Ha! Who would've thought Id start the daily from Kauai, Hawai'i for Saturday!! I'm taking this 5 hours-off-EST benefit to the max and will start Saturday's daily now!

Hi Jay!!  

Holly, that is so sad... if you can bring her in close that would be so meanignful. Invite her for dinner, take her out just to talk, go for a long walk (remember our walk after Equinox?). So many small things you can do that would be helpful.

Too much to comment on, so I won't even try. Sorry folks.

We left for Hawaii late Tuesday night. MIL picked us up at the airport. Later, we met DS2 at the airport and had a really good lasagna dinner with fresh lasagna we bought at the farmers market here. Thursday around 12:30 we picked up DS1 at the airport. We were all together again! It was so cool to see our boys connect and hang out together right away. Those boys who fought so much as kids are now so close it is really heartwarming to see. Holly and anyone else suffering from sibling rivalry, take notice!! I'll try to post pictures later, but we had a great Thanksgiving dinner at a local restaurant and watched the sun set. Then took DS2 to the airport and said our goodbyes. He goes to the Philippines for however it takes to get all their secure communications set up again. We already miss him terribly, and ask for prayers for his safe mission and return....

I've been running since here, but it's hard to adapt to the heat and humidity. I ran a 10k yesterday in faster than intended pace, and today could've been a tempo pace run, or a hill run... but since there were some good hills in there I'll call it a hill run but under 7:54 avg pace. Today I had coffee beforehand and stashed water at a point I'd visit at 0, 4, and 8 miles so felt much better than Thursday's unsupported run. Trying to hit 40 for the week and 150 for the month... not sure I'll make either.

This afternoon we went up to Waimea Canyon and DS1 took some photos that had us cringing and closing our eyes for the sheer cliff-hanging-danger element. That kid will drive us crazy... but it was fun, we took MIL and had a great day of it, even with the epic rainstorm at the top of the canyon, deemed the "wettest place on earth" and holy carp it was raining hard up there for awhile. Tomorrow might be a bike trek adventure.

So, I'm out and back, stretched and showered, got the coffee brewing, and no one else is up yet???

Mariposai, that was a great photo of David that you posted yesterday. He looks great with his big smile and bow tie.

Deeze, I'm glad things went well at the Feaster Five again this year. Thanks for volunteering to help make it such a consistently well-organized race.

Nice Black Friday tradition, Holly. And good of you all to be mindful of your SD.

I went 9.2 miles this morning. When I left, it was reading 12F, with a windchill of 2. I ran the first to get my body's furnace going a little more quickly so I could stay reasonably comfortable. It worked, for the most part. By mile 7, my hands were getting too cold, so I ran for about another half mile to try to get them a bit warmer, and that helped a little. There was a small slice of moon high in the sky - not really enough to shed any helpful light, but nice to look at. There was a mammoth bank of clouds off the coast that seemed to go right down to the water's edge, so there wasn't going to be a sunrise to be seen this morning. I was too early for it anyway, so I didn't really miss anything.

BIL and his DW are heading back home today. We've had a great visit, with a lot of communal cooking, and a lot of laughs. Last night, we had a pie made of leftovers for dinner, and it was right tasty. After they leave, I'd like to just sit and read a book for a while, but I know that is very unlikely because we always have a list of projects that are waiting to be checked off.

Have a greta Saturday!

Jay

5.5 very slow miles gives me my fourth consecutive 40+ week. Now it's all light work until next Sunday's Half.  Off to get ready for family stuff.  Spareribs

That is so cool for your son posie. Congrats.

Holly - that is a sad story. I bet a cup of coffee and a good listener would be a wonder for her. Will say a few prayers.

Enjoy Hawaii Evan. It's been too long since I've been there.

Solid work Jay - as always.

Look at Ribs putting in the miles to go get 'em at next weeks half.

PR for TW! Suhweet.

I'm no fan of either Ohio St and Michigan. Can it end in a tie please?

So I got a shortish run today even though I didn't feel like it. today was one of those days I had to be a father and not a good buddy. Nothing earth shattering but I need a moment to vent. Patrick ran a great race today and finished 13th at regionals which qualifies him to run USATF Nationals in San Antonio in 2 weeks. Problem is that my wife's final reconstruction surgery is slated for Wed that week. I could not figure a way to get him down there and back with any of our relatives and frankly after all she's been through with two bouts against cancer, she needs us to be there for her. We don't know any of the team well enough to ask without imposing. So today after he ran such a great race and failing to find any alternative, had to break my son's heart by telling him we couldn't go to Nationals. I know he'll qualify next year as he's only getting faster but man-o-man I hated taking the joy away (we had until noon to decide). Sorry to be a such a downer on a pretty Saturday but this is one place you can pull up a stool and get some stuff off one's chest. Thanks for listening.

Cheers all.

Tough news for your son, C-R, but like Ribs said it's the right thing to do. It is hard when they're young as they tend to be self-centered a bit, which fades (usually) with maturity. It's a good life lesson, and he'll understand even though disappointed.

Yum, Ribs, that dinner menu sounds good!

Jay, hard to visit Waimea Canyon from Maui because it's on Kauai... But I sure know what you mean.

Windy and overcast here, and I made it out for 5.4 miles that were supposed to be easy but were a little faster than planned. Found a nice new subdivision with quiet streets so ran around there for awhile. It's hard to find places here without a lot of traffic since I'm getting my runs in before we leave to go do stuff. But hey, it's -27 in Fairbanks this morning so I'm soaking up the humid muggy heat while I can!

There have been a lot of races reported since I posted on Thursday: Jay, ribs (5th AG), Holly, jlynne (1st AG), deez (with family members).  Holly, that's tough for your former coworker.  My thoughts are with her.  evan, it sounds like your famiy is enjoying Hawaii.  C-R, a tough, but correct, call with your son.  My thoughts are with your wife and your whole family.  mari, nice picture of your son.

Nice long runs for mari and  Dave.  Good job on the speedwork for deez (on TM).

This morning, it was in the high 20s and there was a wind.  I got in 8 miles at a 10:57 pace.

A good day and good runs for all.

TomS

Norm, tough call - I hope Patrick stepped up and said he's glad to support  his mom.  And you're absolutely right about this being a good place to come vent.

Erika, when we were at Waimea Canyon years ago, some idiot tourist at a scenic overlook said "Oh, how pretty!  Looks just like 3D!"   Cracked us up - it's been a family joke ever since.

I did a Fat Ass trail run today with a group called Front Range Ultra Runners.  First run of this type I've done, and it was so fun!  It's just an organized group long run - no course markings, no aid stations, no tee shirts - just some fun ultra folks to meet and run with!   They emailed everyone maps and route descriptions.  I was one of the few who actually brought a copy, so at every trail junction we all looked at the map and conferred.  I ran with a small sub-group of folks who ran about my pace, and we had a really nice day together.  It was 26.2 miles by my Garmin, with about 9,800 ft elevation gain and loss, and took me just under 7 hours.  Tired now!