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My run/stretch was made by seeing an itty bitty Tiny Turtle!

Figuring running will be on tap for tomorrow, I got out for a run and circled back with George for walk.  On the way back, I spotted a Tiny Turtle..a total ''ohhhhhhhhh a tiny turtle!'' moment.  Just what was needed to put a nutty work week behind me.  I love when stuff like that happens!

The Birthday FA at Bradbury is tomorrow and should be fun!

Have a wonderful day, it's so beautiful out.  Dont' forget to look for turtles, it will make your day and help you forget what ails you, I guarantee it!

Keep dreaming!

Feeling Ducky

Towards the end of my run, I started to think about wearing a garmin and maybe I should be running faster.  Just as those thoughts entered my mind, I looked to my  left and saw 2 ducks and 2 ducklings and I was thankful for not running fast and missing them.

I've been MIA as I traveled down to Charlestown to visit my niece while her husband was in Ireland on a golf trip.  We had a great time walking around Charlestown and the North End.  Allergies have been pretty bad the last few days as well.  It seems kind of amazing though, we went to an acupuncturist on Saturday and I personally couldn't feel better today.  No allergies and various other aches and pains seem non existent.  I tend to be a believer, so I'm not sure if the power of positive thinking is on my side, but I had a great run this morning.

Wish you a  great day!

Keep dreaming!

Same Plan

I'm beginning to feel like Pathfinder, plotting my plans to get in my run.  Yesterday worked well, so I did the same thing.  Slept a bit later, signed in for a bit and headed out at dawn. 

A tad of humidity, some rain drops and peace and quiet were on tap for today.  Up and around, over the other and up the hill, great run!

Did some research on bittersweet..I don't think that's what I saw growing yesterday.  Interesting plant.

Time to work!

Have a great day!

Keep dreaming.

Reset

I reset my alarm several times before getting up this morning.  I really wanted to run, but couldn't seem to get up.  By the time, I got up, I  had convinced myself I would run during lunch.  I signed on for work for a bit and knew I couldn't be settled until I got out there.  So I decided to head out, I'll just make up the time on the other end.

So glad, I got out.  It was cool and crisp and not a soul was around, until the end of my run.  I figured I'd just do my up and around, but really wanted to go on the other side.  So I did.  I opted to wear a pair of George's socks,..oops, if he reads this he'll know, but my feet felt great.  (Note to self, I think men's socks are made better than women's, look for small men's size.)  After blistering yesterday from the wet, I wasn't sure about crossing the lake.  When I got there, I looked down the runoff and it was easy to cross over without getting soaked.  Not sure why I never thought of doing that other than sloshing through the lake can be fun.  In doing so, I noticed what I think may be bittersweet..could that be?  I'll need to look it up later.  I just love bittersweet, I hope it is.

The run was great and now I can settle back and get to work.

Have the best day!

Keep dreaming!

Bean Power

Last night we went to the best ever Bean Supper at Willowbrook in Newfield.  The event was to benefit the historical society.  While at the Farmers Market last Saturday, one of the vendors mentioned it to me, so we thought we would check it out.   Since George had a long run at Bradbury with Scout, Squirrel and Bruce, he was pretty hungry.  All the food was homemade which included at least four different types of  baked beans,  a variety of salads, corn on the cob, hot diggities if  you wanted them and amazing desserts.  George had six desserts.  The woman at the table behind us commented to me , " your skinny man can eat ''.  This totally made me laugh.

So powered by beans in a good way,  I had a decent run.  I noticed the people who don't seem to appreciate running through their land had a no trespassing sign posted, so I took the trail.  The trail was lined with turkey prints and I could see what looked like trail shoe prints.  I'm supposing the trail shoe prints belonged to George.   It worked out great, as I thoroughly enjoyed the trail.  I only had opted not to go on it in the past after one time seeing foxes running from the direction of that trail.

Since yesterday's slog my shoes were still wet, but I figured it wouldn't matter because the lake was still high.  Combined with the wrong socks and a new romp crossing the lake, I got a blister early on, so I took my sock off which helped.  Overall maybe close to two hours on my feet.

New development on the travel adventure front.  Scout and George are registered to run the VC50 and we will be there to watch the TMR 100 milers come in.  I better get my cowbell ready!

Having a relaxing day after a decent run.  I hope you are enjoying yours!

