A Day Off? Nah!

Worked until noon today and then came home to clean the house and get the cats to the vet at 2:00. I spent the whole 25 minute ride down being serenaded by a chorus of yowling and meowing from Ronnie and Gigi. A very pleasant drive, indeed ;-0 However, it was lovely to visit with Katy, although sadly, as we would have all suspected, both cats are too fat and need to go on a diet. :( In any event,  I was home by 3:00 and although I had planned to take the day off, it just seemed too nice out not to run! So, I put on my running clothes and shoes and headed out the door for a run down to the river. It was sunny and breezy, the sun was warm but the humidity was low, and it's always good to run down by the river. The run was marred slightly only by the creepy guy who said "Hey, where you headed?" as I ran by he and his friends out at the Quarry. I think my heart practically shot up into my throat. I ran up and beyond the Quarry and out onto the cart path as fast as I could before I finally slowed down once I darted back onto the singletrack into the woods. When I run early in the morning, places like the Quarry and the dump are always quiet - I guess the troublemakers like to sleep in :-) Gotta remember that for my afternoon runs!! In any event, I bypassed the Quarry on the way back and took the road. Enjoyed some nice blackberries along the way, so it was all good :-)

Wolfes Neck Weekend

Yesterday morning, Ryan ran the Beach to Beacon. Although I know he had hoped for a better showing at the race, finishing in under 41 minutes and coming in something like 323rd out 6,000 sounds pretty good to me :-)  Bob graciously helped him out with the logistics of getting to and from the start/finish lines, so despite 6,000 people running the race, Ryan was able to get home around 11:00 am, and we were able to fairly seamlessly get the car packed up and head over to Wolfes Neck for our overnight camping trip. After a rainy and overcast morning, we were treated with beautiful weather for the rest of the trip!

August afternoon

Sam exploring

Blue skies and fluffy white clouds above

Late afternoon on the farm

Does an August afternoon get any better than this? Beautiful blue skies, fluffy white clouds, a rocky beach and a visit to watch the oreo cows with my two favorite people. We sure are lucky.

Of course, luck did us no good at bedtime, and Sam didn't fall asleep until around 9:45. *Sigh* This meant morning came too soon, and we were all awake before 7am - the downfall of sleeping in a tent in the summer when the sun sets late and rises early :-) But that was OK as I needed to be up anyway - Amy was meeting me for an 8am run on the roads and trails around Wolfes Neck. While we ran, wandering the dirt roads and the trails out behind the farm and in the park and chatting away for 10 miles, the guys and the kids had fun down at the beach after a breakfast of pancakes and donuts. 

Sam and Will having fun in the water

Splash!

Sometimes fitting it all in can be hard, but when I look back at photos like these, it sure makes me think we're doing all right ;-)

Mid-day 16

After a rainy morning, the skies had cleared by the time I headed out for my run a little before 12:30. In fact, I was surprised by how warm and muggy it felt, especially as the sun came out in the middle of the run. I ran the loop around the edge of the Bowdoin fields and headed into the Commons. Then out into Pennelville, where I ran two pavement/dirt road loops for a total of 4 miles before ducking back into the woods again. I took the long way back so that by the time I was ready to head back out into the Commons for the 2nd time, I already had 11 miles done. I felt pretty good - I wasn't pushing the pace and was just cruising along, thinking about nothing and anything at all.

The final 3 miles back to the car were probably the slowest of the run - I was just ready to be done, as by that point I was thoroughly saturated and could feel the sweat running from my soaked shorts down my legs and into my shoes. Ew! But I just kept moving forward, and got in my 16 miles at just under 10 minute pace. Was happy to have the legs feel good throughout, even if I slowed a bit near the end, and to have been able to eat and drink adequately without stomach revolt. Even better was that I didn't feel entirely wiped out when I got home. I quickly showered and went to pick up Sam from daycare. We headed right into town for a yummy dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant with gelato for dessert. Sam was a fun dinner companion and we had a good time talking about our day and watching the rain pour down outside as we ate. We brought home dinner for Ryan too, so he didn't totally miss out :-)

