SirWalksalot, that was nice of you to thank your mother! I wonder if my kids will do that! Actually, they're pretty good about that. My 13-year-old kept INSISTING that he wanted to pay for his new running shoes, but I told him that was the kind of thing his parents would cover. I might have answered differently if I'd known the shoes were going to cost $120!

Vista, thank you for your opening post, I'm sure you touched many mothers hearts,mine amongst them! Happy Mother's Day to all, I'm an old mother of 3 young kids and they are for me my greatest accomplishement in life. I realized yesterday, while sitting at dinner with just my DH since all 3 of them were out at soccer camp and other activities, that I will be a very miserable Mom the day they start moving on to college, it just hit me how terribly lonelyI felt without them..ok ,time to pocket the handkie... ..I ran the Kirkland Half this morning and when I got home those same kids hadn't even realized I had been gone.. Francesca

Happy Mom's Day to all who observe/celebrate this day. Hang in there to those who feel a bit out of place--it is spring, and tomorrow will be here soon. 13.1 in 1:51 out on a country road (with prairie winds of 20 mph) in 60+ degrees! Red Sox won yesterday and they're on TV again tonight! It's enough to make you lose "Sunday night feeling!" grins, A Sir W--I'm thinking I'll be at your upcoming marathon. What pace you hoping to run?

Francesca, your story is hysterical. My two can be like that, only younger. Aamos- I'll be at the VCM, hoping to hit a BQ of 3:20, 7:40-ish pace.

Late post after a jam packed weekend...great posts here and a wonderful start Vista. Thank you. Our weekend here was full of baseball, running, a new graduate degree, a marathon moms brunch (long time tradition), a great afternoon with super-granny and lots of other various and sundry activities. Phew! I'll rest at work. The boys are all snoring now and I am in my jammies happily reading all the running sites. Two good runs this weekend for me. 15.2 hilly miles on Saturday out to my son's YMCA day camp in Huntington, MA (1,000 foot elevation change) yee haw! Mellow 6 miler today near the apple orchards in full bloom. I hit 48 miles last week and 46 miles this week.....moving back into the 50s soon and feeling good. Stunning photos here the past few days---post race grins, spectacular canyons, flatlands on a clear blue day, a svelte Teresa, an athletic son who puts Beckham to shame and even a running skirt that almost had my credit card leaping from its safe perch. G'nite all CNYrunner

.... After about 2 miles, the trail seduced me and I lost my willpower not to run. So I ran with abandon in short spurts down gnarly paths and gentle ones as well. The new trails shoes worked fine. ......

The day started off nice weather-wise. I thought we were gonna miss the 10th of May cold spell. Infact, dogwoods are still holding bloom in places. It's just been a great flower season around here. Thought I'd try the FiveFingers KSO (Vibram toe shoes) in some new areas today. I biked 10 miles to the other side of Damascus and a thunderstorm hit, then three more miles to Straight Branch and locked it up. The sky was clearing up by then. Headed south up Fork Mountain across Whitetop Laurel Creek. There were no trails, just some aninmal trails here and there until you get close the top. Then there are segments of old logging roads, probably from horse and mule days. The forest was open and an easy walk so long as you stay on the ridge. About 1300' of climb in 2miles. I'd never seen wild purple rhodedendron at this elevation, about 2600'. When I got to the top thought I'd find a USGS marker but never did. I did find some ribbon on the ground the only human-made detritus I'd seen. Thought it was from some helium balloons, but didn't see any remnants attached. Just 50 yds away, I found a piece of old mylar balloon -had been there at least a year. Do you know what was printed on it? HAPPY MOM'S DAY I kid you not. As you might guess, I built one of these. I came off the wrong ridge, but only missed my entry point by a mile I slogged a mile back to the bike and rode home wet and cold, but reasonably energetic. The shoes did fine in the mountain, but the terrain was so soft it was like walking on a feather bed. They were fine on the bike until the grade started up, and then I noticed some numbness, similar to what happens to me on long elliptical sessions. Coming back they were wet, the temps had dropped to the 60s(?) and the feet got cold. Nice day overall, jjj

Well, I had a great hike today with DD and the dogs. DH has a sore spot on the ball of his right foot, so he stayed home. We drove down the canyon almost to the flatlands, to a trail called Mt Galbraith. We go there every year for mother's day because it's warmer down there and the flowers and trees are coming out. It's still cold at home, and the trails are snow covered up here. The trail is steep and rocky with nice views. Probably about 5 miles total. Then we went to town and had sandwiches and ice cream, did some grocery shopping, and came home. It was dinner time by then, so I didn't get out for a run till 8 pm, and only went 3 miles before it got too dark. Oh, well, I wanted to do 5 but had a good day anyway. Teresa, congrats on the weight loss and big 8 minute PR in your race! Vista, I didn't bite my lip when DD dyed her hair purple - I helped her. It was fun! Well, it was only purple streaks, not totally purple. Jlynne, hugs to you and your difficult son. I'm sure your support means a lot to him even if he doesn't know it right now. Good luck on your half next week. Tall, that's cool that your girls are friends with Topdown's daughter. Are they close in age? Evryday, cool pictures! I've never been to the Grand Canyon but would like to hike down and camp at the bottom some day. But DH isn't really interested, so maybe I'll talk DD into it. Or as I recall Munch wanted to go, so maybe we could plan a boomer trip there? PDR, running, napping, and messing around in your garden sounds like life is good, indeed. Enjoy! Perch, I liked your story about the runner drinking sports drink in the pouring rain, and saying this is great. Nice 18 miler - hope your Garmin is fixable! Dave59 - what's this about a 7 mile death march yesterday? Did I miss something? Erika, what a good looking son! Hope his team isn't too bummed about losing, or the parents either. Sometimes it's the parents who take it too seriously... Holly, don't be so hard on yourself. Sometimes you learn from bad role models how NOT to do things. Your stories about your kids are delightful and your love for them shows. Enke, sounds like a nice trail for a race next week. Have fun! Bruce, nice 10 miler and 40 mile week! I didn't even quite make 30 miles this week, as I ran out of time today, so you're probably way ahead of me on the 1000 mile chart. I'll have to do better next week. Spareribs, congrats on the 11 miler. So glad to hear you're recovered! Where did you do a hilly run if it's flat there? SirWalksalot, you really need to change your handle! You're too fast for a name like that. Nice long run. Nice of you to thank your mom for all the running shoes she bought you. I remember after my daughter was born I told my mom I had never fully appreciated all she had done for me before. Eliz, nice long mileage week for you! Hope you survive the busy concert season. DD has a couple of band concerts and awards dinners this week and next, so I imagine it's like that at schools everywhere at the end of the year. CNYrunner, what did your DH get his PhD in? Sounds like a busy weekend and somehow you fit in a lot of running too. Helps that you're so fast. JJJ, thanks for the great pictures. Your adventures always sound so cool. Deez4boyz, sounds like a great family trip to the cape. You're so lucky you have family close by who you like spending time with. That seems more rare today than even a generation ago. My family all live hundreds or thousands of miles away, and even though we all get along great, we don't see each other very often. G'night all.