Weekly Wrap....May 28 ..The Critters

I'm very please with how this past week went. I actually made a plan and I stuck to it.

Every day this week I ran. I got in 3 miles but only running hard the first mile to see what I could do since I am doing the Monumental Mile next month. I figure I should try to focus on speed. I am pleased that my pace has been in the 8's. I would be thrilled if I could pull that off on race day but if history is any indication, it will be hot, humid, and miserable and I'm sure I'll be much slower.  But then again, maybe the energy of race day will pull me through and I may be surprised at my time.

Twice this week I 've seen this guy down at the park with a tropical bird that looks like this. I wish I could have grabbed a quick picture but the first time I saw him he was coming off the trail as I was just getting out of my car. The second time he was just getting into his car as I was pulling in. Both times I saw him, the bird was sitting on his shoulder (even while he was driving).

Speaking of animals, I also saw a lady that had a chipmunk in a cage. As I was getting out of my car, I watched her let it go into the woods. I just thought this was odd, as we see chipmunks all the time, Why would someone bring it to the park to release it? Okay, my Nancy Drew instincts kicked in and I just had to ask what she was doing.  She said she has Chipmunks in her flower beds so she bought this trap. Every day she catches one in the trap and brings it to the park to release it.  Okay,  I guess the critters are damaging her flowers. That just seemed odd to me. Will she be doing this all summer?  When people have gardens and rabbits get in them, they don't try to catch all the rabbits! They make adjustments to their garden, right? I saw her again doing the same thing a few days later.

Okay, I guess these critters have nothing to do with running, except the fact that there is never a dull moment in my park and if you've been a loyal reader, you know that to be true!

In other news, I haven't wore my fitness tracker all week(on purpose)! I feel like now that I am running again, I KNOW I am being active and productive.  I don't have to count steps or feel bad about not reaching my goal.  I may start wearing it again when I take a running break just to have something to accomplish, but during the summer I don't think I'll need it! -M




We are linking up with Holly and Tricia (and the guest hostess) for their weekly Wrap!

28 comments:

  1. Wow sounds like you are getting pretty speedy that's fantastic! No need to feel guilty about steps or workouts! Have a great week

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  2. Thanks Deborah! I'm pretty pleased cus that is a good pace for ME!

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  3. That's awesome that you were able to run every day this week and clock in with a speedy first mile! I hope that the weather cooperates for that race next month.

    I love seeing different animals when I'm out and about on my runs. Lately I've seen a bunch of chipmunks!

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    1. I figured it was a good goal to set since it was such a short distance.

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  4. Congrats on a great week! There's a series of relays in Des Moines (Drake Relays...kind of like a mini version of the Olympics), and they have a 1-mile event every year during the week leading up to the big weekend. The 1-mile event is HUGE, and it attracts all kinds of very competitive runners (who are MUCH faster than me on a good day LOL). I've often wondered how one trains for a 1-miler, though, because it's such a short distance. I"ll be curious to follow your progress! Good luck!

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  5. I think that woman's chipmunk mission is pretty hopeless - there's always more where one came from! Are birds like that native to your area or do you think he's an escaped pet?

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  6. Wow! Those are some crazy critter stories!! I wonder if that lady will continue to do that all summer long.

    Good luck with your upcoming mile race. :)

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    1. Well, she invested in her own critter trap and I've seen her twice this week so I'm thinking she has made critter catching her mission this summer. Seems silly huh?

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  7. That seems like an excessive amount of effort, to trap chipmunks and release them in the park. Seriously.

    You know what is weird? We don't have chipmunks here in my 'hood. Tons of squirrels, tho. And rabbits.

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    1. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a chipmunk in my yard or my neighborhood either. I rarely see a squirrel but I see rabbits all the time.

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  8. I find it much easier to work on speed when the distance is shorter - that's a good way to do it. Muscle memory :) Maybe the race won't be as hot and humid this time around!

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    1. I hope I'm doing it right and my body remembers that I CAN do this on race day. I am hoping for clouds and cool weather for the race but lots of sun during the parade later.

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  9. I was never good at speed workouts preferring the LSD. If my pace was in the 8s, I'd be thrilled too! Great job!

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    1. I was able to stick that pace last year but was totally surprised to see it on my watch this year since I've done squat in terms of strength training.

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  10. Nice job getting in your runs and sticking to your plan! You do always have a story from your runs in the park:)

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    1. Haha you are right, Never a dull moment in the park!

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  11. To catch and release one chipmunk per day seems to me an exercise in futility, but whatever. Nice job on the speedwork.

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  12. My neighbor used to trap squirrels and releases them somewhere else. I think every one of them found their way home and brought a friend with him. He just kept trapping them and taking them off... After my second Fitbit died, I quit tracking my steps. It was fun and I missed it at first. Now, I don't care. Like you, I know I'm active and don't need another goal to reach. Thanks for linking, Meranda!

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  13. Methinks that chipmunk lady has a bit too much time on her hands - but hey, at least she's trapping and releasing them instead of a more permanent solution.

    Nice going with your one mile running pace! Sounds like a fun race to train for; I bet you'll surprise yourself come race day.

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  14. Even though my Garmin is also a fitness tracker, I don't worry about steps too much. Some days it's low, some days (running) it's high, on the balance I think it's not bad. I like that it reminds me to get moving after being sedentary for too long though!

    OK, Chipmunk lady is definitely odd. But she's not poisoning them, so that's good.

    Good luck in your mile race! My July 4th race tends to be hot & humid (and starts too late), so it's rarely a good pace but it's a ton of fun!

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  15. Funny story about the chipmunk - my mom does the same with squirrels! They eat the fruit off her trees and she's tried covering the fruit, putting out noise makers, etc and nothing has worked! Glad you are getting faster! I know the monumental mile is going to be great!

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  16. Great pace! You're doing well. Make sure you have a good warm up routine for the race. You always need to warm up more for a shorter race as it's over before it's begun!

    I love all the strange things that you see in your park! I think the parrot man must be in the top 10.

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  17. LOL @ the lady catch and releasing chipmunks! At least she is not hurting them! Yes I put chicken wire up around my garden to keep the bunnies out. :)

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  18. Yay, that's awesome that you got in a run every day this week! And how funny about the woman with the chipmunk. That sounds like she's fighting a losing battle, there will always be more chipmunks!

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  19. My grandfather used to have a big red headed parrot that would talk and all...it was pretty cool. Good luck with that one miler ....sounds like you are on track for a pretty speedy pace! I did a 2 mile race once and it was kind of fun to see how fast I could push myself since it was a shorter than normal distance. It was an evening race in July, so pretty hot and humid ...but I still finished with a faster avg pace than my usual 5k pace. You'll do great despite the temps!

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  20. My parents have ground squirrels in the mountains (chipmunk cousins) but the foxes keep the population under control.

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