Sunday With Friends

Today was 10 at the Brad with Danielle and Mindy.  I thought I'd be a lot more rickety after yesterday's run, but really just felt it in my left ankle/foot.  The start of the run was really challenging to that combo since it was a massive stretch of frozen footprints.  Fortunately, after the first 1/4 mile, there was ample snow/trail that was untouched. 

We ran mostly yesterday's loop in reverse.  The one major difference was once we popped out onto Leighton Rd, we thought about continuing on the snowmobile trail instead of following the road to the power lines.  I said that the snowmobile trail probably came out where we saw the snowmobiles turn off from the power lines yesterday.  Danielle said it did; she'd gone that way before.  However, that would mean missing introducing Danielle to Rauri Pig and the Highland cows.  So we opted to run to the farm and then double back the trail.  The coos weren't close to the fence, but Rauri graciously visited.

The fields were windy, but not too bad.  I remained unzipped.  The trail stayed firm and runnable.  Back in the park we ran the Boundary to... oh, I'll just put up the map.  Great to share the run with Danielle.  Back in the park we were greeted by the rest of the Triffitt family.  We were all chatting when we noticed TM Nathan heading out on his run.  Fun.  The fun didn't stop there.  Mindy, Ryan, Danielle, Sam and I headed to E&Ls for yummy refueling.  What a great way to wrap up the week!

Just How Much Badassery Can the Brad Hold?

I thought I was the last one to the Brad again.  Lets see, there was Ian, Jeremy, Zak, Jamie, Jordan, NJ Dave, and Mindy.  Some of the guys were talking 10 miles, but Ian, Jeremy, and Zak had some crazy stuff planned - run the connector out to the end part of the BL and then do 6x repeats of Lunchbreak Hill!  Mindy and I were doing 20.  Since we had different agendas, we let the boys go while I unhurriedly prepared.  Just as we were about to head out, we saw Blaine's car pulling in.  We waited long enough to tell him, if he hurried, he could catch up with the crew.  And he did.

We liked the idea of the Connector to BL, so followed their footprints up.  The snow was still firm enough to be some of the best running in a while.  We fell into a nice rhythm, chatting and running.  I broke both rhythms when I happened to look up from the footing to see the new bridge.  It is awesome, really.  We were so taken with it, we took a lot of time inspecting it and the views it gave.

Up the hill from here, the guys path went an unexpected direction.  Mindy and I stuck with the Connector.  Had they changed their plans?  Later, we learned that, when Ian had stopped to use the bushes, the others had taken the other route.  I could see how they might have been fooled.  It was probably when the bridge was built, but that path was now the more prominent.  It didn't take very long for them to get back on track.  Then we see two runners heading our way.  It took a second to recognize NJ Dave and Jordan.  Dave was doing 20 the next day so was cutting this one a little short.  It's always fun to cross paths.

Stepping out onto the power lines, we got a hint of the wind to come.  Brrrr.  It was also somewhere along this stretch that the trail started to get more slippery.  Some of the steeper downhills seemed like we were skiing.  Then we ran onto some of the prettiest of the BL heading to Pownal Elementary. At the base of Lunchbreak Hill, Mindy got her Flip video camera out.  We wondered how long we'd have to wait for the guys to show.  From the footprints at the base, it looked like they'd only been down once.  She'd no sooner gotten it out when we heard voices.  Down the mountain ran badasses gIANt, Zak, and Jeremy.

We chatted for a teeny bit before they headed back up.  But we felt like the hill needed to deserve its name and pulled out our Honey Stinger Waffles and savored the tasty treats.  Heading up the hill, I kept saying, "Oh!  This is the perfect spot to get them on film."  We'd wait a bit, then decide we should get moving.  Finally, it dawned on us; we could run down from where we were and back up to try to get them in one of those good spots.  I'm not sure if we were still heading down or back up when we heard them coming.  I hope the video turns out.  They looked strong and all smiles at that point.  You would have to run up Lunchbreak Hill to appreciate their task.

