I've thought a lot about TomD and Donna since reading yesterday's sad news. Hang in there, Tom, we're all with you at this terrible time. hopeful, congrats to your husband on his 6 month anniversary of quitting smoking. SLO, that's a nice looking family and yard. bike, I would have liked to have seen the look on your doctor's face when you told him about your pain free running. Nice long runs for evan, bike (with speedwork), mariposai (with speedwork), PBJ, and Tall (with speedwork). Good job on the speedwork for hopeful. This morning it was in the low 40s with some rain and wind. When I heard the forecast last night, I was expecting heavy rain and strong winds. I sure didn't want to do the TM but knew it was a possibility. It turns out the rain was light and the wind moderate so I went out and got in about 8 miles. I messed up my watch but had a pace of about 10:15 for the 5.75 miles I recorded. A good day and good runs for all. TomS

Mary, that's so great! Congratulations to your DH...nice you're being so supportive, too. Very funny about your DD. Holly, way to taper. yes, that's the picture! Lou, I'd noticed you were missing... Harriet too. Glad to know you're spending your time well. goooo, Nono!!! Slo_hand... congratulations to you too! Hope your shin is ok. Thanks, that picture is just right right now. Toms, nice run. How is your mom? Better post this & get back to work. going back & forth, I forget what I've already typed. A nice vegetative state this morning... bed by 9:30, but was awake by 11 because of thunder & rain. Poor Sadie, she's not a big fan. She'd get up & pace, flop down & crawl under the bed (wood floors), & for the duration of the long rain, panted loudly. Must have gone back to sleep, woke at 3. drifted off, but up at 3:45. Again on the gym track, 5 miles with 9:10 average pace, 6:51 was the max. 168 ahr, 185 max. I did 3 800 meter things at 8:27, 8:16 & 8:16, long rests between (2 min. + a little) at 9:17. Also, 2 200 meter things (baby steps) at 7:44 & 7:58. This is actually a little faster than I felt like I was going, probably better calibrate my Polar to make sure. then just 1 set of lower body weight machines. Had to hurry, I had a 9:00 doc appt. in a town a bit away. The doc appt. went well! He said some of the S/I issues seemed better, & with a couple of adjustments (he's a DO) he was able to loosen my stuck sacrum, which I think has been stuck for 12 years. Really. They've been working on it at PT, & I've had to do this weird thing with a tennis ball that hurts... but it's been stubborn. Now I'm walking around & it feels like things are doing what they oughta. A little afraid to breathe so I don't mess it up again.

Holly - that picture of your daughter is priceless! Shades, cowboy boots - looks like she's got an "attitude." Wonder who she takes after Slo-Hand - what an awesome yard. Everyone looks so relaxed and happy - another great photo. Tim - you must just have that nice person look to dogs. Hope you got the stains out of your running shoes! Mary - quitting smoking is tough work. Like Holly, I quit when I got pregnant with DS#1 and it's been almost 33 years. Hope the two of you have a nice evening out. Will there be pizza and beer??? Rest day for me, so I took a 3 hour shift at one of our homeless shelters this morning. They will stay open until the end of the month, then the shelter guests will be on their own. There are so many sad souls. I'm not sure where they will all end up. The unemployment rate here is 11% and most businesses are laying off instead of hiring. There are so many young people. I always say a prayer of thanks that my kids are employed and doing okay. Tomorrow I'm planning on running with the training group for the CellCom half marathon. We're 7 weeks out. I did 10 + last Saturday and the schedule calls for 10 again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces but this training group has turned into a race by itself. There's been 150 - 200 people at all of the training runs so far, and with good weather predicted for tomorrow, I suspect there will be that many or more. Should be fun, though. Hey Nono - hurry back! ETA - WRFB, do you deliver? That Pilsner sounds pretty darn good.

Tim, the dog was just marking his territory I remember that pic Holly! Cute! You'll do great on your race. You usually underestimate your ability . . . let's see. . . who BQ'd at her first marathon?? Yesterday the day got away from me. Sat in on opening statements of a murder trial, so that alone took up my entire morning. then I actually had work to do, so skipped my lunch hour. But I only had 3 on schedule to do anyways, so will do that today. My long run this wknd is just 7 miles. Guess I won't make tselbs honor roll . . . Sunday is supposed to be 70 and sunny, so I'd like to get in a bike ride, but it'd also be a great day to get spring yard clean up done, maybe get a flowers in the plantars for color, etc.

Slo.. that looks like a Normal Rockweel painting.. very nice! Congrats to Mary's DH. I smoked in grad school and quit when DD1 was born exactly 24 years ago yesterday. I went to the cardiologist yesterday about my A-Fib incident. Luckily she is not only a cardiologist but also an excercise physiologist and former triathlete. After tests she said I was a "picture of health" and took me off coumadine and on an asprin a day. She's going to do an echo cardiogram next thursday but expects to see a healthy heart and said there is no reason that I cant run Boston (aside fom my leg injury ) In fact she said NOT RUNNING BOSTON IS NOT AN OPTION! She thinks genetic or stress related cause (ok so I'm unemployed for the first time in 23 years, what's to stress??). Actually the night it happened I remember having a bit of a panic attack while sleeping. I though Boston was 2 weeks away when it was really 3 weeks and I worried I might not have enough healing time. Today 2 mile walk with the dogs with some nerve pain in the upper leg there but lessthan yesterday. Then 60 min elliptical and 30 min spinning which felt great after.

Holly, what is BQ pace? And what is your pace plan for this upcoming race?

BQ pace is about 8:48. My race strategy is pretty simple. I'll do a short warm-up, less than a half-mile, just enough to get my legs moving a little, and do a gentle stretch. Then, when the race starts, I'll head out at a pace of 8:45 and try to hold it until the wheels fall off....The wind is forecast at 9-15mph – not too bad, but on those country roads there's nothing to slow it down coming across the fields. But the forecast looks to be mostly dry (so far), and for that I am grateful. Jlynne - what a fun training group! Tammy – it was my 2nd, actually, but thanks for the vote of confidence. Breger – good idea...I do have it saved in digital... Perch – great news! {{{Erika’s DS}}}

Well, yes, you're right about that - my first marathon was measured more than a mile and a half short, due to last-minute rerouting to avoid floodwaters. So I did BQ at my first "full distance" marathon, when you look at it that way. But what happened to the next 3 marathons?

But what happened to the next 3 marathons?

Well, as I recall (this is fun), you ran those next marathons as more of training runs with the exception of Boston, which was just sort of unfortunate all around. And I believe your BQ time is actually 4:00:59 now, so you've got a little breathing room there. (not that you'll need it! )