Back Under

 This was a beautiful morning with the temps in the upper 50’s. Very nice conditions. My stomach was not the best, but besides that I had decent energy. I did 9.38 miles in 2:20:16 for a 14:57 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 196 feet with an average heart rate of 102 bpm at 57 degrees and 83 percent humidity. A real asset in training is to be able to roll with the mini-adversities that life constantly throws at you. God bless you!

Nice Sunday Morning

 I headed out a bit after 7 in the morning to Calverton. There were a lot of people a lot of people out on the trail. I did 9.41 miles in 2:45:57 for a a 17:37 minute per mile hike an elevation gain of 170 feet with an average heart rate of 83 bpm at 68 am 69 percent humidity. I started out a bit lethargic, but I was glad to get out on such a beautiful late August morning. God is good!

Nice Finish

 I got out in good time and started out again on the Ryleigh loop. I did 9.68 miles in 2:25:27 for a 15:01 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 127 feet with an average heart rate of 93 bpm at 68 degrees and 93 percent humidity. It was also my first week back at work albeit working remotely. Today Saturday I decided to take the day off looking for a cooler and earlier start tomorrow. Thank you Lord!

Day 3

 I did my Ryleigh Loop doing Apple Court, Kastal, Ryan, Woodlot, Randall, and Whiskey to Raynor. I made this loop up on the day my first granddaughter was born. I hadn’t done this loop in quite sometime and I found that I enjoyed it— maybe again tomorrow? I did 9.51 miles in 2:25:19 for a 15:16 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 170 feet with an average heart rate of 97 bpm at 67 and 76 percent humidity. The third day of teacher workshops is completed, thankfully remotely. Have a blessed evening!

Day 2

 Today was my second day back to work, working remotely from home. Sitting a long time in Zoom makes me very stiff, but I love the convenience of working from home. Today I woke up a bit later, as my hip strangely started throbbing mildly in the middle of the night.  I did the Longwood Loop with a little putting trash out with a quick pitstop added on to the workout — slowing my pace for sure. I did 9.35 miles in 2:25:01 for a 15:30 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 301 feet with an average heart rate of 97 bpm at a comfort 67 degrees at 61 percent humidity. My knee was better than yesterday. Life isn’t exciting, but it is gratifying. Thank you Jesus💙

Day 1

 Back in in-service, but working remotely. I enjoy the comfort and convenience of working at home. Today I got out in good season doing the Woodlot, Ridge, Randall loop. I did 9.47 miles in 2:30:15 for a 15:51 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 203 feet with an average heart rate of 97 bpm at 72 degrees and humidity at 86 percent. Posting while in Zoom. Have a blessed day!

Last Day of Summer Vacation

 I woke up after a decent night’s rest. Today marked my last day of summer vacation. I am grateful for feeling better. I did the Longwood/Niewood loop doing 9.56 miles in 2:30:53 for a 15:47 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 323 feet with an average heart rate of 93 bpm at 73 degrees and 99 percent humidity. I’m blessed!!!

Calverton Again

 I try to get in an easy recovery walk once per weekend. It’s becoming clear to me that the older that I get, the more recovery and rest is vital. I can’t beat my body quite the way that I used to. Today Charlotte headed out early to do some business at church and then to go to WW. I headed out slightly later to the Calverton Loop. There were a good number of people, but they were spread out and most of them were on bikes. I did 9.33 miles in 2:44:56 for a 17:40 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 178 feet and an average heart rate of  82 bpm at 72 degrees and 91 percent humidity.  I’m glad that I chose this route as it was a good change of pace and reminded me of my time before I battled sickness. God is good 🙏🏻❤️

A Week in the Books

 I am so grateful for a week of training. My times were slower, but thankfully I got the work in. I am grateful for health. God allowed me to experience some sickness to get my attention and to better appreciate my health. Today I did the Woodlot, Ridge, Kastal, 2 x Ryan, and Randall doing 9.43 miles in 2:27:22 for a 15:37 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 193 feet snd an average heart rate of 129 bpm at 61 degrees and 91 percent humidity. I’m looking forward to what God is going yo do. God bless you!

A Good Day

 Today I faced a number of things on my To-Do List. For a person who because of sickness hasn’t done much, it seemed odd to actually have to put out. Thankfully it turned out to be a good day. I am grateful that my next appointment isn’t until 3 months with my doctor. I’m hoping by then that a vaccine for COVID might be impending. This morning I did the Longwood Loop doing 9.51 miles in 2:27:10 for a 15:28 minute per mile pace with an average heart rate of 97 bpm and an elevation gain of 328 feet feet at a comfortable 59 degrees and 87 percent humidity. Today was a good day! God is good!