Before we hit the summit, I realized how cold my right foot was.  It had gotten wet several times during the loop.  I decided to stop back at the car to change both shoes and socks.  Mindy never minds any interruptions.  My feet were very happy with the decision.  It was short lived joy, but joy none the less.  We were amazed at the deterioration of the trail.  What wasn't deep slush or running water, was slippery, sugary granules.  Going up was hard because your feet slipped, going down was almost harder because they wanted to slip out from underneath.  Oh well, onward.

Somewhere on the Connector, we ran into an older couple walking.  We exchanged hellos and kept running.  Not too long after, we were surprised by a delightful snowman.  Did that couple make it, I wondered.  Then Mindy noticed tiny footprints (yes, smaller than hers).  Oh!  I had almost forgotten about the dad with his two small boys on the first lap.  It must have been their creation.

This time stepping onto the power lines, we were met with a stiff, cold wind.  The wind pushed us back, aided by the low-traction trail.  I had changed my shoes, Mindy didn't.  I think this is where her feet started getting really cold.  It was also where we started giving each other updates on body parts that were complaining.  I think the sliding on hills had both our backs stiffening up.  I visualized microwaving my Thera bear and crawling under some covers.

Crossing Lawrence Rd on the BL section, I reminded Mindy there'd be that steep down.  Well, she slid/skied successfully down.  I was immediately on my ass, sliding uncontrollably down.  It was the plowed up mud that eventually stopped me.  Oooh!  Big pouty face.  Except we were laughing too hard to be too miserable.  My ass was so muddy it went right through everything.  Wow.

At least we only had like four miles left.  Onward.  At Lunchbreak hill, we marveled at the trail the boys left behind.  Six repeats on that hill.  Amazing.  At the summit, we realized we were going to come up a little short on mileage.  OK, lets not even think of going into the parking lot.  We realized we should just go across the street for a stretch to get it all in.  By the time I reached my car, my Garmin said 19.97.  I said good enough and smiled while Mindy made sure hers read 20.

Entering E&Ls, I just breathed in deeply. Mmmmmm.  Reading specials, I became perplexed.  When Mindy stepped in, I told her Sabrina was causing trouble.  I couldn't decide between the hot roast beef special or the Rachel.  Ever the problem solver, Mindy just smiled and said, "I can fix that."  We each had half of each sandwich.  Good call.  I think running long is important in lots of ways, but it is good to make little things huge.  Each bite of those sandwiches was the best thing in the world.  Putting my feet up in the chair, ah.  We basked in the goodness of the moment, enjoying the wonderful food, the great new artwork, and the shared sense of what we just accomplished.  I love running.

Pre-Brad Beauty

 Out with Spot and Ally this morning, I was treated to the beautiful sights that new snow can offer.  Spot enjoyed the snow; she made a snow angel on the patio that melted my heart.  I knew if it was this amazing here, that the Brad would offer even more.  I didn't know what conditions the trails would be for running, but knew for viewing they'd be spectacular.  Here's some of my home shots:

Spot surveying the land

Her snow angel

The sun just coming up

Add caption

Ally Cat calling to us

Night Running Deserves a ....Oops!

Whenever I start writing about night running, I think about the REM song Night Swimming.  Really nothing about the song has anything to do with the running, but it still makes me think.

"Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago
The fear of getting caught
The recklessness in water
They cannot see me naked
These things they go away
Replaced by every day"

Well, night running usually gets a quiet night (maybe not so much when the IRS is meeting).  But, in distance running, people are often seen naked.  I think that's one of the things about ultras; your sole is bared, nothing hidden.  Anyway, I have no idea why I even mentioned this, except that it is one of the songs that gets stuck in my head while running.

Tuesday evening, I met up with Mindy, Jamie, and Kate at the Back Cove.  Jamie, Mindy, and I started out ahead of Kate, assuming her pace would be a good deal slower.  We had a good lap with interesting conversation and some laughs.  Mindy had already run a lap so was all set when we finished the first.  I had planned for another 20 minutes or so.  Jamie planned to run back along our path to meet up with Kate.  I figured I'd tag along for 10 minutes and then run back.  Jamie was sure we'd meet up with Kate first, but it gave me something to shoot for.  Well, I think we were both surprised by how close Kate was to us.  We should have all just run together!  

