Swimming, running in the rain and a bobcat

On Monday evening, after a 7.5-mile treadmill recovery run, I got home and saw this bobcat in our front yard. She instantly reminded me of Simi and Missy. They would both have gone nuts had they seen her. The bobcat didn’t have a care in the world. She was master of her domain. Look at her gait, look at the size of her paws, look at her perfect tail. She was majestic. She was on the prowl. She sat on our perimeter wall for a few minutes before jumping down, marking a tree with her claws and moving west in the neighborhood.

Last week was a relatively easy training week. Running was shorter and other training was easier. The first signs of cooling down from the scorching heat are here. It still gets up to triple-digits but morning temperatures are hovering near the 80s. I’ll take it!

On Saturday, I swam a relaxed mile at The Village. On Sunday, I woke up super-early and ran outdoors for the first time in weeks. I ran a 12 mile progression run; 4 miles easy, 4 miles medium and 4 miles hard. It was overcast with temperatures in the low 80s when I started. It was humid. It drizzled off and on keeping me cool. I love running in gentle rain. I ran at the Scottsdale Sports Complex circling and zigzagging around the side-streets. I saw a coyote ambling across the street as he dismissed me after glancing lazily towards me. He never broke his stride!

This week, training gets harder. I hope the cooler temperatures prevail!