Trails Everywhere!

For the past two weeks, I have been on a family trip. Mothers, you know what the difference is between a trip and a vacation, right? Here is a short tutorial:

This is a trip:

This is EXACTLY how our family looks when deciding where and what to eat.

This is EXACTLY how our shared hotel room (4 people!) looks.

This is EXACTLY how I look while trying to make everyone happy for two weeks.

Now, this is a vacation:

Relaxation. No kids. Nobody at all.

Dinner

You understand the difference, right? I need a vacation to recover from my trip!

Anyway, my alone time was between 6 and 8 AM when I would work out. For most of those days I tried to run like the locals, and boy, did I get lucky!

For the first four days we were in Portland, Maine. I was lucky enough to stay in Munjoy Hill, which is less than half a mile away from at least four different running routes, including real trails in real woods. Most of the trails led to the coves, so I was able to run along the water without running on sand (very few sand beaches in Maine). Here are some pictures of the Back Cove Trail and the Eastern Promenade (which leads to the harbor front):

Beautiful, right?

Then we traveled to Quebec through the mountains and forest (we saw a moose by the side of the road!), and I thought maybe my trail running days were suspended, but I was wrong! I chose to run through the Plains of Abraham toward the St. Laurent River, and I actually discovered trails running through the woods down to the river! It was great to run in the woods again, as I am currently in taper for the Burning River relay (100 miles of trails, of which I will run about 25.5), and I thought I'd have to run busy sidewalks. I don't have any pictures of where I ran in Quebec. . .and I don't know why.

After four days in Quebec, we drove to Montreal. We stayed downtown, so I was absolutely certain I would be running streets, but. . . on day one I followed some runners who passed my hotel door, and they led me to Mont Royal and more trails! I had great choices here among single track dirt trails with steps (very steep), crushed limestone bike and hike trails that wound steadily up the mountain, and paved trails leading both up the mountain and down to the river.  I was able to take a different route each day, and I still got in my trails and hills! Here are some pics of Montreal runs:

Running by the monuments across from the river.

The Percival-Molson Stadium at McGill University. Pavement.

This is the Kabyle Chef and Punkin climbing the steeper trails up the mountain. I made everyone climb the mountain after I found the trails. My family might speak to me again someday.

View from the top of Mont Royal

I had a great time running in other places; it was the best way to taper. It was also nice to come back home for my last long run before Burning River. I ran with some Trail Sisters this morning:

Trail Sisters at Brandywine Falls

Guess why I'm smiling in this picture:

A. I'm happy to run with my Trail Sisters.
B. This was before I realized that I left my water bottle behind a half mile back and I had to go back for it.
C. This was before I fell on the trail.
D. All of them, of course.

Will I see you celebrating after Burning River? I hope so, but in the meantime, whatever you do, run happy, Peeps!

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