Wednesday, the IRS met.  Unstrung and I both doubted the conditions of the weather/trail and ourselves.  I've been dealing with an underlying something since the night before the fatass.  Unstrung's something was not underlying at all.  Her mullygrubble seemed full-blown.  Fortunately, neither of us headed our doubts.  We got in very close to 6 miles on surprisingly not-soggy fatass parts.  There was one very aggressive wild thorn bush and a few deep post-holing into the earth.  Still, I think I can safely say, a very productive meeting of the IRS.

Let's Make it 50K

I slept fitfully, but a lot, for me, Saturday night.  I'm pretty sure I was asleep before 8pm.  I would wake up for short stretches, but did not really wake up till 6:30am.  Refreshed?  No way.  I felt that same scratchy thoat and slightly feverish feel.  AAArrrghhh!  My calves!!!!!  I'm not even sure what was wrong with them.  Stretching wasn't a problem; they weren't tight.  They just hurt.  The stick did help them a bit.

Rick was up and moving pretty well a bit before 8.  He'd run his longest run in years getting in a full three laps.  He gives a lot of credit to George for making the last full lap doable.  Saturday night, I suggested heading to Turner to run at the Androscoggin Riverland Park.  Rick asked when I wanted to get going.  Hmmm...how about staying put, not wasting time driving, and running the FatAss course?  We needed to retrieve the flags at any rate.  Rick doesn't take much convincing not to drive somewhere; he does far too much of that during the week.  Since I think my schedule probably called for 10 miles, it seemed appropriate to finish the 50K.

Yikes!  The frozen footfalls of the day before made some stretches very treacherous on the ankles.  There were no places to land that gave an even landing, yet the virgin snow was not crusty enough to hold our weight.  It felt so good to get to the tire tracks.  That and the bare ground was the best running.  Rick was happy getting one lap in.  That made for just over 20 miles for his weekend (what his weekly mileage has been around).  My second lap was a little friendlier.  The snow was softening up in the sunshine.  The only concession I made to my grumpy calves was to skip the stretch down to the beaver swamp.  I started down, but, since the sun doesn't make it onto that strip, it was still just frozen, ankle/foot/calf hell.  Instead I added the distance I needed by crossing the road.  I figured that the hill made up for the improvising.

Rick and I spent most of the remainder of the day sprawled in some fashion of various furniture.  Fortunately, I didn't have to put effort into feeding us; there was plenty of goodies left from the aid station table.

3rd Annual Mockingbird Lane February FatAss - A Monster of a Day

Milling around pre-run

Shauna with Schafer who ran his longest run ever

more pre-run milling

the big dogs on the first lap

last picture before my battery died.

Luckily, I get my birthday off at work and, even luckilier, my birthday falls on a scheduled holiday (President's Day), so I was able to take Friday off.  It took Unstrung and I almost four hours to get the FatAss course marked.  In order to not be marking in the rain, we waited till just after noon to start.  Knowing that we'd be out there a while and conditions would be wet, I wore the only boots I own, big clunky snowmobile boots (at least that's what they would have been called back in the 70's).  Xar had on her running shoes.  We had loads of fun (again check out for a great description), but, by the time we were hiking the hill across the street, my back was really complaining (and I'm pretty sure causing me to).  Before we were back down, my calves had gotten louder than my back.  Now that we had the distance, we still needed to pick up flags to mark across the street; I hadn't gotten permission for painting over there.  I changed into my street shoes.  Ahhhh.  The back instantly felt better, the calves, not so much.  Unstrung had made the right call.  Wet feet?  Like they've ever not been wet this winter.  We had to add the little stretch down to the beaver swamp in order to get the right mileage.  I think the Garmin said 5.12 when we were done.  5.16666 was the needed mileage.  I'm sure you could run the course and come in with less (depending on how tangenty you ran) or more (going really wide on the turns).  I hope I thanked Xar enough.

