Ocean and River

Intended to get up and out early this morning for my run, but Sam had other plans and she woke up before I headed out the door. Which led to me hanging out with her and making pancakes and bacon while Ryan slept. So when Amy said, hey, let me know if you want to run, I like, well, if you want to come up here, I'm game! So instead, I got in a lovely road run out through the quiet roads of Pennelville with Amy mid-morning today. It was a windy but beautiful blue sky day, with the sun shining and the trees covered with snow. We ran down to Simpson's Point and took in the ocean view before looping back around to the car for a good 5.5 mile run. Perfect!

Later this afternoon, after Ryan had gotten in his snowshoe run and Sam and I went to do the recycling and to battle the crowds at Target, the three of us got out for a snowshoe hike down along the Cathance. The trails had been really packed out by the time we arrived around 3:30. I guess everyone else wanted to get out and enjoy the snow and sunshine! We went a slightly different route than we might normally take, enjoying the late afternoon light shining through the birch groves, the roar of the river, the snow-covered trees, and marveled at how amazing it was to have snow on the ground but also so much open water. Still, incredibly beautiful out there. We got in a nice hour-long/1.1 miles hike and then headed off to meet up with Kristen, Phil, Anne and Thistle for sushi and gelato. Life is good ;)

Snow Day

Today's snow day brought to you by sticker making, bird feeder painting and a whole lot of Wild Kratz....

From 50 degrees yesterday to a snow day today. Crazy! But that's Maine for ya... Snow, snow and more snow...

Donuts, Deer and a Day Off

Original plans called for meeting up with Amy yesterday for a birthday run and lunch out. With the weather, we decided to move the celebration to today, which actually worked out quite well, as combined with my regular Friday off it meant a four-day weekend. Can't complain about that! We met up this morning out at Lawrence Road after I dropped Sam off at school, and got ready to run. Of course, we had to eat our donuts first ;)

Pre-run donuts

With all the rain from yesterday combined with temps in the low mid-40s, we figured the best bet was to stick to the roads today. Thankfully, these back roads are quiet and not well-traveled, and I was surprised to find that after the first few paved road miles, we would end up running on nice packed dirt roads for the remainder of the out and back. We also found some good hills, some lovely field and marsh vistas, complete with low mist rising from the dwindling snowpack, and had a grand old time enjoying the run and each other's company as we chatted away. Always fun to run with Amy!

Mist rising

Fun running

Love the design of queen anne's lace in winter

Back roads

Of course, we also found a deer leg, yup, just the leg, in the middle of the road, with no evidence of the rest of the body to be found. Bizarre. You just never know what you'll find out there. Also a wooly bear. On February 4th. Moving around and unfrozen. This has been one odd winter.

Deer leg.

Wooly bear!

We got in a good 14 miles on this spring-like morning, and followed up the run with lunch at Edna & Lucy's, which, for me, also included a delicious, decadent chocolate cupcake. Yum! 

Incredibly lucky to be able to spend the morning running and playing with my good friend! Thanks, Amy! :) A perfect birthday celebration!

41, You've Got Nothing On Me

41. A weird age. Not a big one like last year. Just any other day, really. I don't feel old. Well, ok, sometimes ;) But don't quote me on that!

Honestly, it was a regular day today. No special dinner, no donuts or ice cream. Gasp, I know! Just work and swim lessons for Sam, which meant a 4.1 mile treadmill run for me ;)

Of course, the best thing about birthdays these days is hearing from family and friends, which I had plenty of! Love that! Oh and this gem from Sam ;) 

But, don't worry, I'm not completely ignoring my birthday. Honest. I'm taking a day off tomorrow to run with Amy and have lunch out, and am following it up with my regular three day weekend. I'd say that's a pretty good way to celebrate! Oh, and there just might be a few donuts to eat tomorrow pre-run :) 

River and Back with John

Got in a nice early morning run with John today. We couldn't decide which would be better, Cathance or snowmobile trails, so I asked Sam. She said Cathance, so that is where we went ;) Variable conditions out there for sure, with everything from packed snow to ice to bare ground to open water, but it was doable. Of course, John just ran right over everything while I timidly picked my way across the ice, etc, ha! We had a great time catching up as we ran, and caught the beginning of the sunrise, which was partially hidden beneath the heavy overcast. A nice 5.2 to start the day.

