Good morning!  Man,that's a lot of miles being raced, today.  Good luck to all the races!

I'm just getting myself ready to go run with high school CC kids.  It was homecoming, last night, so maybe I'll be able to keep up with them. Actually, I think I might work with the girls, today.  It's always funny to me when I single out a kid on the team to push...of course it's not the varsity kids anymore...they just run away from me...which makes it even more surprising to the kid, because he/she wonders why I'm wasting my time with them.  But, they come to practice...on a Saturday...at 7 am...and they figure they're just going to go through the motions, then all of a sudden, this little old man is barking at them and making them put out an honest effort.  I think they all wish I'd just stay home and leave them alone.  And I would...but breakfast afterward is so dang good!

It's Ryan's birthday, today.  23 years old.  He's going to practice, too--did I tell you he's a volunteer assistant coach, this year?  Anyway, he's going but not running...he's do in the Twin Cities Marathon, tomorrow!  Woo Hoo!  I am really looking forward that!

Okay--it's time to go.  See ya!

Tet--all that training is getting to you.  Always embrace the nap, though.

4.5 miles for me this morning whilst waiting for the contractor to arrive and (hopefully) finish the roof today.  We'd like it better if tomorrow is just a relaxing day.  Of course, now DW and I are having a bit of doubt on the color we picked in that it's not as dark gray as we thought it was going off the color charts.  Oh well, it's only got a 40 year warranty, so we can fix it next time around.

The standard run up in Maine is just a BIT more hilly than my lake loop at home, so while this morning was not terribly fast, it was steady and no hill walking.  I'm calling that improvement in fitness.  There does seem to be some hope that I won't totally embarrass myself at jay's race in November.

Enjoy your run with the youngsters. Mike.  Getting passed by some old guy is terrific inspiration for them.

Slo--sorry you're stuck at work.  I need to fit in a couple of hours myself this afternoon to try and save a few vacation hours from yesterday.

Good luck to the racers.  Especially Ribs.  After all his whining about trail racing, I bet he has a blast.  (and probably sneaks away with an AG on top of it)

Hello again!  I had a really fun time at practice.  I ran with the top girls.  I told the coach that I was going to and as I was walking up to their group I saw him talking to them.  I knew from the looks on their faces that he was telling them that they were stuck with me this morning.  I got there just in time to hear one of them say, "How fast are we going?"  Their workout for the day was a 2.5 mile at race pace speed.  A 5 minute recovery.  Then a 1.5 mile at race pace speed.  The coach had asked me to try to keep the top 3 girls together.  The top 3 have been trading places as top girl all season, so you would think they would train around the same speed.  But Kenzie is a practice super star.  She excels in practice but just doesn't perform at her best at the meets...we can't figure it out.  Anyway, sure enough, Kenzie takes off and leads the pack.  After awhile, I dropped back to try to bring the other girls up to her...they're working...and I'm barking encouragingly...but they just can't bridge the gap.  I would speed up and catch Kenzie to keep her going then drop back--I kind of did this for a bit but then stuck with the 3rd girl for the last 3/4 to keep her going.  If looks could kill, I would be a dead man.  Going up the last hill I started yelling and she took off--I couldn't hang with her!  As I came into the finish area, she was slumped over--hands on her knees--trying to catch any breath she could find.  As I walked be she said, "Will you run with me on the next one, too?"  Have I ever told you guys how much I love running with these kids?

Okay--I gotta go.  Ryan and I are going to the expo to pick up his stuff then drive the course.  I sure I hope I run into John and Julie sometime today.

What a great story, Mike.  I bet you’d be an excellent coach.

We slept with the windows open and the ceiling fan on last night, toying with turning on the AC again.  Must be race day!

Yup, a 20-miler in 100% humidity and temps that spiked up to the mid-80s by the end.  This 20-miler is a local “race” that many people use as a training run for either Richmond or Marine Corps.  My goal was to get Pfitz’s longest MP run done (20 w/14@ MP) and see if I could hold the MP pace (<8:00) through the end.  That didn’t happen.  I managed to stay at about an 8:00 pace through 15; faded in 16, then just died for the last four miles as I walked/jogged it in. The last 5 miles or so are mostly direct sunshine, the temps had spiked, it was just ugly.  Not my kind of running weather.

Here’s my positive spin: an efficient race.  All the fun of blowing up without all the hassle of running a full 26.2 miles. 

Hope the real racers have a better day!

10.12 miles.  First double digit run since the Green Bay half in May.  Now I'm too tired to comment on anything else, even though there is comment worthy material in today's posts.

wild, great race picture.  Mike, happy birthday to Ryan.  fatozzig, good dog rescue.

Nice long runs for CNY, Tramps, and Dave.

This morning, it was about 60 and there was some wind.  I got in 8 miles around Ludington at an 11:22 pace.

As expected, my mother was excited to spend time with her greaat grandson. I'm not sure if she realized the connection but she was thrilled to hold and feed the baby.  It was enjoyable for me to spend time with my son, daughter in law, grandson, sister, and brother in law.  The kids are leaving shortly but I will stick around and leave tomorrow morning.

A good day and good runs for all.

TomS

Tet--all that training is getting to you.  Always embrace the nap, though.

 

 

Go Spareribs go!!!

Wildchild already has 3' of snow! Wow. Our mountains did get some snow last night too, but nothing in the valley yet.

Dave59, welcome back to the double digit running!

Tramps, 20 miles in 100% humidity, ouch! Is that a normal weather for your area in the fall?

Speaking of weather, we sure had a perfect racing weather for the Autumn Leaf run today. It was around 45 with wind when the Easy Peacer and I went to place the signs on the race course, but the weather warm up beautiful before the race started. I was worried about how tired I felt after working the race course pre-race so when the race started I was not sure what to expect. I am please to say that I finished with a 4' course PR and a lifetime PR for a 10k. 53:18 is the official finish time. First place in my age group and get this...I got frickin last as well because all the 50' females decided to sleep in and they did not show up.

Now it is time go outside to plant some tulips before I clean up to go to a wine and cheese fundraiser event in the town up north. Dress up night tonight, hurrah!