AUGUST 2023 Monthly Running Challenge

martaindale

chris_in_cal wrote: »

Do ghost have mass?

Have you ever read the book Spook by Mary Roach? There is an entire chapter in that book talking about experiments to determine if souls have weight. While I'm recommending books, I thought Spook was really good, but Stiff is by far the best book by Mary Roach.

chris_in_cal

Time flies! Not running, not logging food and tracking my weight is right there. I just sit, relax, don't think about it for a couple of weeks and I would be off to the races again.

Last night was not pretty, but I got back out there running after returning from my short holiday. My "August Running Goal" is going to be challenging to achieve.

August Running Goal: 18 runs, 75 miles

1. Aug 1 - 3.00 miles
2. Aug 2 - 3.85 miles
3. Aug 4 - 3.27 miles
4. Aug 6 - 6.00 miles
5. Aug 8 - 3.00 miles
6. Aug 9 - 4.90 miles
7. Aug 15- 3.00 miles

Current: 7 runs, 27.02 miles

Teresa502

Aug 2 – 4.77 miles
Aug 4 – 3.28 miles
Aug 5 – 4.34 miles
Aug 6 – 8.02 miles
Aug 8 – 4.01 miles
Aug 9 - 4.26 miles
Aug 14 – 4.01 miles
Aug 15 – 5.13 miles
Aug 16 – 5.02 miles
Total – 42.84 miles

It was a nice 62F when I met a friend for a 5 mile run this morning. Glad it’s cooling off some for you Texans too!

@shanaber – The poor little chipmunk was running everywhere like crazy. I just got lucky and it ran into the carrier and MillieMollie (the feline queen of the house) guarded it until I could get the door closed. Before that, I had a bedspread that I was going to throw over it and take that outside. The problem with that plan was that every time the chipmunk ran towards me, I would squeal like the girl that I am and jump back. Also, I love mayo on everything and have been known to dip my fries in it while in Belgium where it's the norm. I’m so glad that you and Hobbes had fun at agility class. He’s such a good boy and clearly loves his human mom!

@quilteryoyo – Tippy is so smart! Glad the storms didn’t hit too hard. For your consideration….the track club is having two races at Davy Crockett Birthplace this Fall. They are both part of the Tennessee Running Tour. The first is a 6-miler on November 4 and the second is the Pioneer 5-Miler on December 16. We discontinued the one at Roan Mountain. The course was just too dangerous with traffic and the park rangers weren't that helpful. The rangers at Davy Crockett are wonderful!

@TheMrWobbly – I had deleted the Strava request but was able to retrieve it! We should be friends now!

Hope you are feeling better @Scott6255.

@polskagirl01 – The broom/open door method worked once before when she brought one inside the kitchen but she carried this little bugger up to the second floor of the house (where my office is located) and it just had too many places it could go between there and the doors downstairs. If you were closer, she could take care of your mouse problem! Last week, she brought a baby bird inside. I was able to scoop it up and return it to the wild. It seemed uninjured so I hope it made it. A bird had made a nest in one of my flowers a few weeks earlier so I was pretty sure where the baby bird came from. As I was taking it back to that area, I almost stepped on its sibling who was fluttering around and momma was squawking at me from nearby.

chris_in_cal

martaindale wrote: »

Have you ever read the book Spook by Mary Roach? There is an entire chapter in that book talking about experiments to determine if souls have weight. While I'm recommending books, I thought Spook was really good, but Stiff is by far the best book by Mary Roach.

Having in essence stopped reading all together I joined a book club earlier this year to force my hand a bit. In a few weeks I get to choose the next book for the club. I'll take a look.

So far I've really enjoyed:

• Strangers to Ourselves - Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us, by Rachel Aviv
• The Secret of Our Success - How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter, by Joseph Henrich

"Strangers" is well written and compelling. "Secret" is dense and tough, but very provocative and I'm happy I got through it. (without the peer pressure of the book club I certainly would not have got through it.)

quilteryoyo

@polskagirl01 I hope you get rid of the mouse. I strongly dislike them.

