Roy—Glad you’re back and congrats on 19 years! Dave—keep an eye on that ankle. DH—so not only are your students taking a Latin class, but they want it to be harder?! Man, these kids must get beat up all the time. Dicky—you’re not in the business of propane and propane accessories are you? I’m joining the 12-miler club today. 12.1 @ 8:37 pace. Another humid day here. You could have put lipstick on me and I would have still been sweating like a pig.

Tramps, my son is another kid who asked his Latin teacher for more work. He was bored to death. The first week, the class got through page 12 of the book. Over the weekend, he read to page 100 because he wanted to. I told him to talk to his teacher, who said he can go ahead at his own pace and just do the homework and tests as he goes along. I hope he gets something out of it. Is Latin a subject you can teach yourself? He's also taking Spanish IV, and he said that's making Latin seem much easier. This is the kid that can run like the wind, so the other kids will have to catch him before they can beat him up! Somehow, he doesn't come across as a dweeb, so he doesn't get bugged much, anyway.

Posted by Lyndenrunner:

Here is a picture of me from the weekend and a picture of me in my new suit... http://picasaweb.google.com/mamalama/SkagitFlatsMarathon?authkey=GoES_8AO-eY#

Excellent photos, Gordon. You clean up pretty nice... How do you luck into getting a race photo with both feet off the ground? TALL!!!! Way to go!! Roy – nice to see you! Dave59 - hope that clears up for you. Dg – you are getting faster and faster. Annie - wow! Great job! Erika – I hope you’re feeling better. I know what you mean about sickly co-workers. The attorney who shares office space with us hired a new secretary last week. Not wanting to blow her new job, she came to work deathly ill all last week and this. Today her aunt called to say that she is now in the hospital with strep throat, pneumonia, and double ear infections. Today I have a scratchy throat and my little girl was up coughing all last night. I hope and pray that I didn't bring that germ home to her. Today was the first time I have run 3 days in a row since June. Not quite the sproink as yesterday, but 52 degrees made it pretty darn pleasant. I finished with some intervals on the treadmill which was pushing it a bit (even though I have dialed the paces back), so I’m back with the icepack wedged under my thigh/butt junction, but I think it’s okay. I’m becoming quite a fan of the icepack. Amazing how much difference it can make. I can be quite achy after a run, sit on this thing for an hour at work, and then feel completely normal the rest of the day. Workout: 4.55 miles outside, followed by this on the treadmill: (5 minute slow-to-fast segments) x 3 Paces were 6.0, 6.2, 6.5, 6.8, and 7.2mph, which I think translates to 10:00, 9:40, 9:13, 8:52, and 8:20. Total distance: 6.2 miles

Sorry to be AWOL from the daily. Very busy at work trying to clear out enough material so that I can take today and tomorrow off for the Reach the Beach Relay Race! I have been looking forward to this for months and I am very excited to be running it again. Last year it was a blast! I have to get going in less than 10 minutes. If you get a chance go to the team blog at rosieruizfanclub.blogspot.com and follow us as we, well mostly I, update everybody as to what is going on. See you all Sunday(?)!

On the subject of Brinkley's running: This weekend at a local art fair there was a booth from a greyhound "rescue society" with a few dogs that they were taking around and introducing to people. It's amazing how streamlined and fast a greyhound looks just when standing around -- the Ferrari of dogs I suppose. Anyway, I was thinking how cool it would be to have a greyhound as a running partner. They are the 2nd-fastest land animal on the planet, can hit 35mph "in three strides", and top out over 40mph. They'd be able to easily keep up with a road bike, too, but I'm not sure about the endurance factor. The only problem would be having to keep them on a leash for obvious reasons.

Doug: I'm no expert, but I'll relay my dog-trainer/runner Dad's 'opinion' - "Greyhounds are sprinters, not distance runners! pick a different dog for a running companion - sporting/hunting dogs (if vet checked sound/healthy) would be a better choice....although they (greyhounds) can make great pets as they tend to be lower energy around the house...." further conversation about the distance you "could" run w/a dog...depending on the dog/training (just like us) think about Iditarod...I'm not gonna run 1,150 miles in a week, but some dogs can! & I've seen a little Sheba Inu unfazed by running a full marathon!! btw, Dad used to run w/his hunting dogs 8 - 20 miles per day during season...my two have seen 18...

