I'm doing more biking than running these days.  My husband and I just got back from 2 1/2 weeks in France and Spain.  My Apple watch tells me we walked 96 miles, including the equivalent of 201 flights of stairs.  My feet felt it!   Now I'm back to the real world.  I made it to the gym this morning and will start indoor biking again tomorrow.  I use Zwift and FulGaz. 

Hello & Welcome Teresadfp 

What an amazing trip that must have been, Spain & France!! My first thought was you made the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, on bikes. But that’s still alot of walking. Wow! Was this your first trip there?? An annual summer trip overseas?? Thank you for popping in. Hope you stay. 
I’m in northern AZ. DH and I have always had a home here but have lived in CO, ND, and most recently, northern MN, due to DH’s work (dental profession). He’s retired since 2019 but he got his CDL and enjoys driving a truck, hauling rocks and dirt, haha! He prefers walking and riding mt bikes and his fat tire bike. I’m Semi-retired from the dental profession. Mainly do consulting from home now. Love camping and hiking. I’m the dirt trail runner in the group. 

Today: great early morning solo run, 8.2 miles. DH is off today. Took my mom into town to run a couple of errands. She preferred to stay in the car and people watch, LOL! I’m not a shopper so we were home before noon. Predicted rain later today, yay!! Clouds already accumulating. Nice and cool 

Sunday morning started on a bike ride. After about 30 minutes it felt really hard to pedal. So stopped and checked on the bike. It was fine when I left. For some reason the back tire was having trouble spinning. I thought the brakes were stuck but these being disc brakes I couldn't tell for sure. Other than the tire was hard to move. So I headed home and need to figure out what happened if I can or in it goes for a check-up. Ended up with 11.4 miles. Next Sunday will be a bagel run.

Monday morning was the usual 4.4 miles with exercises. Weather was really warmer.

Tuesday morning woke to thunder and cloudy skies. Soon it began raining some. Lasted about 30 minutes. Just enough to get the ground wet.

Looked OK to go out so did 4.4 miles around the neighborhood. Halfway through it drizzled for about 10 minutes then stopped. Surprisingly I didn't see anyone else out this morning.

Altair - Running or biking up a hill is a good workout. Then the feeling of going downhill on the bike is a good reward. Nice job getting in the weekly miles.

AZ - It sounds like the hiking group needs to ditch that guy and form their own group. Good thing you and LC were there to help the others. Wife is off the cane now and almost back to normal. Knee area is still swollen a little and she is getting good range movement now. Slow but steady progress.

Thersa - Sounds like a wonderful trip. Now comes the part of getting back in the swing of things at home.

Led - Dang! That's some climbing wall. They are so fearless at that age. And what kid, or adult, doesn't like a water park.

AZ - Good 8 mile solo and the 5 miler with Bones! Glad you got some rain and it's cooler, but mosquitoes are annoying! So far this year we have had less issues with them than usual. Dogs are a concern whenever I encounter them on my run, fortunately most yard dogs have that electronic fence that keeps them from leaving the yard.

Led - Good you got in a short run before going to Mahoney Park with your GD. Impressive how she climbed that wall! We did not have climbing walls when I was six, but used to climb on a big willow tree. I was scared to climb too high. The wave pool sounds fun for the kids. We had the ocean near where I grew up, used to enjoy being knocked about by the waves! Kids have so much energy, they can wear you out!

Art - I had to look up the bike disc brakes. They are said to be better than the rim brakes, but I guess harder to fix if there is a problem. I'm sure with your mechanical expertise you fixed the drag on the wheel when you got back. The drizzle must feel nice and cooling! Glad your DW is recovering nicely.

Despite the seeds being like 5 years old most of the snow peas and string beans have now sprouted! The peas will need something to climb up on. I hope they produce before a fall freeze! A lot of my squash and cucumbers have overgrown, got to pick them when they are small or else they get too seedy. The peppers are not producing much and have yet to eat a garden tomato. Maybe because the weather here has been cooler than usual.

Decided not to set the new pool up this season. I would need to use a lot of water to fill it and then only have until mid-September before I would take it down. I'll try to get the ground ready so I can set it up early next spring.

On my walk last week I had passed a free library, a little cabinet with donated books you can take to read. I had taken two books and read a collection of Rolling Stone interviews, like talks with John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Grace Slick, Mick Jagger and many other performers from the early 70s. I also got a book about Bob Dylan's early life in Hibbing, Minnesota. Interesting to read about him before he became a big star.

Monday started with a heavy downpour. There was a tornado warning and there was a tornado in a distant part of western NY. It cleared by the afternoon, but I did not feel like running and did yardwork instead. Tuesday was overcast and very humid. Rain was expected throughout the day, but we only got a sprinkle. Again, I just did not feel like running and had a lazy day inside.

Much nicer on Wednesday! I mowed part of the lawn and washed clothes to hang on the line outside. It was mostly sunny, but there was a passing dark cloud and I felt some drops of moisture. Some heavy rain occurred just north of us, but nothing here. After hanging the clothes I went for a run.

I wanted to increase my distance to 11 miles. It was 77 degrees, mostly sunny. It was a bit humid, but there were some nice winds. My route was actually 11 1/4 miles with a 350 foot climb for the first half. I tried to take it easy and stopped several times to rest, but once again I felt worn after 8 miles. I did run about 11 miles by stopping and sitting several times to recover some energy, but ended by walking the final 1/4 mile.

Perhaps I am being to impatient in increasing my distance, but have ramped it up faster than this in the past. I guess it just gets harder when you are over 70! I think I should cut back to 8 mile long runs until I'm used to doing those. I had a thought about running a fall half marathon, but maybe that's too ambitious, unless I use a run/walk plan.

