Tuesday, 6/1... after 3 days of rain and temps in the 40's and 50's, the sun was shining bright today, finally! lol   Waited 'til the temp hit 55 degrees this morning and ended up running 5 on the trail.    With a mile to go, there's a woman on the trail 200 yards in front of me, walking my way, when a deer 50 yards from me bolts into the trail, takes a few bounds in her direction, then turns and runs into the woods on the opposite side of the trail.  When I get alongside her and asked if she'd seen the deer, she says, "I was watching you run, thinking you had the most beautiful form, when all of a sudden, you ran into the woods!" Lol  First of all, I don't bound like a deer, and last I counted, I've only got 2 legs...

Art... here you go with the heat again, eh?!  Good luck with that!  In about a month or so, I'll have deerflies nibbling at my ear again...Lol   It's tough being a runner! 

Wednesday, 6/2... hopped on the tryke today and rowed 7 miles.  With the 3 days of rain we just had, the packed footing on the trail was perfect for rowing. But... with temps forecast in the 90's for 4 days after tomorrow, it ain't gonna last, so I was glad to get the ride in.  Lots of yardwork the last couple of days, but that caught up, I'm free to run...

AZ.. it's a little weird the way adult men feel the need to go racing down the trail / road on their ATV's isn't it?!  Some have enough sense to slow down around other people, but too many are just too dumb! Lol  You had a nice week of training, eh?  Good for you!  My knees are still bitchin' at me when I run.  The burn when they were inflamed was hiding a lesser pain that's now quite noticeable now that the inflammation's gone.  It's a deeper pain that's probably not going to go away, but it's tolerable, so I'm running.  I didn't really know how to take the 'compliment' about running form...Lol   Confusing me with the deer? Lol  I do see deer along that stretch of trail fairly often, but never more than one or two at a time.  A herd would definitely get your attention! Lol

Thursday, 6/3... well, I managed not to run on National Running Day, didn't know such a holiday even existed! Lol  Anyway, I did take the mtn bike out for a 7 mile ride on the railtrail, and would have gone farther except for the storm clouds that were sprinkling on me almost from the get-go.  Anyway, happy National Running Day! Lol

June already, but I needed to post what I finished May doing, so here it is. Much more interesting than my usual grind.

As for June, it's starting out in mundane mode again. For one thing, I was in close contact with 18-month-old DGD over the weekend, and she had a cold, and now I'm recovering from a cold. Pharyngitis and sinusitus, I would say. She tested negative for flu, strep, and COVID, so that's not a concern. I took a sick day Tuesday, but ran a mile with our happy dog, and a couple of miles solo. As usual, I feel better during and after my runs. They're a cure for the common cold, IMO.  Good enough to return to work yesterday and today, but my runs were short, mostly because I'm a sleepyhead.

I've got a 10K Saturday. My expectations are low.  Another 10K the following Saturday, so maybe 2 races will help me get in shape, if they don't kill me.

Art - I sometimes take heat like that as a personal challenge. If I survive that kind of heat, it's interesting to figure how many gallons I sweated out. Good luck.

Rich - You should accept the compliment that you run like a deer, without over-thinking it. Just enjoy it.

az - I hate the attitude of people who think the wilderness is there for them to tear up. I guess we runners/hikers will have to keep seeking more out-of-the-way, inaccessible places.  (Have you noticed that all the car/SUV/pickup ads feature vehicles tearing up the wilderness at a ridiculous speed, like it's a good thing?)  It's great you're getting in so many running miles.

Saturday, 6/5... out early to beat the heat this morning for a 6 mile railtrail run.  Not AZ.'s heat, but we're mid 90's today, close enough! Lol

Art... nice workout Thursday!   And yeah, like Led said, I should just take the running form compliment for what it was and leave it at that.  I'm clueless what I look like when I run, but like to compare running with swinging a golf club.  Depending on your ability, you can experience either 'effortless power', or 'powerless effort', it's all in using the right muscles.  And I agree with the pain comment, at some point we know something's going to shut us down, we just don't know what, or when...Lol

Led... being in close contact with your DGD was worth the risk of getting a cold, right?!  Grandbabies are life's little gift to people old enough to appreciate them...  Good luck running those 10k's!

Dee.. doggonit, seems like you can't catch a break!  Thanks for posting and giving us an update!  And good luck getting back by July and spending time in the Gym!  Hang in there!

Friday: 8 miles on hilly trail near home. Around 7 am and it's already high 50s!! Cloudy sky and breeze really helps! Organized the garage (my side) and another couple of boxes to be taken to Goodwill later this week.

