Runs in the rain
No runs for me today, but thought I'd check in anyway. It's been lightly but steadily snowing, there were like 2 inches on the ground this morning. My electric snow blower did a great job in quickly clearing the driveway! Works good when the snow is not too deep! Then got a call from the service station. The reason the check engine light was on was because of some chewed wiring which he fixed. I got the car back and will have to drive it for a while to reset the computer before he can do the inspection. Went on the computer and it seems my sister is doing some interval training in preparation to run a relay marathon with my niece in Vienna! I contacted Walmart and they sent a message to the vendor of the treadmill and I hope I can find out when it will arrive. Then I went back outside just now to again clear off the driveway, but only finished half and now I'm recharging the batteries!
az - It must be nice to be back running favorite trails, I'm sure you will get used to the hills again! It can be a drag to step into what looks like a shallow wet area and find the shoe got soaked in slush up to the socks! Building back strength and stamina is a process and it is discouraging how slow my progress seems, but I think I'm making a good effort! I've not done a lot of cooking lately, but was looking today at vegetable seeds and hope to have lots to eat in the summer! My inexpensive little camera does not take the best pictures, particularly when there are extreme contrasts like a bright sky and shaded ground. I was looking online at an attachment for high end cameras that does "layering" so no areas look too dark or get washed out with too much light. This would be expensive and too bulky to take when running! I do some manipulation to try and make the sky feel like it does in person, but nothing is like seeing it for real! I want to try some scenic watercolors, perhaps they could express what the camera can't capture!
Di - It can be hard to motivate yourself even with a mild depression. If you lack the will to exercise perhaps you should find another hobby to occupy your mind as a distraction from worries. I do a lot of reading and listening to music. If I focused on the negative aspects of my life I know I'd be depressed too. So why not be happy and think about good things! I remember listening to this Christian radio show when I was in High School, not that I'm particularly religious or something, it just came on after the Jean Shepard show (a daily humorous monologue by the person who wrote and narrated the "Christmas Story" movie). The Christian guy was blind and instead of feeling sorry for himself he was filled with great joy! The opening song he sang was always "Count Your Blessings"! I think that's good advice for everyone! You are lucky your brother lives close to your mom, at least you know he is there to help.
Rich - You had a good run before the rain and snow arrived! It is a great feeling to be out running when the weather is nice! The snow here is not too bad so far, I'll get out and clear more off the driveway when the batteries finish charging.
9:30 PM update: Just before dinner(5 PM) I cleared off another 2 inches of snow and 9 PM I took care of about 2 1/2 inches. If you are keeping track that's my estimate - 6 1/2 inches of snow total so far! I'll see how much falls overnight!
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Monday and Tuesday were rest days. I had early work start both days so didn't get out in the morning.
Wednesday morning got in my usual 4.2 miles and exercise before I had a couple of afternoon calls.
Thursday morning did 4.1 miles. Forgot to take that little extra section. Cold and windy. OK. Cold by our standards here. Not the rest of you.
At least the sun is out so that helps some.
Got my bike tubes today so I'm ready for another long bike ride. I forgot to look for a different bike mount for my phone. The one I have now works fine when I am on the road. But when I'm off road all the little bouncing and stuff causes it to come loose. It has a twist knob that tightens it to the handle bar. I tighten it pretty tight but it works it's way loose. I'm afraid if I tighten too much it will break. I've got some thread sealant I'm going to use and see if that helps.
Everyone take care and stay warm in the cold weather working its way across your areas.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Art - So it was "cold by our standards", shorts and tee shirt weather for the rest of us! I would think a lockwasher would eliminate the phone mount from coming loose.
Heard back from the treadmill seller. They are sending a treadmill by their own carrier and it should arrive this week. Now there is the potential of me receiving three treadmills, the $80 one from China, the one sent by FedEx and the one they are shipping now!
About another 4 inches of snow overnight so that increased my total snowfall estimate to 10 1/2 inches!. Snowblower took care of most of it, but I'll need to clear in front of the mailbox with the shovel. Snow is still lightly falling, could get another inch or so. Wonder how Rich is doing, he must already be dealing with this as well.
not bad for mile 25
Yesterday, 4 miles at 1F. Layers, baby! Today, 3 miles at 9F. Heat wave! No one else was out, friendly or not. Everyone but me and my dog has better sense. We are in the midst of the driest winter in 61 years! Snow would actually be a good thing here.
Altair - Last year I watched my goal widget's required miles inch up, then shoot up, then be far out of reach. This year I made it somewhat more moderate, but I'm already well behind. It's not completely out of reach, but I'm not at all sure I'll catch up to the bunny. We need our goals, though. Hope your three treadmills arrive soon! Not really, that'd be overkill, and a nuisance. Anxious to hear how much snow you get.
az - Glad you're enjoying the NM trails and "heat". Is Bones running with you sometimes?
