Packed

The trails were great today. They got a lot of snowmobile traffic yesterday and the Sabattus club must have groomed. Couple that with the temperature dropping way low last night, the trails were firmly packed. It figures. Kind of like when you have a haircut appointment, your hair looks the best in weeks that day. I guess I'll have to get out early tomorrow to enjoy the good conditions before the snow storm hits. I got in six miles and didn't feel like I was taxing tired legs.

Sore Legs!

It's been a while since I've had sore quads. I feel like I earned them this weekend. Saturday, I joined TMs Ian, Jim, Erik with Django, Mary with Ruby, Sara, Christine with Suzy, Erin, and Mindy at Bradbury. For a short stretch, Ian, Jim, Mindy and I ran in the lead together. Ian and Jim soon put some distance between Mindy and I. They were planning on doing the Beautiful Loop where as Mindy and I were only looking for six miles on the east side before heading out for some more miles on the mountain side. Erik came from behind with Django and ran with us for maybe a mile before pulling ahead to follow Ian and Jim on the BL, pretty much at Mindy and my turnaround.

We enjoyed our run filling it with constant conversation, some of which returned periodically to the unexpected ass-kicking the run was giving us. I always love running with Mindy; it was especially good since we seemed to be right at the same level of conditioning. We met up with Mary, Sara, Erin, and Christine in the parking lot. They'd had enough for the day. We visited for a few minutes admiring Suzy's frosty beard (someone compared it to Jim's).

Mindy and I started up the mountain. Yay! The trail was packed better on this side. We followed the snowmobile trail up to the summit and enjoyed the view for a few minutes before heading back down. Not quite happy with the mileage, added another mile before finishing, ending with nine. It was really the perfect length because Edna and Lucy's was opened by then!

Mindy and I both opted for the breakfast sandwich and hot coffee, but I added a carrot cake cupcake to my order. Mmmmm! We were just about finished when we heard Jim (no, he wasn't still out on the trail). He sat down with the breakfast sandwich, too. It wasn't long before Ian followed. Ian had done the complete loop while Jim had cut it a little short (I've never done the loop so don't know where or how much even though Jim did say where he cut back). Wow, Ian sat down with an amazing looking sandwich. It was loaded with black pastrami, caramelized onions, cheese (?), and maybe a Russian-dressing type sauce. It smelled heavenly. Jim actually went back for one after his breakfast sandwich. I could have. I wanted to. Next run, I'm getting one.

I was about to leave when Erik came in. He looked beat and like he earned his pastrami sandwich (yup, he went for one, too). I really could have sat there all day, but...time to head home, very satisfied.

Today (technically, yesterday now) I had planned to head back to Bradbury, but opted to stay closer to home. I ran Thorncrag. It has challenging hills, made even more so by the snow. It was runnable, but definitely not as well-packed as other winters. I think the reduced traffic due to banning dogs is the probable cause. There was only one trail that I couldn't run with my Inov8s; I would have needed snowshoes. I did 5.9 miles and was happy with my 13 min/mile pace (that's how hard it is). My legs are now mildly sore, but they felt pretty trashed at the end of my run.

Two Days of Snowshoeing

Yesterday I ran our snowmobile trails, but went out with my snowshoes. That decision was based on the conditions of the day before, the drifting that was going on, and Danielle's advice on the conditions. It was a good choice. There were a few stretches in the beginning where I thought I was going to regret having the snowshoes, but soon knew it was a good choice. Some of the drifts were hard to get through with the shoes. I ended up with a respectable 4 miles.


Today Dora and I snowshoed at Bradbury. It was a glorious day. Bradbury never looked better. After a 3 mile walk admiring the beauty and catching up, we headed to Edna and Lucy's to enjoy a wonderful lunch.

Slow Again

I was looking forward to running the snowmobile trails today, figuring they'd be much like yesterday. I shouldn't complain; my run was fine. It's just that there were daytime riders that loosened up the top layer making it very greasy. My pace was nearly 1 min/mile slower than yesterday. Still, I got in 6.1 and discovered a new field with a challenging hill.

Running Out of Daylight

Just a week ago I would have run right into darkness; the days are noticeably longer! What I did do was run into the cold. It seemed way warmer than the day before and I put on one less layer. It was perfect till the last 15 minutes of my run. Brrrr!