2016 Goals: Gratitude - January

I've never been big on resolutions but I do like to set goals and having things to work toward. And while I certainly have running goals for 2016, one of the other things I am hoping to focus on this year is gratitude.

I have the bad habit of thinking woulda coulda shoulda, of looking ahead and behind, of not always appreciating what I have and how good I have it. There will never be enough money or vacation time and there will always be a house to clean, laundry to do and little daily annoyances. But I am incredibly lucky and need to do a better job of remembering that and appreciating the joy around me, whether it be from something small or big.

I saw something in Facebook around the holidays about making note of one good thing/thing that made you happy/grateful/thankful/smile every day and writing it down, with the idea of looking back at the end of 12 months and remembering how great the year truly was, and I really like the idea.  I'm not saying this means I will always be joyful or grateful, but it does mean I am going to make a conscious effort every day to note something that has made me happy/grateful/thankful. I won't be putting my notes in a jar, but the practice of gratitude and appreciation speaks to me, and is something I plan to work in this year.  My plan is to do monthly compilations, with notes typed out daily. And since this blog is essentially my journal of running, life and kiddo stuff, here is the first installment: my gratitude list for January. I must say, there was a lot of fun and happiness this past month!

1/1/16 - Grateful to be able to share a run on the icy trails at the other Brad with Ryan. We don't get to run together often, so it's always nice when we get the chance! Great way to kick off the new year.

1/2/16 - Thankful to spend time with family and to see these two cuties laughing and playing together. 

1/3/16 - Birds chirping, pretty marsh, pretty sky. Enjoyed the peace and solitude out on my run this morning. 

1/4/15 - This. 

1/5/16 - Indoor recess for two days meant a bit of fresh air was needed, so Sam and I went for a headlamp walk around the block tonight after I picked her up at after school care. She held my hand the whole way.

1/6/16 - Grateful to have a job with flexibility enough to leave at 3:00 on a Wednesday to take Sam to swim lessons.

1/7/16 - Headed out at 6:00 am for a run on a crisp, clear morning. Treated to the incredible sight of the crescent moon flanked by the brightly shining Venus and Mars. Gorgeous.

1/8/16 - Green hills, blue electric sky.

1/9/16 - Every day is better if it involves a Frosty's donut and a cup of coffee. Enough said. Plus 7 hours of solid sleep last night, which is huge for me. 

1/10/16 - Glad to have a good friend to meet up with on a dreary, rainy, misty, foggy Sunday morning to hold me accountable to my 12 miles on a day it would have been easier to stay inside. Thanks, Amy! 

1/11/16 - More late afternoon light means time for weekday outdoor adventures! Checked out the Labrynth in the Woods with Sam today after her dentist appointment. Fun in the woods is always good. 

1/12/16 - Snow falling in the darkness. As Sam says, "it is so beautiful."

1/13/16 - Thankful to be able to access plowed, quiet streets for an early morning run after a snowfall.

1/14/16 - Oh happy day! Today, I finally finished entering the last of the 200+ end of the year donations and printing out the corresponding thank you letters that I've been working on at work. Only took two weeks!! Hurray. 

1/15/16 - Lovely, snowy daylight run along the Cathance. River was roaring!

1/16/16 - Excited Sam was so excited by her new skis that we just had to get out to try them out after today's storm :)

1/17/16 - Peaceful, solitary, beautiful, tough, frosty snowshoe run at the Brad this morning followed up with an afternoon snowshoe hike with Sam out in the Cathance. Always good to get out and play in the snow :)

1/18/16 - A vacation day spent with friends is always fun! Spent many hours hanging out with Will and Amy. The kids played really well together, and Amy and I trekked around the yard in our snowshoes ;)

1/19/16 - On cold, windy days like today, I am incredibly thankful that I can crank up my heat without wondering if I have enough fuel left in the tank. Many of the clients we work with do not have that luxury, and in these cold months I am always reminded of how lucky I am to have a warm, cozy home.

