road block

Yesterdays run was stopped momentarily by a tree across the greenway. Nothing really unusual about that. I stopped to try and move it, but it was to big to move by myself. Interestingly it had been felled by a beaver. At least that's what I thought. The more I thought about it as I finished my run. I changed my mind. It must have been a muskrat. A beaver would have been smart enough to take the tree down so it would fall into the water, not across the greenway. It does mean the Stones River probably isn't quite as polluted as it has been the last several years.

Never did see the culprit, only signs of chewed upon trees.

Also saw a great blue heron standing in the creek waiting to catch a shiner. Probably the closest I've ever been to one of those birds. Only about 20 feet away. Pretty cool to have a greenway right in the middle of town with so much wildlife. Of course the sad part is driving the 2 miles to the greenway.

Only downside to the run. I'll call it a long run at 8 miles. A blister on my forefoot behind my big toe. New spot, because I'm still doing some kind of limp/compensation/flat foot strike with my right leg. May have also been the increased pace trying to catch a runner ahead of me for the 4 miles home. He must have finally slowed down when I did catch him. My pace didn't really ever pick up very much.

One slog at a time

Finally back running. It's only been 46 days. Wore the heart rate monitor to have a starting back bench mark. Average heart rate 145 bpm at an average pace of ....................drum roll......................10:56 per mile for a whooping 2.1 miles. Damn. Another long build up.

First day of spring is tomorrow. For some reason I thought it was today. Birds sure acted like it was spring, they were singing and chirping even before the sun was up. Tad chilly at 34 or so degrees. Glad to be back running. The bike trainer just doesn't cut it for me. Love riding the bike on the roads, but that hasn't really been much of a option the last couple of weeks.

Guessing I'll be ready to attempt a run with the fellas in a couple of weeks. Probably about the time they come back from Boston.

Snow run

First and last snow run of 2012. Met the fella's at the Kroger's parking lot in the 'boro and caravaned to Percy Warner Park. Light dusting of snow on the ground in the Park. Cold 24 degrees, but no wind. We stayed together until the bottom of 3 mile hill. Fast guys motored on, I waited on the other guys. That was the last I saw of the fast guys. I went solo at mile 4.7 or so heading over to Edwin Warner Park. Still going without water or gels on these long runs.

I'll have to get a map of Edwin Warner, I turned around early because I was afraid of getting lost. I'd been on two different trails and maybe two different roads. The trails weren't as worn as those in Percy Warner. Thought I'd see the fast guys coming back, but never did see them. Lot's of deer, so many that I stopped counting and twice as many squirrels.

Because I'd turned around a mile early, I thought the fast guys were behind me. So, I stopped at the turn for Luke Leah overlook and made a sign out of branches. Primitive stuff, sticks to make a arrow pointing left and four sticks to make LL. Surprised when I finished at the Stone Gates and the first group of guys had already left and the fast guys where in the van warming up. Geez, they got 16 miles and I only got 14.5.

Stopped at the Donut Den on the way back to the 'boro. Phil brought in his new recovery roller. Pretty smart design. That thing is great for hitting all of the tight spots in your legs and even the glutes. I'll have to put that on my list for my birthday. Can't find the website, only the picture above. He read about it in Running Times.

Light drizzle

As a runner it would have been no hesitation. Riding the bike, apprehension. Nothing worse than a little rain to make the road really greasy. Like when someone turns their sports car around and into the ditch, greasy. Turned out it wasn't that big of deal. The radar didn't show any rain, but it sure was raining for the first mile down the road this morning.

Rode from the house to the Stones River Battlefield. This is my go to route for the bike in the morning before work. I only have to ride on 2 miles worth of road before I can get on the Stones River Greenway and take it over to the Battlefield. Only problem is leaving at 5:30 am, it's still not quite light out yet. I have a headlamp and flashing red tail light. Hopefully that will keep me from getting run over.

