The "Penguin" daily threads were originally conceived to emphasize that all members of the community have a place on the boards. Encouragement, motivation, a little love nip (you will love one, give it a try!) or even a little kick in the pants when needed -- it can happen here. Basically, we celebrate just getting out there and moving our tails! What is "slow"? "Slow" is a perception but one of the common benchmarks is the 10:00/mi pace; but there's no firm line. In fact, there are many of us that have slipped past this, and just hope that no one notices and revokes their "igloo privileges." It can be confusing for the forum newbies, but we're not one of the teams in any of the fine games. It's a totally open group, so stop lurking, post an introduction of yourself dive in and join the fun! No application necessary! There might even be a lovely picture for Scotty (we love pics!)

This is the last week of Fiesta San Antonio - http://www.fiesta-sa.org/ .   Today most of the city is shut down for the "Battle Of The Flowers Parade",  which starts at noon, which honors the fallen heroes of The Alamo and celebrates the Battle of San Jacinto, which gave Texas its independence from Mexico.    Today, I am helping with packet pickup for the Fiesta Fandango 2.6 mile run, a fun run that starts tomorrow right before the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, the last parade of Fiesta San Antonio.  The parade starts at  7 p.m. and is the largest night time parade in the US.  We runners run the parade route in front of the THOUSANDS of cheering spectators who are already in place waiting for the parade to start.  Lots of the participants wear costumes and post-run there is beer, soda, water, tacos, grilled hot dogs, sweet treats, etc.,   There is also a pre-race costume contest and when the buses drop us off near the start line, we get a close-up look at the floats that will be in the parade, so very nice.  This event is a very festive occasion.

As usual for this race, since it is a 6:40 pm start, it will be WARM...around 91 degrees at our start time...

If you want to see what the Fandango run is like...here is a slide show of photos I took for last year's event.  Even though it is warm it is a very fun event!   Come on down some year and enjoy doing this one!

Slideshow of 2013 Fiesta Fandango 2.6 Mile Run: http://s166.photobucket.com/user/scottydog69/slideshow/Fandango%202013?sort=2

Well, I am off in a bit for my upper G.I. appointment, and then after that will get a haircut, and then off to packet pickup.  Tomorrow morning I have a race in the a.m. at San Antonio SeaWorld and then the Fandango Run in the evening.  I should sleep well tomorrow night!

Scotty -- I've been to San Antonio SeaWorld, several years go.  Not for a run, though!!

Zel, why is your daughter coming home early?

Scotty, good luck with your procedure.

Hope, I have to stay away from Lowe's, I always spend way too much money.

Jerry, hope the knee behaves.

I'll run after work for a few miles with Bella.  Question, did anyone see that article the other day about racing with your dog? Can you direct me back to it? I signed up for an 8k on May 3rd, and I was thinking about taking Bella. I want to read a little on courtesy stuff since I've never taken her to a race.

Hi Pens...

Scotty: Good luck with the GI appt.  Two races in one day? BEAST!!

HsM: Our tomatoes grow like weeds but we have never had any luck with blueberries.

Zel: Don't worry, you will run.

Hog: Enjoy the miles. I didn't read the article, but most races I sign up for usually have a "Do Not Bring..." list on their websites. Dogs is usually on the list.

PAD: Good work listening to the knees.

Well, I just finished an 18 mile run, 8:57 pace. This cycle has not been kind to me and today I wanted to push myself so I purposely ran a route that has a big uphill. It's about a 650 foot climb that lasts 5 miles. It was a good test, believe me. I left the house about 5:00 and got back at 7:45 so now I have the rest of the day to mess about and do errands, watch some TV, nap, and go to breakfast.

Busy weekend ahead, with one DD having swim practice, the other DD with a track meet tomorrow morning AND prom tomorrow night, and me working the triple jump pit at the track meet. After the kids go to the prom, DW and I will go out for some adult fun with some friends.

Life is good.

Hog: No problem, then. Just don't use one of those obnoxious Flexi leashes. Keep her close.

Jerry, that's good news.

4 easy miles done. Ran a corporate challenge yday with a time of 26mins. Quite happy although I had to fight the crowd on first 1.5Km. 16k runners in 3 wave. Crazy stuff. And I had a mini streak of 6 days. Haven't ran more than 4 days in a row for a few mths. Trying to keep it going.

Scotty - I hope you get good news at the doctor.  Your Fiesta races seem like such a lot of fun.  Maybe next year we can time a visit to my Dad in Houston with one of your races.  I don't envy you your temperatures though.

Jerry - that's good news about the knee.  Achy is so much better than acute pain.  Achy is normal, no?

HopesMom - I'd love to have some blueberry bushes.  I love picking wild ones when we're hiking.  I hope the planning session is productive.

Z - How did your daughter's team do?  Enjoy your run, if you do decide to do it.

Mitch - we have a 5k benefitting an animal shelter that allows dogs, but I haven't done it.  Biggest thing I would imagine is having a dog that is relaxed around crowds of people and around other dogs.  Ben can be fear reactive around large male dogs, so we try to avoid being around strange dogs.  He also gets overexcited around people or animals moving fast, so when he accompanies DH to my races, they stand well back.  But Bella is a much better behaved dog than Ben is, I think.

PAD - sorry the knees are acting up, but it's good you have the elliptical alternative.

Jack - that was a really good LR.  How is the PF?  Enjoy the rest of your solitude today.  Hope your weekend goes well with all the practices and meets.

Bin - good job on the race yesterday.  I can't imagine trying to race with that many people.  You'd end up spending the first kilometer or two just trying to get up to speed.  Good luck on the streak.

Cherie - are you hurt or just not feeling motivated.  I hope you get to spend some time outdoors, one way or another, during this cool spell.

AFM:  I'm hoping to run a little this afternoon.  I woke up hurting and dehydrated, but lots of coffee and walking the dog helped a lot, so I'll see how I'm doing after we run some errands.  My head is ready to get back to normal running, but my body keeps telling me it's tired and wants a nap.