2013 Bradbury Bruiser Race Report Plus A Few Photos

Yesterday, after Irene and Dana arrived, we went to have lunch and then headed to Freeport to take a short walk at Wolfe's Neck State Park and to visit the farm. We capped off the day with dinner at Frontier, and what else but gelato :-) Perfect pre-race dinner, right?!

On the beach

Interesting sky

Sam decided to make a dam in the stream run-off headed down to the ocean

Ryan and Sam working on her project

This morning, I woke up not quite knowing how today's race would turn out. I stretched and rolled as much as I could and while the hip felt much better than earlier in the week, I was still a bit worried that it would act up out in the woods and cause an issue. To say I went into the race without much plan other than to not sabotage my Stonecat training pretty much sums it up. I didn't even do a warm-up. 

I started off near Jamie and Sean, which seemed ambitious, but Jamie was planning to start out slow and ramp it up as the run went along, and I figured Sean would be a good rabbit, as he's been beating me all season in these races. Turns out I got onto the singletrack ahead of them both, but they caught up not long after I turned into the Island Trail. We all ran together, both of them saying I was running a fine pace for the moment. As soon as we got out of the twisty Island Trail, Jamie was off like a shot. Sean stayed behind me, content for the time being. Luckily, the large crowd had thinned out nicely, and even just a few miles in, there wasn't much jockeying for position, just moving forward. Sean and I chatted on and off as we ran along, and it was nice to have him behind me - kept me moving, although with all the mud and puddles, I certainly wasn't moving gracefully :-)

I was feeling good. The hip wasn't an issue at the moment, and I felt like I was pushing without going nuts. Somewhere around 5 miles, Sean fell behind. And then since I was feeling good, I just decided to go for it. What did I have to lose? I hit the Snowmobile Trail hard, passing at least 4 or 5 people on the climb, and as I neared the Fox West turn off, I realized I could see the woman in green who had passed me way back at the beginning, before the Island Trail - she was just ahead. I passed her back somewhere in the singletrack area, and then since I didn't want her to pass me back, I just kept pushing. 

When I got to the last aid station, Jeremy and Zak kidded me that Ryan was just ahead, but I was too smart to believe them! Ryan might not have been feeling great, but I was sure he was far ahead. (Turns out he was too, beating me by 13 minutes. Nice!) I pushed up that darn hill on the Knights Woods Trail and then, into the "O." I really am not an "O" fan. Too twisty without much space to get into a rhythm. But I had a carrot ahead. I caught him. Then someone caught me. I caught him back. Ended up passing 3 people in the "O," which I'm going to consider an achievement :-) Darn the "O"! Then hurray, the wall, the wall! Only the final stretch to go. Finished in 1:58:17, in 50th place. I felt satisfied with my effort, which wasn't all out, but which ended up having more umph than I thought it would.

That being said, this whole series hasn't been the best for me. 2011 was just so awesome. I was fast that year! Last year was a bit of a bust with the whole stress fracture/reaction thing, and I was so hopeful that I could at the very least better those times this year. But I didn't, not during any of the races. *Sigh* It's never fun to feel like you're getting old and slow :-) Can't quite put my finger on why. I don't know if it's that I don't have that fire, that drive, like I did in 2011? I haven't felt really into any of the races this year, although that doesn't stop me from wanting to do well. Am I just a bit burnt out on racing at Bradbury, as much as I think the series is awesome? Or that I've just been running a lot more slow miles this year and have done no speed work at all? Well, whatever the case, it is what it is, and let's face it - in the end, I'm still proud to be a owner of a very cool Badass hoodie :-)

Many, many thanks to Ian and Ryan for the countless hours they put into putting on the Bradbury series! And to all the volunteers who do the same. It is an awesome trail running community that we are part of, and it is always fun to catch up with running friends before, after and during the races!

