Exercise Summary (OK, maybe, considering the length of this post, "summary," is the wrong word.)

I thought sure I posted last Monday, but I can't find it.  Maybe I put it on a different blog.  That would be about my speed some days.  I'll have to check.  Maybe the computer crashed in the middle of it and I never got back to it.  That would be about our computers' speed.

But for any who care, I kind of did week five for the third time last week.  With the nicer spring weather, my exercise partner and I walk outside and it's nicer to walk together than to worry about some arbitrary exercise plan.

On Monday, I did a Week 5, Couch to 5K workout.  I don't remember any details.  Except that I think I was maybe kind of wimpy. Maybe I should rename this blog The Diary of a Wimpy Mom.
 
On Wednesday and Friday, we walked outside for about an hour each day. I think Connie and I walked about four miles on Wednesday.

Connie's neighbor, Jan, joined us on Friday.  The two driveways are only about 200 or 300 yards apart, so they truly are near neighbors for this area.  Of course if you factor in the driveway lengths, it's really not so near after all.  It's probably about 1/2 mile between the two homes.

That day we walked a little less than four miles.  We turned around to head for home sooner that day.  Both walks were with excellent company, as we visited and enjoyed the spring weather.

When we got to a certain spot in the road, Connie said, "This is about where we saw the bear."  And then both ladies told the story about a walk last summer which was suddenly interrupted by aggressive barking from Jan's younger, more rambunctious dog.  If I have the story correct, a cub had crossed the road and the dog taken a few steps toward it.  By this time the ladies had turned and realized what was up.  All they could do was hope the dog wouldn't take off after the cub.  A few minutes later, the mama and another cub came out of the woods and lumbered across the road.  The mama stood and looked at them once in the center of the road, and then a second time after they had all gotten across.  Thankfully, the dog did nothing more than bark and all ended well.

That story led to another, this one starring Jan's husband, Rickie.  Rickie was fishing on the river just a mile or so north of where we were walking.  He looked up and there was a bear floating on its back down the middle of the river.  The bear and Rickie saw each other at the same time.  The bear slooshed toward the far bank and off he went.  The story reminded me of Baloo in Disney's version of The Jungle Book.

On Saturday, Joe got up early and went for his morning run and came in looking all refreshed.  He's going about it a bit differently than am I.  I'm working like nuts trying to take off this extra weight and get in shape.  I'm following a "plan," some days feeling like I'm killing myself doing it.

Joe goes out and runs a couple of power poles.  That's how we measure distance around here.  The power poles are alleged to be 100 yards apart.  So Joe goes out one day and runs a couple power poles.  He goes out the next day and runs a few more.  I'm not jealous or anything, but he really makes it seem way too easy.

Anyway, another friend also mentioned on facebook having gone for a run that morning, so I got to thinking to myself that since I hadn't done my Couch to 5K workout much last week I better do it.  And I'd get a taste of the nice fresh air if I did it outside.

Some highlights

• I made it.  I was able to do the workout.
• I ran on the minimum maintenence road 1/2 mile north of us.  I love running there.  Although we haven't been there much, since Joe sprained his ankle last summer in one of its many gopher holes.
• A grouse crossed the road in front of me.
• I saw several pairs of geese.
• The frogs were singing merrily in the ditch toward the west end.
• A gopher stood up in the lane ahead of me and although I know he digs holes that can sprain ankles, he was still cute silhouetted against the morning sky.

Some lowlights

• The roadway has apparently been sprayed, so that where most years is green and growing things, along the ditches, and between the ruts in the roadway, all is dried and brown for the first 1/2 mile.  After that, it is like somebody flipped the switch and it's all green again.
• A chunk of the already limited woods has been bulldozed, and the stumps and tree remains heaped up into a few unsightly piles.  I understand the farmers need to make a living, too; and I understand these are hard economic times.  So perhaps he needed the additional land.  But it does make for a less pleasant walk.
• I was not nearly as streamlined and svelte a runner as I had dreamed of being after all my hard work on the tread mill all winter.

When I returned home, I engaged in one of my spring pleasures. I like to walk around the property and look at all the bushes and trees and watch the progress from time to time to see which are budding out and how they are doing.  At each visit, I hope to see that new growth which signifies I won't have to replace anything after the hard winter.  This year was long and cold, but with a thick snow cover, so hopefully all will be well.

So far, so good, but I have a couple of apple trees in the back that I think ought to be showing more progress than they do.  I'll have to go check them again today.

Today, I walked outside with Connie again. We again went about four miles.  We didn't see any bears, but we did see a sand hill crane on the outward leg of our trip. And on the way back, we watched a pair of bluebirds frolicking in the trees bordering Andy and Karen's place.   Was that male ever a bright blue!  He almost didn't look real, he was so brightly colored.