Go, you chicken fat, go away!

I almost had this crazy idea to have my wife join me for that 11 mile loop I did earlier this year.  Glad I didn't do that, because this 7 miles just about wiped me out.  I didn't run Friday or Saturday or Sunday.  The reason why I didn't run Friday was partly because Mike was over finishing up working on our new AC, but also I was a bit sore and wanted to be fresh for our Saturday group run.  Mike was going to join us but he had dropped our unit on his foot and wasn't able to.  At quarter to 4 in the morning we got his text.  Then a few minutes after 4 we got a text from Maggie saying she was feeling good.  So Vickie and I just slept in and I never went.

That's why I wanted to do a long one today.  After entering the Floodway I looked to the other side and saw a coyote!  I haven't seen one since February when I twisted my ankle.  I thought maybe someone came by and hunted them.  I guess they're still around.  It was on the opposite side of the Floodway and we ran together for a while.  I started to video it.  Then it started running down the bank of the Floodway into the bottom.  I realized there was another human on the RWCD road, so it was trying to avoid him.  I stopped and watched it, then tried to run with it again, but it stopped near the well site. 

I ran up to McKellips and could see a truck that had pulled out onto the RWCD road in front of me.  I figured it must be an RWCD truck because who else would it be.  But I had to run 3/4 of a mile to reach it.  It was my favorite zanjero, Mosiah.  I stopped and talked to him for about 15 minutes.  He's such a good guy.  By this time I was 3/4 of a mile away from the turn around point.  I crossed McDowell and ran the last half mile to Junior.  Junior is a small little pump that pumps water out of the Canal into the first drainage lateral.  It's called Junior because it's just downstream of the Main Pumping Plant, which is where they pump water out of the Arizona Central Project Canal into the RWCD Canal.  A bit of useless trivia for you.

I turned around and headed back.  I was getting tired and thirsty.  After a mile I saw Mike Norberg, my Strava friend, leaving his neighborhood.  Every time I run this far north it seems like I see him.  We said good morning to each other.  He's so friendly.  I got to McKellips and was able to run through the vehicular gate because Mosiah had left it open.  Right before reaching Brown I had to stop and start walking for the first time.  I ended up walking quite a bit in that last mile.  I even called my wife and asked her to have a cold water waiting for me.  I got home and drank two bottles of water.  Then I cleaned the pool, and now my legs are dead.

I was only going to run one loop today because my legs have been wrecked the last few days.  I started running and felt good enough to do two.  It is warming up!

I felt better today.  A little faster today.  But I didn't get out 'til 8:30am and it was hot.

I texted the group yesterday afternoon.  Mike responded immediately to say that he had to work.  No replies from Glen or Alyssa as usual.  Maggie texted my wife to get more details.  She decided she would go with us, but didn't say so until after we had gone to bed.  Some time during the night my wife's phone turned off.  I was up at 4am, but since Maggie had not replied, so we thought, we didn't leave.  When my wife finally realized her phone was off, she turned it on and realized that Maggie had been waiting for us, and since we never came, she went back to bed.  It was around 7am now, and I decided we should go on a hike/run.  I drove over to Bulldog.  We hiked a trail that Vickie had done a few times.  It was steep and not conducive to running up or down.  So I mostly hiked.  We saw a couple of groups of firefighter trainees going up while we were coming down.