Great thing about the battlefield is that it's car free that early in the morning. Plus, its wider than the greenway and fewer people. Most mornings only a handful of runners. This morning, not a one. Must have been the threat of rain. Plus, they have a program to remove the privet. This helps to open the woods up. Completely different than riding down the greenway in a tunnel of green. Lots of wildlife out, more deer than usual, the usual bunnies, birds and one turkey who remained in the road for each of my four laps. Bizarre.

Saw six Indigo Bunting's this morning. That's the most I've ever seen on one ride. They were hanging out on the edge of the road around the battlefield. Not all at one time but individually at different spots around the loop. Usually I'm lucky to see one every couple of months. Plus, they're hard to see anyway because they fly so low to the ground.

On the way home I saw one Great Blue Heron flying. Cool to see such a big bird flying. Saw another one in the same spot where I tried to take his/her picture last week. Must be a good fishing spot.

Three weeks since I've run last. Foot is feeling better. Hope to resume running in another week.

Stones River Greenway

Went for a bike ride on every bit of the greenway system in Murfreesboro on Sunday. Brought the camera along to snap a few pictures. Averaged a whooping 11 mph, because I stopped way to much. Did manage to get in 28 miles. I took all of these pictures from the trail/roadway, without getting off the bike or even unclipping both feet.

The quality of the photos isn't that great. That's the tradeoff for the point and shoot pocket camera that slips in your pocket. Though it seems everyone's smartphones take better pictures than my old camera. I really need to upgrade to a better quality digital camera with more control over the shutter speed and aperture. The picture I took of a blue heron is blurred because I couldn't hold still enough in the low light to get the shot.

You'd think I took a picture of every flower on the greenway. Nope, not even close. I only got about half of what is blooming now. The purple flower I saw last week is gone. Some of this stuff will continue to bloom, some are about done. Some appear to be way early. Like the thistle and blackberries. Didn't think they bloomed this early.

Road ID, try to wear it whenever I ride or run.

Red clover.

Like the purple.

This plant is all over the greenway. Privet, non native invasive plant. Can't say that this picture is privet. Odor is more over powering than the honey suckle and doesn't smell as good.

Big leaved tree with flowers. Thought it was tulip poplar at first, but leaves are wrong.

Surprised this little guy stayed around to even get a shot. Thought it was a baby blue heron, but more likely some type of egret.

To lazy to look up what kind of tree, but the bean looking things stood out.

Honey Suckle, love the smell, but it kills my allergies. It's actually less abundant than whatever the white flowered bush/vine that is all over the greenway.

This guy would just barely stick his head out, and I didn't want to hang around to get his picture. He was gone when I came back through 10 minutes later.

I like rocks and anything built with them.

Think this is Queen Ann's Lace. Tried to get a picture of the ladybugs, which were covering it, but the autofocus didn't work the way I wanted it.

Purple clover

Don't know what the white stuff is, it was all over the trail for about 20 yards. Almost like the stuff that comes from a dandelion, except I'm pretty certain this came from a tree, just not sure what kind.

Just took this because it was a huge tree stump.

Wildflower duathalon

Rode in my first ever duathalon this morning. Temperatures were in the lower 60's to start, so I wore the arm warmers. The bike route was an out and back from the house to Old Fort Parkway. The first transition wasn't to bad. I wore my running shorts under my bike shorts. (not a real tri-guy, huh) Carried my running shoes, locks and camera in a small back pack.

The run went really well. I've only run after riding the bike a handful of times. This time the pace clicked in really quickly. Before I knew it seemed like I was clipping along about 30 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace and it felt great. I'd brought the camera along to take some pictures of the the wild flowers along the way. Ended up only stopping a few times on the way back. Most of the flowers were either with the sun directly in the lens or the flowers had already bloomed.