Rick asked me several times that night if I was OK.  I couldn't believe how beat up I felt from marking a course.  Later that night, when I woke up on the couch where I'd fallen asleep, I felt lousy.  Scratchy throat and low-grade fever.  NOOOO!!!!  I drank lots of fluids and went right back to sleep.  I still felt lousy when I awoke FA morning.  Too bad, but there was still stuff to get done before the crew started to arrive.  I was sweating while making the lap/time chart, but felt better the more I did.  My calves still hurt.

Then TMs started to pour in.  The excitement was palpable.  Food of all sorts started to fill up all horizontal surfaces.  Screws going in shoes, introductions, bathroom trips, Spot rules being conveyed, and finally, the pre-run instructions.  It was on!  Thirty nine runners filed onto the course.  I had tried to get the big dogs to go out first (I was pretty confident in our course marking), but I was to lead.  The adrenaline and the fact that I had fast people in tow, made me go out faster than I normally would have.  The first stretch had us crunching through snow.  We had to lift the feet high.  I loved our short woods section, interesting footing.  Xar and I had trimmed the thorns, but, as the legs of the people who wore shorts will document, more escaped during the day as their snowy prison melted.

One stretch where my lungs felt like they were going to burst because we were breaking through more snow heading up a hill, I heard Ian say, "Val, your killing me", or something to that effect.  I was never more happy to have my lungs hang in there and not to slow on the hill.  I took Ian's remark as a compliment to the course and that he was having fun (it was his comment, at exactly the right time, that made my lungs and legs hang in there).  Around the motocross piece of the course, I finally dropped back and let the fast group go by when three runners were cutting across the field to join us; it was a good way to relinquish the lead.  It would take most of the remaining two miles to recover from the fast start.  Mindy had been in the lead group, too and dropped back with me.  It's no wonder we are running partners; we are pretty in sync.  

It was interesting how the trail changed throughout the day.  Footing that had been difficult was beaten into submission only to regain the upper hand later in the day as temperature and traffic again morphed it into a new terrain.

Snowman was the perfect person to have at base.  He tended to people without them really knowing that's what he was doing.  Previous years, I would do host stuff between laps, checking on food, water, and the house.  Ryan had that covered.  I got back out after the first lap pretty quickly (for me).  Rick, Pete, George, and Michael were just ahead of Dora, Shauna, Mary, Mindy and me.  I meant to get more visiting in on this lap, but it was hard to hear over the crunching anyone you weren't right next to.  Still good to catch up a bit with Dora and Shauna.  I don't think I was ever next to Mary :(

During the running, I never felt like I was still sick.  My calves and ankles were the only grumpy things.  The third lap, Mindy and I had some low points, but I think at different times.  There had been talk about 3 being good enough.  Well, of course it wasn't.  Back at base, there was no doubt (had there ever really been one?) that we'd be doing the next lap.  Our training plan did have 18 miles for that day.

My Garmin said almost 21 miles by the time we finished.  The extra distance could be accounted for; I never turned the Garmin off so all my walking around between laps (I changed clothes every time except the first) was in there.  Could we have done another lap?  Yup.  Might not have been pretty, though and the time was really getting late.  Better to enjoy the food, people, and, for Mindy, helicopter!

We received so many thank yous for hosting.  Well, your welcome, but...Thank you!!!  The FatAss is really a present for me.  I enjoy every bit of the planning.  I enjoy the most having the energy and comaraderie of the Trail Monsters spilling over my own backyard.  I'd have FatAss every weekend if I could.

Two Vastly Different Night Runs

I was glad Mindy and I were able to fit in an after-work run at the Back Cove Tuesday.  It is so much easier to get out before getting home, where things are begging to get done, started, fed, washed, and on and on.

