The Walking Thread

[citruscurtis]

Oh my...
.... should have done my homework... Myrtle the turtle is the fictional racer in the Aseop fable and has a statue in Joshua Tree... but hey....they both raced in sand

 

[WLWildlife]

Happy Monday!!!

My tummy is still recovering and really did not want to do anything today. I told it "too bad!" No regrets with that either. I can usually tell when those early morning body protests are cause to stay in. Today wasn't one of them.

The word for today's walk: FARTLEK! It's a fun little word and it always gets giggles. It's a Swedish word meaning "Speed Play." A lot of runners use fartleks to improve their speed so I'm starting to incorporate it into my walks. Unlike a tempo day, where you're pushing yourself hard the entire time, fartleks are essentially interval work. So, once I felt sufficiently warmed up this morning, I started doing some speed play. Unlike true measured intervals, I decided when I felt like pushing faster vs. staying at an easier yet still speedy pace. It had an interesting result. The two miles before I started them, I was averaging low 14s. When I shifted into fartleks, my pace was as fast as mid 12s at times. When shifted to a "casual" pace in these speed intervals, my casual pace had shifted faster and I was mid to upper 13s. Just like tempo sessions, you don't do this every day, but it's interesting to see the preliminary effects. If all goes well, I should have some new shoes arriving this coming weekend to help boost my speed. I tested them at a run shop before dinner on Saturday. Unfortunately, they didn't have the colorway I wanted, but I found them online. Just a crazy feeling with all of this. On one hand, I don't want to go too crazy with this and lose sight of walking for therapeutic purposes. I can easily get carried away with this kind of stuff and reminded myself this morning that I need to keep it about being the best me vs. how stressed I got in 2019 when trying to hit speed goals for race proof of time. On the other, I've never been fast at anything and it's kind of funny to be challenging myself for speed at this point in life. I even ordered some shorts with a turtle print to match this "speediest turtle" mindset that's got me going of late.

I also got a bit of sunrise today...
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That is a gorgeous sunrise!!!!
I'd say as long as you are listening to your body then whatever you do will be okay- it should still be therapeutic, but if you are pushing and hurting every day and only concerning your self with speed and time, then there is no therapeutic benefit.

 

[WLWildlife]

I managed another walk today! The temps made it into the 60s, but I was dodging rain, which they are calling for every day the rest of the week. I had to do laps and got a little wet. Not sure how much ground I covered in 40 minutes. The tree frogs were singing - which I love hearing- and the wild flowers are starting to open.

 

[citruscurtis]

I managed another walk today! The temps made it into the 60s, but I was dodging rain, which they are calling for every day the rest of the week. I had to do laps and got a little wet. Not sure how much ground I covered in 40 minutes. The tree frogs were singing - which I love hearing- and the wild flowers are starting to open.

Wow are these wild or domestic pioneer planted...in Oregon when we saw daffodils in the middle of nowhere that was the indication of old homestead

 

[citruscurtis]

CBS News just did a feature NYC Marathon...240,000 lottery entry.. only 1% are drawn... I know this is walking... but there could be company down the road

 

[WLWildlife]

Wow are these wild or domestic pioneer planted...in Oregon when we saw daffodils in the middle of nowhere that was the indication of old homestead

I say wild, but anything is possible. They grow along the edge of the road on the bank that slopes into a hay field. If I remember I will try to get a larger picture of the area. The road is cut through a small hill, so the other side of the road is higher. there is a small hay field and a flood plain at the bottom of the bank.

 

[WLWildlife]

CBS News just did a feature NYC Marathon...240,000 lottery entry.. only 1% are drawn... I know this is walking... but there could be company down the road

1% is still WAY too many people.

 

[cayennews]

Happy Monday!!!

My tummy is still recovering and really did not want to do anything today. I told it "too bad!" No regrets with that either. I can usually tell when those early morning body protests are cause to stay in. Today wasn't one of them.