The trails were about the same as the day before even though it snowed most of the day. The light fluff didn't really accumulate. I had stretches of sub-10 min/mile! Felt like I was flying : )

About a mile from the house, in the fading light, I saw two dark figures heading my way. Linda and Bethany were out on their Dions. I chatted with them a bit before going my own way. They were having a great time on their shoes. They'd lopped huge chunks of time off their pace of their last trek out back, mostly due to trail conditions, but they felt some of it was just improvement in them.

Ended with 4.8 miles.

Frosty Five with Ketchup

Oohh...That sounded a lot better on my run. So, it's really catch up. I haven't recorded a bunch of my runs, even left off mid-Triffitt run. I loved both halves of that run. Four and a half miles filled with lots of chatter covering all sorts of topics. Soon after exiting the park boundary, we saw evidence of a deer being pursued, tufts of deer hair and some blood. In the gravel pit area we saw a very deconstructed turkey. I would have liked to run the entire beautiful loop with team Snowplug, but I had to be home to get Sam to USM. One of the cool things about running is, that as much as I love running with friends, I love running by myself, especially on trails. So, I really had the best of the best. My 4.5 miles back gave me time to think about how nice Danielle and Ryan are, how trails look so different going the other direction, and all kinds of wild and crazy thoughts.

The snow had really started in earnest during our run, a bit earlier than predicted. I called Sam, expecting to be told classes were canceled. Nope. I drove home, showered, and got back into the car (at least I had 4-wheel drive cause Rick had my car in NJ). We saw 2 cars off the highway on the way down. Driving in Portland proper wasn't any fun. Neither was it fun to find out we'd be heading right back home; classes were canceled once Sam walked into the classroom. Ugh!

Wednesday was a day off. Not a needed one, but I just ran out of time. Thursday I ran at home on the snowmobile trails. I was surprised; they were about as good as winter running gets around here. I enjoyed seven miles. The great conditions made me resent the snow that fell after that. The next day the run was hard. My pace was almost 3 min/mile slower than the day before on the same terrain. Later that night I went back out with Linda and Bethany on snowshoes (they'd just gotten their new Dions).

Saturday was a day off. I drove Ryan and Nori back to Providence after dropping Sam off for his SAT IIs. Thank you, Beth for providing the ride back home.

Sunday. Linda and I bundled up and headed to Bradbury to volunteer for the Bradbury Squall. It was damn cold, but the fun and excitement of the event offset what could have been miserable conditions. Congratulations to Snowman and Ian for hosting such a kick-ass event and to the participants that made it look so fun! Later that day, I got in my own 6+ miles on the snowmobile trails by our house. The wind had picked up a bit so it seemed even colder. I had expected the trails to be better than Friday since there had been lots of snowmobile traffic. They may have been ever so slightly better, but I think the extreme cold kept the snow from packing to firmly. Still it felt good to move.

That brings me, finally, to my frosty five (well, 5.2). The low last night was -16 at our house. I ran when it was nearly at the high of the day, 4 degrees. The wind was not all that fast, but fairly steady. It was cold. Still, with the right clothing, I was starting to unzip after 12 minutes. After 2 miles, I took my mittens off. The zippers would go up and down, mittens on and off, and hood on and off throughout the run. The trails were almost back to their wonderful Thursday conditions.

OK, I noticed some things on the run and have debated reporting. What the hell! I have become accustomed to pee on the trail, but today noticed some that was almost ice-cube like. That totally made me laugh out loud. All I could think of was someone literally peeing ice cubes - kinda like the little penguin on a Bugs Bunny episode that cries ice cubes. I love that episode. Could be cause it mentions Hoboken (where I went to college). I also got a bit of pleasure imagining that it doesn't feel particularly good to pee cubes!

I.O.U.

Three runs... Saturday, Rick and I headed to Bradbury to run with the TMs. Ian and Jamie ran the entire beautiful loop. The rest of the Monsters ran varying lengths out and back on the snowmobile trail. Andy, Emma, and Allen I think all were near 10 miles. Rick and I did 8.9. The going was slow, but so much better than I expected (given what the conditions at home were like). The Link was the worst of it and that's just .3 miles. Still, the run was tiring and hard on recovering tendons. A nice breakfast at Enda and Lucy's help speed the recovery, as well as warm us up (it was a sub-zero start).

Monday, I ran 5.4 on our snowmobile trails without snowshoes for the first time since the big storm. Hard work, but not to the point of being no fun.

Yesterday, I headed to Bradbury again to join the Triffitts. Danielle planned on getting in her long run on Ian's Beautiful Loop. I was glad when Ryan decided to join her, because I didn't have the time for that long of a run; I had to be home to get Sam to USM. Oops....Speaking of which, it's time to head to Bates. I'll post this and write up the run when I get back.

