August 23-29, 2009
A few years ago, the yard clean-up guy told me we had a turtle living in our yard. I looked around the deck where he saw him, but couldn’t find the turtle. I’m always on the look-out when doing yard work, but he must have a pretty good hiding spot.
I guess he was finally ready to introduce himself. A couple days ago, look who we saw hanging out in the middle of our back yard!
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August 16-22, 2009
Oh, look. I haven’t blogged since my last ‘Weekly Winners‘ post. I blame the combination of vacation recovery and triathlon cramming.
Yes, cramming.
Sure I’ve been training all summer, but it just seems I haven’t gotten as many swims in lately as I’d like due to a closed pool (weather-related or otherwise). And my bike rides haven’t been long enough and/or hilly enough.
Thunderstorms held off mid-week so I could squeeze in a really good swim on Thursday, and a somewhat short but tough bike ride on Wednesday followed by a one-mile run. I did not do enough bike-run brick workouts this summer!
Anyway, the triathlon was this morning and I expect I’ll be writing about it later this week. For a quick recap, it was a beautiful day, I had a great time, and finished nearly 11 minutes faster than last year. (I bought a new bike that accounts for most of the difference.)
More later. I should really be napping right now. My alarm rang this morning at 3:45 a.m.!
So … photos. Well, I also wasn’t taking too many of those this week. And it was raining when we racked our bikes yesterday so I didn’t even get any fun shots there. Oh well. This is all I’ve got!
A big storm came through one night, and the windows on our sliding door were fogged up from the rain and humidity. The flood lights of the apartments behind our house made some cool shadows.
Jeter cat did not pose long for me so I had to move quick. Not one of my greatest portraits, but I wanted to add a little variety to my photos for the week!
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August 9-15, 2009
We spent all of last week in the Outer Banks. Many of my photos look a lot like last week’s post, since we arrived on Saturday. The sunsets were so beautiful, and different every day. I couldn’t help myself!
We had a great week at the beach. Reading, relaxing and dining on great food. The house was perfect; gotta love the location!
It’s always sad when our week comes to an end … back to work tomorrow!
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Wednesday was not a good-weather day here at the beach. When I woke up to gray skies, I stayed in bed a little longer. And when I finally did arise, it hadn’t improved.
Clouds, light rain, and grumbles of thunder continued throughout the day. We would occasionally see flashes of lightning across the sound. I settled onto the couch with a book, and waited for the storm to pass. I wanted a short run that day, and don’t mind the rain. It’s the thunder storms that concern me!
Well, the storm seemed to be stalled. The sky would get brighter and I’d get hopeful, and then a crack of thunder would shake the house. Back to the book.
I did start, and finish, an entire book that day. And I even did get my run in by the late afternoon! Finally, the thunder stopped.
I wasn’t planning on going too far, about three miles, so I chose the WRIGHTSOCK Cushioned DLX.
They’re much thicker than what I usually wear this time of year, so I was concerned about them being too warm. Like all the others, they felt good when I put them on. Less bulky than I expected. I think I’m going to like these in the fall and winter.
With the so-called storm, the weather cooled to 75 degrees that day, but with 89% humidity, it still felt pretty warm out there. And the socks were kind of hot as expected. I can’t really evaluate them otherwise since my feet were still recovering from Monday’s 10-miler. No new problems, just re-irritating the old ones!
Today was a bit cloudy, but nothing that would stop us from sitting outside on the deck. (We just didn’t want to drag all our stuff out to the beach, just in case). A little after lunchtime, it started to sprinkle a little bit, and then a light rain started. No thunder — perfect! I got changed for another short run.
This time, I picked the SLR.
It was 80 degrees and 74% humidity according to weather.com, but since they didn’t realize it was raining I’m guessing it was a bit more humid. Yuck!
The rain would have been refreshing, had it lasted. It stopped completely within my first half mile, and only sprinkled lightly for the rest of my four-mile run. It was a tough one today. I was really hot. My feet were really hot, too.
I’m pretty sure they would be at least a little hot in any socks, but it is possible that the cushioning may have made them a little warmer than a thinner sock. Otherwise, they were comfortable, and my problem areas felt fine. Much better than Wednesday, actually.
I can say with certainty this is the most I’ve ever run while on vacation. I biked 12 miles yesterday, too. And kayaked a mile. (Uh, yeah, I wore my Garmin kayaking.)
It’s been a great trip. I’m sad to head home tomorrow!
This morning I actually set an alarm — while on vacation — to get up and run. It was going to be a hot one, and I really wanted to get a 10-miler in.
I hit the road a little after 7 a.m., and chose the WRIGHTSOCK SLT since they are the lightest and most similar to the socks I usually use. It was 80 degrees / 84% humidity when I started my run.
Much like the first pair I tested, the fit was perfect and the fabric felt better than my usual cheap socks. During the first few miles of my run, I kept forgetting to pay attention to my socks so I could review them, so I guess that’s a good thing.
The happy feelings didn’t last, unfortunately. My already-calloused right toe rubbed a couple of small blisters by the end, and I was feeling a hot spot on my left heel.
I can’t really blame the socks, though. I was asking a bit much of them.
I’m positive that the heel hot-spot is related to my orthotics. I’ve temporarily switched back to my older pair, since I’m having new ones made based on the others. I used to get blisters on that heel, and never linked it to my old inserts. Until now. I actually noticed the difference in the heel as soon as I laced up. Despite the irritation, I didn’t get a blister there.
The callouses were already pretty bad, so it’s not surprising that they rubbed after 10 miles. (Note to self: buy a Ped Egg.) Also, I was using old inserts. Hopefully my new ones arrive before the sock challenge is over so I can compare.
These new socks were still pretty good, though. Even with the blisters, my toe is less-sore than it was the last time I used my cheap socks. So that’s something.
I guess I should have tested one of the double-layer anti-blister socks today, but they’re a bit thick and I was worried about the heat. I’ll save those for the shorter runs!