1/20/16 - Beautiful pre-dawn snowshoe run this morning down to the river and back. Thankful I hauled myself out of bed and out the door :)

1/21/16 - Tonight, while trying to get Sam ready to sleep, she got the hiccups. So after the lights were turned out and I sang her a few songs, I thought I'd yell a big silly "Boo" to try and startle the hiccups away. Of course, all that happened was she said, "Was that a big sneeze?" and then Ryan came running in from the bathroom wondering what the hell had just happened, and Sam said, "It wasn't me! It was Mommy!" and the two of us started laughing hysterically. Well, so much for getting calm before bedtime but it's always good to get in a big belly laugh for the day ;)

1/22/16 - Great 10 miles on the snowmobile trails at the Brad with Maureen today. Felt strong and happy, which is how all runs should be :)

1/23/16 - Love being cuddled up on the couch with a tired girl, reading books to her before bedtime. 

1/24/16 - Always good to spend the morning outside in the sun and snow with friends! TMR snowshoe race season kick-off today, and if you're not racing, volunteering is a fun alternative :) 

1/25/16 - Still light in the sky at 5:00 pm! 

1/26/16 - Beautiful sky and packed singletrack on this morning's run! 

1/27/16 - Love getting into bed and having Gigi jump up and give me nose kisses before settling in by my side, purring contentedly.

1/28/16 - "Easy peasy," said Sam tonight as she finished up her math homework. So glad that she loves school, enjoys doing her work and that homework is not a struggle to get through every night!

1/29/16 - Grateful to be able to spend a few hours a month volunteering in Sam's classroom. So neat to be able to get a glimpse into her day, get to know her peers and teacher, and watch her learn.

1/30/16 - Just plain enjoyed the whole day, complete with a happy kid, a good afternoon run down to the river and good energy all around.

1/31/16 - An early morning trail run with a good friend, always a great way to start a day!

Sunday Connector Fun

Met up with Amy early this morning for a run out on the Connector. No sunrise this morning due to overcast skies, but a lovely subdued palette on view between the white snow, brown brush and pale sky nonetheless. Warm and windless, and quiet on the trails, aside from the crunch of the snow beneath our feet and our chatter :) A good 6 miles to kick off the day!

Enjoying

...a bit of extra sleep this morning, followed by a few cups of coffee and a bit of quiet before Sam woke up. Ryan went up to get her and when she came downstairs, she ran to me with a big smile for a hug. What's not to love?

....watching Sam swim like a fish in the water at her lesson, waving her little waves at me every once in a while to ensure I was watching.

...a bit of music at the indoor farmer's market, the kids munching bagels, the vibe happy and cheery in a winter Saturday. 

...knowing Ryan was out snowshoe racing, perhaps his favorite kind of racing ever :) Glad we can make it work for him to get a few races in each winter and that he is healthy enough to do it! 

...reading books with Sam while we eat lunch.

...a late afternoon run down along the river, the snow tacky beneath my feet, the river flowing, snow stuck to the trees, the woods quiet, my body happy and feeling good. 

...sitting by the heater with Ronnie at my side, eating a snack and catching up on the world while Sam plays contentedly upstairs.

...an early dinner out with my two favorite people, doing silly drawing games at the table and having a relaxing evening together.

A good Saturday indeed. 