Right on the Trail

Today's snowshoe run was shaping up to be just like yesterday's only slightly faster, until I spotted a pair of snowmobiles stopped on the trail ahead of me. They moved on before I caught up. Unfortunately, I found out why they'd stopped; I ran right through pee on the tracks. I was pissed! Really, they couldn't even aim off the the trail?! Then, I was even madder as I breathed in the remnants of their exhaust. It always amazes me how long snowmobile exhaust (that horrible two-stroke smell) hangs in the air. I found myself wishing they'd written their names in the snow so that I could yell at them by name if I ran into them. I imagined them to be teens riding after school let out (it was around 3:30).

Across a long field, the exhaust fumes were barely detectable. Once I crossed the little stream and crested the bank, I saw them parked further up. I was running diagonally across where it appeared they were going along the edge. I ran and periodically checked to see them still parked. Hmmm....When I got to the foot bridge across the Sabattus river, I turned to head back. The snowmobiles were headed my way. As I stepped aside, they stopped. "That's too much exercise for me," the one guy (not anywhere near teen-aged) said with a smile. I smiled back and said, "It's the only way to go."

I stepped back onto the trail and ran. Their engines told me they were crossing the river and heading away. As I ran, I thought of much wittier comebacks. I definitely should have said something like, "No kidding, it's too much exercise to even walk off the trail to pee." Maybe better to just think that. As much as I hate the smell of the snowmobile exhaust, the litter some of them leave, and their noise, I really appreciate the packed trail. Even though the trail I broke and have gone over a lot is multiple times better than on the first day, it's nowhere as easy to run on as a path a snowmobile has made.

I ran just slightly farther than yesterday getting in almost 4.5.

Faster

I set out today intending to repeat yesterday's run, hoping for easier going with each time over the course. Linda and Bethany had both borrowed my snowshoes earlier in the day and gone over my path. There were still a few spots where the going was slow, but I was able to keep running. At the end of our path, I was rewarded with a snowmobile trail with even easier running. I racked up 4 miles in 22 minutes less than yesterday's 3.2.

Yesterday's Opposite

I guess that's wrong; it wasn't really the opposite of yesterday's run cause I had a blast. I strapped on the snowshoes with the intent of packing down the start of our Fat Ass. I knew it was deep, but didn't expect to sink past my knees almost everywhere. I ran for short stretches, but then walked to recover. I figured that I'd do 3/4 to a mile and then retrace my steps so that I could actually run. I was surprised to find that the going wasn't all that much easier heading back.

So, unlike yesterday, I was not fast. I was extremely slow. I kicked my ankles with the metal snowshoes. My heart rate soared. But! I was 10 again, playing "Lost in the Blizzard" with my brother. I loved being nearly knocked down by the wind.

Back at the house, I turned around to do it all over again. I finished with 3.2 miles. I hope a snowmobile notices my tracks and follows them. As much fun as today was, I'd take a packed trail tomorrow.

UPDATE: just put in the garmin data. guess I could go faster on the 2nd time out. 8 min/mile faster.

A Confession

I ran the road today and liked it. I did. I liked it. I had to argue myself into it. My knee and ankle, while OK to run on, really could use a break from the constant twists of the lumpy fields. The patches of ice have me running too cautiously; I wanted to run, not pussy foot. Tomorrow the roads might be more dangerous with the snow storm (I was almost hit by a skidding truck in the past). So the road won out.

I think it was the fact that I could run at a good pace that made it fun. There were even a few tenths under 8 min/mile! And, since I was pressed for time, this was a good way to still get in six miles.

I'll Call It a Run

I managed to run very gingerly yesterday. The swelling in my ankle was mostly resolved. My knee just felt stiff. Rick had put the screws into my shoes, but I wasn't very confident with them. None of the hardware stores had the size I wanted; I ended up with fairly small hexes. I think that, from now on, I'll start winter with new shoes and spend the extra money to put in the Ice Spikes. Though they were only in my shoes for a short time this season (I had put them into previously screwed shoes), I had a very sharp comparison to running with them verses running un-spiked verses running with just sheet metal screws.

Since there was hidden ice here and there throughout the fields, I was very, very cautious (you can read that as very, very slow). Fortunately, the few times I post-holed, it affected my good leg. My ankle was just slightly sore on the lumpy, bare ground sections. My knee did start to hurt on the outside towards the back after about 3 miles. By the time I stopped, I'd gotten in four. So, if I remain upright, I am fine to run.

