Running
Wasn’t planning on going for a run to today and took it easy since I needed to somehow get my car as it was in the shop getting the AC fixed 🤦♂️. I hadn’t run on this little trail in a while as they have had it closed and I am sad to see they cut out a lot of trees but I am sure they had their reasons but I liked how this trail had tons of tree coverage.
Found myself back in the Edenbrook Conservation area tonight running with my friend as our kids were at basketball practice.
Wow it was actually hot out there at around 80°F so I made sure not to push it as my body is unsure what to do at that heat. However, with the snow mostly gone I could go find some new paths and bridges.
Kids didn’t have school today so I woke up early to get ahead of todays meetings only to find out a bunch of them got moved and I had some hours available. I figured I would capitalize on that and since the kids were still sleeping to put some miles in on this beautiful day.
Couldn’t avoid the pull of the nice weather today and I thought I would check out the marsh trails. I will say there is still a good amount of snow and water under the bridges.
Had to make a grocery run as we needed a couple ingredients for dinner tonight. I have done this before but these were a little more awkward to carry home and I am sure I got looks with this combination.
I really thought winter was over but it was snowing again during this run and really windy which made it extra interesting. However, the good thing is my running friend is back at it on week two so glad to have some company from time to time.
Just getting some miles in today. However, I did notice that a marsh nearby is really flooded with all that new snow melting. I had a random thought once to blaze a trail back there but might need to wait till winter again.
My wife wanted to watch Titanic with the kids this morning and I have never seen the movie and feel like no reason to start now so I went for a run. 😆Seems the city is going to just let the sidewalks remove the snow on their own.
Don’t be fooled by the sun out today it was a cold run today and felt sluggish after yesterdays run.
I fear these people might be losing their pond hockey goals this year as they look buried in the ice and with warm weather coming it might be lost.
Was great to find time tonight while both girls were at dance to just zone out for a run. Unfortunately, the sun from all day went behind clouds and the wind picked up. I found some new roads to explore but failed to follow signage. 🤷♂️
Sunset run tonight as I had to run to the store to get a prescription for my daughter as we found out today she has a sinus infection. The waiting in line at the store was not a great break as it was hard to restart after.
Forty-Two
It is shocking for me to say that I am 42 years old today. Thinking back over the past year I feel I hit my goal of Embracing as there really was a lot going on. As seems to be the case the past couple of years, I have the intention of starting this little entry earlier and creating a draft in March. Then before you know it is the day before and I am trying to spend 30 min to capture what I remember that is tied to the outline I drafted then. As I am typing this right now I just got back from a “birthday run” around a nearby lake and what better way to start the day. Except that I have a meeting with my boss soon so I need to make this fast 😀.
Travel was a big component of our Embracing the year because as a family we made an RV trip around Lake Superior with some friends which was amazing. So many fun memories from that one for years to come. The best part is they have 3 kids that line up pretty close to our kid’s ages so that helps too. We got rained on, had a lot of campfires, and hiked and biked too.
Walker Solie 2022 RV Superior Road Trip
Next up on the travel this year was a vacation that for the most part was driven by my parent’s 50th Wedding anniversary. They told us during Christmas 2021, that they would rather spend some of the money we would maybe get in the future today together as a family. I mean how can you say no to that logic. Additionally, they made it super clear to my brother and I that they wanted to pay for our tickets, rental car, and the house that we would all be staying together at. It was super generous of them but also gave all of us an excuse to go hang out at the beach, play mini-golf, take nature hikes and just spend quality time with us away from all the busyness of our own lives. This is the 3rd trip that we have taken together like this over the past 10 years and as always it was a blast.
Captured this special moment between my parents after we did a little hike you can only access at low tide at Popham Beach
The whole Walker Crew all 12 of us with custom shirts!
The two vacation trips were part of the plan last year but what wasn’t was buying a seasonal spot at Keisler’s to hang out for the other parts of the summer. This was one of the best and dumbest decisions we have made. The dumbest because the only spot available was an RV only spot which is perfect because we have an RV but also the most expensive. To add to that this is also during a summer we knew we would not be there for about 4 weeks out of it with the other trips (at a minimum). However, seeing how much fun the kids had spending free weeks there was great as well. I think this will have a short shelf life as our kids are getting older so we figured we would strike while the iron is hot.
