No, I haven’t gone dark here and yes, I am still running and trying to find some modicum of fitness since my last post a few days ago. I got involved with a side project and focused on getting through that versus writing here as well. Nothing serious, but something I consider fun.

Though as I type this up heah in Maine we are in the throes of some nasty heat (for us at least) and the temp outside this morning caused my walk to make me look like a melted puddle by the time I got back with that 90’s plus temp and high humidity. I ain’t used to that crap and don’t want to be used to it. I am not in my 20’s and living in Washington, DC anymore running around the monuments at lunch in the summer sun. Enough whining.

Sunday — 2026-06-28 – Blake Tar O/B – 3.3/1:06:18 – It was warmish, so I just took my time and enjoyed walking down-back. Nothing special, but a nice rest day.

Monday — 2026-06-29 – 2 Laps Up top and then Run to Blake and stop at Lower Gate. 3.0/29:47. It was my first run outside in the Craft Pacers and they did fine, but I have a feeling they are not the shoe that the Mount to Coast R1’s are. My right fore foot felt a little cramped and running any further would have been uncomfortable. So they might be 3.0 mile shoes for me unless I can find a way to change the fit on that always problematic right foot and its Tailor’s Bunionette. Otherwise I was happy with the sub-10:00 minute pace. It surprised me that I was running that fast on a fairly hilly route. Though I stopped at the lower gate to avoid running up Stevens Hill.

Tuesday — 2026-06-30 – Benton Rail Trail Run – 3.0/29:52 – The heat was beginning to build and my truck’s thermometer had already reached 77* at the trail head. Luckily, and why I chose this route it was mostly shaded and a bit nicer for running there. However, the one section about a quarter mile long where the sun beat down, it got toasty quickly. the right foot might be a bit of an issue with the elastics holding the tongue in place. It did seem to bother that damned Tailor’s Bunionette that has given me issues for a couple of decades, but I ain’t gonna do the surgery to fix it that the Ortho offered back in 2013. I’ll try some different lacing and if necessary cut the elastic out of the right shoe, which has turned other shoes to usable for me in the past. Otherwise I just kept a steady pace and didn’t look at the watch until I finished, so the time was good for the conditions.

Wednesday — 2026-07-01 – Champions Treadmill – 3.0/30:57 – I did a pretty good progression run. I started at an easy pace and increased it by 0.10 mph every 5:00 minutes through 25:00 and then did the same increase every minute to the end. Running in the R1’s felt so comfortable after the Pacers. It does make me wonder if I made a mistake getting the Pacers, but I will keep plugging away with them, because otherwise they are a really nice running shoe. As far as the progression run, I didn’t have it mentally for the treadmill after being outside for a couple of days. It is such a different way of running, but with temps in the high 80’s and heat index in the 90’s I wasn’t gonna run outside. I love the treadmill, because it does give me more control over my paces and the cushioning helps me to run with less pounding. But it still isn’t as nice as running outside, although as I get closer to another birthday running outside in extremes of hot or cold just don’t work for me anymore.

Thursday — 2026-07-02 – Tiffany Bump O/B – 2.0/42:53 – It was already too hot to run at 83* and climbing fast. I thought about going to the gym, but knew if I did that I would probably do a run on the treadmill and that would be 4 days in a row. Something I didn’t want to do. I am really trying to be smart about my running now and doing more than 3 days in a row until I get in better shape is something I am purposely avoiding. So I walked down-back on the dirt road and dealt with the horseflies and humidity. It was shaded most of the way, so it wasn’t crazy bad and I didn’t bake like I would have if I had stayed on the tar and out in the sun. But I still managed to get home in one piece despite dripping sweat pretty good.

Overall, I’m very pleased with how my running is progressing, though I am disappointed with the fit of the Craft Pacers. It is an old problem that I deal with, most running shoes. Though I am not loosing much weight, I feel good and the left knee isn’t very grumpy, so I am making good progress. Also, just using the Timex Triathlon watch has been a good thing. For me at least less is more when it comes to data points and tracking my health and running stats. I just am more relaxed and not always looking at a damned watch to see how many steps I have supposedly taken or what my heart rate is or was during a run. Though I have to admit that I miss knowing what my resting heart rate is, without having to take my pulse first thing in the morning. That is one stat that I have always considered important.

There, I have gotten caught back up with what I am doing. I wanted to do it this way because in the past I would let a gap like this derail my blogging and the blog would go dark again for however long it took for me to find some motivation to bring it back to the light of day.