Thanks. Sounds like a great run @martaindale . Love all the animals you saw

yirara

01.08 Tue 18°C 2.1km 20min 9:30/km
03.08 Thu 19°C 5.2km 47min 8:57/km
05.08 Sat 20°C 5.6km 50min 8:58/km
07.08 Mon 17°C 6.0km 52min 8:41/km
08.08 Tue 17°C 3.4km 29min 8:36/km
09.08 Wed 20°C 5.0km 44min 8:46/km
11.08 Fri 26°C 6.5km 58min 8:52/km
13.08 Sun 23°C 3.4km 30min 8:44/km
14.08 Mon 26°C 5.0km 43min 8:35/km
16.08 Wed 23°C 6.0km 53min 8:48/km

48.24km/no goal - 48.24kmkm ahead

Slow run today to find out whether I can run longer. Managed to run about 40 minutes and walked 13. Getting better A few more weeks and I'm able to fully run 6km again.

kgirlhart

August Goal: 125 Miles

8/1: 6.26 miles
8/2: 5.57 miles
8/3: 5.12 miles
8/6: 11.26 miles
8/8: 6.26 miles
8/9: 6.02 miles
8/10: 6.04 miles
8/13: 10.26 miles
8/14: 1.56 miles
8/15: 7.02 miles
8/16: 6.06 miles

71.43/125 miles completed for August

It was another pleasant morning. It wasn't as cool as yesterday, but still a cool 74°F with 45% humidity and a dew point of 53°. It was a beautiful morning and a nice little reminder that cooler weather will eventually come. I know we'll have some more hot weather before it does, but I am hoping we are done with 90°s at dawn. 70°s at dawn is just so much more comfortable.

When I started out this morning I took the alternate route I have been taking to get to the main road and avoid the little dog. I was just around the corner from my house and had dogs (who were in their fenced yards) barking on the left and the right. I looked up and there was a skunk with his tail straight in the air. I think the dogs on the left were actually barking at the skunk, not at me. I wanted to go straight, but I did not want to follow the skunk. He seemed a little undecided and definitely didn't want to go left or right. I thought he might just stay at the intersection. So I turned to the right. I was frustrated because that way is not as well lit, and has more pot holes than the other way. But I did make it safely to the main road and the rest of the run was uneventful.


@shanaber It's so good to see you and Hobbes looking well! I love the agility. Thanks for sharing the video.

shanaber

@tarun_yadavA - I prefer to use avocado on most anything I would put mayo on like sandwiches or burgers. I love avocado and only tolerated mayo before. I have had a few tasty aiolis which are essentially flavored mayo.

Scott6255 wrote: »

Was so glad it was over. When I hit the stop button, I was at 8.8 miles. So I guess that was all meant to be @quilteryoyo. Tell mama yoyo happy birthday! 😁

Sorry you weren't feeling well @Scott6255 but amazed you got through 8.8 miles! I struggled trying to think of how to name @quilteryoyo's mom so I didn't. I think you nailed it though! 😊

@quilteryoyo - hope it is ok to refer to your mom as mama yoyo! I think it is endearing but I hope she wouldn't be offended! I love that Tippy was so concerned about the storm. Pretty sure I would have grabbed pillows and blankets and moved with her into the closet though just in case. We have had animals that alerted before earthquakes and always took them very seriously. They can feel the early rumblings that we cannot.
@polskagirl01 - we had a kitchen mouse years ago but nothing since. We finally caught it but it chewed up part of the wall under the sink to make shavings for its nest. Our cat at the time had absolutely no interest in it (worthless 😁).

Thanks for all the comments on Hobbes! As Scott said he is an energizer bunny even at 11. Sometimes too much so which is why agility is so important for him. Wears him out both physically and mentally!

