Holly:Glad to see that your return to running is going so well. Let me tell you about kids with big feet. My DS in 9 (he will be 10 in January) and is already 5'7". He is taller than my ex-wife and the same height as me. He wears a size 15 men's shoe! When he was two we had a bone scan done on him and the Dr. told us he had the potential of being over 7 ft. He is adopted but we know his family history and there are many people in his family who are over 6'5" or more. When my ex-wife complains about how big he is getting or how much shoes cost, I just tell her, that NBA contract will fund our retirement! 8 miles easy for me today at the track in 1:18:53 a 9:52 pace. Have a great day everyone. Bruce

Holly, are you going to continue your "gym membership" after you're back on the road? That cross training is very valuable, as you've found, and at that price you can hardly not do it! Would be fun to see how long it takes them to notice. Funny story on DD. And my DS2 is always outgrowing his shoes. He likes his soccer cleats to fit pretty snugly, so it seems we're buying two and three pair a season! That was fine when he liked the $28 Nike's and the sort, but the last pair were $90... ouch. Foot update: I iced it (as in soaked my foot in a dishpan of ice water) in a 5-10 minutes in, 5 minutes out fashion for over an hour yesterday afternoon, then again for about 45 minutes (almost continuously...less ice) before dinner. Had it on the cold pack for about 30 mins. before bedtime. Took 800 mg of ibu at 3 pm (first ibu in over 24 hours), then another 800 mg at 10 pm, AND ibu cream rubbed into the sore parts at bedtime. This morning, feels fine. Hardly would know I had a problem. I didn't ice it well Friday night, so the soreness on Saturday was a reminder I really need to do that. It's progressing or behaving about as the podiatrist said it would. He said this sort of thing can take awhile to show itself, but once it does it can progress pretty quickly. My dad struggled for years with it before having surgery a couple years ago, which he said did help, but then he's not out running around either. Funny part is, I broke my other foot many years ago (horse stepped on it) and it healed with a small upward bump in the bone. Dr. says that's probably the reason I'm not having problems with that one now! Too bad she didn't step on both feet and break this right one, too. Heading to the gym tonight after work for some weights and pool running. This is my last big week of miles before taper, which I'm really looking forward to! Nonoruns: you are amazing. With all you've been through this year, and especially recently, you pull off a 7+ minute PR on the 10k. Running as therapy is not a concept lost on you! Tallrunner: careful there, big guy... You say you're going slowly, but you tend to fall hard. DH said it well... Enke: mystery pains drive me nuts. I get those in my ankles every now and then, and then poof, they're gone! Teresa: I remember when my dog followed me on a run once years ago. She really didn't like it, and didn't even try to follow me after that! Hope he recovers with few aches and pains.

Well, I missed my medium-long run yesterday. My hip is twingy, and I'm terrified of hip injuries. So I bailed after just a quarter mile and worked in the garden instead. Now the pace bunny is gaining on me! I'll try again tomorrow, but I won't hesitate to take several days off if I need to. Holly - I just love the photo of DD and Dexter. She's a riot! Work is crazy-busy today - no time to chat, or read much else over here.

DH, I am absolutely irritating as hell to live with. Why do you think my wife's handle is The Saint? I also see where you are coming from with a good paying job you wouldn't like, or a low paying job you would love. Somewhere there must be a happy medium. As for remembering Tramps' post from years ago, I bet all of us who have been here awhile remember it. It was very funny (the writing), although the incident itself was not. Thanks all for the great b'day wishes! Loved that cake-cutting photo, speaking again of Tramps. Nono, way to go! Big PR! That's right Tall, take it slow. Don't marry her until this weekend. 41 miles Mary? Just like your age. Nice work. Gordon you asked, so good luck on the job hunt. I got 5 in today at the dirt track with The Saint. 1:29 for me, or just about 18 min/miles. Saint did 7. No sooner did we send Prime Rib off to college yesterday, than we had to send Riblet off to school this morning. Here's a pic. Riblet is the one with the tie. Spareribs

Nice reports here and I wish I had more time to respond appropriately. We are just back and I have to head to the airport. I have 3 client days this week in 3 different locations, so I am a bit rushed. MIL doing better, so that heayy worry feeling is dissipating a bit. She has MS that has been asymptomatic for a long while and everything seemed to go haywire last week. We are hopeful that this was just an aberration. My in-laws are in their mid-to--late 70s, so each health event is a bit more intense. We also stopped to see my family and that amounted to hearing how I am to blame for all problems. My last two runs have been heavy legged and heavy hearted owing to lack of sleep and getting too wrapped up in stuff. Sometimes it's good just to run and not think. That will have to be next week. Pardon the overshare moment, I am a cup is half-full person and just had a hiccup is all. Thanks for listening---Krabby Karin will be fine. Twocat, you'll blow by me on Monday. You are running so well right now and your goal is right there. We'll see if I wake up with a jonesing for a race on Monday. I did get in 8 miles at 6 AM in the cool morning air of Rochester. I slept for a good portion of the drive across the NYState Thruway after Syracuse and still have car door creases on my face. Lovely! Sorry about the dog mishap Tramps. Let me at 'em---the way I feel, no doggie owner like that stands a chance! Great photo of Riblet. What a handsome guy. A bright spot for early September will be a run with Holly! I circled it on my calendar Holly. Your DD looks marvelous. I can't wait until she runs with us as well. Erika, I am worrying about your (((((foot))))) too. You know what you can handle and I am just hoping it's not an extended thing. Okay, I said I had no time and I am rambling. Time to get into grown-up clothes and earn some dollars so we can pay bills. CNYrunner/Karin

Hope everyone's Monday is going well. Late post of 4.5 miles on the eliptical in 35 minutes with weights and ab work. Our YMCA was closed last week for annual cleaning/fixing, so it felt good to cross-train today and hopefully have fresh legs for a long run tomorrow. Today was the kids' first day back at the high school where I work. I thought of Holly's DS and DD as I helped "lost" freshmen find their way around the school. They looked so frightened! I hope everyone's kids are enjoying their first days back. Holly and Spareribs - the apple didn't fall far from the tree for either of you - your kids look just like you! Those were great pictures and brought back a lot of happy memories. We started a tradition of taking the kids' pictures walking down our driveway to catch the school bus on the first day each year. Dicky G - my DH finished dead last in the last flight. I was proud of him, though. He had a couple of beers, talked about his bad round with some friends and came home in a pretty good mood. Mary - congrats on your 40+ week! Seems like you are right on track with your schedule. Are you feeling positive about your training up to this point? Nonoruns - a PR in your race is great - knocking 7 minutes off last year's time is amazing! Hope you celebrated your huge accomplishment. CNY Runner - hope your MIL continues to improve. It sounds like she's been through a lot. From Olympics to the Democratic Convention tonight. Do you think there will be any "synchronized speeches" or other great forms of entertainment? Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone. Jeanne

That Riblet is a handsome kid. Must be adopted.

although I haven't seen a pic of The Saint, I am thinking she is probably drop dead gorgeous. Riblet obviously gets his great locks of blond hair and dashing good looks from the maternal side.