RESULTS

1:58:17

50/143

6th woman

Pretty

I awoke feeling a bit apprehensive about my tight hip, but decided to give it a go. I stretched and rolled and tennis balled (ow!) and headed out the door right around 6:00 am. The skies were already fairly light with the sun rising along the horizon leaving streaks of pink and orange set against periwinkle blue clouds. Pretty. I decided to be smart and not try to do the 7 I had originally planned for today, just so I could get my miles up to 30 ;), and hit the Highland Green loop instead, which would give me an out should the hip just feel too wonky. Luckily, it felt OK and I ran the whole loop, feeling only a bit of tightness later in the run. There was also a port-a-potty set up right along the road around 2 miles near where a new house being built, right when I really needed one. Also saw a nice red fox cross the road, its tail fluffy. Hurray for small happinesses :-) Glad to get in decent 5 miles, and looking forward to seeing Ryan's parents this afternoon and heading to Wolfe's Neck after lunch to enjoy what's looking like it's going to be a nice day!

Darker and Darker

Headed over to the Commons after work today for my run. The rain had stopped but it was muggy and dreary. I texted Ryan, telling him I wasn't feeling all that enthused and that I was headed out for somewhere between 7 and 10. He wrote back to go for the 10. I shrugged and said to myself, OK, fine, I'll go for 10. Sometimes I just need someone to make my mind up for me ;) So I picked up my handheld and headed out onto the trails. My legs were quickly soaked from the encroaching brush on the deer trails out near the end of the Commons, and my shirt was soon wet with sweat. As I hit the dirt road loop out in Pennelville, a bit of sun was poking through the clouds out over the ocean, but a very dark bank of clouds had rolled in over the Commons and greater Brunswick. Well, I was headed out to the ocean anyway :-) Turned onto the very wet, grassy trails at Coleman Farm and followed them down to the salt water marsh, stopping to take in the vista (lovely!) and stretch my increasingly tight hip/butt (grrrr....)

Twisty singletrack back along the marsh edge, with a Great Blue Heron fly-over, and then back onto the wet grass - squish squish - only to notice that the clouds were looking more and more angry back the way I was headed. Sweat was dripping from my hat, so it really didn't matter. I was already wet. But I wondered if I could outrun the storm.... Well, no luck there. With 2 miles to go, the heavens opened and then I was thoroughly soaked :) But I got in those 10 miles, though.

Well, it might have been a bit slow, and I'm sort of annoyed/pissed/nervous about my right hip/butt, but I guess I didn't really think I'd get through all my training without some niggling, although that sure would have been nice. Thankfully I had already scheduled an appointment with Dr. Jamie for next week, and you can bet I'll be rolling and sticking and icing like mad the next few days. Hopefully it will help.

Off Course

This week has been a bit of a failure running-wise. Sunday was spent hanging out with our friends while camping, and I had no regrets about not lacing up my running shoes for a run. I had originally planned to run 10 miles around Wolfe's Neck on Monday morning, but interrupted sleep on Sunday night, a cold morning and time spent down on the beach with Sam meant that didn't happen. I got in 5 rather uninspired miles that afternoon when we got home. Tuesday I planned to get up and run. That didn't happen either. I was simply exhausted. But, not running plus a few other things put me in a rather cranky mood. So yesterday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, and headed out into the murky darkness at 5:30 am with my headlamp on, its beam hitting the mist as I ran out onto the powerlines. I got in 8 miles along the cart paths and on Highland Green Road but it was a struggle. I didn't feel good, I was still tired and even worse, I came home feeling even more cranky because I hadn't had a good run! *Sigh*

Last night I went to bed early with the plan of getting up early once again this morning for a 7 mile run. I don't even remember hearing the alarm, and only woke up at 6:00 am because Ronnie was licking my face, hoping to get me out of bed so I'm get him his breakfast. 8 solid hours of sleep is practically unheard of for me these days. I guess I needed it! I might not have gotten in my run, but somehow I think the sleep was more important today. I had planned to take this week as a step-back week anyway, mostly because of the Bruiser coming up on Sunday, and while it appears it's going to be more of a step-back week than I had planned, I'm trying to not be too hard on myself and just accept that I needed a bit of rest this week.

