Maine, it's warm at your house, lol! -1 real temp at ours. Rest day for me today, thank goodness! Snow is supposed to start around 1 pm. 8 to 20 inches predicted. I'm glad I made a major grocery store trip on Friday, because we can hunker down. We're supposed to host a small piano recital at our house at 3 pm. I'm hoping it's not canceled, because I've made stuff for it! The severe weather isn't scheduled to begin until 6 pm, so maybe the Mainers will be hardy and show up. The winter storm warning ends at 5 am Monday. I wonder if they will get things cleaned up in time to hold school?? Our district doesn't seem to go for delayed openings. My kids will be dying, because two of them have big tests tomorrow. Do (did) you ever get so proud of your kids you want to explode? DS16, the runner, just got accepted into the National Honor Society as a Junior, and is finishing up his Eagle Scout application. He will be sorely missed around here in a year and a half when he goes off to college. Maybe he'll start acting up a little so we'll be happier to see him go! (oops, I didn't really say that)

I'm doing a bit of catching up. Tall, it's good to hear from you. fatozzig, sorry to hear about the job but glad to hear there are some prospects. bike, you continue to show your generosity. You're a good guy. mariposai, I'm glad to hear your car incident didn't have any terrible results. holly, that was a pretty fast simulated 5K. Congrats on winning OA and in AG. spareribs, nice 5K. You're recovering well. runningindc, I'm glad to hear your come back is doing well. PBJ, it's good to hear from you. teresa, congrats to your son on the NHS and Eagle Scout. Nice long runs for perch, peter, breger, holly, and mariposai. Yesterday I did a mediocre 5K and will post a report later. This morning, I hit the TM at the normal 1% and 6.2mph (9:40/mi). I planned on 5 miles but was struggling enough that I quit at 4. A good day and good runs for all. TomS

Nice progression Maine! You are a quick one. Theresa, that was a joy to read. What a great kid. Hang in there Nono. And you can undress on my porch without any rebuke from me. Back in the 20's here and I am chicken to go out but will in a few minutes for recovery run. But before I do, may I beg a favor of you? Riblet played this for me yesterday and I filmed it and put it on YouTube. He wants to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I told him I would help him get a few hundred hits, so please give it a play if you're in the holiday spirit. Thanks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2LBZ2dcOic Spareribs

Good morning all! I missed yesterday's thread but went back and read it. PBJ! Its very good to see you. Come back and post some more. I think of you every time I run an 8 miler. Bill, excellent long run yesterday. Holly, greta job on the simulated 5K. I agree with whoever said that you have great discipline. I don't think I could run a 5K all out without actually having other people to help me out. I think I could do it in training but only with other folks to compete against. It sounds like you are in better shape than you thought and can adjust your paces. dg, I agree with Ribs and Aamos. There is no need to train for the 5K. You are running it to determine your current fitness. That said, I don't advise running a 20 miler the day before or anything. You want to be somewhat rested before you run it so you can give it a good effort. Nono, I am sorry to hear about your mother. I hope that you are able to have her visit even if it is not until next week. Maine, super run yesterday. You are very speedy! Teresa, brag away! It's fantastic that your son is doing so well. I am sure you will miss him when he goes off to college. Ribs, I think Riblet is up to 36 views already so he should not have any problem hitting 100. He sounds great. My son is learning to play Deck the Halls on his guitar, though not the swing version. 9 GA miles for me this morning in 7:54 pace. I need to seek out a 5K myself to justify that pace. Yesterday, I ran a 5 miler at almost exactly the same pace. I was planning 14 this morning but my dh wanted to surf early so I didn't have time to get it in. As it turned out, 9 was perfect. The skies opened up right as I got home and it's pouring rain now. I will move my 14 miler to Wednesday when I will have the day off and more time to run.

Meg, 7:54 looks just right for GA for you. I'm back. Took Lucy with me and ran 3 untimed miles. Other than that nagging piriformis/ham muscle that has been bugging me for years, I felt just fine. Spareribs

Meg, 7:54 looks just right for GA for you.

I have to agree -- I don't believe that 5K time you quoted the other day for a minute -- it was way too close to mine, and I know how much faster you are than me. Maine is another fast one -- I'm always amazed. Quick post because I'm starving. 16.2 miles, 2:23:36, 8:52/mi, AHR 146 Progression targets 5@9:30, 6@9:05, 5@8:40, actual pace(HR) 9:18(139), 8:58(143), 8:21(152) I have a little trouble running that slowly. And I broke 2000 miles for the year today. Not a PR year, but still a good year. Last night we went to a party at our friend's stained glass store. She gave us a lesson and we blew glass, making Christmas ornaments. What fun! She also has an amazing collection of what they call cartoons (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoon for the meaning in this context) -- outlines of stained glass designs (hand drawn) for church stained glass windows. They're working on re-hydrating them (the paper is crumbly if you don't do that), and preserving them. Definitely one of the more interesting parties we've been to.

That Riblet is has talent! Thanks for sharing this with us Spareribs. White fluffy snow has been falling from the sky for hours around here. It is too bad that there is a sheet of ice underneath it, which makes driving and being out there a bit treacherous. Glad to see that Ribs was brave enough to face his COLLLLLLLLLLd weather. How did Lucy handle the outing? I have to go back to read about Holly's 5k. Maine, have fun with the family. Off to the Methow to visit friend. May run later just for the fun of it.