Beautiful Day... For Hill Repeats??

I was not feeling it this morning. Sam hadn't slept well, I hadn't slept well, my stomach wasn't feel great... blah blah blah. Ryan asked me where I was headed before I went out the door, knowing full well that I had hill repeats on the schedule for this morning. I wasn't happy about it, but I knew I should do them anyway, so I grudgingly said "Mt. A." I debated with myself as I ran over. I decided to do 6 repeats, thinking each loop would be around a 1/2 mile, meaning that with the run over and the run back, it would work out to around 5 miles, which is what I wanted for the day. In the end, the loop, or at least the back loop (I went up the paved hill each time, but alternated coming down the sand hill in the front and going down through the woods in the back), was only around a 1/3 a mile, so the math didn't quite match up. At one point, I had talked myself into only doing 5 loops, but in the end, I managed to do 7. I took the long way back home to get in the rest of the mileage, and even saw a deer in the woods back behind the high school!

While I'm calling this a workout, I didn't "race" the hills, I just tried to move up them steadily. Sadly, even "steadily" was just plain S-L-O-W. Damn. I hate feeling slow. When I got back, Ryan took one look at me and said, "So, not adding that to your regular running repertoire, huh?" To which I said, "Well, I didn't say that, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be happy about running it again." The reality is, I know this should help my running and will make my legs a bit stronger, so I am going to go out and do it again. Hopefully it will be easier next time. And maybe I'll even shoot for more repeats next time :-)

Shuffle

Shuffled through a short 3-miler this morning before heading to work. Normally I wouldn't be working on a Monday, but I switched things around so that I could take Friday off and go into daycare for their end of the summer party at noon and then hang out with Sam for the rest of the day after the party. Sam and I were up bright and early, so I got to spend a few hours with her before heading out for my run and then into work. I always feel a bit heartsick when I leave her at home with Ryan on days I have to work - not because I think she won't have a great time with Ryan, but because I am sad to miss out on the fun. I have to work, and we couldn't give her what we do without me doing so, but that doesn't make up for the time I miss with her. I wish there was a way around it, but oh well. Just gotta do what you have to do, and make the most of the time that is available. In any event, I had a great send-off this morning, with rounds of "love you" and kisses blown out the window at me as I walked out to the car. I love that she is old enough to do these sort of things now. So cute!

Speaking of cute, last night, we went down to South Freeport to have dinner at Harraseeket Lunch, a take-out seafood place right at the Freeport dock. Ryan was craving seafood, and it was such a gorgeous evening, we figured it would be fun to enjoy dinner outside. Sam wasn't as much interested in dinner as she was walking down to the dock to look at the boats. This girl loves water! And wants to go out in a boat. Uh oh. Neither Ryan or I are real water people. Where does she get this from? :-)

Taking in the view of the harbor from the deck at Harraseeket Lunch

On the way home, she was being silly and saying she didn't have fun at dinner. I love that she is trying to find her own sense of humor and tell "jokes." Ha. So, we were trying to get her to do thumbs up to say she had really had fun, which she has always done by putting up her two index fingers instead of her thumbs. Ryan was showing her how to put up her thumbs, and she said, "No, those aren't my thumbs!" For some reason, it just struck us both as funny. But in the end, she was able to actually do a real thumbs up. Feels like the end of an era! I have always loved her version of thumbs up. She is getting to be a big girl for sure!

Running Happy

It's been a long time since I've had a happy long run. Combine coming back from an injury with the nasty humidity we've been having this summer, and you get one unhappy Sparkplug. But today, I finally felt like I was running happy. The sun was warm, but the air was dry and there was a lovely breeze. I ran the Cathance trails, enjoying the sound of the water tumbling over the rocks in the river and the birds flitting about in the woods. The red bunchberry berries are out, and I saw quite a bit of Indian Pipe too. Halfway through the Ravine Loop, I crossed the stream and ventured onto some new-to-me singletrack that wound through a pretty birch glade and some stretches of low-bush blueberry bushes down to Head of Tide, a neat waterfall along the Cathance River. I came back along the Heath, and stopped to enjoy the view:

Pretty nice, huh? With all the twists and turns on the singletrack, especially the miles outside the Cathance proper, not to mention a few stops to take in the scenery, I wasn't exactly running quickly, but I felt good.

