Oh Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Brrrr! Felt like winter for sure this morning! The car thermometer was reading only 19 degrees when I dropped Sam off at daycare at 8:00 am. I got home, pulled out some warmer running gloves and headed out. I had already made my mind up to run the cart paths for 6 miles, but man, out in the open with the wind, it sure was cold! In an attempt to warm up, I picked up the pace but I don't think my legs actually warmed up until around mile 4.5 :-) Ran home on the powerlines, hoar frost crunching underfoot and the wind whipping in my face, and pulled off the 6 miles in 51:00. Was glad to get home and warm up by the heater, alongside the cats :-) Smart animals, they are!

Frosty Heath

Had a last-minute change in the schedule this morning when Ryan didn't get up for his run and Sam woke up in a bit of a mood. We finally settled her down in front of an episode of "Dora" (I know, I know, but sometimes, TV is a useful device.), Ryan took a quick shower and I headed out to get my run in before he left for work. I hadn't anticipated just getting up and going, so downed a quick handful of raisins, chugged some water and was off. Since I had to get back before Ryan left, I didn't have much time, so I settled on the Heath loop for 4 miles. I'll get out on the cart paths tomorrow and get in 6 to round out the 10 for these two days.

The air was cold, and my legs didn't seem warmed up, making the 9:00 pace feel like a bit more effort than it should have, but it was still a beautiful morning to be out. The sun was just sneaking above the treeline and the horizon glowed orange as the orb rose. There was a very slight trace of snow on the green moss along the Heath loop and atop the iced over puddles. The leaf matter was thick beneath my feet, and the hoar frost crunched as I ran along. I caught movement to my left up in the trees, and paused in time to see a Pileated Woodpecker fly past, stopping for a moment to circle around a tree trunk just off the trail before moving on. Always a neat sight!

Sunrise

Out at 6:30 this morning. Although the sky was already brightening, I still caught most of the morning's spectacular sunrise. Bands of pink and purple lit up the low clouds and a golden orangey glow rose along the horizon. There was even a neat tower/spotlight of pink rising up vertically through the clouds. Very cool. I didn't want to turn away from the show so ran my three miles out and back on the power lines for maximum viewage :) Definitely worth getting up and out the door for on a cold November morning!

Too Much Pie

The past two days have been spent doing way too much sitting - in the car, on the couch, at the table, and yesterday at the desk at work. There's also been a bit too much pie eating - although I suppose that is part of what Thankagiving is all about :-) In any event, I was more than happy to get out for a run this morning!!

I headed out into the cart paths, adding in the Heath loop to get the route to 7 miles. It was crisp and bright out. No frost on the greens this morning but no golfers at 8:00 am either - too cold!! My legs felt a big heavy but since the run is in essence a road run - packed gravel paths make for good running! - it was a relatively snappy one. Felt good to move a bit, for sure.

It was great to see everyone the past few days! In case you think Sam and Morgan just don't get along :), here are a few cute photos from Thanksgiving day!

Silly cousins :-)

Hugs!

Goofing around during dessert :-)

Mist

A thick low mist down to the ground, the sun up high trying valiantly to break through. A thin sheen of ice on the Heath and the Vernal Pool. The soft babbling of the Cathance. A flash of red as a Cardinal flew past. 5 quiet early morning miles in the woods. With the rest of the day to be spent with  family, eating turkey and pie and watching the cousins play. Thankful indeed.

Quick

Sam had a rough night of sleeping last night after being very good for a long stretch. I wish I knew what it was that set off a bad night's sleep. She can't quite verbalize yet what it is that makes her so uncomfortable, etc in the night, so it's just a guessing game. Is she overtired? Having nightmares? Who knows? In any event, I woke up feeling a bit less than rested. Luckily, daycare drop-off went smoothly, I got home to get the sweet potato and apple casserole in the oven and then still had time to get out the door for a short 3 miler around the block. I managed to click off 8:30s, which is my typical "I'm in good shape, this is no trouble" kind of time for the loop. I'm taking it as a good sign, but I'm still feeling tired.

Looking forward to a few extra days off this week, some good family time and lots of yummy food, plus at least a little running :-) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Down by the River

Sam went into daycare today because it's a shortened week due to Thanksgiving. She'll have enough "home days" later this week, so off she went this morning to play with her friends while I ran around like a maniac trying to cross off a million and one things on my "to do list" on this "free" day :-) I did, however, have my priorities straight, and got in a run down along the Cathance before I did anything else! I ran the 7 mile "loop," enjoying the rushing waters and the quiet woods. The singletrack is covered with leaves and there was a lot of hoar frost, so the going wasn't quick, but that wasn't the intent today anyway. It was a gorgeous crisp morning to be out, the sun shining down through the bare branches of the trees above  - right into my eyes! Should have worn the shades! First hour+ run since Stonecat. Although the run was nice and things felt pretty good, I did feel like my legs were still a wee bit tired, so I think I'll keep on the slow track for the next few weeks and just get in 4 days/20 miles both this week and next. No need to rush into anything right now. 