All Over the Place

Life lately has been a bit all over the place. Work at Tedford is going well and the 25 hours is just about perfect. That said, I'm not just sitting around the rest of the work week. I've been working at the gallery at least one afternoon a week, and have another project that has me in Portland one afternoon a month. The project I was working on last winter should be starting up again in the fall. Sam has been up late, late, late at night. Last night she didn't fall asleep until 9:20. If she takes a nap at daycare, we're screwed - it means a long night and a struggle to get her to sleep. Tonight was pretty good - I think I was downstairs by 8:30. This means my evenings aren't quite as productive as they used to be, so I feel like I am not getting much done as I would like to be. I just can't stay up late enough. Last night, I was so mad about not having the time I wanted, that I went to Target at 9:30 at night to get some grocery shopping done. I'm getting up a few days a week at 5:00 to get in my runs. This morning, well, that just didn't happen (see 9:20 bedtime and 9:30 Target trip above). So, tonight I went out for a run after Ryan got home from work. I had already eaten dinner and hung out with Sam for a bit, but rallied to get out into the evening air for a run around the Highland Green loop. Had to stop to take a few blackberry breaks along the way, of course! The legs felt heavy at first, but loosened up a bit as I went along. Was glad I had the motivation to get out in the evening when I normally don't run and certainly don't feel fresh. Tomorrow the plan is for 16 miles at high noon once I get done with work. See? All over the place ;-)

Running Schizophrenia

Went from practically having a panic attack over training (and my long runs aren't even in the 20s yet!) and fitting it all in and wondering why I was even contemplating 50 miles on Monday night to getting up this morning and running Mt. Ararat hill repeats at 5:45 am. Nothing like running schizophrenia ;-)

I hadn't planned to run on Monday, which was a good thing as I was simply exhausted. Perhaps that had something to do with all the panic. Yesterday morning I was up and out early into the fog and mist at 5:30 to run 6 miles on the golf cart paths. Still struggling a bit with finding my running rhythm so early in the morning. Once I'm up, I'm up and alert so that isn't a problem, but my body seems confused to be out running before breakfast and a bit of wake-up time, and every pre-6am run seems to involve at least some sort of bathroom break mid-run. Sigh. Still, it was a lovely, if humid, morning and the run was decent.

This morning, well, I got up and out and ran hills. I did 6 Mt. A. loops for a total of 4.25 miles, which I realize is nothing spectacular but hey, I was out there doing it, so I am calling it a win for the morning. It was only 59 degrees when I stepped out the door - heaven! Couldn't quite find the extra gear to push the uphills, so tried to run the downhills hard as Ryan had suggested. Probably a good exercise for me anyway, as I've always been a bit timid in my downhill running and hiking. Came away with the feeling that I was serious, dumb, slow and tough all at the same time. Schizophrenic, indeed...

Short

It was Ryan's turn to run long yesterday so he headed over to Bradbury to run a lap of the BBU course. Sam chose this morning to sleep late, so *gasp* I actually sat on the couch for about a 1/2 hour reading some magazines. That hardly ever happens anymore! When she got up, we headed over to Bradbury to play on the playground for a while and then took a short walk on the trails, looking for mushrooms and blue blazes as we waited for the guys to come back from their run. We finished up the morning at Edna & Lucy's, catching up with Mindy, Pete and Tim, who were there with Mindy's folks, as well as enjoying our delicious sandwiches with Ian and John. By the time I finished off lunch, I certainly wasn't feeling like donning my running shoes and hitting the trails, so I came home instead. That said, I knew I shouldn't waste a weekend day, so I finally headed out for a very slow 4 miler around the block. I really had felt pretty good on Friday and Saturday's runs, so it was a bit of a bummer to really not feel up for even 4 miles. My mileage did hit 40 miles for the week, which hasn't happened since April, so I suppose that might have something to do with it. In any event, today is a rest day - hurray! - and then back at it tomorrow.

