Happy November! How much Halloween candy do you need to run off? DH dressed up as a devil with a mask that is really unnerving and creepy His favorite holiday! Decorated house with orange lights, a huge lightening show and sound effects of thunder on side of house, and scary laughter and screams from a sound machine…… Don’t know if any kids came by after we left for a party at neighbor’s house; yummy food and plenty to drink. It was a small group of neighbors, a couple of new ppl. No costume for me.
Yesterday: ran 8.1 miles earlier w Bones. Nice hilly run. Today: very windy but sunny. Short easy 4 miler w Bones. He did not care for the wind. Neither did I
Altair: love the fall colors and the alpacas’s look of curiosity I’m sure some house repairs will be in our future with the house over 20 years old. We will be replacing the roof soon. Probably a metal one. Sometimes old parts do come in handy. Good job on the 7+ miles.
Led: Thought I make it ‘easy’ for you so starting the month, HA! So no turkey trots?
Art: With your busy work schedule, you still find time to keep the garden going. Keep those canal runs going too.
**any holiday travel plans? **family gatherings?
Runs in the rain
Art - Hard for me to imagine starting stuff in the garden this time of year! I guess you could get a freeze in February but have enough time for a crop to grow.
Led - Saw your end of October post. Darn, I was looking forward to razzing you for posting in the old month! Glad the checkup found you hale and hardy! A gradual ramp up makes a good recovery! I have a friend who worked for the State, I'll have to ask him about discounts and freebies for my home. Picked and ate more snow peas and cucumbers today! The kale can grow well in freezing weather, well at least until it gets down to the teens! The water we use originates from nearby Lake Conesus. Not sure what is in it that could cause corrosion. I lived on Long Island for most of my first 50 years and don't recall any corrosion to the fixtures! The water there was excellent, coming from an underground aquifer. I do think the plumbing fixtures of the 1950's were made of better material! The alpaca picture was a little blurry, but they are cute animals!
AZ - Neglected to purchase candy this year, my teeth and waistline will thank me! Halloween was uneventful, did not put on a costume either! House repairs and replacing appliances will come with a 20-year-old house. My house was built in '82.
Going for an ultrasound scan of bladder and kidneys tomorrow morning, hope all is well. Today was overcast, windy, damp and drizzly. It was fairly warm at 62 degrees, and I did a short 3.21 mile run at 3 pm. I kept up a brisk pace for the first mile and did some brief speed bursts where I got to around 9mm.I ran on the asphalt of the newly paved section of road, but they did not do the entire length, just up to before you see the approaching car headlights.
Most trees have lost all their leaves now, quite different from a week ago. Gloomy looking with the overcast sky, and bare trees.
After I got home, I sat on my deck and listen to a flock of sparrows that had settled in the trees nearby. Later, the doe and her now nearly grown two fawns came out to graze, but they ran off just as this stag appeared!
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Trails
Hi everyone. Hi Led, yes I am still around. I just spent a week in Boise visiting the DGD and DD, we had fun but it was COLD. I'm active on the transplant list but they told me the wait could be 2 years so I'm just waiting. Some days are good, some are not. I'm still trying to walk the 30 min but right now it's every other day. Work is going well...trying to train my co worker on what I do (different than what he does) just in case I'm out for an extended period of time. We keep running into road blocks but it'll get there.
Congrats to those who have raced. Good luck to those upcoming races.
not bad for mile 25
Az - Thanks for the Turkey Trot thread! Wish we could have seen your house! We've got a ton of leftover Halloween candy - we got hardly any trick-or-treaters this year. Last year we ran out of candy. We don't know what's going on. Our house is too scary? Or not scary enough? We did not decorate, but are thinking we ought to do so next year, after I'm Retired and Dangerous.
DD and I traditionally have done a turkey trot, but not this year, because she's pregnant again!! Baby is due in May.
Altair - That is a fabulous deer picture! Here's the existing IRS page on energy credits:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/energy-incentives-for-individuals-residential-property-updated-questions-and-answers
and NY state may have other credits, that I'm not gonna research for you.
