Joe seems so casual about the whole marathon thing. "Yeh, going down to Philly, do some museums, maybe a nice dinner, then the fancy hotel...maybe a marathon, nothing special."

Too funny! GOOD LUCK JOE!!! Carol - No more fights at the moment, but BK is still doing the stalking thing. He gets in trouble and looks at you like you've been beating him. Evryday - Well, the kitties are eating, but not the gourmet stuff. Momma came in 2nd and, therefore, only won $30 as opposed to the big bucks. Dang, but we had a good time last night! Arla - Taking tests, grading tests But with a martini or margarita in one hand, you just might survive! 3 easy, brisk miles this a.m. in 30:22. One of these days I'm going to get those 3 miles in under 30 min. It may be by only a few seconds, but I swear I'm gonna do it. Tomorrow is my last long trail run (17 miles) before the Desert High 30k. I'll be glad to take a break from the big miles for a few weeks. Asked my dad if he wanted to invite my brother to come along on the drive to Ridgecrest. Told Dad I wouldn't want to stay Brian's place on the way down since I want to get well on the other side of San Francisco before we stop for night and I want to get up EARLY the next day to get going the rest of the way. (It's 12 hours from my house to Ridgecrest.) Dad's comments: (1) Brian probably won't want to spring for a motel room just a couple of hours from his house (he lives just north Santa Rosa, about 1.5 hrs north of SF). (2) If we stayed at Brian's, don't forget how slow he and Irena (my SIL) are about getting ready in the morning. (3) Will you be able to handle it if things don't go as you plan (which, with my brother and SIL involved is highly likely). It took me about 3 seconds to nix the idea of inviting my brother and SIL. Love them both to death, but I swear on all that is holy, she has to be one of the slowest people I have ever encountered when it comes to getting ready to go somewhere. And coming back, we're driving straight through, so I want to leave very early. I can just see us not getting out of dodge until like 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. instead of 5:00 like I want. I'd kill somebody. Okay - I gotta get some work done. You all have a great weekend!

Dang Leslie, that's a long drive for a race! Is it one that you have been wanting to do for awhile?

I had read about it and was looking for something to do in December. Plus, a favorite great aunt and uncle live in Ridgecrest. I haven't seen them in probably 5 or more years, and they're both getting up in age. I have very fond memories of going to their house as a kid. We always took the fixings for shrimp cocktail with us (which was a real treat in our household), and my aunt would try out new recipes on my uncle and dad. They and my parents were also big into playing board and card games with us, so it was always a fun time. My aunt is a fabulous seamstress, and it was at her house that I learned how to sew, such as I can now-a-days. Spent an entire Easter vacation making pants and a top . . . that I rarely ever wore after that.

WOOHOO we are D-O-N-E done with corn harvest : Soooo maybe I can get in 3 to salvage a 10 mile week. MTA a few thoughts on harvest and wrapping up field operations 3 miler check, 10 mile week check. We have a few acres of low spots that are too muddy to get on until it freezes up, no biggie We finished about 1pm yesterday, things went pretty smooth other than another down draft in the grain markets. Usually on the last day enough things go wrong to take up the whole day no matter what you got left but not yesterday. We finished a month late with muddy wet ground and bins full of wet corn that I hope I can get dry before they spoil. Seemed like every week storms were rolling through and taking more corn with them, the corn would not dry down either. My truck driver labor pool got pretty thin as 2 drivers were fighting injured knees. In total we had four different drivers to keep two trucks running. No major breakdowns, a few little things on the trucks probably under three grand in repairs there.Combine ran flawlessly other than 3 sets of fuel filters probably attributed to some bad quality diesel on the market now. On the market side like your favorite stock corn is worth a third of what it was in the summer.I sold enough ahead to salvage a pretty good year thanks to a marketing plan the base of which was laid out in the Palm Springs conference last February but hate to even think of next year. I guess a fitting end to field operations in one of the most tumultuous years in production ag I have ever experienced. I managed to can get in 3 to salvage a 10 mile week. I am still ahead of last year by far. I did a 7 miler after harvest last year that injured me for 3 months, Sundays 7 miler on the other hand left me none the worse for wear. I had only one week completely devoid of running thanks to the on again off again harvest. My achilles tendonitis seems much better a by-product of the reduced schedule. I probably put on a pound or two, we don't eat real well during harvest, sandwiches and often greasy bar food at night. Neither of us wants to cook after we get in and groceries get pretty sparse as the local store isn't open when we shut off for fresh stuff. I get a few crosstraining points for bin climbing, combine and truck maintenance and a few points taken away from sitting long hours on my arse. So a half might be in the future for spring if I can make the training work with our farm schedule. With the current economic conditions its going to take all my skills as a manager to weather this storm. I am going to run regardless but formal schedules and high mileage training plans might not be in the cards. Running is important to me but the farm ALWAYS comes first, as a Nebraska mega rancher told me, "those folks that never let their farms and ranches interfere with there rodeoin' (read fun, in this case running) don't have that problem anymore........." Its taken four generations to put this farm together, I'll not be the generation to lose it.