It's funny how 9 minute miles can actually feel fast.  Night time seems to add to the feel of going fast, but, I think, in contrast to what the trails have allowed, it really is fast.  Maybe next week, the first lap will be in some daylight!

Unstrung emailed me this morning that she wasn't going to attend the weekly IRS meeting; she wanted to rest her misbehaving foot/ankle.  Since the FatAss is Saturday, I thought this a wise decision.  Secretly, I wanted to say come anyway.  It is very hard to make myself run late.  By the time Rick went to bed (9pm), I told him I was going to run tomorrow right after work instead.  However, ironing pants for work, I was mad at me.  It didn't take 15 minutes for me to decide I would go out, but I'd get some of my tasks done first.

That put my planned time out the door at 10:15.  I stepped out onto the patio at 10:20.  Not bad.  Then I noticed my Ally kitty in the garage window definitely trying to get my attention.  I couldn't say no.  I'm not sure how much that little delay cost in time, but : D Kitty time is all good.

As soon as I, finally, started running, I noticed the smell of skunk.  Definitely kept my eyes peeled for the little guys.  That would truly suck.  So, near the house I worried about the skunk, away about coyotes.  And still, I was running.  I planned for the FatAss.  I enjoyed the motion.

Around 2 miles in, I was way too hot.  I decided to peel my shirt and just go in my sports bra; there was no one to witness.  Ugh!  How I hate it when I realize that I can't take my shirt off cause my Garmin is stuck.  For a while, I just ran with my  hand inside the shirt, kinda holding it as I went.  Another couple miles, I was cold.  This is where it got comical.  So, while running, I'm trying to turn my shirt right-side out.  That was difficult enough; then I tried to put it on.  How could it keep going on backward???  Finally, I had to stop.  I tried again.  Nope. I did what I should have done in the first place; I took the Garmin off.  Then I was able to flip the shirt back around.  Really a puzzle how it could be backward when it was stuck on the correct arm.

So.  I had fun, but it wasn't the kind of solo run I like the best.  Those are the mid-week Brad runs that I used to do, where I could enjoy the scenery, the trail, and just get lost in my head.  This was one that would have been so much more fun shared.  I wouldn't have minded being laughed at cause it would have been much more fun to share the laughter.  Still, so glad I got out there.

FatAss Possibilties

Rick and I got in an early run so that we could volunteer at the Bradbury White Out.  Since there's not much time till the FatAss, we decided to run a possible loop.  Conditions were disappointing.  There were stretches of post holing, stretches of lumpy, bumpy ankle-testing frozen field, ice, and even some decent snowmobile trail.  The forecast leads me to believe it's only just gonna get worse.  Luckily TMs know trail running in Maine.  They'll embrace whatever challenge is set before them.

Beautiful Beating

Saturday a pretty good-sized group of Trail Monsters assembled at the Brad.  However, there were lots of different runs going on.  Andy, Mike, Mindy, and I decided to try the Beautiful Loop.  We didn't know what to expect since the temps had gotten into the 40s during the week.  I held out some hope that the river might be frozen since the one in Scoutland was solid enough for the IRS to cross.

I started out in the lead with Mike.  I think it was his first run at the Brad and second TM run.  I learned he's gonna do his first ultra in two weeks, a 50k in Alabama.  I had fun getting acquainted.  A bit over two miles in, I required a pee break.  Mindy and I both seemed to know it was a good time to release the boys.  They pulled steadily away even though Mindy and I were running at a pretty good clip.  The conditions were just the best we'd had all year.  Around 6ish miles in there started being more ice.  We could see where Andy or Mike had skidded here and there.  It was a good heads up to the ice.

Instead of doing the traditional finish to the BL, we opted for the new-badasser finish that summits the Brad via Lunch Break Hill.  Back in the parking lot, we realized we were a tad bit shy of the 16 miles on our training plan.  No short changing it for us, we ran the three tenths or so on the east side.

