This message goes at the top of the blog

Happy November!  I don't understand why it takes me so long to get going in the mornings, but once I got going ... well never mind.  My first mile was over 11 minutes and my second mile was over 10 minutes.  Finally, I got some energy and the rest of the miles were under 9 minutes.  Miles 5 and 6 were 8:04 each and the last .45 miles were run at a 7:58 pace.  Overall average pace was 8:48 for 6.45 miles.  This was a good start for a new month and a new week.

I guess I'll need to start wearing face masks.  When I got back, I noticed that my cheeks were numb, as if I'd just returned from the dentist.  The temperature was 40 degrees, but it felt colder.

Something went wrong with my GPS watch.  4.5 miles is a conservative estimate.  (Go conservatives!)  I did the hill work plus an extra half mile.  Hopefully, this will strengthen me and make me faster.  It was a warmer 40 degrees than the 40 degrees on Monday and much more pleasant.

Had to hurry to get back in time, but it turned out to be a pretty average run:  5.5 miles in 48:23 or 8:47/mile, but only the first mile was over that rate.

The weather has been pretty decent lately.  42 degrees this morning.  I tried it without gloves, but I would have been more comfortable wearing them.

Today qualifies as a long run. I'm trying to avoid running in isolated areas, alone, in the dark.  So, I went on a water search rather than going up the dark canyon where there has always been water.  (Last time I ran that route, I was clobbered from behind by a biciclist.)  Went to two parks, found 4 water fountains, but they were all turned off.  I suppose that they don't want the pipes to freeze in the winter.  But it wouldn't have frozen today.  It's a beautiful day and it was 45 degrees while I was running.

Overall, I ran 15.45 miles in 2:27:48, for an average pace of 9:34 per mile.  I'll take it if only for the milage total.

No GPS, but known route.  Time was under 50 minutes, but that is hard to judge too.  Had a light rain and one lightening bolt this morning.  I'd rather run in snow or most anything else more than rain, because it scares me more than dogs.  With dogs, I have a slim chance of outrunning them, but even I can't outrun a lightening bolt, and it is much more deadly if it catches me.

 I also saw an animal on my path at the side of the road.  First, I thought it was a dead dog, but then it wriggled and I thought it was a live dog.  On closer examination, I could see that it was a deer.  Even though I ran right past it, it never moved from its spot.  Perhaps it was injured.

GPS watch decided to work today.  Snow was in the forecast, but it was a clear 33 degrees this morning, but I was plenty warm, proudly displaying my Top of Utah long sleeved marathon shirt.  Not so proudly, I also wore gloves, a face mask, and neon reflectors around my ankles.  At least the ankle reflectors matched the shirt.

I decided to start memorizing during my runs this week.  The mile that is usually my fastest was almost my slowest today because I was focusing on memorizing instead of counting steps.  That shows that it takes focus to run fast.  My time was 49:43, or 9:01/mile for 5.5 miles.

Mixed up the route, but maintain the approximate distance:  5.55 miles in 50:07 or 9:02/mile.  I felt strong, but the memorization did slow me down on miles 1 and 4.

The weather was 32 degrees and quite pleasant with long sleeve shirt, gloves, and face mask.  Hopefully, I can keep the routine going all winter before I start building up for my next marathon.

My legs wanted to move even less than usual this morning.  My first mile was 11:21.  After that, all miles were under nine minutes, but overall average was 9:09/mile for 5.5 miles with an overall time of 50:18.

I wish I were in Virginia right now.  It would be nice to visit with my family and especially my mom.  I also hope to hear good news about the Virginia marathon tomorrow.

Today, I did a "short" long run based on available time:  8.66 miles in 1:16:44, or 8:51 per mile.  Running while my brothers and sisters run a marathon is still one of my favorite things to do and I will be looking forward to hearing their report.

This was the coldest day of the season so far at 27 degrees, but I had plenty of warm clothes.

I had lots of aches and pains yesterday, not to mention terrible weather and I chickened out of running.  The good news is that after running this morning, the pains have subsided and I feel really good.  But, my pace keeps getting slower:  5.53 miles in 51:34 or 9:19/mile

I really don't know my time or my distance, but my pace was about the same as yesterday through 5 miles.  Then my GPS just stopped, right at the 5 mile mark.  It was 30 degrees and clear so that I could see the stars.  Orion used to be in the east and now it's in the west.  Before I know it, it won't be visible and I'll have to learn a new constellation.

There was a message on my GPS watch this morning, which I couldn't read, but I could tell it wasn't working.  I used the google pedometer to calculate that I ran 6.56 miles and it took about an hour.  When I got back and put on my glasses I discovered that I overflowed the history.  I should be able to use it next time, because all history is now deleted.

 We are enjoying great weather.  It was 50 degrees this morning, but next week it's supposed to get down into the teens.

Early run, late report.  There was nothing spectacular about my run today.  10.15 miles in 1:31:32 or 9:07 per mile.  I don't think that wore me out as much as the rest of the day trying to dig up a tree stump and planting two peach trees.  The second peach tree was not in a very good piece of ground.  I don't know if it could be called soil, because there was more rocks than dirt.  I pulled out about 100 lbs of rocks in a hole about 3 feet deep.

For the tree stump, I cut off four big roots, one over 6 inches in diameter, with an axe.  Then, we tried to jack it up, exerting 7000 lbs of pressure, but to no avail.  We'll try again later after we try to rot the stump.

Distance of 5.5 miles is approximate.  Time is unknown.  Battery was too low on GPS.  Temperature was warmer than the forcast (34) for which I can be thankful.  I felt pretty good running this morning and felt like I had a good run.

Skipped the Turkey trot, which was a 4 mile run because we had a birthday breakfast for my son before a trek to North Salt Lake for Thanksgiving dinner.

But, I got up early and ran 10.08 miles in 1:38:16.  Never really warmed up, and for good reason.  I saw 4 temperature readings at 6 degrees, 8 degrees, 11 degrees, and 12 degrees.  I dressed up to the max, but my fingers were still so frozen that I couldn't feel anything to untie my laces when I got back home.

Started limping pretty badly at mile 7.  I got a pain in the front of my left foot and I have been limping around all day.  Not sure what to do about this, but I think I better not run for a while.