I try to follow the training plan I've written in my planner, I really do, but it seems to be inevitable that I go off course somewhere, sometimes multiple times, along the way. I consider myself a fairly focused and driven person. I want to do well in the 50. I love lists and crossing things off them :-) You would think sticking to a training plan would be right up my alley. But for some reason, I have never been good at sticking to one. I can't quite put my finger on why. Part of me thinks it's because the reason I love to run is just the running. When I start to feel pressure to run specific miles on specific days, it gets to be too much. Part of me thinks it's just the reality of my life at the moment. Life gets in the way of my training much more than I'd like. Running is important, yes, but it simply can't trump Sam or Ryan or the daily realities of what needs to be done all the time. Sometimes something has to give. Sometimes it's the vacuuming. Or sleep. But sometimes it's the running. Part of me thinks I'm just not a high-mileage runner and maybe never will be. Two 50+-mile weeks is a row might be my limit right now before I need a break. I want to be able to run through a bit of exhaustion and persevere, yes, but I also want to listen to my body and make sure I actually get to the starting line in November. Perhaps I simply can't sustain the high mileage like others. Maybe I just don't want to. Whatever the case, I'm a bit off-course at the moment. But, despite that, I'm still trudging forward...and hoping to feel that light-on-my-feet feeling that I love about a good run again soon.

Summer's Last Hurray

First off, huge congrats to Mindy and Val for finishing their first 100 mile race this weekend! And to George, for finishing his third! Amazing, all around!!!

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The weekend began with a 5:50 am start. I wondered if Val, Mindy and George were out there running too, towards the dawn, far up north in Canada for the Haliburton 100. Why so early? Well, I needed to get my 22 miles in, then Ryan wanted to get his 20 miles in and then we had to get ourselves out to Freeport to meet up with friends for a long weekend of camping. Nothing like packing it all in :-)

I headed out towards Highland Green, watching the clouds turn pink and purple along the rose-colored horizon.

The Heath, a little after 6:00 am.

I ran a 4-mile loop then headed back home for a quick bathroom stop, a half a donut :-) and to pick up Amy for the rest of my miles. Nothing like a good friend to meet you at 6:30 am on a Saturday for a long run and arrive with time to spare and with donuts! 

We headed out into the Cathance. We marveled at the river and the twisty turny nature of the trails. Not Amy's forte, maybe, but she was a good sport :-) Of course, I think she was happiest when we hit the grassy road that leads out to the Ravine Loop. Ha! After running the Ravine Loop, we hit the back dirt road and looped back to the powerlines, taking them up to the dump and then out into the woods for a short loop before wandering back to Highland Green to do a final loop before we headed towards home. My Garmin buzzed 22 miles right at the end of the walkway, so I'd say that was pretty good :-) 

It was great to have Amy along. We chatted and laughed and the miles went by quickly. My hips and butt were a bit tight in the middle of the run, so I had to stop here and there to stretch, and on the final loop I was feeling pretty tired, but I was good about my fueling and managed to drink all the water I had in my pack while we were out there. And having Amy along made it so much easier. Thank you, my friend! 

With our run, Amy completed her training for Pisgah next weekend and I know she is going to do awesome. So excited for her!! 

After a quick snack and shower, I packed up the rest of the car, and Sam and I headed out to lunch and gelato (of course!) before hitting the back roads to Recompense Campground. We arrived before the others, and I realized I couldn't set up the ginormous tent without help, so we played on the playground until Ryan arrived from his run. Everyone arrived in short order, and it was great to see everyone! We haven't seen Neal, Kendra, Mike or Vicky in years, and we last saw Doug and Adam the weekend we were up in Williamstown for Mim's memorial a year and a half ago. Everyone agreed this was something we should definitely do more often. Nate, Shannon and the kids came over to join in on the fun throughout the weekend and it couldn't have been worked out any better. 