Di - Sorry about your lack of energy and motivation - that's a tough situation to get past. When you're feeling crappy, motivation goes down the drain. Keep after your doctors to help you find some relief, and like az says, try to get a change of scene sometimes. Healing vibes to your mom, too. Healing is slow when you're 85.
Rich - So I'm a sporadic poster. Did you think I went off and posted in the wrong month again? That's not too far-fetched! Glad you had a great run yesterday!
Art - I actually have one of these silicone bike phone mounts:
https://www.amazon.com/Bike-Citizens-Smartphone-Silicone-Mount/dp/B00D8Z9KPU
but I have not tried it yet. It's one piece - nothing to loosen up - but I don't know if the phone might flop around or anything.
“az - Glad you're enjoying the NM trails and "heat". Is Bones running with you sometimes?”
Led: I can’t keep correcting your post
We are back at our northern AZ home, not NM. And yes, I’ve been running with Bones on most of my AZ trails. He loves the nicer weather, doesn’t have to wear his snow boots. We finished another 4 miles today. 37 degrees and sunny. A different trail that starts with hilly areas and finishes with a mile that flattens out. No one else on the trail. Love the solitude.
Saturday, 2/5... cleaned up after yesterday's storm early this morning. Lots of rain and freezing rain before it finally cooled and switched to snow last night. All the rain and wet snow made for a tough crust under the 3 inches of snow to plow, but the walk behind tractor worked great. 14 degrees when I plowed, I've got this goofy knit hat that's huge, and with a visor, makes its wearer look ridiculous. That's when you smile, wave and laugh right along with the people laughing at your hat! Lol Short run on the treadmill later in the day, but that was it. Some days, yea just don't feel like it. Watched a little of the Olympics, women's XC skiing, but the lead American was in 7th place when I shut it off. Tough course!!
Altair5... you were getting snow when I was getting rain! The forecasters were predicting 5 to 10, we might have gotten 3. Even so, with the early freezing rain, then the rain / snow mix before it switched to snow, there was a fair amount of resistance to plowing. I think a snow blower would tend to just ride on top of the crust and make life miserable for the operator, but maybe that's wrong. At any rate, good luck getting your treadmill delivered, it's days like yesterday when they really come in handy!
Art... you had sunshine?! Did you feel its warmth? Lol I've noticed you tend to gravitate towards bragging about your weather when the rest of are trying to buddy up to a bear so we can hibernate. Lol If you have to talk about your weather, please do it when it's raining...Lol A couple of 4 plus milers and with exercises Wednesday, good for you! This time of year, I suppose my snow removal counts for something, but I like the way you work in the upper body stuff. I know I don't have to tell you, but maybe a soft material lock washer for your phone holder if the thread sealant doesn't work?
Led... that's cold weather you ran in, WTG! Do you put something on the dog's feet when it's really cold? The dogsledders do here, but it might be more about protecting their feet from cuts than from the cold. So, you get distracted and post in the wrong month, no big deal. You're getting a pass this time, but we do expect members to play by the rules. Next offense, you'll be expected to write, "I will not post in the wrong month again" in cursive, 20 times.
AZ... 45 degrees! Lol Nice couple of runs there! I didn't see the opening ceremony for the Olympics, but did watch some of the women's XC skiing. Skiing uphill? THAT would be a workout! Lol Time to enjoy the change in weather with more consistent training, so enjoy AZ! And good luck getting decluttered and organized...
Friday morning did the 4.2 miles and exercises. Afternoon was doing client work onsite.
Saturday morning got in 5 miles and then worked in the garden for a couple of hours. Picked a few tomatoes, peas, beet, carrots, orange bell pepper, jalapeno peppers and a couple of Anaheim. Figured I would make shrimp stir fry Sunday. Cut broccoli for a few plants and then will use them for a cream of broccoli soup. Threw all the unneeded stuff in the compost pile, chopped it up and turned it into the dirt.
Altair - Yes, I'm the guy bundled up while the kids are riding their bikes to school in shorts and a T-shirt. I remember those days from a long, long time ago. A lock washer might work but the issue is that the threaded knob that twists just works itself loose from the bouncing. I think the lock washer would do the same thing. I'll find out tomorrow if the thread sealant stuff works. With 3 treadmills you can set them up to different conditions and move between them for a complex run.
Led - Brrr! That phone holder might work. It looks like it would depend on how sticky it would be to the handle bar.
AZ - You have your favorite kind of running weather right now. I'm not interested in the Winter Olympics this time. We're getting rid of some extra things around here also.