But this came out today:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/02/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-lower-energy-costs-for-families/
Now we have to wait for the states to get the program implemented. I'd love to get our furnace replaced by a heat pump.
Led, you know what would be great...lowering construction costs so we could rebuild our house, and not live in the little house, lol. Course out here it's not just materials but finding someone to actually do the the work. While I enjoy not being around people the downside is there's no one available to do any work and those who are there (plumbers, etc) are so over booked it's impossible to get anyone scheduled.
Di: same here in northern AZ …. and was in northern MN when we were selling the house. DH is a decent handyman but MN buyers wanted a ‘certified contractor’ which took so much time to make appts with. Many didn’t want ‘small jobs’ so that made it more difficult and frustrating. That was a nightmare. Anyway, with the flooding damage to our yard at our AZ home, many of the local companies/workers needed are hired by the county and city. So many property owners have to hire out of the city, county and even state. ‘Handymen’ for hire seem to be taking advantage of the situation so their quotes are ridiculously overpriced. I’m leery of them anyway. Everyone is a ‘handyman’ nowadays. We have the time now so we are not in any rush to get our repairs. DH got alot of the yard damage done with renting backhoe loader tractor that he can operate due to his early years working with his dad’s company. Some of our neighbors are indirectly expecting him to help them but not willing to rent the equipment. So it’s not only the labor but the materials for the repairs that have become expensive ….. still due to supply chain issues locally and globally. Ok, off the soapbox …..
Since yesterday, the wind didn’t let up. Not only was it very windy, it started sleeting which continued into the early morning, then it started snowing. It wasn’t too bad but the mountain peaks were getting snow all day. Just snow flurries now and then the rest of the day everywhere else. Goodness, the wind is relentless.
Wed (yesterday): it was windy and due to the expected weather conditions, I drove to the wellness facility. Ran on TM 5 miles. 10 minutes on elliptical and 10 minutes on bike, finished with 20 minutes of weights. Leaving tomorrow for Albq. Hike on Saturday. Will visit my mom and dad. Return home on Monday or Tuesday. Already voted early so no worries about that.
Di - Glad you enjoyed visit with GD and DD! Winter is coming, so get used to the cold, suck it up butter cup. Two years is a long wait, but at least you are on the transplant list and maybe something will turn up sooner. On the job I left on Long Island where I ran the file room, the boss had me make a notebook explaining how to do all my tasks.
Led - How many Trick or Treaters you get can vary every year. Decorations do attract more visitors. Now kids go out with the parents supervising, but when I was a tot we would canvas the neighborhood with our friends. I recall one Halloween that fell on a weekend so I spent the whole day collecting a big bag of candy! There was also a lady who made caramel covered apples, a special treat, but nowadays you would have to x-ray them! I'll look into the federal energy perks, but I think NY State offers money to fix up your home. Running when pregnant is considered safe, but maybe not a race! Hope all goes well for your DD.
Az - I usually try to repair stuff on my own, but some things need an expert! Costs of labor and materials have really gone up! Wind, sleet and snow? Here it has been unseasonably warm these past few weeks and I've been running with just shorts and no shirt! Good you have treadmill access when the weather is poor. Enjoy the Albq. hike!
Still doing leaf clean up, worked on it all Wednesday, no runs, but most trees are now bare, except the two maples in my front yard still have a lot of leaves! Thursday I had the ultrasound scan at 7 am, so had to get up extra early to get ready. I did get in a 5 mile run later that day, It was sunny and temperatures got into the low 70's!95% of trees have lost all their leaves, but their are some hanging on to them!
A view out over the High School athletics field
Friday was again sunny and temperatures rose to 73 degrees in the afternoon! I drove to run on some roads I have not been on, always makes the run interesting when you don't know what to expect! As I started I found my right knee bothering me, it hurt to put weight on it. I supose some would have ditched the run, but my experience is light exercise can sometimes help the joints feel looser and better, if not I would just have to hobble back to the car! As expected I found the pain lessened after a half mile, but I was careful not to stress it too much and shortened my route by a mile. The first mile was fairly flat, but climbed 280 feet over the next 2 1/2 miles and then went downhill again. Total distance was 5.7 miles. Knee is still slightly sore, but seems improving!A little over a mile into my run, some nice skies!