I liked the metal numbers and sign on the wooden telephone pole with the corn field in the background. Corn looks ready and I did see a corn stand. I love fresh corn on the cob!

Looking back down after climbing a major part of the uphill.

Almost at the halfway point, this wooden gate. Notice the cow skull mounted on the cross piece.

Thurs: Met up with the trail divas running group at 5:30 pm. Took Bones for the first time with the group. He did well with the other dogs. Wasn’t sure if I should take him because of possible rainstorm but DH wanted him to get a good run in. Combination of rocky and less rocky trail, has at least three steep hills and rocky, perfect. Could hear distant thunder from the start and hoped it stays there. Came upon a herd of elk who stopped and stared as long as we did too, LOL! Felt rain sprinkles around 2.5 miles. Then a nice shower around mile 3. By 3.5 miles, it’s a downpour and light hail. Not cold, a light breeze but tolerable. We stopped under the interstate overpass for a couple of runners to catch up. Bones is confused and keeps trying to shake off the rain but to no avail, ha!
It was not letting up so we ran through the downpour, our shoes fully soaked, through the trail overflowing with rain and mud, it was amazing! Haven’t run in that type of weather since MN. Finished 6.1 miles. We took group photos and we said our goodbyes. 

Fri (today): our book club met for coffee at a popular downtown cafe. Sat outside on a beautiful morning. We finished reading Abdi’s World and the ghost writer, Miles, managed to have us meet the 5-time Olympian, Abdi Abdirahman, this morning!!!  He makes his home in Tucson but lives/runs here (northern AZ) in the summers. 

Then, around noon, an older cousin and her DH stopped by to visit with us. My mom was very happy to tell her stories of my cousin’s father. It was fun and made my mom’s day.

Then, the elderly retired dentist/friend of DH made a delicious dinner at his house and brought it over to us. WOW!! That was very thoughtful and delicious. We usually invite him over for lunch and/or dinner and also for the holidays. He lives alone. No family. 

Today was a very wonderful day!!

AZ - Glad you and Bones enjoyed the trail run with the Devas! Elk are good to see, don't have them around here! You had fun running through the rain, but hail can sting the bare skin. I like hearing about books and Abdi's World sounds interesting, but the co-author's name is spelled Myles, not Miles. Good to have visits from cousin and elderly dentist friend. Nice you volunteered at the aid station and still got in 4 miles of running. Great that a female won the HM!

Saturday there was a passing thunderstorm. There was a chance of more storms with high winds and a tornado warning, but all that happened was just some light rain. I did not want to take a chance going out for a run.

Another cool and mostly cloudy day this Sunday. I went for a 7 mile run near the route I did Friday. It was 73 degrees and windy at times. I enjoyed the nice weather.
My photos are mostly of fields and clouds. This view was near where I started.

There were some dark clouds and a sprinkle was possible, but I stayed dry.

Some tall grasses edge the green field

Despite some strong winds, this windmill was not turning.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday did 4.4 miles each day. The usual. Weather was a tad cooler.

Saturday only did 2.5 miles because I needed to clean up the front yard from all the leaves that had fallen from the trees. And I knew it would be a lot of work. Filled up the garbage can, through a bunch into the compost containers and still have a lot left over. I'll mix some of them into other garden sections. The trees really took a beating this summer.

Sunday didn't do the bagel run. No room in the freezer for the extras. Maybe next week. Instead did a 32.1 mile ride going south along the canal.

AZ - So much for hoping the rain wouldn't come on the run. It's just water, right? Though cleaning muddy running shoes is a pain.

Altair - You got the same results I did with the garden. Hoping everything grows correctly only to have some things not do that well. But any fresh veggies are better than store bought. I can't wait to start the garden here.

AZ - Nice to have cool temps for the 5 miler! Good your siblings take turns taking care of your mom. I think I have a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, I can't help but want to correct mistakes and sometimes that gets people mad! Glad you are not easily offended!

Art - Cool for your runs too, nice! Leaves must have fallen early due to your recent triple digit temps. Too bad no room in the freezer for bagels, but a 32 mile ride is impressive! Some vegetables may grow well in a season while others do poorly. I harvested my first tomatoes! They are the Early Girl variety, and are small, only like 3" diameter. I sliced zucchini strips, topped them with tomato slices, basil and garlic, all from my garden, then added onion, vegan feta cheese, and curry powder and baked it in the oven for dinner, almost like a pizza, very tasty!

Teresadfp - Good to hear from you again! I am very interested in how you can have virtual scenic bike rides. It must be a lot of fun! I will have to see if something similar is available for treadmill running. Your Mediterranean trip must have been great! I hope the bike paths were nice and safe in Paris and boating on the Seine must have been a great experience!

Got some bad family news last night, my cousin passed away. This is the one where her daughter was shot and killed a few months ago.

Monday, I had some cramping in my intestines and did not sleep well, so did not run. Maybe eating several corn on the cobs upset my digestion. I did do some mowing outside.

I felt better Tuesday and went for a five mile run. It was all overcast, only 69 degrees, but very humid. I felt moisture drops in the air and there was a light drizzle at the end of the run.
The mix of wildflowers by the roadsides is messy looking, but colorful!

Overcast skies

Horses eating the damp grass

I had a good bike ride on Tuesday and then hard gym workouts on Wednesday and this morning. We have a couple of new people in my gym group, which is a good thing because it shows that I have made progress!  I'm not the slowest or weakest, even though I'm the oldest.