Rich - I try not to brag about the weather. Especially knowing what the rest of you are experiencing. What's this rain you talk about? We're getting into our dry spell for this time of the year. The thread sealant I'm going to use is Loctite Blue. It's a medium hold type so I am going to use just a dab at first.
This morning was a tempo run. Not saying *what* tempo, but it was a tempo. Nine miles; felt pretty good. Weather was nice, too, in the 40s.
az - I'm just making sure you stay on your toes as you read my posts! We've been watching random bits of the Olympics - tonight, women's snowboarding and women's hockey. Glad you're having some fabulous runs with Bones, now that you're back in Texas. Also glad you and DH are helping that man. I don't think we are hoarders, exactly, but we do have some boxes in the garage that haven't been opened in 25 years. Probably could use your help.
Rich - I wish it would just rain or just snow. When they mix, it sucks. You have good, steampunk equipment. Well, not exactly steam powered, but you'd probably buy one if you could find it, right? So if I mess up again, you're going to make me write a sentence in cursive 20 times on the computer, eh? That could be challenging.
Art - I made cream of broccoli soup the other night, but I didn't grow the broccoli. Your shrimp stir fry sounds yummy!
Long bike ride this morning. Did the extended Tempe Lake ride in that I went past Tempe Town Lake all the way to the airport. From my house to the old control tower in the center it's 15 miles. That's where I turned around this time. So 30 miles total. Using the cyccling app on my phone it only used 14 percent of power. So that's good. And I thought I would see how this app compared to the Fitbit I had on.
Fitbit showed time as 2 hr 14 min and app 2 hr 15 min. So pretty close to call it a tie. Fitbit showed 796 calories burned where the app showed 1159 calories. So not even close there. Not sure how either one calculates them. Ride was on pave flat surface all the time so I didn't get a good test of putting a little thread locker on the phone holder. Probably some time this week I'll find out.
That temp in the 40s must have felt like beach weather compared to a couple of days ago.
Light snow continued to fall late into the evening on Friday. I used the snow blower about 5 pm and there was an additional 1 1/2 inches I cleared. Just a light additional covering when I got up Saturday, but the snowplow had pushed a heavy ridge of snow along the bottom of my driveway and in front of the mailbox which I had to use the shovel to clear. I'd say total snowfall was about a foot. Saturday was sunny, but only got up to 10 degrees and I did not run.
Sub zero this morning, but warmed quickly. It was 33 degrees and sunny at 2:30 pm. I did not want to go a 4th day with no runs but also did not want to go out into busy streets since with deep snow along the shoulders of the roads and rough snow cover on sidewalks there was no place to go to avoid traffic! There was also the issue if I drove to a country road where could I find a clear spot to park the car! I did some thinking and figured I could just run on quiet nearby roads. A lot of them were dead ends or loops that did not really go anywhere and were short distances within the village where the speed limit is 35 MPH, so speeding cars were not a problem and all was peaceful. The sun reflecting off the snow felt warm and I took off hat and gloves and rolled up my sleeves. I managed 6.67 miles, a decent distance considering the limited options. I am glad I found a way I can run whenever the snow gets too deep! Here is a map showing the crazy route, a lot of different streets and doubling back! I did have to cross 20A, but there was a traffic light. You can see like a figure eight at the bottom of this map and I ran it twice reversing the direction.
My mailbox with like a five foot mound of snow nearby
And looking down my street, which has a gate on the other end which is closed to cars.
I've taken pictures of this field before, but a open area gives a good view of the clear sky.
Believe it or not there is a deer in this picture, well camouflaged behind bushes!
Led - Tough guy with 4 miles at 1F! I checked your log, you're about 30 miles ahead of me this year and not too far behind your less ambitious bunny! Nice to do the tempo run when the weather is nice, and you don't need a lot of heavy clothing! I think we are just slightly behind in precipitation, but be careful what you wish for, you might just get it! If I had the room it would be cool to have extra treadmills.
az - It must feel great to run in 45 degrees after all that MN cold! I tend to collect clutter myself, most of my magazines I save and I'll often accept items friends are getting rid of. But come spring I want to get a dumpster and get rid of a lot of stuff, but probably not magazines, books or phonograph records. Good to get rid of items you have duplicates of. I watched some of the Olympics. I was not too surprised to see Putin there showing solidarity with his fellow communist autocrat. What struck me was the skiing events where a lot of the points come from in air acrobatics rather than skiing itself. An upstate NY skier, Chris Lillis, did win a bronze.
Rich - I figured you would get colder weather, surprised you got mostly rain. Frozen slush can be difficult to break up and remove. I don't think my equipment could handle it. A hat with a visor helps keep snow out of your face, I always go with practical clothing and don't worry if it looks goofy. Speaking of steam punk, I saw this steam powered snowblower: steam snow blower
Art - Good run and bike ride. Nice the agreement in time between the Fitbit and app. How do you calculate distance? A lockwasher is designed to produce tension that would prevent the knob from working loose, but you're the mechanic so I guess you know better than me. Lucky you to be getting all those fresh vegetables from the garden.