Wednesday/Friday

Despite the fact that I normally think of myself as a morning runner, I have been failing at that title a lot recently. Didn't sleep well on Tuesday night so never made it out of bed early enough for a run on Wednesday before work. I decided I would make up for it with a run during Sam's swim class, so I hit the treadmill at the Y. Not my most favorite way to get a run in, that's for sure, but it works and it serves me right for not getting up and out in the morning ;) Started around 8:50 pace and cranked it up every 1/2 mile, finishing up with 1 mile at 7:53 pace and then a 1/4 mile cooldown to get in 4 miles in 33:30. Managed to just barely stop sweating before I had to pick Sam up at the pool ;)

Today I headed out after dropping Sam off at school. A bit of a dreary morning, with a little bit of snow and rain spitting down on me throughout the run, but thankfully it didn't become anything worse than that. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to find out on the trails with the warm weather we've been having, but I decided to head out into the Cathance to check things out. Things were nice and compacted up and over Mt. A. and along the golf course, with the singletrack around the Heath a bit of a mess due to someone who had been out in the warm weather postholing the trail. When those footprints freeze again, it really makes things rough going! Across the street, I ran down the Barnes Leap trail, which was wonderfully compacted by skiers, snowshoers and fat bikes; the rest of the way along the river was a mixed bag in terms of conditions, for the most part the singletrack was compacted but not nice and smooth. Still, decent all things considered.

When I got up into the field, I turned left and ran the Ravine Loop, which had seen less traffic and was a little rougher going, then I headed back through the woods, around the Heath, back on the golf course and up Mt. A. again before heading out on the snowmobile trail. The snowmobile trail was nicely compacted too, but in the spots where people had been walking, it was rough on the ankles, and there were a number of icy stretches too. Still, faster than it has been.

All in all, a good run, and happy to have gotten it in. Aerobically, I wasn't taxing myself at all, but my legs were definitely a bit tired from the uneven ground and the fact that this is only the second time I've been out for more than 2 hours since TARC :) Got in 13.6 for the day, and now it's time to get ready to volunteer in Sam's classroom!

Beautiful Sky

We appear to be in a bit of a thaw this week, or at least the first few days. It was in the high 20s when I went out for my run yesterday morning - I was completely overdressed. I took the snowmobile trail up and over Mt. A. and then ran out along the groomed golf cart path on hole #3. Things were pretty soft until I hit the packed trails along the Heath, at which point there had been enough traffic to make the trails pretty nice running. I ran down along the river, enjoying the singletrack. By the time I was climbing the hill up to the field near mile 4 along the route, the sky was lightening and I was able to turn off my headlamp. Gorgeous sunrise this morning. I kept stopping along the way to take photos - it was just too beautiful not to!

Through the trees

Beautiful sunrise

Love the periwinkle clouds!

I ran back via the back road, which was down to frozen dirt, and then out on Canam. Got in 5.9 miles on a truly beautiful morning. Glad to have gotten out!

Sunny Sunday

Today was the first race in the 2016 Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe Series. Sam had a bit of a rough morning being woken up first by Ronnie yowling in the hallway and then by Ryan going in and out of the house a half a dozen times carrying things to the car, but turned it around in time to make it over to the park around 10:00 am. It was a bright, sunny and cold morning, but it is always good to catch up with people and see everyone excited for the race. With 91 racers, it was a great field!

Squall start. Photo by: Dirigo Endurance, LLC.

Sam and I were manning the finish line - it was a busy but fun assignment that kept us occupied. We had a new registration/awards area right near the finish line this time, and I think a lot more people hung around after, which was really nice! After awards were given and everything was cleaned up, Sam and I headed over to Edna & Lucy's for lunch; we were joined a little later by Ryan, John and Damon, and we all had a good time chatting. 

By the time we got home it was around 2:30, but it had warmed up considerably, so leaving Ryan and Sam to watch the game and work on the results, I headed out for my own run of the day. I chose to wear my screwshoes, which was a fine decision for the singletrack around the Heath and down along the river, which had been packed nicely, but which made for slow going on the loose snowmobile trail and the soft groomed ski trails along the backside of Mt. A. and the golf course. I've never been a huge fan of the late afternoon run - I am just so much happier running in the mornings - but, it was a gorgeous afternoon and I was glad to be able to get out. Finished up the week with 34.5 miles, 4th 30+ mile week in a row, so progress! 