We had an awesome weekend filled with playtime, campfires, smores, lots of sausages and beers, catching up and enjoying the playground, beach and farm together. Of course, it poured all night on Saturday night and Sunday morning dawned overcast and dreary, but our tent didn't leak and the skies cleared around lunchtime, ushering in the cool, crisp air of fall. On the downside, that cool air meant that Sam woke up in the middle of the night last night freezing and we had to layer her up with two pairs of pants, hat and jacket before we could get her back to sleep, but on the plus side, she and I did take a trip to the potty at 4am which enabled us to get a pretty awesome look at the star-filled skies above. I ate ice cream three days in a row, I think Ryan might have had sausage at every meal, and Sam had a great time playing with Adam, Finley and Charlotte, the dogs were all good, there were no major tantrums and there were no emergencies. I'm calling it a very good weekend!

We were all exhausted from all the activity, interrupted sleep and fresh air, so today's run didn't quite pan out as I had hoped, but I did get out at least, even if only for a very slow 5 miles down to the river and back this afternoon around 3:30 after getting the house back in order and things unpacked.

A great way to cap off a fun and very busy summer!

This is why we love where we live.

Kids on the farm.

Finley and Sam leading us to the farm.

Sam and Adam down by the water.

Saturday afternoon, Sam started this "castle" at the edge of the water.

Sam and her finished "castle." 

This morning, she and I spent at least two hours down on the beach, expanding her original castle to what you see in the photo. This girl has an intense focus when she's into something, that's for sure!

Blue sky day

Gorgeous!

Or the Facebook spellcheck modified version - "Orpheous!" ;-) Either way, it was a great afternoon for 10 miles down to the ocean and back. I headed out around 12:30, the cool breeze blowing and the sun shining. I actually felt a tad chilly for about 2 minutes as I started out across the fields, but quickly warmed up. It really was perfect running weather. Crisp, dry air, warm sun, cool breeze. Couldn't ask for much better!

The Pennelville fields are slowly turning gold and brown, but in the midst of the autumn tones were hints of purple aster, purple cow vetch, pink clover, white queen anne's lace, yellow goldenrod and indian paint brushes. There was a lovely scent in the air - perhaps the milkweed?

It was high tide down at Simpson's Point and I stopped to take in the view, and attempt to open a gel, not very successfully I might add, before turning back for the return trip. Legs felt great, and it was just such a joy to run on such a wonderful afternoon. Days like this are why I love running! And if I can just get through tomorrow morning's 22 miles and still have energy to meet up with old friends for a long weekend of camping, I'll really be happy :-)

Early

Two early morning runs in a row. The seasons are definitely shifting. It is still pitch dark at 5:30. Tuesday morning, I didn't quite get up early enough for anything big and I didn't have the motivation for it either. So, 4 slow miles on the Highland Green short loop with the edge of the Heath loop added in. Meh.

Felt better today. Headed out at 5:40, just as the sky was getting light enough to be able to see without a headlamp. There was a bank of low fog sitting right down on the ground as I headed out on the powerlines toward the dump. The woods were dark and damp, and with the overcast skies there was no dynamic sunrise this morning, but 7 miles before 7:00 am was still a good way to start the day :-)

Crazy (T)Rain

Amy and I had planned to meet early this morning for a run. But we cancelled due to the heavy rain, thunder and lightening. I was bummed to miss out on a run with her, but not so disappointed to miss out on a run in the crazy weather. So, I happily settled for a trip to Frosty's with Sam and Ryan instead. Yum, donuts! It seemed like the great start to a potentially lazy, rainy, inside holiday day, but what did I do when we got home? Why what else but don my running gear and head out into the exact weather we were trying to avoid this morning. Sometimes I really do question my sanity!