Of course, we headed to E&L to refuel.  We split a turkey wrap and each had the sweet potato sausage soup.  I had my camera on the run, but nothing struck me as photo worthy (we were moving along well and the clouds had everything looking dreary), but I wished I brought it in E&Ls.  Our lunch looked as good as it tasted.  Fortunately, Mindy had her phone.  Feast your eyes: 

It was a great run.  We had great conditions.  Guess that's why I was surprised at how beat up I felt as the day went on.  Could it have been my "speedy" run at the Back Cove the day before?  I actually was relieved when Mindy emailed that the run had beaten her up.  How nice is that?!  It's just that then I didn't feel like a weeny or that something was wrong with me.  I was justified in feeling smacked down.

Weeknight Runs

Tuesday I met up with Mindy for a run at the Back Cove.  It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous moon making the water and city quite picturesque.  Wednesday was another productive meeting of the IRS.  Tonight, it was the Back Cove again.  This time I shared a short piece of my ending miles with the beginning of Jeremy's run.  All total, I got in just over 19 miles.

B.O.B.

Sunday, Rick wanted to get in twelve.  We decided to head to Bradbury.  Without much thought, we figured  to just head out the BL till the Garmins said six miles, then head back.  Like last week, I started feeling tired, but not as a week ago.  At first I was thinking that the BadAss BL version we'd done last week must have been that much harder than the Triffittville Quest of the day before.  Then I remembered that the trail went up for a mile last week.  This was way easier.  After almost three miles, I felt pretty normal.

The running was pretty sweet: the day was gorgeous, the trail runnable.  For a second I got excited about running a loop.  We could run the BL till we got to the Connector, then head back to the park.  As I was telling it to Rick, I realized the one big snag.  I had no idea if the connector would have had any travel.  I'd had enough trail breaking for one weekend.  We stuck to our BOB (Beautiful Out and Back) plan.

When I thought of BOB, I almost thought of calling it BLOB...but then we didn't do all of the BL out and back.  Light bulb!  How's that sound for a 50K.  We do the BLOB!!!

The Quest - Scoutland to Triffittville

Saturday, Scout and Squirrel decided to take a break from the Beautiful Loop.  Instead, the plan was to try to make it from Scoutland all the way to Triffittville.  I'd previously made it about six miles in the right direction before heading back.  I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on how to get there.

So, Mindy and I set out a little after 8 am in a surprise snow squall.  The footing could have been better, but, we knew from experience, it could be much, much worse.  Our run started much like all the others, with lots of good conversation.  Soon, it would become much more of a quest than a normal run.

We popped out of the woods at the same place Xar and I had on the Wednesday meeting of the IRS.  It took me a while to realize the road I saw was not Rte 9 at all.  How could that be?!  Mindy trotted along as I ran back and forth a bit before figuring it all out.  With the lack of snow, not all the snowmobile trails are being ridden.  The trail that was supposed to head back to the power lines never did.  We were near Frost Hill Rd.  That meant we'd need to run north a bit to get back to the rte 9 crossing we were supposed to take.

So began the first of our necessary bushwhacking.  This stretch was short and we could still run; though between the snowmobile trail extra plus the bushwhacking, we added around 1.5 miles to the journey.  We came out behind a horse barn that I recognized.  A large black dog came to make sure we were not a danger to his territory.  He never really warmed up to us, but let us by.  We ran out their slippery drive to Rte 9.  We still needed to run up the road a little over a quarter of a mile to get back to the trail.

I love this stretch.  It's great woods on a well-traveled snowmobile trail.  I was just saying to Mindy I needed to stop to pee when we noticed a guy up ahead with a dog.  OK, I'd wait.  As we approached, three large dogs bounded towards us.  I called out to the guy asking if they were friendly.  I don't know if his yes got there before his exuberant dogs did.  With the one he had on leash, he had four dogs.  We chatted for a bit.  He was walking his neighbor's overweight lab.  You could tell he was a dog lover.

We came to the big snowmobile trail intersection that I had recognized on my earlier trek toward Triffittville.  I have just assumed that I picked the right leg, since the other path says it leads to Bowdoin and the one I chose towards Lisbon Falls.  However, after this run, I think the other would bring us back to the main power lines that to head straight for Topsham.