Two Runs

Met up with Mindy this morning to run at Bradbury. She had run there yesterday with the TMs so was just looking to do around 3 miles. She encouraged me to do what I wanted and she'd walk if I ran longer. I thought I might like to do 5.

From the snowmobile trail, we turned off onto Lonzo. While it was lumpier (lots of frozen footprints), the trail wasn't as icy as the snowmobile trail. Several times as we chatted away, I'd find myself at a dead end in the trees; I was so focused on the immediate footing, I never looked ahead to see where we were going. Mindy is such an easy running partner and was fine with my slow pace and wrong turns.

When we returned to the snowmobile trail, at the park border, we headed back down; as it was, Mindy was going to have more than 3 miles. It was here that our pace really slowed. I knew that one of my shoes had only 3 screws - rather I thought I knew that. Turns out I was running with 1 screw in that shoe and 3 in the other. Needless to say, I was slipping a lot.

At the parking lot, my garmin read 3.96 and it was 10 am (meant Edna and Lucy's was open); I decided that was enough for me, too. After changing out of chilly running stuff, Mindy and I went to E & L's. Mindy had been there after yesterday's run and knew she wanted to try their goat cheese and pear sandwich. I almost went with that till I saw the special was a breakfast sandwich, omelet-style egg with crispy ham on a well-buttered focaccia bread. Yum! Mindy and I relished our choices and she shared a bite with me so I know I have to order her sandwich another time.

Back home, Rick was ready to go for a run when I got home. He waited for me to get ready. I decided to wear my new Inov8s, figuring that new tread was probably better than 4 screws in very worn tread. Turns out I should have taken the time to put screws into the new shoes. I was very careful and felt I chose the least iced path, but three miles into our run, I slipped on ice and went down awkwardly. My right knee hit hard, but I also twisted the knee and ankle up under me somehow. Rick convinced me that I should head back. At least we weren't too far from the house; we were heading over to the hill across the street.

Repeat

Friday's run was nearly identical to Wednesday's, except Ryan was my running partner, not Rick. I think I got in 5.67 miles with the last .25 barefoot and in the surf. A lot of fun, but I'm looking forward to being back in Maine.

On the Beach

Rick and I ran on the wet sand today, very nearly at low tide. Last year the sand was incredibly difficult to run on, mimicking the sugariest snow you could find. It didn't seem to matter if we ran close to the water or not, but Rick thought we might be close to high tide. Today, for the most part, we had pretty packed sand.

Around 1/2 mile before we finished, I took off my shoes and socks and ran barefoot through the surf. Woohoo!!! It was fun, but, by the end, the cold with the sand between my toes was starting to get painful. Glad I chose 1/2 mile for the distance. Our total for the day was 5.75.

I took lots of photos, but forgot the cable to get them onto the computer. That'll have to wait till we get home. Oh, my eye improved a lot. There is still a bit of red by the iris, but it feels nearly normal.

A Poke in the Eye

Running down the driveway, I spotted Bethany and Linda out on their run. They were hunting for signs of Taffy at the same time, but there were none. I talked with them a bit before heading out on my own.

The route from yesterday was almost the same, but the 5% of treacherous area had solidified; my feet stayed dry. With my screw shoes on, I stayed upright (my knee is quite spectacular after yesterday's fall, but function uncompromised).

When I had most of the miles I wanted, I decided to do a little bush-whacking to see if I could see signs of predators coming close to our houses from the field where most of the tracks are. I only found one set that lead in to Linda's brush toward the back of her house. It was very slow going; the snow was not packed at all and there were lots of prickers. I concentrated on following the tracks, but looked up to check where I was going and BAM! A stick right in the eye. Well, it was more of a twig, but it didn't feel good. I continued on and came out at behind Linda's. I saw Bethany through the window. I tapped on it and report my findings to her. Then complained about the twig in the eye. She said it was red.

I ran back to my house and directly to a mirror. Yup, I got a good poke in the eye. Luckily it was just to the side of the iris. In an hour, it really felt fine, but, just to be sure, I consulted a good friend of Linda's who is an eye doctor. He said was reassuring. Close call.

Unfortunately, Taffy is still missing.

