Nature on the Run: July 2023

Sunday, July 23, 2023

12 Days! July 12 to 23

Wednesday July 12 - rest day

Thursday July 13 - Biked 10.19 miles - ave 9.9 mph - max 22.6 mph

Thursday July 13 - Ran 6.5 miles - 11:15 pace

Friday July 14

Saturday July 15 - Walked with Concord Group 3.9 miles

Saturday July 15 - Biked 15.01 miles - ave 10.5 mph - max 31.9 mph

Saturday July 15 - Ran 4.5 miles - 10:04 pace

Sunday July 16 - Ran 4.04 miles - 10:32 pace

Monday July 17 - Ran 5.0 miles - 9:50 pace

Tuesday July 18 -

Wednesday July 19 - Ran 6.51 miles - 10:25 pace

Thursday July 20 - Ran 3.18 miles - 11:32 pace

Friday July 21 - Ran 3.01 miles - 10:14 pace

Saturday July 22 - Walked with Concord Group 3.03 miles

Saturday July 22 - Biked 22.61 miles - ave 10.1 mph - 1,532 ascent

Sunday July 23 - Ran 7.0 miles - 10:01 pace

It was a busy week (and 1/2) and few pictures were taken! Looking back on my phone, I see I took some on July 16th here at home following my run. It was a memorable day - and a memorable run. Sometimes pictures "add" to memorable days! This first one is of my perennial oriental poppy (now far past it's blooming) with an "infestation of little "Johnny Jump Up" flowers within and around it. They always "look at you" -- or so they say. The next picture. although not very picturesque, is of some white mushrooms now growing in a large newly sodded area in front of our building.

I've since updated today's post to include both my 7 mile run and 5 additional pictures (at the end) of one particular perennial garden very close to where I live.

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Taking To the Hills

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11537471226

Above link - today's 10.33 mile bike ride on Harvard Hills at 11.4 ave mph

Elevation change was 598 feet. Temp 81 degrees. Ave HR = 105 bpm.

This ride was followed by a 5.0 mile run in Ayer at 10:03 ave pace. The average HR was 137 bpm. Vo2 Max was 38% (maximum oxygen uptake). Temp 82 degrees on hot sun. Humidity 51%

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11537888862

Later in the day (after a nap!) I took these pictures in Pirone Park.

Monday, July 10, 2023

Sluggish Monday 2 Mile Run After the Rain

It was a slow run tonight. Dinner came late and it felt like a chore to get it done. I'd been thinking about skipping it on account of the steady evening rain. The puddles outside my window were no longer being sprinkled upon -- and the evening sky was brightening a bit before dark. So, the 11:59 pace for a 2 mile out-and-back run was good enough for me today.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11533022123

It was dark when I got back to the apartment and I was wondering how my phone's flashlight might work out for some picture taking -- for tonight's post. Aside from some "jiggle" in the images, these longer-than-desired exposures worked out fairly well. One is of my wet rose bush. The other (also taken tonight) is of an "indeterminate" cherry tomato plant given to me by my astronomy friend, Marsha.

Sunday, July 9, 2023

BayState 2023

I've entered the 35th Annual Baystate Half Marathon. It will be on Sunday, October 15th this year -- about 3 months away.

It seems my hamstring has recovered over the last 3 months to the point where I can begin to think about ramping up mileage again.

Working three days a week has turned out to help with strengthening the legs more, so the idea of trying to meet or exceed my 2021 Baystate Half performance in Lowell later this year will be a good goal. The race in 2021 went well. I placed 1st out of 16 in my AG with a 9:08 pace for 13.1 miles. I'll be 2 years older then and it will be slightly tougher since I am still in the same AG. The time to match will be 1:59:34.

Workouts since my last post on 7/4 were as follows:

Wed July 5 - rest

Thur July 6 - Biked 4.66 miles at 9.2 mph

Thur July 6 - Ran 4.0 miles at 9:52 pace at Harvard track

Thur July 6 - Biked 4.85 miles at 9.5 mph

Fri July 7 - Walked 1.0 mile at 24:02 pace

Sat July 8 - Walked 2.83 miles with Concord group at 22:05 pace

Sat July 8 - Biked 4.77 miles at 8.7 mph

Sat July 8 - Ran 3.0 miles at 10:08 pace at Harvard track

Sat July 8 - Biked 4.70 miles at 9.1 mph

Sun July 9 - Ran 5.0 miles on Ayer roads at 10:14 pace

Weekly Summary: 20.0 running, 19.75 biking, 3.83 walking

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

A New Drawing Takes Form

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11485776565 biked 4.98 miles

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11486181031 ran 4 miles 10:23 pace

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11486491300 biked home 5.26 miles

No nature pictures today. Just a list of workouts. It was a muggy 4th of July. I considered a rest day from running, but decided to ride to the track in Harvard to put in a workout. I added a bit to a new drawing started a few days ago.

Monday, July 3, 2023

Pre-4th of July Color on my 4 Mile Run

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11481370682

Today's 4 mile out-and-back run after work was good. Pace was reasonable. I tried to keep it even and steady -- and slightly slower overall because of a planned mileage increase from12 (last week) to 18 this week. It was a hot evening! 82 degrees, but it felt like 85.

At exactly mile 1 (and 3) of this 4 mile run I passed this annual flower bed planted a few weeks ago for a bank. Each year they do a pretty nice job with an "explosion" of color. Very appropriate here, since tomorrow is the 4th of July!

Sunday, July 2, 2023

17 Days

This will be a simple post in list format. It covers the last 17 days. The bold numbers in blue are links for the respective workouts. Any number which is not blue or bold doesn't have a workout link. Most days without entries were work days.

1. Friday, June 16

2. Saturday, June 17 - 2.77 mile walk w/ Concord Runners / Walkers

3a. Sunday, June 18 - Biked 4.91 miles

3b. Sunday, June 18 - Ran 4.01 miles @ 10:13 pace

3c. Sunday, June 18 - Biked 4.7 miles

4. Monday, June 19