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Both boys home for the holidays |
It's been hard to stay on track with any workouts and mindful eating through the holiday season... I haven't been to spin class in two weeks and I've been out off control with carbs and sugar. Hopefully I'll get back on track after the Christmas weekend. (I have good intentions.)
2023 kicks off with a run-walk-bike brunch with the girls, (the bike ride still a maybe) -- a few of us are running the Frosty Four in Salem while the rest do a trail walk or bike ride. Either walking or running, it looks like we've got some polar temps headed our way to start the new year. Brrrrr... 2023 is coming fast.
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Front Street Coffeehouse |
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By the Ipswich River |
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Iced Latte at Zumi's in Topsfield |
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At the Wenham Canal |
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Chiat latte and avocado toast at Mookie's |
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Yes |
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Tom Saltsman's Egyptian Cobra Goddess Happy Halloween! |
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Coffee to go, sitting by the pier |
We had a gorgeous Saturday for a ride... but I wasn't motivated to get on the bike. (That happens.) Unfortunately, the sunshine didn't carry over to Sunday for my coffee ride, and we had a gray morning before torrential rain moved in. I decided to stay local and did a loop through the town and ended up down by the water where I had a choice of four coffee stops.
I ended up at the last one in the Humphrey Street row, the quirkily named Zestfriendz. There was a small number of customers inside and plenty of seating, but I chose to take my tea to go and walked my bike down to the pier with my snack. (Tea, because I'd already had two cups of coffee a few hours earlier, and a lemon polenta shortbread cookie.)
The cool, overcast sky added to the quiet stillness of the deserted harbor and pier. I hung out for a while, enjoyed my tea, and headed home. A restorative end to a busy week.
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Gray Sunday |
Well here's a surprise -- I'm back in the PMC family and have registered for the Pan Mass Challenge Winter Cycle in February. The Winter Cycle is a fundraising event for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and despite the impression of it being a frostbite ride, (remember those?), the PMC Winter Cycle is an indoor event held at Fenway Park. It's been a few years since my last PMC and I'm happy to be able to participate in this event.
100% of every rider raised dollar goes directly to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I haven't begun any fundraising yet, (literally just registered today) but here's the link for donations -- it makes a perfect Christmas gift! https://profile.wintercycle.org/TC0074
Go PMC!
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Foliage! |
Well I'm closing out the training-season-that-never-clicked with the world famous Coffeeneuring Challenge, 2022 Edition. I was quite content today packing up a thermos of coffee and heading out to Lynn Woods while cycling friends (and a couple former VK teammates) rode the King Challenge up north, or made final preparations for next weekend's Ironman triathlon in Sacramento. I had a pretty chill afternoon.
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Coffeeneuring Ride 1: Coffee shop without walls |
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The pond has all but disappeared |
It was my first ride at Lynn Woods Reservation since underground root fires in August closed the park. The drought that hit Massachusetts this year has left Breeds Pond Reservoir practically bone dry. So sad. The foliage is really beautiful at this time of year, but the woods were predominantly green as there's really a lot of pine at LWR.
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Fall colors |
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Had to break out a jacket today! |
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Mini harvest after the summer drought |
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Coffeeneuring practice ride. Plus Cafe |
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40 feet above the forest floor. Trail hike and canopy walk with Will in Quechee, Vermont |
The summer went crazy fast -- wow, September already?! I had a fitness goal this summer that I'm thisclose to reaching, which makes me happy. It feels good to be back on track after what has essentially been three summers of pandemic stress. For the most part, our daily lives have returned to normal, but a wave of Covid in our house in mid July (that befell our extended house guests, but not us), was a reminder that the virus has not got away.
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Garlic success! |
Summer 2022 will be remembered for the HEAT and DROUGHT. My gardens, which started off well in May, have been decimated by lack of rain. The garlic planted last November, harvested in July, was a great success. Tomatoes have been fair, and green beans prolific, but everything else... peas, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, peppers, brussels, broccoli... struggled this summer. There's still hope for the carrots and potatoes.
Mike and I are lacing up our running shoes once again and have resumed our weekly C25K run dates. I've gone back to wearing ASICS Gel Cumulus, which has a slightly wider toe box to accommodate my malformed foot than the Hoka Clifton. (My foot never really healed right after the fracture in 2020.) It feels good to be running again and I'm looking to add an event to the calendar, maybe a turkey trot or Halloween 5k. Ashley just posted a run in New Hampshire that might fit the bill.
The girls are moving along with their IM training with a little more than one month to go. I haven't spent a lot of time with them -- or on the bike recently -- but I'm heading out on the bike today. September is the best.
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Farewell August |
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Adams Pond, Bridgton, Maine |
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Views from Mt Ascutney |
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Summer in Marblehead |