Go, you chicken fat, go away!

We drove up to Sedona to hike with Vickie's hiking group again.  We planned on doing three "vortex" hikes.  Apparently that has something to do with places where there's hocus pocus supernatural energy.  Who knows?  Bunch of hippies.  The first hike was Cathedral Rock.  I had heard that this was a tough hike.  Truth be told, it wasn't that bad.  It looked scarier than it was.  The sand stone was nice and smooth and not at all slippery.  Daylene and one of the other girls only made it half way up.  There was this crack that you had to scramble up and they were too afraid to try.  After doing it, I think they could've done it easily.  The other 6 of us made it to the top and took some pictures.  Then we came back down and Daylene and the other girl, her name escapes me, were still there where we left them.  I helped Daylene down the rest of the way.

We then drove over to Bell Rock.  There were a bunch of different paths and we weren't sure which way to go.  All Trails wasn't helping.  We wandered around a lot.  We wanted to get to the top, but how do you do it?  We got to this place where you had to scramble to get up.  I saw another place to go up, and some of the girls followed me.  (I was the only guy.)  I realized this wasn't going to be easier and told them I didn't recommend they come up this way.  They told me to turn around, which I did.  We then went to where the other girls went up and I found a real easy way to get up, but they didn't want to.  So it was just me, Vickie, and Heidi.  Katelynn stayed with the other girls and they hiked around the base of the mountain.  We tried to find a way up, but there were no marked paths and everything looked sketchy.  I decided it wasn't that important to me to go to the top.  Maybe if we were following someone that knew the way.  So we turned around and went down.

After the other girls finished, we went to eat at a Mexican restaurant.  It was good.  I wasn't in the mood for meat, so I ate a vegetarian burrito which was pretty good.  I also had a slab of cactus.  Then we decided to forgo the last hike and head for home.  What a nightmare.  It took 7 hours to get home because the traffic is always so bad on a Sunday evening when everyone that left town for the weekend is coming back.

My big left toe was hurting after hiking Sunday.  I thought for sure when I took my shoe off I was going to find it all bloody.  But it wasn't.  I decided to take Monday off to rest.  Also Monday morning I started to feel the soreness in my arms and chest from the scrambling.  Yowza!

So I went running this morning, but my legs were really hurting.  I decided to just do one loop.  It was actually kinda cold this morning.  I saw Edythe and she was bundled up in a jacket.  I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt as usual.  I said, "What's with the jacket?"

I still wasn't feeling good today.  Just one loop again.  I decided I am going to take another day off.

I was feeling better today.  The soreness from the hike was gone.  Now I just felt normal.  Which still isn't great, but good enough for two loops.  I saw Edythe cutting through the park at the intersection of Adobe and 48th.  There are two openings in the Floodway fence that you can go through before getting to the main one at Adobe that I usually take.  I saw another lady that I've been seeing a lot lately.  We waved at each other as she ran by.  I saw another lady that walks her two dogs.  I'm pretty sure she was the one Emily talked to the day we went to watch the sunrise.  Then I headed south on the RWCD road and saw the runner lady again.  I told her to have a good day.  I saw a zanjero in his truck at Adobe and the Canal, but I couldn't tell who it was.  There was an old man that I'd never seen before who waved at me.  I waved back and also waved at the zanjero.  There were two guys running together near University.  I said good morning to them.  I've been seeing them lately, too.  They were the ones that wanted to pass the Schumachers a couple of weeks ago.  But they were just walking then.  I headed back north on the Floodway path and saw the old man that had waved at me on Adobe.  I said, "You're making up some ground!"

I went to bed real early again last night.  Probably between 8:30pm and 9pm.  I was awakened at 11:30pm by my wife watching Tik Tok videos in bed next to me.  I scolded her for waking me up at 4 in the morning.  I knew it wasn't 4 in the morning, although it felt like it.  I just like to scold her for unreal things.  I went to the bathroom and went back to sleep.  I didn't get up until late, and finally went running at 8:40am.

My wife wanted to run 5 miles today and was very nervous about doing it.  She left before I did and texted me when she got 3 miles in.  She was shooting for a 13:30 pace, but she was at a 13:03 pace, so she decided to shoot for 13 instead.  She ended up running  5.31 at 12:53 pace.  I didn't know that at the time I left.  She probably finished shortly after I started.

I also decided to do 5 miles to show her how easy it was.  Although, 5 is not easy for me lately.  But it actually felt easy today.  The idea was to run straight up the Canal for 2.5 miles and then come back.  I turned in to the Floodway and saw a dad and two boys walking towards me.  I recognized them right away as Br. Whetten, Dallin, and Lincoln.  Dallin was one of my Wolf scouts.  Their daughter/sister is Katelynn's best friend, and she apparently stayed the night last night.  We were just at their house this week for our annual spooky dinner with them.  At one point during dinner Br. Whetten said, "We're so glad you guys could come over."  I replied, "We're surprised you guys invited us this year.  Not because of Covid.  But because you're in the bishopric now, and you're so high and mighty."  Anyway, I said, "Hey guys!"  Br. Whetten said, "It's good to see you."  I said, "Happy Halloween!"

At the mile and a half point I had to stop to shake this small pebble out of my shoe.  I sat on the irrigation box at 2-1/4.  (RWCD numbering system)  I was one mile away from the turn around.  It was almost 9am now, but the weather was great.  Strava used to only show tenths of a mile while you were running, and then give you to the hundredth once you'd saved and uploaded the workout.  Now they show you to the hundredth, which is nice.  I had a pretty good idea where 2.5 would be, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and I was at 2.46.  I stopped at 2.5, took a quick rest and started back.  Usually my longer runs are slower, but since I was feeling good today, I tried to maintain a faster pace. 

After I passed McKellips again I could see a bunch of people to the south of me.  Getting closer I could see that it was a family letting their dogs play in the Canal, and an older couple walking.  The dogs got out of the Canal and one of them jumped up on the lady that was walking.  I laughed on the inside.  Then one of the dogs got loose and started running towards me.  It passed the couple and was coming straight for me.  I figured if it didn't bite them, it won't bite me.  It did bark, though.  I stopped and said, "Come here, puppy."  He ran back to his family, an Asian man and woman with two young boys.  The man apologized, and I said, "No worries.  I love dogs."  The older of the two boys said, "Have a good day, sir!"  I said, "Happy Halloween!"  And the other boy yelled something at the top of his lungs which I couldn't make out, but it was cute. 

During the last mile, I kept feeling like I was slowing down, so I'd mentally have to pick it back up.  I made it home, and my wife was mad because my pace was faster than hers.