Saturday afternoon I did get out for the bike ride to the store. A short 4.5 miles.

Sunday morning did the 1.4 mile warm up walk and then went out for my bike ride. 31.1. miles. Did the southernly route of Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler and back. Gilbert and Chandler must have been cleaning and weeding a few days before because there was practically no trash and I could see where they sprayed the weeds. And saw lots of duck families along the canal. Lots of people out enjoying the day. Finished Sunday by putting together the new grill. Old one had to be at least 15 years old.

Monday morning total of 5.8 miles. Doing my walk with exercises after the warmup. Checked the garden and the squash and cucumber seeds are popping up.

Altair - I don't see hummingbirds here much. Just once in a while. They must not like the mix of flowers I have. Though I have lots of bees around the flowers.

AZ - Hopefully all that snow melt doesn't cause any problems up there. Hope whatever is bothering you is short lived. Not being used to the heat can have different effect on people. Just pull up a chair and sit outside and read your book. A nice way to relax .

I plan on a long walk tomorrow, so just did 2 3/4 miles this morning. It was 42 degrees, damp and chilly. My route took me to Main St. and then back home via another street. I expected some rain today, but sun came out in the afternoon.
Lots of vintage houses and buildings on Main Street. Here is the Big Tree Inn and the historical sign for it.

Hi Everybody!  I've been MIA for April, sorry about that. Seems to be a lot going on in my life these days, and I haven't been able to get caught up here. As far as running goes, I did a 10 mile race March 25. I had a bad cold a few weeks ago, and that cut my miles pretty drastically.  I've been making an effort to up my miles in prep for the HM on May 7.  Got a couple of weeks near 40 miles, and now am starting to cut back. Probably a bit early for a taper, but I'm not feeling high mileage these days. Still seem to have the remnants of the cold, or maybe a new one. All that said, I just passed nine years for my streak, which started just after Boston 2014.

In other aspects of life, the house has been getting some updates (forgive me if I already mentioned) - new electrical system, new windows. Dog got surgery. Doing some spring yard work. Hope we're done with freezes, finally. It got down to 23F two nights ago, but is warming up now. Making plans for summer trips.  New granddaughter is due in about a week!!

I have read all your April posts a couple of times. Won't be able to respond to everything, but here goes.

Di - So great your home dialysis is making a big difference in your numbers and in how you feel! Hope your trip goes well.

Altair - Thanks for all the nice pics for April! The green fish got me at first. I thought it was on the ground and, like six feet long. A second look set me straight. Glad your car finally got certified. I can't believe it's so difficult to get the computer to reset. I understand that slow growing prostate cancer is extremely common, and something to monitor, but not generally something to be concerned about. You'll be back running in no time.  So your cholesterol is high? My doc is somewhat concerned since mine is > 200. Used to not worry, because it was largely high HDL, but newer research is saying that's not a free pass.   Not getting any treatment so far, but I bet I'll need to lower my dietary fat (even more).  Your cousin's comment on "living grandson" vs. "dead marathoner" is funny!  I'll take time to read your grandpa's Boston story in a little bit.

Art - Glad your running is getting back in the picture, and your biking has always been impressive! Nice that your wife is going on some outings with you.

AZ - You've had so much going on, it'll be difficult to do it justice in my comments. Your Vail Scramble was pretty brutal, getting scraped up, bruised, and heat stroke!! And you say running on flat pavement is painful!   Be careful - we don't want a "dead trail runner" in our group, to paraphrase Altair's cousin. Anyway. big congrats on hanging in there and getting a good result! Great job on the Sedona Stumble as well, where your didn't stumble, and got on the podium!!  You're one of the amazing runners in the race, too! So cool you met Hosava Kretzman!

I did watch the Boston Marathon, and it was great. Really interesting finish, especially for the women. I missed watching London, and I guess it was pretty awesome as well.

AZ - The inn closed during the pandemic. It sems to have been purchased, but as far as I know has not reopened. Nearby areas can have very different weather, lots of factors involved like elevation and proximity to the great lakes. Taking photos does add to your time, but a BQ race was not your goal. I looked at the NATRA page, nice to run with groups. There is a group of runners that meet at that park near my house, when I'm ready I'll try to join them. Enjoy your HM if you have encouraging friends and family or even screaming crowds!