Start of the Season

Last night, we went to a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at the house of Ryan's new boss. All his new co-workers seem very cool, and one of them has a daughter a little older than Sam, so the two girls had fun running around together. This morning, we went to Frosty's for donuts and then tonight had pizza at our house with Nate, Shannon, Lenka and Zak, followed up by a delicious chocolate Guiness cake that Zak made. I made a salad but really, who were we kidding! Next week, we'll be having two full Thanksgiving dinners. Oh boy, better start upping the miles!! :)

Got out this afternoon for a nice, slippy slidey, muddy run in the power lines. The five miles felt good and the legs and back felt solid. I'll take it. I also ran through a group of Junior ROTC ambushing rack other along a stretch of power lines. There was silly string everywhere :) Pretty funny and certainly kept the run from being boring!!

Frosty

I got out into the sunshine this morning for a run around the Heath. The back is feeling pretty good and I was happy to be out. It was cold, bright and beautiful. I ran by an oak leaf on the ground, its edges completely frosted - delicate shimmering white atop autumnal golden brown. I took the short turn-off to the Heath overlook, taking a moment to take in the view of the frosted reeds and grasses and the iced over water, set against the blue sky above and the deep greens of the pine forest.

I came home to a big breakfast feast - pancakes, eggs and sausages - yum! Thanks Ry! - and a wacky little girl who was running around the kitchen, stopping every once in a while to shake her bum and wave her arms to the music - yup, she's got my coordination and rhythm, the poor thing, but it's still quite cute :-) A pretty good start to the day, I must say :-)

Thankful

At Sam's daycare, they make a big deal out of all the holidays. Can't say I blame them, it give their lessons and crafts a focus, but on the other hand, I was really wishing I could go without Sam knowing about Santa watching over her for another year or so :-) In any event, in preparation for Thanksgiving, they made a big paper turkey on the wall, and had all the kids tell the teachers what they were thankful for. Those items were then written on a big feather and each child's feather was put up to make a "thankful turkey." Cool idea, but I'm not quite sure Sam (or her little friends) truly grasp what thankful means... So, what does Sam's thankful feather say? "I'm thankful for Mama, Daddo and roosters." Roosters? What the heck is up with that?! 3 year olds are so weird :-)

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As for me, well, I'm thankful that despite a wonky back, I can still get out on a beautifully crisp November morning and go for a short tromp along the powerlines. Got in a nice 3 miles this morning before heading up to work. Hoar frost and ice everywhere, and bright bright sunshine. Can't beat it. 

Crunch Crunch

My back had been feeling pretty good after a lot of stretching and heating and rolling. Then yesterday I picked up Sam just the wrong way, and d*!m it, it hurt again! Yow. I was not, and am not, happy about it. I guess I really need to strengthen my back up, but at the moment, it is just so tight that I need to get it loosened up first.

I've found it actually feels better with some motion and blood flow, so I decided to go out for a short run this morning. Things were a bit cranky when I woke up, but after some stretching and moving around, I didn't feel any worse for wear while running. I ran the short 3mile Highland Green loop. It was a beautiful crisp morning. There was a layer of ice on the puddles, and on the powerlines the hoar frost crunch crunched underfoot. My legs felt good and I easily ran at 9:00 pace without trying, not that that is fast, but it's not slow. After the run, I headed off for a massage. She's mostly been working on my legs, but I asked her to do a bit of back work too. As she was working on things, I could feel just how tight things were. Sigh. Oh well. It will get better, I know it will, just a matter of how long it takes.

I have another appointment with Dr. Jamie next week. I'm hoping he can do a bit of crunching and releasing and loosen things up, and then I'll get another massage the week after Thanksgiving. Hopefully with those things, plus lots of stretching, and strengthening if I feel OK, plus some light running, and being very very careful how I lift Sam, things will return to "normal." Hope so, anyway! Having a sore back really sucks!!

Cathance Wander

We got out yesterday afternoon for a walk in the woods down to the Cathance River. The route was only a 1/2 mile or so, but we took our time, looking into the Vernal Pool for fish, stopping to pick up pebbles, having leaf races on the river, throwing sticks in and watching them brave the rapids, picking up acorns, and running from this tree to that rock. Sam made it most of the way before demanding "uppy", and even had her first pee in the woods :-) Hey, gotta be proud of that! It was a gorgeous late fall day to be out exploring!