Full Day

Managed to pack a lot into the day today. I was up and out the door at 5:50 am for my run. Ran down the powerlines and out to the dump, adding on the extra loop out there. That area had been logged this winter/spring, and I thought it would be impassable after that, but they'd done a nice job of packing down the trail and keeping it up for the ATV/snowmobile crowd. By the time I got back to Highland Green Road, the Garmin was beeping 8 miles. Only 6 to go! Took the back dirt road out to the Cathance trails and then ran down along the river for a bit before heading back along the Heath. I had been keeping up a pretty steady pace until I hit the Cathance trails, but the bridges and roots were slick so those single track miles were definitely slower :-) When I got back to the Quarry, I took the long way around and then did one loop on the Mt. A. snowshoe loop before heading in. Made a number of stops along the way to pick blackberries and raspberries, go to the bathroom, etc etc, and just sort of ran at a pace that felt comfortable. I finished feeling pretty good, getting in a solid 14 at a pace that certainly wasn't killing it but which seemed fairly reasonable. 

So, the reason for the 5:50 start, you ask? Well, what other than donuts?! We were meeting up with Annie and Phil at Frosty's at 9:00 so I wanted to get my run in before we headed out. And the deliciousness of Frosty's made it all worth it! And the kids had a lot of fun playing with the new kitchen set-up up in the window, complete with - what else? - wooden donuts! Adorable.

Frosty employees in training :-)

We hit the Brunswick playground to let the kids run off all the sugar, and then headed our separate ways for lunch. After a bit of downtime at home, during which time Ryan got in his run, we headed back out - this time to pick up some new sneakers for Sam and then over to the Cathance to search for frogs in the vernal pool. Sadly, the frogs weren't out this afternoon, but we did find some choice raspberries to munch on before walking down to the river. Sam was tired on the way back and kept asking for "uppy." Neither Ryan nor I were in the mood to carry her back, so Ryan suggested they instead run to the top of the hill. She was game, and they were off! So much for tired :-) They ran all the way back, with Sam making Ryan put in an honest effort a few times. That girl is getting fast! 

Sam in her sporty new sneakers :-)

Leading the way!

We finished off the day having dinner and making a trip to Gelato Fiasco with Nate, Shannon and the kids. I think I've had my dose of sugar for the week :-) but it sure was fun!

Colors on a Gray Day

I'm feeling a bit frustrated at the moment, as Sam literally just fell asleep. I know it makes rest time at daycare easier for everyone when she sleeps, but it really puts a kink in our bedtimes when she does! A 3-year old should not be going to bed in the same hour that I would like to! AIE :-/

I did, however, have a lovely mid-afternoon 8.5 mile run today, through the Commons and out into Pennelville, so I will try to channel the feelings I had during the run, which were much calmer than the moments right after coming downstairs from putting Sam to bed ;-)

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Lush green forest.
Bright red bunchberries.
Deep blue blueberries.
Golden grasses waving in the breeze.
Yellow goldfinch twittering on the powerlines above the fields.
Magenta thistle and milky white queen anne's lace.
Thick grey cloud bank above.

Somehow the colors seem all the more brilliant on an overcast day.

Berries

Ended up taking the past two days off. I was simply feeling exhausted from Monday's travel experience and lacking sleep the past few nights didn't make that any better. So this morning, it was up and out! No excuses :-) I figured I would just get in a nice, easy run to shake the legs out and get back in the swing of things. And it couldn't have been a better morning. Beautiful. I was greeted by cool temps, a soft breeze and a colorful sunrise as I crested the hill on the powerlines. Stopped to enjoy a few blueberries, raspberries and blackberries along the way - sweet and delicious. Listened to the bullfrogs croaking out in the Heath and the birds chatter. Got in 4 miles and finished with a smile. If the rest of our summer mornings could be just like this, I'd be one happy runner :-)

Yesterday

Yesterday morning's run seems like so long ago. The Landing Course is closed on Mondays for maintenance, so I could just run right out back, hop onto the cart paths and run 6 miles along the winding concrete way back to my parent's house without even having to think about a route. Very nice. And even better, Kristen decided to join me for the first few miles! That doesn't happen very often, so I was extremely happy for her company! She's just getting back into running, so I let her set the pace and we enjoyed chatting as we ran along the first 6 holes before she headed back and I headed on. Thanks for running with me Kristen! The rest of the run went by at an easy pace. Saw 9 bluebirds, one red-headed woodpecker and heard the bobwhite whom I've heard the past few runs but forgotten to mention. It was a nice, if muggy, morning to be out, and a good end to a fun summer trip to my parent's. It was a great trip!