T-2 was quite a bit longer than the first transition. I went to the restroom to change out of the running shorts and into the bike shorts. Felt great to have the wind in my face and cooling me off after the run. Headed back out on the greenway with plans on doing a few loops of the Stones River Battlefield to get some extra miles on the bike. Changed my mind rather quickly after a swarm of walkers, runners, bikers and dog walkers had descended on the greenway. Only had one close encounter. One of the big benefits of the greenway is the shading effect of the trees and bushes, but they also block the view around corners. I was coming around some walkers and headed right towards a couple of kids running at a pretty quick pace, I had to grab a handful of brake and the back end of the bike skiddes sideways about a foot to avoid the collision. I was going slow enough that I was able to do this without a crash. But, I'd bet some of the bikers who blast down the greenway a little bit quicker wouldn't have been as fortunate. (I know I've been that biker on one occasion, lesson learned.)

Ended up with only a total of 12 miles on the bike. Six miles out and back. The run was 6.7 miles.

Danger zone

Spring is in the air. Nice warm breeze this morning. Should hit 70 degrees this weekend. Maybe even jump on the bike. Golf course was nice and soft this morning. Lots of critters out and about. First thing I saw was a fox crossing the road onto the golf course. Guess his only enemy is the car. He's probably the one taking out the baby geese. Haven't seen them yet this year. Did see the skunk this morning, hopefully the fox can weed out a few of the skunk babies. Birds were everywhere, even fighting;), (those bird's weren't fighting).

Halfway through the training for the next marathon. The speed stuff is really clicking now. This is the point in my training were everything seems to be going good and I get to cocky. Run fast on a easy day or something just as dumb. Last year it was doing a long run the day after a race. Yesterday's speed workout went extremely well, even though at the time it sucked. Just need to maintain the discipline to work the next speed workout at the prescribed pace and not to much more. That's how I screwed up this past weekends progression run. Went to fast on the second piece and didn't have anything left for the final push.

Dylan's last basketball game is friday night. They got beat last weekend. Good game, but they didn't take enough shots and kept letting the other team take multiple shots after the rebounds. We didn't sign up for baseball or soccer this year.

Wasn't really thinking about Sammy Hagar and the danger zone album with the picture. It came up on my google search for a danger zone sign. Oh well, I'm probably the only one who likes his music anyway. I know the David Lee Roth fans were all bent out of shape when he was singing for Van Halen. I saw Sammy in concert when he was the "red rocker". Great show, I've got pictures somewhere. That's back when I was shooting mostly slide film though. Need to convert that stuff to digital.

week 15 recap

I've already started to make adjustments in this training cycle. Friday's brutal cold forced a wimpout of my planned 12 by 200 meter repeats. Talked myself into doing 400 meter hill repeats on Saddle Drive and then decided 5 degrees and wind just wasn't where I wanted to be. Debated whether or not to go to Sportscom and run on the indoor track or dreadmill. That plan lost out because, I needed the speed not just another run and I hate running on the dreadmill. But, in missing that run I did also miss hitting 60 miles this week.

Saturday the temperatures rose a little and I was able to get 8 miles on the greenway. I started real late, almost 8 am. Wind was still pretty strong the whole way out, but pretty much at my back the whole way home. Saw 2 things on the greenway I've never seen. Don't know if it was the cold or maybe his/her favorite fishing spot was iced over. A great blue heron was standing on the side of the trail and didn't fly off until I was within about 10 feet. Awesome bird, wingspan and standing height easily 4 or 5 foot. Never have seen one that close. Secondly, a half a dozen chocolate covered donuts. That was really puzzling. First, that the were uneaten, the birds didn't even want them? Or that anyone is walking,running, biking, in-line skating or whatever and throws out their donuts. Blasphemy!

We went to see "Mall Cop" Saturday afternoon. Still cold and windy. Typical movie theme, boy wants girl, with a couple of funny scenes throw in for excitement. Lots of different twists from the normal made the movie interesting. Darrell didn't really care for it, Paula and Dylan thought it was funny. I'd give it a 6. Didn't quite make it as a comedy and not enough action. It was better than "Beer for my Horses", which isn't saying much. Dylan and watched that later saturday evening and I fell asleep. Some movies just never really click.