Daylight Running

Met up with Maureen yesterday at the Brad for a run. Originally it was supposed to be Val and Mindy too, but both had to cancel in the end, which is too bad as it would have been great to catch up. Oh well, another time! But it ended up working out really well in the end, as Maureen and I had a fun run on a lovely, chilly, windy morning. We decided to hit the snowmobile trails and found them in good shape and easy to run on - hurray! The miles ticked by easily and quickly as we chatted away and kept up a good pace. We seemed to be pretty evenly matched pacewise, which was nice - of course, Maureen is almost 20 years older than me - wow! I hope I am as strong as she is at almost 60 years old!

We ran until my watch beeped 5 miles, which got us about 1/4 mile out onto the powerlines, and made our way back to the park. The trails were very quiet - no snowmobiles, and only one other person out there, a man snowshoeing out in the corn field. I noticed a lot of deer prints as well as some turkey prints along the edge of the field, but no sign of the bone that Amy and Val had seen the day before - someone/something must have dragged it off into the woods. All in all, a really nice 10 mile run with a friend, and very happy to finish up feeling strong and energetic!

I hardly slept last night - sigh - so I didn't get up when the alarm went off and tried to get a bit more rest instead. I took Sam to her swim lessons and to the indoor farmer's market while Ryan was at the Brad course marking and getting in his run, and then after he got home, I headed out for my own run. Of course, I had just had a huge bowl of leftover chicken pot pie - hmmm, perhaps not the wisest decision, in retrospect - but I knew if I didn't get going, I might not actually get myself out the door! It was overcast, cold and windy. Brrr! I did the same snowmobile trail loop around Lover's Lane that I had done the other morning. A bit slower today due to wind, full stomach and more churned up trail, but regardless, glad to get in the miles.

While I was gone, Ryan and Sam worked on race numbers, and then once I got back, we got the race prizes baked up. Another busy Saturday!

Hard at work... 

Winter Fun

Sam and I had Monday off, as school was closed for MLK Day. Amy invited us over to their house, and we made a day of it. Will and Sam played really well together, we brought donuts (of course ;)), Amy and I had the chance to catch up while the kids played inside, and then while the kids made colored snow out on the deck, the two of us took a short snowshoe trek out into the woods and around the house. Snow fell the whole time we were there - big white flakes - but luckily by the time we left 5 hours later (!!), the roads were much better than on the drive over. Much fun was had!

Sam had fun playing Batgirl for the afternoon!

Snowy trek around the yard on our snowshoes

I neglected to actually get up on Tuesday when the alarm went off. In my defense it was darn cold and windy but really, I was just being lazy. Sigh. So Wednesday, there was nothing to do but get up when the alarm sounded and get ready to head out. It takes me a while some days to actually get out of the house but I did manage to get out at 5:50, only 5 minutes after I had hoped. It was dark, cold and windy but temps were nearing 20 so I was plenty warm enough in all my layers. I ran with my snowshoes in hand across the street, and was happy to see that several snowmobiles had been out along the powerlines. This made the way up and over Mt A much easier! At the top, I hit the groomed ski trails down the backside and across hole #3. Soft but packed. Around the Heath and down to the river was in good shape and had seen a fair amount of traffic. By the time I was heading back on hole #3, it was just light and open enough to turn off my headlamp, and enjoy the early morning light. Sometimes it is hard to get out the door, but the vast majority of the time, I'm glad I did. What a nice way to start the day. A good 5.4 miles for the morning. 

Morning light

This morning, I got up and decided I wanted to check out the snowmobile trails. I found them in pretty good shape, with things a bit softer and more churned up between the high school and Rt. 24, but darn solid overall. From there I ran out to Lover's Lane and out along the back loop. The loop was in great shape - packed nicely by the snowmobiles and then packed down further by the fat bikes. Good running. Another cold but lovely morning. Got in 6.9 miles for the day. The sky this time of year truly is beautiful. Also saw four of the five planets before the skies lightened - very cool!

Snowmobile vista