lswife, my son IS 15, and my goal (seriously) is to run HALF as fast as he does! He can run a mile in 4:46, so I'm aiming for 9:32 (have a ways to go, lol). Of course, the problem is that he keeps improving, so it may be a lost cause. But he gets so excited that I'm running at all that he's very encouraging. My running partner is 57, 12 years older than I am, and she's always ahead of me! So I get passed by younger people and older ones. It doesn't matter, though! Teresa

Good Morning Everyone, Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day. . . 34 degrees and raining. I love it. 4 miles this morning. I hope everyone is feeling OK. Deb, are you thinking that you will try to run in Columbus? Cheers, Mike

Same in terms of weather here - weird. It's going on 6:00 p.m., and the temp is 67 degrees. Just checked weather.com to try to figure out what to wear for a run, and it's saying 80% chance of thunderstorms from now until 8:00 p.m. That's all I needed for an excuse to skip the run and try out the stability ball exercise cards I bought last week. Right foot is still a little sore from the speedwork stuff the other night, I'm really tired, and I have some school work to do this evening, so the no-run timing is good. I'm also within a mile of the 1,000K pace bunny. Got word this afternoon that my SIL had a mild stroke this morning. She's like a sister in that she and my brother started dating when I was 2 years old, so I literally don't remember my family without her. (Also in the way we get along and sometimes don't get along.) She's also, sadly, a perfect example of why I'm more determined that ever to take care of myself by exercising and getting down to a healthy weight and staying there. She's only 58, but has been severely obese for as long as I can remember. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and diabetes about three years ago; really took care of herself for about 8 months, but then went back into "queen of denial" mode. We just lost mom's SO (she wouldn't call him "boyfriend," but they dated for 10 years and he was like my second father) at Thanksgiving, so my whole extended family is still mourning his loss. Would appreciate healing boomer/master newbie vibes. OK, a little good news: I actually had FUN at school today. The whole atmosphere of both of my schools is still worse than ever, but lately, when I close the classroom door and teach, the kids and I are having a good time at it more often than not. Oh, and I'm getting my orthotics Monday! I CAN'T WAIT!!! Good runs, recovery, and random weather, all, Eliz

it's a little late, but a qucik note before bedtime. I just spent the day in Stafford NJ (waving distance to Eliz's summer stopming grounds) it was gorgeous right around 70. good thing I didn't plan on running--too warm Of course, I can't fly through Philly without something going wrong. freezing rain in Manchester NH, so the flight got cancelled and I'm hanging out in the airport Holiday Inn for a short time. Eliz--so sorry to hear about your SIL. it's sad that she did such a good job of being a bad example. Kevin

Just a quick note. Going to start running again tomorrow. A few run/walk miles to begin with. I cant take not running anymore. New Runners World came and I need to get out on the road more than ever. Have to take Kim to music lessons. Then seeing my DD1's new puppy. Cool. Will reply more later. Laurie the jealous runner

Just a quick note. Going to start running again tomorrow. A few run/walk miles to begin with. I cant take not running anymore. New Runners World came and I need to get out on the road more than ever. Have to take Kim to music lessons. Then seeing my DD1's new puppy. Cool. Will reply more later. Laurie the jealous runner

laurie, you posted this while I was writing my post. i understand you can't take it. neither could i. really really think this through & do some research first, yes? ok? i was doing very careful walk/run miles on my nice track in early november. it is very hard (impossible) not to start to go fast at least for a while. you just can't help it. i'd start out at 13mph, & end up at 8, usually. (just for the laps or parts of laps I was aiming for) Even when I didn't do that I still ended up hurting. I'm not saying it will be the same with you, but you're just as impatient as I am!! Hamstrings are so easy to re-injure, & the more you do that, the less chance that they will ever heal properly. if they don't, you'll always have to be careful & will have a greater chance of pulling it again. I forget if you ever said where the pull is... it's worse if it's at the attachment site. If you can honestly manage to stop short of pain, it should be ok. I just don't think it's likely that you can do that. sorry for the lecture. just want you to be better.

Kevin - glad you got to experience some nice weather when you were "down the shore." (That's what we Philly folk call the Jersey beaches.) Sorry about your experience at PHL, but can't say I'm surprised. If When I finally move "down the shore," I'm hoping I can do most of my (limited) flying through Atlantic City. PHL is the pits! Laurie - good luck with the run/walk thing. I won't tell you to take it easy - I trust that you're smart enough to do that. Listen to your body, yadda, yadda. It IS good advice, though. Deb - hurts to eat?!?! That's horrible, unless, of course, you're drinking really good stuff! Got in 3.5 miles this evening. Walked a little more than usual before and after because I'm feeling kind of ache-y and not-great all over. Sore enough to not skimp on the stretching, which is probably a good thing. Beautiful sunset run. Sunset is late enough that I feel kind of silly starting in my reflective vest, but I still definitely need it by the time I get home. I'm doing a unit on the Baroque period with my 6th graders, and Bach's Little Fugue in G Minor was going through my head the whole time - not a bad thing to have stuck in your brain! Haven't talked to SIL directly (she doesn't want visitors except my brother), but am getting updates from mom (who invoked her family matriarch status and visited anyway, which was good for both of them). We're optimistic that this may have frightened SIL enough to start taking better care of herself, so it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Test results not complete yet, but it appears that there's no significant long-term impairment, although her right hand is still fairly weak. She was being pretty feisty today about wanting to exercise her hand, so we're optimistic about that. Thanks for the prayers. Byeeeeeeee, Eliz