I didn't see a soul while I was out there during the 12 miles/2:06 I was out wandering along the trails. And it was such a beautiful day! Weird. However, I didn't mind having the trails to myself. I saw 5 turkeys, 3 deer, 1 sunning painted turtle, plus lots of grasshoppers and birds, and had 0 deer flies swarming around my head. Now that is what I call one happy run!

Rainy 5

Well, after a good start to the week mileage-wise, and a decent marathon pace run on Wednesday, things sort of ground to a halt in the latter part of the week. Oh well. I guess I'll just take this week as a bit of a step-back week :-) Ha. I did get out this morning for 5 miles just as the rain started. It was a nice change from running in the heat! I ran along the powerlines and did the Homeplace loop. There were tons of bird flitting about - chickadees, sparrows, goldfinch, house finch and what I think was a yellow warbler, although I only got a quick glance. The blackberries along the trail were still abundant and sweet, so I stopped to pick a few along the way. Mellow pace, but a nice way to start off the day before heading into work.

Mini MP Run

My body seems to be stuck in slo-mo, so the plan this morning was to do a short marathon-pace run in an attempt to inject some speed into these little old legs! Speed being relative, of course :-) I was a bit skeptical that I was going to be able to pull off 3 miles at 8:00 pace, given how I have been feeling during my runs recently, but I figured there was no way to know until I gave it a try! I got Sam to daycare a little early and headed out a little after 8:00. It was overcast and not quite as warm as it has been recently, but still plenty muggy.

I ran a warm-up mile on the powerlines over to Highland Green Road, and then used the middle three miles of the 5-mile loop as my MP miles. The first mile is all pavement; mile 2 is about 1/3 pavement and 2/3 packed dirt and mile 3 is almost entirely dirt, with maybe the final 1/4 mile back on the pavement. I wasn't quite sure what 8:00 pace was going to feel like effort-wise, since I've never been very good at pacing, so I just decided to go with a slightly uncomfortable effort and hope for the best :-) I did a little math along the way and knew I was headed in the right direction, at least. The MP miles ended up being 7:57; 7:51 and 7:49, and while I was definitely working for it, I felt better than I expected. Even better, the ankle loosened up as I went along, so that was good too. Nice to know the legs can still put out a few ever-so-slightly sub-8:00 miles, even if just for a few miles :-)

Homeplace

Another warm morning, although perhaps slightly less muggy, which was nice. There was also a decent breeze blowing, which made the miles out in the sun along the powerlines much more pleasant. I got out for a run on the 5-mile Homeplace loop after dropping Sam off at daycare, enjoying the call of the birds - cardinals, cat birds, sparrows, etc. Ran past a group of boys from the Mt. Ararat cross country team on the way back. Must be mid-August - practices are starting up!

The legs felt a little heavy today, but I'm hoping that they'll feel better and I can manage to pull off a short marathon-pace run tomorrow!

Camping!

Despite the fact that it was rainy and foggy for most of the day yesterday, I was tired, Sammy had to go to the potty seventy million times and didn't want to walk the 1/10 of a mile to the bath house, meaning I carried her about seventy million times, we didn't have the right pump for the aerobed and so slept on a partially inflated mattress, the tent was HUGE and a puzzle to set up, we had a grand old time camping! Ryan and I used to camp all the time. We've spent numerous nights out on the trail, tenting out. But car camping is something we're still mastering. Not to mention camping with a child :-) And having a big 6-person tent is way different than setting up a little, light 2-person trail tent. It was like a palace! Crazy.

