Sunday, 11/1/2020 to Saturday, 11/7/2020

This blog post is saved as I write it to avoid the Blogger "Auto Save" feature. I have found (as have others) that if you accidentally delete your entire blog post before you publish it that "Auto Save" will kick in within seconds to take you to a blank page. I have done this more than once! This feature is turned off once you publish the blog post. Then if you accidentally delete your entire post it is not final until you click Update (so you have a chance to realize that you are about to do something stupid).

I walked 1 time this week for 3.15 miles (at least according to Garmin).

I ran 3 times this week for 17.65 miles
I biked 3 times for 42.38 miles this week.
I took 50,226 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.
My VA-HR gives me steps, heart rate, hours slept and floors climbed (take those last 2 data points with a grain of salt). My Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer scale gives my weight.

RUNNING/BIKING: My left knee has had issues with running. I can walk, bike ... and run. Let's say that I run ... carefully. I wear a Buff when I am out so I can slip it up when I approach someone.

Sunday, 11/1/2020

6758 steps, 46/117 resting/peak HR, 8:41 hrs sleep, 175.3 lbs, 9 floors climbed

walk: 3.15 miles, 48:50, 15:30 pace, 121 feet elevation gain, 82 avg HR, 97 max HR, 48F, 68% RH, 18 mph SW wind gusting to 28 mph, overcast with sprinkles.

The clocks were turned back so it was already light when I woke up around 6:45 AM. It was windy and looked crappy so I asked Alexa to open "Big Sky Weather". It was a bike day ... but it told me that light rain was coming in 30 minutes. I didn't really like the idea of biking into a wind driven rain so I opted for a walk since I do NOT run two days in a row. It seems to have worked all summer so I am sticking to it. It was certainly windy when I got out and it started to sprinkle about 5 minutes into my walk. I decided to not push my walking pace since I have a run scheduled tomorrow.

I watched the Patriots - Bills game. It was touch and go. The Bills built a slim lead 24-21 in the waning minutes. The Patriots were driving but someone punched the ball out of Cam Newton's arms at the 10 yard line and an alert Bill fell on it with 30 minutes to go. It's a win.

Monday, 11/2/2020

12920 steps, 46/137 resting/peak HR, 6:44 hrs sleep, 176.0 lbs, 18 floors climbed

run: 5.15 miles, 45:29, 8:50 pace, 56 feet elevation gain, 132 avg HR, 142 max HR, 161 avg cadence, 30F, 72% RH, 13 mph NW wind gusting to 40 mph, overcast with a few snow pellets

The wind woke me up during the night and I was awake when my alarm went off at 5:30 AM. I thought about a bike but went with a run instead. I dressed warmly with CW-X tights, a long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve, balaclava and heavy running gloves. This is probably the earliest that I have worn tights (10/31) and balaclava (11/2). I just went out nice and easy to Island Cottage on the LOSP Trail. I thought that the trees would block most of the wind. I was correct except for the open areas where the wind really kicked me in the teeth on the way out. It wasn't so bad on the way back though I did see ice pellets for a couple of minutes. My splits were: 9:05, 8:55, 8:48, 8:38, 8:43 and 8:11 over the last 0.15 mile.

Tuesday, 11/3/2020

2944 steps, 44/125 resting/peak HR, 8:04 hrs sleep, 176.3 lbs, 1 floors climbed

bike: 13.35 miles, 1:02:24, 12.8 avg mph, 23.4 max mph,  59 feet elevation gain, 108 avg HR, 142 max HR, 41F, 66% RH, 6 mph NW wind gusting to 28 mph, partly cloudy

I went to bed early last night so I was awake around 4:50 AM. I caught up on email and Facebook while I heard the wind. It wasn't as bad as the morning before but it was a bike morning. It took a lot of willpower to get dressed, get ready and get out there. The cold around 40F and the wind chill from the wind wasn't that bad because I was dressed for it. The headwind going out slowed  me down but the tailwind on the way back was sweet! My high speed was 23.4 mph on level ground!

POLITICS ... prepare for a rant! Today is the day that the USA finally decides whether or not Trump can continue in his job as President. I know how my lovely wife, Christine, and I voted. I hope that I can look forward to Biden as the 46th President. He has failed on every level ... take your pick ... COVID-19, tax cuts for the rich, tweets, over 20,000 lies .. there are lots more!

I avoided most of the 2020 election return reporting by watching 4 ST-DS9 episodes off the DVR and then went to bed with just a bit of Facebook checking.

