Photos from my walk today

Hi Everybody!  Long time no see! Well this quarantine business is something else isn't it? I have been keeping busy by getting out every day for a walk/run or bike ride. My usual fear of the buses is exaggerated enormously by my worry about the virus. It is too small a space and nowhere to distance. So if i do have to go somewhere I walk or ride there. I usually do that in the summer anyway.

I got a new camera so I have been taking some photos so I thought I would start up my running photo blog to share them with you and also some of my thoughts. Today I went for a walk down the rail trail with a friend. It was nice to walk in the shade as it is a pretty hot day today. Feels like summer!

I have started this month long virtual race. It is a 50k (31 miles) and it goes over a month's time. I feel I will be able to make that. Last month my numbers were 81 miles biking, 20 miles running 45 miles walking. Some of the walking and biking were commuting  but I, like everyone else, have not been commuting quite as much. Like everyone I spend a lot of time now at home.

So here are some photos from my walk today. We walked down the rail trail so I saw a lot of flowers! The bottom one I am not sure what kind it is. Seems to be a cousin of the peony maybe?

These little purple 

flowers were so lovely. I wanted to capture how they covered

the side of the trail. 

These white flowers reminded me of honeysuckle

 Here are some more of the little bushy kinds of flowers. The purple ones I thought were like violets and the yellow ones like some kind of daisy. I am sure there are those of you out there right now going NO NO because you know what kind they are.
Any and all information you may have I will love to learn. I have not studied flowers and plants extensively but i know there are many gardeners out there who have a lot of knowledge.

 We came to one of my favorite parts by rogers street as you cross it there is a horse farm. The horses are gorgeous. I had brought an apple and tossed it into the field.


A little further on we came across
a cat who had a sign saying he belonged at the farm.  I thought it was so cute. He posed for us in front of his sign. He was
very friendly.

Here we come to one of my
favorite parts. The church lane bridge.
This has been one of my favorite
bridges for a long time. I love
the rustic color and how
it looks against the green. I once was told by a geocaching app that there was a geocache there but i never found it. Maybe someone took it.

 Last time I went on the trail
with my bike I discovered
they had gone and built a
lovely little paved path I
hadn't been on before! Today
I walked down it and it was so
lovely and green and shady.

Back to the bridge and then
my friend and I walked back
to the parking lot. It ended up being
five miles which was good. I had had
a goal of five miles walking so it
was great to hit my goal. And my friend and I had a lovely talk as we
went.

This is a photo of a robin on some kind of rusted farm equipment off to the side of the trail. I could have taken a better photo but I had just missed a bright red cardinal.

So that was my walk today. I had a really nice time and got in my miles for the race. I have 10 miles now of walking/running this month.

It is good to have a goal. Perhaps soon I can get back to work. Until then I will keep walking/biking and running. As long as I stick to less busy areas and wear my mask if there are more people or I go inside (which i never do) it is good for mental, emotional and physical health to be outside doing something. Some fresh air is one of the best medicines.

I am going to try to keep this blog up now and hope to get some readers built up again. Now that i have a good camera there should be lots of nice pictures to share with all of you!

An actual honest-to-god run report

Back to the Trails

by Heather

Hey Everyone!! Remember when I had this  blog going regularly?? Well I have been taking a very long break from all things running due to health problems but feel I am doing better now and so today I decided to run a trail run instead of walk it.

Being honest here: I have not actually RUN in....oh...lets see.....7 months? maybe 8? Been doing more biking and walking. But I decided I have been feeling better so today I ran the trail run out at Fairfax.

You know what?? It went WELL. Better than even I expected. What an amazing feeling to once again be zooming downhill in the dirt and leaves and trees all around. What a high!

It shows that I have been short changing myself and not grasping how much better I am actually doing.

My Healthy Choices I am doing:

No alcohol
Vegetarian
Substituting water or Le Croix for pop
Eating more fruit instead of cookies
Eating at work more which I work at a very healthy mediterranean restaurant so my meals:
         Quinoa and lentils; roasted veggies; salad; hummus and pita bread; falafel and tsaziki sauce; vegan chili or meatless soups.
Have lost 20 pounds since June


So maybe I was stuck thinking I couldn't do things even though here I had been getting healthier than I thought. Sometimes the mind can trick you.

I got done. And I won an entry into the Tecumseh Trail Marathon--a point to point trail race where we run from Morgan Monroe State Forest to Yellowwood State Forest. 26+ miles of lovely forests, lakes, peace and quiet---and so....I am doing it. I have run this race 4 times and every time it was great. Even the last time I ran it when i got stung twice by hornets at mile 2 and then ran the other 24 miles in the pouring rain. But I still finished happy and when people asked me how it was i would reply AWESOME. I guess I am kinda strange but that is just fine.

So here comes 2020 and it looks like this is my year to keep making healthy choices and start believing in myself more. And in October I will do what I can do out there on the lovely trails. Whether I walk more of it or what I will have a good time. I always do.