Bad or Good Start to the Morning?

I slept like a baby last night, getting in nearly 10 hours of sleep and I didn't wake up until 7:30am. Very late for me. Why is that so bad? Well, the weather is now perfect... cool, dry air is in place and it would have been nice to wake up earlier and take advantage of it.

It worked out well though. I didn't really feel like running anyway. Weird how that's been lately, my motivation just comes and goes regardless of the weather, but then again I suppose that's totally normal with no goal race(s) on the horizon. Truth be told, as awesome as the Bradbury Trail Race series is, I kind of wish I hadn't signed up for it. Just not feeling very competitive these days, I'm preferring just running when I feel like it, at least for now.

That all being said, it was a lot of fun running with Kate this morning. We just took it easy and I stayed with her at her pace. Good times, it's always nice to run with her. We just enjoyed the morning and chatted... well, I chatted. The pace was much easier for me and I had a captive audience since I didn't have to breath hard. She should feel lucky I avoided talking about fly fishing. :-)

Ran 2.9 miles @ 11:53/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Slightly hilly.
Upper 60s, sunny.
Brooks Mach 13, shorts, short sleeved shirt, cap.

Stephen King Loop

At the in-law's last night. Was up early, making getting in a run before everyone else awoke easy. Ran across the bridge into Bangor and looped past Stephen King's house. Fun route.

Past two days off for a few reasons: It was our anniversary and we're up in the Bangor area. Also, I twisted my ankle pretty bad the other day. How, you ask? It wasn't from a mountain run above treeline or anything spectacular... I was simply walking on a lawn and found a small pothole the hard way. Cool story bro. Felt okay during the run today... a bit sore but very manageable.

Ran 6.3 miles @ 8:20/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Very hilly.
Mid 60s, overcast.
Saucony Virrata, shorts, short sleeved shirt.

Cathance Run

Great run yesterday. For what it's worth, this post is late because when I got home yesterday, I face planted on my bed and went to sleep. Kate woke me up saying it was time to go to a friends' place for dinner, then when we got home I face planted on my bed again. Run, sleep, eat, sleep. A simple yet awesome cycle.

The run: Went well. Met up with Ryan, Andy, Jon and Nathan for some mileage on the trails near Ryan's place. Though it was very hot and humid, the deer flies were surprisingly very manageable. Legs felt awesome and it was a good cap to the week, which had me a few tenths of a mile away from 50 for the week, despite three days off. Given I'm not training for anything, not bad.

Ran 13.3 miles @ 10:29/mile pace.
Trails.
Slightly hilly.
Upper 70s to lower 80s, sunny, very humid.
Nike Waffle Racer VIII, shorts, short sleeved shirt, cap, handheld bottle (diluted Gatorade).

Annual Fourth of July Baldface Mt. Loop Run

Very fun morning running the Baldface Mountain loop with Ben, Ian, Chris and Doug. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking:

The route. 

Slick rocks left us feeling like one-legged cats trying
to bury turds on a frozen pond. 

Ben, first peak in the background.

Panoramic.

Clouds being pushed up the circ. 

Summit crew. 

'Merica! And Canada... 

Ian: Lord of the Flies.

Random notes:

- Arrived early, unexpectedly caught Ben who planned to get a head start and ran up with him. Not long afterwards the others arrived.

- Wore my cross country flats since my replacement trail shoes haven't arrived yet. Grip sucked. Rocks were especially slick and the lack of grip didn't help. Several slips, but thankfully no real falls. 

- Though drenched in sweat on the ascent because of the humidity, it didn't feel oppressive. Much cooler above treeline; refreshing. 

- Ben and I fell behind on the descent and accidentally took the wrong trail down (linked up to the right trail eventually). This threw Ian, Chris and Doug off a bit. Sorry guys. 

- Emerald Pool was packed with several obese folks. Quick jump in and we were outta there. 

Ran 9.4 miles @ 21:27/mile pace. Includes stops except for first summit and Emerald Pool. 

Trails. 

Insanely hilly. 

Lower 70s below, mid 60s above (?), partly cloudy, humid (lower elevations). 

Nike Waffle Racer VIII, shorts, short sleeved shirt, Nathan double water pack (diluted Gatorade). 

Racing the Slugs

Recovery run on tap today, goal was to run very slow to loosen the legs after yesterday while banking some more miles. Pace ended up being very slow.

I could have pressed harder but that would have been counterproductive. Plus, I also have a mountain run on tap for tomorrow. I hope I have a bit more pep by then, but I suspect I'll be fine.

Ran 6.3 miles @ 9:14/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Mostly flat.
Mid 60s, overcast, humid.
Merrell Bare Access, short, short sleeved shirt, cap.

Double

Legs still felt okay after this morning and the weather was still cool... so I thought, hmmmm, why not do a short, slow trail run so I can get in twenty for the day? Mission accomplished.

Deer flies were few and moving slow... a very rare treat for an afternoon in early July. Pace was very slow, thanks to giant puddles that could probably hold trout and legs that were still a bit tired.

Ran 5.5 mile @ 11:09/mile pace.
Trails.
Very hilly.
Lower 60s, overcast, misty.
Nike Waffle VIII, shorts, long sleeved shirt, cap.

River Run

It seems much less common lately that I actually look forward to a run. Today was an exception though, as close to fifteen miles on the roads down to the Saco River and back seemed like it would be fun. 

And it was. I did have some GI issues in the first half and could feel and hear my stomach sloshing but that went away in the second half and things were much more pleasant. 

Fortunately, the weather was relatively cool and it was raining off and on. Good run all in all. I just wanted to run at whatever pace would allow me to finish comfortably to give myself a mental boost and I think I succeeded there. 

On a side note, wrote an email to Saucony about my Kinvara TRs blowing out on me during the Presi traverse and provided some pictures. Looking forward to their response. 

Ran 14.8 miles @ 8:10/mile pace. 

Paved roads. 

Moderately hilly. 

Around 60 degrees, overcast, intermittent light rain and mist. 

Saucony Virrata, shorts, short sleeved shirt, cap.