Good for you Roy. Unlike the people who are remembering this date, I find it saddens and angers me and don't like to be reminded, although I care just as deeply as all of you. Gordon, who would not want to hire you in that great looking attire? Theresa, maybe you can teach yourself Latin. The textbooks and workbooks are pretty good. I imagine a kid could read ahead and do pretty well in the early years. After Latin II when you get to Cicero and Virgil, you should be able to read and translate on your own, but I found both of them very hard. Great commentary by Roch. Today I handled my workout a bit more sensibly. 3 miles on the elliptical and kept the HR in the high 120's to low 130's. I am just guessing, but I imagine this is safe enough. Then two miles walking on the indoor track for 5 total. As I have posted a jillion times, today is the big day when I see the surgeon for follow-up, and see if I can run. Today is also six weeks since the surgery. What do you think he will say? I am betting he lets me do some easy jogging. i made a Power Point slide to go over my reasoning with him. Aamos, tsk tsk. Spareribs

It's definitely a day for reflection. nono's comments and memorys were especially meaningful. I also agree with ribs about feeling sad and angry. Tall, congrats on that great half win. hopeful, good job on the 1000 miles. Did you schedule an oil change. lynden, nice pics. You look spiffy in your new suit but I prefer the running picture. Jogger, congrats on your 19 years. Dave, I hope the foot thing is just a one day fluke. dg, nice speedy run this morning. annied, congratulations on your iron man. I'm impressed by each segment, let alone the entire thing. ribs, good luck on your visit with the surgeon today. I got a laugh out of the power point presentation you have planned. It does fit your vocation and personality. Nice long runs for Peter, CNY, Twocat, WRFB, bike, CNY (another and with intervals), Tramps, and mariposai. Good job on the speedwork forbusi. This morning, it was in the mid to high 40s with just a light breeze. With a 5K scheduled for Saturday, I thought 5 miles would be about right. Shortly before I hit 3 miles and was going to turn down a side road, I saw Meredith, who lives about a mile down the road running towards me. Meredith, her twin sister, and brother grew up with my kids. I see her frequently and enjoy talking running with her. I changed my plan and turned around to run with her. We chatted along for a couple of miles and as we approached my planned 5 miles, we were still a ways from my driveway. I debated quitting then but ran with her the rest of the way home and ended up with 5.37 miles in 50:56 for a 9:29 pace. It was neat to run with Meredith but I usually plan my runs for even miles and, in my obsessive way, the extra .37 miles will bother me when I put it in my log. A good day and good runs for all. TomS

September 11th makes me sad and reflective, too. But not proud to be an American. This country is going to hell in a handbasket. Sorry, I don't mean to be political. I clearly remember where I was on that day. I was doing decommissioning work at a nuclear weapons plant, and we went into lockdown after the attacks. No one was sure if there would be more targets, and a nuke plant seemed like it might be on someone's list. We all gathered in the cafeteria, and watched the events on a TV someone had wheeled in. There were probably 400 people in the room and you could have heard a pin drop. Sorry for the digression. Back to running. 12 miles seems to be the theme of the day - wish I had the time, but I'll have to settle for 6 or so at lunch. Twocat, have fun at Reach the Beach! Annied, you raced a full ironman? No wonder you're still tired. Mtnchk, interesting thought about Iditarod dogs. They not only run 1150 miles in about two weeks, but do it pulling a sled! Sled dogs make great running buddies, but only in cold weather. I used to have a husky, before I was a runner, and she climbed about half of Colorado's 14,000 ft peaks with me. I ran the second trail race in the Lakewood Trail Running series last night. It was 5.2 miles, so a new PR, as I haven't raced that distance before! (The next two races will be PRs too, since they're all odd distances.) Not sure of my exact time but it was about 49:30, or a 9:31 pace. Again, it was a nice small group (60-70), pretty trails, nice evening. Most of the folks are fast, so I'm a back-of-the-packer at these races, instead of my usual mid-pack status, but that's OK. In fact, after about the first mile, I couldn't see anyone in front of me, except for the part around the lake, when I could see a line of runners on the other side. So it was almost like a solo trail run. I think there were about 10 people behind me, but I couldn't see them either. It's a little hard to keep up a good pace when there's no one in sight in either direction, but it was a good run.

Carolyn: Remember, as your agent, I get 5% of all winnings plus 2 Kenyans to be named later...good luck!

Well, I won a Solomon visor in the raffle last night after the race. Which 5% would you like? How about the tag?