Must have been posting at the same time Leslie......nice bike ride you had there. Don't ya just LOVE the flat hair look when you remove hats or helmets. Wow, are there other states that have that law or is Cali the first? I second that.....it is extremely dangerous. Wish I had a run to report but you're just gonna have to deal with my non-running posts for awhile until I figure out whats going on down below! Jewels mta: Couldn't spell worth a crap last night so had to edit quickly this morning. Jeez, i left out entire words!

Joe - Supposedly they're going to be aggressive about the cell phone law. Let's hope so. First time, it's a $20 fine, plus any court fines, which could make it 4x higher. Second fine is $50 plus court fines. We'll see if they actually do it. I know our PD could definitely use the revenue. They won't have to worry about me. I've tried to talk on the phone a couple of times while driving, and I don't like the weird sensation I get. Kind of like losing my equilibrium. But I also don't do it 'cause it drives me nuts to see people driving around with their cell phones stuck to their ears. (Could you tell that from my previous post??) What did people do before cell phones? How did they communicate? I'm always getting crap from friends 'cause I never have mine on. Well, it's for emergencies, not just general chatting. But then I was never a phone chatter in the first place. I'm a "Hi. That's great. Bye." kinda gal. Well, it's off to find Oscar and BK so I can go to bed. Nite!

Yep Leslie, I'll be right over....right after my 5K in Lone Tree, CO ... in spirit anyways! Speaking of spirits, have 1 - or 2 - or several for me!!! Oh wait! maybe that's Jewels job...to support us in 'spirit' until she's back in the sneakers again!..... Seriously Jewels, take it easy!! let yourself heal, regardless of whats' going on, give it a break until it's either mostly or, better yet ALL gone! I see way too many permanent or chronic injuries in my line of work - simply because folks won't back off enough to get better!.... meantime, we expect regular (currektly spelt er knot!) posts in here from you! Joe: ya know, the altitude kicked my butt! & I'm way more acclimated than you coastal folks!! proper hydration becomes extraordinarily important @ higher altitudes! and a couple thousand feet descent - downhill race puts a whole new spin on it!! I had to stop & re-lace my shoes 'cause I was slamming into my toe-box... still feel a little bruised today because I ran at least 5 miles w/my shoes too loose. & I didn't reign Mairead in like I should have - I did start her fairly well back to stay out of the way of the racers, but she was excited & wanting to run up front, hence- pulling a bit result: not such ideal posture while running downhill = sore muscles I hadn't had before! I did have a funny guy about mile 12 say, "Excuse me Maam, could I borrow your horse?" ....And, ref the creeks - some weren't deep enough for any real swimming, others are running way too fast this time of year! Very dangerous for anyone trying to swim!..& very cold!!...However, direct snowmelt run-off is the very best kind of air conditioning!.... I don't know much about the vest yet (I'm test-driving it for you ) but it seems to help....best to use common sense 1st....I still couldn't run her out there right now (85*F/35% H.) ...& they do tell you somewhat, when it's too much....sometimes it's better to go at their pace! ..... btw: we'd sure appreciate you posting more pictures...could you get a little closer (see Kelly's example) cause some of us have mature eyeballs & itty bitty computer screens.... then we'd be obliged to abuse your egos some more! ""Reinforcements from Arizona headed to California to fight wildfires FOX 10 Phoenix - Jul 02 8:09 AMAcross California, 1400 wildfires are burning covering 400,000 acres. 19,000 people are working around the clock in an attempt to get the fires contained. Reinforcements from around the country, including Arizona, are headed to California to help. FOX 10's Alexis Vance has more."" Arla! You be carefull out there!! might be an excellent time to adjourn school & take vacation in clearer air! FYI: This is a stressful/busy time of year for R2 & Lynda...almost daily dance w/T-storms just days before wheat harvest fully underway....(MIL still lives/farms near that area) Oh yeah, running thread! 0645 am 68*F/42% H 2.55 stiff hilly slow miles w/Mairead in her new coolie vest (she's not sure this is a good idea yet!) .... on the bright side - I found a Coach bag in great shape lying in the weeds! nothing but eyedrops in it! website says that's about a $200 find! Holy Cow! no wonder I never buy the things! getting to be lots more runners on the paths lately....must be something coming up soon.... Ciao! C