Vernal Pool boardwalk

Boardwalk navigation :-)

Flowing waters

Our trail guide for the afternoon

Pondering the river

"I can get to that tree first!"

Sammy in motion

"Are there any fishies in there?"

I didn't get out to run today, which was pretty silly given that it was 60 degrees out. But I wrenched my back putting Sam in the car so all I wanted to do before work was stretch and heat it. Feels much better this evening, but I think I need to put some definite work into building a strong core and back!! Can't be doing this every few weeks!

Spring-like

I didn't get a chance to run either Saturday (early bird sale at work) or yesterday (Ryan was gone from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm, having a great time tailgating and watching the Pats game down in Boston with Zak). But Sam and I did have a fun morning yesterday with Morgan and Kristen. We met up at LLBean to pick up a few things, and the kids had fun running around the children's area and up and down the rock staircase in the shoe area. Then we hit Fresh Batch for lunch. It was great to catch up with Kristen, and Sam of course had a grand old time with her cousin :-)

LLBean fun

Cousins :-)

This morning I snuck out to run down to the river and back, and enjoy the beautiful morning. It almost felt spring-like! The air was damp and warm, the river was rushing, and I was more than comfortable in light tights and a long sleeve shirt. No gloves or hat needed! I felt pretty good, and the legs had a little more spring to them too, so that was more than welcome!

Hopefully we're off for an outside adventure shortly to take advantage of what is likely the last mid-50 degree day for a while!

Nice and Easy

Since I'm in recovery mode, I felt no qualms about skipping a run yesterday, on a day when the temps are in the low 30s, it was raining, and there was snow on the ground. Ryan went out just as the skies were lightening before he headed to work, though, and said it was pretty terrible out. But today, after rain all day yesterday, we awoke to blue skies and warmer temps. I had done a lot of back stretching yesterday and even got a full night's sleep (!) - Sam was nice enough to sleep through the night, or at least until 5:15 am :-), which meant I probably got 8+ hours of sleep. Haven't had that in a while! - so I woke up feeling good. Ryan dropped Sam off at daycare, and I headed out around 7:30am. I ran nice and easy around the Heath loop, shoes crunching on the bits of snow left atop the fallen leaves, enjoying the sunshine and the quiet woods. My legs still were feeling the effort of Stone Cat, but overall, I felt pretty good, and was happy to get in a nice 4 miles on the trails.

Update

Despite the blog silence the past few days, things have been moving along here in Team Snowplug land. Sam had a great time with Irene and Dana while Ryan and I were running and crewing and cheering at Stone Cat. Thank you so much, Grammie and Grampie! We really appreciate it!

She doesn't look like she was having fun, does she? :-)

I felt pretty good after the marathon, although slowly but surely my back started tightening up again later on Saturday afternoon, and I definitely felt stiff and tired all over. Still, I wasn't hobbling too much, and could make it up and down the stairs with no issue, so I'm calling that a definite success :-) We hung out at Irene and Dana's on Sunday, and then headed home in the late afternoon. Ryan headed to work on Monday, and his office is right across the street from Dr. Jamie's, so I dropped Sam off there with him and walked across the street for my appointment in the morning. Jamie commented that my back was very tight, and did some serious crunching and cracking. Youch!

I actually think I felt worse yesterday, tight back and just stiff all over, but didn't want to push it and try to run. Instead, I got a bunch of things done around the house, and most importantly, voted, before heading up to work for the day.

I went to bed before all the election results were in, but things were certainly trending in the right direction. I woke up to the news, and definitely felt proud to be living in Maine this morning. Just awesome all around.

After dropping Sam off at daycare, I went out for a short run. Man, it sure felt like winter out there! Brrr. With the wind in my face for the first mile, I felt like I could have been wearing a lot more layers! I ran the 3-mile Highland Green loop, which is mostly roads with a bit of trail and a bit of powerline mixed in. I kept the pace easy, and was happy to not have my back or legs complain too much. My legs did feel a bit heavy though but I think that's to be expected. Overall, a good shake-out run, even if a few days late :-)

The Stone Cat site hasn't listed full, official results yet, but they do have preliminary results up, which list my finishing time as 4:00:58. Well, at least I got in still in the 4:00s :-) Also appears I came in 4th woman, and 30th overall, out of 210 finishers. Given that the top three women all broke the course record, and finished way, way ahead of me, I'm pretty happy! Also looks like I had three women right on my heels, but thankfully I held them off! Or at least they couldn't quite catch up :-) Ha!