Saturday: Decided to get in an easy 6-8 mile run/hike at O'Leary Peak which is close to 10 miles RT. Left later than I should have but I thought I would just go for about 3 miles and turn back. The 'trail' is actually jeep road at edge of large portion of lava from nearby sunset crater and so road is cinder/dirt covered which is closed except to hike. Parking lot is full but found a spot on the side. Sunny with some clouds moving in but nice breeze. Easy slow sluggish run for about 2 miles, which starts with combination of slight incline and flat, and mostly under shade of trees which become sparse as you climb up, up, up....... I decided to get to the 3.5 mile turn which is under a nice shady spot and then run back. With all those vehicles in the parking lot, I thought most of the 'hikers' would be on their way back by now but only passed 3 hikers about 1/2 mile apart.

Reached the 3.5 mile shady spot, I rested about 5 minutes, mostly to shake out the cinders out of my shoes and hydrate. Then I decided to keep going "it's only about 1.5 miles to the lookout point."    So I jog/hiked, passed about 10 hikers, mostly in groups of 2s or 3s. Friendly greetings from them while I just waved. The heat is getting to me and I needed all the energy I have to get to the top which I was intent on doing by this time.

Finally........ made it to the lookout tower ........ and a group of hikers "AZ trailblazers" are resting and eating. Talked with them for a few minutes and I took their group photo with Mt. Humphrey in the background. Mostly 'older' active hikers, the group also car camp in many areas around the state and even into Utah. I talked with one female mostly and she invited me to join the group or on their upcoming hikes. Summer hikes are in northern AZ and winter hikes in southern AZ. I must have spent 15 minutes with them. Drank 16 oz of electrolyte only......should have eaten something here but I took off and jogged most of the way back to the 3.5 mile shady rest stop.

Ate half of the PBJ tortilla wrap, ice cold water (frozen overnight). I jogged until I caught up with a couple of hikers, male and female (another hiking group, small compared to the AZ Trailblazers) who I had passed near the top. I decided to walk with them as my legs are tired and I know I need to just slow down due to the heat. We had a wonderful conversation, laughing about different events, sharing some adventure stories. We had to stop and rest often due to the female needing a break.  I should have eaten something during these breaks but only had water. About 1/4 mile from the trailhead, I suddenly felt my sugar level just DROP......holy cow! I told them to go on and thanked them for their company. I just sat down on  side of road under a nice shade and ate rest of the wrap, drank cold water. Probably took about 10 minutes and I felt better. By that time, the AZ trailblazers were coming into view one at a time. I walked with them to the trailhead. Said my goodbye and drove home. It was at least 80 degrees!!

I haven't felt this way since my last ultra. Drank 1/2 of powerade I found at home. After taking a COLD shower, I had to lay down for about 30 minutes. Warmed up a can of chicken noodle soup and drank more Tailwind electrolyte with tons of ice. The soup had the sodium my body crave. I really felt like I just ran a tough trail race in the heat. The good old days, LOL!!

So I knew what my body needed and kept aware of it the rest of the day. Made an ice cold smoothie with bananas and berries and greek yogurt, THAT was wonderful!!

I thought I would fall asleep easily but I tossed and turned, and had to eat some peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets at 11 pm with rest of the powerade I had earlier. Finally fell asleep around 2:30 am!! Woke up at 7 am. Feeling so much better. I'm surprised I don't feel any soreness or aches. But I'm going to take a rest day, ha!

Lesson learned: Start even earlier!! Eat, eat, eat. Maybe take a rest day the day before a strenuous hike, duh!

Just out of practice but I learned quickly.

Friday morning a quick 1.6 miles before I started work. Just enough to wake up and get things moving.

The usual 3.9 miles Saturday morning. Followed by more usual as I did some gardening, working around the house and then some garage/car work. Got the compressor back together and started it up. Hmmm. It's not building any pressure. Took the pump head off and found I had it reversed. Left it for Sunday work.

Sunday morning didn't feel like going out so took a running rest day. Pulled some beets from the garden so I can cook them up. Then a little more pruning and digging stuff into the soil. Got back to the compressor and put it back together. Started it up and it starts building pressure. Good. Then discovered a air leak from the thin copper gasket. Took it apart again, cleaned everything and then put it back together with some gasket sealer this time. Letting it sit some now before I start it up again.

Led - I agree that running helps us feel better when we don't feel at our best. Too bad about catching the cold. When I read that I got to thinking that no one I know had a cold or the flu this year. So maybe all the precautions helped with that. So with the restrictions loosening now I'm wondering how much that might change. Good luck with your 10Ks. Yea, the heat is here now so it will take a couple of weeks to get used to it.

Di - Nice to hear from you again. I did see that you posted a couple of times in the Covid-19 thread. On the same topic also if I remember right. About stupid people. Hopefully you start feeling better soon.

Rich - Heat is what we are willing to tolerate before we start caring about it too much. Nice couple of runs with the last one being pain free. Hopefully it will continue that way.

AZ - Good thing you recognized the symptoms and took the appropriate measures. I have passed by Sunset Crater a few times and have always thought of stopping there and exploring. Never had the time though. I must make a better effort getting out to some of the trails.