Sunday, October 02, 2011

Weekend at Acadia National Park

Was up on Mt. Desert Island again this weekend, this time with my buddy Jim. We almost canceled the trip because of the rainy weather, but I'm really glad we didn't. Yeah, it rained quite a bit here and there, but there were breaks and we had a blast.

I arrived Friday night and set up camp at Blackwoods and Jim arrived shortly thereafter. After a trip to Hannaford's for some food supplies we ate and then went to bed. The distant sound of the bell from an ocean buoy lulled me to sleep and I awoke the next morning to the equally far away sound of ships blasting their fog horns. That was pretty cool.

Saturday
I drove over to Belfast to meet up with the XC team for a big invitational meet (the kids did pretty well) and at the end of it I promptly drove back, anxious to get in a run before heading out to eat. Laced up the flats and ran the park loop road from Blackwoods to Thunderhole and back, garnering strange looks form tourists along the way. Took the first half easy, but dropped down to MP for the second half.

Came back, changed and Jim and I hit Geddy's for some grub and a few beverages. Came back to the campsite and the rain was light enough where Jim successfully started a really nice fire, and we had a few more beverages while yaking away until it was time for bed.

Ran 6.2 miles @ 7:27/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Very hilly.
Mid 60s, ovecast, light rain.
Brooks Mach 13, shorts, cap.

Sunday
Jim and I woke up, broke camp and then headed to the Brown Mountain Gatehouse and met up with Gary and Peter for a run on the carriage trails at an easy pace. Definitely a lot of fun, despite it being pretty wet and somewhat cool out.

Gary offered some great advice and encouragement with my marathon goals, which I really appreciated. I'm feeling pretty good about MDI in two weeks. All systems continue to be a go.

Ran 15.1 miles @ 8:18/mile.
Carriage trails.
Extremely hilly.
Mid 50s, overcast, moderate to light rain.
Saucony Kinvara, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

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