A Bit Better

 I did the same route as yesterday. I got out a bit earlier than yesterday. I still feel like I’m building back up to where I was before. I do know that the Lord is using these circumstances for His purposes. I did 9.51 miles in 2:28:06 for a 15:34 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 164 feet with average heart rate of 106 bpm at 67 degrees and humidity at 86 percent. God Bless you!

Not Quite

 Today was s reminder that I am still rebuilding my somewhat diminished self.  I did my usual pre pandemic route with a little added distance added at the beginning. I did 9.36 miles in 2:28:33 for a 15:52 minute per mile pace with a 167 foot elevation gain and an average heart rate of 92 bpm at 66 degrees and 92 percent humidity. I saw friend and runner Chuck for the second day in a row on Ridge road. I saw several walkers on Randall road. When you leave later you see more people out and around. Still kind of working back to pre-sickness normal. God bless!

A Real Workout

 I am attempting to build back more gradually this time after sickness. Last week was a slow build of regular walking and building back my strength workouts. Today was my first power walk workout. I mean the speed will take time to build back. My speed definitely has been in decline this year. I have an occasional reminder of what I used to do and then I seem to resort back to my new normal. Here are the stats— 9.49 miles in 2;27:25 for a 15:31 minute per mile pace with an elevation gain of 356 feet with an average heart rate of 141 bpm at a comfortable 65 degree and 84 percent humidity. Off to have my kidneys checked out. God bless you!

Sunday in the Rain

 Sometimes you can be with people and still be alone, because of unspoken issues. Loneliness sent me out  the door earlier than anticipated. It ended up showering which made for a nice quiet easy walk. I picked up a rain jacket and a dry shirt for my final lap.  I did 8.71 miles in 2:38:45 for an 18:13 minute per mile pace with an average heart rate of 82 bpm with a 153 foot elevation gain at 68 degrees and 85 percent humidity. Have a blessed day!

Improvement 2

 Last night was the first night that I slept through the night without sleep or pain medicine. I am thankful for that. I am just finding that I am a bit more tired during the day. Thankfully I can take it easier being on vacation. I dread the humidity that is incessant along with 70  plus early morning temps. I do not do well in these conditions even more so being on BP medications.  Even in Maine the temps were mainly warm and humid. 

  Today I did the same adapted figure 8 loop doing 8.87 miles in 2:30:35 for a 16:58 minute per mile pace with a 169 foot elevation gain and an average heart rate of 83 bpm at 71 degrees and 95 percent humidity. I am grateful for returning to normal, but the Lord is actually working to make me different for His purposes. God bless you !

Improvement

 Today finds me in a better place than last week. This is the culmination of slow improvement. All my medical tests came back negative. It leaves me glad and at the same time I wonder why I came down sick twice this summer. There’s nowhere to go but forward, and I will keep inching forward and looking to the Lord for the rest. During my illness I would do a 10 minute rowing machine here and there as well as a set here and there of benches and chins and the fabulous 40 ab work for maintenance. I started an easy walk on Sunday and have done an easy walk each day. Here are the easy walks-

Sunday-I did 3.34 miles in 1:06:56 with an elevation gain of 82 feet with an 81 bpm heart rate I did a 19:28 minute per mile pace at 70 degrees and 94 percent humidity.

Monday- 4.69 miles in 1:34:48 for a 20:12 minute per mile pace with an 85 foot elevation gain with an average pulse of 79 bpm at 73 degrees and 91 percent humidity.

Tuesday-I did 6.47 miles in 1:59:56 for a 18:32 minute per mile pace with a 115 foot elevation gain and an average pulse of 81 bpm at 70 degrees and 90 percent humidity.

Wednesday- I did 3.15 miles in 56:11 for a 17:48 minute per mile pace with a 54 foot elevation gain with an average heart rate of 82 bpm at 76 degrees and 92 percent humidity. I was going to do the figure 8, but torrential rain soaked me and cut me short. I made up for it with 10 minutes of rowing.

Thursday- I did 8.87 miles in 2:40:07 for a 18:03 minute per mile pace with an average heart rate of 81 bpm with a 164 foot elevation gain at 74 degrees and 94 percent humidity.

I have also been gradually increasing my strength work. I’m so grateful for today and for peaceful time alone at home to help recuperate. God bless you blog friends!

A Summer of Challenge

 I did a walk on Saturday of 8.84 miles. I won’t give the details beyond the mileage. By nighttime I had developed a fever. The previous week I had experienced joint pain which made it difficult to sleep. A consistent headache then developed. Now I will take a few medical tests after haven taken my third Covid test. I personally think I have Lymes, but I will see what the tests show. Now I live in quarantine—AGAIN. My trials are small in the light of others. God is always working to teach me some lessons. Constant fever and headaches means that Tylenol and water keep me going. Well, that’s it. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can post my workouts again. I do a little weights, a little ab work, and a little rowing. And a

 bit of easy work and movement to make me feel alive. God bless!