Woot woot Joe.....congrats, I commented on the RR forum and I'm so glad I didn't jinx you. Jewels

Congrats also Joe, a job well done!! MTA did 8 in a figure 8 around our home section and another one to the south, half trail half gravel road. kicked my butt pretty good. Hope to catch back up with ya this week. Kinda lost today, don't know where to start. I have equipment to fix and clean up, grain to monitor and lots of little jobs that got put off etc. and also some bookwork inside. Have a good week folks.

Good job on the 8 miler Jim! Last weeks thread had Leslie doing 17 miles at a fabulous pace, Evryday gettin' in a nice 9 miler, Carol getting in an 8 miler and dog walkin', Kelly crankin' away on a daily basis and feelin' better each day, I got a good 2 hr. run in, Arla having some great mileage and Cindy checkin' in Blackberry style inbetween massage clients! Last but not least Joe's marathon....26.2! That's alot of miles for everyone.....must have been something in the air like......cool weather maybe? Jewels

Hey Folks!! Just trying to catch up on reading (much easier on the laptop than the Blueberry ) Congratulations again Joe! & Happy Anniversary to you both! No way you could jinx anybody Jewels! Congrats too to you Jim & Lynda - just in time for the holidays! been worried about cha!...who is that in your avatar pic?? ......sitting here feeling a minor bit achy bodied this am...curled up in a fluffy bathrobe w/vitamin I & herb tea.....I really had thought wrastlin' w/dbl pieces of 4'X8' sheets of gypsum board, 2X4's & 14 lb drills overhead was enough cross-training for the week...but then I had a "vision"...A truly more creative expression of intelligence & strength!....this would be one of those activities best captured by amateur home video..(the kind you send in to Bill Engvall!)...you see, the resort where I'm currently intending on hanging out for the season has been undertaking some remodeling in prep for the upcoming season....in these endeavors, they removed all of those big entertainment armoires & TV's, etc...& had them all (in chunks - as they progressed floor by floor) sitting out by a very large dumpster, (most of this process, I'd missed by not yet being present - Thank God!) & a very small sign near the front entrance driveway announcing that these things were "free" for a limited time....meaning that anything not claimed & carted away by a specified time, were smashed & tossed into the dumpster each week by trash day....nice.big.heavy.entertainment.armoires!! How cool!! so I "claimed" one...(thankfully, one of the "smaller" ones - if there really is such a thing!) Thinking this would be an awesome addition to the mtn house, which was built w/o a linen closet....I called Doug, who (for the second consec. wknd) borrowed a shop truck & hurried up here as fast as he could, post work...(poor guy hasn't had a day off in two weeks!)Now! how shall I say?...my first moment of apprehension occurred as the two of us wiggled it towards/around the back of the pk, & then tipped/wrastled it onto the bed.... now I remembered seeing the resort crew moving them w/a forklift! Holy Crap this thing's heavy!! & totally filled the bed of the pk! This is also the point where (now that I've committed him to my insanity) I yield management to the manly skills & leadership required by these types of "projects" - & Doug is now "in charge" of all engineering details....(we really needed two more men to make this more "reasonable" project...but I'm not sayin' anything!) Of course, I did suggest a stop for burgers & beer before proceeding directly to the finale, where Doug asked me (once) what I had in mind for it...I'm thinking (& it would've been the easiest solution) to replace a fairly cheap & dilapidated armoire & put it on the ground floor - which is a walkout basement. (The "main" floor is the 2nd floor)..Guess he forgot that during the 45 min drive from Breckenridge to the house....& probably what an 'adventure" we'd had during the Summer moving a large (not quite as large as this!) refrigerator to the main floor! & that was w/the help of DS#1 - who is not present tonight! 'Cause he backed the pk up to the stairs first thing! "Are you sure?" Eww! These are "cabin stairs" ~ wooden planks, rising fairly quickly for six & making a sharp (small landing where we needed to turn the damned thing!) right turn, up 8-10 more to a 4' space of the side of the deck adjoining a glass centered door...It's very dark (NO street lights!) & we prefer wimpy side lights in deference to our star-gazing neighbors & there are LARGE rocks decoratively placed at the bottom, adjacent to the side of the stairs (I will remember these at a key point of "turning" it!) & of course, two large black dogs there to 'cheer us on"! .... Staring up @ the door as Doug attached the utility cart to the armoire, I experienced enough adrenaline to effectively start my stomach to doing fearful flip flops...I asked him again if he was sure..."Oh, yeah. We can get this!" Oh yeah?! takes us three tries just to tip it! then we've gotta move it uphill on our non-paved approach to the bottom of the stairs ....& that was the easy part! three breath pause for each step...to the landing...which pinned Doug briefly, trying to turn it enough to get him out, we both lost our balance briefly!! I experienced that scared shiteless moment of time where I'm positive I'm about to die ~ or at least experience severe pain crushed btwn the armoire & the pretty rocks right behind me!!...(where IS my cussing support team when I need 'em?!) & pushed!! Doug (I can't see him, but I think he was kinda up on the railing!) pulled...Somehow, I dunno know how, we got it back up & turned...then (while it could sit unattended for a coupla minutes) we traded places so I could pull (yeah, right! - I don't know about you, but this is where I feel about as strong as overcooked pasta!) while Doug pushed the next set of stairs..then.."ummm, could you hold it there for a moment there while I put the dogs away & open the door - before we fall through it?" okay, be fast....then, after all that - the 2" threshold almost did us in! finally got it in the house & collapsed on the floor laughing - shaky & sweaty. Holy Crap! Once in the house, we realized that, due to its size, our options of where to put it were, shall we say, 'limited!" By midnight, we had thoroughly cleaned & rearranged the living room & now have it fully ensconced as it was indeed originally intended- an entertainment center complete w/the TV & other media devices...I'm still finding strange bruises today.....A small bit of humor: DS#1, who lives 'unintentionally' rent free in our mtn house, made the exasperated comment just the day before, in reference to us doing some finishing work & settling some of my things back in...that, we were "always moving stuff!" & I said "we were not! nothing significant anyway!" ....sitting & looking at this massive piece of furniture, & how we had to move everything to accommodate it...well!!