Legend of the Seeker was good this week. I'm really getting into this series. The local station carries the new episode at 7 pm and then last week's episode afterwards. Watched the "Deena" episode for the second time. Only down side to watching this stuff on television is the commercials, seems like they come on every 3 minutes and last for 4 minutes. May have to start recording the show and skipping through the commercials. Surfed around for some of the comments about the show and seems the readers of the book are disappointed with the series, because it doesn't follow the books. I'll need to pick up the books to make the comparison, but this is one of the better scifi/fantasy series to come along in quite awhile. I can't think of any show in the past that it even comes close. Most are of the space theme. The Harry Potter stuff is similar.

Long run today was a modified pace run. Started out with the fast guys and hoped for 14 miles around 7:15 to 7:30 pace. They stopped around 2 miles in for a nature break and I continued on. I figured they would catch me around 4 miles in, just past the crest of Spain Hill. Temperatures were warm compared to what we've had the past couple of days, right around 37 degrees to start. I wore shorts for the first time in several days. I stopped at 8 miles in to down a powergel and see where the guys were. I had to wait a couple of minutes before I could see them coming roughly a quarter mile back. I took off counting on them catching me in the next mile. They didn't overtake me until just past 10 miles, just after cresting the last hill for the day. They flew by me like I was standing still. Tried to pick it up to keep them as close as possible, but they gapped me really quick. I was just able to keep them in sight until about a mile to go. My glutes started tightening in the final 2 miles and I wasn't able to stay on pace as well. Still managed to average 7:22 pace for the run. Next time, I'll need to bring the succeed caps, the gatorade didn't work as well.

Kinda fun being the one chased in the run this morning. It kept my effort honest, because I kept expecting the guys to overtake me. When they didn't pass me at 4 miles in after cresting Spain Hill, I pushed the downhills and maintained on the inclines. At 6 miles in when I made the turn onto the hills of St. John I really expected to see them. Really surprised when I stopped at 8 miles with how long it took for them to come into sight. Found out after we finished they'd stopped another time to shed a layer of clothing.

fast weekend

Made a quick trip up to the farm Saturday morning. We stayed overnight and came back early Sunday afternoon. Little bit cooler out in the country versus Mufreesboro. PJ and her mom picked a crop of beans, cucumbers and squash. Watermelons are starting to grow and quite a few cantaloupes as well. Peppers didn't do well at all. Tomatoes are plentiful, but difficult to pick. Planted them to close together. Bob and I worked on sealing the roof on the camper. Caulk I bought at x-mart was all dried up, both tubes. Ended up using a tube of caulk he had left over. Patched the hole I made with the hammer. Put on a coat of cool seal. We'll put on one more coat next time we come up.

Dug up a cactus to put in Aiden and Thumper's garden. Also dug up some kind of wildflower, similar to a foxglove, but different kind of flowers. Need to ask Trine what the best wildflower book is for middle Tennessee. Next time Dylan and I go to the library we can check out a few and try and figure out some of the flowers. The wildflowers and sunflowers Ryan planted are attracting all kinds of birds. Seems the mocking birds are attracted to the bugs that like the flowers and golf finches just like the seeds?

Moved some rocks from the fence row. Easy to see how someone can get hurt easily on the farm. I was lifting a rock that Bob wasn't able to get into the bucket and damn near smashed my arm between it and the bucket on the tractor. Jeez, that would be one of those farm accidents where a man looses his arm. Dylan got a kick out of the big salamander we found under one of the rocks. Solid black with yellow spots. We put him back under another rock, to live another day.