Getting sprayed by Sam with the hose after my run (and yes, she's not wearing any pants :-) )

We headed out to the airport around 10am, and the first leg of the trip went fine. Once we got into LaGuardia things started to unravel. First it was a delay in our flight, by 4 hours! We kept ourselves busy eating, and playing with the the IPads they had out in the waiting areas.

Airport fun

Although I had checked into the other flights to Portland, both of which were full, when we first arrived, I hadn't thought to actually check at the gate. For some reason, I decided we should, just to see if there happened to be any seats. There weren't, but the man at the desk put us on standby saying there just might be seats due to so many other delays on other flights. So, we stood around, waiting, hoping. That flights also got delayed. More waiting. Then our original flight was cancelled. I waited as we moved slowly up the standby list, fretting and groaning and sweating and swearing. We ended up getting the final two seats (!) on the plane only to have them ground us right as we were boarding because of an accident on the runway. There were a few frantic phone calls to Ryan to figure out alternate plans in case the airport didn't open up again, but in the end, our plane somehow managed to get out even as they were saying all (or most) flights would be cancelled for the night. Hurray! Thank god. Sam was a wonderful traveler through it all, asking a lot of questions but never complaining. I, of course, did my fair share of swearing in front of her through the ordeal so if you hear her say 'oh damn' anytime soon, well, you know why!

The second we got on the plane, she fell right asleep, exhausted. We were so happy to land in Portland, see my bag come through the baggage claim carousel and have Ryan there to pick us up. What a crazy day of traveling! Of course, when we got home, Sam said, "but we missed dinner," and had to sit down to have a bowl of rice before finally going to sleep at 11:00 :-) Ha.

Quiet Morning Run

Woke to news that Emma and Zak had crushed the VT 100, finishing with outstanding times. Way to go Trail Monsters! Inspiring and amazing as always. Headed out at first light, a few minutes before 6:00 am to get in a run before we headed to the beach. I ran down the quiet streets to the River Lodge, cut across the path through the woods and then back along the main drag of the community, taking the berm along the edge and back home. The sun rises about an hour later here in the south, and apparently everything and everybody else gets up later too! I was thinking I'd see a whole host of wildlife being up so early, but nada. Just me, the birds and the honeybees. Pretty morning although with the heavy cloud cover there wasn't much of a sunrise. Got in 8 in 1:10, and got home in time to see that George had finished yet another 100 miler with a smile on his face and in an awesome time! Hurray! I quickly showered and changed up and then we headed down to Wilmington for more time at the beach.

It sprinkled on the way down and the clouds were thick, but things cleared up a bit as we hit the beach and honestly, the clouds made it much more pleasant at the water's edge! Lots of fun as usual digging in the sand and playing in the surf. The trip was made complete with yet another ice cream stop at Boombalati's. Yum!

The start of our sandcastle

Sam, Neenie and the dribble castle

Surfing in the waves on the boogie board!

Happy at the beach...

...and even happier after a dish of ice cream!

We're headed home tomorrow after a fun trip filled with sun and water fun. Sam has been great, minus a few meltdowns, and it has been a lot of fun to see Neenie, Pippi, Morgan and Kristen! We are so lucky to have had the chance to come down and spend a few days with family!

Steamy 12

We spent yesterday afternoon up at the pool. The air is so warm that the water felt like bathwater. The kids, of course, had a blast! I think they could both stay in the water all day :)

Pool fun

Sam keeping her mouth closed so the water doesn't get in :-) Very serious!

All smiles

Kick kick kicking

Floating on the noodles

Beautiful day to be at the pool

We headed up to the pool again this morning, but not before I got out for my run. Headed out around 7:00 into the heat and humidity. At least there was a lovely breeze so it didn't feel quite as bad! I ran a figure-8 around the River Landing complex, with a little lollypop out to the Bluffs to get in a few extra miles. Mostly roads, with few short stretches of trail mixed in. Actually, although the terrain here is mostly flat, there is always something to keep my interest. Lots of little ponds with great blue heron and turtles, flowering trees and tons of flowers to attract butterflies, mockingbirds and others aplenty. Saw what I'm pretty sure was an eagle soaring over one of the ponds this morning, as well as a great blue heron. Scared up two little brown rabbits along the berm. Went down to the river at the River Lodge to check out the high river levels and then ran through the woods on the rustic trail around there, where I saw three little fox dart into the woods near the edge of one of the ponds. Stopped to listen to their rustling in the undergrowth and caught a few more glimpses of two of them. So cute and so little! Got in 12 miles in 1:46, and then it was time for yet another visit to the pool!