Good luck again to Mr. "Low Key" Joe!!!! Eagerly awaiting the race report. Hey Jim and Lynda, great job on the harvest! Sounds like your priorities are right where they need to be. wow, four generations -- quite a legacy there. LOL on the groceries...we 24 hour groceries here on just about every corner and I STILL can't seem to keep the right things on hand ! Leslie, that sounds like a good trip, and glad you'll get to see your aunt and uncle. Sounds like a good stress avoider to let the brother and SIL stay home. Glad the fur is not flying in your house either! Jewels, you gotta be getting up there in miles if you're going for 2 hours. Great job! Thinking of it that way also removed a little of the "gotta get faster" pressure. Boy do I hear you on the lungs OK, legs not so OK. That's kind of where I am...though hopefully the legs are catching up. Evryday, sounds like you're getting in some good runs and consistency these days. It's been a really nice fall so far, hasn't it? Good plan to incorporate some hills. I may have to do same...am hearing that the Cowtown 1/2 is quite hilly and I'm NOT ready for that. Plenty of hills right here in my neighborhood though....it's called "Woodland Hills" and the name fits. Went out to the running club this morning. Woke up "late" at 6:15, but still managed to get to my pet sit and out to the lake in time. Nice folks, though noone there running at my pace. Fairly light attendance today apparently due to a marathon last weekend for many + holiday preps I suppose. I walked the first 1.5 miles with another club member to get the lay of the land, and then off on my own for a total of 8 today. Quite pretty w/ parts by the lake and others through trees. Came back a diff way on the out and back, and had to stop and ask a coupla peeps if I was headed in the right direction. How do you trail runners keep from getting lost? Anyway, back to the clubhouse, where there was coffee, hot cocoa and beer. Too early for beer for me, so a little coffee and visiting and I was off. Hope to get back out there again, though it can be a challenge w/ weekend pet sits. OK...time to shower and head to the mall with hubby. Later and GO JOE!!!!!!

Hey Everyone! GO JOE! Been thinking about you all but have been busy with class, finding work and Jack giving me grief for being on the 'puter all the time. Anyway, quick pop-in to say Hi! I'm fine, things are going well. I'll get over 40 miles this week and my hamstring is actually feeling better. Just got in from an 8 miler I've been putting off all week. The temps are starting to drop and flurries in the air so I'm not always as motivated to get out there until I get used to the change. It's hard to move away from the woodstove. Have a great weekend! Kelly

6 beautiful miles for me this early afternoon. fatozzig....$30!! Congrats. It may not be the big win, but it beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. jewels....yes the shoes are working out nicely. I just mentioned to DW this morning that I llike the shoes, but with my shuffling stride I find I'm scuffing the soles along the road more with these than I did with the 2130s. When these are replaced, I may go back to the 2130s...we'll see. r2farm.....thank you for being a farmer. The American farmer is one of many "backbones" of this great country. Now get out there for a run....you deserve it! carol.....yes, it has been a beautiful fall. We've been fortunate with the weather. Looks like you got in a nice run with the club. Back to the clubhouse for coffee? That's awesome! Mtnchck....hey, don't those Blackberrys have a camera in them? Enjoy the beautify mountains! Capture the picture in your mind, then think it on through to the rest of us. ultra....40+ week....nice. Glad the hamstring is better. Joe....enjoy your anniversary weekend. Later, my friends.

Yes, Evryday they do. However, I still (tech challenged asI am) need to figure out how to get it to photobucket to get it here...& the pixel quality isn't as good as my Canon.. I'd rather use the laptop for that stuff...