Sunday morning slept in till 7 am. Real late start for a run. Took it easy and did a 4 mile out and back down Big Creek road. 8 miles total, but the road was about 50/50 shade and sun. I could taste the heat rolling off the road, pretty warm for that time of the morning. Quiet morning, saw lots of butterfly's, more so than the birds. At least 20 different kinds of wildflowers growing on the side of the road. This is the type of run where I wouldn't mind stopping and taking pictures, if I had a small enough camera to bring along.

Saturday before we left for the farm, I was able to get in a 13.1 mile marathon pace run. Ran from the house, almost to Cannonsburg and back. Waited until almost 6 am before I left the house. Busiest the greenways been all year. Lots of runners, walkers, dog walkers and bikes. Really felt good going out. Even had visions of a fast marathon in my future. Reality on the return leg. Mostly the heat and sun in the last 2 miles, but only slowed to a 7:42 coming up the rise towards the house and still able to average a 7:27 pace for the run.

Missed 2 days of the tour. One HC climb on Sundays stage. Pretty steep climb for the finish and a change in the yellow jersey. Dennis Menchov crashed going up the hill, flashback to Lance a few years back. Just don't see how those guys are able to jump right back on the bike and recover as quickly as they do. I've hit the ground twice on the bike. I laid on the ground both times for quite a while before I felt like getting back up. Even after getting back on the bike, the rest of the ride was easy. Not balls to the wall, like these guys.

wrap

Quick post this morning before heading into work early. Deal closed on merger at work on Thursday last week. Still playing catch up at work, plus lots of new stuff going on. Been able to get all of my runs done. Tonight may be a challenge. Need to leave work at 4 pm to make it back to Murfreesboro for week 20 of Jacks schedule. I'm modifying the 20 minute T pace to a 3 mile T pace, then 3 x 400 meters at R with 400 meter recoveries. Followed by 2 x 1 mile T pace with 1 minute rest.

Monday was 8 miles of recovery on the golf course. Had to dodge the geese twice, first time at the pond, they wouldn't move and were kinda uptight and again when they were headed back to the river. See were the term goose stepping comes from. They were getting it towards the river, guess the young 'uns can't fly yet. Also, had to make a wide path for the skunk who didn't want to move either.

Sunday was a marathon pace run. Just ran from the house at 6 am. Still warm and muggy, 70+ degrees to start. Did 12 miles at marathon pace and then a 2 mile sweat down. Wasn't a cool down, I was drenched.

Saturday we were still at the farm. We left around 4 pm. Did an easy 8 miles down Big Creek road. This is the road we see the bikes and motorcycles coming down on the weekends. Someone has marked a bike route, but I can't find a map of it anywhere.

Friday, July 4th was a 4 mile recovery in the fields and mowed areas around the farm. Super slow. Bush hogged fields and even field cut for hay aren't very runner friendly. Grass is still high enough that you really need to pick your feet up to keep from tripping. Good workout.

Found more snake eggs or maybe these were lizard eggs in the garden. Bob tilled the garden and unearthed a clutch of eggs about a inch and a half long. Covered them all back up. The birds really like the garden, especially the martins and turkeys.

Refilled my bird feeder at the house on Sunday afternoon and its empty again this morning. Damn grackles and starlings are hogging all of the food. Sure wish there were a way to get rid of them.

first part

Round 1

First half of the double went great. Another easy 4.7 miles on the golf course this morning. Nice and cool, around 61 degrees before the sunrise. Actually wore long sleeves. Legs were fresh, almost springy. Maybe a good idea for a real recovery before a quality workout.

Gold Finches

Feeding at the feeder this morning, two males and a female. I was able to sneak out on the deck and watch them for a moment before Lance, Mr. Catdog scared them away. Watched them circle the house several times and come back to feed again. At least until Lance saw them again and chased them away. Shouldn't be to difficult to get a picture of them at the feeder, but I'd prefer a more natural shot.

Round 2

The workout this evening is straight from week 19 of the Jack Daniels 5k program.