Still, don't let my list of misadventures fool you. It was a lot of fun! It was also a fair amount of work, no doubt about it, but it was great to get Sam out camping for the first time. And Recompense Campground in Wolfe's Neck was the perfect spot! There was a playground. A nice beach. A gorgeous view. Lots of families and a laid back atmosphere. Nice, clean bathhouses. Animals to see in the fields and on the farm. It was 20 minutes from our house, and is a place that Ryan and I have fond memories of. We used to run flow miles through the campground in college with the cross country team. Who would have thought we'd one day be bringing our child to camp there?! :-)

And since pictures tell a much better story, here it is, our first weekend camping as a family in pictures :-)

Home for the night, Recompence Campground, Wolfe's Neck, Freeport, Maine

Foggy shoreline

Moo!

Evening reading

Being silly at bedtime

Contemplating the ocean

Playing in the sand

Searching for treasures

Quiet waters

Cathance 10

I'm writing this from the tent at Recompence campground in Freeport, with Sam sleeping beside me and Ryan out for a night run. I got in my run this morning before we headed over here. I left around 7:30, as Ryan and Sam watched the men's Olympic marathon. It was foggy and misty, and what's new? Humid. I ran the regular 9 mile loop but added a fun little mile lollipop off the Ravine loop on the new trails across the stream. Deer flies were bad. The roots and bog bridges were slick from the rain and humidity. My hat had a constant drip from the saturated air. I was tired from four wake ups last night followed by a 5:45 start to the day, all courtesy of Sammy. Not ideal. But the loop was nice. I just wasn't moving quickly due to all of the reasons above. :) I did see a Scarlet Tananger in the Mt. A. Woods which was very cool, and a big group of about 30 swallows along Canam in the last mile. Also a tiny little red eft on the sidewalk. Don't know where he was going but I stopped and moved him off the walkway, making sure to put him down in the direction he had been going originally. I pulled up to the door 10.00 miles and 1:50 later, looking like I'd taken a bath somewhere - I was soaked!

I missed the big downpours at least although rain or sweat , it wouldn't have made a difference in how soaked I was today!!

We went to Freeport for lunch and a trip into LLBean before coming over to set up camp  luckily the rain stopped and it has only been a bit foggy and overcast.camping with a three year old is a lot of work but I think Sam has been having fun! More on the camping adventures tomorrow when I can get some photos up!!

7 at Dawn

Sam very nicely slept through the night last night, so although I woke up once very briefly, I managed to get about 7 hours of sleep. Hurray. Amazing how your perception changes. Prior to becoming a mom, I would never have considered 7 hours a good night's sleep. Now, it is wonderous :-) The alarm went off at 5am, and I lay there briefly before getting out of bed. It was very dark out. Sam cried out around 5:15, and I went up and settled her back down, covering her back up with her blanket and rubbing her back until she went back to sleep. Then, shortly after 5:30, just as a bit of light was creeping into the sky, I headed off on my run.

I ran the 7-mile dump loop, down the powerlines and out through the woods to the dump, along the ponds at the edgeof the property, and back into the woods before returning to the powerlines to make a big wacky looking lollypop. I had been hoping I would get to see a nice sunrise as a reward while I ran along, but with a light mist falling and the low clouds and fog, it simply stayed dark and dreary. Oh, it got lighter, especially out in the open, but in the woods, it was still pretty dark even at the end. Just a few miles in, with the combination of the mist and the humidity, I was soaked. I was also followed by a lot of deer flies, which surprised me. It was so early! But there was no breeze, and it certainly felt warm out. They were a bit lethargic, and I was able to kill a number of the ones which landed on my shoulders, but they were still annoying. I did see four deer along the way, which was neat. There were a few birds twittering off in the woods, and a few sparrows flitting about here and there, but otherwise, all was quiet.