I love books and since being sick I have gotten back into reading physical books again. There is a great used bookstore not too far away and I can send them what I want and they pull them for me (or I wander around the store which is dangerous). When I am finished they buy them back. Much cheaper than new, not wasteful and in the end it only costs me $1-2 per book. I prefer paperback because they are just easier but the hardbacks are less than $5 and they buy them back too.
I enjoy historical fiction (think Cornelius Ryan and the WWI novels - I have read them multiple times). So I decided to try The Jake Tapper (yes that Jake Tapper the news person) novels. I am on the 1st of his series of 3 called the Hellfire Club and really enjoying it. It is about DC politics in the early 50's when McCarthy was running rampant. Definitely a work of fiction be he also includes pages of sources about the historical information on the different politicians, organizations and events in the book.

quilteryoyo

August 1: Walked 1.00 miles - Ran 1.50 miles
August 2: Wun 3.00 miles - driveway after mowing my lawn - yellow jacket stings
August 3: Walk 1.50 miles - Ran 1.00 mile - treadmill
August 4: Walk 1.00 mile - Ran 6.40 miles - treadmill (birthday run)
August 5: Walk 2.00 miles - treadmill
August 6: Walk 2.00 miles - treadmill
August 7: Walk 2.00 miles - treadmill
August 8: Walk 2.00 miles - treadmill, mowed, and sawed wood
August 9: Walk 1.50 miles - Ran 1.50 miles - driveway laps after tennis
August 10: Walk 2.00 miles - driveway laps
August 11: Walk 1.50 miles - Ran 4.00 miles - treadmill - Also weed eat for 50 min later
August 12: Walk 2.00 miles - treadmill - played 2h26m25s of singles tennis (traversed 1.90 miles)
August 13: Walk 1.00 mile - treadmill
August 14: Walk 2.00 miles - treadmill
August 15: Walk 2.00 miles - ran 1.50 miles - treadmill
August 16: Walk 1.50 miles - treadmill

43.90/80 mile goal

I had my Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) this morning. It was a bit harder to do than I expected, as they put a plug on your nose and you have to put this contraption in your mouth to breath through. My sinuses were draining a little, so had to stop a couple of times to swallow. When I swallowed during the test, it was like the ears were plugged up too. It's hard to explain, but swallowing wasn't really an option. She said I did good though. From her response to some of my questions, I don't think it showed anything...like taking a puff of albuterol really didn't make much of a difference. Of course, if it is exercise induced, it is not going to show up on the test. So, we'll see what they say and what my Dr wants to do with it.

Afterwards, I worked at daycare for 3 hours...mostly while the kids slept, so pretty easy.

Due to time constraints before heading to church, I only had time for a 1.5 mile walk on the treadmill after I got home. Just one of those days when life got in the way of exercise. LOL

quilteryoyo

@chris_in_cal You may not achieve your August goal, but you are getting out there and doing what you can. Vacations make it hard, I think. I've thought about joining a book club to force myself back to reading, but I really don't have the time right now. Maybe later.

Thanks for the info @Teresa502 . I may try for the 6 mile one. I'm still planning to do the 10 miler in FL in Dec. I think Tippy is pretty smart too.

Great running @yirara ! You are showing great improvement.

@kgirlhart I'm so glad that you had cooler weather for your run this morning and that you avoided the skunk! I'm surprised it didn't spray at the dogs, but I guess it knew it was semi-safe on the outside of the fence.

@shanaber I told mom about mama yoyo and she loved it - not offended at all. I was tempted to follow Tippy into the closet, but decided to stay put and it if started hailing or sounding really windy, we would have gone. I'm sure she sensed something unusual in that storm.

chris_in_cal

Sunlight is getting shorter, and the heat broke. A nice evening run.

August Running Goal: 18 runs, 75 miles

1. Aug 1 - 3.00 miles
2. Aug 2 - 3.85 miles
3. Aug 4 - 3.27 miles
4. Aug 6 - 6.00 miles
5. Aug 8 - 3.00 miles
6. Aug 9 - 4.90 miles
7. Aug 15- 3.00 miles
8. Aug 16- 4.46 miles

Current: 8 runs, 31.48 miles

tarun_yadavA

Morning all.
Got in another 10K (08"54)!
Off-night tonight... Meeting up with some old high school buddies, so will be copious amounts of beer consumed!