Hey Folks!! Just trying to catch up on reading (much easier on the laptop than the Blueberry ) Congratulations again Joe! & Happy Anniversary to you both! No way you could jinx anybody Jewels! Congrats too to you Jim & Lynda - just in time for the holidays! been worried about cha!...who is that in your avatar pic?? ......sitting here feeling a minor bit achy bodied this am...curled up in a fluffy bathrobe w/vitamin I & herb tea.....I really had thought wrastlin' w/dbl pieces of 4'X8' sheets of gypsum board, 2X4's & 14 lb drills overhead was enough cross-training for the week...but then I had a "vision"...A truly more creative expression of intelligence & strength!....this would be one of those activities best captured by amateur home video..(the kind you send in to Bill Engvall!)...you see, the resort where I'm currently intending on hanging out for the season has been undertaking some remodeling in prep for the upcoming season....in these endeavors, they removed all of those big entertainment armoires & TV's, etc...& had them all (in chunks - as they progressed floor by floor) sitting out by a very large dumpster, (most of this process, I'd missed by not yet being present - Thank God!) & a very small sign near the front entrance driveway announcing that these things were "free" for a limited time....meaning that anything not claimed & carted away by a specified time, were smashed & tossed into the dumpster each week by trash day....nice.big.heavy.entertainment.armoires!! How cool!! so I "claimed" one...(thankfully, one of the "smaller" ones - if there really is such a thing!) Thinking this would be an awesome addition to the mtn house, which was built w/o a linen closet....I called Doug, who (for the second consec. wknd) borrowed a shop truck & hurried up here as fast as he could, post work...(poor guy hasn't had a day off in two weeks!)Now! how shall I say?...my first moment of apprehension occurred as the two of us wiggled it towards/around the back of the pk, & then tipped/wrastled it onto the bed.... now I remembered seeing the resort crew moving them w/a forklift! Holy Crap this thing's heavy!! & totally filled the bed of the pk! This is also the point where (now that I've committed him to my insanity) I yield management to the manly skills & leadership required by these types of "projects" - & Doug is now "in charge" of all engineering details....(we really needed two more men to make this more "reasonable" project...but I'm not sayin' anything!) Of course, I did suggest a stop for burgers & beer before proceeding directly to the finale, where Doug asked me (once) what I had in mind for it...I'm thinking (& it would've been the easiest solution) to replace a fairly cheap & dilapidated armoire & put it on the ground floor - which is a walkout basement. (The "main" floor is the 2nd floor)..Guess he forgot that during the 45 min drive from Breckenridge to the house....& probably what an 'adventure" we'd had during the Summer moving a large (not quite as large as this!) refrigerator to the main floor! & that was w/the help of DS#1 - who is not present tonight! 'Cause he backed the pk up to the stairs first thing! "Are you sure?" Eww! These are "cabin stairs" ~ wooden planks, rising fairly quickly for six & making a sharp (small landing where we needed to turn the damned thing!) right turn, up 8-10 more to a 4' space of the side of the deck adjoining a glass centered door...It's very dark (NO street lights!) & we prefer wimpy side lights in deference to our star-gazing neighbors & there are LARGE rocks decoratively placed at the bottom, adjacent to the side of the stairs (I will remember these at a key point of "turning" it!) & of course, two large black dogs there to 'cheer us on"! .... Staring up @ the door as Doug attached the utility cart to the armoire, I experienced enough adrenaline to effectively start my stomach to doing fearful flip flops...I asked him again if he was sure..."Oh, yeah. We can get this!" Oh yeah?! takes us three tries just to tip it! then we've gotta move it uphill on our non-paved approach to the bottom of the stairs ....& that was the easy part! three breath pause for each step...to the landing...which pinned Doug briefly, trying to turn it enough to get him out, we both lost our balance briefly!! I experienced that scared shiteless moment of time where I'm positive I'm about to die ~ or at least experience severe pain crushed btwn the armoire & the pretty rocks right behind me!!...(where IS my cussing support team when I need 'em?!) & pushed!! Doug (I can't see him, but I think he was kinda up on the railing!) pulled...Somehow, I dunno know how, we got it back up & turned...then (while it could sit unattended for a coupla minutes) we traded places so I could pull (yeah, right! - I don't know about you, but this is where I feel about as strong as overcooked pasta!) while Doug pushed the next set of stairs..then.."ummm, could you hold it there for a moment there while I put the dogs away & open the door - before we fall through it?" okay, be fast....then, after all that - the 2" threshold almost did us in! finally got it in the house & collapsed on the floor laughing - shaky & sweaty. Holy Crap! Once in the house, we realized that, due to its size, our options of where to put it were, shall we say, 'limited!" By midnight, we had thoroughly cleaned & rearranged the living room & now have it fully ensconced as it was indeed originally intended- an entertainment center complete w/the TV & other media devices...I'm still finding strange bruises today.....A small bit of humor: DS#1, who lives 'unintentionally' rent free in our mtn house, made the exasperated comment just the day before, in reference to us doing some finishing work & settling some of my things back in...that, we were "always moving stuff!" & I said "we were not! nothing significant anyway!" ....sitting & looking at this massive piece of furniture, & how we had to move everything to accommodate it...well!!

