Runs in the rain
AZ - Nice big group you ran with and then you added another six miles! Good traing for the upcoming half! Guess you are on the road now, have fun visiting family and friends in NM and good luck next Saturday in your HM! So your friend is from Phoenix and never hiked the Grand Canyon? Seems from Phoenix it is like a 230 mile trip of about 4 hours, but I supose she will want to rest overnight for a fresh start.
Walking to match my running distances was not really a goal, it just happened as I decided to increase the lengths of my walks. I did map some of the longer walks I have done in my past to determine the distances. I think my longest walk was like over 50 years ago and it maps to 12 to maybe over 14 miles. So my walking goal now is to exceed that with an eventual 15 mile walk! I think for a while I will use a long walk instead of a slow distance run each week and then start doing the long distance workout like a run/walk with increasing portions of running until I'm up to half marathon distance runs. Still thinking of a September HM race.
In the meantime I wanted to begin May with my first run since the end of March! So just a short distance to start out with, consider just doing a mile, but went for two miles! Legs were slightly sore from all my long walks. First mile was not bad, but began to tire and was slower for the second. At least it is a beginning that I shall build on!
This is from my turnaround point a mile from my house looking at dark clouds to the North. The first mile was overcast and I worried it might rain.
But the sun came out the next mile with a mix of dark clouds and clear skies. The clouds seemed to be moving North towards Rochester. This picture is of the sky looking East over the woods next to my house just after I stopped running.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Walked again today and planned to do 6 miles, but did a little extra with 6.6 miles.Drove to the river flood plain.
Here is looking at some dark clouds to the South. The sky was very patchy with clear areas but also these dark clouds. Some had streaks underneath indicating rain off in the distance. I did feel some wind and a few sprinkles, mostly towards the end of my walk.
Walk started down this dirt road with fields on either side.
At the end of that road I followed deer paths along the river. I saw these fiddlehead ferns.
And here is the Genesee river! I was looking for a bluebell patch I have visited before, but I think it was a bit further South.
Back walking on the roads, I passed some horses.
Almost done with my walk. I think you can see some streaks of rain falling from the clouds and just a bit of clear skys to the right. Behind the trees in the center you may notice my yellow car.
37 degrees and light rain early this morning. Nearby friend said it was snowing where she lived! Tomorrow the cold rainy weather pattern will start to become more spring like!
It had warmed to 40 when I went running at 11 am. It was very lightly drizzling and I ran 3.55 miles, increasing my distance from Monday's short run. I think all the walking helped lengthen my stride, but still tired before then end of the run. Well, I had not run in a month so I have to work back into it! Some hazy sun in my last half a mile.
Passed by a stream, full from all the rain
Some distance photos withf lines of trees, some still look bare
Been a while again. Had a garage sale last Friday and Saturday so no getting out on those days. Otherwise it has been normal mornings getting out and walking with exercises or doing walk/run and then a bike ride.
Sunday morning did a 20.1-mile bike ride. Started south and
when I got to the junction I decided to follow the canal East to see where it went. I have never gone that way before. So I was kind of surprised that it curved around to the North and was part of the canal I run along most mornings. Since I was so close to home I decided to head home and have breakfast.
Monday morning was just a 4.4 mile walk with exercise. Then I was off for a day of work.
Tuesday morning was 4.4 mile walk/run and catching up with things in the office.
Wednesday morning did 5.4 miles with exercises. Started with a 1 mile warmup. Started to get rid of the items that didn't sell in the garage sale.
Altair - Like the pictures. It seems to me that I can walk and get lost in thought more than when I am running. But usually I have things to do after breakfast which limits my walk length,
AZ - That was a good size group to run with. Enjoy your trip.
Di - What a busy month you have going for May.
Led - Good to hear from you again. Good luck with your race this Saturday.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Trails
Add a Dr visit on the 12th. When I get home I need to set up to do the dialysis since my flight is at 6 am and it's at least a hour and a half to the airport. Of course I'll have to pack also, but have to wait til I get home to do that.