Wednesday, 11/4/2020

10421 steps, 46/139 resting/peak HR, 7:03 hrs sleep, 8 floors climbed

run: 6.25 miles, 53:39, 8:35 pace, 92 feet elevation gain, 131 avg HR, 146 max HR, 162 avg cadence, 50F, 59% RH, 7 mph W wind gusting to 19 mph, sunny

A bit of politics. I was a bit out of sorts this morning. I had gone to bed a bit sad since it looked like a lot of the USA had continued to vote for their Republican senators and that the US Senate was still in play. I was gladdened that Biden and Trump were fighting it out in 6 battleground states. So ... I was thinking about that while I ran. I stopped three times to get pictures. My pace was a bit quicker than I thought. My splits were: 8:45, 8:35, 8:27, 8:39, 8:31, 8:32 and 8:13 over the last 0.25 mile. 

POLITICS ... COUNT. EVERY. VOTE!!!

Thursday, 11/5/2020

4410 steps, 43/116 resting/peak HR, 7:07 hrs sleep, 175.3 lbs, 2 floors climbed

bike: 13.41 miles, 59:36, 13.5 avg mph, 20.1 max mph, 92 feet elevation gain, 105 avg HR, 127 max mph, 57F, 45% RH, 3 mph SSE wind gusting to 20 mph, sunny

It was a bit warmer but still windy this morning. I had a bit of trouble deciding what to wear. I finally decided on Brooks pants, long sleeve tech and Brooks jacket. There was a bit of cool breeze as I got near the lake and ponds so I was glad that I went with the jacket and not an additional short sleeve tech. Today there was a tailwind on the way out and a headwind on the way back.

More POLITICS ... COUNT. EVERY. VOTE!!!

Friday, 11/6/2020

12223 steps, 47/144 resting/peak HR, 7:25 hrs sleep, 176.1 lbs, 8 floors climbed

run: 6.25 miles, 54:55, 8:47 pace, 98 feet elevation gain, 133 avg HR, 146 max HR, 160 avg cadence, 57F, 57% RH, 3 mph SW wind gusting to 19 mph, mostly clear

I was up as usual at 5:30 AM. I did the usual things ... caught up a bit on email, Facebook, went down on weighed myself, had 3/4 of a donut and a bit of OJ, got dressed for a run and got out. It was a bit cool and windy so I wore shorts, long sleeve tech, Buff and Brooks running gloves. It was going to get light soon but I still had my headlamp and Noxgear lighted vest. I set up a steady pace on my "The Island Cottage loop" route. I didn't stop or slow down much on the 2 mini-hills on that route. I just powered up them. I got it done. My splits were: 8:53, 8:47, 8:49, 8:46, 8:36, 8:53 and 8:31 over the last 0.25 mile.

Then I got about my day ... working remotely on a Friday for Ricoh looking after the network printers at L3Harris SAS. I went onsite for a couple of hours in the afternoon to look after the printers in person.

More ... POLITICS ... COUNT. EVERY. VOTE!!!

Saturday, 11/7/2020

440 steps, 46/108 resting/peak HR, 8:25 hrs sleep, 175.7 lbs, 0 (sure!) floors climbed

bike: 15.62 miles, 1:10:24, 13.3 avg mph, 20.7 max mph, 157 feet elevation gain, 99 avg HR, 121 max HR, 50F, 47% RH, 3 mph WSW wind gusting to 18 mph, mostly sunny

I slept in until 6 AM. I puttered around a bit while I caught up on email and Facebook. It was around 50F and windy. I had a bit of trouble trying to decide what to wear. I went outside and decided on my Brooks pants and Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover. I thought about a long sleeve tech and Brooks jacket but I figured I would be too warm. I headed out and I was a bit cold at first but I warmed up ... like usual. What can I say about this particular bike ride ... one of the 83 I have taken in 2020? It wasn't too much different. I did look around ... I like riding along Lake Ontario on one side and the three ponds (Cranberry, Long and Buck) on the other.

POLITICS: Well ... enough votes were counted to allow CNN, AP, Fox News(!) and others to call it for Biden. Trump is still pledging to fight "all the illegal votes" in court and not concede the election. He will not go gently in that good night (the SDNY awaits him, his family and his minions). I predict that he will fight this at the way to the mat. Someone will have to intervene ... but who? Most of America says "Biden won, You're fired, Trump!"