4.01 miles this morn, 42 deg, mud. I was weakest on the big hill Saturday so took my hill (more like a molehill) route this morning, 1.5 mile out and back warmup then up over the hill, Johnathan's 3-2-1 rea pole speedwork, recover, another set 321 and back over the hill and recover on the downhill and cruise to the yard. It seemed hard. I am making this my hardest week before BB then lighten up. Rained out about 4pm yest, moved support equipment home, sat down in my chair at 5pm and woke an hour later. This sporadic planting season is getting hard on an old man. We might get back in later today then more showers forecast tonight. Not getting alot of rain just enough to make last summers wheat stubble that I am no-till planting into tough. Makes for big straw piles when you plug up and resulting cardio, unplugging and spreading the piles back out by hand. Bob good to see ya stop in more often. Lynda said BTY had logged runs this week, prob busy with the fam. Cindy I have noticed that on my long runs also, have to make myself slow up......suppose we're getting faster??? All the cool people from my town doing BB are meeting up in the stadium, just trying to figure out if we belong in that group.

Cindy - Keep moving, babe. It'll get easier, but you definitely need to keep moving. Had 10 min left in my 1.5 run this a.m. when a truck pulled up next to me. I'm thinking, "Are you gonna turn or what?" I finally looked over and it was the hub. He left town yesterday after work some "alone time" and wasn't suppose to be back until Monday. He never made if further than 20 miles yesterday, spent the night in Ferndale (after spending the eveningin the bar), and decided to come back home this a.m. Didn't want to spend the $$. So now my nice 4 days alone that I was so lookiing forward to are blown all to he!!. (((sigh))) My run went really well, though. I didn't look to see how far I went, but I'm guessing about 9 miles. I tell ya what, though, each time I have to run that long on the road I gain a new appreciation for you guys who do long runs on the road all the time. I hate it. It just works my legs and back and is soooo booooooring. Although I did have a couple of really good podcasts to listen to. Well, tomorrow's our last long run (3.5 hours) before our 50k on the 25th. We start tapering about mid-week next week, which is extremely helpful to me since I have to leave for conference on Wednesday. Hooked myself up to the HR monitor last night. Within a couple of minutes of laying down it showed HRs in the mid 40s. I laid really still for about 10 minutes and it kept a steady 45 the whole time. Coach Bill wants me to go ahead and wear it all night to ensure an accurate reading. If it stays that low, he says it a sign of good cardiovascular fitness and genetics. Thanks, Dad and Mom! Have a good weekend, everyone!

Good morning folks....awww, I've got some quiet time this a.m. Slept horrible, that is why I am up so early. Got up at 5 a.m. due to hub snoring AND he's been sick with the crud for 3 days so his breathing/snoring is extremely aggravating but....I know he can't help it cause he's sick so.... Both girls stayed out last night so it's just me and the dog up! Kelly-A mom, a coach, a ski instructor and a model. Woot, woot! Good luck with your marathon! Leslie-Enjoy your new HR monitor. Did you get a new garmin or is the monitor a seperate gadget? Kudos to you for all your great runs and PT appts that you've been doing. You are going to do great at your 50k. Can you imagine what you were doing 2 years ago. Just getting started with this whole running thing. You've come a long ways. You should be proud! Carol-Hope you and the hub shake that crud you have. Like I mentioned above, Kenny's had it for 3 days now and I hope I don't get it. When and where are you going for vacation? Get well soon....not running for a week is O.K. ya gotta get well first. Cindy-How's them legs comin' along? Easy does it. One day at a time. Sounds like your still getting in the runs just nice and easy. You've got a busy schedule coming up! Good luck with all your training! Jim-Way to go putting in some nice runs and hills thru the mud and in the cold. You da man...I mean da farmer! BB is coming up. You'll do great. Have fun! Joe-How's Joe doing? Hope you recovered well from your half! Is the weather warming up in your neck of the woods yet? I would think so. Arla-Great job on your past weeks of running. Very consistent and steady runs. What grades do you teach Biology to? Is it like 10th and 11th? School gets out in 3 weeks here. My kids are stoked! You ran 5 miles in 85 degrees? Now that's tough. Bob-Please pop in more often. We love hearing from you. How is Amy doing? O.K. It's suppose to hit 90 today so I need to go get out there and put a few miles in. Will check in later..... Jewels

Hey Jewels!! I hope you don't catch hub's crud either!! & I Hope you had a nice run this am Whole body is feeling MUCH better....still not feeling 'strong', but better!....so not planning a real long run for a few more days...actually, I doubt I'll have any run time next day or two....jam packed schedule, including off to see the new Grandson! graduation activities, meeting w/TNT coaches & stuff..... Have an awesome weekend everybody!! Cindy

Wow! That's quite a pic, Jim. First you guys are inundated with snow, snow, snow, and now tornado weather? I'll take our occasional earthquakes any day. Cindy - We expect pics of that grandbaby. Jewels - 94% humidity?? Yuck! We did 3.5 hours of trails today. For some reason, it seemed like we did a lot more climbing. However, I'm hoping all that climbing comes into play with a relative easy rolling hill trail in two weeks. Afterward, went over to Coach Bill's place and checked out the mountain bike and trainer. Sold! He also helped me with HR monitoring training, which I will delve more into later. Have a good weekend!