@Shanaber - avocados! peak California that! 😊
My brother says cringey things like "nature's mayonnaise " 🙈
(Also my brother - 6ft4, 280 lbs, and adds both avocado and mayonnaise to his burgers/sandwiches 🙈😂)

tarun_yadavA

@quilteryoyo sorry to hear the PCT was uncomfortable... And well done on getting some exercise in after

Teresa502

Aug 2 – 4.77 miles
Aug 4 – 3.28 miles
Aug 5 – 4.34 miles
Aug 6 – 8.02 miles
Aug 8 – 4.01 miles
Aug 9 - 4.26 miles
Aug 14 – 4.01 miles
Aug 15 – 5.13 miles
Aug 16 – 5.02 miles
Aug 17 – 4.70 miles
Total – 47.54 miles

This morning, I ran with a friend who had not run in a while so we took a lot of walk breaks. It was good to catch up with her so I’m counting it as a social run. The weather was a cool 61F.

quilteryoyo

Yeah for nice weather for the run @chris_in_cal .

Nice run @tarun_yadavA ! Enjoy your night out. Thanks.

@Teresa502 I haven't had a nice social run in a long time. It sounds like a great one. Isn't the weather wonderful today?

polskagirl01

Took one of the kids to check out another nearby lake today. This is the same one I've been getting in all winter, but looks very different with a marked swimming area, lifeguards, paddle boats, food vendors, etc. It was ok... the water looked alarmingly dirty though. There was a thunderstorm coming in, so we didn't stay too long anyway.

I've ordered a 1-person foldable "tub"(shaped sort of like a barrel), and am making some big ice cubes in the freezer, so I can have my own cold water in my back yard whenever I want 😅.

martaindale

shanaber wrote: »

@tarun_yadavA - I prefer to use avocado on most anything I would put mayo on like sandwiches or burgers. I love avocado and only tolerated mayo before.

I love using avocado as a condiment. I remember Tarun describing avocado as over-rated so I’m not sure how he would feel about this but I think it’s delicious!

@polskagirl01 Polar bear dunks year round! Sounds right up your alley.

martaindale

Aug total: 57.5/100 miles

8/1: 5.6 miles
8/2: 3.3 miles
8/5: 10 miles
8/7: 7 miles
8/10: 6 miles
8/11: 5.1 miles
8/12: 9.2 miles
8/14: 3.1 miles
8/16: 4.1 miles
8/17: 4.1 miles

I ran the same loop today that I did yesterday. It was a bit more humid but still pretty nice. I was able to run up the biggest hill on the route with my HR just touching 170 at the very top compared with 177 yesterday. It’s fairly steep and sustained for almost half a mile so it always feels like an accomplishment to run the entire thing. I saw a lot of deer this morning, mostly hovering at the edge of the road watching me run by.

kgirlhart

August Goal: 125 Miles

8/1: 6.26 miles
8/2: 5.57 miles
8/3: 5.12 miles
8/6: 11.26 miles
8/8: 6.26 miles
8/9: 6.02 miles
8/10: 6.04 miles
8/13: 10.26 miles
8/14: 1.56 miles
8/15: 7.02 miles
8/16: 6.06 miles
8/17: 6.31 miles

77.74/125 miles completed for August

It was warmer at 80°F this morning than it was yesterday, but it was still cooler than it was last week. So it was a pretty pleasant run and I ran 6.3 miles. I didn't see any skunks today, but I did see a doe and two fawns. The deer are starting to get active around here too @martaindale . The deer I saw also just stood and watched me, then they crossed the road watching me the whole time and stood on the other side. They were really cute.

The pictures aren't great, but I didn't want to get too close so I had to zoom in.

Tomorrow is our 33rd wedding anniversary, so I am taking tomorrow and Monday as vacation days so we can have a long weekend. I will still try to get a long run in on Sunday, but mostly I am planning to do nothing for four days.

I used to eat mayonnaise, but now I prefer to use avocado, or guacamole instead.

quilteryoyo

@polskagirl01 You better than me with the ice water. I don't think I could do that.

Congrats on that hill run @martaindale !

Great run @kgirlhart . I love your pictures of the deer, even if a bit blurry. So cool that you and @martaindale are seeing them on your runs! Happy Anniversary to you and your DH! Thirty three years is an accomplishment!

martaindale

Yep, that's exactly my POV @kgirlhart. Happy anniversary!!