The word for today's walk: FARTLEK! It's a fun little word and it always gets giggles. It's a Swedish word meaning "Speed Play." A lot of runners use fartleks to improve their speed so I'm starting to incorporate it into my walks. Unlike a tempo day, where you're pushing yourself hard the entire time, fartleks are essentially interval work. So, once I felt sufficiently warmed up this morning, I started doing some speed play. Unlike true measured intervals, I decided when I felt like pushing faster vs. staying at an easier yet still speedy pace. It had an interesting result. The two miles before I started them, I was averaging low 14s. When I shifted into fartleks, my pace was as fast as mid 12s at times. When shifted to a "casual" pace in these speed intervals, my casual pace had shifted faster and I was mid to upper 13s. Just like tempo sessions, you don't do this every day, but it's interesting to see the preliminary effects. If all goes well, I should have some new shoes arriving this coming weekend to help boost my speed. I tested them at a run shop before dinner on Saturday. Unfortunately, they didn't have the colorway I wanted, but I found them online. Just a crazy feeling with all of this. On one hand, I don't want to go too crazy with this and lose sight of walking for therapeutic purposes. I can easily get carried away with this kind of stuff and reminded myself this morning that I need to keep it about being the best me vs. how stressed I got in 2019 when trying to hit speed goals for race proof of time. On the other, I've never been fast at anything and it's kind of funny to be challenging myself for speed at this point in life. I even ordered some shorts with a turtle print to match this "speediest turtle" mindset that's got me going of late.

I also got a bit of sunrise today...
View attachment 1060448View attachment 1060449View attachment 1060450View attachment 1060451View attachment 1060452View attachment 1060453View attachment 1060454

What beautiful photos.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I managed another walk today! The temps made it into the 60s, but I was dodging rain, which they are calling for every day the rest of the week. I had to do laps and got a little wet. Not sure how much ground I covered in 40 minutes. The tree frogs were singing - which I love hearing- and the wild flowers are starting to open.

I love hearing the frogs after rain. The flowers are also beautiful. I too was thinking daffodils but they're gorgeous, whatever they are!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

CBS News just did a feature NYC Marathon...240,000 lottery entry.. only 1% are drawn... I know this is walking... but there could be company down the road

Yes, I am in several run groups and there were a lot of disappointed people. Of course, many will still get to participate. If they don't make the lottery, they often run for a charity...which is a great option. I know people that have walked NY as well as some of the other majors. The NYC Marathon has a 10 hour course limit, so it is completely doable at a decent walking pace. London is also pretty generous with an 8 hour limit. I will admit that NYC and London are on my list of goals if I can get 26.2 under my belt and my body and mind are good with the time and physical nature of the distance. Races are also very different experiences for slower participants. Still, if you can make it in the specified time limits, you will have at least some support. Certainly not the fanfare and such that faster people experience, but it's really about doing it...if it's something that interests you.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Happy Tuesday!!!

The pollen is officially getting to me. I got it done today but I feel like I've been sitting in a smoke filled bar, my eyes are itchy and there's that lovely sinus headache setting in. I hope we get the rain they're forecasting so it washes some of this away. I put in 6.81 miles this morning...which was unexpected. I think the mapping site I use is undercutting the distance on certain routes/areas. I was expecting this to come in around 6.65 and I did not deviate. I wasn't even looking at my watch but I would have taken the cul de sac to round things out if I knew I was this close to 7.

I am excited that my new shoes arrive today. I originally put in an order through Amazon that was having the item fulfilled by a run shop in Maryland. I started to get worried when there was no movement on the order by midday yesterday. I also looked at the shop's reviews and while they were 100% positive, it was a fake positive. Half of the reviews were negative but had strikethroughs and a note saying it was Amazon's fault. So, I canceled that (thankfully, never charged) and found one of the last pairs out there in my size through a reputable TX run shop. They are out for delivery right now.

Today's pics should be pretty familiar spots even though the colors and clouds vary each day. Too bad I wasn't fast enough to snap pics of any wildlife. I had multiple possums in the mix, including one that startled the heck out of me.