Summer Running Thread

[Skierchickie2]

Husband just returned from his run complaining about deer flies. Said he "may have gotten a little annoyed with them". We tend to have blackflies when it is cooler, deer flies when it's warmer. And mosquitoes all the time.

[emily_in_nc]

Husband just returned from his run complaining about deer flies. Said he "may have gotten a little annoyed with them". We tend to have blackflies when it is cooler, deer flies when it's warmer. And mosquitoes all the time.

Interesting! It was 99 or so degrees here today, but the black flies didn't seem to mind!

RnR, I read up on them a bit after I posted this, and yes indeed, that is what they are. We've only gotten a few bites, but I did read that if you get enough, they really can cause all kinds of symptoms, including "black fly fever" (fever, joint aches, all kinds of maddening stuff). They aren't that bad here, but bad enough. We have to be vigilant, and we've managed to kill a lot of them before they bit us. I have never seen one in NC, though I had heard of them. I guess traveling around the country, we get to experience insects from all over!

[rocknrollgirl]

The summer we went up to Canada, we were here:

http://vacancesessipit.com/condos-ho...ec-2-chambres/

We went with our friends to paddle in the St Lawrence River during the whale migration. We were able to store our kayaks on site down at the bottom of a small cliff on the property tucked into a cove. So the trip from the condo across the property down through the woods into your boat and out of the cove was when the got us. The only exposed part of my body was my neck and the crawled up along my hairline and my neck and just destroyed me. As soon as you were out of the cove and into the breeze you were fine. It was awful. But what an amazing trip.

Anyway. we got out this morning for 6. It was cooler but super humid. So blech. Slow and steady in this weather. I am carrying a hand held so at least i have water to sip on.

[emily_in_nc]

That looks like a gorgeous spot, RnR. I read that the black flies love the neck and head. UGH on what happened to you! The ones here go for our legs and arms most. I have not had one bother my neck or head, thankfully. I will have to remember to visit Canada in the fall rather than the summer!

Good on you for getting a run in in the humidity. We are heading out for a ride later. It has not been terribly humid here but definitely hot. Yesterday it hit 99 in the late afternoon, but we were done riding by lunchtime so not as terrible, but I was still a sweaty mess afterwards.

[Skierchickie2]

Our blackflies like everything, especially ears and hairline and faces.... They love to crawl right up in your hair and get your scalp. They release something that numbs the spot and keeps the blood from clotting right away, so you often don't know they bit you until you find the big old dried clot later. Hubby had bites in the corners of both eyes, right by his nose last night. Big red spots. When you know about them they drive you insane, all around your head. When you don't know about them they get you anyway since you don't feel the bite and they're so small.

[OakLeaf]

I'm just glad I'm not sensitized to the bites yet. The better I can keep them off, the longer I can delay it! As the summer goes on the welts will get bigger and bigger, until by the time the frost kills the deerflies, they'll be leaving welts 2-3" in diameter that last for a couple of weeks and itch the entire time.

Little by little. I've been trying to keep the pace down a little bit to help bump my mileage back up out of the pathetic zone. Where I live, the shortest way "around the block" is 7-1/2 miles (and that route has a monster hill in it), so until I can get the mileage built back up, I've just been doing the same out-and-backs from home, and it's getting pretty boring. Had to run a couple of errands in town today, so I just did a quick out-and-back on the bike path just for a change of scenery. It was humid and looked like it might rain a little more, so I had the place all to myself.

[OakLeaf]

Skierchickie, how's your knee coming? Hope it's healing well and you're hanging in there.