Some tall trees
You never know what to expect when you travel to new places to run. Among all the farms I found the drag racing strip!
Shadows get long early these fall days
Still some color in the trees beyond the shadows on the grass
Spent the morning getting my phone number transferred to a new flip phone. The old 3G phone will not work with the new network. I then put a padded seat cover on my bicycle. Both of my knees seem sore, so decided to ride the bike as cross training. First, I went for a ride around nearby streets with GF and did 3.56 miles.
After that I did a longer, solo ride! Mostly cloudy and windy, but record warmth for the day at 75 degrees! The High School sign actually read 80 degrees! The sign is in the sun, so maybe that's why it read hotter. Anyway, felt like summer! The seat pad worked a little, but still felt a bit uncomfortable. I'm thinking if I raised the handlebars I could sit straighter on the seat and it might be better. It was hard to go uphill, but the last part of the ride was a quick downhill. Did 13.32 miles and if you add both rides together that's almost 17 miles!
Clouds over the road
Horse, fence, trees and clouds
The cross training bike ride seemed to work, good exercise for the legs, but gave some healing time for my knees which felt better today! Decided to do an 8 mile run and mapped out a route that featured new to me roads, but because I like to run loops I had planned a figure eight that included some of Friday's roads. Unfortunately the last segment of the upper loop of the eight had a gated private road, so I had to double back. This did not effect the total distance. Slightly cooler at 70 degrees today and partly cloudy. I am glad this year to be taking advantage of the nice fall days before the snow comes! Knees only bothered me on some short, steep hills which I took at an easy speed. If it seems I post too many photos I took more than twice the ones I am sharing and try to just use the best ones.Run started on this gravel road
Approaching a curve in the roadSpread of clouds
There were darker clouds in the West and SouthAbout mid-run the darker clouds were moving in fast from the SouthNearing the end of the run and sky was covered with cloudsBut surprisingly the sun came out more by the end of the run. I usually don't photograph people's house, but this had a historic marker sign, This is a 1837 Cobblestone house of the Coverdale Farm.
Forgot to mention, after yesterday's run I caught the end of what must have been a rebroadcast of the NYC Marathon. I had forgotten it was on that day and was surprised to see it on regular TV, not some sports channel you have to subscribe to! Missed the men's wheelchair finish, but did see Susanah Scaroni set a course record! The woman's race was interesting with a pack of four and some dropped back to leave just winner Kenyan Sharon Lokedi and Lonah Salpeter running for Israel slightly behind. But most dramatic was Brazil’s Daniel do Nascimento running at like a sub 4:30 pace and minutes ahead of the competition! With the 72 degree temperature and 67% humidity I wondered if he would hold the pace until the finish! He made a quick bathroom stop and then seemed to have trouble getting his stride back and starting walking and let himself fall to the ground with like six miles to go! Another Kenyan, Evans Chebet, who was two minutes behind, now passed and won the men's. As another runner commented "It was a day to run smarter rather than harder."
Yesterday morning I went to the dentist who removed a crown, fixed two cavities and put in a temporary crown. My insurance is not going to pay for a new crown on the same tooth, but I'm getting a price break from the dentist! Also the suspected cavity in a third tooth seems to just be the shadow of my jaw bone. She also said she did not have to do a fill on the tooth, not sure what that means, but it will cost me less!
My legs felt heavy when I walked, so I decided not to do a run. I thought I would benefit from a rest day. Instead I cleaned up a few yard areas where leaves had accumulated. Not many left on the trees, so this task is almost done!
