Three Blind Moose Do Moosehorn

The boys were back in town today for our 1st run together in quite awhile. Between the Three Blind Moose adventure and the day We Tried to Kill Marc a lot of water seems to have flowed under the bridge and so it was high time to get back together and plan the next escapade. Sorry, but there are no pictures (because my camera has been hijacked for equine related events) and so a quiet garden interlude will have to do for this week. This was taken in our garden about a week ago now and our latest pastime in the early evening has been to sit out in the gazebo with a glass of wine to watch the hummingbirds 'fight' or chase each other around.
Back to Moosehorn. I got the late breaking news from Andrew on Thursday that Marc was going to be in town and was looking for a little run. My initial idea of another 3 hr slogfest was quickly squashed and replaced with a much more realistic 2 hr run either around Calais or in the Moosehorn National Refuge which is only a mile outside the town limit. My trip to Calais and the border crossing was relatively uneventful, although the border guard had a chuckle when he asked how long my 'little run' was going to be. He almost fell out of his chair laughing when I said 'two hours'! I guess it's all relative, right?

On arrival at the hotel parking lot I found Marc dressed and ready for action and Andrew was only a little late coming in on his motorbike (delayed by the detours and sunrise I think he said). We quickly decided that with lots of time the Moosehorn option with all it's lovely trails and lack of traffic would be the perfect option for the day (little did we know) and 10 minutes later we were there in the wilds of this lovely park. Our first loop from the park headquarters along the wide wooded road trails was perfect in the morning's nice temperatures in the mid 60's (18C) and light breezes with plenty of shade at 7AM.

However, it soon became apparent that the deerflies were much more numerous than expected and quite likely to carry us off in bits and pieces. No amount of swatting (and beware of being swatted by a blind moose with limited depth perception) or running faster seemed to make any difference. After about 1/2 hr of this we finished one loop back to the start and after a quick water stop decided to try out the secondary highway which runs through the park. It turned out to be much better in terms of flies but quite bad in terms of traffic. Instead of the one car per mile that we'd come to expect on our Boyden Lake route it seemed like 10 times that today but we made do and avoided being run over. The scenery was still fabulous with marsh, lakes, eagles and osprey and the perfect temperature, though a little bit humid. And of course the running company couldn't have been better as we talked about our training or lack thereof, plans and goals for the coming marathons and plans for our marathon together next year (have to plan ahead). Before we knew it our time was up, 2 hours and some 14+ miles covered and still happy and refreshed. And there was no Hands On Knees required after this run, especially with some special order double chocolate fudge brownies waiting for immediate consumption. Mmmm!

Andrew and I then delivered Marc back to his awaiting family who were now up and about and said our goodbyes until next time which we hope to be a pre-marathon weekend long run on the MDI course in mid September 15-16. The hope is that we'll get a chance to run over the final portion of the course to put the fear of god into us before race day. Marc and A are old hands with this marathon but I have yet to experience it and all I've heard is how tough the hills late in the course are. I'm looking forward to this but will have to see if I'm able to make the trip.

Things have now come around substantially with my mini-rest break and this latest run with the 'boys' has also helped to recharge the batteries. A few other running notes on the past week.

last Sunday - 16 mile, 2hr 10 minutes around town late in the day after church. It got warmer than I would have liked and was humid and tiring with the heat.

Monday - rest

Tues - last day of my month of holidays celbrated with a 10 mile cutdown run but only managed one mile at marathon pace (7:15) before I had to shut things down due to the heat and humidity. The run started fine with a nice warmup and I was able to progress the pace up by 10 sec per mile from 7:50, 7:40, 7:30, 7:20 and then goal pace but my heartrate was immediately through the roof (over 150) and it became pointless to continue. Despite being only midmorning the temperatures were up and humidex was close to 30C which didn't help things.

Weds - Thurs - easy days of 5 and 7.5 miles in my 1st back to work days. It's hard getting back in the saddle after an entire month away. Running in the evening after a full meal doesn't make for an easy run either.

Friday - 8 miles with 4 x 2:30 hill climbs. This was again an after-supper run that took about 3 miles before the legs stopped arguing with the stomach for control of the necessary blood supply. The run then went very well and the hill climbs felt very smooth and strong. What made the biggest difference was the cool air and fog that also rolled in making for the best conditions we've had in awhile.

Sat - legs a little stiff, but a good soreness indicating a desirable workout in the recent past. Ran an easy 8.5 miles to reach a total of 55 miles for my cutback week. Finished the run off with another cool dip in the pond to do some plant maintenance for Jo and to cool the legs down as well.

Things are coming around nicely I hope. Have a great week everyone!