2 x 2 miles at T
3 x 800 meters at I
3 x 400 meters at R
Probably try and leave work at 4 pm, to get started at 5 pm. Only obstacle will be whether or not I'm able to get a quick close on for the books for June. Plus, I'll just run from the house, so I can use the 100 meter marks on the road at Siegel High School to make sure I'm on pace.

bird feeder

It's been a real long time since I've put out a bird feeder. Bought a cheap tube feeder to try and attract the gold finches. Located it right off the back deck. Birds had already found it by this morning. A male cardinal was feeding when I got back from my morning run.

Yesterday's run was a easy 10 miler from the house. Today was supposed to be a marathon pace run for 14 miles. Hilly loop course up Wilson Hill. Ran with the fast boys. FM2 raced yesterday, first master, 6th overall. Speedy did a 3 mile tempo. This was a recovery run for them. Thunderstorm earlier in the morning and again right before I left the house. We started at 5 am. It looked like we'd have about a hour before the rain would hit again. Not quite, it poured going up Wilson hill, but only lasted for a few miles. Just enough rain to make the shoes weigh about 10 pounds each. I started feeling the pace around 10 miles in and separated from the speedsters. Kept them in sight, but struggled to maintain. They stopped with about a mile and a half to go, and I was able to regroup and hang till the end. Averaged 7:29 pace at a average heart rate of 150. Right where I wanted to be. Little tough at the end.

Bird pics

Been trying to figure out how to get some decent bird pictures with the Nikon and the 200 mm lens. Without a multiplier or a 400 mm lens, I'll need to be with 10 feet or so to get a decent shot. That rules out blue birds, the American Gold Finch, and the Indigo Bunting. But, I think a could get some shots of either of the geese families. Saw them this morning heading towards the river. Perhaps, that's where they're nesting.

The American Goldfinch is using the fountain in the front yard, perhaps with a blind I could get a shot. I've seen him twice in the last 2 days. Each time was in the evening. He would perch in a tree in the yard and then swoop down, get a drink and be gone. To get a picture in the wild would require a blind overlooking some thistle. But, that would require a 400 mm lens or longer.

Easy 8 mile recovery run on the golf course this morning. Did my typical weight routine afterwards.

Bike geek

Slept in this morning, until 4 am. Off day from running. I'm back on my normal schedule now, off every Wednesday. I've run 9 days straight. Chilly morning 60 degrees, but sunny. Had to wear the arm warmers, plus a singlet under the bike jersey. Laid back bike ride to Siegel HS road to repaint the 100 meter dots on the road. Then I rode out to Stones River Battlefield to repaint the quarter mile marks. Saw 2 turkey hens with babies. Not very protective of their babies compared to the geese. I got with 2 feet of them, before I even saw them. The babies are very well camouflaged. At least 3-4 babies per hen, maybe more, hard to see in the tall grass. On the other side of the loop were some Indigo Buntings swooping down among the freshly plowed field. Similar flight pattern to a blue bird, but don't seem to perch or stay in one place very long.

I wear my persimmon colored sunglasses at night

Persimmon colored lens were delivered on Saturday. Monday's recovery run on the golf course was the first run with them. Wore them again this morning. Just what I needed. I've been watching these on ebay for a couple of months. I can buy direct from Oakley for $50 and free shipping. I got these for $37 delivered. This is the second lens I've bought for my M frame sunglasses. The first were a clear lens. I bought them 2 - 3 years ago when I started riding my bike before the sun came up. Eye protection on the bike is essential. I paid retail that time, $50 plus tax at the mall. I got the M frame from a running buddy in Texas around 1999 or so. Best pair of sunglasses for the money. I paid $75, which was discounted because he was a fireman. I've been looking for just a frame and they still go for around $40, plus shipping.

The persimmon colored lens is perfect for gray days or before sunrise. Most of my runs are about an hour before sunrise. These lens work great in the dark and early morning before the sun gets to far up. The glasses keep the dust, bugs and pollen out of my eyes. Pollen isn't really an issue anymore, at least until the ragweed starts to bloom. Dust and bugs are always a problem. The greenway seems to attract a lot of gnats and other flying bugs. The roadway from my house to the greenway is frequented by large trucks and they really kick up the dust.