Oh! I totally forgot to ask your opinions on something....I think I mentioned back a ways that I'd signed up as a a volunteer/massage therapist for the Trans Rockies Run.....the volunteer duties includes setting up tents, manning aide stations, helping w/catering, transporting gear, etc...massage therapy would be @ start & finish each day...anyway, other than the electronic reply to my application, I hadn't heard anything back.....until yesterday - I got an email from one of the coordinators that said: Hi Cindy, I have hired a Medical/Therapist Team to look after the event. I have cc'd them on this e-mail. They will be able to help you out. Best Regards, Kevin... ?? & then: Thanks for wanting to help out. The plan is, the race organization decided to charge massage therapists a daily flat fee to be able to set up an area. That fee is $75 / day. Then, you charge what you want per athlete. As far as volunteering, That is per your schedule. If you would like to do both, massage and volunteer, we'll probably try to have you around the start/finish. Are you thinking every day, just a few? Volunteers get lots of goodies and schwag so helping out a little gets you lots of stuff. So, the plan is to let me know if you would like to do both? How many days? Then, you and I will get the best places and times for you to be around. Talk to ya soon. Bryan I'm confused...I thought I signed up to volunteer for the thing! both for general help & MT (I believe initially, massage therapists were listed on the volunteer page) the TRR costs $2700 per team (2 persons) for the six days already....I've never done one of these....I've never heard of the athletes paying the therapists @ an event...I wasn't looking to pay $450 to help w/the thing! nor was I looking for "work" per se... I'm so new at all of this! What do you know about it??

HI Everyone, I'm enjoying a quiet week without my kids. My parents took them to their camp in Maine for the week. Sort of a quiet week mileage wise with my 50 miler coming up on Saturday. Leslie-I'll do you a favor by not asking you to eat or drink anything for me OK? Jewels-Take your time and get better so you're not permanently side lined. Jim- No, my son didn't make it to NJ-the tournament for his age group was cancelled after a mix up on the size of the team. He was disappointed as was I but on the flip side he's in Maine now and I'm a little richer. The Jay race is July 26 and it's sold out. The full marathon last year was about 33 miles while the half was around 18-19. Crossing that stream was easy-it's the 4 miles of running in a river before that that's tough (on the toes). Cindy-each race is different when it comes to massages. Some races offer them for free while others charge-usually around $1 per minute (on the east coast anyway). Arla-Take care with the fires. Jim and Lynda-hope you're doing well. Easy six mile trail run this evening at the trail center while Jack mtn biked raced. Came across a couple deer in a field and one let me go right by without running away-pretty cool. Last night was the weekly 5K trail race where I thought I got my butt kicked but finished in 27:04, finishing 25th out of 109 women and 6th out of 31 in my age group (35-44). I'm happy with that! Am I ready for a 50 miler though......hmmmmm...... Kelly

Kelly, girl, you're gonna do GREAT in the 50 miler! We'll all be mentally rooting for you. And I'll raise a toast and eat . . . well, something . . . in your honor. Go! Run Wild! And Do Great Things!!

Joe - {{{{{{{NO HAIL VIBES}}}}}}}}} And have fun running the 5k on the 4th. 1.25 hours of strength/core/knee work this a.m. Beautiful sunrise over Kneeland Mountain. Hopefully, we're getting out of here early today, which means I better get my rear in gear and get one attorney's billing done or he'll have a cardiac on me. Good luck to our races, and everyone have a safe and fun 4th!!

Good morning and happy 4th to everyone..... Good luck to our weekend racers......go get 'em! Heading out the door to Ocala. Will be back Sunday afternoon.....talk to you all then! Hope everyone's weekend is a safe one! Jewels