Hot & Sweaty

Today was the hottest day of the year so far. I worked out twice: AM and PM.

For the AM I did my strength workout. I didn't ride my bike, but got a ride with a friend who I talked into working out with me. Hey, once you hit 40 everything starts to go south if you're not proactive about it. I can't stress that more. She did a wimpy "beginner" workout, while I was subjected to a particularly sadistic brand of Trainer Torture:

Deadlifts (bar only) 20 x 4
Stairs (2 at a time on the up) x 5 Super Set (SS) Pushups x 15 This one left me in a withering heap on the floor in something like "child's pose"
Recumbent bike RPM >100 for 2:00 SS Rebounder x 15 & Victories x 10 x 4 sets
Seated row (27.5 lb) x 20 SS Forward walking lunge the Reverse walking lunge x 4 I did these outside the gym on the driveway and fantasized about how I'd look on a Vespa.

I put off my run until the PM thinking it wouldn't be so hot. It was 87 degrees at 5:00 when I headed off to the park. I drove to the trail, because I am a wimp. When I got there, another runner was getting ready to start and I ran on ahead, faster than usual, because I wanted to look, well, fast. In my haste, and while listening to The New Radicals "You Get What You Give" I lost concentration (hey, it's a REALLY good song) and ran past the trailhead. That meant I ended up coming back down to where my car was parked and taking the next trail a different direction. But this turned out to be fortuitous because I learned that if you run the opposite direction on a wooded trail, even a familiar one, it looks like an entirely NEW trail! How cool is that!?

My euphoria was shortlived, however, as the heat and this morning's workout soon caught up with me and I ended up dragging myself over the next trail.

I think the run was 4 1/2 miles. It took about an hour. Garmin died after 2 miles, but, to answer this question: Yes, it does count as a workout if you don't use your watch. I think my quads and glutes would agree.

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On a totally unrelated subject, like many V-Team bloggers and trail runners, I love living and running with wildlife. I don't like them in my vegetable garden and I can do a spot-on impersonation of Mr. MacGreggor chasing a critter with a garden shovel, but that's another story. Anyway, last week, at the bank, I saw this unbelievably beautiful moth sitting on the window ledge. It's only the second time in my life I've seen this creature, and the first time I saw one, it was dead on the sidewalk. So I was delighted to be able to take a photograph this time and I'll post it here. I took it with the camera on my TREO so it's not the best, but it's the best I could do.

If you are interested, you can learn more about the Cecropia Moth, which is the largest moth in North America, by clicking here.