whewh....I'm exhausted!!

Ummm, yup....think I remember the "Energy Crisis" of the 70's....& the following "Farm Crisis" that wiped out a large portion of our family farms in the early 80's...the S&L crash of the late 80's....mega companies exploding overnight & swallowing each other through the 90's....anybody see a pattern??? Oh yeah, you said "energy".....http://www.energy.gov/

Hi All, a little sore today but happy to see everyone running, working ,and in Cindy's case, pretending to be SuperWoman!!! Jewels- No jinx ,just tightness.Thanks for keeping track! About the time you posted that (10:31) I still had more than hour to go and was still on my goal pace! Did your Sis talk you into the Turkey Trot? Carol- Good Luck with your TurkeyTrot! Have a nice run then eat all you want,guilt free! Arla- Good going on the 18 !!! What a feeling of accomplishment as you climb the ladder.The confidence gained from those really long runs really helped me.To answer your question, I think I could have loosened up more before the race.I feel I could have held my pace without the strain,even though it was a slightly faster pace than any of my longest training runs. Jim- Glad your stuff is really in the barn! Just a metaphor for us but for you, your well being. Rest up and continue the good runs. Isn't it getting close to that Fla vacation time of year? Nice avatar! Is that you? Leslie- 17miler , Sweet! I agree with you about these government dept's, the less the better!They become a vortex that has to keep fueling itself and once they're created,they never go away.Your new hours sound very appealing. Cindy- are you sure that the altitude at that mountain house doesn't do some funny things to you guys? Simply incredible.It's awesome to see people who just refuse to say " I can't do that".WTG and I'm glad you both came out of it in one peice! Hey Evryday- good going with your running,you're looking very consistent.Time to tell your Cowboys to let up a bit. Feeling pretty good today though the parts are quite sore.A good charliehorse as well as the tight hip on the left side but it's not that bad. Nothing a little rest won't take care of anyway.All the well wishes and pats on the back from you guys really helped make this a special and very memorable race for me, so Thanks once again!