I got soaked very quickly, both by the rain and the deep puddles along the powerlines. I ran up Tedford and looped around on the back dirt Highland Green road to the ecology center, where I did the small lollypop down into the woods to check out the river. Running high along the banks, for sure. Then back to the road until I hit the pro shop, where I ran the cart paths. A plus to the rain was that no one out golfing today :-) I finished off my miles by running back along the powerlines with one snowshoe loop up on the Mt. A. trails thrown in. Got in a very soggy 10 miles, but felt good and was glad I pushed myself out the door to get in some good miles despite the weather. Maybe it's good to be a crazy runner every once in a while after all :-)

A Day Off

It has been a long time since a weekend day has passed by without either, or both, of us fitting in our runs around family time. But today, we both took the day off, and it was lovely. We loaded up the car with beach gear, and headed up to Reid State Park with my parents, my sister and Morgan. And amazingly, although it was Sunday of Labor Day weekend, when we arrived at the parking lot at 10:00 am, there were hardly any cars parked at Mile Beach! We win!

It was overcast with a thin fog bank out along the horizon, but honestly, all that made for perfect beach weather as it wasn't all that hot. The skies cleared on and off throughout the day, and we had a great time walking the beach searching for shells, playing at the edge of the waves and in the sand. It was high tide when we arrived and the waves were strong, so we didn't stray far into the water, but we had a great time.

In the surf

Running from the waves

Smile!

Fun at the beach

Walking the beach

Buried!

So silly

Sand fun!

For lunch, we headed over to neighboring Five Islands, and sat at the edge of the harbor, eating seafood and ice cream, and soaking up the views. 

Now that's lunch with a view

Cousins

Traditional Maine lunch for Dad and Ryan

Five Islands view

Family portrait

It was the perfect day off! Thanks Mom, Dad, Kristen and Morgan! We had a lot of fun :-)

Long Run Fail

Hard to call it a long run fail when it's a 3 hour run. But it was supposed to be 22 miles, and it only ended up being 15.25. Aie. Mom and Dad very nicely agreed to take Sam this morning so that Ryan and I could get in our long runs together. Since we had to work with Sam's sleep schedule and get her down to Falmouth to Kristen's and then get back to the Brad, we didn't actually start running until 9:00 am on the dot. We saw Jim, Nathan, Jeremy and Alan in the parking lot. They were looking pretty sweaty. Clearly, it was pretty humid out. But I honestly think it only got worse while we were out there. Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse. Either way, the humidity was not my friend today and it put a big damper on the running.

Things started out well, out on the east side portion of the BBU course, when we ran into Jamie around 2 miles in. He turned around and ran with us, and it was fun to catch up. Back at the parking lot, none of us needed to stop so we continued on the course. At the top of the Ski Trail, Jamie headed to the summit and Ryan and I continued on the course. I told Ryan at that point that I could feel I was dragging a bit. The legs just didn't have much umph and I was soaked with sweat. But on we continued, and while I wasn't feeling great, things were OK. I stopped near the Quarry turn-off to pick some blackberries - yum - and then headed on down the hill. I think we held it together pretty well until the end of the road portion, after which it truly became a slog and there was a fair amount of walking involved. Both of us were feeling really off and it showed. The miles ticked by slowly. I actually did pretty well on the uphills, up Tote Road and up Lunch Break, but didn't have much energy on the downs or flats. A 13 minute mile here, and there. Yikes. Neither of us were willing to call it quits before we finished the BBU course, but somewhere in those final few miles, I told Ryan I was done as soon as we hit the parking lot. I ran out of water partway up Lunch Break and that just sealed the deal. I had consumed 60 oz of water and although I felt like I had to pee, and stopped a few times, nothing came out. It was time to stop. I am sure I could have slogged on, but it honestly was feeling like that simply would have been detrimental. I am blaming the humidity for most of the sluggishness, although when I looked at my log tonight, I realized that today's run brought me to 57.5 miles for the week (Sunday through Saturday - still on that schedule on my training calendar even though I'm now off on Saturday and Sunday) with 10 1/2 hours of running/hiking/walking time. That is very high for me, especially considering I've only put in two weeks over 40 miles in this training cycle so far. Low mileage? Probably. But it's what I've got, so I'm going with it. In any event, I'm trying not to be too rough on myself about today, although I am disappointed to once again not hit my mileage goals for the day. 