A Really Good Run*

Last night, sitting in the garage with my Ally Kat, I heard the rain bouncing off the roof and patio. Crap. I imagined a mess for the next day's run. Surprise! Instead, I woke to find a sprinkling of powdered sugar covering all of outside. I'm glad Spot asked for her walk early so that I realized the conditions were perfect (nearly) for running. Before it could melt too much, I hurried to get out there.

My screw shoes were still soaked from yesterday's run. I wore my new screwless Inov8s. I didn't even bother with my gaiters; I could walk on top of the snow walking Spot. My first mile and a half were seemingly effortless (compared to the last week of running). When I crossed the stream, heading up the "road" to the manure pile, I ran across what looked like a wet spot. Oooops! Ice. Crap. It's amazing the difference between screw shoes and not. And it's amazing how hard dirt can be when it's really a frozen clod. Interestingly, I hurt the same knee and elbow as on my previous fall. Fortunately, I whacked the front of my knee and not the side like before. It took a bit before I got my stride back.. Then, not even 1/4 mile later, I went through snow and ice into water. It made me laugh. Get cocky on an off-road run and you pay the price. Altough, there wasn't much I could do for that stretch...I plunged my feet several more times before getting back to the very runnable section.

From then on, I was back to running on top of crusty snow covering lots more ground than I could before. If I didn't have errands to get to, I'd have run longer than the 10K I got in. It was good to run faster than normal, on new territory, but, believe or not, since I wasn't hurt (other than a wicked good bruise), the 5% of dicey running contributed to a really good run (* ha! how do you like them apples, John ! ).

March?

My run today reminded me of running last March. It was fairly warm, the snow was more like slush, and my feet were soaked before I'd run 1/4 mile. I had a blast. I'm glad I didn't listen to my yesterday self. After Friday's long run and the leg-trashing run yesterday at Thorncrag, I was convinced I needed a day off. I don't think that too often.

The family is headed to NJ to visit Rick's folks on Wednesday. That will be a day off. I don't have a pair of road shoes I'd run many miles in right now and trails are hard to come by down there. That all means my running might not be what I had in mind. That, along with night's sleep, made me eager to get out and run. 5 miles.

Old and New

Thursday I knocked off 6.18 miles of the 16.8 needed to reach 2000 miles in 2010. They were very slow, labored miles (about 12.5 min/mile); patches of the fields are bare, but all that snow was deposited in the low spots with depths reaching feet and feet...and feet. Of course, my feet tried to reach the ground way below. Yup. Post holing. Still, I love that type of run. It's like you've conquered something. And just short of 10.7 to go!

Friday, Rick and I headed out around 11 am. I was in a T-shirt. If I wasn't wearing screw shoes, I'd have been wearing shorts, too; I kick myself far too much. It's amazing the difference that tights can make in protecting against that pain. It's also amazing how much difference tights vs my heavier running pants can make in protecting my sore knee. I don't know how, bowlegged, I can still knock my knees together as I run, but I do. The knee I banged falling at Bradbury is still painful to the touch. Running in the heavier pants, I barely feel it.

Rick ran 3.5 with me and headed back. I planned to do 6.5 to 8 with a second run later to get in the miles to make 2000. I managed 7.9 before I required refueling. My legs were also feeling the conditions. Two hours later I strapped on the snowshoes to start my remaining miles. I wanted to pack down the mess Rick and I had made of the trail so that it would freeze nicer. After two miles of that, I headed back up the driveway to drop off the snowshoes. Ryan joined me for the last mile to help me finish the 2000th. According to my Garmin totals I actually ended the year with 2000.2 miles.

Oh, I wanted to comment on some of the wildlife signs out there, too. I saw fox, coyote, deer, and what, I suspect, might be fisher tracks. Ooh! And there was this little rodent, some kind of shrew, that made and incredible racket. It did not like me running near. No way would I have expected the little creature could make that much noise.

Today Rick and I headed to Thorncrag. The terrain is normally challenging. I started out with fairly trashed legs. As we ran, what was pretty packed snowshoed trail became mashed potato snow. This added to the difficulty of the steep hills.

The only animal tracks here were deer and lots of them. It was cool to see all the places they dug up acorns. About two miles in, I heard the familiar sound of the pileated woodpecker. I stopped. I called out, "Where are you?" Rick thought I was talking to him (I wasn't that far behind!). As if to answer, the woodpecker took wing. I'm making up a proverb that it's good luck to start the year with a pileated woodpecker sighting.

We ran for an hour giving us a very hard-earned 4.5 miles. As Rick pointed out, he has the same number of miles as I do for the year : )