Altair: My friend, MM, and her gentleman friend, Paul, will be picking me up on Friday, and we will hike Saturday. Down and up in one day. The popular trail. Paul is not hiking with us. His knees can’t handle the climbs anymore; he use to be an ultra runner. But didn’t take care of himself as he should have, he says. We return home on Sunday. My friend, MM is 63 as well, and runs trails and hikes frequently. Not a tent camper though
I was camping and hiking last year on Mothers Day weekend. Probably make it an annual event. I like fiddlehead ferns ….. and those dark clouds really look ominous…. nice contrast with all the greens. Wow, that’s quite an impressive jump from walking to running those miles…… good job.
Di: that’s going to be quite an adventure….. think you’ll need a vacation from your vacation?? HA. You have all this under control, yay! Take care.
Tues: 6 miles in NM. Whew!! It’s warm at 8 am. My brother/SIL have 2 big strong dogs. I took one at a time for a 2 mile run, and Bones was last. Wed: picked up my mom in the morning and visited relatives all day. She loved it. Strong wind went through their neighborhood just before we returned there …. OMgosh, blew down a wooden fence and blew apart the old shed. My brothers will be busy this weekend, LOL! Thurs (today): 4 miles. Another run with each of the dogs this morning; 1 mile with the big ones. 2.1 with Bones, so much easier to manage him in comparison. Another HOT day. Tomorrow, will pick up my race stuff. Saturday: 7:30 am start.
Led: good luck on your Sunday race.
Art: it’s gotta be scorcher days in the valley; impressive long bike rides there. It’s always nice to explore new areas to add to your rides.
Lol AZ I have a L I S T!!! so I'll be fine.
Art - Hope your yard sale went as well as expected. I always like to look for books and records. It is a nice surprise when you do a new route and find it connects with familiar territory. Not likely to happen to me since I map my run before starting out. Reminds me of a story about a spelunker who was miles into a vast unexplored cave system, like hours from the entrance, and discovered a small passage that connected near the entrance of like a tourist cave with lights and leveled paths! Walks are good for thinking things out, if something is troubling me I often get out for a walk.
Di - Sounds like you have it all planned out for your trip! Enjoy your visit!
AZ - I had to stay at a friend's house before I moved upstate and used to take his dogs out for runs! Like you did I would give each a turn for a mile or two. It was fun, but sometimes they would want to stop and take care of business. Glad your mom enjoyed visiting relatives. Must have been a microburst to blow apart the shed! So you and MM will have a whole day for your hike! I like sleeping in my tent, but maybe your friend is worried it may get too cold at night. Fiddleheads are edible, wonder what they taste like. The idea with the walking is to see if I could retain running fitness. I will see how long it takes to be able to do longer runs. Good luck on your Saturday race!
Led - Good luck on your Sunday race! Seems that you and AZ are the only ones here doing races! Well, I did look to see if there was a race on my June birthday, but I only saw one that's 4 hours away! Don't forget to share a race report!
Worked more on weeding. The area I worked on had a lot of thistle plants which have spiney leaves and deep roots, so I had to use a spade to dig them up! The ground was muddy, which makes it easier to pull weeds, but my work jeans and retired running shoes were all covered with mud! Still have more to do in that area but got all the thistles out!
Because I was weeding it was after 3 before I got out for a very short, less than two mile, walk. Some drizzle and light rain and it was 50 degrees. Better weather today than yesterday and Friday we should finally dry out and have some sun!This fuchsia-colored tree is at the apartment complex not far from my house, just past the woods at the end of my street.
Almost all the way around my block I did a short walk into the park, but then the drizzle became a light rain! So I exited the park by this path and hurried home before I got soaked!
Thursday morning total of 5.6 miles. The 1.2 warmup walk and then 4.4 run/walk.
Friday morning another 5.6 miles. Except the 4.4 was walking and exercises.