I'm a bird lover, no secret. But, a couple of birds I have no use for, are starlings and black birds. Figured out this morning they're roosting or nesting across the street. Noisy birds, they seem to be driving away all of the other birds. They're almost like the obnoxious neighbor, loud and pesky.

Nice and cool this morning. Even a little breeze, wore a coolmax tshirt, a little to chilly for a singlet. Tempo session finally clicked this morning. 3 miles, 6:48, 6:48 and 6:42. 3 mile warm up and 3 mile cooldown.

Geese and PF

Saw the goose family again this morning, except 4 babies? On around the other side of the pond another goose family with the single baby. Never realized there were two families with nests. According to my bird book, they should have 7-8 goslings. Guess the turtles got the rest? Saw a giant grass carp in the pond as well. One thing I didn't realize about geese was the amount of elimination, 28 times a day! And I thought runners had a problem. I know I've got a story about poop, a country road, 3 runners, a county sheriff and an escaped prisoner. Jill had one the other day, and a great one is Dave's.

Recovery run on the golf course, 8 miles real slow.

Plantar Fasciitis. I've had this at least 2-3 times. Usually something aggravates the bottom of my foot. Once it was climbing up and down a ladder with soft sole running shoes. Another time it was wearing dress shoes and walking downtown. Yet another time, was walking to far/long in Crocs. Each time recovery is 3-6 weeks. Quickest recovery is wall stretches, massaging the bottom of the foot and complete rest from running. This is what the doctor prescribed last time I had PF issues. I've used the Strassburg sock at night, when it starts to become noticeable and take a couple of days off without getting a full blown case. Some runners are able to run through it, even running a marathon, not me.

Forgot one preventive measure for the PF, don't go bare foot. I have a pair of crocs beside the bed and never walk on my bare feet.

Gone country

Packed up the car right after work on Friday and headed to the farm. We got there about 30 minutes before the sun went down.

Saturday morning I got up at 3:30 am to get my run in, started at 4:30 am. I wanted to do 10 miles at a 7:30 pace. After 4 miles my heart rate started really creeping up to almost tempo pace. Looking at the elevation map, I can see why. I had been climbing slowly the whole way. At 5 miles I hit the top of one hill and decided to just go down the other side for a mile to make an even 12 miles. (out and back) The return was fast, 7:15's mostly. Didn't pay much attention to the heart rate, just went comfortably hard, marathon pace. Great run, probably 60 degrees to start and only 64 degrees when I finished.



When I got back everyone was ready to go fishing. We went back below Cordell Hull dam. Didn't catch much and threw them all back. Stopped at the overlook on the way back. Pretty nice, the boys enjoyed it, wished I'd brought the camera. Left it in the van. I only took a couple of pictures at the farm on this trip. Saw some blooms on some cactus which I liked and took a picture of them and looking back up the hill at the barn.






The girls worked on the trailer. Made some curtains. Painted. It's starting to look pretty good.

Sunday we went back out to the lake so the boys could go swimming. I took the kayak and paddled around as well. Dylan got a lot of sun on his face, even though we put sunscreen on all of the kids. I'd have thought Ryan would have gotten sunburned he had the fairest skin. Bob and I enjoyed a good cigar while the boys swam. Everyone was worn out by the time would got home.

Lots of birds and wildlife out on this trip. The turkeys were roosting behind the barn and would fly down to the spring. Hummingbirds were at the feeders. Saw an indigo bunting a couple of times. Need to get my bird book out and figure out what bird built a nest in the hollowed out fence post. Saw the deer coming up the hill this morning while I was drinking my coffee. The blue bird seems to like the open field and the telephone wires.