Keep dreaming!

Soulful Slogging

I've always loved running in the rain, but today I could only manage a slog.  But a slogs better than no slog.

I tried various visual inspirations and thoughts to get myself in gear.  I have friends I met at SC last year running the TARC 50K today. I tried to imagine running with them. George is running today with Scout and Squirrel.  I tried to tag along to their train.  At one point, I even pulled out the Ian and Emma VC100 trek.  I tried to play my favorite tune on my ipod over and over, but it was still pretty sloggish going. And to think that pic of Xar hiking some beautiful terrain, only managed to get me to skip up the hill.  

Although the run wasn't the greatest, I had a great time thinking about MANY special people, their accomplishments and talents, so I guess the slog was darn good for the soul!

Looks like the day is starting to clear, enjoy your Saturday!

Keep dreaming!

Stay with me and I'll buy you breakfast

Towards the end of my run, I caught up to George and he said to me, ''stay with me and I'll buy you breakfast.''  This ended up being the perfect incentive for me to finish strong and is quite possibly a metaphor for a happy marriage.  :)

Friday's seem to find me waking up later lately, but today was fine doing so.  I diddled around and enjoyed looking at Chippie's last pics of the VT100 finish line on FB.  When I got out, it was still quiet and cool and crisp.  No one was really up yet, except for one Bradbury Breaker tee like truck.  The truck went past on the dirt road, nicely slowing down to go past me, the young slouched down driver gave me a ''hey'' and as he got past me turned into crazy monster truck.  This made me smile and think of the Breaker.

I enjoy spotting weird things on my run and may tend to pick up things such as a crazy rusted old bed spring..a rusted old tomato cage that looks like a girl with long hair running and today was no different. 

After my little find, I bumped into George and he was holding something in his hand.  As we both passed each other we held up our finds and at the same time we both laughed.   His of course was practical, mine of no use, but I found fascinating.

Needless to say the run was great, over the other to the end, up the hill.  The lake was fun to cross, surprisingly, the water was running high due to all the rain.

OK, time to cash in on that breakfast!

Have a great day..it's awesome out!

Keep dreaming.

Meditative

I got out really early this morning.  George was heading out to the mountains and I went out right after he left.  He gave me his headlamp that is super strong to use and it worked really well.  I didn't feel skiddish at all while running.  Since it was so dark and I had his headlamp on, I was thinking about what it must be like running a 100 miler at night when you are by yourself.

The air was cool and crisp, the sky clear and I was feeling grateful.  I realized I love these peaceful morning runs and felt thankful for so much in my life.  Gazing up to the sky, the sliver of the moon, the stars and the outline of the trees...so very thankful.

I saw one little scareddy cat.  It was totally Halloween like and he was more frightened by me than me of him.  I got in 4 miles and thought back to the early days training for B2B my first real race and I would think that was a big run.  I thought for a bit it would  be a nice day for a sick day and to continue on running, but figured the sun would soon be up and the world wouldn't be only mine.

It feels like the rest of the day will be a good one.  I hope you enjoy it!

Keep dreaming!

Eyes

I got out my usual time this morning and it's quite dark now.  I found what seemed to have the strongest beam headlamp and even put on my glasses so I could see any critters in the distance. 

It was absolutely beautiful out.  The air felt nice, crickets were cricketing and the crescent shaped moon with one star next to it was amazing.  It was one of those runs I felt as though I could have run forever, especially in the dark which makes it so much more peaceful.  I only saw one pair of eyes which seemed to belong to a cat and this made me jump.

I intended to have a good run yesterday, but got involved watching the marathon.  By the time I got out it was so muggy, I called it quits before too long.  Saturday George went over to Bradbury to run  with Scout and Squirrel and I decided to go for a ride to a yard sale I saw on Craigslist.  I ended up buying 2 used once bikes.  Shiny blue for me and and black for George.  I decided a bike to the Farmer's Market in Newfield would be a good ride and so that I did. George thought maybe that was 20 miles round trip.  Later on that night we rode together down Blueberry Road which tacked on another 6 miles. I really enjoyed the ride and couldn't seem to wipe the smile off my face as we pedaled together.   I figure all I need now is a basket and a Toto dog to make the picture complete!

I hope you have a great day!

Keep dreaming!