AZ - The weather down here right now has the highs in the lower 80s today. Yesterday it topped out at 79. So we are below normal again making for some nice weather. But it has been windy which is making a mess by blowing everything around. I clean and 10 minutes later it's full of leaves and flowers again. Good luck tomorrow.
Altair - The garage sale proceeds weren't bad. Made $130.00 over both days. Most of the stuff went but surprising to us was that most of the women's clothes didn't sell. Hardly any women stopped by. That I thought strange as usually there are several. In the end I took all the clothes and donated them. It's easier digging when the ground is wet. Makes pulling weeds easier.
not bad for mile 25
GD #3 was born Tuesday, Rosie (Rosemary), 9 lbs 5 oz! Due to glucose levels and jaundice, she has been in NICU for 4 days, which meant I spent this week alternating between caring for the older sisters (6 & 3) and long hospital visits. Rosie's just getting discharged right about now, so she'll be going home and will have to get used to 2 squealing sisters. Meanwhile, I've been seriously tapering for tomorrow's HM, and currently watching Kentucky Derby coverage.
Altair - Your walking has been really impressive, but glad you're able to add some running as well! We have some ferns in our front yard, but they're probably not fiddleheads. They are latecomers, maybe just now poking their little heads above the soil.
Art - Nice discovering a new connection with your canal paths. I'd call your garage sale a success. Last time we had one, we were happy to end up with pizza money and a lot less junk in our house.
AZ - Excited to see your RR! Hope it was great! Can't believe you've been running 3 dogs each day! If anyone can handle running with dogs, you're the one! Enjoy your GC hike. I'm sure you're a great guide - I'd hire you if I were going to do that hike!
Di - We'll be waiting for your trip report.
Art - Consistant runs, walks and exercise! Funny to hear you speak of cooler nice weather, here I'm wishing it would warm up a little! Cleaning up the yard can be a never ending task when it's windy. The main goal for me in a yard sale is getting rid of stuff, better that someone appreciates it than throwing it in the garbage.
Led - Congratulations on Rosie, GD #3! I hope the medical issues were temporary. I hope you are doing well in your race today, looking forward to the report!
Friday, it was dry enough I could finally mow the lawn! The first time since winter and it was getting long. I mowed the front yard and then the battery needed charging. I then dressed for a run, it was overcast and a bit damp and chilly. After a few steps I could feel some soreness in the legs and decided I did not feel it today. Breaking my month long walking/running streak, but I did get exercise with the mowing and sometimes I need a rest day. By this time the battery had charged, and I mowed part of the back yard.
Saturday, we watched part of the coronation. I was thinking about how much of Charles life is about maintaining traditions and symbolic rituals. His personal feelings have to take a back seat in the golden coach as he performs his duties.
After that I had planned a five mile run, but it was a nice 64 degree sunny day and decided on a long trail walk instead. I drove to the parking lot for the Erie Attica Trail, which I have never been on. There were people loading horses back into a trailer. I first walked a short distance east to where the trail ends at Barilla pasta, I don't know of this is local or if you see this spaghetti in your stores. Then traveled back and over the Genesee River on this iron bridge. Actually, this photo was taken on my way back later in the afternoon.
Here is a concrete structure dated 1929, perhaps remnants of a canal lock. These trails often follow old canal routes.
The Erie Attica trail was only 1.3 miles long, but it joined with the Greenway Trail and I walked another 3 1/2 miles north. There were many groups of cyclists on the gravel trail, but only saw one other walker on the Greenway and no runners!
Here are white trilliums I saw by the side of the trail.
I think this is mugwort, a mildly psychoactive plant that at one time was used to flavor beer before they started using hops. Some use this herb to enhance their dreams.
There are private farm roads which cross the trail and you can get some good views from the breaks in the foliage that border the trail.
Don't worry, the garter snake is nonvenomous and is more afraid of you than you are of them! I was lucky to get a picture before it slithered off to hide.
