snowshoes and head out the door for a snowshoe run right as the snow was ending around 3:30pm. How nice! I really appreciated it. Not that I don't like hanging out with Sam, but we were cooped up inside all day long and I had really been looking forward to a run today. When we woke up to snow, I figured it just wasn't going to happen, so having the chance to get out and hit the trails this afternoon was a real treat! Thanks Ryan!

As I ran through the complex with my snowshoes in hand, the plow guy called out the window, "I wish I had your energy!" I smiled, and called back, "I try!" But really, it's all what you make it. I mean, I had been racing around after Sam all day long, and afternoon is never the height of my energy anyway. But even if I'm tired, there is something energizing about getting out the door for a run or ski or snowshoe, and how could I say no to the chance on such a nice afternoon?

This latest storm produced some wonderfully light and fluffy snow, making it easy to shovel and fun to tromp through. Perfect! I put on my snowshoes at the snowmobile trail entrance across the street, happy to see that a few sleds had gone through, packing down the powder at least slightly. There were still a few spots where I ran through the deep stuff, but mostly I stuck to the traveled path. I still felt like I was working though. I ran down toward Topsham Crossing, and once the Garmin hit 1.5 miles, I turned around. As I was running back, the late afternoon sun was peeking through the clouds and the rays glimmered on the fresh snow stuck to the evergreen trees. Gorgeous. I managed to get in 3 miles in 34:25, and it was lots of fun!

To The Bike Path

This morning, I was determined to cross a few things off my home to-do list. I cleaned out and organized a few of the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, put together a little shelf for the front hall closet (although the box said 'no tools required,' it was only $24.99 and wasn't all that well made, so I did end up needing the Leatherman to get the shelving to line up correctly with the holes in the frame), emptied out the closet and reorganized it. Looks much better! Then I went upstairs and tackled my clothes drawers, getting rid of some old shirts, etc and separating out a pile of items in good enough condition for donation. It was nice to check these things off the list, and even better, it was only 11:15am. I was feeling very accomplished :-)

After a bit of relaxation, some lunch, and cooking up dinner for tonight, I finally was ready to head out for a run. Except that it was now snaining (yes, snaining, a yucky mix of snow and rain). Lovely. So as to avoid a) getting run over and b) running in the nasty slush on the side of the roads, I headed over to the bike path. While the path isn't my favorite route, it has its place, especially in the winter. And best of all, it's car free, so it's a safe place to run on a messy day. There was only one other car in the lot when I pulled in around 2:30pm. The snain seemed to flying sideways. It wasn't particularly pleasant but hey, what can you do. I ran along, managing to keep up a decent pace despite my legs feeling rather heavy from yesterday's efforts. On the way back, the winds and snow picked up, and I picked up the pace a bit just so that I could get the run over with :-) Probably not the best strategy for a recovery run! Oops. I ran into Ryan heading out on the warm-up before his MP-pace run, and he turned around and ran the final 3/4 mile with me, which was nice! My body is definitely feeling tired from a stretch of running (with a day of xc skiing thrown into the middle) that started last Thursday. This is a lot for me, and I will definitely be glad to take tomorrow as a rest day!

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A lot of you have probably already seen this photo on Facebook, but it was too cute not to post again :-) Yesterday, I picked Sam up early and she was in a very "mama" mood. Ryan was working, and after playing for a while, it was time for me to make dinner. All she wanted to do was have me pick her up. Then I had an 'ah ha!' moment. I got out a bowl and a spoon, and told her she could "cook" on the floor next to me. I threw a few zucchini halves in the bowl, and after she got bored with those, she added in some Goldfish just to make things interesting. Raisins were a late addition. Zucchini, Goldfish and Raisin stew. Delish!

Cooking :-)

Running Ian's "Beautiful Loop"

We're only open three days a week at the gallery, starting this week, which is really really nice, although honestly I'd probably prefer a normal Monday through Friday routine, with regular holidays, and the potential for vacation time in the summer if I had the choice. But, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, and I certainly plan to enjoy my extra days off this winter. And by enjoy, I mean, get in my long runs and check things off my long laundry list of things to be done around the house on these days :-) We're keeping Sam in daycare four days a week, so I'm with her all day on Monday, and I'm sure I'll keep her out fully some Tuesdays or Wednesday, and others I'll pick her up early (like today) so that we can spend a bit more time together when we have the chance.

So, especially with the weather forecast for this afternoon/tomorrow, I planned to get in my long run this morning. Although I'm likely going to be doing some of my upcoming long runs on the roads, I really wanted to get out on the trails today, and since I keep reading Ian's posts about the Beautiful Loop, I thought it might be a good, challenging choice. Ryan decided to join me, and Valerie said she was game for a few miles too. Cool. Company! Not to mention that there was no way I was going to do the loop on my own. I have yet to run it, and I just wouldn't be comfortable wandering the snowmobile trails out in the middle of nowhere without a partner. 

We met Valerie at 8:45, just as the snow started to fall. It was damp and chilly, but I was dressed comfortably for the weather and only my hands were really cold at the start. The Link and Snowmobile Trails had definitely seen a good amount of traffic, and we cruised along, keeping a pretty even 10-minute pace as we ran through the woods, chatting away. The Snowmobile Trail passes through some really beautiful stretches of woods here, and a wide open corn field too, where we saw a few groups of turkeys milling amongst the corn stubble. There had also obviously been a tussle between a turkey and a larger animal. The turkey lost. Valerie turned around at 4.5 miles, just a bit before the powerlines, as the snow as picking up and she needed to be in Portland around noon. Thanks for joining us Val - it was fun!