Power lines without snowmobile trail

                                                     
Our path plopped us out behind a little development on a small power line path.  There was a snowmobile path that followed it while it could.  At the big gulley,we decided to go around.  It would bring us onto a road for a small piece, but then we'd get right back on the power line.  Ha!  That's how it should have been, but Hannah had other ideas...

Sweet, naughty Hannah

Almost as soon as we hit the street, Hannah bounded out from a house to greet us.  At first, we were very happy to meet this sweet girl.  Then it became obvious she intended to come with us.  I knock on the door of her house.  I could see someone (a woman I thought) sitting on the couch; (S)he didn't move.  OK.  I walked around to the back of the house.  Two kids were peeking out at me.  I rang the door bell.  Nothing.  The kids were looking at us, but probably instructed not to open the door to strangers.  So I knocked again.  Nothing.

We set out, hoping she would go home.  We were fooled when she appeared to leave us to check out a neighboring yard.  About a quarter mile down the street, she was right with us again.  After a car near-incident, we ran back to her house (Mindy had verified by her tag that it was her house).  There was a tied out.  Mindy de-iced it, but then Hannah wisely avoided her.  I tried the kids in the window again.  "Your dog is following us."  "It's not our dog."  "Do you know whose dog it is?"  "Our uncle's."  "Where does your uncle live?"  "With us."  Kids.

I asked if she could come in.  Yes.  Then it was obvious that she had no interest in going in.  They were not going to help.  Mindy and I, again, headed begrudgingly out.  Hannah bounded along, making sure to stay out of our reach.  We didn't go back to the power line like we would have, hoping she'd go home.  When it was clear she wasn't going to, we were delighted to find a little park with a map showing trails.  It was a very small park.  We were soon back onto a road.  I recognized where we were.  We needed to ditch the dog.  I called Rick to get the cops' number.  It would be a while before they could get the animal control officer our way.  Mindy suggested trying the number on Hannah's tag.  I couldn't imagine that they'd answer the phone after us beating on their door, but what the hell.  Amazingly, the uncle answered and was there in no time.  Ooops...it was his back and long hair that I had assumed was the mom on the couch.  Hannah had cost us at least a half hour.  Ugh!

We were able to make our way back to power lines, but ones that I now realized were too close to rte 196.  Well, they were what we had.  Not to long in, we reached the twilight zone...or the deliverance zone.  We stumbled across some kind of shack compound.  Yikes.  The power lines crossed some fenced in fields.  It didn't look like we should just run across.  We planned to skirt them and come back to the power lines.  Instead, we found ourselves running through real woods.  There was no trail.  Now we just had to go by the direction we should be heading.

Wow.  The going was very slow.  It was amazing how deep the snow was in this stretch of untouched woods and undergrowth.  Running was impossible.  Our feet got cold.  Wet feet are very manageable if you can run enough to generate warmth.  This stretch of the quest was long...not lengthwise and, maybe not time-wise, but certainly testing-the-runners-wise.  I knew we were never in danger of being too lost, but we needed to be able to get where we could at least run in time for our feet not to freeze.  We had several stream crossings (the same stream or branches thereof).  We had briars.  Mindy was lucky I still don't break into song with her (poor Rick!); the Johnny Horton song, "Battle of New Orleans" ran through my head..."they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles and they ran through the bushes where a rabbit wouldn't go".  Of course the next line didn't apply; " They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em."

OMG!  Daylight.  We cheered.  OK, I may have broken into song..."You're out of the woods, You're out of the dark, You're out of the night. Step into the sun, Step into the light."  from the Wizard of Oz seemed very appropriate.  Just after coming out of the woods, into a clearing, we find some junk.  Mindy immediately commented on the sit-n-spin.  Of course, that's what it was, but...I don't know that I'd have realized it.  Yup.  Back in the world.  In fact, soon after picking up a snowmobile trail, we were on some power lines - big power lines.