I am skeptical about getting the treadmill now. I did the shipment tracking and supposedly it was scanned for a warehouse in Rochester on the 25th of January which is odd since they only mentioned using a new carrier a few days ago. Also, like the first one I ordered, I found it is coming from China, maybe the same supplier and I'd trust an American supplier better. Well, they said it would arrive this week, so I'll see.
I dropped the car off this morning, but it was not driven enough to rest the computer. I now learned it has to go 100 miles to reset, so I'm planning another trip into Rochester tomorrow.
Going to walk down to get the car now and then do another run along the same roads as yesterday. It seems sunny and it's 38 degrees right now so should be nice!
Monday, 2/7... the last couple of days have been a little weird, I'd get on the treadmill with the idea to run, only to fizzle within a few minutes and shut it down. So, this morning I put on running shoes, grabbed the ski poles and headed for the railtrail. The ski poles were in case the footing was bad enough that I'd have times when I'd Nordic walk to get through the rough stuff. As it is, the rail trail's been groomed recently so the ski poles got stashed and off I went, a happy little clam, if ever there was one. Ahem... 7 miles later, I'm back where I started and pretty happy with the way the run went. So, close enough...
Art... congrats. on the 2 runs, followed by a 30 mile bike ride the next day! That's great! Lots of good stuff coming from the garden too, doesn't get much fresher than growing your own! How was the shrimp stir fry? Bragging about your weather? Lol If I wasn't harassing you about that, it'd be something else...Lol The last thing you want to do is take me seriously...Lol
Led... a 9 mile tempo run? You must be training for a marathon, or something. Nice run, 9 miles @ tempo ain't too shabby. Steam powered stuff is awesome! I don't own any though, and the snow blower Altair5 linked to would be a little big for my needs...Lol So, you would write in cursive on a piece of paper as your penalty for posting in the wrong month, you'd then take a photo of your work and post it here. Or else...
Altair5... can you describe where the deer is in the pic., I can't find it. This is like the photos where they challenge you to find hidden objects, but I think your deer is lying down behind the brush and completely hidden...Lol I see you ended up with a considerable amount of snow from the last storm, between the shovel and snow blower, lots of cross training there. I got a kick out of the steam powered snow blower, thanks for sharing. And congrats. on your recent runs, that 6.67 miler took a little planning, eh? You're running really well lately, good for you!
Rich - Great job on the 7 mile run! Outdoor runs are a lot more interesting than the treadmill. I must admit I took a close look at my photo and I don't see the deer either, but think it is hidden behind the bush between the big tree and the one in the middle with the double trunk. I did see it with my eyes just before I took the picture! Ran to the same spot today and two deer ran away! Glad you enjoyed the steam powered snow blower! Recently reread an old magazine from 1968 about the benefits of steam powered cars! I am still having difficulty with slow paces and struggling to do the distance, so right now I don't think I am running all that well. My plan was to get to a half marathon distance, about 13 miles, by the start of spring, six weeks from now. So since my long run is about 8 miles now I would need to increase by .83 miles a week to attain the goal and I don't know if I can.
Almost two miles walking to and from the service station today. Then I did a six mile run, basically the same streets as yesterday, but cut it a half mile shorter. Warmed up to about 40 degrees, but sun was weakly shining through clouds the first half before it came out. I dressed lighter, but felt so warm at the end I wished I wore just shorts and a tee shirt! I'm not kidding Art, you get acclimated to cold and 40 degrees with sun and no wind feels very warm! Since the route and conditions were pretty much like yesterday I did not bother with my camera so no new photos.
Five miles Sunday, four today, both pretty slow, recovering from Saturday's effort. No hint of precipitation around here.
Art - Your 30 mile bike ride is impressive. Your Fitbit doesn't do distance, does it? I've decided to take some of what our watches say as pure fiction. On mine it's notably the 150 flights of stairs I supposedly did Saturday, or the instantaneous pace, which is never even close to the actual pace.
Altair - Nice job creating a new, feasible course for yourself. 6 2/3 miles is a good distance, and then another 6 today! Yeah, you and I are pretty close in distance so far this year. I think you're gonna beat me in the long run. A year ago, we didn't look too different from your pictures in terms of snow. Maybe a bit more patience and you'll get at least one of the treadmills! That's a nice snowblower you linked. I think Rich should get one!! ;D
Rich - You apparently have no heart for the treadmill, but get outside and you're a snow beast! Just finished watching the women's skiathlon. Boy, they get a workout!