Today's Run at EI

It's hard to believe that conditions could be worse than they were yesterday but sad to say they were. In less than 20 minutes on the trails I was dripping wet and worn out from the heat and humidity. It's a real drag trying to get a decent workout completed in these conditions. We need rain in the worst way and we're supposedly going to get some today in the form of "possible" thunderstorms. The sad thing is if we don't get any today we're not going to get any for the rest of the week. On a more positive note it's at least supposed to get cooler.

Aiden's napping through lunch, Linda should be home from work shortly. We plan to eat lunch then walk in the graveyard. Yeah, I know...but it's pretty and Aiden likes the ducks.

First Day of Autumn at EI

I hate to complain about "good" weather but I'm tired of the relentless heat, humidity and lack of rain. The trails are dry, dusty and littered with withered brown leaves. The trees look pathetic and the plants worse. My run this morning was enervating. I'd planned on a slow easy run of 2-3 hrs but ended up struggling to finish a slow run of 1.5 hrs. It was a good workout even though I struggled. I was fortunate to see a small box turtle and a few deer along with the usual complement of birds and squirrels.

Stopped over to see my dad this afternoon. He's still laid up with "the gout." His right great toe is inflamed and swollen but it is slowly getting better. Aiden was with me for the afternoon (Monday's with Grandpa) and he was pretty good but had several "time-outs" because he kept pestering the pictures and other knick-knacks hanging around instead of playing with his toys but he was really just being a toddler.

Ian was scheduled to do his final check ride today. I hope it went well. Haven't heard from Colin in a few days. Matt and Ciara are at the house while their place is having the hardwood floors resurfaced.

Monday Morning Run at MAF

As I pulled into Mt. Airy Forest this morning I see proud as a peacock an 8 point buck. This same buck will be seen later on the trails standing proudly in the sunlight displaying his amazing physique. Part of his harem was just ahead. I never tire of seeing these semi-tame beasts.

The weather was relatively cool (low 70's) but still very, very humid. The posted pictures are my friends Jeff Gabbard and Suzelle Snowdon prior to the start of our training run around 09:00 this morning. Surprisingly I was not as sore as I would have anticipated given my back to back to back runs over the past 3 days. I was fatigued but then again our pace was a little faster this morning then it was on Saturday; we ran more of the hills this morning. It's always a treat to have someone to talk with so kudos to Jeff and Suzelle for inviting me along. Thanks to Jeff for such a good picture of Suzelle and I.

Happy Grandparents Day!

Mass at 8:00 then Aiden took his grandparents to breakfast at First Watch. It rained overnight and things are moist. I hope it doesn't get to hot. Things will be very steamy indeed. Plan some easy hill running today.

Watching Michigan Choke (Again)

Started the day with a long run at Mt. Airy Forest with Jeff Gabbard. Temps relatively cool but the humidity was oppressive. I drank 3.5 liters of gatorade and water and was still dehydrated. 13 miles and 3hrs. Now, late in the afternoon I'm really feeling it. Fortunately just general aches and pains. We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Going to Barleycorn's for B and B. Anticipate being joined by the usual suspects: Charie, Colin, Matt, Ciara and Aiden.

Bushwacking in the Evening

Linda and I decided to investigate the walking trail at Doe Run Lake last evening. It was an adventure; more than we had planned but we survived. The path was predominately single track particularly the last half. It generally follows the lake perimeter and is in relatively good shape until you get to the far end of the lake when it deteriorates into almost no trail at all. It took us about an hour to complete the circuit. We did see something that neither one of us had seen before. I can best describe it as a "knot" of fish. They looked like carp. All were 1-2 feet long and they were circling around each other on the surface. There must have been 30 or 40 or more of them and we could see it continuing from the other side of the lake fifteen minutes later.

Earlier in the day I had run at EI for 2hrs. It was a good run. I did a circuit of sorts on the intermediate loop and advanced loops 1 and 2. I've concluded that loop 3 is too much of a pain because it continually loops back on itself and has more difficult footing. It also takes to long to complete. I guess my favorite loop is loop 2 because I can do an interval pick-up on the last half mile. I did see a pair of fawns. I suspect it's the same pair I've seen several times in the past. My favorite turtle also made an appearance.

Morning at Idlewild

Had an early run at England/Idlewild this morning. It was hot. But for a trio of mountain bikers I had the trail to myself. The trails are dry, dusty and littered with withered brown leaves that in any other year would still be on the trees. Even the weeds are wilted and dying. The creek is a dry gulch. The only thing I can think about is what the trails are going to look like when we do finally get some rain (we're a foot behind for the year). I didn't see any deer today; I guess I didn't make enough noise. I did, however see two turtles. Curiously I think they're the same turtles I've seen in the past. They're on separate trails. One has yellow spots, the other red. It was a well spent 1hr:45min!

After running I picked up Aiden and he and grandpa had some quality time until grandma got home for lunch.

Labor Day

Worked the weekend. It seemed to go on forever. I usually resign myself, put my head down and just get it done but for some reason this weekend was different; I really just didn't want to work. I did however get through it without difficulty. The fireworks last night were spectacular (on television). We didn't bother with going up to Devou like we did two years ago. We did however have a local show; we viewed the fireworks from St. Cecilia's Festival from the deck and they were impressive. It was a nice evening.

Linda, Charie and I did the trails at EI this morning. It was warm and humid but a very nice morning despite the heat. Numerous bikers and even more were coming as we finished up for the day. I ran for about 80 minutes or so. Saw a couple of young fawns and tried to capture their pictures with my cell phone. I'll try to download them later.

Looking forward to having Colin and Melanie, Ciara, Matt and Aiden, Charie, Aaron, Aubrey (?) over for a cook-out this afternoon. I'm brining some chicken now. We'll also have some pumped up mashed potatoes and coleslaw. I've got lots of cold beer and Matt's supposed to bring some Margarita mix.