Scott6255

Happy anniversary @kgirlhart! We celebrated our 38th anniversary a few weeks ago while we were in Austin.
Heat was back today. 110F real temp!
6 recovery TM miles today.

kgirlhart

Thanks @quilteryoyo , @martaindale and @Scott6255.

tarun_yadavA

Good morning everyone!
Got in a 4miler (09"16).
Last night was heavy.... Thank God it's Friday today!

@kgirlhart Happy 33rd Anniversary! Hope you have a lovely long weekend! 😊

Avocados - don't dislike them. probably just guac for me. To dip chips in. That's about it.
Never jumped on the 'Millennial' Avocado-Toast bandwagon either!
(That should be a 'tell me you are GenX without telling me you are GenX' thing! Haha!)

Laurz9191

Hi everyone!

Wow! It’s taken me several days to catch up reading the thread. I wanted to read everything before posting but there were like 150+ entries I had missed. Maybe my book club for the month?

So, I’m back from Yosemite and California. Yosemite was wonderful. There was however such limited WLAN and phone connection (which I thought was great), so I didn’t go on MFP once when I was there.

I missed a lot of very interesting posts, from @AlphaHowls rabid raccoon, to @chris_in_cal ’s ghost scale, to @tarun_yadavA ’s desserts/bbq/avocado vs. mayo debate - it also does kind of seem that you went on a 48state bbq tour . In Germany many people eat mayo in their fries - my 3 year old was very disappointed that he couldn’t order mayo with his fries while we were in the states.

I still have jet lag but did go on runs yesterday 6.2km and today 9.1km, bringing my August total to 43/160km (I may have to rethink my monthly mileage).

Spoiler includes my top 3 Yosemite pictures plus a couple stories about my trip

I loved being in the wilderness and hope that I can go backpacking and in the near future hike the JMT with at least 1 of my children. I did go on a special hike with my 8 year old. We went 11 miles and he did awesome.

The first picture of Vernal Falls is special because I really wanted to get to the top, even though it meant carrying my 3 year old almost all the way up and all the way down. The view did not disappoint and I am just thankful I had the strength and fitness to do it. Btw, I had to carry him on my shoulders almost every hike we did, which I consider an extra strength training work out. Including all water and snacks it was like carrying a heavy backpacking pack which also randomly moves left to right and sometimes pulls my hair and messes up my hat .

The third picture is the most personal and one I will always hold close to my heart. Our main reason for going to Yosemite was for the memorial of my grandparents who both passed away shortly before corona. We never had a funeral and memorial for them because their wish was to do it in Yosemite. The picture is of the landscape of where we had our memorial, so now I will always picture them among in this wonderful unbelievably beautiful nature.

So that rounds up my long speech. I really can’t wait to get back out on the trail and have more adventures in nature. Until then, I am happy to be back in the forest here or next to the river, away from car noises and city bustle.

tarun_yadavA

Welcome back @Laurz9191

Glad you had a great trip! 😊

And love the photos... And the grandparents story! 😊

Teresa502

Happy Friday!

Happy Anniversary @kgirlhart! Hope you have a nice long weekend with the one you love. Happy belated anniversary to you also @Scott6255!

@Laurz9191 – Beautiful pictures! Glad you had a great time. I would love to thru hike the JMT also. I would say hiking with a 3-year old on your shoulders is much harder than a full backpack! What a nice tribute to your grandparents.

chris_in_cal

What a treat @Laurz9191 both the story and the pictures are lovely.
I'm super inspired about hiking up Vernal Falls with a gremlin attached to your head. You are amazing!

