dg Thanks for asking. The race is Feb 7th so I am just starting to get into the "race specific" stage of my training program. My Goal is a 27:00 min finish time......6:45 pace.....which, if i can accomplish, should make the race very close. As PRE would say.....it'll be a pure guts race. Last year the three of us...co-workers....all finished within 15 secs of each other with a bet that was made just moments before the starting gun. This year we threw down the challenge back in Oct. I'm the oldest in the bunch. 43....30 and 27. I do not plan on losing. Well, maybe losing my cookies in the finishing chute

Holly, glad you enjoyed that recipe . . . . however serving it with vanilla ice cream is one of the things that makes it not 'low cal' But I agree, it's not exactly a low cal recipe - although using fat free cream cheese can help a bit. It is soo good though, isn't it?!! Today is a rest day for me. Back to work, back to school. Enjoyed the play off games this weekend, even if my Vikings and Colts lost Some unexpected wins, which makes it all the more exciting. Have a good day everyone!

But I agree, it's not exactly a low cal recipe - although using fat free cream cheese can help a bit.

Perhaps, but I think the stick of margarine kind of offsets the fat free cream cheese.... Worth it, though...

Let me share a couple of stories with you this morning, since it's a non-running day for me. Last year I was running with a friend of mine here in Coppell, who is a member of my club at the lake. He is a pretty strong ultramarathoner named Scott Eppelman. You can Google him to see some of his accomplishments but take my word for it, he is good. It seems to me the guy never has an injury despite all these events he runs in. I asked him about it during our run and he told me that the instant he feels anything that even might be an injury he immediately backs off from running and "goes after it." In December, Billy Rodgers spoke at the White Rock Marathon expo and he too spoke about injuries. He made an interesting comment about runners' attitudes regarding injury. He said that serious runners tend to attack their runs and races, putting a lot of effort and focus into them, which we all know is true, but he also commented that when runners get injured, they have to put that same energy and focus into "attacking" the injury. He then cited all the poor habits many injured runners get into: the Stick, the chiropractor, running through it in hopes it will go away, advice from other runners ("did you ever have this? I have this.") and then the experimentation with various stretches, instead of just fully focusing on the injury itself. I saw myself in all the examples he gave, and also realized I don't do the things that Scott does. I thought over the weekend that I have had a wonderfully successful mileage buildup, 3 weeks in a row of 30 miles each, and 25 miles last week. I think this week I am just going to take it easy, work at the Y on core stuff all week and see if by attacking this right butt discomfort I can recover from it. So far it is working well and during today's exercise set I had several instances where I felt no discomfort in the area where I was feeling a twinge or two. I'll let you know how it goes. One of the instructors worked with me over the weekend to change the way I do lunges, so that after the lunge, (let's say my right foot is forward and my left is the trailing leg), I now lift my left trailing leg off the floor and hold an "airplane" position, arms extended outward, for a few seconds. If you do this you can really feel the left glute working harder. So I'm learning as I go. I had a great core session this morning. No running today. dg, that approach sounds reasonable. You should be able to do that machine work following a recovery run, and that distance was just about right. jdmom, I am also a believer in the 20+ mile LR all through a training cycle. I am working with someone now whose marathon is not until spring and this athlete is doing 20 milers every other week right now. Spareribs

SR, thanks for the feedback. What are their suggested methods for focusing fully on the injury?

I'm trying to see if I get the quote right finally I posted on the challenge thread but felt I deserved to post on this as well as I ran 8.8 this morning of lots of hills. Trying to ramp up the mileage to get ready for a 1/2 in March. Temps here in TN are in the low 40's w/ misty overcast - perfect! Got weights and a mile swim in as well. Ready to get back on track!!

He then cited all the poor habits many injured runners get into: the Stick, the chiropractor, running through it in hopes it will go away, advice from other runners ("did you ever have this? I have this.") and then the experimentation with various stretches, instead of just fully focusing on the injury itself.

Do you have some specific advice on how to fully focus on the injury?

dg Thanks for asking. The race is Feb 7th so I am just starting to get into the "race specific" stage of my training program. My Goal is a 27:00 min finish time......6:45 pace.....which, if i can accomplish, should make the race very close. As PRE would say.....it'll be a pure guts race. Last year the three of us...co-workers....all finished within 15 secs of each other with a bet that was made just moments before the starting gun. This year we threw down the challenge back in Oct. I'm the oldest in the bunch. 43....30 and 27. I do not plan on losing. Well, maybe losing my cookies in the finishing chute

You are running well now and may surprise yourself with an even faster pace than planned, but it sounds to me that this is not a goal pace race but rather a tactical race to beat these two juniors. If that is the primary objective, I hope you don't mind some advice. They are younger than you are and will almost certainly go off in the first mile at faster than 6:45 pace. I would predict their first mile will be about 6:15 or thereabouts. You should certainly let them go. Hang back about 30-40 meters so that at one mile you are that far behind them. You will be running at about ten feet per second so this is about right. Keep contact but leave them alone. If the course is an out and back and they can see you after the turn, put the most agonized look on your race that you can muster, shake your head from side to side as if to say "I just don't have it today." Then in miles three and four, reel them in. I think you will beat them by outsmarting them, in addition to your speed and fitness right now. FWIW. Spareribs