Tagging along right with that we sold our beloved RV. This was not in the plans but as we figured out that the kids wanted to spend as much time as possible this year at Keislers it didn’t make sense to have the most expensive spot and a very expensive RV that would just sit all year instead of being driven like an RV should. So we sold it and found someone onsite selling their travel trailer for a good price. It is bigger and has more rooms than an RV so I think that will fit nicely as we plan on spending more of our summer down there and I hope do work from there a couple days a week as well.
Adding to embracing things in a roundabout way I started a new job that is 100% remote and located in Portland, ME. The crazy thing is how this came about and really this is where embracing conversations and past connections really pays off. I got a phone call 2 weeks before I was traveling to Maine for vacation this year from one of my old bosses who said she had the perfect job for me for a CFO she worked with. Fast forward a week I had talked to my now boss for an interview and really liked everything I was hearing about the job. On a chance, I said let’s meet up and have coffee when I was in Portland, ME on vacation, and since he is an early morning person as well we had coffee steps from the hotel I had booked months ago that happened to be right by the office. It has been a great rollercoaster of a ride at this new company and I enjoy my time working from Shed office and the couple of trips I have already had to make to Portland.
My office I visit about once a month. It is in such a great location and is a very nice building.
One great thing about Portland is they have a trail that runs along the water right by the hotel I stay at and the office.
I signed up for another Marathon last year on kind of a whim. However, if you do the 20th doesn’t it make sense to do the 40th as well? The training for this cycle was not as great as the year before but my time was 1 min faster so I should be happy with that. Starting my new job one month before kind of threw a wrench into some of my longer runs and increased mileage. However, I finished it so I can check that box off and again proves that even if you feel bad out there for the last 6 miles or so, it sometimes is just mind over matter to put one foot in front of the other. Other than that I had continued to run and was going to give a go at running every day for a month in January until I got a bad run in with COVID after 21 days. Since then I have not felt 100% since but I keep slogging out those miles and so far I don’t have any plans to run a Marathon this year. I am sure I will figure something out as the year goes on.
How could I forget the one other thing that was new this year? We adopted another dog Darby Hatrick who we fostered so I guess it was a “Foster Fail” as they call it. We are still kind of early on in his training but we all think he is a really good dog and should fit in nicely.
What is on the docket for this year you might ask? Well, that is a good question and one I probably haven’t spent enough time thinking about. I do know that I have been stuck on Embracing for a few years now and it is time to let that go as I feel like this year has done it justice. I might change this up as I go but I think right now I am leaning towards Connections.
No better way to start off my birthday than a morning run around a nearby lake. I guess it might have been colder than I was thinking for short wearing and a couple areas there was a bunch of ice that I had to walk down and up the trails but overall good.
Yep, I quick walked up this slippery patch of ice..
Tired to take a trail during my run today but that was short lived as the rain from this morning didn’t make the snow slush but actually just a nice smooth sheet of ice.
Time to get back to work so I had to force myself to get out for a run. While out I was reminded I am thankful that this bridge was built as I didn’t like having to run on the edge of the road previously. Not that it stopped me but the bridge with a big sidewalk is nice.
Sun was out and I had a free afternoon while the girls went shopping so I decided to make a long run today. Felt good today and kind of strange this is only my second longest run for the year and it is March. 🤷🏻♂️
Don’t let this sunshine fool you, it was single digits out there today with a -°F feels like temp. Not to mention dodging ice from yesterday’s rain, sleet, and snow. However, as I had the day off work this wasn’t a bad way to spend 30 min.
Was an overcast day today but overall felt good on my run for the first 4 miles. Then I think the lack of water this morning and too much coffee caught up to me. I guess that is when not planning on when you are going to run comes back to haunt you.
📸 Photoblogging: Day 14 - Watching the sunset on the horizon while trying to get a run in. As the weather gets warming I am looking forward to more of this.