Hopefully next Saturday morning will be crisp and clear. I'm planning on hitting the trails early for 24 miles before we head out on our camping trip, and I really want to have a good long run! Man, this training thing is tough. I am certainly still figuring out how to make it work, but with 2 months to go, there is still time to redeem myself (or at least I hope there is!!).

Afternoon 8

I changed into my running clothes at work, and one of my co-workers asked me how much I normally run. I told him that today I was "just" running 8. From the other room, I heard the other Danielle in the office yell, "Just?!" Hmmm... I sometimes forget that what seems like a normal afternoon run of no big significance to me doesn't always seem so to others :-) Guess that's ultrarunning for you!

Headed out into the Commons around 12:30. The sun was warm, the breeze was cool, but it was surprisingly muggy. I ran what has become my "typical" 8-mile lollypop loop - 3.5 through the trails in the Commons, the 2-mile Pennelville loop, and the more straight shot route back to Bowdoin for the remaining miles. A nice, if sweaty, afternoon run. My legs still felt a bit tired from Sunday's effort up in Acadia, but I realize this is just part of the game. Tomorrow's 22 at Bradbury might hurt a bit, though ;-)

Pre-Dawn Run

5:30 am. Pitch black.

I wait a few minutes.

5:37 am. Just enough light that I leave my headlamp at home and head out into the murky darkness, where I bumble along the powerlines in the low light. The air is heavy. The sweet scent of ferns fills my nose past Highland Green Road. It's still dark as I head down the hill past Rt. 24 at 2 miles, and it's evident there's to be no sunrise today with the heavy cloud cover.

I scared up a little mouse (white footed?) on the return. It jumps and scampers right into a rock with a little squeak, then heads off into the grass at the edge of the trail. Funny little thing.

Despite the mugginess, fall is definitely on its way. We're losing daylight fast.

Nice 6 miles to start the day.

Creaky Recovery Run

Worked a half day today, and got out for a run around 1:30. It was fairly warm and humid, and to say that the legs were creaky was a bit of an understatement ;-) Headed down to the river and took my time enjoying the singletrack. Took the back dirt road and powerlines on the return trip and was able to move the legs a little faster, but I certainly wasn't setting any speed records today! 6 miles in 1:00:48.

My Day as a Working Mom

Ryan commented that I could have compiled this. It is perfect. Could be me on any given day, and even better, it's complete with animated images:

My Day as a Working Mom

But in case you'd prefer to see photos of the cute little munchkin rather than laugh hysterically at an article poking fun at the realities of a working mom's day, here are a few from the past week. My parents's have been up visiting, so you know what that means! Yes, exactly :-) Photos!!

Cute kids (and kitties)

Fun in the splash pool

Cousins

Wolfes Neck

Exploring

With Pippi at the water's edge

Snacktime with Neenie

So happy!

Acadia Weekend

Mom and Dad nicely agreed to watch Sam for us this weekend so that we could have a short getaway. Thanks Mom and Dad! We left around 10:30 yesterday and headed north. Some of the swamp maples were starting to turn red along the marshes as we neared Bangor and exited the highway. We arrived at the Acadia Visitor Center a little before 1:00, marveling at the blue sky and wonderful weather. We donned our running clothes and headed up the spur to the carriage roads. Our route took us around Witch Hole Pond. The air was dry, the scenery, as always, was beautiful, and we did a lovely 5-mile loop before heading into town for a late lunch. Lunch was followed up by a bit of walking around town - we even ran into Judson's wife, Autumn, which was fun - before checking into our hotel. We couldn't just sit inside on such a gorgeous afternoons, so we headed back out and walked down along the Ocean Path before dinner.

Playing tourist

Dinner was, of course, followed up by ice cream and Ben & Bill's. Yum!

A whole row of deliciousness!

