Celebrating today! A gorgeous fall day and my first 5k run at age 70. Running easily at that distance at age 69, but derailed last winter by surgery, snow, icy roads, life, etc. A long, slow road back, but today the distance felt right! #run #running

The low morning sun flares between tall oaks and across the grass as I walk through the park. Awareness that days are getting shorter makes these mornings precious.

Bright sun, but still cool and breezy for my post-run coffee. An absolutely beautiful morning for watching the neighborhood come to life.

“Snowflakes are like letters from the sky, each crystal a note describing the atmosphere as it falls to the ground.” I assumed this thoughtful, poetic, and observant post was from an individual account that I follow. Sometimes science and poetry overlap. It’s from the Washington Post.

Inching back up to 5k after some eye issues. I’m halfway there, and I’ll take all the encouragement I can get. Strava’s AI is pouring it on today: “great work picking up the pace…..you brought the effort…..seriously intense…..that’s a tough workout….it’s a hilly day out there.” 😂

Strava’s AI notices an “interesting dynamic” in my latest workout. I’m working harder than usual for a slower than usual result. Getting older is certainly “interesting” 😂 #runningpunks

Found this marker on my morning walk and had to stop. Wouldn’t mind walking this way every day.

My nature photography is pretty dismal, but if you guessed “black squirrel,” you are correct. Our recent move brought us to one of the few areas of the northeast where black squirrels are found. They aren’t common so it’s always surprise and a treat to see one! This one was quick.

I’ve read the expression “mackerel sky” many times without understanding. Outside a new coffee shop this morning enjoying the cloud pattern overhead, I finally looked it up - it’s the very thing. “…clouds displaying an undulating, rippling pattern similar in appearance to fish scales” - Wikipedia

Moving day in less than 2 weeks! The stressful, busy time makes it hard to keep up healthy routines, but my goal is be ready to run the new neighborhood. Working hard to maintain my 3 mile distance! Some recent efforts. #running

No cooler weather expected anytime soon so I got myself out to run in the heat this morning. Glad I did; ran about my usual pace for these temps, felt good, and enjoyed a walk for coffee after. Sadly, a malfunction in Garmin gave me an average HR and relative effort closer to a 38 min nap. #running

Flowers from my early morning walk today. Renewed by overnight rain the yards and gardens are bright with color.

I’ve never gotten a scolding from Garmin before, but the app is right. Today was tough even though the temperature was only 67 degrees. Average heart rate was higher than usual for my usual speed and distance. #running

I’m a little too old to run when the morning temperatures are close to 80°, but today was a gift, and I ran with it. Overnight rain made the park fresh and green, and the weather was cloudy, breezy with temperature near 60 degrees. A perfect morning to be out and about. #running #runningpunks

I took the shadiest possible route this morning and I’m now enjoying hot coffee on the café patio while the heat dome heats up. It’s going to be a slow walk home. If you are under the dome too, take it easy on yourself and the power grid if you can.

Magnets, a librarian would explain, as my children spent library visits spinning around a large pole by the desk. It wasn’t magnets that had me running a 5k in circles this morning. I was in the shade & each cross street was a gentle, up- or downhill for a perfect workout. Coffee time! #runningpunks

Could have been light rain or thick fog I was feeling on my morning walk, but it was not soaking and the temperature was warm and pleasant. This vision of the creek disappearing into a mix of fog and its own misty plashing stopped me in my tracks.

I’m not the running-to-relieve-stress type. I need a calm mind to lace up and put the effort out there, and I just haven’t had it in me lately. Took advantage of waking up relaxed this morning and had a beautiful, slow run. Cool, sunny, quiet perfection. #runningpunks

Beautiful quiet spaces from my morning walk calm my hectic thoughts. Finishing my coffee and heading home, refreshed, to take them up again.

Candles of new growth, tight-rolled and pale at branch’s tip - leaves unfurl to green

It’s cool for my run today, but with the right outer layer tied round my waist (hand-me-down shapeless down jacket, new birthday wool half zip, decades-old flannel shirt), I’m good for a run, coffee at my favorite outdoor spot, and a leisurely walk home. That’s the good life for me #runningpunks

Common to city sidewalks and rocky hills in the first minutes of rainfall, petrichor scents my morning run. Natures way of saying “here’s rain for you.” Petrichor (PET-rih-kor)[1] is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. #runningpunks. Rain will be heavy on my #morningwalk home.

It’s an incredibly clear morning as I take the high path through the park today. The sudden turn to cool weather (45 degrees) encourages a brisk pace for my morning walk.

Mayapples mark the season with their double umbrellas unfurled over a nodding white flower and later green apple. The flowers have dried and green apples are forming on the plants I see on my morning walk. Far more abundant in the past they are giving way to new plants here on the side of the path.

3 days of rain. The creek in the park is swollen and fast on my morning walk. I rarely see this slow, shallow creek boiling and frothing over its rocky path. An indulgent dog walker has been waiting out of sight for me to finish my reverie here. I snap my photos and move on with a nod returned.

On my regular morning walk, I note new progress as nature re-clothes herself in a quiet transition to warmer seasons. Tall, dead stalks of last year’s teasel and goldenrod are still prominent, but the purple and white phlox are new since my last walk, and the white carpet of boneset spreads on.

Sunny and cool for my run this morning. I have been experimenting with slower running lately, making running days easier to alternate with weight training days without needing a day off to recover. But even though it was downhill, I was not coasting from the 2.4mi mark today. 😂 #runningpunks

Spring shows her subtle colors on my morning walk today. Delicately pink winged seeds impart an all-over muted rose-y hue to these trees. They take the stage now as the showy blooms of more ornamental trees fade.

Temperature was 45 degrees last time I ran so today’s temperature of 65 degrees made for tough going for my 5K. Kept to a slow pace and enjoyed the intense vistas of blue sky and green parkland. #runningpunks