Caw Caw Lady

I got out quite a bit later this morning than a typical Friday.  After a fairly crazy work week, I must have needed to sleep.

It was over cast and it was quite humid.  I ran an over the other, up the hill and added the up and around.  Despite it being much later, I didn't see anyone until the near end when the ''Caw-Caw Lady'' rode by with her care taker person.

Seeing her always reminds me of the day while I was out running. She approached me that day and asked me some rather random questions and went off, cawing.  Just like that, ''caw-caw''.  At the time, the whole thing was a bit odd.  However, today as I continued on after seeing her, I thought about that day, heard the birds and thought, ''that was what she was doing, becoming part of the sounds around us.''  I smiled and thought, ''ummm, glad I figured that out!''

Just as I am typing this George said, ''it's a bird fest out there.''   Although, he has no idea what I am typing, that's kind of funny.

Hoping to tack on some longish tomorrow!

Hope you enjoy your day!

Keep dreaming!

Cool

After staying up too late watching the Olympics Sunday night, I needed to go to bed super early last night.  In doing so, I got a really great sleep and had a wonderful run this morning.  Amazingly, it was pretty cool temp wise as it was just before sunrise.

I did a quick up and around and 'Pace''.  As I was heading through ''Pace'', I saw Farmer Joe up and outside smoking a cig.  Gave him a ''howdy do'' and headed on home.  George worked a crazy day yesterday and is off today, so I saw him on my way back as he was heading over to NH to do some hiking.  Ummm he's really got something in his mind, wonder what it could be?  :)

It really seems like it is going to a be beauty today.  Hope you all get to enjoy some outside time!

Keep dreaming!

Bradbury Breaker

Today we ran the Bradbury Breaker.  This is the second race in the series.  As with the Scuffle,  the atmosphere at the start is really fun.  It just seems everyone at that start is just happy, chatting away and ready to get into the second race of the series.

I was hoping I'd be able to stick with Jerry again this race, so when I asked him what was up for him today, it seemed that we may be able to match pace again.  Yippee for me!

Although it was hot and humid, I don't know, I just felt good.  Throughout the race there was a nice cloud cover and it seemed as though there was a nice breeze while on the trails.  Did I imagine this, maybe, but I don't think so. I felt great the whole race, remembering to take a Gu with me for the second half.  Last year, I had forgotten and remember all I could think of was getting a sandwich at Edna and Lucy's after the race.  We ran throughout the race chatting a bit, but we were sure to keep our eyes to the ground to avoid an falls.  Linda was part of the pack for awhile and it was fun.  I really enjoyed trekking up the mountain 4 times and I was pleased that I felt better than I remembered feeling last year.  The first time up was so much fun, it seemed as though there was a lot of spectator support up there this year.  I enjoyed seeing Dora in her directing spot as other years and Emma on our second trip up.  So cool, she popped up there after she finished her own awesome race.

As we started our second loop, the top amazing runners were finishing their race.  It was really exciting to see them fly by us, but at the same time still take the time to acknowledge us as we acknowledged them.

The race support was great.  Water stops volunteers were awesome.  Ian and Ryan organize a great race and luckily Mindy didn't have to wrangle any bandits this time.  George also was awarded Best Break for a nasty scrape he got slipping on a wet rock.  Although not an award one aspires to, but an award just the same.  :)  Luckily I work from home tomorrow and you will find me proudly wearing my perfect fitting maybe best one yet tee shirt!

With a feeling good back of the pack finish for the 9 miles, I'm looking forward to the next up, The Bruiser!

Keep dreaming!

The only thing I like about a 100 miler :)

I set my alarm for my regular morning time and pretty much got up when it went off.  Well, maybe rolled over for a little while.  I've been surprised to realize in the last week it is noticeably darker trying to get out for a run at my regular time.  So after us both reading Val's second installment of the VT100, it was time to shine! 

As we ran together, I smiled,  remembering this is the part I like best about a 100 miler.  I can run with George throughout the whole run.  Although, he may opt to ''retro run'' here and there, we run together and I sure do enjoy it.

We went to the other side, tromping through the lake and through the spider web...sorry Mr.(s) Spider, up the hill and cut back through the trails. 

It's surprisingly humid of which I only realized when we were done. 


Such a great way to start my day!

Enjoy your day!   Looking forward to the Breaker Sunday, so fun!

Keep Dreaming!