I felt pretty good running, not fast, but steady. My right ankle/outer calf is still very tight. I wish I could work it out completely. Ah well. Other than that, it was a nice early morning run, and I am so glad to have gotten out, and to have managed to pull off my 30 mile week despite leaving the final miles to the last minute :-)

Amazingly, when I got home, Sam had just woken up. Lucky Daddo! :-) I took a quick shower, and Ryan took off to run over to the Topsham Sunrise Stampede 5k just down the street at the Topsham Fairground. Sam and I had a bite to eat, got dressed and headed over ourselves, arriving in time to see the start. We hung out in the bandstands while the runners were off on the course, and were excited to cheer Ryan in to a 2nd place finish. Nice! Unfortunately, I had to leave soon after to head to work, but Ryan and Sam were planning to hang out for a bit and wander around the fair, looking at the animals, etc. I left them with the B.O.B., so Sam will get a fun ride home too!

A very active morning indeed :-)

Swimming

There was a thunderstorm and rain last night, but it only seems to have made things worse in terms of the humidity. I felt like I was swimming through the low fog during my run this morning. The air felt heavy and soupy. All this humidity just puts a damper, literally and figuratively, on running for me - I am really really really looking forward to some nice crisp fall air - it makes such a difference!

I was running short on time (as always) so got in a shorter run than I had hoped, but better some than none. Managed 4 miles, running the short Highland Green loop with an extra loop up the road, onto the cart paths and along the edge of the heath to add in the additional mileage. As I ran up to the bog bridge along the heath by the beaver lodge, I scared up a fawn and her mama, and watched as they bounded off into the woods. Made me smile to see them. So at least the run had one bright spot :-)

I "need" another 7 miles to get to 30 this week. Not sure I'm going to manage to squeeze it in tomorrow, but I'll try!

Nighttime 5

Between a lot of late night wake-ups last night, sleeping in due to said wake-ups, a 2 1/2 year old who can not be rushed out the door, and oh yes, that thing called work that takes up most of the day, running tonight was the only way to get in today's miles. I headed out after getting Sam down to sleep. My mood was not great - I was feeling frustrated with myself for being frustrated with Sam because she would not settle down to sleep, even though she clearly was exhausted. I was tired. I'd already eaten dinner and would have much rather sat down on the couch than head out the door. But, I didn't want to let the excuses get to me, so out I went before I could change my mind.

It was 7:45 pm, and I knew I would be pushing it at the end of the run, so I brought my headlamp just in case. I ran the 5 mile Highland Green loop, taking the back dirt roads first so as to take advantage of the fading light. I stopped to pick a few blackberries along the roadside - I wanted to finish my run in the light, yes, but who can resist free, delicious, fresh berries? :-) The cicadas and other bugs hummed and whirred in the trees, and a few birds chirped, but otherwise all was quiet. As I hit the pavement at the back of the loop, the sky was alight momentarily with the pinks and purples before beginning its quick turn to darkness. The sidewalks were lit with street lights, so the darkness wasn't an issue until I got back to the powerlines, and although I could have turned my headlamp on, I figured I knew that stretch of trail well enough to be able to run it in the inky darkness. I finished up the run with no issues and was happy to have gotten out and gotten in the miles. And while I definitely still prefer to run in the morning, there was a certain quiet beauty on the roads and trails tonight as the light faded around me.

Creaky

A bit creaky today but I got out for a run anyway. Sam and I visited with my friend Jess and her kids this morning, so I didn't get out to run until Sam's naptime. It was hot hot hot, but there was a glorious breeze and the humidity was WAY down compared to yesterday. I ran down to the river and back for 5.25 slow recovery miles. Felt good to shake things out.

2012 Bradbury Mountain Breaker Race Report

Right before Sam and I headed out the door to Bradbury this morning, I posted on Facebook: "Getting ready for a Bruiser." Ha! I guess my mind was trying to just skip out on the Breaker :-) And then, while I was doing my very short warm-up, I tripped while I was trying to adjust my handheld and scraped up my hand in the gravel. Oh man. So, as you can tell I just wasn't quite with it this morning!