AlphaHowls

8/1 17.4 miles, Running Partner A
8/2 17.61 miles, 1920 days on the run, 1102 days HM+ Streak
8/3 17.17 miles, Crazy Laps! @least 6 miles OTR, Back Spasms, rain/thunderstorms = moody
8/4 17.5 miles, made it home before skies opened up! Back spasms
8/5 17.46 miles, Running Partner A & E (+1 34 weeks)
8/6 17.4 miles, I did not wake to back spasms, still calm after run!
8/7 17.46 miles, 1925 days on the run, 1107 days HM+ Streak, chased by a rabid raccoon!
8/8 17.5 miles
8/9 17.3 miles
8/10 17.64 miles Running Partner A
8/11 17.49 miles Through the Fog
8/12 18.21 miles, 1930 days on the run, 1112 days HM+ Streak, Running Partner A, HUMID!
8/13 17.34 miles, County Line and back, dense fog
8/14 17.38 miles, 9 OTR, rest crazy laps as storm arrived
8/15 17.82 miles, Running Partner A
8/16 17.53 miles
8/17 17.51 miles, 1935 days on the run, 1117 days HM+ Streak, Running Partner A
8/18 17.33 miles

Wild animal stories:
You already heard about the rabid raccoon, but I do have some others.

Chaos Raccoon

I used to have three white German Shepherds, my loves: Bay, Faith, and Mercy. One night, they are acting out, asking to go out back. This is a solid door, I cannot see out of, that leads to the dog pen (what I call the elephant pen now). At that time, I had an old screen door that I had salvaged sitting out there. Ok, so I open the door and let them out and they went bonkers. What I did not see, was a raccoon hanging on that screen door and as my babies went out, that little scuttlebutt came inside the basement. So now, I have three white shepherds coming back through the door after this monster. Keep the picture now, I have three white German Shepherds going bonkers after a raccoon, in the basement, which is where I live. Chaos does not even begin to describe what was happening. It takes a good bit of commands, some screaming and defensive movements. The babies keep raccoon on the move and I am able to maneuver this crazy herd to a room under the porch and close the raccoon in there. Now, I have three white German Shepherds staring at the door to the underneath of the porch (a room of storage/boxes/junk). I grab a live animal trap (yes, I have already learned to keep this around). I baited the trap with tuna fish and went in that room, hoping little monster is not rabid. Took less than 10 minutes for the raccoon to get into the trap, he wanted tuna fish. I drove that little monster 10 miles to a park and let him go. It was a few days later, that I learned the neighbor had been feeding that monster, which is why it was easy to trap him and that he was not really afraid of me/dogs.

Mouse in the bed

I rescued a cat that I called Almina. She ended up being an awesome hunter...in the house. She caught all the mice, snakes, lizards and slugs (and she was not an outdoor cat). Anyway, she caught a mouse one night. I am deep in sleep and hear this RAWRRRR! I turn on the light and did not see exactly what the deal was, but she jumped up on my chest and dropped her present on me....that was still alive....

The mole

The weird things that happen to me, you just cannot make this up. I am peacefully asleep in my bed. Now at that time, I had a mattress that laid along side my bed out of lack to have a place to store it. It was the bed I used to lay next to my mother's hospital bed for a year. So, a noise wakes me in the night. I wake up and that mattress crinkled a little and moved. I freaked out! I cannot find what is happening, I am still foggy brained and I cannot find what causes the movement and the noise. My brain is flashing pictures in my head of snakes (yes that happened). So, I am completely undone and frightened. I go and wake up my mother and tell her I am scared and fearful and need help. So, she comes down to my room and we start a search for the monster I hear. Two hours, as day breaks, we find this mole, he is in the plastic that covers the mattress...In My Room! I will not relate his demise to you, but understand this, I slept with the light on for almost three weeks and every little sounds sent me into panic.

The snake

Not sure how this serpent got into the house, but it was. I had gone to grab the laundry out of my bathroom and when I dumped it out to sort, that serpent fell out. My mother, again, had to help me. I am afraid of snakes (maybe 8 inches long). She corralled him and threw him out the door.

Over time, there have been frogs, birds, cats (not mine), dogs (not mine) that have traversed through this house. I have had the raccoon, mole, snake, mice and even a deer on the front porch. There have been possum under the deck and even a wayward chocolate himalayan bunny.

SummerSkier

@AlphaHowls we have so much food talk I was thinking a REAL CHOCOLATE bunny.... 😳🤣😂 Not sure I like all the stories but you definitely have some crazy adventures..... 😳