5.28 Miles, 68 degrees, overcast and humid.
30 days in! That’s it. I an stop any time I want! This was a good project. I’m going to write up my summary today on how it went and what I learned. It will be a post on the Runneratti Blog and I’ll record it up for my podcast.
10 degrees warmer make a big difference. The flies were out and biting this morning.
I got a new pair of Brooks Launch that I wore to start breaking them in. I think they are the previous style year. I got them off the internet for $57 + free shipping. Yay Amazon Prime. I like the launch. It’s a simple shoe. Neutral, forefoot cushion, no extra crap and a little bit of heel lift for my old-guy Achilles inflexibility.
The shoes felt ok but my legs were tired today. Don’t know why. Slept great. Woke up with the sun around 5:00. Had to wake the dog up. He was in deep sleep. Since he’s mostly deaf now I have to be careful not to scare him when I wake him up. Who would have thought the day would come when I’d be waking him up for a run and waiting for him out in the trails? I told him not to be too cocky because this day would come.
I scared a big white tailed deer over in the first loop with Buddy. Buddy didn’t see it. I passed 3 people with dogs. One was the lady trail runner with the golden – passed her 3 times – another was the guy who wears a long flannel shirt and a bush hat walking with a confused looking Bichon and finally the lady with the old chocolate lab who parks at the end of my driveway every morning.
It’s funny that when buddy is tied to the lead in the yard he barks at that lady and her dog. He act super mean and protective. But, when we meet them on the trail he’s all happy to see them and mellow. Anger in dogs is highly situational.
The deer flies were thick. I sprayed a bit of bug repellent on when I did the 2 mile transition with the dog. I got bitten in the back of the leg and the back of the arms. I’ve slowed down enough that they can catch me now. I wear my fly-hat with the bandana pinned to the back to keep them off my head and neck.
If you look at the pictures you can see that most of the time I’ll just grab whatever technical t-shirt that is on the top of the pile. Sometimes I’ll just wear the t-shirt I slept in – cotton is fine – it’s only 5 miles and it’s not that hot out. The cotton is actually better than the tech for the deer flies. The flies can’t bit through the cotton. When your shirt gets wet with sweat and sticks to you the flies can bite through it.
This has been a worthy experiment for me. It was the right project at the right time. I wonder how much it matters that the days are long and the mornings are bright? It would be interesting to try this again in December on the winter solstice.
For everything there is a season.
Cheers,
C-