After returning back to my car I had walked 10.17 miles, I had intended 10.5, but must have miscalculated when I mapped out my walk beforehand! Anyway, I was tired and had been walking for 3 hours 25 minutes. I did take many stops to take pictures and drink some water. I took 40 photos, but I'm only posting the best ones here! If you want to see additional pictures, I posted some more of the better ones on the Greenway Trail Facebook page
I wanted to do one more run this week, my plan was to do at least three runs a week, and I wanted to do a 5 mile run. Legs were tired from my long walk yesterday, but I was up for a run since it was another nice day, mostly sunny and 68 degrees. My first mile was at a decent pace, but then my speed dropped as I was worn out. I'll probably just do a short walk for recovery tomorrow. After the spectacular pictures I got yesterday I was disappointed with this one, it's a bit blurry. I took it fast because I was trying to photograph some red winged blackbirds in those reeds, but by the time I had the camera ready they had flown.
The race is done - I won't retype the race report here; it's in my log, if you're interested. All in all, I'm pleased with how it went, considering my rather lax training. I'm taking it easy the rest of the day. Went out to a nice Mexican dinner with DW, and she is now tuned in to the Giro d'Italia (as she will be for the next 3 weeks). Thunderstorm is starting this evening, and the dog is clinging to us.
I hear that new GD had a good night, and all are happy that Mom and sister are home now.
Altair - Good long walk, and then you managed to get in a run the next day. The Erie Attica trail looks like a nice change of pace for you. I especially like the bridge and snake pictures.
I need to mow the lawn, too. Do you collect your clippings? I do, and put them on the compost, unless they contain a lot of pine needles, that I think are bad for compost.
Led - Thanks for the race report! I did see some photos of the marathon on Facebook, including the finish arch and what looked like a stadium of some kind (The Champions Club?).The RA site contained a lot of data with splits and graphs, but the map just seemed to show the default Boston area? Congratulations on the 3rd place, I know it is disappointing to lose a place by a few seconds, but I am impressed by your pace throughout the race! The elevation graph looks like a 150 foot climb to mile 5 1/2, which seems gradual, but I know even a slight incline can feel challenging when you are trying to maintain pace. I also try to bank time on downhill, basically trying to "glide" in a fast, but effortless manner so I'm not overtiring myself and have gas in the tank for climbing hills. You lost less than a minute in your pit stop, stop complaining! I take it the Half and Full entrants ran together and that's why you were with the 4:20 pacer. So were the supporters cheering your name people who knew you or did they get your name from the announcer?
Glad the GD and the rest of your family are home and doing well. I had to look up what the Giro d'Italia is, I like bicycle races, wish I could watch it! Did you ever consider conditioning your dog by playing a thunderstorm CD at a low volume during positive activities like eating or playing and over time increase the volume so the dog gets used to the sound? Going on new-to-me trails makes it interesting, I am getting bored with the same routes all the time. All the grass clippings I saved in a pile to use later for mulch. I think we discussed using pine needles before to add some acidity to the soil, but they are not acid once they decompose, so they probably can be used for compost. Maybe Art will have a comment on this.
A brief heavy rain shower last night. Today is starting out sunny, 50 degrees now at 8:30 am. I'm slightly sore from the long walk and 5 mile run, but will get out for a short walk in a little while.
Altair - Here's what I see when I look at my run on RA. I don't know if RA is restricting guest viewing of the map, or if it is a temporary clog in the datastream for you. RA has a setting, "Keep my new maps private unless I explicitly allow them to be public", but that is not checked in my settings.
The race finished on the street between Memorial Stadium, where the Husker football games are played, and a general-purpose dining and "clubhouse" on the other side. My name was printed on my bib, which is why people were yelling it at times. Correct, half & full were running together, and we halfers split off at the stadium while the others had a 13 mile out-and-back before they finished.
For elevation and other stats, here's what Garmin reports: