Running

Exercise is for people who can't handle drugs and alcohol.
- Lily Tomlin

I haven't written much about running for a while. That's not because I stopped. In fact, it's been going surprisingly well. My IT band problems finally receded, and my hips, knees, and ankles all seem to be cooperating. I have some arthritis in my feet but it's manageable.

I've settled on a routine that my body seems to tolerate and yet is sufficient to improve a little. I run three times a week, usually Tuesday, Thursday, and a longer run on Sunday. In theory I alternate easy weeks (e.g. 5k, 5k, 10k) and hard weeks (e.g. 10k, 10k, 20k) but I'll break my rules and do multiple long weeks in a row as long as my body seems ok with it. (Or conversely, stick to easy weeks if I've got any issues.) I also try to keep my long run not much more than I've run during the week, e.g. avoiding 5k, 5k, 20k as that seems to be harder on me. For longer runs (e.g. 10k or more) I usually run-walk (e.g. 7 min run, 1 min walk). I resisted doing that for a long time because it seemed "wimpy". But I think it has helped me stay injury free, and surprisingly doesn't make much difference to my overall speed. (you "lose" about half a minute out of 8 = 1/16 which is about 6%, but gain that back by going faster between the "rests".) (And yes, I'm a geek that likes numbers.)

My watch (Garmin Fenix 5S+) was pretty excited when I finished my long run today. (Insofar as a watch can get "excited"). It announced that I had made 6 new "achievements" - personal bests (since I've had this watch) for 1 km, 1 mile, 5 km, 10 km, 20 km, and half marathon (21 km). I won't inflict my times on you, they're only really relevant to me. They're no doubt faster than some people and slower than others. I can't help comparing them, not very favorably, to my younger self. (And yes, I realize that's not realistic.)

I've run 21 km a few times lately, but I noticed my watch said I hadn't run a half marathon. That seemed a bit odd, but then I realized that a marathon is 42.2 km, so I was 100m short on my runs. Damn literal minded gadgets! Today I made sure to run the extra 100 yards.

My estimated VO2 max also went up a point. It's probably not a very accurate estimate, but it gives me some idea of my relative overall fitness. It was depressing to see it gradually drop over the winter, but not surprising. I've got it back to within one point of my high from last summer. Supposedly that puts me in the top 1% of my age group, which is good for my ego. (Not that my ego needs to be any bigger.) It also says that makes my fitness that of an "excellent 20 year old". That probably says more about the average 20 year old than it does about me. I assure you I'm not as fit as I was when I was 20.

The watch also has a "race predictor" which I find quite ridiculous. For example, it predicts I could run a 10k in 39 minutes and a marathon in 3 hrs, neither of which is even remotely within my current capabilities. I'm not sure how it comes up with those numbers. I don't think it "realizes" I'm already running pretty much as fast as I would in a "race".

In any case, numbers and fancy watches aside, I will continue to enjoy my running as long as my body lets me.

"Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it."
- W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

Macro

For a change I decided to take my "big" camera (Nikon 7200) with the macro lens with me to work. I must confess, I'm addicted to zoom lenses, and it actually made me nervous to only have my fixed focal length macro lens with me. But it was fun to be able to get some better closeups. And it's a fine general purpose lens as well. Luckily I didn't see any birds that would have required a telephoto.

There appear to be at least two different kinds of water striders on the pond. They move around on four legs, and the other two front legs are used to catch their prey, somewhat similar to praying mantis. (They're insects and therefore six legged.)





The damselflies are numerous and busy mating.



And judging by the exuva (shed skin) there are quite a few dragonflies emerging from the pond. (Their nymphs are aquatic and predators like the adults.)



I only found one fishing spider and it was too far away (and half in the shade) to get a good shot. (This is cropped substantially.) It looks like another pregnant one.



Of course, there are lots of other spiders around as well. I keep looking in the flowers for crab spiders, but I haven't spotted many this summer.



I always enjoy the water lilies





I love the details of their flowers





The hibiscus are another favorite. I have lots of favorites :-) (This is two handheld shots focus stacked, as you can tell from the ghosting in some parts.)



They have interesting details too



Another colorful flower



Some of the ornamental grass was flowering. I had a hard time catching it when it wasn't blowing in the wind!



I even managed a few reflection shots





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Big Horn Mountains

I recently made a solo road trip back to Five Springs, Wyoming to do some paragliding. I'm packing the whole trip into one post, so it's quite long.

It was quite a scenic drive - the hillsides were covered with yellow flowers. (yellow sweet-clover?)



I'd been checking the weather forecast, since I didn't want to make the long drive for nothing. It wasn't perfect, but it looked fairly good. Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite bad. There were thunderstorms every day, and even a tornado watch at one point. Needless to say, it wasn't good flying weather. I managed a couple of short flights when the weather cleared temporarily. There were thermals (unstable weather is actually good for that) but there were always clouds and rain nearby. Hard to have an hour long flight when it's going to be raining in half an hour!