In any event, it was, as always, a great event, put on by a great group of Trail Monsters, and it is always fun to have a chance to catch up with people at these races. Since I had Sam with me before and after the race, I didn't get to do too much socializing but I was at least able to exchange a few hellos with friends :-)

I had decided to keep things pretty mellow for the first lap, and just see how it went. I started off with Ryan and David at my side. David soon took off, but Ryan stayed with me for the first loop. It was fun to have a chance to run together, even if Ryan picked up speed on the downhills. Gotta work on that! We chatted with people here and there as we ran along. The day was overcast, but as has been the case most of the summer, it was humid. I am still not yet snot-free, and that combined with the heavy air, meant I was having a bit of trouble breathing in a few spots, especially the uphills. I haven't been running that much, but I was definitely breathing much worse than I should have been. I really hope it clears up soon - both the cold and the humidity! What a pain!

Sam, Irene and Dana were at the playground cheering as we headed up the Summit Trail for the first time, which was a nice boost. We, and everyone else around us, walked up to the top where a nice breeze was blowing. Somewhere along the Tote Road, Nate Pike passed us, but we mostly kept him in our sights.

Running back up to the Summit before heading down the Switchback Trail (Photo: Jeff)

Ryan and I ran together into the start/finish area before heading off onto the second lap; he stopped to take a drink and I kept going. A few yards later, he went right on past and was gone. So much for running together :-) Ha! At this point, I was right around Nate Pike, Nathan and Susan, in some sort of order. Nate was ahead and Nathan and Susan soon got behind. I did more walking than I would have liked on the Boundary trail this time around, and the second time up the Summit was painful, although once again we had a good cheering squad at the playground with Morgan and Kristen joining in too.

Somewhere on the second loop :-) (Photo: Kevin Freeman © 2012)

I made a conscious effort once I hit the Tote road this time to pick it up and run the last 1 1/2 miles at a good clip. I passed Nate along the way, and didn't want to be passed back, so I tried to move! :-) I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me down the Terrace, and into the finish. I did end up slowing down on the second lap, but only finished 2 1/2 minutes behind Ryan so it wasn't too bad. Overall, my slowest Breaker yet (1:34:13), but it was an honest effort for not really trying to truly race. I was glad I was able to give it a little extra at the end of the second loop, so all is not lost.

Once I was done, I just kept sweating! Sam and Morgan were dancing to the music coming out of the DemerBox, and having a grand old time. I chatted with a few people, but missed out on most of my socializing time as Irene and Dana were ready to go by that point. Not to mention, it was getting time for lunch and to head home for naptime, so we didn't hang around for the final finishers or the awards.

Kristen, Morgan, Sam and I hit Edna & Lucy's for lunch - yum! - and I brought home a chocolate cupcake for a treat while Sam napped. Perfect.

Snacking before lunch arrives!

Summer Pondering

I know it's only early August, but for some reason it felt like late summer out there to me this morning. It was still pretty hot and muggy out, but the days are getting shorter, the blackberries along the powerlines were sweet and delicious, a few leaves on the blueberries bushes were beginning to turn red, and the berries on the bushes that I have yet to identify are slowly morphing from white to the blush pink that seems to signal the turn of the seasons. The catbirds were mewing and the towhees were calling. I ran the 5 mile Homeplace loop, stopping multiple times to pick the abundant blackberries that practically fell off the brambles right into my hand they were so ripe. Yum.