NC Fun

It was a long day of travel yesterday. We were up at 4:30 am, and caught a beautiful sunrise on the way to the airport. Ryan dropped us off, and Sam and I took off to NY. Sam has always been a good traveler,but I'll admit I was still nervous :-) Things were going well until we had to sit on the runway waiting for a gate, and Sam had to pee. Lovely. We finally got in to the chaos that is LaGuardia, got to a potty, had some breakfast, and then had an even longer than expected layover as our flight was delayed. When we finally boarded, it was hot as blazes on the plane. There was some sort of mechanical issue and then some sort of runway delay, so we ended up sitting on an un-air conditioned plane for about an hour. There was practically a mutiny aboard the little airplane. Brutal. The plane didn't cool off until about halfway through the flight down to Wilmington. Aie. Sam, however, did great, the whole time! I am so proud of her. She is a trooper!

Airplane amusements

Mom, Dad and Morgan picked us up at the airport and we went to get lunch before heading to Wrightsville Beach for the afternoon. It was just plain hot out, but down by the water, it was cooler, and of course, the kids had a great time in the waves :-) We saw a group of 15 pelicans soaring overhead and little, sand-colored fish swimming in the surf. Sam didn't want to leave - she kept getting water in her face and running out to wipe it off, only to run right back into the fray again. A water girl, for sure!

Into the surf

Whee!

Big wave fun

Can you tell she loves the water?

This is fun!

Splash!

Loving in the water

A post-beach ice cream stop hit the spot, and kept Sam from falling asleep on the way back to Mom and Dad's :-)

Two thumbs up for Boombalati's!

It was an easy bedtime, and we both slept in, meaning my plans for an early run didn't quite happen :-) I got out around 8:30 for 5 miles along the berm and through the neighborhood. It was hot but perhaps not quite as muggy as it has been a home, and luckily there was a nice breeze. I came home plenty sweaty however! Legs felt good though. Tons of mockingbirds, a few brown thrashers, one bluebird, one great blue heron, one red-headed woodpecker and a lot of dragonflies and butterflies flitting about. When I came home, the girls were playing dress-up. So cute :-)

All dressed up and no place to go :-)

Beautiful Sky

OK, so I admit it. Running this summer in the heat and humidity has been making me a bit grouchy. All the sweat, the mugginess, the heat reminds me of hiking on the AT in July through Pennsylvania. Let's just say there was a lot of grumbling. In any event, just because it hasn't been super enjoyable doesn't mean I'm not out running anyway. Which meant that this morning I was out at 5:30 am to get in my run before work. Despite the early hour, the air still felt warm and heavy, but the sky was beautiful. Fluffy clouds backlit with pink and yellow light, set against a blue-bird sky. Definitely made me smile. Along the Heath, the bunchberries were sporting their bright red berries, and I saw a set of wood lilies along the edge of the path down to the river and then another out in the field along the powerlines. Beautiful. I could have done without the hordes of deer flies, but otherwise, it was a peaceful, if sweaty, morning run.

Headed to NC tomorrow, and hoping it isn't much hotter down there! I'll likely be running all roads while we're down here visiting, so I'm thinking at least I won't have to deal with any deer flies, which will be a plus! :-)

Golf Course Spin

Took an early morning spin around the golf course cart paths this morning. It was 72 degrees when I went out at 5:30 and the air was already heavy. Ugh. Legs don't feel sore from Sunday but I can't say I felt very zippy. Was followed by a small horde of deer flies and one of them attached itself to my calf and bit me. Ow! Not pleasant. Did enjoy a few blueberries along the powerlines on the return however, and saw one snowshoe hare and two turkeys too. From the looks of things, I think it's going to be a bumper crop of blackberries this year - there are tons of green berries along the edge of Highland Green road and out in the sun on the powerlines. Yum!