Hi there!!! Glad to hear from you Becky! I can't imagine what it would be like running in Florida, it is so humid there...although from talking to my friend down there in Orlando, it is often a lot worse here, so I don't know, we seem to all get our share of that weather I guess! In fact, it is very hot and humid here right now and we were supposed to get rain today, but of course we didn't and I don't know that we will. Kind of drought like here right now. The grass is brown and crunchy. At least we will get a day or two of less humid and cooler weather after this front comes through.

My BFF and I decided to do a virtual 5K a month for the summer so we signed up for one that has a race in June, July and August - anytime, any place. We don't like virtual because we can run at home any time but we thought this would be fun and motivating. We did our June one yesterday, I thought I did pretty well and I was happy with it. Not super fast but for being warm and muggy, I will take it.

I had the wound care clinic for the spider bite on Friday - and it is doing very well. She thinks I might be discharged in a couple of weeks - could even be this week! Once that happens I will hopefully be able to use the pool! Finally! I can't believe it is almost July and I haven't used it once this season.

Sharon, just a few more days before your surgery - I know you will be happy to get that behind you so you can get back outside. Six weeks isn't too bad for recovery time. And gosh, I am so impressed with how you have been able to get your running done anyway!

I was discharged from the wound care clinic yesterday! Yay! I still have a tiny bit of a sore there and she told me not to submerge it in the water, but showering and splashing is okay. I need to keep it covered with a bandage still but probably not for long. As soon as the scab falls off, I can quit wearing the bandage and submerge it in the water. But as I told my BFF this morning, I might continue to wear it when I run because the skin there is still so fragile and if for some reason I were to fall on it, that would kind of be a disaster.

Anyway, I ran this morning with my BFF but you know, she is just too fast and we are trying to talk at the same time so we started doing run walk run intervals and then finally I just told her we would need to walk. I did so well last weekend (we went together but we both did our own thing) so I was kind of disappointed about today, but it was a lot hotter and more humid today, so that is partly why I guess. My race is in three weeks. I know I will do okay...probably very back of the pack but probably not last. I wish my training was going better....it has been a couple of years now that things have not gone well for me. But at least I am still going!

Hellooooo!!!!! Sorry, I don't get here as often lately, it just seems like I get busier and busier all of the time. I have been running outside, but very little. With this heat and humidity, it is pretty unbearable, even in the early mornings. I think we are supposed to get some relief from this for a couple of days. I hope so. I tried a new strength training program, honestly didn't like that at all. So then I started a different one and I think that one will work for me. If it doesn't, I might just end up going back to the one that I did winter/spring. I did love that one and it was geared toward functional movement, which is exactly what I need. But I thought it would be good to try something new.

I have a race on the 23rd, a four miler. We have been having excessive heat warnings. I sure do hope conditions are better the day of the race. My runs right now have either been super slow or else some run/walk/run intervals, but not very far, a couple of miles here or there. But I have been able to run three miles and I have done run/walk/run intervals for further distances so I think I should be okay for the race.

Becky, sounds like you are having a good and busy summer! Sometimes raccoons will get into the birds nests. They will get the eggs, and the grown birds too, if they can. My sister in Michigan said her tomatoes aren't doing so great this year either. My BFF here said her tomatoes are doing great but none of her other stuff is doing well at all. I have to wonder if some of it just isn't this crazy weather.

I have been in the pool two times, just to float in my chair, because even though the spider bite is almost better, I am not supposed to submerge it until it is ALL better. I can take a shower without the cast cover, and splashing it is okay, but not submerging it, not yet.

We were going to head south to a state park today but it was raining and thundering and it looked too risky to head down there (it's a couple of hours away). Instead we went to the big park here in Nashville and met some friends and we walked. Diane (BFF) and I had breakfast first, then we did about seven miles of walking with the gang. Then Diane and I went to REI (if you don't have it, it is a cooperative that sells awesome outdoor equipment, camping, biking, etc). Then we went to Fleet Feet. We had lunch at one of my favorite places too. So it was a fun day. I am hoping that the weather is a little bit less humid tomorrow. It has been absolutely miserable here with excessive heat warnings every day.

Oh, and we FINALLY got air conditioning (and heat) in our master bedroom. It is finally comfortable in there - in the summer it gets up to 90 during the day. Now it is so cool and we aren't used to that, lol, but I am so grateful and it feels wonderful in there.

Hello Friends!!!!!

Em, I was at a Fleet Feet running group a couple of weeks ago and I tried some new Asics. Can't remember what kind they were but they had way more cushion than I am used to! I wasn't sure if I liked them. They were comfy and with my joint and connective tissue issues, probably some cushion wouldn't be a bad idea but I didn't like the feel of that cushion! I do know that the extra weight can be hard on the joints, I am still in maintenance range but I would be better with my running if I dropped about five pounds. I used to run very very lightly on my feet, now I pound, and I don't know why that is. But I know it isn't good.

So yeah, a couple of years ago I had some New Balance shoes. And can you believe, at about 120 miles, I could no longer wear them. There was a hole on the top of the shoe, the bottoms of the shoes were coming apart. I was so upset. They were $160 I think. Not cheap. Now I am lucky if I can get 300 miles from a pair - 200 is probably more like it but since my runs are shorter these days, I tend to stretch it, maybe more than I should.

