God (and women) laugh when men make plans

Rain

Radar image of what is heading our way

The weather-guessers are promising us 2.8" of rain today

Yesterday morning, Mrs ERJ and I talked about what we should do before the rain hit. Friday was a beautiful, sunny day and, in the morning, the possibilities were endless.

• Mow
• Pick peppers
• Dig potatoes
• Run 3.2 miles
• Mop floors (they dry faster when it is sunny)
• Landscaping
• Construction
• Cleaning up the front porch 

We agreed that the first thing I should do is to go for the run. Our thinking is just like what they tell us on the plane "In the event of loss-of-pressure, take care of yourself first. Put on YOUR oxygen mask before helping your child with his".

I went on the run. I took a nap. I helped Mrs ERJ with the ONE thing on the front porch that required two people to move. I made a commando shopping strike to the grocery store.

And I was pretty much worthless for the rest of the day.

Running notes

Acorns from Quercus alba in the road

I only timed the first 1/2 mile. Obsessing about the times was sucking the joy out of running.

My legs were sore and heavy because I hadn't fully recovered from the walk-about. Of particular note were the muscles directly in front of my pant's front pockets. Those muscles move my knees forward and up. 

Another notable ache was my left shin. The knobs of my healed broken tibia were irritating the fascia. Fascia are the membranes that encase muscles so they can slide relative to other body parts.

This too will pass.

A dead pine (Pinus strobus) along my run

The woodpeckers have been hammering this tree. Borers? Bark beetles?

I still have no word that the team of volunteers for the run in early October is a go.

My gut-feel is that since my goal is to show-up and to finish, that my training should focus on knocking out an easy 3.2 miles every-other-day until three days before the "race". Then basically do nothing but a little bit of walking in the days immediately before the race.

I now have enough miles under my belt that running has become automatic. I am comfortable enough that I can enjoy the scenery or think while running. That is a good place to be.

While I expect my 5k time to be in the neighborhood of 40 minutes, I don't have a lot of ego invested in hitting any particular number. If one of my team-mates taps-out and drops down to a walk, I am fine with walking with them. 

Boiled dinner

Mrs ERJ has been hankering for a boiled dinner: Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, rutabagas...maybe a bit of smoked sausage.

Mrs ERJ is easy to keep happy!