Eiz, congrats on your 8-miler!! That's really exciting. We can commiserate about HM training! I'm determined to make it 9.5 miles this week, but it will be hard. I intended to do 6 today, but it felt good so I ended up going 6.4 miles at 10:42 pace. I have to work on going slower for my training runs! A very strange problem for me to have.

Just a quick question. I will post more later. How do I get rid of 10 lbs of muscle weight? I ended up with more muscle on my legs than I want after 2 months of PT and gym workouts with no running. So now I have 10 extra pounds to lug around. Laurie

Theresa, youre doing really well. What is your training goal? Half marathon? Mike, congrats on the job. Hows the rehab coming? Kevin, did you make it to Boston to meet Bob? Eliz, I know another teacher that is burned out big time and another school worker who cant take much more either. It seems like the schools are afraid to discipline and the teachers are just ignoring bad behavior. Hows your school doing? My 12 year old has been bullied all year. I have stomped into the counselors office many times this year furious. Their answer to the bully problem is to take my daughter out of class to meet with other victims of bullying to have sessions on learning how to handle bullying! I may be wrong but my answer to this problem would be to take the bulliers out of class and teach them how to behave! Dont interupt my daughter's day because she is the victim. Argh. I am on the verge of homeschooling. dg, hows things? Linda, is the spring air better or worse for breathing? Did it actually snow there the other day? My update. I ran 3.5 with running partner Sunday. It was a struggle. I think I run better alone. Every time I run with a partner I struggle. I think its the stress. Although I dont struggle with the womens club probably because they run slowly and leisurly and its more social than running. Monday I took the kids to the Boston marathon! What a cool experience!!! We positioned ourselves at the finish line. We were able to see the leaders finish and see Lance. Way too cool. And besides parking and gas it was free! Of course it opened a can of worms. Now Kim and I both are wanting to run it next year. I rode my bike to work yesterday 24 miles and reinjured my hamstring. Ouch. I forgot how much more a bike uses the hams than running does? So I am back into PT twice a week. Its not too bad though. I was able to swim today for 40 minutes. I was worn out after that. I have to get back into swimming condition. But I noticed that the weight workouts throughout the winter strengthened my arms a lot and now swimming is easier and my stroke is stronger. My 10lbs are mostly in the legs. I can feel it in clothes. They are tighter but I am not flabbier (sorry). Laurie

hi guys, I'm sorry I'm so behind again. just doing a quick post from work. Linda, so sorry breathing is tough again. i hope your weather has warmed up. I wish there was a way for that whole issue to go away. glad pt is helping. curious about the neck aspect. good you got a run in even when it's tough. I really am trying to take it slow & easy but it might be a good thing you don't live too close. laurie, sorry about your hamstring!! I know how you feel, or close, anyway. it's nice you're able to swim though. I wonder why the difference, or are you using the pull buoy? 10 lb. is a lot of muscle. the only thing I could come up with, besides the usual more rep/lower intensity and stretches, was to just do the opposite of all the diet advice out there which tells you how not to lose muscle. only thing is, it would be all over. that's awful about the bullying. eliz, & teresa, you're both doing wonderfully well. hi Mike, Jem & Roberta. things are going pretty good. running 3 days on the track. & added 1 day walking outside (hilly!). trying to behave. lots of cross training. a little pain but manageable. Laurie, I just noticed your foot question. that's supination.. I don't know about the shoes, too many variables. this might be helpful, I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing.. http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/pronation-supination.php. I noticed the same thing as far as different proportions of leg muscles both when i was using the elliptical, & from pt.. I have to agree, esp. if it's from pt, even though it's not what you're used to it might actually be good.

Linda, you might have explained this to me before, but do what the numbers (10/2, 15/2) mean? deb, sounds you youre doing much better. Dont get burned out on the track though. When you feel up to it you might want to add in some variety. Bob, BZ on your Boston run! Whats next for you? Ultra marathon? I did 3.something on the dreadmill today. Lots of outer right leg and shin pain. I tried to run through the pain though. Its the same leg that I run on the outside foot and toes go numb. Sometimes I can run in the stability shoes, sometimes (like today) I cant. Bob, any experience or input with this? Laurie

Hi everyone! I really, really need to spend more time here. My apologies. Laurie! You goofball, you never emailed me to say where you would be for the marathon! I would've hunted you down at the finish line! It sounds like you had a great time, I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves. Next year, if not sooner, ok? There's no magic way of getting rid of muscle weight, other than to stop the exercises you were doing to build them, and in time they will atrophy down. It'll take a while though. Some people just tend to bulk up easier than others, you may be one of them. Stick to lighter weights if you keep lifting. Your feet... do you run on crowned roads? If so, the outer leg and foot takes a beating due to the slant in the road. Just a thought. It could be that your biomechanics are just screwy. It's not uncommon to be out of balance, with one foot or leg having different mechanics than the other. If you have the desire to figure this out, a trip to a good podiatrist, one who can wire you up electronically and test everything, may be your solution. I would think your PT may have suggestions. Bring him or her some cookies, and they will do whatever you ask! I got to meet Stumpy in Boston! That was so cool! What a great guy. He brought the best snacks to the marathon trials I might add. Thanks Kevin for taking the time and effort to come hang out! Everyone else... I'm thinking of you! Feel better!

Hey Everyone, 3 miles for me on this beautiful afternoon. The sun is out, the flowers are blooming and it's a beautiful day. cheers, Mike

Linda, is that run 10 mins, walk 2 mins? Congrats to you guys and to her on her goal! Hope you get somewhere soon with the shoulder. Bob, I know I forgot to get your bib number. I will bring Kim down to LI for a tri or a duathlon. Get your bike ready to compete with us. Wire me up electronically? Sounds Young Frankenstein scarry. But I think you are right with the podiatrist though. Yesterday on the dreadmill I ran 5 minutes. Couldnt take the pain anymore. So I stretched about 10 mins. Tried to run again and same shin leg pain. Fortunately I had my Nike Free on the locker. So I changed shoes out and resumed running. Mike, how was your run today? Pain free I hope. Laurie the burned out ATCer