Led - I just about gave up on you, but know sometimes we get busy! You would think once retired you have all the time in the world, but there is always stuff to take care of! Glad you're back, I missed your sense of humour! Anyway, I did check your log and read about your 10 mile race. You were disapointed with your pace, but I would be happy to have anywhere near your speed! Colds can come on as the weather changes, I hope you feel better. Congradulations on the nine year streak! That's real dedication to a goal! If that fish was really six feet long it would be very impressive! The computer reset once I went online and followed specific instructions. Not too worried about the cancer, but still healing from the prostate surgery. I may start with some short runs beginning of May. My cholesterol is 200, borderline, but my doctor said the HDLs were a good ratio. My concern is an ultrasound which showed arterial plaque. I'm concerned about strokes or a heart attack. Maybe poor circulation is why I've had difficulty in increasing my running pace. I'm looking at supliments to lower cholesterol; tumeric, garlic, cinnamon, almonds, fish oil, red yeast rice, niacin and bran muffins all may be benificial, but may decide to use the statins the doctor recomends. Glad you appreciate the humor of my cousin's comment! Hopefully I'll not be a "dead marathoner" and I still want to give Boston qualifing a good try!

Di - You are very harried by all the stuff you have to take care of, medical issues, office work and preparing for your trip! Hopefully you will get a chance to unwind when you visit your mom, but vacations can be busy times also.

We've been in cool and rainy weather pattern, but today was nice! So I did an over 9 mile walk! I wore a tee shirt and shorts and it was only 50 degrees when I started at 11:30 am, so I felt cool at first, but it was mostly sunny and the day warmed up and I warmed from the exercise! I was tired by the end of the walk, but could have gone further if I wanted. It was near 60 degrees by the time I got home. I sat on my deck, drank a smoothie and relaxed to some jazz music for a while after the run.
Spring is my favorite time of year, I like the trees just starting to show a little green!

Led - Thanks for taking the time to read about Grandpa Ziegler! Good idea about making a shirt with Grandpa's picture! I was thinking if I ran it I would use my lucky tie dye shirt or else make a shirt with the Pastime Athletic Club emblem on it like my grandfather wore, but your idea may be better. I do have Grandpa's trophies, including a cigar box with race medals and patches which I'll have to look through. I had thought them to be World War I German medals that someone had acquired as war souvenirs because many have the Maltese Cross, but the cross was also the Pastime emblem.

A shorter, recovery walk today, just 2.6 miles. The temperature was similar to yesterday, near 60 degrees, but overcast with no clear blue skies. Rain expected later.
No great photos today. This is at the top of Center Street, not far from my house.

The end of April! This graph give a summary of my recent activities. In early Febuary I was doing 35 mile weeks and had a 9 mile long run. As I began preperations for my surgery the consitancy of my running fell off. After my surgery I started doing walks and have a least done some distance every day, maybe not much compared to led's 9 year streak, but at least I have 4 solid weeks!  I have now walked 35 mile weeks and did a 9 mile walk, equivilant to my running back in early Febuary! It was my decision to try long walks as a less stressful exercise, but now I feel ready to gradually resume running next month! A half marathon is still under consideration for September!

Rain was forecast all day with heavy rain coming in the afternoon. I got out for a walk before 9 am, hoping to beat any heavy rains. It was lightly drizzling and I had planned a route that took me in several directions, but none over a mile from my home. That way if it started to pour I could just cut the walk short and probabily be back home in less than 20 minutes! Fortunately it never became more than a light drizzle and I was able to complete my 7 mile route.
Ivy Lane in the rain!

I saw a light blue robin egg shell and later this brown spotted shell!

Rain cloud over far hills

I had to look this up online, this is the Strange Design Public House. They serve food and have a brewery in the building. I've never been to this new dining spot, but I had a friend who had a recording studio in this building complex years ago and after the bars closed we went there to jam! I was able to pick out some bass lines by ear.