One baby

Now I know why the geese at the golf course were making so much racket and why one would disappear for awhile. They had baby this morning, well not actually this morning. As big as it was it must have hatched a week or so ago. All I saw was one baby, but I didn't get that close. Geese don't play around, they come right at you honking, hissing and biting.

Recovery run this morning went well. Started out slow and gradually picked it up. Didn't really plan on it, but it turned into a nice progression run according to the heart rate. It graphed out on a nice uphill rise. Never really looked at the watch, just picked up the pace on the second loop, without pushing to hard. Moderate effort, about 8:00 pace. Still slow enough for a recovery.

Golf course was in great shape, despite all of the recent rain. They must have mowed the grass on Saturday before the rains hit as well.(that's what we did) The fairways and cart paths were super smooth, plus the sun was up at 5:00 am, so I could see everything.

Dylan is getting pretty good on the skateboard. We went back out to the YMCA park in Smyrna on Sunday afternoon. Had to wait because of lightning? We'd driven away from the storm in Murfreesboro, and it just blew over in Smyrna. Found out the skate park in Murfreesboro isn't really under repair, not yet anyway. They're waiting to raise enough money to repair it. They used wood for the ramps versus the park in Smyrna which is built to withstand the weather. Evidently the cost to build a park like the one in Smyrna is around $100k. No wonder the wait to rebuild the one in the 'boro.

Dylan finally mastered the half pipe. He goes off of all of the ramps. Older kids were still trying to go off some of the smaller ramps. He did come back and put on his wrist guards after one tumble. That's probably a good thing, it doesn't take much to break your wrist. Darrell did it when he was Dylan's age, tripping on the sidewalk. Good to see these kids have picked up one trait from dad:) Even though it isn't an especially good trait.

red, blue and yellow

Lots of yellow, as in American Gold Finch this morning. Did 11.1 miles at Spain Hill this morning after the rain had stopped. We lost power last night for a couple of hours. This morning the cable was out, no Internet. Lots of lightning and a steady rain. Finished up the results for the Cardiac Center 5k, waiting for the rain to pass or lightning to stop.

Looked like it would start raining again at any minute for the first several miles. That's where I saw all of the gold finches. Tiny little birds. The blue birds I saw were actually larger. Saw a few cardinals, buzzards, mockingbirds, a single hawk and a rafter of turkeys. (yea, doesn't sound right does it) Sun popped out on the last few miles, good thing the wind picked and was blowing in my face.

Back to the track

Pet Peeves, locked tracks. What a pain in the ass. Four tracks in Murfreesboro and they're all locked up. Could drive 5 miles and then run another 3 miles as warmup to one track that has a gate a runner can squeeze through. Or do like I did this morning; run from the house, the long way to get in a 3 mile warmup at the track that's only a mile and a half from the house. Only downside is climbing the *&^%$ fence.

During the warmup this morning I decided that it was time to HTFU in my workouts. Jeez, that's why I'm back doing intervals this morning anyway. Thought I was being smart, chose the track instead of the road for its soft surface. Also, did some warmup exercises coach G. had us do last year at the Fleet Feet speed sessions. Don't know if it was climbing the fence or doing the leg swings, but somehow I tweaked my groin. Yep, I'm big sissy. Part of the warmup was some strides. Damn thing was very uncomfortable trying to accelerate for the strides. Decided to gut it out and do the 12 x 200 meter workout anyway. First several intervals were very uncomfortable, no pain. So, decided to run through it. Never did diminish, actually had to back down on the next to last interval, because it was becoming even more uncomfortable. Haven't looked at my splits, but first couple were a touch slow, got on target and actually went to fast on a few and just tried to nail the target on the last 3-4. Slow slog home. Ice and Ibuprofen, a runners best friend.

On my walk around the track this morning before I started a bird was just laying in the gravel next to the fence. So I thought anyway, it was a mama killdeer sitting on her nest. Don't know that you actually could call a pile of rocks a nest, she had 4 eggs.