I decided to take a rest day today to let my legs rest up for this weekend’s race. They were feeling pretty tired on Tuesday’s and yesterday’s runs, so I think it’s the right call.

Did you know that the longest running streak in the U.S. is coming to an end in July? Mark Covert first started his running streak on July 23, 1968. On July 23 of this year he will voluntarily end his 45 year running streak. He kept his streak alive through a broken foot, arthroscopic knee surgery, and kidney stones. Covert was featured in an article in the April 2013 issue of Running Times called ‘Streakers Uncovered’.

He has recently taken up bike riding, which has less impact on his feet (he has a total midfoot collapse in his right foot), and is planning to train and push himself in his new sport.

I also need to tell you about Prancercise! I first heard of this form of exercise on the Today show a few weeks ago. I again ran across it today in an email, so I think that is a sign it is worth sharing with you. Check out the video- this lady is completely serious.

The Prancercise gallop, which is shown at 2:30 in the video, is my personal favorite. There is an official website and she has a book.

Have you ever had a running streak? How long was it?

Who is adding Prancercise to their cross training routine??

How would you react if you saw someone doing their Prancercise while you were out for a run/walk/ride on your local trail?

I hope everyone was able to go out and celebrate National Running Day at some point today! Barry and I celebrated this evening with an easy 3 mile run.

In honor of National Running Day, I decided to share a bunch of motivational pictures that I have saved on my computer. Some of these came from Run the Edge and some came from Distant Runners , both on Facebook. I know a few came from Pinterest but I don’t know for sure exactly where they all came from.

The next one is so true. Who doesn’t drive past a bike path or trail that you’ve never been on before and yearn to go explore it?

For real:

For really real:

This next one pretty much sums up why I run. I couldn’t have said it better myself:

Everyone runs for so many different reasons, and I love hearing other runner’s stories about why they run and what got them into running. I know personally there are many different reasons that I not only started running but continue to run today. But the above picture sums all of those reasons up nicely. I have been at this way too long to even consider giving up now.

Why do you run?

How did you celebrate National Running Day today?

This evening I drove down to Wytheville to run with a group called the Sole Sisters. About 8 or 9 people came out and we ran a little over 3 miles around town. Wendy invited me down to run with them. I first met her, along with Anita and Glenda, at the Color Run 5K at the beginning of April.

This morning I started my day off with some cross training in the form of level 3 of Jillian’s 30 day shred. I tend to do this workout about once a week, but it had been awhile since I worked out before work. It was a good way to start my day.

Instagram [turkeyrunner]

Speaking of work, I spent part of the day today at an ostrich farm.

Last Sunday Barry and I spent the majority of the day digging a trench around the two sides of the chicken run that separate it from the rest of the yard. Then we attached chicken wire to the inside of the chicken run, pulled it under the fence, and buried it in the trench. The chicken wire is buried between 8-10 inches in the ground.



Click to see larger

This will keep the dogs and other predators from being able to easily dig under the chain link fence to get after the chickens. Here is a closer picture of it, since the chicken wire is difficult to see.

We also installed top rails across the top of the run to support the chicken wire we would use to cover the run. Then on Tuesday evening Barry got to work laying the chicken wire across the top of the run.

Having the cover on top serves a dual purpose. It protects the chicken from predators, such as hawks, but it also keeps the chickens from being able to fly out. They’re not very good fliers, but they’re good enough to get over the 5 foot fence.

You can keep them from being able to get out by clipping their wings, but I didn’t want to have to do that. I decided the cover was the best option, since it both keeps them in and keeps predators out.

The chickens enjoyed some more fruit (cantaloupe, honeydew, and apple scraps), which we first introduced to them last week. They have now learned that the blue bowl we put the scraps in means there’s a treat coming and they get excited when we carry it out to the coop. Lastly, here is a picture of them this week to show you how they continue to grow:

It’s getting harder to get a good picture of them because they seem to never stop moving!

This week we have plans to finish the covering on the top of the chicken run. As I have mentioned before, once this is done the chickens will have free access to the run area during the day. Currently we let them access it in the evening when we are home. Once the sun sets they usually go back in the coop on their own to go to sleep and all I have to do is go out and close the coop door for the night. I’m expecting this trend to continue when they have full access to the run area throughout the day.

Did you know that chickens can fly but are not really great fliers?