This morning went to vote. Later I went on a short run. First I went to a street near my home that is flat without much traffic. A good place to do strides and I tried to accelerate to a 7mm pace, the reading on my watch was short of that speed, but I was giving it almost all I had. Ran to the end of the street and turned around to try again. I tried to keep up maximum speed on a section between two trees. Again I failed to get a 7mm reading on the Garmin, but later when I looked at the data it indicated a momentary 6:30 pace on the first interval and a 6:10 on the second! Did I really go that fast or was it an artifact of the data processing? After that I ran to the park and jogged around paths and used some of the exercise stations. Total distance was 3.6 miles, but I was less than a mile from my house at all times!Just took this one picture of the park. You can see some of the playground, a basketball court and a soccer field in the back.
Not much to report. Just the usual runs with a couple of days of work thrown in.
Saturday was 5.3, Sunday was 4.4 as was Monday. Tuesday morning walked to the voting center and then back home finishing 4.1 miles. Since we're talking home repairs I went to Home Depot and got 2 new locksets for the back doors. I agree the prices are still crazy. Which makes me glad I can do most of the stuff needed around the house.
Led - Halloween is hit or miss here also. Last year we had no one and this year we had several stop by. I was in the garage both times so they would know someone was home. This year the favorite candy was M&Ms. Good news with another grand kid on the way.
AZ - That day of the snow in Flagstaff was interesting to see. I was at a client and she likes to snowboard so had the Flagstaff camera on her screen showing the snowy conditions. It was cold, cloudy, windy down here also that day. As I was leaving the place it started to hail. They were just BB size, but it was unexpected. No holiday travels this year. Just local family get togethers this year.
Altair - Those days you had that warm weather the temps there were higher than what we had here. From what I understand, all natural water has some minerals and such in it. Depending on the location is why it varies. I agree that things made some time ago were of a better quality. I have never seen a water faucet or fixture that didn't have some corrosion on it. Maybe I have always lived in areas with hard water.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Yep, I’m back
Left Friday to NM. Left my car at youngest sister’s place and we took her sports wrangler jeep to our cousin’s place in west Albq. SIL arrived an hour later. We made/had spaghetti dinner, garlic bread, wine and leftover Halloween chocolate candy For Sat hike: We decided to leave around 9 am due to predicted cold temps (for them). After breakfast and packing lunch and making sure they had layers to keep warm, we drove to Oak Flat Trailhead near Tijeras NM. I knew there would be snow so trails would be muddy and some icy areas. Didn’t want to mention it because that would have possibly led to one or two backing out. They are not use to such conditions. The trail isn’t all that technical or difficult and it is popular with mt bikers, hikers, runners. It was windy but after a mile, we warmed up …. it’s going great …. till sister slipped on icy patch. Her backpack saved her from fully extending flat on her back, saving her knee from further injury. Whew!! Close one It was muddy in a lot of areas so we stopped often to remove mud/pine needles off our shoes. Trails are rolling terrain, switchbacks, rocky, and combination slushy and snow. It was windy the whole day but the trees served as great windbreakers. Came across two runners, 4 hikers, 3 Mt bikers. We stopped for lunch in a sunny area on the trail that had large dry rocks to sit on. We didn’t make it to Cedro Peak as planned. But we hiked a loop following different trails. The last 3 miles were tough for them especially my cousin but we finished 10.1 miles; 5 hrs, 40 minutes. They were wiped out. They know they need to train better but they don’t. So I give them a lot of rest breaks. Take it slow. But keeping eye on time to make it back before dark. Ordered pizza and salad on the drive back to cousin’s place. Spent the evening enjoying each other’s company while we watched a movie, The Good Nurse. We left Sunday after breakfast. My sister and I drove back to western NM and I stayed with her. Monday: I drove north to visit my mom and dad. Stayed with my brother/SIL(same one who hiked). After SIL came home from work, we ran along the canal near her house. I finished 4.2 miles; SIL ran/walked 1.5. We each had one of the large dogs on a leash. It was dark so we ran with headlamps. Good practice for me for my Dec night trail run near Tucson.
On Tuesday, I picked up my mom to vote in person. Visited with ppl who recognized me and knew my mom. It was fun for her. I returned home to northern AZ just before dark. DH had dinner waiting.
Very very blustery wind since last night and all day today. Combination of sleet, rain and snow flurries. Temps in the 30s. Did not drive into town to run at wellness center. Hopefully tomorrow…..