Becky, I think that the different devices all register different steps. I had a FitBit back when they first started making it. I wore it on my bra, not on my arm and it used to get plenty of steps. Now with the Garmin I don't, it is like I can walk around the house and get zero steps. I don't trust these things! But are you otherwise loving your Apple watch? I kind of need a new Garmin but have been waiting as long as possible since they are so pricey.

I saw that Sharon puts bird netting on her garden. I don't have a garden yet but I want one and I want to look into that and see if it might help with the deer that we have. But it sounds like they will get into it anyway, and we have raccoons too and I know they will because they are so smart. I wonder if it is a raccoon that is getting into your fire pit Beckie? One day I threw out a bunch of old protein bars that I didn't want. There were at least three dozen of them, all new, wrapped and in boxes of six each. A raccoon got them out of our trash and opened each and every one, ate them apparently, and left the wrappers all over our driveway. Either that or a homeless person did it, but I am betting it was a raccoon.

I have not been to our Farmers Market this year. I should go soon.

My race went pretty well - slow slow slow, what do you know? I have gotten so slow. It was a small race and in a park that I love because some of it is shaded and it is somewhat flat. There were a few people that I knew so that is always fun. I started out way too fast so my first mile wasn't bad but then I got slower as time went on. It was so hot and humid. There were only two people in my age group so I came in first in my age group. Yesterday I stayed in the house and ran on the treadmill and since my incline doesn't work, I was soooo much faster. The treadmill is always much easier for me. I did six miles. I am not wanting to do long distance right now but registration opens for the fall half that I love and the temptation is huge!!!

I had a Covid booster yesterday, so today is a rest day. My arm is sore and I have a bit of a headache, but the headache could be from anything, even the weather. I did a 25 minute gentle and easy yoga session for mobility.

Here is a pic of me after the race. I got a trucker's for being first in my age group!!!!!

Hi Sharon! So glad that you are recovering, you have really been able to stay active! I have to tell you, I have had the worst of luck the Garmin and walking on the treadmill. When I walk on it, the Garmin pretty much doesn't even register. I have a Garmin 645 and it says I am doing a 40 min/mile (or not moving at all), which of course when I walk, it is more like a 17 or 16 min/mile. Even when I set it to run on the treadmill, it doesn't seem super accurate. I have heard that having a footpod can help but I have the HRM Pro with all of the same features as the footpod and it still doesn't seem to work very well. It has frustrated me to no end and it is one of the (many) reasons I don't like to use the treadmill. One thing I have heard is that you can calibrate the Garmin (now I can't remember how that is done) but manually correcting it to the distance shown on the treadmill but my treadmill isn't accurate either, so that does me no good. So, I guess I am at a loss about this and have been trying to find a solution for a long time. I have looked this up on Garmin forums and other places, and this is a super common issue with most Garmin watches. There are all kinds of suggestions on what to do to fix it, but NOTHING works.

I ran this morning, went about a mile and a half to a big hill and then did hill repeats. Then back home. I thought the repeats went pretty well.

Just stopping by for a minute to say that I found a training plan to use. I don't know if I will do the half marathon or not but I will start the training - I told it I am a beginner. I might as well be. Gone are the days of the 2:20 half marathon. I don't know if I will ever get back there or not. So today it had me run 1.5 miles and it gave me a goal pace - which was super duper slow but for me right now, probably in the range. And I did well, did a little bit faster than that range actually, hope that as the distances increase I can keep that up and go faster even. I walked after that and hope to walk this afternoon as well, if the weather holds out. It is hot and humid but this morning there was at least a nice breeze that helped.

It continues to be hot and humid here, but sometime later this week, we are supposed to get the somewhat cooler and less humid weather. Forecast for my 5K this Saturday is supposed to be amazing at about 62 degrees.

Becky, I have also noticed the daylight becoming less. Plus, school started here a week ago and so I have to plan my runs around school traffic. I have tried to start over with a C25K for the past couple of summers and never stick with it. I don't know how the new plan will go but I am trying to stick with it. This one will allow me to train for the half marathon in November if I do decide to do that one. I am considering a trail race in October. If I do that one, maybe I will do the 10K instead of the half since I am probably not going to be training on trails in the foreseeable future (so a half might be a little out of my reach). My training run this morning was only 3/4 mile! Ha! Well, I stuck with it and did just that. Then I walked a little. It gave me a pace to stick to, but I was faster than that (but still comparatively slow). I will have to slow down as the distances get longer. As long as the training plan doesn't advance too quickly, I should be okay but that is what I find happens, my endurance isn't too great and the plans increase the distance so fast. So I end up walking more than running. I NEVER used to walk, now it is all of the time. Everything starts to hurt, my heart rate gets too high, etc. So I need to do this slowly. If this training plan doesn't work out, I will have to try to make my own.

Becky for sure being tired makes us eat differently, plus missing a meal, I can see that. I have a friend who swears by skipping breakfast but that just doesn't work for me because like you, I end up grazing. Plus if I get a headache or something, I end up eating more than I should because somehow in my mind I believe food might make it feel better.

Have a great Monday everyone!