Hi Yall!! I bagged my long run Sunday due to blizzard condiitions in this Jekyl and Hyde spring weather in the Rockies and plains east that Saph and Mtnchk have been dealing with also. I was pretty sore anyway from helping my neighbor drive his cows home after the Saturday run. Hope to get a run in tonight with class. Leslie my doc told me most insur will pay for celebrex if you have ever had an ulcer or at least blue cross would. That cell phone encounter would creep me out. I had a late 20's junkie looking girl approach me for money at a truck stop in CA, not something I encounter everyday in rural Nebraska. Anyway I gave her a few bucks and we were on our way. I suppose she was a prostitute, . She was dirty and in ragged clothes but would clean up to be quite pretty, kinda bothered me though. BTB I really enjoyed those photos you posted from the rural areas near you, very pretty and much diffrent from here. Joe great job!! Glad you had a great vacation!! BTY the wind off the Hudson had to be cold but glad you are getting out. Mtnchk and Saph next week looks a little better weather wise, kinda hard to get in synch with the good days. Jewels hang in there.

Afternoon 40's.... Yep Leslie, I think ya ticked em off just a tad by saying what you did. You had 2 choices, say "no" I don't have a cell phone (and take a chance they weren't wierdos) or say "yes" I do have a cell phone but you can't use it. You made the right choice! You just never know. Hope the knee takes care of itself with the meds/icing. mtnchk/saph...your weather is crazy, get out there when you can! joe....welcome back, sounds like a great trip. Woot, woot on the 20 miler! Does your training plan incorporate any strength training or is it all running. Whatever it is you're doing awesome. r2farm....running with cows....just kidding. So I get home from work, kick off my sandals and walk out in the backyard to talk to my daughter. I forgot to slip on my flip flops and went out barefoot. BAD IDEA! Stepped on a freaking bee that stung me right between a couple of the toes. Hurt like a mother! My toes are swollen and the top of my foot is red/swollen. How can something so tiny cause such pain? Little bugger...... Thanks all for your kind words......you guys are great! Jewels

Stepped on a freaking bee that stung me right between a couple of the toes. Hurt like a mother! My toes are swollen and the top of my foot is red/swollen. How can something so tiny cause such pain? Little bugger...... Thanks all for your kind words

$@%&$ @#$*@ Bee! (Do those words help, too??)

I'm ready to stick a toothpick in 2 of my toes.....they look like vienna sausages or lil smokie sausages. Jewels

Take those little smokies, roll one of 'em up in a Pillsbury crescent roll with a slice of cheese, bake, serve with a spice mustard and enjoy. Oh what a guilty pleasure!

Hi Folks, back to work for me today Jewels-bummer about your foot.Has the swelling gone down?My plan is only about running but I have been doing pushups/situps on my off days. Leslie-scary story about those guys.I thought about what else to do in your shoes and could not come up with a better idea.Maybe worth carrying a phone for emergencies?If worse came to worse maybe run away from those dudes and call 911?I take being safe for granted.Not the case with you Ladies sometimes though. Ultra-those are besome serious miles you're logging.Do you have an ultra scheduled? R2-Nice run and nice vacation for you.Did you say you run with cows? Saph and Mtn-hope the weathers evens out for you. Well I did it. I officially signed up for my first marathon.That would be the NJ Marathon on May4th.Flat and straight and by the beach. Have a good one folks!!

Hey Joe! Good for you! You'll do great. Farmer Jim - I'll let you know about the Celebrex. I'm so achy right now from my ramped up workouts, it may take awhile to figure out what's real pain and what's self-pity pain. However, I did have a thought this a.m. while running and am going to talk to my doctor about it. I haven't been wearing my orthotics, and I'm wondering if that could be part of the problem. I need to get my extra pair resurfaced with something besides leather, and my other pair that I use on a daily basis is just about ready to fall apart. I just keep forgetting to go in. No weirdos this morning, but I did have my pepper spray at the ready most of the time. I figure in most cases I may not be able to outrun a pursuer, but I could run farther! Speaking of running, did 5 miles this a.m. w/10 hill repeats - 4 short (less than a minute each), 6 long (close to 1 1/2 minutes each). Warmed up for a mile, did the repeats, then finished my run. My legs are poo, poo, pooped! I got to work and started climbing the stairs to go up to the kitchen area and Ugh! However, with the repeats (which include walking back down the hill 'til I catch my breath), I had an average pace of 11:08. Not too stinky. Well, both bosses are back at work today, so I guess I gotta actually get something done. One was sick for 2 days and the other was out of town at a trial for 2 days. It sure was nice for those two days!! Modified to Add: Almost forgot. If you like really mellow music w/a touch of country flavor, check out a group called Hem. Their song, "Half Acre," is used in the Liberty Mutual Insurance commercial. And for inexpensive CDs, DVDs, etc., check out www.half.com. I LOVE this site and get almost all my music from there. It's run by eBay, so when you purchase something from a seller, the money runs through eBay, not the seller. I've been buying music from the site for close to 8, 9 years and have only filed 3 complaints.

Nice Prague report Leslie.....some people might wonder why you picked Prague.....well.....ya can't see beauty like that on a tropical island, right? Being an Air Force brat we spent 9 years overseas. Lived in Germany for 6 years and England for 3 years. So we got to visit Belgium, Switzerland, Holland. Nothing like European history/art. Got a nice run in today. Shoe was a little tight on the left foot from the stinkin' bee sting so left the laces a bit loose. Have a great evening all......Jewels

Happy Friday, Folks! Arla - How's the cold this morning? Seems like the whole country is sick with this crap (and it is truly crap!). Here in Humboldt County, due to lack of hospital staff (because they're sick) and beds ('cause they're full of sick people), they've been sending cases of pneumona down to the Santa Rosa hospitals. Take care of yourself, girl, and hopefully it won't beyond the annoying cold stage. Had a rather lackluster cardio workout this morning. Picked the cardio-sculpt tape, and it had way too much lower body work than just cardio work. One can only do so many calf raises and or hamstring work when the gals on the TV are squatting like crazy. I ended up doing jumping jacks and anything else I could think of to keep my heart rate up. Gave up after 45 minutes, did some ab work and called it a day. The knee is feeling better, but it still pops with extensive bending. Tried to do bicycles for the ab workout, but everytime I extended my right leg, my knee would pop. The popping is what got in me in trouble two weeks ago, so no more bicycles for now, either. Tomorrow it's 3 hours on the trails. This is our last long run before our run in 2 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed I've "carbo loaded" correctly and won't bonk like I did last Saturday. Have a good one!