Right after one quick flight these mammatus clouds rolled in.



I did manage to fit in a few hikes in between the rain, or in this case in between the clouds.





And of course, I took photographs :-) I actually took quite a few with my phone for a change since I didn't take my camera when I was hiking in hope of flying.











After a few days of camping, I spent a night at the Wyoming High Country Lodge. (high = over 9000 feet) to get a shower and a change from camping food. Driving there, I came across this moose and calf.



There were still lots of wildflowers around up high.



As soon as I pulled into the parking lot I saw these birds on the ground and grabbed my camera.



Later I found there were lots of them around the bird feeder.



It rained most of the time I was there, which was good because I could relax inside out of the rain, but bad because I couldn't explore the area. The moose make themselves at home around the lodge. One young one was sleeping beside the hot tub, and others were wandering between the buildings.



On the way back I spent a night at the Grasslands National Park campground and had fun taking photos of the wildlife.

Usually the hawks take off as soon as you stop the car, but this one stuck around for long enough to get a few photos.





The prairie dogs are always fun to watch. They look a lot like Richardson's Ground Squirrels (aka gophers) except bigger and fatter.



This next prairie dog was obviously nursing.



She probably had offspring like this bunch.



This bison was laying down (sleeping?) quite close to the road when I showed up. He proceeded to roll in the dust before wandering off. (I stayed in the car and photographed out the window.)



There were lots of different birds around. I tried to stop and photograph various ones, but this (Mourning Dove?) was the only one that didn't immediately fly away.



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Pregnant Fishing Spider

A pregnant fishing spider. (shape comparison) Soon she'll lay her eggs and wrap them in webbing to make a sac she'll carry around until they are ready to hatch. The egg sac starts out white, but it soon turns a dirty brown.



Not as sharp as I'd like, but it was about 4 feet out in the pond so I had to use the full (250mm equivalent) zoom on my little ZS100, and hold it with my arm stretched out to get a bit closer. All of which makes it tough to hold steady. And then this is about a 50% crop. It was the best of about 30 shots I took of her. You also have to be careful to move slowly, any sudden movement and they dive underwater.

I've been seeing them more out in the open this summer. That might be because there are more floating plants. Or it might be that I'm getting more practiced at spotting them. And usually I see them sunning, but this one was half hidden under the plants, in the shade. (It's usually the females that you see because they're much larger than the males.)

Early morning before work is my favorite time around the pond. It seems like the only time of day that it isn't full of people. Not that I can blame them - it's a lovely spot and more and more people seem to be discovering it. But it's better to observe and photograph when it's quiet.

Woodpeckers

Walking to work, I spotted a small (presumably Downy) woodpecker on a tree. Then I realized there were two of them.



I backed away and got out my camera, but of course, by the time I was ready they had moved up the tree out of sight. They proceeded to hop around and fly from tree to tree. At some point a third one joined them. Unfortunately, they didn't cooperate with photographs so none of my shots came out very well.

Usually I see these guys on their own. This was the first time I'd seen three together. I wonder if they were recently fledged juveniles?



They weren't very easy to see unless you were following them, so the people passing by were all curious what I was trying to photograph.

Fishing Spider Nursery

Since I saw the fishing spider with its egg sac, I've been looking for nursery webs (that they create to protect their babies). Today I found this one:



At the lower right is the remains of the egg sac.

Usually I've found them in more sheltered protected spots, but this one was quite out in the open.

It might have been from this spider with its egg sac that I photographed nearby about a week before.



I wonder how many of those tiny spiders will survive to grow as big as their momma.

Local Nature

A bee on a flower, that's normal. But not moving, that's unusual. Looking closer, it appeared to be dead. I had my suspicions, but it wasn't till I zoomed in on the photographs that I confirmed a crab spider had ambushed the bee. If you look close you can see its pale legs and body.



Of course, I also keep an eye out for the fishing spiders. They are easiest to spot when they are out sunning on a warm day.



And it's the time for them to be raising a new generation. This one was carrying its egg sac around.



The dragonflies and damselflies are also out.





I noticed a white patch on some grass and when I looked closer it was a pair of moths, perhaps mating? Nice yellow edges.



This White Admiral butterfly was in a perfect position to be photographed, but by the time I got my camera out it had flown up into a tree and I didn't get a very good shot.



And the flowers are out in full force as well. The native crocuses are long past, but this cultivated one was still blooming.



There are pond irises as well as regular ones.





The bees seem to like the cornflowers.



And the water lilies are starting to bloom.



Summer is a good time for nature photography!

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