Once we hit the powerlines, the snow as a bit softer than in the woods, but still pretty packed. The route took us under and along some pretty major high-tension power lines for the next seven miles. The lines hummed and cracked above us as the snow hit them. We saw a few hunter's blinds in spots, and lots of deer tracks but no deer or hunters :-) It was just us and the snow. Ryan kept saying, "No one running the Gator Trail 50k is doing this today!" Somehow I am sure he was right!

Somewhere around mile 9 or so, we started hitting more hills. But we were still chugging along at right around 10-minute pace and I was feeling good. Unfortunately, by the time we hit the large hill around mile 11, I was starting to feel it. It was here that the pace began to slow. The snow was piling up on the trails, the trail was a roller coaster of hills and I just felt like I was lacking power to get up and over them all. It was around this point that Ryan mentioned that I hadn't been doing the training or the miles for a run like this, which I didn't particularly like, but he was right, of course. I don't have a huge base of mileage right now and most of my runs have been pretty flat. Ah well. I knew I would get through it - it was just bound to be slow going in the last few miles :-) But Ryan was very nice, not pushing the pace and encouraging me along. Once we got back into the woods closer to the park, almost every hill seemed to bottom out at a sketchy snowmobile bridge, and I was very cautious on those, so there would be a fast downhill, a stop at the bottom, then up up up and repeat. We took one "wrong turn" somewhere in this stretch, cutting off a few more hills, but I wasn't complaining at that point :-)  I really didn't want to continue across Rt. 9 and onto the Knights Wood Trail, but I was bound and determined to get in at least 15 miles, so that's what we did. We finished up with 15.12 miles in 2:39:00, covered in snow and ice, and the last ones to leave the park before they closed up early for the day!

All in all, it was a nice, challenging loop, just as I had hoped, and it was fun to run with Valerie and Ryan. Thanks guys! I am a bit disappointed to have dropped off so much in pace in the last 4 miles, but what's done is done, and it certainly was a good workout! I am tired :-) 

Unexpected Trail Run

With the temperatures finally creeping into the double digits and Sam asleep for her nap, I snuck out of the house around 11:30 am for a run. I told Ryan I was planning to do the 5-mile Highland Green loop, and was going to try running over on the powerlines instead of down the Connector. If the trails were really soft, it would only be about a 1/2 mile of running on the snow before I hit the roads again. Despite the cold, it was a really nice afternoon. Bright and sunny, with the wind at my back. To my surprise, there seemed to have been a good bit of snowmobile traffic on the powerline trails, and things were packed rather nicely. Even without my screw shoes, the grip from my 282s was pretty good. When I got to Highland Green Road, I couldn't bear to turn onto the sidewalk. Enough road running, already! I crossed the street instead, and continued down the hill on the snowmobile trail. Traction was good, I wasn't sinking in a lot, and there was no ice. The snow was crunching underfoot and I was having a grand old time. I vaguely recalled that 2.5 miles was at the crossing of Lover's Lane, and it seemed about right from the time on my watch (I'd left the Garmin at home thinking I was doing a tried-and-true road run). The way back was a bit slower, as I was running into the wind, and the sun was warming things up ever so slightly, but it was still a really nice run. I finished up in 47:00 and was very happy to have gotten in an unexpected trail run!

Of course, when I told Ryan what I had done, he decided he would run the snowmobile trails too. He didn't find the trail quite as firm as I did, unfortunately, being slightly heavier than me, but hey, I had only said *I* thought it was nice and runnable! :-) Oops.

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Nate and Shannon came over for dinner tonight, and the kids had fun playing together while the adults were chatting. Sam was having lots of fun hugging Charlotte, although her hugs might have been more like head locks! :-) Charlotte was a trooper though! Here is Sam trying to envelop Charlotte in another embrace.

And here is Sam, from earlier this morning, rocking one of my ski hats. So cute!

First Ski of the Season!

Yes, it's January 16, and today was the first day I've been out on my skis this winter. All you skiers out there can shake your heads, but oh well. But for a first day out on the snow, it certainly was a good day for it :-) Sam and I hung out in the morning while Ryan headed over to Bradbury to meet up with some of the TMRs to run on the snowshoe courses. Then, after a quick lunch, we headed over to Pinelands for an afternoon ski. It was a really nice day - bright and sunny, with a little breeze, and temps in the upper 20s. There was plenty of snow, and the trails were all nicely groomed. Perfect. We suited Sam up in her LLBean jacket (it's the 6-12 month size and it's still big on her!), hand-me-down snowpants and too-big hand-me-down boots from Morgan. She looked adorable!

Ryan was the designated "Sam carrier" today. The Kelty backpack is great, but although it's supposedly one size fits all, it's just too big for me. Or I'm too small for it. Either way, I can't wear it comfortably. And honestly, even if I could, I don't think I'd be comfortable skiing with Sam on my back. I'm just not that good of a skier! Ryan said even he was having trouble with the shift in balance with an extra 25 pounds hanging off his back. The backpack was also weighing him down and making it a bit of a slow go. I, on the other hand, was having the opposite problem, and was having trouble getting the pockets of my cute little Orbiters to stick. I guess weighing less will have that effect. But regardless, after 1km or so, we got into a groove and had a great time out on the trails!

Sam loved it too :-) She was smiling and chattering the whole way.

We ended up being out for just under an hour. It was a mellow ski for me, as I wasn't the one carrying the pack, and lots of fun to be out on the trails with Ryan and Sam! We hit the Market afterwards for a quick snack and then headed home to watch the Pats game.