As I ran, I pondered. Today's run finally got me to a 30-mile week. I know 30 isn't a lot, but it's taken quite a while for me to get to a place where I felt like I could run 30 miles in a week. Hopefully in a month or so, if I run a 30-mile week I'll preface it with "only" but for now, I'll take it. I hope this means I'm beginning to claw my way back, and not feel so timid about things, fearful of hurting my foot again. I'm not sure what it is, but although I'm glad to be running, I currently feel like I don't have that fire that is needed to run fast and well. Last year was such a good year, and I felt like I was going into 2012 strong. Perhaps it is simply that after a solid 50k at TARC and the high hopes I had for the summer, the wind just got taken out of my sails with the injury, its resulting time off and slow comeback. Perhaps it is this muggy, humid weather. Perhaps it just is what it is, a bit of a slump, a normal ebb and flow in training. Regardless, I feel a bit unsettled by the feeling, and want to get that fire back. However, it seems to be misplaced at the moment :-) .

Sunday is the Breaker. I knew after my time off that the summer series was going to be a bit of a struggle. Perhaps I should have just deferred my entries until next year so as not to feel pressured during the races, but I just couldn't resist a BadAss hoodie :-) The Scuffle was more disappointing that I would have liked. And so, I've decided to simply run the Breaker, and not try to race it. Bob had posted an article on Facebook a few weeks back, and the last line in the article kept popping into my head as I was thinking about the Breaker this morning: ."..you can still be a badass and not take yourself so seriously." Yup. So there it is. Maybe it's a cop out, but it feels right, at least this time around. If I feel I can, I'll push the pace, but I'm going to try to have fun during the Breaker, or as much fun as you can have torturing yourself on the mountain side, anyway! :-)

My plan for the next few months is to get in my miles, get in a long run each week, and even *gasp* do one workout a week - alternating a hill workout and a MP road run each week. It was Ryan's suggestion to alternate the hills and a MP run. He knows me well; it is obvious from past attempts at following a training plan that I am basically incapable of doing so. To have too many workouts in my planner would simply be a waste of time. So, the Breaker will be my hill workout for next week, and it will no doubt prove to be a harder and faster hill workout than I would chose to do on my own. I definitely plan to race the Bruiser, and am hopeful that a month of solid miles, long runs and a workout or two :-) will put me in decent shape to do just that. And come hell or high water, I'll have gotten that fire back for Stonecat at the very least. I've got plans for that one, for sure.

Still

Still ~ as in:
1. There was no movement in the air whatsoever, no rustling, no noise, no breeze, all was still and quiet.
AND
2. I still have this darn cold!

Sam was in stage 3 clinger mode this morning when I headed out for my run. Always a lovely, feel-good way to start a run! Not to mention, I wasn't going to see her again until after work, as in order for me to get my run in and get to work by 9:00, Ryan was going to take her into daycare today. *Sigh* Ryan said she was fine soon after I left, but it always makes me feel pretty terrible when I leave her and she is like that.

I headed across the street with a plan to run 7 miles. As I was running on the Mt. Ararat trails I realized I could run 6.75 instead, since Monday's run had been 5.25 :-) I decided I would try the cart paths if there were no cars in the lot. Luckily, there weren't, so that is where I headed. With the overcast above and no birds chirping, it felt unearthly quiet out. It must have been 99.9% humidity, and the air felt so heavy, it seemed to be weighing me down. In fact, I felt like I'd taken a swim instead of a run by the time I was done, I was so sweaty! Crazy. That, and the fact that I still am feeling the lingering effects of last week's cold, meant that I was breathing heavily despite the relaxed pace I was running. Still, it was nice to be on the cart paths. I could just put myself on auto-pilot and go; no real need to watch my footing, etc.

I did veer off the paths to run the Heath Loop for a little additional mileage partway through the run. As I took my first step on the boardwalk at the end of the Heath, right where the outlet stream feeds into the little pond where there is a beaver lodge, I noticed a body print on the boards. A beaver print! Tail print and everything! He must have just plopped up onto and across the boards on his way back home. Funny. Also saw a mama turkey and her two little chicks crossing the cart path along hole #8. Did hear a towhee singing, and a woodpecker pecking towards the end of the run, but otherwise, all was quiet.