Sit-N-Spin

From here, we felt so happy feeling we were on the right path to Triffittville.  But, after every big up, we were amazed that there was just power lines ahead.  Again, twilight zone.  Then we started seeing more snowmobile signs.  Finally one said, "Trail 1, Topsham Mall"!!!!!!!!!!!!  Holy Shit!  We weren't going to be out here forever!

I'm not sure how long ago I had told Mindy we should be coming out to a farm that has a donkey and weird cows, but WE WERE COMING OUT TO THE FARM THAT HAS A DONKEY AND WEIRD COWS!!!!!!  Since we had been out for over 4.5 hours (I'd told Rick we'd call it quits at 4), I called Rick right there and then and told him where he could pick us up.  The really cool part is we were on the trail to Triffittville.  If we felt like running another 1/2 hour or so, we would have made it.  Given that they were home, we felt no compulsion to push on.

I had plans to mark up the maps that I've done to show where the paths have gone right and wrong, but....I just don't have time.  So what.  I've had time to run these special runs.  Speaking of special (don't look Mindy, if you're easily embarrassed), I want to tell you all (I'm gonna mix all kinds of metaphors and imagery...deal) of the amazing transformation I've been witnessing.   Do squirrels go into chrysalis?  I guess that's not the case cause that sort of means a state that looks dormant from the outside...but, in a way, since not everyone has been witness to the change that's been going on, I guess that it's a valid comparison.  Anyway, the Squirrel has emerged into an ultra-runner.  I swear she gets stronger as she goes along.  We do match up well; I'm strong when she's not - she's strong when I'm not. Still, I see her getting stronger every week.  There's a lot of that going on in TM world!

I'm gong to add all the other photos from our trek....

Happy dogs with good owner

Getting there

mouse art

mouse garbage

Our "trail"

Real Power line trails!

Night Running

I'm getting behind again.  I'm going to write up my runs in two posts:  weeknight runs, weekend runs.  So, as my last post indicated, I didn't run Tuesday because I was asleep.  Luckily, Wednesday Xar came to my house to run so I stayed awake (my little bouts of sleep can last a few days).  I was pretty sure the little river heading towards the Davis farm would be unsafe to cross.  At the very least, we wouldn't be able to assess it well enough in the dark.  So we went on the same path as last Wednesday.  The trail was runnable, but still more work than it can be.

I love how familiar terrain is transformed in the night.  I think no matter how many times we hold the IRS on this very trail, it won't grow old.  What were those tracks that indicated a bounding animal?  Unstrung thought a snowshoe hare.  Nah.  After the second or third such tracks crossing, some going at a more leisurely pace, it was obvious she was right.  I had come to think of the hare tracks as something rare.  It must have been their night out or something.  We were also treated to some amazing mouse art.  You'd think it was a Rorschach test as we tried to make out what each looked like.


Our trail leaves the fields and heads for the power lines that lead to the Rte 9 crossing.  It doesn't stay on the power lines too long before it heads into the woods.  I think that stretch of power lines might be too rough on the snowmobiles.  Our goal had become to hit Rte 9 before we turned around.  We popped out of the woods.  I was confused.  We shouldn't be in the field; we should have popped out back onto the power lines just before it enters the field.  Oh well, I could see cars on the road across the field.  We'd made it (read about Saturday's run to find out).

During our run we'd touched on lots of topics including alien abduction.  When we got back with my Garmin reading 2:33:xx, I thought, maybe, we'd been subjects of time loss due to abduction.  Maybe that's how the subject had come up.

IRS, great fun!

The next night, with no Xar, I was much less game.  I ran just under 5 miles, but in a loop that I did 3+ times.  Still, I was happy to get out and move.

Late Night Danger

Well, the danger of running late is not the creatures out there...It's not running.  I forgot that, once in a while, I sleep.  It's almost unstoppable.  Till it passes, I'll have to avoid the couch until after my run.  Meanwhile, at this moment, I feel stupid with more sleep than my body knows how to handle.