This morning, after a sad free continental buffet breakfast at the hotel, we set off for this morning's adventure. Ryan had devised a loop that started us at the Eagle Pond trailhead, ran us along the road for a mile or so, then up on the North Ridge Trail to the summit of Cadillac. It was another perfect morning. Cool and crisp with blue skies and warm sun. Awesome. We were chipper and happy at the start, enjoying the climb and the views out over town and ocean.

Up the ledges

Great running

Happy runners

At the top we took the obligatory summit photo, and then headed down the South Ridge Trail, which had gorgeous views out along the ridge and was great running until we hit treeline.

South Ridge vista

Summit photo

Ryan running along the ridge

We did a fair bit of hiking both up and down the mountain, but ran when we could. It really was fun! We hit Rt. 3 having run/hiked almost 8 miles in 1:45. Then it was up the road, a quick scramble up onto the Park Loop road then up onto the carriage roads to Jordan Pond House. We stopped to refill our waters, go to the bathroom and take a quick break at Jordan Pond, and then it was back on our way. Still miles to go! We took the "Around the Mountain" loop back. We've done this loop before, but never having already run almost 10 miles beforehand. The carriage roads, while very well-graded and totally runnable, on this loop, begin fairly benignly but it is a long climb, with the final stretch along the edge of Sargent Mountain being mostly above treeline with great views and steeper grades. I felt pretty good for about 2/3 of the way, but the pace definitely slowed in the last few miles uphill. My legs simply wanted to do something else other than climb. There was no chance to use other muscles. 

No photos after South Ridge, so here's a map of our route instead :-) 

After a brief stop at the top, we headed on out. The way down was, well, mostly downhill, with one other up that was rather mean, and which neither of us remembered. The downhill actually might have been more painful. Again, simply because it was so consistent. At the turn-off to Eagle Lake, it was more downhill. We saw a ranger biking up and Ryan stopped to ask him where junction 8 was. Turns out we went the wrong way. Argh! I was pretty worked at this point and ready to be done. So to hear that we'd just added miles to our trip was not what I wanted to hear. Aie. Then, we both ran out of water. The day had gotten warm and we'd been doing well hydrating. Yes, Aunt Betty Pond was gorgeous - covered in water lilies. But the route seemed to drag on. We hit 20 miles and the end was not in sight. We just going. My Garmin had died before we even started the run so I didn't have that to look at. So what else to do but keep running? Slowly and a bit painfully. I had one small almost-meltdown near the end. I just so wanted to be done! And ta da! There was the carriage road along the lake. We were done. Hurray! 22.25 miles in 4:09 moving time, with about 25 minutes of stops added on. We probably bit off a bit more than we should have with this one, but it was one heck of a run, and although we both struggled in parts, we did it. Epic MDI long run mission accomplished :-)

Overall, I think we averaged around 15:00/mile over Cadillac, but once we got off the technical stuff, most of our miles were in the high 9:00s, with the final 2 miles of the climb in the "Around the Mountain" loop in the 10:00s and the final 2 miles of the whole run in the 10:00s too. I ate well until around 3 hours, at which point, I didn't. Think I managed 3 gels, 2 full bags of honey stinger chews and 3 shot blocks during the whole run, with about 60 oz. of water consumed, and I would have had more if I'd had any left in my pack :-) I definitely had a few low points, but mostly I just kept reminding myself "relentless forward motion" and "keep moving." We went through long stretches without talking, just toiling away side by side or a few steps apart, but it was really great to be able to go on a long adventurous run with Ryan! Overall, I'm calling it a success and definitely a good training day!

We headed to Two Cats for brunch, arriving just before closing. We almost fell asleep at the table, but were revived by the deliciousness placed before us. Yum! 

All worn out

Two Cats - yum!

It was a fun getaway, and even more fun to have Ryan healthy enough to go on a crazy run adventure with! Many thanks to Mom and Dad for allowing us to have a bit of time together. Sam, of course, had a blast while we were away, but I think we were all happy to be home together this evening!

And with that, I'm headed to bed!