Plants First, Fish Next

The original intent of this journal was to chronicle the trials and tribulations of the struggling twenty-something, as I searched for love and happiness in the small city-burb of ManchVegas, NH. Now, I'm thirty-something, I've found love in many forms, happiness in even more, and now the struggle is just... well... life. And finding time to do the million and one things I want to do- including writing.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Muddy Moose, Nerd Herd, and Other Outdoor Adventures

May started out grand with the Fergus Cullen Muddy Moose run.  I had planned on running the 14 mile loop, but my training just wasn't (isn't) there.  I had a BLAST running the 4 mile course, though!  The weather was cool, but mild and sunny.  There was plenty of mud to go around.  When I was hosing off my legs, the race director asked if I had left any mud in the woods.  "I tried not to," I replied.  Hey, if you can't run fast, run dirty.

Dirt in the Skirt!!!


I also started playing in net for the Nerd Herd.  With Face on sabbatical, Capn Mop wanted to keep a lady in net and maintain our winning strategy.  It was a big task, but I took it on willingly.  Reading, practicing, and only crying once, I prepared to start the season.  My Runner painted a fantastic mask just for me, showcasing the Herd logo and my Ferret totems.  While I've made rookie mistakes in each game, I've done fairly well.  We've won each match so far, and I've made a few saves I'm very proud of.  I'm happy to see that I'm improving every time.  Learning the new position has reinvigorated my love of the game.

Mask, in process.  Intimidating, no?

While Puma ran the Wapack race, and Taps and My Runner ran the trail backwards, Moose, Gazelle and I hiked Temple Mountain out and back.  The ski resort on Temple has been closed for 10 years, and it was amazing to see how much had grown up around the downhill trails.  The weather was much nicer than anticipated... unfortunately the black flies felt the same.  Being unable to stop due to the swarms of bugs, we POWERED up and down the mountain, covering 9 miles and change in 4 hours.  We met up with My Runner at a pub in Peterborough and enjoyed our successes.

Brother Mine has come into town recently to visit and to celebrate my mother's graduation & new job.  We made plenty of plans to hang, since we see each other so rarely, including a hike in Bear Brook with Brother Mine and my Mother.  Both are near the start of their personal fitness journeys, so we did an easy-moderate 4ish mile hike on the cross country trails of the park.  Brother Mine and Mom both did really well, and we had a great couple of hours as a family to catch up and have good times.

One Happy Family
This morning My Runner and I had planned a 10+ mile run, but both realized how crappy our training has been recently.  We had a great 6 mile run on the local roads and through a bit of Fox Forrest.  With Pineland Trail Festival coming up in two weeks, a 5K and 25K looming before me, the motivation to train is finally getting strong.